The Skeptics Annotated Bible (161 page)

8
And they slew the
kings of Midian, beside the rest of them that were slain; namely, Evi, and Rekem, and Zur, and Hur, and Reba,
five kings of Midian: Balaam also
the son of Beor
they slew with the sword.

(31.8)
“And they slew the … five kings of Midian: Balaam also … they slew with the sword.”

9 And
the children of Israel took all the women of Midian captives, and their little ones
, and took the spoil of all their cattle, and all their flocks, and all their goods.

(31.9)
“The children of Israel took all the women of Midian captives, and their little ones.”

10
And they burnt all their cities
wherein they dwelt, and all their goodly castles, with fire.

(31.10)
“And they burnt all their cities.”

11 And they took all the spoil, and all the prey, both of men and of beasts.

12 And they brought the captives, and the prey, and the spoil, unto Moses, and Eleazar the 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.

(31.14)
“Moses was wroth with the officers”

15
And Moses said unto them, Have ye saved all the women alive?

(31.15)
“And Moses said unto them, Have ye saved all the women alive?”
134 Was Moses meek?

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.

(31.17)
“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.

(31.18)
“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 both yourselves and your captives on the third day, and on the seventh day.

20 And purify all your raiment, and all that is made of skins, and all work of goats’ hair, and all 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.

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:

(31.26)
“Take … the prey that was taken, both of man and of beast,”

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:

(31.27)
“And divide the prey into two parts.”

28
And levy a tribute unto the LORD
of the men of war which went out to battle: one soul of five hundred,
both of the persons, and of the beeves, and of the asses, and of the sheep:

(31.28)
“And levy a tribute unto the Lord … 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 Eleazar the priest, for an heave offering of the LORD
.

(31.29)
“Take it of their half, and give it unto Eleazar the priest, for an heave offering of the LORD.”

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 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.

(31.32-35)
“The booty … was … thirty and two thousand … 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; of which the LORD’S tribute was thirty and two persons.

(31.40)
“The persons were sixteen thousand; of which the LORD’s tribute was thirty and two persons.”

41 And Moses gave the tribute, which was the LORD’S heave offering, unto Eleazar the priest, as the LORD commanded Moses.

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 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:

49 And they said unto Moses, Thy servants have taken the sum of the men of war which are under our charge, and there lacketh not one man of us.

50 We have therefore brought an oblation for the LORD, what 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.

51 And Moses and Eleazar the priest took the gold of them, even all wrought jewels.

52 And all the gold of the offering that they offered up to the LORD, of the captains of thousands, and of the captains of hundreds, was sixteen thousand seven hundred and fifty shekels.

53 (For the men of war had taken spoil, every man for himself.)

54 And Moses and Eleazar the priest took the gold of the captains of thousands and of hundreds, and brought it into the tabernacle of the congregation, for a memorial for the children of Israel before the LORD.

32
Now the children of Reuben and the children of Gad had a very great multitude of cattle: and when they saw the land of Jazer, and the land of Gilead, that, behold, the place was a place for cattle;

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,

3 Ataroth, and Dibon, and Jazer, and Nimrah, and Heshbon, and Elealeh, and Shebam, and Nebo, and Beon,

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 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.

9 For when they went up unto the valley of Eshcol, and saw the land, they discouraged the heart of the children of Israel, that they should not go into the land which the LORD had given them.

10 And
the LORD’S anger was kindled
the same time,
and he sware
, saying,

(32.10)
“The LORD’s anger was kindled … and he sware.”
Even God gets angry and swears sometimes.

11 Surely none of the men that came up out of Egypt, from twenty years old and upward, shall see the land which I sware unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob; because they have not wholly followed me:

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 wander in the wilderness forty years
, until all the generation, that had done evil in the sight of the LORD, was consumed.

(32.13)
“The LORD’s anger was kindled against Israel, and he made them wander in the wilderness forty years.”
144 How long does God’s anger last?

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.