Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Numbers 31:27
And divide the prey into two parts; between them that took the war upon them, who went out to battle, and between all the congregation:
The congregation hath some share, because the warriors went in the name of all, and because all having been injured by the Midianites, all were to have some share in the reparations; but the warriors, who were but 12,000, have a far greater share than others of their brethren, because they underwent greater pains and dangers.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
And divide the prey into two parts,…. Into two equal parts, both the number of the people and of the cattle, when taken:
between them that took the war upon them, and went out to battle; the soldiers; and by this it appears that they went voluntarily and cheerfully:
and between all the congregation; so that the part of them that went to battle, and of those that stayed in the camp, were alike, and which in process of time became a statute and ordinance, 1Sa 30:24.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
(27) And divide the prey into two parts . . . It was reasonable that those who had encountered the perils and hardships of the war should receive a larger share of the spoil than those who had remained in the camp. It was equally reasonable that the latter should not be left without some substantial benefit from the victory miraculously achieved over the enemies of the Lord and of His people. A similar direction is found in Jos. 22:8 in regard to the division of spoil taken from enemies, but no general ordinance appears to have been made in regard to the division of the spoils of war until the time of David. (See 1Sa. 30:24-25.)
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
27. The prey The spoils and captives.
Two parts The soldiers and the congregation were to share equally. Jos 22:8, note.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
two parts: Jos 22:8, 1Sa 30:4, 1Sa 30:24, 1Sa 30:25, Psa 68:12
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Num 31:27. Two parts The congregation was to have some share, because the warriors went in the name of all, and because all having been injured by the Midianites, all were to have some share in the reparations: but the warriors, who were but twelve thousand, were to have a far greater share than their brethren, because they underwent greater pains and dangers.