Глава 31

Defeat of the Midianites. - The death of Valaam. – Purification of warriors and spoils. – Division of production. Numbers 31:1. And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: Numbers 31:2. take revenge on the Midianites for the children of Israel, and then you will go back to your people. Numbers 31:3. And Moses spake unto the people, saying, Equip a people of yourselves for war, that they may go against the Midianites, to execute the vengeance of the Lord upon the Midianites; Numbers 31:4. Send a thousand from each tribe, from all the tribes of Israel, to war. The command to exterminate the Midianites is given in accordance with the law on the punishment of instigators of idolatry (Deut. 13.6–10) and in order to guarantee the Jews from a future dangerous neighborhood. Numbers 31:6. And Moses sent them to the war, a thousand each from the tribe, them and Phinehas the son of Eleazar, [the son of Aaron,] the priest, to the war, and in his hand were the sacred vessels and trumpets for alarm. Phinehas, the son of the high priest Eleazar, is sent as the chief priest with the troops, who clearly testifies to his zeal for the glory of the name of God at the moment the people are carried away by pagan wandering (Numbers 25.6–8,10–13). Numbers 31:7. And they went to war against Midian, as the Lord commanded Moses, and killed all the males; “And they killed all the males,” with the exception, of course, of those who escaped or were absent from the area. In the book. Court. 6:1, 8 Among the nations that attacked the Israelites, the Midianites are also mentioned. But after Gideon “humbled” them, “the Midianites... did not raise their heads any more” (Judges 8.28). Numbers 31:8. and together with their slain they slew the kings of Midian: Ebiah, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba, the five kings of Midian, and they slew Balaam the son of Beor with the sword [along with their slain]; In the book. Joshua 13.21, Evi, Rekem, Tzur, Hur and Reba are called “the princes of Sihon,” that is, the princes of King Sihon, probably due to the dominant position of the Amorite Sihon within the southern Transjordan (Numbers 21.29). Numbers 31:17. therefore, kill all male children, and kill all women who knew a husband on a man’s bed; Numbers 31:18. and keep all the female children who have not known a man’s bed alive for yourselves; Boys are seen as likely continuers of their fathers' lives. Women who “knew a man on a man’s bed” are a constant opportunity for temptation for the Jews to repeat their Shittim infatuation (Numbers 25). Girls who were not defiled by shameful rituals in honor of Baal-Peor could be re-educated (due to the comparative gentleness of their character) among pious Jewish women and subsequently become members of the Israeli community. Numbers 31:19. and remain outside the camp seven days; Whoever kills a man and touches the murdered one, be cleansed on the third day and on the seventh day, you and your captives; Numbers 31:20. and all the garments, and all the leathern things, and all that is made of goat's hair, and all the vessels of wood, you shall cleanse. Numbers 31:21. And Eleazar the priest said to the soldiers who went to war, “This is the decree of the law that the Lord commanded Moses: Numbers 31:22. gold, silver, copper, iron, tin and lead, Numbers 31:23. and everything that passes through the fire, pass through the fire so that it is cleansed, and in addition, it must be cleansed with cleansing water; whatever does not pass through fire, put through water; Numbers 31:24. and wash your clothes on the seventh day, and be clean, and after that enter into the camp. The law on the purification of those who touched a human corpse and objects that had contact with the latter is set out in Chapter XIX. Numbers 31:25. And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: Numbers 31:26. count the spoils of captivity, from man to beast, you and Eleazar the priest and the leaders of the tribes of the congregation; Numbers 31:27. and divide the spoil in half among those who fought, who went to war, and among the whole congregation; Numbers 31:28. and from the soldiers who went to war, take tribute to the Lord, one soul out of five hundred, from people and from herds, and from donkeys and from flocks; Numbers 31:29. take it from half of them and give it to Eleazar the priest as an offering to the Lord; Numbers 31:30. And from half the children of Israel you shall take one share out of fifty, from the people, from the herds, from the donkeys, and from the flocks, and give it to the Levites who serve at the tabernacle of the Lord. Numbers 31:31. And Moses and Eleazar the priest did as the Lord commanded Moses. The way in which the Midianite spoils were divided (in half between those who went to war and those who remained in the camp, with the convoy), subsequently received the force of an everlasting law (1 Samuel 30.24,25). The warriors who did not participate in the expedition undertook to make a contribution to the tabernacle in the amount of 1/50 of the spoils from the booty they received; those who took part - in the amount of 1/500 of the production. The first part of the spoils was to go to the use of the Levites, the second to the use of the priests. Numbers 31:48. And the commanders of the thousands of troops, the captains of thousands and captains of hundreds, came to Moses, Numbers 31:49. and they said to Moses, “Your servants have numbered the soldiers who were entrusted to us, and not one of them is missing; Numbers 31:50. and so, we brought an offering to the Lord, who took out some of the golden things: chains, wrists, rings, earrings and pendants, to cleanse our souls before the Lord. Numbers 31:51. And Moses and Eleazar the priest took from them the gold in all these articles; Numbers 31:52. And all the gold that was offered as an offering to the Lord was sixteen thousand seven hundred and fifty shekels, from the captains of thousands and captains of hundreds. Numbers 31:53. The soldiers robbed each for themselves. Numbers 31:54. And Moses and Eleazar the priest took the gold from the captains of thousands and captains of hundreds, and brought it into the tabernacle of meeting, for a memorial of the children of Israel before the Lord. “An offering to the Lord”, as the firstfruits of spoils and as a sign of gratitude for the successful completion of the campaign (vv. 32–46, 49). “For the purification of our souls,” defiled by murder and touching the murdered and their belongings. You might be interested in: