Study Desk

The Lord spoke to Moses,

"Execute vengeance for the Israelites against the Midianites. After that, you will be gathered to your people."

So Moses spoke to the people, "Equip some of your men for war. They will go against Midian to inflict the Lord 's vengeance^(a) on them.

Send 1,000 men to war from each Israelite tribe."

So 1,000 were recruited from each Israelite tribe out of the thousands^[a] in Israel—12,000 equipped for war.

Moses sent 1,000 from each tribe to war. They went with Phinehas son of Eleazar the priest, in whose care were the holy objects and signal trumpets.

They waged war against Midian, as the Lord had commanded Moses, and killed every male.

Along with the others slain by them, they killed the Midianite kings—Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba, the five kings of Midian.^(b) They also killed Balaam son of Beor^(c) with the sword.

The Israelites took the Midianite women and their children captive, and they plundered all their cattle, flocks, and property.^(d)

Then they burned all the cities where the Midianites lived, as well as all their encampments,

and took away all the spoils of war and the captives, both man and beast.

They brought the prisoners, animals, and spoils of war to Moses, Eleazar the priest, and the Israelite community at the camp on the plains of Moab by the Jordan across from Jericho.

Moses, Eleazar the priest, and all the leaders of the community went to meet them outside the camp.

But Moses became furious with the officers, the commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds, who were returning from the military campaign.

"Have^[b] you let every female live?" he asked them.

"Yet they are the ones who, at Balaam's advice, incited the Israelites to unfaithfulness against the Lord in the Peor incident, so that the plague came against the Lord 's community.^(e)

So now, kill all the male children and kill every woman who has had sexual relations with a man,

but keep alive for yourselves all the young females who have not had sexual relations.

"You are to remain outside the camp for seven days. All of you and your prisoners who have killed a person or touched the dead are to purify yourselves on the third day and the seventh day.

Also purify everything: garments, leather goods, things made of goat hair, and every article of wood."^(f)

Then Eleazar the priest said to the soldiers who had gone to battle, "This is the legal statute the Lord commanded Moses:

Only the gold, silver, bronze, iron, tin, and lead—

everything that can withstand fire—you are to pass through fire, and it will be clean. It must still be purified with the purification water.^(g) Anything that cannot withstand fire, pass through the water.

On the seventh day wash your clothes, and you will be clean. After that you may enter the camp."

The Lord told Moses,

"You, Eleazar the priest, and the family leaders of the community are to take a count of what was captured, man and beast.

Then divide the captives between the troops who went out to war and the entire community.

Set aside a tribute for the Lord from what belongs to the fighting men who went out to war: one out of every 500 humans, cattle, donkeys, sheep, and goats.

Take the tribute from their half and give it to Eleazar the priest as a contribution to the Lord .

From the Israelites' half, take one out of every 50 from the people, cattle, donkeys, sheep, and goats, all the livestock, and give them to the Levites who perform the duties of^[c] the Lord 's tabernacle."

So Moses and Eleazar the priest did as the Lord commanded Moses.

The captives remaining from the plunder the army had taken totaled: 675,000 sheep and goats,

72,000 cattle,

61,000 donkeys,

and 32,000 people, all the females who had not had sexual relations with a man.

The half portion for those who went out to war numbered: 337,500 sheep and goats,

and the tribute to the Lord was 675 from the sheep and goats;

from the 36,000 cattle, the tribute to the Lord was 72;

from the 30,500 donkeys, the tribute to the Lord was 61;

and from the 16,000 people, the tribute to the Lord was 32 people.

Moses gave the tribute to Eleazar the priest as a contribution for the Lord , as the Lord had commanded Moses.

From the Israelites' half, which Moses separated from the men who fought,

the community's half was: 337,500 sheep and goats,

36,000 cattle,

30,500 donkeys,

and 16,000 people.

Moses took one out of every 50, selected from the people and the livestock of the Israelites' half. He gave them to the Levites who perform the duties of the Lord 's tabernacle, as the Lord had commanded him.

The officers who were over the thousands of the army, the commanders of thousands and of hundreds, approached Moses

and told him, "Your servants have taken a census of the fighting men under our command, and not one of us is missing.

So we have presented to the Lord an offering of the gold articles each man found—armlets, bracelets, rings, earrings, and necklaces—to make atonement for ourselves before the Lord ."^(h)

Moses and Eleazar the priest received from them all the articles made out of gold.

All the gold of the contribution they offered to the Lord , from the commanders of thousands and of hundreds, was 420 pounds.^[d]

Each of the soldiers had taken plunder for himself.

Moses and Eleazar the priest received the gold from the commanders of thousands and of hundreds and brought it into the tent of meeting as a memorial for the Israelites before the Lord .

The Reubenites and Gadites had a very large number of livestock. When they surveyed the lands of Jazer and Gilead, they saw that the region was a good one for livestock.

So the Gadites and Reubenites came to Moses, Eleazar the priest, and the leaders of the community and said:

"The territory of Ataroth, Dibon, Jazer, Nimrah, Heshbon, Elealeh, Sebam,^[a] Nebo, and Beon,

which the Lord struck down^(a) before the community of Israel, is good land for livestock, and your servants own livestock."

They said, "If we have found favor in your sight, let this land be given to your servants as a possession. Don't make us cross the Jordan."

But Moses asked the Gadites and Reubenites, "Should your brothers go to war while you stay here?

Why are you discouraging^[b] the Israelites from crossing into the land the Lord has given them?

That's what your fathers did when I sent them from Kadesh-barnea to see the land.^(b)

After they went up as far as Eshcol Valley and saw the land, they discouraged the Israelites from entering the land the Lord had given them.

So the Lord 's anger burned that day, and He swore an oath:

‘Because they did not follow Me completely,^(c) none of the men 20 years old or more who came up from Egypt will see the land I swore to give Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob—

none except Caleb^(d) son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite and Joshua^(e) son of Nun, because they did follow the Lord completely.'

The Lord 's anger burned against Israel, and He made them wander in the wilderness 40 years until the whole generation that had done what was evil in the Lord 's sight was gone.

And here you, a brood of sinners, stand in your fathers' place adding even more to the Lord 's burning anger against Israel.

If you turn back from following Him, He will once again leave this people in the wilderness, and you will destroy all of them."

Then they approached him and said, "We want to build sheepfolds here for our livestock and cities for our dependents.

But we will arm ourselves and be ready to go ahead of the Israelites until we have brought them into their place. Meanwhile, our dependents will remain in the fortified cities because of the inhabitants of the land.

We will not return to our homes until each of the Israelites has taken possession of his inheritance.

Yet we will not have an inheritance with them across the Jordan and beyond, because our inheritance will be across the Jordan to the east."

Moses replied to them, "If you do this—if you arm yourselves for battle before the Lord ,

and every one of your armed men crosses the Jordan before the Lord until He has driven His enemies from His presence,

and the land is subdued before the Lord —afterward you may return and be free from obligation to the Lord and to Israel. And this land will belong to you as a possession before the Lord .

But if you don't do this, you will certainly sin against the Lord ; be sure your sin will catch up with you.

Build cities for your dependents and folds for your flocks, but do what you have promised."^(f)

The Gadites and Reubenites answered Moses, "Your servants will do just as my lord commands.

Our little children, wives, livestock, and all our animals will remain here in the cities of Gilead,

but your servants are equipped for war before the Lord and will go across to the battle as my lord orders."

So Moses gave orders about them to Eleazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun, and the family leaders of the Israelite tribes.

Moses told them, "If the Gadites and Reubenites cross the Jordan with you, every man in battle formation before the Lord , and the land is subdued before you, you are to give them the land of Gilead as a possession.^(g)

But if they don't go across with you in battle formation, they must accept land in Canaan with you."

The Gadites and Reubenites replied, "What the Lord has spoken to your servants is what we will do.

We will cross over in battle formation before the Lord into the land of Canaan, but we will keep our hereditary possession across the Jordan."

So Moses gave them—the Gadites, Reubenites, and half the tribe of Manasseh son of Joseph—the kingdom of Sihon king of the Amorites and the kingdom of Og king of Bashan, the land including its cities with the territories surrounding them.

The Gadites rebuilt Dibon, Ataroth, Aroer,

Atroth-shophan, Jazer, Jogbehah,

Beth-nimrah, and Beth-haran^(h) as fortified cities, and built sheepfolds.

The Reubenites rebuilt Heshbon, Elealeh, Kiriathaim,

as well as Nebo and Baal-meon (whose names were changed), and Sibmah. They gave names to the cities they rebuilt.

The descendants of Machir⁽ⁱ⁾ son of Manasseh went to Gilead, captured it, and drove out the Amorites who were there.

So Moses gave Gilead to the clan of Machir son of Manasseh, and they settled in it.

Jair, a descendant of Manasseh, went and captured their villages, which he renamed Jair's Villages.^[c](j)

Nobah went and captured Kenath with its villages and called it Nobah after his own name.

These were the stages of the Israelites' journey when they went out of the land of Egypt by their military divisions under the leadership of Moses and Aaron.

At the Lord 's command, Moses wrote down the starting points for the stages of their journey; these are the stages listed by their starting points:

They departed from Rameses^(a) in the first month, on the fifteenth day of the month. On the day after the Passover^(b) the Israelites went out triumphantly^[a](c) in the sight of all the Egyptians.

⁴Meanwhile, the Egyptians were burying every firstborn male the Lord had struck down among them, for the Lord had executed judgment against their gods.^(d)

⁵The Israelites departed from Rameses and camped at Succoth.^(e)

They departed from Succoth and camped at Etham,^(f) which is on the edge of the wilderness.

They departed from Etham and turned back to Pi-hahiroth, which faces Baal-zephon, and they camped before Migdol.^(g)

They departed from Pi-hahiroth^[b] and crossed through the middle of the sea^(h) into the wilderness. They took a three-day journey into the Wilderness of Etham and camped at Marah.⁽ⁱ⁾

They departed from Marah and came to Elim.^(j) There were 12 springs of water and 70 date palms at Elim, so they camped there.

They departed from Elim and camped by the Red Sea.

They departed from the Red Sea and camped in the Wilderness of Sin.^(k)

They departed from the Wilderness of Sin and camped in Dophkah.

They departed from Dophkah and camped at Alush.

They departed from Alush and camped at Rephidim,^(l) where there was no water for the people to drink.^(m)

They departed from Rephidim and camped in the Wilderness of Sinai.⁽ⁿ⁾

They departed from the Wilderness of Sinai and camped at Kibroth-hattaavah.^(o)

They departed from Kibroth-hattaavah and camped at Hazeroth.^(p)

They departed from Hazeroth and camped at Rithmah.

They departed from Rithmah and camped at Rimmon-perez.

They departed from Rimmon-perez and camped at Libnah.

They departed from Libnah and camped at Rissah.

They departed from Rissah and camped at Kehelathah.

They departed from Kehelathah and camped at Mount Shepher.

They departed from Mount Shepher and camped at Haradah.

They departed from Haradah and camped at Makheloth.

They departed from Makheloth and camped at Tahath.

They departed from Tahath and camped at Terah.

They departed from Terah and camped at Mithkah.

They departed from Mithkah and camped at Hashmonah.

They departed from Hashmonah and camped at Moseroth.

They departed from Moseroth and camped at Bene-jaakan.^(q)

They departed from Bene-jaakan and camped at Hor-haggidgad.

They departed from Hor-haggidgad and camped at Jotbathah.

They departed from Jotbathah and camped at Abronah.

They departed from Abronah and camped at Ezion-geber.^(r)

They departed from Ezion-geber and camped in the Wilderness of Zin^(s) (that is, Kadesh).

They departed from Kadesh and camped at Mount Hor^(t) on the edge of the land of Edom.

³⁸At the Lord 's command, Aaron the priest climbed Mount Hor and died there on the first day of the fifth month in the fortieth year after the Israelites went out of the land of Egypt.^(u)

³⁹Aaron was 123 years old when he died on Mount Hor.

⁴⁰At that time the Canaanite king of Arad, who lived in the Negev in the land of Canaan,^(v) heard the Israelites were coming.

They departed from Mount Hor and camped at Zalmonah.

They departed from Zalmonah and camped at Punon.

They departed from Punon and camped at Oboth.^(w)

They departed from Oboth and camped at Iye-abarim on the border of Moab.^(x)

They departed from Iyim^[c] and camped at Dibon-gad.^(y)

They departed from Dibon-gad and camped at Almon-diblathaim.^(z)

They departed from Almon-diblathaim and camped in the Abarim^(aa) range facing Nebo.^(ab)

They departed from the Abarim range and camped on the plains of Moab by the Jordan across from Jericho.^(ac)

⁴⁹They camped by the Jordan from Beth-jeshimoth^(ad) to the Acacia Meadow^[d](ae) on the plains of Moab.

The Lord spoke to Moses in the plains of Moab by the Jordan across from Jericho,

"Tell the Israelites: When you cross the Jordan into the land of Canaan,

you must drive out all the inhabitants of the land before you, destroy all their stone images^(af) and cast images,^(ag) and demolish all their high places.

You are to take possession of the land and settle in it because I have given you the land^(ah) to possess.

You are to receive the land as an inheritance by lot according to your clans. Increase the inheritance for a large clan and decrease it for a small one. Whatever place the lot indicates for someone will be his. You will receive an inheritance according to your ancestral tribes.

But if you don't drive out the inhabitants of the land before you, those you allow to remain will become thorns in your eyes and in your sides; they will harass you in the land where you will live.

And what I had planned to do to them, I will do to you."^(ai)