i Midianites, and destroy them. A. M. 2553. B. C. 1451. 12 And they brought the captives, and the prey, and the spoil, An. Exod. Isr. unto Moses, and Eleazar the 40. priest, and unto the congregation of the children of Israel, unto the camp at the plains of Moab, which are by Jordan near Jericho. 13 And Moses, and Eleazar the priest, and all the princes of the congregation, went forth to meet them without the camp. 14 And Moses was wroth with the officers of the host, with the captains over thousands, and captains over hundreds, which came from the battle. 15 And Moses said unto them, Have ye saved all the women alive? m 16 Behold, 16 Behold, these caused the children of Israel, through the counsel of Balaam, to commit trespass against the LORD in the matter of Peor, and there was a plague among the congregation of the LORD. .17 Now therefore kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman that hath known man by lying with him. 18 But all the women children, that have not known a man by lying with him, keep alive for yourselves. 19 And do ye abide without the camp seven days: whosoever hath killed any person, and whosoever hath touched any slain, purify 11 And they took all the spoil, and all the both yourselves and your captives on the third prey, both of men and of beasts. Pri directions, certified in the most unequivocal way. vate revenge, extension of territory, love of plunder, were to have no place in this business; the Lord is to be avenged; and through Him the children of Israel, (ver. 2,) because their souls as well as their bodies had been well nigh ruined by their idolatry. Verse 6. A thousand of every tribe] Twelve thousand men in the whole. And Phinehas, the son of Eleazar; some think he was made general in this expedition, but this is not likely. The ark and its contents must proceed to this battle, because the battle was the Lord's, and he dwelt between the cherubim over the ark; and Phinehas, who had before got a grant in the eternal priesthood, was chosen to accompany the ark in place of his father Eleazar, who was probably now too far advanced in years to undergo the fatigue. Who then was general? Joshua, without doubt, though not here mentioned, because the battle being the Lord's, he alone is to have the supreme direction, and all the glory. Besides, it was an extraordinary war, and not conducted on the common prin day, and on the seventh day. ciple, for we do not find that peace was offered to the Midianites, and that they refused it; see Deut. xx. 10, &c. In such a case only hostilities could lawfully commence; but they were sinners against GOD; the cup of their iniquity was full, and God thought proper to destroy them. Though a leader there certainly was, and Joshua was probably that leader, yet because God, for the above reason, was considered as commander-in-chief, therefore no one else is mentioned; for it is evident that the sole business of Phinehas was to take care of the holy instruments and to blow with the trumpet. Verse 8. Balaam-they slew with the sword.] This man had probably committed what St. John calls the sin unto death a sin which God punishes with temporal death, while at the same time he extends mercy to the soul. See the remarks at the end of chap. xxiv. Verse 17. Kill every male among the little ones] For this action I account simply on the principle that God, who is the author and supporter of life, has a right to Moses takes the sum of the A. M. 2553. An. Exod. Isr. prey. CHAP. XXXI. How it should be divided. 20 And purify all your raiment, | Eleazar the priest, for a heave- things made of wood. 21 And Eleazar the priest said unto the men of war, which went to the battle, This is the ordinance of the law which the LORD commanded Moses ; 22 Only the gold, and the silver, the brass, the iron, the tin, and the lead, 23 Every thing that may abide the fire, ye shall make it go through the fire, and it shall be clean nevertheless it shall be purified " with the water of separation: and all that abideth not the fire ye shall make go through the water. 24▾ And ye shall wash your clothes on the seventh day, and ye shall be clean, and afterward ye shall come into the camp. W 25 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 26 Take the sum of the prey that was taken, both of man and of beast, thou, and Eleazar the priest, and the chief fathers of the congregation: 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: 28 And levy a tribute unto the LORD of the men of war which went out to battle: y one soul of five hundred, both of the persons, and of the beeves, and of the asses, and of the sheep: 29 Take it of their half, and give it unto Heb. instrument, or vessel of skins.- Chap. xix. 9, 17. Lev. xi. 25. Heb of the captivity. Josh. xxii. 8; dispose of it when and how he thinks proper; and the Judge of all the earth can do nothing but what is right. Of the women killed on this occasion it may be safely said, their lives were forfeited by their personal transgressions; and yet even in this case there can be little doubt that God showed mercy to their souls. The little ones were safely lodged; they were taken to heaven and saved from the evil to come. Verse 23. The water of separation] The water in which the ashes of the red heifer were mingled; see on chap. viii. 7; xix. 2, &c. Garments, whether of cloth or skins, were to be washed. Gold, silver, brass, iron, tin, and lead, to pass through the fire, probably to be melted down. Verse 28. And levy a tribute unto the Lord-one soul of five hundred, &c.] The persons to be employed in the Lord's service, under the Levites-the cattle either for sacrifice, or for the use of the Levites, ver. 30. Some monsters have supposed that one out of every five hundred of the captives was offered in sa A. M. 2553. An. Exod. Isr. 30 And of the children of Israel's half, thou shalt take one portion of fifty, of the persons, of the beeves, of the asses, and of the a flocks, of all manner of beasts, and give them unto the Levites, which keep the charge of the tabernacle of the LORD. 31 And Moses and Eleazar the priest did as the LORD commanded Moses. 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, 33 And threescore and twelve thousand beeves, 34 And threescore and one thousand asses, 35 And thirty and two thousand persons in all, of women that had not known man by lying with him. 36 And the half,, which was the portion of them that went out to war, was in number three hundred thousand and seven and thirty thousand and five hundred sheep: 37 And the LORD's tribute of the sheep was six hundred and threescore and fifteen. 38 And the beeves were thirty and six thousand of which the LORD's tribute was threescore and twelve. 39 And the asses were thirty thousand and five hundred; of which the LORD's tribute was threescore and one. 40 And the persons were sixteen thousand: b 1 Sam. xxx. 4. See ver. 30, 47; chap. xviii. 26.-2 See ver. 42-47.-——a Or, goats. Chap. iii. 7, 8, 25, 31, 36; xviii. 3, 4, crifice to the Lord! but this is abominable. When God chose to have the life of a man, he took it in the way of justice, as in the case of the Midianites above; but never in the way of sacrifice. 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, ver. 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, ver. 49. As the booty was divided into two equal parts, ver. 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 42. And of the children of Israel's half, which Moses divided from the men that warred, 43 (Now the half that pertained unto the congregation was three hundred thousand and thirty thousand and seven thousand and five hundred sheep, 44 And thirty and six thousand beeves, 45 And thirty thousand asses and five hundred, 46 And sixteen thousand persons ;) 47 Even d of the children of Israel's half, Moses took one portion of fifty, both of man and of beast, and gave them unto the Levites, which kept the charge of the tabernacle of the LORD; as the LORD commanded Moses. 48 And the officers which were over thousands of the host, the captains of thousands, and captains of hundreds, came near unto Moses: See chapter xviii. 8, 19.d Ver. 30.- Heb. hand. Heb. found. - Exod. xxx. 12, 16. Lord one out of every five hundred persons, beeves, asses, and sheep, ver. 28. The people, who by staying at home risked nothing, and had no fatigue, were to give one out of fifty of the above, ver. 30. The booty, STo the soldiers Total of sheep 675,000 of beeves 72,000 To the people To the soldiers To the people To the soldiers taken from the Midianites A. M. 2553. B. C. 1451. 40. 49 And they said unto Moses, Thy servants have taken the sum An. Exod. Isr. of the men of war which are under our charge, and there lacketh not one man of us. е 50 We have therefore, brought an oblation for the LORD, that every man hath 'gotten, of jewels of gold, chains, and bracelets, rings, earrings, and tablets, to make an atonement for our souls before the LORD. 337,500 To the Lord from the soldiers 36,000 To the Lord from the soldiers To the Lord from the soldiers To the Levites from the people 675 In this table the booty is equally divided between | was ineffectual, because it was against the Lord. the people and the soldiers; a five-hundredth part being given to the Lord, and a fiftieth part to the Levites. Verse 50. We have brought an oblation for the Lord] So it appears there was a great deal of booty taken which did not come into the general account; and of this the soldiers, of their own will, made a very extensive offering to God, because he had preserved them from falling in battle. That not one man should have been slain is a most extraordinary circumstance, and powerfully marks the peculiar superintendence of God's especial providence. The Midianites must certainly have made some resistance; but that 716 When any nation undertakes a crusade against those whom they are pleased to call the Lord's enemies, let them bring from the contest this proof of their Divine mission, viz., that not one man of them is either lost or missing; and then, and not till then, shall we believe that God hath sent them. To make an atonement for our souls] That is, to make an acknowledgment to God for the preservation of their lives. The gold offered on this occasion amounted to 16,750 shekels, equal to £37,869. 16s. 5d. of our money. See the note on Exod. xxv. 39, where the true value of the shekel is given, and a rule laid down to reduce it to English money a The Reubenites and Gadites request Moses to give them their inheritance on this side of Jordan, 1-5. Moses expostulates with and reproves them, 6–15. They explain themselves, and propose conditions, with which Moses is satisfied-they are to build cities for their wives and children, and folds for their cattle, and go over Jordan armed with the other tribes, and fight against their enemies till the land is subdued; after which they are to return, 16–27. Moses proposes the business to Eleazar, Joshua, and the elders, 28-30. The Gadites and Reubenites promise a faithful observance of the conditions, 31, 32; on which Moses assigns to them, and the half tribe of Manasseh, the kingdom of Sihon, king of the Amorites, and the kingdom of Og, king of Bashan, 33. The cities built by the Gadites, 34-36. The cities built by the Reubenites, 37, 38. The children of Machir, the son of Manasseh, expel the Amorites from Gilead, 39, which Moses grants to them, 40. Jair, the son of Manasseh, takes the small towns of Gilead, 41. Nobah takes Kenath and its villages, 42. A. M. 2553. An. Exod. Isr. And A. M. 2553. B. C. 1451. An. Exod. Isr. 40. NOW the children of Reuben of Eshcol, and saw the land, they and the children of Gad had discouraged the heart of the chila very great multitude of cattle: |dren of Israel, that they should not and when they saw the land of a Jazer, and the go into the land which the LORD had given them. land of Gilead, that, behold, the place was a 10 And the LORD's anger was kindled the place for cattle; same time, and he sware, saying, 2 The children of Gad and the children of Reuben came and spake unto Moses, and to Eleazar the priest, and unto the princes of the congregation, saying, 1 11 Surely none of the men that came up out. of Egypt, 1 from twenty years old and upward, shall see the land which I sware unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob; because 3 Ataroth, and Dibon, and Jazer, and Nim-m they have not wholly followed me: e 4 Even the country which the LORD smote before the congregation of Israel, is a land for cattle, and thy servants have cattle: 5 Wherefore, said they, if we have found grace in thy sight, let this land be given unto thy servants for a possession, and bring us not over Jordan. 6 And Moses said unto the children of Gad and to the children of Reuben, Shall your brethren go to war, and shall ye sit here? 7 And wherefore f discourage ye the heart of the children of Israel from going over into the land which the LORD hath given them? 8 Thus did your fathers, when I sent them from Kadesh-barnea to see the land. i 9 For when they went up unto the valley a Chap. xxi. 32; Josh. xiii. 25; 2 Sam. xxiv. 5.— Ver. 36, Beth-nimrah. c Ver. 38, Shibmah. d Ver. 38, Baal-meon. e Chap. xxi. 24, 34.- Heb. break. Chap. xiii. 3, 26. h Deut. i. 22.- Chap. xiii. 24, 31; Deut. i. 24, 28. Chap. xiv. 11, 21; Deut. i. 34. NOTES ON CHAP. XXXII. Verse 3. Ataroth, and Dibon, &c.] The places mentioned here belonged to Sihon, king of the Amorites, and Og, king of Bashan, which being conquered by the Israelites, constituted ever after a part of their territories, ver. 33. Verse 5. Let this land be given unto thy servants] Because it was good for pasturage, and they had many flocks, ver. 1. 12 Save Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenezite, and Joshua the son of Nun for they have wholly followed the LORD. 13 And the LORD's anger was kindled against Israel, and he made them P wander in the wilderness forty years, until all the generation that had done evil in the sight of the LORD, was consumed. 14 And, behold, ye are risen up in your fathers' stead, an increase of sinful men, to augment yet the fierce anger of the LORD toward Israel. 15 For if ye "turn away from after him, he will yet again leave them in the wilderness; and ye shall destroy all this people. 16 And they came near unto him, and said, We will build sheepfolds here for our cattle, and cities for our little ones: 1 Chap. xiv. 28, 29; Deut. i. 35. Chap. xiv. 24, 30. "Heb. fulfilled after me.—o Chap. xiv. 24; Deut. i. 36; Josh. xiv. 8, 9.- -P Chap. xiv. 33, 34, 35.- - Chap. xxvi. 64, 65. r Deut. i. 34.- Deut. xxx. 17; Josh. xxii. 16, 18; 2 Chron. vii. 19; xv. 2. Verse 12. Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenezite] It was Jephunneh that was the Kenezite, and not Caleb. Kenaz was probably the father of Jephunneh. Verse 16. We will build-cities for our little ones] It was impossible for these, numerous as they might be, to build cities and fortify them for the defence of their families in their absence. Calmet supposes they meant no more than repairing the cities of the Amorites which they had lately taken; which work might 17 But t we ourselves will go An. Exod. Isr. ready armed before the children of Israel, until we have brought them unto their place and our little ones shall dwell in the fenced cities because of the inhabitants of the land. 18 We will not return unto our houses, until the children of Israel have inherited every man his inheritance. 19 For we will not inherit with them on yonder side Jordan, or forward; because our inheritance is fallen to us on this side Jordan eastward. 20 And Moses said unto them, If ye will do this thing, if ye will go armed before the LORD to war, 21 And will go all of you armed over Jordan before the LORD, until he hath driven out his enemies from before him, 22 And the land be subdued before the LORD then afterward ye shall return, and be guiltless before the LORD, and before Israel; and this land shall be your possession before the LORD. с 26 Our little ones, our wives, our flocks, and all our cattle, shall be there in the cities. of Gilead: Josh. iv. 12, 13." Josh. xxii. 4.- Ver. 33; Josh. xii. 1; xiii. 8.- Deut. iii. 18; Josh. i. 14; iv. 12, 13.- - Deut. iii. 20; Josh. xi. 23; xviii. 1. -y Josh. xxii. 4.12, 15, 16, 18; Josh. i. 15; xiii. 8, 32; xxii. 4, 9. z Deut. iii. a Gen. iv. have been very easily accomplished in the time which they spent on this side of Jordan, before they went over with their brethren, to put them in possession of the land. Verse 17. Because of the inhabitants of the land.] These were the Ammonites, Moabites, Idumeans, and the remains of the Midianites and Amorites. But could the women and children even keep the defenced cities, when placed in them? This certainly cannot be supposed possible. Many of the men of war must of course stay behind. In the last census, chap. xxvi., the tribe of Reuben consisted of 43,730 men; the tribe of Gad, 40,500; the tribe of Manasseh, 52,700; the half of which is 26,350. Add this to the sum of the other two tribes, and the amount is 110,580. of Reuben and Gad is granted. 27 d But thy servants will pass over, every man armed for war, before the LORD to battle, as my lord saith. e A. M. 2553. B. C. 1451. An. Exod. Isr. 40. 28 So concerning them Moses commanded Eleazar the priest, and Joshua the son of Nun, and the chief fathers of the tribes of the children of Israel: 29 And Moses said unto them, If the chil dren of Gad and the children of Reuben will pass with you over Jordan, every man armed to battle, before the LORD, and the land shall be subdued before you; then ye shall give them the land of Gilead for a possession: 30 But if they will not pass over with you armed, they shall have possessions among you in the land of Canaan. 31 And the children of Gad and the children of Reuben answered, saying, As the LORD hath said unto thy servants, so will we do. 32 We will pass over armed before the LORD into the land of Canaan, that the possession of our inheritance on this side Jordan may be ours. f 33 And Moses gave unto them, even to the children of Gad, and to the children of Reuben, and untó half the tribe of Manasseh the son of Joseph, the kingdom of Sihon king of the Amorites, and the kingdom of Og king of Bashan, the land, with the cities thereof in the coasts, even the cities of the country round about. 34 And the children of Gad built h Dibon, and Ataroth, and Aroer, 35 And Atroth, Jogbehah, Shophan, and * Jaazer, and Now from Joshua iv. 13 we learn that of the tribes of Reuben and Gad, and the half of the tribe of Manasseh, only 40,000 armed men passed over Jordan to assist their brethren in the reduction of the land: consequently the number of 70,580 men were left behind for the defence of the women, the children, and the flocks. This was more than sufficient to defend them against a people already panic struck by their late discomfitures and reverses. Verse 34. The children of Gad built-Aroer] This was situated on the river Arnon, Deut. ii. 36; 2 Kings x. 33. It was formerly inhabited by the Emim, a warlike and perhaps gigantic people. They were expelled by the Moabites; the Moabites by the Amorites; and the Amorites by the Israelites. The Gadites then |