Numbers 31:6
in Numbers 31And Moses sent the thousand from each tribe into battle, along with Phinehas son of Eleazar the priest, who took with him the vessels of the sanctuary and the trumpets for signaling.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And Moses sent them, a thousand of every tribe, to the war, them and Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest, to the war, with the vessels of the sanctuary and the trumpets for the alarm in his hand.
KJV
And Moses sent them to the war, a thousand of every tribe, them and Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest, to the war, with the holy instruments, and the trumpets to blow in his hand.
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This verse in Numbers 31
Commentary
7 notes on this verseA thousand of every tribe - Twelve thousand men in the whole. And Phinehas, the son of Eleazar; some think he was made general in this expedition, but this is not likely. The ark and its contents must proceed to this battle, because the battle was the Lord’s, and he dwelt between the cherubim over the ark; and Phinehas, who had before got a grant in the eternal priesthood, was chosen to accompany the ark in place of his father Eleazar, who was probably now too far advanced in years to undergo the fatigue. Who then was general?
This site's exposition
a thousand men were recruited from each tribe
on Numbers 31:5-12
Balaam falls in this battle with the five kings of Midian. Joshua 13:21-22 names these kings as princes of Sihon, killed with "the diviner Balaam son of Beor". The narrative had last left him at 24:25, going home.
This site's exposition
the vessels of the sanctuary and the trumpets for signaling
Albert Barnes reads the phrase as the holy instruments, namely the trumpets. Matthew Henry takes them as the breastplate by which God could be asked in battle. Adam Clarke thinks Phinehas went in place of his father Eleazar, who was probably too old for the march.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
He therefore took with him the holy instruments or vessels, probably the breast-plate of judgment, by which God might he consulted in any emergency. Though he was not yet the high priest, yet he might be delegated pro hac vice--for this particular occasion, to bear the urim and thummim, as 1 Sam. xxiii.
And Moses sent them to the war,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
And this view is agreeable to the text, by simply changing "and" into "even," as the Hebrew particle is frequently rendered.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Phinehas - He was marked out as the fitting director of the expedition by his conduct (compare Num 25:7-13) in the matter of Zimri and Cozbi. With the holy instruments, and the trumpets - Or rather, “with the holy instruments, to wit, the trumpets,” for the trumpets themselves seem to be the instruments intended.
The words behind it
18 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיִּשְׁלַ֨ח | vaiyishlach | and he sent | H7971 → | 845 times |
| אֹתָ֥ם | ʾotam | <obj.> them | H853 → | 10935 times |
| מֹשֶׁ֛ה | mosheh | Moses | H4872 → | 765 times |
| אֶ֥לֶף | ʾelef | one thousand | H505 → | 505 times |
| לַמַּטֶּ֖ה | lamateh | to the tribe | H4294 → | 252 times |
| לַצָּבָ֑א | latzava' | to <the> war | H6635 → | 485 times |
| אֹ֠תָם | ʾotom | <obj.> them | H853 → | 10935 times |
| וְאֶת־ | veet | and <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| פִּ֨ינְחָ֜ס | pinchas | Phinehas | H6372 → | 25 times |
| בֶּן־ | ben- | [the] son of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| אֶלְעָזָ֤ר | ʾelazar | Eleazar | H499 → | 72 times |
| הַכֹּהֵן֙ | hakohen | the priest | H3548 → | 750 times |
| לַצָּבָ֔א | latzava' | to <the> war | H6635 → | 485 times |
| וּכְלֵ֥י | ukhelei | and [the] vessels of | H3627 → | 325 times |
| הַקֹּ֛דֶשׁ | hakodesh | the holy place | H6944 → | 469 times |
| וַחֲצֹצְר֥וֹת | vachatzotzerot | and [the] trumpets of | H2689 → | 29 times |
| הַתְּרוּעָ֖ה | hateruah | the alarm | H8643 → | 36 times |
| בְּיָדֽוֹ׃ | beyado | [were] in hand his | H3027 → | 1618 times |
וַיִּשְׁלַ֨חand he sent
vaiyishlachH7971 →845 times
אֹתָ֥ם<obj.> them
ʾotamH853 →10935 times
מֹשֶׁ֛הMoses
moshehH4872 →765 times
אֶ֥לֶףone thousand
ʾelefH505 →505 times
לַמַּטֶּ֖הto the tribe
lamatehH4294 →252 times
לַצָּבָ֑אto <the> war
latzava'H6635 →485 times
אֹ֠תָם<obj.> them
ʾotomH853 →10935 times
וְאֶת־and <obj.>
veetH853 →10935 times
פִּ֨ינְחָ֜סPhinehas
pinchasH6372 →25 times
בֶּן־[the] son of
ben-H1121 →4930 times
אֶלְעָזָ֤רEleazar
ʾelazarH499 →72 times
הַכֹּהֵן֙the priest
hakohenH3548 →750 times
לַצָּבָ֔אto <the> war
latzava'H6635 →485 times
וּכְלֵ֥יand [the] vessels of
ukheleiH3627 →325 times
הַקֹּ֛דֶשׁthe holy place
hakodeshH6944 →469 times
וַחֲצֹצְר֥וֹתand [the] trumpets of
vachatzotzerotH2689 →29 times
הַתְּרוּעָ֖הthe alarm
hateruahH8643 →36 times
בְּיָדֽוֹ׃[were] in hand his
beyadoH3027 →1618 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
Numbers 14:44But they dared to go up to the ridge of the hill country, though neither Moses nor the ark of the covenant of the LORD moved from the camp.
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 1:43
So I spoke to you, but you would not listen. You rebelled against the command of the LORD and presumptuously went up into the hill country.
- 1 Samuel 4:3–11
When the troops returned to the camp, the elders of Israel asked, “Why has the LORD brought defeat on us before the Philistines today? Let us bring the ark of the covenant of the…
- Numbers 10:33
So they set out on a three-day journey from the mountain of the LORD, with the ark of the covenant of the LORD traveling ahead of them for those three days to seek a…
- Deuteronomy 1:43
Through
2 Samuel 11:11Uriah answered, “The ark and Israel and Judah are dwelling in tents, and my master Joab and his soldiers are camped in the open field. How can I go to my house to eat…
it leads to
- 2 Samuel 7:2
he said to Nathan the prophet, “Here I am, living in a house of cedar, while the ark of God remains in a tent.”
- 2 Samuel 20:6
And David said to Abishai, “Now Sheba the son of Bichri will do us more harm than Absalom. Take your lord’s servants and pursue him, or he will find fortified cities and elude us.”
- 2 Samuel 7:6
For I have not dwelt in a house from the day I brought the Israelites up out of Egypt until this day, but I have moved about with a tent as My dwelling.
- 1 Samuel 1:26
“Please, my lord,” said Hannah, “as surely as you live, my lord, I am the woman who stood here beside you praying to the LORD.
- 1 Samuel 20:3
But David again vowed, “Your father knows very well that I have found favor in your eyes, and he has said, ‘Jonathan must not know of this, or he will be grieved.’ As surely…
- 2 Samuel 7:2
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Numbers
Who and where
3 names in this verse with a page on the site.
- PersonExodus and Wilderness PeriodMosesIsrael's deliverer from Egyptian slavery, covenant mediator, and lawgiver.
- PersonWildernessEleazarAaron's third son who succeeded him as high priest on Mount Hor, founding the line that runs to Phinehas and Zadok.
- PersonWildernessPhinehasGrandson of Aaron whose zeal at Baal-Peor stayed the plague and secured "my covenant of peace… an everlasting priesthood."
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments; 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 Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.