Numbers 31:26 - Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown

Numbers 31:26

24 ^aAnd you shall wash your clothes on the seventh day and be clean, and afterward you may come into the camp.”

Division of the Plunder

25 Now the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:

26 “Count up the plunder that was¹ taken—of man and beast—you and Eleazar the priest and the chief fathers of the congregation;

27 and ^adivide the plunder into two parts, between those who took part in the war, who went out to battle, and all the congregation.

28 And levy a tribute for the Lord on the men of war who went out to battle: ^aone of every five hundred of the persons, the cattle, the donkeys, and the sheep;

29 take it from their half, and ^agive it to Eleazar the priest as a heave offering to the Lord.

30 And from the children of Israel’s half you shall take ^aone of every fifty, drawn from the persons, the cattle, the donkeys, and the sheep, from all the livestock, and give them to the Levites ^bwho keep charge of the tabernacle of the Lord.”

31 So Moses and Eleazar the priest did as the Lord commanded Moses.

32 The booty remaining from the plunder, which the men of war had taken, was six hundred and seventy-five thousand sheep,

33 seventy-two thousand cattle,

34 sixty-one thousand donkeys,

35 and thirty-two thousand persons in all, of women who had not known a man intimately.

36 And the half, the portion for those who had gone out to war, was in number three hundred and thirty-seven thousand five hundred sheep;

37 and the Lord’s¹ tribute of the sheep was six hundred and seventy-five.

38 The cattle were thirty-six thousand, of which the Lord’s tribute was seventy-two.

39 The donkeys were thirty thousand five hundred, of which the Lord’s tribute was sixty-one.

40 The persons were sixteen thousand, of which the Lord’s tribute was thirty-two persons.

41 So Moses gave the tribute which was the Lord’s heave offering to Eleazar the priest, ^aas the Lord commanded Moses.

42 And from the children of Israel’s half, which Moses separated from the men who fought—

43 now the half belonging to the congregation was three hundred and thirty-seven thousand five hundred sheep,

44 thirty-six thousand cattle,

45 thirty thousand five hundred donkeys,

46 and sixteen thousand persons—

47 and ^afrom the children of Israel’s half Moses took one of every fifty, drawn from man and beast, and gave them to the Levites, who kept charge of the tabernacle of the Lord, as the Lord commanded Moses.

48 Then the officers who were over thousands of the army, the captains of thousands and captains of hundreds, came near to Moses;

49 and they said to Moses, “Your servants have taken a count of the men of war who are under our command, and not a man of us is missing.

Commentaries:

Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown

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Numbers 31:25-39

Take the sum of the prey that was taken—that is, of the captives and cattle, which, having been first lumped together according to ancient usage (Exodus 15:9; Judges 5:30), were divided into two equal parts: the one to the people at large, who had sustained a common injury from the Midianites and who were all liable to serve: and the other portion to the combatants, who, having encountered the labors and perils of war, justly received the largest share. From both parts, however, a certain deduction was taken for the sanctuary, as a thank offering to God for preservation and for victory. The soldiers had greatly the advantage in the distribution; for a five-hundredth part only of their half went to the priest, while a fiftieth part of the congregation's half was given to the Levites.

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Joshua 22:8

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