Charles Ellicott Commentary Numbers 31:12

"And they brought the captives, and the prey, and the spoil, unto Moses, and unto Eleazar the priest, and unto the congregation of the children of Israel, unto the camp at the plains of Moab, which are by the Jordan at Jericho." — Numbers 31:12 (ASV)

The captives, and the prey, and the spoil. —The first word denotes the women and children; the second, which in Numbers 5:11 includes both the captives and the cattle, appears in this place to refer to the animals only; while the third refers to the rest of the spoil.