Numbers Chapter 31 on the Enemy of Israel — the Midianites

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“The Battle Against Midian”
“Laws of Koshering Utensils”
“Division of the Spoils”
“Kohanim and Levites”
“The Soldiers’ Share”
“The People’s Share”
“The Commanders”

Hashem spoke to Moses, saying, “Take vengeance for the Children of Israel against the Midianites, afterward you will be gathered unto your people.”
31:1-2
The Children of Israel took captive the women of Midian and their young children; and all their cattle and flocks and all their wealth they took as spoils.
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They took all the booty and all the captives of people and animals.
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Moses was angry with the commanders of the army, the officers of the thousands and the officers of the hundreds, who came from the legion of the battle.
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Moses said to them, “Did you let every female live?
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Behold! – it was they who caused the Children of Israel, by the word of Balaam, to commit betrayal against Hashem regarding the matter of Peor; and the plague occurred in the assembly of Hashem.
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So now, kill every male among the young children, and every woman fit to know a man by lying with a male, you shall kill.
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But all the young children among the women who have not known lying with a male, you may keep alive for yourselves.
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Elazar the Kohen said to the men of the legion who came to the battle, “This is the decree of the Torah, which Hashem commanded Moses:
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Only the gold and the silver, the copper, the iron, the tin, and the lead –
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everything that comes into the fire – you shall pass through the fire and it will be purified; but it must be purified with the water of sprinkling; and everything that would not come in the fire, you shall pass through the water.
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Divide the spoils in half, between those who undertook the battle, who go out to the legion, and the entire assembly.
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You shall raise up a tribute to Hashem from the men of war who go out to the legion, one living being of five hundred, from the people, from the cattle, from the donkeys, and from the flock.
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You shall take it from their half and give it to Elazar the Kohen, as a portion of Hashem.
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Moses and Elazar the Kohen did as Hashem had commanded Moses.
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Moses gave the tribute that was raised up for Hashem to Elazar the Kohen, as Hashem had commanded Moses.
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Moses took from the half of the Children of Israel the one drawn from the fifty, from the people and the animals, and gave them to the Levites, the guardians of the charge of Hashem’s Tabernacle, as Hashem had commanded Moses.
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So we have brought an offering for Hashem: what any man found of gold vessels, anklet and bracelet, ring, earring, and clasp, to atone for our souls before Hashem.”
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Moses and Elazar the Kohen took the gold from the officers of the thousands and the hundreds and brought it to the tent of Meeting, a remembrance for the Children of Israel before Hashem.
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1 The Lord spoke to Moses saying,
2 “Take revenge for the children of Israel against the Midianites; afterwards you will be gathered to your people.”
3 So Moses spoke to the people, saying, “Arm from among you men for the army, that they can be against Midian, and carry out the revenge of the Lord against Midian.
4 A thousand for each tribe, a thousand for each tribe, from all the tribes of Israel you shall send into the army.”
5 From the thousands of Israel one thousand was given over for each tribe, twelve thousand armed for battle.
6 Moses sent them the thousand from each tribe to the army, them along with Phinehas the son of Eleazar the kohen to the army, with the sacred utensils and the trumpets for sounding in his possession.
7 They mounted an attack against Midian, as the Lord had commanded Moses, and they killed every male.
8 And they killed the Midianite kings upon their slain: Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba, the five kings of Midian, and Balaam the son of Beor they slew with the sword.
9 The children of Israel took the Midianite women and their small children captive, and they plundered all their beasts, livestock, and all their possessions.
10 They set fire to all their residential cities and their castles.
11 They took all the booty and all the plunder of man and beast.
12 They brought the captives, the plunder, and the booty to Moses and to Eleazar the kohen and to the entire community of Israel in the camp, in the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho.
13 Moses, Eleazar the kohen, and all princes of the community went out to meet them, outside the camp.
14 Moses became angry with the officers of the army, the commanders of thousands and the commanders of hundreds, who had returned from the campaign of war.
15 Moses said to them, “Did you allow all the females to live?
16 They were the same ones who were involved with the children of Israel on Balaam’s advice to betray the Lord over the incident of Peor, resulting in a plague among the congregation of the Lord.
17 So now kill every male child, and every woman who can lie intimately with a man you shall kill.
18 And all the young girls who have no experience of intimate relations with a man, you may keep alive for yourselves.
19 And you, encamp outside the camp for seven days; whoever killed a person or who touched a corpse shall cleanse himself on the third and seventh day, both you and your captives.
20 All garments, leather articles, any goat product, and every wooden article shall undergo purification.”
21 Eleazar the kohen said to the soldiers returning from battle, “This is the statute that the Lord commanded Moses.
22 Only the gold, the silver, the copper, the iron, the tin, and the lead
23 whatever is used in fire you shall pass through fire and then it will be clean; it must, however, [also] be cleansed with sprinkling water, and whatever is not used in fire you shall pass through water.
24 You shall wash your garments on the seventh day and become [ritually] clean; afterwards, you may enter the camp.”
25 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying,
26 “Take a count of the plunder of the captive people and animals, you, together with Eleazar the kohen and the paternal leaders of the community.
27 And you shall divide the plunder equally between the warriors who went out to battle and the entire congregation.
28 And you shall levy a tax for the Lord from the soldiers who went out to battle: one soul out of every five hundred, from the people, from the cattle, from the donkeys, and from the sheep.
29 You shall take from their half and give it to Eleazar the kohen as a gift to the Lord.
30 From the half belonging to the children of Israel you shall take one part out of fifty of the people, of the cattle, of the donkeys, of the sheep, and of all animals, and you shall give them to the Levites, the guardians of the Mishkan of the Lord.”
31 Moses and Eleazar the kohen did as the Lord had commanded Moses.
32 The plunder, which was in addition to the spoils that the army had spoiled, consisted of six hundred and seventy five thousand sheep.
33 Seventy two thousand cattle.
34 Sixty one thousand donkeys.
35 As for the people, of the women who had no experience of intimate relations with a man, all souls were thirty two thousand.
36 The half that was the portion of those who went out to battle: the number of sheep was three hundred and thirty seven thousand, five hundred.
37 The tax to the Lord from the sheep was six hundred and seventy five.
38 Thirty six thousand cattle, of which the tax to the Lord was seventy two.
39 Thirty thousand and five hundred donkeys, of which the tax to the Lord was sixty one.
40 Sixteen thousand people, of which the tax to the Lord was thirty two people.
41 Moses gave the tax which was a gift to the Lord, to Eleazar the kohen, as the Lord had commanded Moses.
42 And from the half allotted to the children of Israel, which Moses had divided from the men who had gone into the army.
43 The community’s half [consisted of] three hundred and thirty seven thousand, five hundred sheep.
44 Thirty six thousand cattle.
45 Thirty thousand five hundred donkeys.
46 And sixteen thousand people.
47 Moses took one part out of fifty from the half of the children of Israel, the people and the animals, and gave them to the Levites, the guardians of the Lord’s sanctuary as G-d commanded Moses.
48 The officers appointed over the army’s thousands, the commanders of thousands and the commanders of hundreds, approached Moses.
49 They said to Moses, “Your servants counted the soldiers who were in our charge, and not one man was missing from us.
50 We therefore wish to bring an offering for the Lord. Any man who found a gold article, be it an anklet, a bracelet, a ring, an earring, or a body ornament, to atone for our souls before the Lord.
51 Moses and Eleazar the kohen took all the gold articles from them.
52 The total of the gift of gold which they dedicated to the Lord [amounted to] sixteen thousand, seven hundred and fifty shekels; this was from the commanders of the thousands and the commanders of the hundreds.
53 The soldiers had seized spoils for themselves.
54 Moses and Eleazar the kohen took the gold from the commanders of the thousands and hundreds and brought it to the Tent of Meeting, as a remembrance for the children of Israel before the Lord.