Numbers 31:8
in Numbers 31Among the slain were Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba—the five kings of Midian. They also killed Balaam son of Beor with the sword.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And they slew the kings of Midian with the rest of their slain: Evi, and Rekem, and Zur, and Hur, and Reba, the five kings of Midian: Balaam also the son of Beor they slew with the sword.
KJV
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.
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This verse in Numbers 31
Commentary
6 notes on this verseThe soothsayer Balaam set up a scandal for the people of Israel when he went to meet their warriors, not with men in armor but with women arrayed in all their finery. He hoped to make the men drop their arms for debauchery, change their …
This site's exposition
delivered out of the thousands of Israel
on Numbers 31:5-12
Twelve thousand men go out, and Phinehas goes with them carrying the holy instruments and the trumpets, which Numbers 10:9 had appointed for war so that Israel would be remembered before the Lord. Phinehas is the man who stopped the plague at Peor in chapter 25, and Balaam falls in this battle among the five kings of Midian. Joshua 13:21-22 lists the same five as princes of Midian who were dukes of Sihon, and names Balaam the soothsayer slain with the sword among them. The narrative had last left him at 24:25, rising up and returning to his place.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
And they slew the kings of Midian, beside the rest of them that were slain,....
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
Balaam - they slew with the sword - This man had probably committed what St. John calls the sin unto death - a sin which God punishes with temporal death, while at the same time he extends mercy to the soul. See the remarks at Num 24:25 (note).
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
He was an object of merited vengeance. In the immense slaughter of the Midianitish people--in the capture of their women, children, and property and in the destruction of all their places of refuge--the severity of a righteous God fell heavily on that base and corrupt race.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
And they slew ... were slain ... - Render: And the kings of Midian they put to death, beside those that fell in the battle; namely, etc. From which it would seem that beside these five, put to death after the battle, there were other Midianite kings who perished fighting. The five chieftains here mentioned were vassals of Sihon the Amorite Jos 13:21.
The words behind it
25 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְאֶת־ | veet | and <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| מַלְכֵ֨י | malkhei | [the] kings of | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| מִדְיָ֜ן | midyan | Midian | H4080 → | 59 times |
| הָרְג֣וּ | haregu | they killed | H2026 → | 167 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | with | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| חַלְלֵיהֶ֗ם | chaleihem | slain [ones] their | H2491 → | 94 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| אֱוִ֤י | ʾevi | Evi | H189 → | |
| וְאֶת־ | veet | and <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| רֶ֙קֶם֙ | rekem | Rekem | H7552 → | |
| וְאֶת־ | veet | and <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| צ֤וּר | tzur | Zur | H6698 → | |
| וְאֶת־ | veet | and <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| חוּר֙ | chur | Hur | H2354 → | |
| וְאֶת־ | veet | and <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| רֶ֔בַע | reva' | Reba | H7254 → | |
| חֲמֵ֖שֶׁת | chameshet | [the] five | H2568 → | 343 times |
| מַלְכֵ֣י | malkhei | [the] kings of | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| מִדְיָ֑ן | midyan | Midian | H4080 → | 59 times |
| וְאֵת֙ | veet | and <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| בִּלְעָ֣ם | bilam | Balaam | H1109 → | 61 times |
| בֶּן־ | ben- | [the] son of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| בְּע֔וֹר | beor | Beor | H1160 → | 10 times |
| הָרְג֖וּ | haregu | they killed | H2026 → | 167 times |
| בֶּחָֽרֶב׃ | becharev | with the sword | H2719 → | 413 times |
וְאֶת־and <obj.>
veetH853 →10935 times
מַלְכֵ֨י[the] kings of
malkheiH4428 →2525 times
מִדְיָ֜ןMidian
midyanH4080 →59 times
הָרְג֣וּthey killed
hareguH2026 →167 times
עַל־with
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
חַלְלֵיהֶ֗םslain [ones] their
chaleihemH2491 →94 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
אֱוִ֤יEvi
ʾeviH189 →
וְאֶת־and <obj.>
veetH853 →10935 times
רֶ֙קֶם֙Rekem
rekemH7552 →
וְאֶת־and <obj.>
veetH853 →10935 times
צ֤וּרZur
tzurH6698 →
וְאֶת־and <obj.>
veetH853 →10935 times
חוּר֙Hur
churH2354 →
וְאֶת־and <obj.>
veetH853 →10935 times
רֶ֔בַעReba
reva'H7254 →
חֲמֵ֖שֶׁת[the] five
chameshetH2568 →343 times
מַלְכֵ֣י[the] kings of
malkheiH4428 →2525 times
מִדְיָ֑ןMidian
midyanH4080 →59 times
וְאֵת֙and <obj.>
veetH853 →10935 times
בִּלְעָ֣םBalaam
bilamH1109 →61 times
בֶּן־[the] son of
ben-H1121 →4930 times
בְּע֔וֹרBeor
beorH1160 →10 times
הָרְג֖וּthey killed
hareguH2026 →167 times
בֶּחָֽרֶב׃with the sword
becharevH2719 →413 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
Jude 1:11Woe to them! They have traveled the path of Cain; they have rushed headlong into the error of Balaam; they have perished in Korah’s rebellion.
it leads to
- 2 Peter 2:15
They have left the straight way and wandered off to follow the way of Balaam son of Beor, who loved the wages of wickedness.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Revelation 2:14
But I have a few things against you, because some of you hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to place a stumbling block before the Israelites so they would eat food…
- 1 John 3:12
Do not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did Cain slay him? Because his own deeds were evil, while those of his brother were righteous.
- Genesis 4:3–14
So in the course of time, Cain brought some of the fruit of the soil as an offering to the LORD,
- Hebrews 11:4
By faith Abel offered God a better sacrifice than Cain did. By faith he was commended as righteous when God gave approval to his gifts. And by faith he still speaks, even though he…
- 2 Peter 2:15
Through
Revelation 2:14But I have a few things against you, because some of you hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to place a stumbling block before the Israelites so they would eat food…
it leads to
- Numbers 31:16
“Look, these women caused the sons of Israel, through the counsel of Balaam, to turn unfaithfully against the LORD at Peor, so that the plague struck the congregation of the LORD.
- Revelation 2:20
But I have this against you: You tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess. By her teaching she misleads My servants to be sexually immoral and to eat food sacrificed to idols.
- Numbers 25:1–3
While Israel was staying in Shittim, the men began to indulge in sexual immorality with the daughters of Moab,
- Numbers 31:16
About Numbers
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; 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; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Peter Chrysologus, SERMON 27.