Numbers 31:3
in Numbers 31So Moses told the people, “Arm some of your men for war, that they may go against the Midianites and execute the LORD’s vengeance on them.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
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.
KJV
And Moses spake unto the people, saying, Arm some of yourselves unto the war, and let them go against the Midianites, and avenge the Lord of Midian.
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This verse in Numbers 31
Commentary
6 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
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 behests had been but too readily obeyed by their subjects. The sin therefore was national, and the retribution could be no less so.
This site's exposition
the Lord spake unto Moses
on Numbers 31:1-4
God says avenge the children of Israel of the Midianites, and Moses passing the order on says avenge the Lord of Midian. The text sets the two objects side by side and explains neither. The same sentence ties the errand to the end of Moses, afterward shalt thou be gathered unto thy people, which repeats what was already said to him at 27:13. The levy is a thousand from every tribe alike, though the census five chapters back had run from twenty two thousand two hundred in Simeon to seventy six thousand five hundred in Judah.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
And Moses spake unto the people, saying,....
Then only we can justify the avenging of ourselves when it is the vengeance of the Lord that we engage in. Nay, for this reason we are forbidden to avenge ourselves, because God has said, Vengeance is mine, I will repay.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
Arm some of yourselves--This order was issued but a short time before the death of Moses. The announcement to him of that approaching event [Nu 31:2] seems to have accelerated, rather than retarded, his warlike preparations.
Avenge the Lord of Midian - It was God’s quarrel, not their own, that they were now to take up. These people were idolaters; idolatry is an offense against God; the civil power has no authority to meddle with what belongs to Him, without especial directions, certified in the most unequivocal way. Private revenge, extension of territory, love of plunder, were to have no place in this business; the Lord is to be avenged; and through Him the children of Israel, (Num 31:2), because their souls as well as their bodies had been well nigh ruined by their idolatry.
The words behind it
16 Hebrew wordsEvery 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.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיְדַבֵּ֤ר | vaydaber | and he spoke | H1696 → | 1141 times |
| מֹשֶׁה֙ | mosheh | Moses | H4872 → | 765 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| הָעָ֣ם | haam | the people | H5971 → | 1873 times |
| לֵאמֹ֔ר | lemor | <to> saying | H559 → | 5305 times |
| הֵחָלְצ֧וּ | hechaltzu | be equipped | H2502 → | 44 times |
| מֵאִתְּכֶ֛ם | meitekhem | from with <the> you | H854 → | 929 times |
| אֲנָשִׁ֖ים | ʾanashim | men | H582 → | 566 times |
| לַצָּבָ֑א | latzava' | for <the> war | H6635 → | 485 times |
| וְיִהְיוּ֙ | veyihyu | so they may be | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| מִדְיָ֔ן | midyan | Midian | H4080 → | 59 times |
| לָתֵ֥ת | latet | to give | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| נִקְמַת־ | nikmat- | [the] vengeance of | H5360 → | |
| יְהוָ֖ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| בְּמִדְיָֽן׃ | bemidyan | on Midian | H4080 → | 59 times |
וַיְדַבֵּ֤רand he spoke
vaydaberH1696 →1141 times
מֹשֶׁה֙Moses
moshehH4872 →765 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
הָעָ֣םthe people
haamH5971 →1873 times
לֵאמֹ֔ר<to> saying
lemorH559 →5305 times
הֵחָלְצ֧וּbe equipped
hechaltzuH2502 →44 times
מֵאִתְּכֶ֛םfrom with <the> you
meitekhemH854 →929 times
אֲנָשִׁ֖יםmen
ʾanashimH582 →566 times
לַצָּבָ֑אfor <the> war
latzava'H6635 →485 times
וְיִהְיוּ֙so they may be
veyihyuH1961 →3559 times
עַל־on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
מִדְיָ֔ןMidian
midyanH4080 →59 times
לָתֵ֥תto give
latetH5414 →2011 times
נִקְמַת־[the] vengeance of
nikmat-H5360 →
יְהוָ֖הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
בְּמִדְיָֽן׃on Midian
bemidyanH4080 →59 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach 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
Leviticus 26:25And I will bring a sword against you to execute the vengeance of the covenant. Though you withdraw into your cities, I will send a plague among you, and you will be delivered into…
it leads to
- Numbers 14:12
I will strike them with a plague and destroy them—and I will make you into a nation greater and mightier than they are.”
- Ezekiel 5:17
I will send famine and wild beasts against you, and they will leave you childless. Plague and bloodshed will sweep through you, and I will bring a sword against you. I, the LORD, have…
- Numbers 14:12
Through
2 Kings 9:7And you are to strike down the house of your master Ahab, so that I may avenge the blood of My servants the prophets and the blood of all the servants of the LORD…
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 32:43
Rejoice, O heavens, with Him, and let all God’s angels worship Him. Rejoice, O nations, with His people; for He will avenge the blood of His children. He will take vengeance on His adversaries…
- 1 Kings 21:15
When Jezebel heard that Naboth had been stoned to death, she said to Ahab, “Get up and take possession of the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, who refused to give it to you for…
- 1 Kings 18:4
for when Jezebel had slaughtered the prophets of the LORD, Obadiah had taken a hundred prophets and hidden them, fifty men per cave, providing them with food and water.)
- Deuteronomy 32:43
Through
Numbers 25:13It will be a covenant of permanent priesthood for him and his descendants, because he was zealous for his God and made atonement for the Israelites.”
it leads to
- Hebrews 2:17
For this reason He had to be made like His brothers in every way, so that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, in order to make atonement…
- Hebrews 2:17
Through
2 Kings 10:30Nevertheless, the LORD said to Jehu, “Because you have done well in carrying out what is right in My sight and have done to the house of Ahab all that was in My heart,…
it leads to
- 2 Kings 10:35
And Jehu rested with his fathers and was buried in Samaria, and his son Jehoahaz reigned in his place.
- 2 Kings 13:1
In the twenty-third year of the reign of Joash son of Ahaziah over Judah, Jehoahaz son of Jehu became king of Israel, and he reigned in Samaria seventeen years.
- 2 Kings 10:35
About Numbers
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.