Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Numbers 31:32
And the booty, [being] the rest of the prey which the men of war had caught, was six hundred thousand and seventy thousand and five thousand sheep,
32. over and above the booty ] the remainder of the booty. The revisers connected the words with Num 31:53 (see marg. there), but that is concerned only with the private looting of gold ornaments. Here ‘the booty’ is synonymous with ‘the prey,’ and the words may be paraphrased ‘the prey, or rather that which remained of it.’ That which was captured on the field of battle would be diminished from a variety of causes, e.g. the necessary slaughter of animals for food, possibly the death from hardships on the return journey of some among the prisoners who were ill or infirm; also by the slaughter commanded in Num 31:17.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Compare Num 31:11, and render And the prey (i. e., the live prey) in addition to the spoil which the men of war seized, etc. The spoil is described in Num 31:50.
The number of sheep, beeves, asses, and persons taken is given in this and following verses in round thousands. Hence, the Lords tribute (Num 31:29, Num 31:37-38, etc.), being the 500th part of the half, comes out also in round numbers. The enormous amount both of live stock and of personal ornament was characteristic of the Midianites. When they invaded Israel in the days of the Judges, their wealth was still of the same kind (Jdg 6:5; Jdg 8:24 ff). The Bedouins, notwithstanding their wild nomadic life, retain their ancestral love of finery to the present day.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 32. The booty] It appears from the enumeration here that the Israelites, in this war against the Midianites, took 32,000 female prisoners, 61,000 asses, 72,000 beeves, 675,000 sheep and small cattle; besides the immense number of males who fell in battle, and the women and children who were slain by the Divine command, Nu 31:17. And it does not appear that in this expedition, a single man of Israel fell! This was naturally to be expected, because the battle was the Lord’s, Nu 31:49.
As the booty was divided into two equal parts, Nu 31:22, one for the soldiers employed in the expedition, and the other for those who, being equally willing to be employed, were ordered to stay in the camp; so each of the parties in this booty was to give a certain proportion to the Lord. The soldiers to give to the Lord one out of every five hundred persons, beeves, asses, and sheep, Nu 31:28. The people, who by staying at home risked nothing, and had no fatigue, were to give one out of fifty of the above, Nu 31:30. The booty, its divisions among the soldiers and people, the proportion given by each to the Lord and to the Levites, will be seen in one view by the following table, which I copy from Houbigant.
| | |
| Total of sheep 675,000 | To the soldiers .. 337,500 |
| .. of beeves … 72,000 | To the soldiers …. 36,000 |
| .. of asses ….. 61,000 | To the soldiers …. 30,500 |
| .. of persons .. 32,000 | To the soldiers …. 16,000 |
| ….. sheep ……. | To the Lord from the soldiers ……. 675 |
| ….. beeves …… | To the Lord from the soldiers …….. 72 |
| ….. asses ……. | To the Lord from the soldiers ….…. 61 |
| ….. persons ….. | To the Lord from the soldiers …….. 32 |
In this table the booty is equally divided between the people and the soldiers; a five-hundredth part being given to the Lord, and a fiftieth part to the Levites.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
The rest of the prey; all which was now left of the prey. It is so expressed because they took more, but some of the persons were since killed, Num 31:17, and some of the cattle was spent for the necessary provisions of the army.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
32-47. the booty, being the rest ofthe prey which the men of war had caughtSome of the captiveshaving been killed (Nu 31:17)and part of the cattle taken for the support of the army, the totalamount of the booty remaining was in the following proportions:
Prey Total
Amount Half to
Soldiers Deducted
to God Half to
Congregation Deducted
to Levites Sheep675,000 337,500 675 337,500 6,750 Beeves 72,000 36,000 72 36,000720 Asses 61,000 30,500 61 30,500 610 Persons 32,000 16,000 3216,000 320
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Ver. 32-47. And the booty, being the rest of the prey which the men of war had caught,…. The remainder of it, besides what they had eaten in their return from the war, and during their seven days’ stay without the camp: from hence to the end of Nu 31:47 is only an account of the prey or booty taken, which in general were 675,000 sheep, 72,000 beeves or oxen, 61,000 asses, and 32,000 females who had never known man; the half out of these, which fell to the share of the soldiers, were 337,500 sheep, 36,000 beeves or oxen, 30,500 asses, and 16,000 females, out of which were given as an heave offering to the Lord six hundred and seventy five sheep, seventy two beeves or oxen, sixty one asses, and thirty two women: the half divided unto the children of Israel consisted of 337,500 sheep, 36,000 beeves or oxen, 30,500 asses, and 16,000 women, out of which one in fifty, both of women and cattle, were given to the Levites; what that amounted to is not expressed, but may be easily reckoned.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
(32) And the booty, being the rest of the prey . . . The reference may be to the residue of the captives after the slaughter of all the males and of a large number of the women, and to the cattle which were brought to the camp, some, it may be, having been lost or slaughtered for food; or it may be to the booty which had been taken in captives and animals, as distinguished from the gold and silver, &c.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
The Division Between the Men of War, Yahweh (the Priests), the People and the Levites ( Num 31:32-47 ).
The assessing and dividing of the spoils follows a sequential pattern rather than the usual chiastic pattern.
a The sum of the prey assessed (Num 31:32-35).
b Sum of the half which belongs to the soldiers and to Yahweh’s tribute (Num 31:36-40).
c Yahweh’s tribute given to Eleazar the Priest (Num 31:41).
a The congregation’s half divided from the men that warred (Num 31:42).
b Sum of the half which belongs to the congregation (Num 31:43-46).
c The Levites share given to the Levites (Num 31:47).
Num 31:32-35
‘Now the prey, over and above the booty which the men of war took, was six hundred ’eleph and seventy ’eleph and five ’eleph sheep, and threescore and twelve ’eleph oxen, and threescore and one ’eleph asses, and thirty and two ’eleph persons in all, of the women who had not known man by lying with him.’
The prey was now assessed. There were six hundred and seventy five units (flocks?) of sheep, seventy two units (herds?) of oxen, sixty one units (herds) of asses, and of young women there were young women from thirty two families.
Num 31:36
‘And the half, which was the portion of those who went out to war, was in number three hundred thousand and thirty thousand and seven thousand and five hundred sheep.’
Thus for the men who went to war there were three hundred and thirty seven and a half flocks of sheep to be distributed.
Num 31:37
‘And Yahweh’s tribute of the sheep was six hundred and threescore and fifteen.’
And Yahweh’s tribute was one out of every five half flocks, namely six smaller groups, three small groupings and some odd ones over.
Num 31:38
‘And the oxen were thirty and six thousand, of which Yahweh’s tribute was threescore and twelve.’
Of the oxen there were thirty six herds for the fighting men, of which Yahweh’s tribute was three small groupings and odd ones over.
Num 31:39
‘And the asses were thirty thousand and five hundred, of which Yahweh’s tribute was threescore and one.’
Of the asses there thirty and a half herds. Yahweh received three small groupings and one over.
Num 31:40
‘And the persons were sixteen thousand; of whom Yahweh’s tribute was thirty and two persons.’
Of the young women there were women from sixteen families, and Yahweh’s tribute three small groups and two persons.
Num 31:41
‘And Moses gave the tribute, which was Yahweh’s heave-offering, to Eleazar the priest, as Yahweh commanded Moses.’
And Moses gave Yahweh’s contribution to Eleazar the Priest as Yahweh had commanded him.
Num 31:42
‘And of the children of Israel’s half, which Moses divided off from the men who warred,’
They then moved on to assessing the half set aside to be divided among the children of Israel as a whole.
Num 31:43-46
‘(Now the congregation’s half was three hundred thousand and thirty thousand, seven thousand and five hundred sheep, and thirty and six thousand oxen, and thirty thousand and five hundred asses, and sixteen thousand persons),’
Their share also was three hundred and thirty seven flocks, and a smaller group, of sheep, thirty six herds of oxen, thirty herds and a smaller group of asses, and young women from sixteen ‘families’.
Num 31:47
‘even of the children of Israel’s half, Moses took one drawn out of every fifty, both of man and of beast, and gave them to the Levites, who kept the charge of the tabernacle of Yahweh, as Yahweh commanded Moses.’
And out of their half one out of every smaller grouping was given to the Levites, because they kept the charge of the Dwellingplace of Yahweh, just as Yahweh had commanded Moses.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Num 31:32. And the booty, being the rest, &c. Hence it appears, that Midian must have been an extremely populous and fertile country; for the sum total of the divided booty was as in the following table, wherein the reader will see, at one view, what portion fell to the share of the soldiers, the congregation, the Levites, and the LORD.
Sheep, 675,000 {To the soldiers, 337,500} To the Lord from the soldiers, 675
{To the people, 337,500} To the Levites from the people, 6750
Beeves, 72,000 {To the soldiers, 36,000} To the Lord from the soldiers, 72
{To the people, 36,000} To the Levites from the people, 720
Asses, 61,000 {To the soldiers, 30,500} To the Lord from the soldiers, 61
{To the people, 30,500} To the Levites from the people, 610
Persons, 32,000 {To the soldiers, 16,000} To the Lord from the soldiers, 32
{To the people, 16,000} To the Levites from the people, 320
To this must be added, what was necessarily spent for their subsistence during the war, and while they lay out of the camp, Num 31:19.; and from Num 31:30 it is plain, that there were other kinds of beasts taken, besides those which are enumerated; among which, most probably, were camels and dromedaries, for which this country was famous.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
the booty: It appears from the enumeration here, that the Israelites, in this war with the Midianites, took 32,000 female prisoners, 61,000 asses, 72,000 beeves, and 675,000 sheep and small cattle; besides the immense number of males who fell in battle, and the women and children who were slain by the divine command – Num 31:17. This booty was divided into equal parts, by which partition a far larger share was justly given to the warriors employed on the expedition, who were only 12,000, than to those, who being equally willing to go, were ordered to stay in the camp. Each party was to give a certain proportion to Jehovah, as their sovereign, in grateful acknowledgment that to him they owed their success. The soldiers to give to the Lord one out of every five hundred persons, beeves, asses, and sheep – Num 31:28, and the people, who by staying at home risked nothing, and had no fatigue, were to give one out of fifty of each of the above to the Levites, who were far more numerous than the priests – Num 31:30. The booty, its division among the soldiers and people, and the proportion given by each to the Lord and to the Levites, will be seen at one view by the following table:
Offering Types To Soldiers To God To People To Levites Total OfferingsSheep 337,500 675 337,500 6,750 675,000Beeves 36,000 72 36,000 720 72,000Asses 30,500 61 30,500 610 61,000Persons 16,000 32 16,000 320 32,000
It does not appear that a single ox, sheep or ass, was required by Moses as his portion; or that there was any given to him by the people; and though he had a family as well as others yet no provision was made for them above the common lot of Levites!
Reciprocal: Job 1:3 – seven@