Numbers 31 Study Notes

31:1-36:13 The final cycle of Numbers completes the challenge to faithfulness as God was preparing Israel to enter the promised land.

31:1-2 The Midianites are an enigmatic people in biblical, historical, and archaeological research. According to Gn 25:1-4, Midian was one of the sons of Abraham through his concubine Keturah. Midianites were allied at times with the Moabites (Gn 36:35; Nm 22:7; 25:6,14-18), the Amalekites (Jdg 6:3; 7:12), and the Ishmaelites (Gn 37:28). The Midianites seem to have been a loosely connected confederation of nomadic and semi-nomadic tribes with origins in northern Saudi Arabia who traveled the regions of the western Sinai Peninsula, southern Jordan, and the Arabah (see notes at Nm 22:2-4 and 25:14-15).

31:3-5 Each of the seven cycles in the book of Numbers begins with a reference to the twelve-tribe unity (or disunity in the case of the Korah rebellion, chaps. 16-17), and here one thousand men . . . from each Israelite tribe are mustered for battle. Equal participation in the conquest by the tribes parallels their equal contribution of gifts for the tabernacle in chap. 7.

31:6 The model for holy war is presented with the priest Phinehas accompanying the twelve thousand-man army into battle. They carried with them the sanctuary vessels for needed purification rituals and the trumpets for sounding battle alerts (10:1-10).

31:7-12 The five Midianite kings defeated in the campaign are listed in the same order in the battle summary of Jos 13:21, where they are called “princes of Sihon.” The nature of the political relationships among the Amorites, Moabites, and Midianites remains nebulous. One of these Midianite leaders, Zur, was the father of Cozbi, the Midianite woman who was killed by Phinehas along with her Israelite lover Zimri ben Salu (25:14-18).

31:13-24 The purpose of holy war was to eradicate impure elements, whether persons or property, from society. This battle followed on the heels of the idolatrous activity of Baal-peor (chap. 25) that began with unholy sexual relations and resulted in the death of thousands of Israelites. It also set the stage for the instructions in 33:50-56 for possessing the promised land by driving out the Canaanites and eradicating the sources of idolatry. Critics suggest this holy war mentality was a development among ancient peoples and not in keeping with God’s purpose; but these instructions were specific in time and place at the critical point of the founding of the theocracy of Israel, where their survival as the holy community of faith was at stake.

Numbers chap. 31 is consistent with the instructions given in other pentateuchal passages, including Dt 7:5,24-25; 12:1-12; and 20:16-19 (purging of idolatry) and Dt 21:10-14 (female captives). But the instructions for Israel in the era of Moses and Joshua have been superseded by the law of Christ and the law of love. God still abhors evil in society, and the people of God should be diligent in opposing every expression of evil, but not to the extent of conducting holy war.

31:25 The Lord told Moses is again the language of divine revelation and instruction that anticipates faithful obedience, summarized in v. 31.

31:26-46 These instructions for the distribution of the spoils of war among the community members set the standard for the coming campaigns in the promised land.

31:47 From the spoils of war Moses took one out of every fifty . . . of the Israelites’ half and gave them to the Levites. The two percent here contrasts with the tradition in Abraham’s day, where a tithe of ten percent was presented to the temple priesthood.

31:48-54 The amount of gold offered by Israel’s commanders exceeded the minimal requirement of one-half shekel per person by nearly threefold, with the armlets, bracelets, signet rings, earrings, and necklaces totaling 16,750 shekels (6,700 ounces, or nearly 420 pounds). The leaders gave sacrificially in the spirit of thanksgiving to God.