Numbers

Destruction of Midian

Holy War

The Lord spoke to Moses and said:

“Fully avenge the Israelites for what they have suffered from the Midianites. After that, you will be joined to your people.”

Moses told the people:

“Let some of you go off to the war and attack the Midianites, for you have to carry out the Lord’s vengeance.

Put a thousand men in the field from each of the tribes of Israel.”

In this way, the Israelites supplied twelve thousand men ready for battle, one thousand from each tribe.

They attacked the Midianites, as the Lord had commanded Moses, and they put every male to death.

And further, they killed the kings of Midian, Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba, the five Midianite kings; they also put Balaam, son of Beor, to the sword.

The sons of Israel took the Midianite women captive with their young children and took for themselves all their cattle, all their flocks, and all their goods.

They set fire to the towns where they lived and all their camps.

Then, taking all the spoils, all that they had captured, man and beast,

they brought the captives and the spoils to Moses, Eleazar the priest, and all the community of the Israelites, at the camp in the plains of Moab, near the Jordan River opposite Jericho.

Moses, Eleazar, the priest, and all the community leaders left the camp to meet them.

Moses was angry with the commanders of the army, the captains of thousands and the captains of hundreds, who had returned from this battle.

He said:

“Why have you spared the lives of all the women?

These were the very ones who, on Balaam’s advice, tempted the people of Israel and made them unfaithful to the Lord at Peor: hence the epidemic which struck the community of Israel.

So kill all the male children. Kill also all the women who have slept with a man.

Spare the lives only of the young girls who have not slept with a man and take them for yourselves.

As for you, you must camp for seven days outside the camp, all of you who have killed a man or touched a corpse. Purify yourselves, you and your prisoners, on the third and seventh days;

also purify all clothing, everything made of skin, everything woven of goats’ hair, and everything made of wood.”

The priest Eleazar said to the soldiers returning from this battle:

“These are the regulations given by the Lord to Moses.

The gold, silver, bronze, iron, tin, and lead, not melted by fire, must be passed through the fire to become clean and purified by the water for purification.

But whatever would be melted by fire, you must pass through water.

On the seventh day, you will wash your clothes and then be clean. You may then come back to the camp.”

Booty

The Lord spoke to Moses and said:

“With Eleazar, the priest, and the heads of families in the community, count the prizes of battle and the captives, man and beast.

Then, share the half-and-half spoils between those who fought the battle and the rest of the community.

As the Lord’s share, you will set aside one out of every 500 persons, oxen, donkeys, and sheep, from the share of the soldiers who took part in the battle.

These are to be taken from the half share, their due, and given to Eleazar, the priest, as an offering to the Lord.

From the half due to the community of Israel, you will take one out of every fifty persons, oxen, donkeys, sheep, and all other animals, and give them to the Levites who have charge of the Holy Tent of the Lord.”

Moses and Eleazar, the priest, did as the Lord had commanded Moses.

The prizes of battle, the remainder of the spoil captured by the soldiers, came to 675,000 head of sheep and goats,

72,000 head of cattle,

61,000 donkeys,

and, in persons, women who had never slept with a man, 32,000 in all.

The half assigned to those who had taken part in the war amounted to 337,500 head of sheep and goats,

of which the Lord’s share was 675;

36,000 head of cattle, of which the Lord’s share was 72;

30,500 donkeys, of which the Lord’s share was 61,

and 16,000 persons, of which the Lord’s share was 32.

Moses gave Eleazar, the priest, the share set aside for the Lord, by the Lord’s instructions to Moses.

As for the half due to the Israelite community, which Moses had separated from that of the soldiers,

this half, the community’s share, came to 337,500 head of sheep and goats,

36,000 head of cattle,

30,500 donkeys

and 16,000 persons.

From this half, the share of the community of Israel, Moses took one out of every fifty, man and beast, and gave them to the Levites who had charge of the Holy Tent of the Lord, according to what the Lord said to Moses.

Then the army officers, the captains of thousands and the captains of hundreds came to Moses

and said, “Your servants have numbered the soldiers under their command; not one is missing.

Further, we offer the Lord the gold ornaments we have found, armlets and bracelets, signet rings, earrings, and necklaces, to make atonement for ourselves before the Lord.”

Moses and Eleazar, the priest, accepted this gold from them, all this jewelry.

This offering of gold given by them to the Lord weighed over 400 pounds, all given by the captains of thousands and the captains of hundreds.

Each of the soldiers took his own loot.

But Moses and Eleazar, the priest, received the gold from the captains of thousands and of hundreds and carried it to the Tent of Meeting as a reminder to the Lord of the people of Israel.