Albert Barnes Commentary Numbers 31
Albert Barnes Commentary
Numbers 31
Albert Barnes Commentary
Numbers 31
"Avenge the children of Israel of the Midianites: afterward shalt thou be gathered unto thy people." — Numbers 31:2 (ASV)
The Midianites - The Moabites are not included. It would thus seem that it was the Midianites, and they alone, who deliberately set themselves to effect the corruption of Israel.
"And Moses spake unto the people, saying, Arm ye men from among you for the war, that they may go against Midian, to execute Jehovah`s vengeance on Midian." — Numbers 31:3 (ASV)
Avenge the Lord of Midian - The war against the Midianites was no ordinary war. It was indeed less a war than the execution of a divine sentence against a most guilty people.
Doubtless there were many among the Midianites who were personally guiltless as regards Israel. But the rulers deliberately adopted the counsel of Balaam against Israel, and their commands had been all too readily obeyed by their subjects. The sin therefore was national, and the retribution could be no less so.
But the commission of the Israelites in the text must not be understood as a general license to kill. They had no discretion to kill or to spare. They were commanded to exterminate without mercy, and were brought back to their task (Numbers 31:14) when they showed signs of flinching from it.
In this and similar matters, they had no alternative except to fulfill the commands of God. This was a terrible but doubtless salutary manifestation, as was the later slaughter of the Canaanites, of God’s wrath against sin; and a type of the future extermination of sin and sinners from His kingdom.
"So there were delivered, out of the thousands of Israel, a thousand of every tribe, twelve thousand armed for war." — Numbers 31:5 (ASV)
Were delivered - Or, “were assigned.”
"And Moses sent them, a thousand of every tribe, to the war, them and Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest, to the war, with the vessels of the sanctuary and the trumpets for the alarm in his hand." — Numbers 31:6 (ASV)
Phinehas – He was marked out as the fitting director of the expedition by his conduct in the matter of Zimri and Cozbi.
With the holy instruments, and the trumpets – Or rather, “with the holy instruments, namely, the trumpets,” for the trumpets themselves seem to be the instruments intended.
"And they slew the kings of Midian with the rest of their slain: Evi, and Rekem, and Zur, and Hur, and Reba, the five kings of Midian: Balaam also the son of Beor they slew with the sword." — Numbers 31:8 (ASV)
And they slew ... were slain ... - Render: And the kings of Midian they put to death, besides those who fell in the battle; namely, etc. From this, it would seem that besides these five, put to death after the battle, there were other Midianite kings who perished fighting. The five chieftains here mentioned were vassals of Sihon the Amorite (Joshua 13:21).
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