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Numbers 31:28

in Numbers 31

Set aside a tribute for the LORD from what belongs to the soldiers who went into battle: one out of every five hundred, whether persons, cattle, donkeys, or sheep.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

And levy a tribute unto Jehovah of the men of war that went out to battle: one soul of five hundred, both of the persons, and of the oxen, and of the asses, and of the flocks:

KJV

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:

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This verse in Numbers 31

Commentary

4 notes on this verse

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

And levy a tribute unto the Lord - one soul of five hundred, etc. - The person to be employed in the Lord’s service, under the Levites - the cattle either for sacrifice, or for the use of the Levites, Num 31:30. Some monsters have supposed that one out of every five hundred of the captives was offered in sacrifice 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 Midianites above, but never in the way of sacrifice.

This site's exposition

Take the sum of the prey that was taken

on Numbers 31:26-31

The prey is halved between the men who fought and the congregation that stayed behind, and David later makes that principle a statute at 1 Samuel 30:24-25, that the man who tarries by the stuff parts alike with the man who goes down to the battle. The two halves are then taxed at different rates. The soldiers give one of every five hundred to Eleazar and the congregation gives one of every fifty to the Levites, so the levy on those who stayed is ten times the levy on those who went.

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice

And levy a tribute unto the Lord of the men of war, which went out to battle,.... That is, out of the part of the prey which was divided to them: one soul of five hundred, both "of the persons"; or one woman of five hundred, as the Targum of Jonathan: and of the beeves, and of the asses, and of the sheep; that is, one out of five hundred, of each of them also.

The Nineteenth Century1 voice

A commentator

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

proposed

Take the sum of the prey that was taken--that is, of the captives and cattle, which, having been first lumped together according to ancient usage (Ex 15:9;

quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens

The words behind it

20 Hebrew words

Every Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.

  • וַהֲרֵמֹתָ֨and you will raise

    vaharemotaH7311 →190 times

  • מֶ֜כֶסa tax

    mekhesH4371 →6 times

  • לַֽיהוָ֗הfor Yahweh

    layahwehH3068 →6520 times

  • מֵאֵ֞תfrom with

    meetH854 →929 times

  • אַנְשֵׁ֤י[the] men of

    ʾansheiH582 →566 times

  • הַמִּלְחָמָה֙<the> war

    hamilchamahH4421 →320 times

  • הַיֹּצְאִ֣יםwho went out

    haiyotzeimH3318 →1067 times

  • לַצָּבָ֔אto <the> war

    latzava'H6635 →485 times

  • אֶחָ֣דone

    ʾechadH259 →971 times

  • נֶ֔פֶשׁperson

    nefeshH5315 →754 times

  • מֵחֲמֵ֖שׁfrom [the] five

    mechameshH2568 →343 times

  • הַמֵּא֑וֹת<the> hundred<s>

    hameotH3967 →581 times

  • מִן־from

    min-H4480 →1188 times

  • הָאָדָם֙<the> humankind

    haadamH120 →551 times

  • וּמִן־and from

    umin-H4480 →1188 times

  • הַבָּקָ֔רthe cattle

    habakarH1241 →183 times

  • וּמִן־and from

    umin-H4480 →1188 times

  • הַחֲמֹרִ֖יםthe donkeys

    hachamorimH2543 →96 times

  • וּמִן־and from

    umin-H4480 →1188 times

  • הַצֹּֽאן׃the sheep

    hatzonH6629 →274 times

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

Related verses

16 in all, six open

The number beside each verse is how many compiled reference works tie it to this one. The strongest six stand open.

Numbers 18:26“Speak to the Levites and tell them: ‘When you receive from the Israelites the tithe that I have given you as your inheritance, you must present part of it as an offering to the LORD—a tithe of the tithe.4 worksNumbers 31:30From the Israelites’ half, take one out of every fifty, whether persons, cattle, donkeys, sheep, or other animals, and give them to the Levites who keep charge of the tabernacle of the LORD.”3 worksNumbers 31:47From the Israelites’ half, Moses took one out of every fifty persons and animals and gave them to the Levites who kept charge of the tabernacle of the LORD, as the LORD had commanded him.3 worksIsaiah 18:7At that time gifts will be brought to the LORD of Hosts—from a people tall and smooth-skinned, from a people widely feared, from a powerful nation of strange speech, whose land is divided by rivers—to Mount Zion, the place of the Name of the LORD of Hosts.2 worksIsaiah 23:18Yet her profits and wages will be set apart to the LORD; they will not be stored or saved, for her profit will go to those who live before the LORD, for abundant food and fine clothing.2 worksJoshua 6:19For all the silver and gold and all the articles of bronze and iron are holy to the LORD; they must go into His treasury.”2 works
The other 10 cross-references, with their words ▾
1 Chronicles 18:11and King David dedicated these to the LORD, along with the silver and gold he had carried off from all these nations—from Edom and Moab, and from the Ammonites, Philistines, and Amalekites.2 worksNumbers 18:21Behold, I have given to the Levites all the tithes in Israel as an inheritance in return for the work they do, the service of the Tent of Meeting.2 worksJoshua 6:24Then the Israelites burned up the city and everything in it. However, they put the silver and gold and articles of bronze and iron into the treasury of the LORD’s house.2 worksMatthew 22:21“Caesar’s,” they answered. So Jesus told them, “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.”2 worksGenesis 14:20and blessed be God Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your hand.” Then Abram gave Melchizedek a tenth of everything.2 worksProverbs 3:9–10Honor the LORD with your wealth and with the firstfruits of all your harvest;2 works1 Chronicles 26:26–27This Shelomith and his brothers were in charge of all the treasuries for the things dedicated by King David, by the heads of families who were the commanders of thousands and of hundreds, and by the army commanders.2 works2 Samuel 8:11–12and King David dedicated these to the LORD, along with the silver and gold he had dedicated from all the nations he had subdued—2 worksIsaiah 60:9Surely the islands will wait for Me, with the ships of Tarshish in the lead, to bring your children from afar, with their silver and gold, to the honor of the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, for He has glorified you.2 worksDeuteronomy 16:10And you shall celebrate the Feast of Weeks to the LORD your God with a freewill offering that you give in proportion to how the LORD your God has blessed you,2 works

The walk

8 stops

Each card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.

  • Through

    Numbers 18:26

    “Speak to the Levites and tell them: ‘When you receive from the Israelites the tithe that I have given you as your inheritance, you must present part of it as an offering to the…

    it leads to

    • Nehemiah 10:38

      A priest of Aaron’s line is to accompany the Levites when they collect the tenth, and the Levites are to bring a tenth of these tithes to the storerooms of the treasury in the…

    • Numbers 18:21

      Behold, I have given to the Levites all the tithes in Israel as an inheritance in return for the work they do, the service of the Tent of Meeting.

  • Through

    Isaiah 18:7

    At that time gifts will be brought to the LORD of Hosts—from a people tall and smooth-skinned, from a people widely feared, from a powerful nation of strange speech, whose land is divided by…

    it leads to

    • Zephaniah 3:10

      From beyond the rivers of Cush My worshipers, My scattered people, will bring Me an offering.

    • Acts 8:27–28

      So he started out, and on his way he met an Ethiopian eunuch, a court official in charge of the entire treasury of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians. He had gone to Jerusalem to…

    • Zechariah 14:16–17

      Then all the survivors from the nations that came against Jerusalem will go up year after year to worship the King, the LORD of Hosts, and to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles.

    • Isaiah 18:4

      For this is what the LORD has told me: “I will quietly look on from My dwelling place, like shimmering heat in the sunshine, like a cloud of dew in the heat of harvest.”

    • 2 Chronicles 32:23

      Many brought offerings to Jerusalem for the LORD and valuable gifts for Hezekiah king of Judah, and from then on he was exalted in the eyes of all nations.

  • Through

    Isaiah 23:18

    Yet her profits and wages will be set apart to the LORD; they will not be stored or saved, for her profit will go to those who live before the LORD, for abundant food…

    it leads to

    • Psalms 72:10

      May the kings of Tarshish and distant shores bring tribute; may the kings of Sheba and Seba offer gifts.

About Numbers

The Bronze Serpent, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
The Bronze Serpent, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
Numbers: the study guide →Read Numbers 31 →

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.

Read on in Numbers 31 →