Numbers 31:32
in Numbers 31and this plunder remained from the spoils the soldiers had taken: 675,000 sheep,
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Now the prey, over and above the booty which the men of war took, was six hundred thousand and seventy thousand and five thousand sheep,
KJV
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,
⋯
This verse in Numbers 31
Commentary
6 notes on this verseThe booty - It appears from the enumeration here that the Israelites, in this war against the Midianites, took 32,000 female prisoners, 61,000 asses, 72,000 beeves, 675,000 sheep and small cattle; besides the immense number of males who fell in battle, and the women and children who were slain by the Divine command, Num 31:17. And it does not appear that in this expedition, a single man of Israel fell! This was naturally to be expected, because the battle was the Lord’s, Num 31:
This site's exposition
the rest of the prey which the men of war had caught
on Numbers 31:32-40
The totals come to six hundred and seventy five thousand sheep, seventy two thousand beeves, sixty one thousand asses and thirty two thousand women, and the chapter halves each figure and works the tribute at one in five hundred. The sums balance to the last head, six hundred and seventy five sheep out of three hundred and thirty seven thousand five hundred, and seventy two beeves out of thirty six thousand. Clarke stops at the tribute of persons to reject an old reading that the thirty two women were offered in sacrifice, and takes them as given to service at the sanctuary. Verse 32 calls the booty the rest of the prey, which leaves room for what verse 53 says the men kept.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
And the booty, being the rest of the prey which the men of war had caught,....
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
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
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
the booty, being the rest of the prey which the men of war had caught--Some of the captives having been killed (Nu 31:17) and part of the cattle taken for the support of the army, the total amount of the booty remaining was in the following proportions:
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Compare Num 31:11, and render “And the prey” (i. e., the live prey) “in addition to the spoil which the men of war seized, etc.” The “spoil” is described in Num 31:50. The number of sheep, beeves, asses, and persons taken is given in this and following verses in round thousands. Hence, the Lord’s tribute (Num 31:29, Num 31:37-38, etc.), being the 500th part of the half, comes out also in round numbers. The enormous amount both of live stock and of personal ornament was characteristic of the Midianites. When they invaded Israel in the days of the Judges, their wealth was still of the same kind (Jdg 6:5; Jdg 8:24 ff). The Bedouins, notwithstanding their wild nomadic life, retain their ancestral love of finery to the present day.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיְהִי֙ | vayhi | and it was | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| הַמַּלְק֔וֹחַ | hamalkoach | the booty | H4455 → | 8 times |
| יֶ֣תֶר | yeter | [the] remainder of | H3499 → | |
| הַבָּ֔ז | habaz | the plunder | H957 → | 25 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֥ר | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| בָּזְז֖וּ | bazezu | they had plundered | H962 → | 43 times |
| עַ֣ם | ʾam | [the] people of | H5971 → | 1873 times |
| הַצָּבָ֑א | hatzava' | the army | H6635 → | 485 times |
| צֹ֗אן | tzon | sheep | H6629 → | 274 times |
| שֵׁשׁ־ | shesh- | six | H8337 → | 216 times |
| מֵא֥וֹת | meot | hundred<s> | H3967 → | 581 times |
| אֶ֛לֶף | ʾelef | thousand | H505 → | 505 times |
| וְשִׁבְעִ֥ים | veshivim | and seventy | H7657 → | 91 times |
| אֶ֖לֶף | ʾelef | thousand | H505 → | 505 times |
| וַחֲמֵֽשֶׁת־ | vachameshet- | and five | H2568 → | 343 times |
| אֲלָפִֽים׃ | ʾalafim | thousand<s> | H505 → | 505 times |
וַיְהִי֙and it was
vayhiH1961 →3559 times
הַמַּלְק֔וֹחַthe booty
hamalkoachH4455 →8 times
יֶ֣תֶר[the] remainder of
yeterH3499 →
הַבָּ֔זthe plunder
habazH957 →25 times
אֲשֶׁ֥רwhich
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
בָּזְז֖וּthey had plundered
bazezuH962 →43 times
עַ֣ם[the] people of
ʾamH5971 →1873 times
הַצָּבָ֑אthe army
hatzava'H6635 →485 times
צֹ֗אןsheep
tzonH6629 →274 times
שֵׁשׁ־six
shesh-H8337 →216 times
מֵא֥וֹתhundred<s>
meotH3967 →581 times
אֶ֛לֶףthousand
ʾelefH505 →505 times
וְשִׁבְעִ֥יםand seventy
veshivimH7657 →91 times
אֶ֖לֶףthousand
ʾelefH505 →505 times
וַחֲמֵֽשֶׁת־and five
vachameshet-H2568 →343 times
אֲלָפִֽים׃thousand<s>
ʾalafimH505 →505 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
About Numbers
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible and John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763).