Numbers 31:38
in Numbers 3136,000 cattle, including a tribute to the LORD of 72,
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And the oxen were thirty and six thousand; of which Jehovah’s tribute was threescore and twelve.
KJV
And the beeves were thirty and six thousand; of which the Lord’s tribute was threescore and twelve.
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This verse in Numbers 31
Commentary
3 notes on this verseThis 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 Nineteenth Century2 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
The words behind it
8 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְהַ֨בָּקָ֔ר | vehabakar | and the cattle | H1241 → | 183 times |
| שִׁשָּׁ֥ה | shishah | [were] six | H8337 → | 216 times |
| וּשְׁלֹשִׁ֖ים | usheloshim | and thirty | H7970 → | 172 times |
| אָ֑לֶף | ʾalef | thousand | H505 → | 505 times |
| וּמִכְסָ֥ם | umikhsam | and tax their | H4371 → | 6 times |
| לַיהוָ֖ה | layahweh | for Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| שְׁנַ֥יִם | shenayim | [was] two | H8147 → | 768 times |
| וְשִׁבְעִֽים׃ | veshivim | and seventy | H7657 → | 91 times |
וְהַ֨בָּקָ֔רand the cattle
vehabakarH1241 →183 times
שִׁשָּׁ֥ה[were] six
shishahH8337 →216 times
וּשְׁלֹשִׁ֖יםand thirty
usheloshimH7970 →172 times
אָ֑לֶףthousand
ʾalefH505 →505 times
וּמִכְסָ֥םand tax their
umikhsamH4371 →6 times
לַיהוָ֖הfor Yahweh
layahwehH3068 →6520 times
שְׁנַ֥יִם[was] two
shenayimH8147 →768 times
וְשִׁבְעִֽים׃and seventy
veshivimH7657 →91 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 and Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible.