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Numbers 31:1-36:13

The defeat of the Midianites. (Nu.31.1-12)

31¹Yahweh spoke to Moses and said, ²'Exact the full vengeance for the Israelites on the Midianites. Afterwards you will be gathered to your people.' ³Moses said to the people, 'Some of you are to take up arms for Yahweh's campaign against Midian, to carry out the vengeance of Yahweh on Midian. ⁴You will put a thousand men in the field from each of the tribes of Israel.' ⁵In this way Israel's thousands provided twelve thousand men equipped for war, one thousand from each tribe: ⁶Moses put them in the field, one thousand from each tribe, with Phinehas, son of the priest Eleazar, to go with them carrying the sacred objects and the trumpets for the battle cry. ⁷They made war on Midian, as Yahweh had ordered Moses, and put every male to death. ⁸What is more, they killed the kings of Midian, Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur and Reba, the five Midianite kings; they also put Balaam son of Beor to the sword. ⁹The Israelites took the Midianite women and their little ones captive and carried off all their cattle, all their flocks and all their goods as booty. ¹⁰They set fire to the towns where they lived and to all their encampments. ¹¹Then, taking all their booty, everything they had captured, human and animal,

The army returns. (Nu.31.13-24)

¹²they brought the captives, spoil and booty to Moses, the priest Eleazar and the whole community of Israelites at the camp on the Plains of Moab, near the Jordan by Jericho. ¹³Moses, the priest Eleazar and all the leaders of the community went out of the camp to meet them. ¹⁴Moses was enraged with the officers of the army, the commanders of the thousands and commanders of the hundreds, who had come back from this military expedition. ¹⁵He said, 'Why have you spared the life of all the women? ¹⁶They were the very ones who, on Balaam's advice, caused the Israelites to be unfaithful to Yahweh in the affair at Peor: hence the plague which struck Yahweh's community. ¹⁷So kill all the male children and kill all the women who have ever slept with a man; ¹⁸but spare the lives of the young girls who have never slept with a man, and keep them for yourselves. ¹⁹As for you, bivouac outside the camp for seven days, everyone who has killed anyone or touched a corpse. Purify yourselves and your prisoners on the third and seventh days, ²⁰and purify all clothing, everything made of skin, everything woven of goat's hair and everything made of wood.' ²¹The priest Eleazar said to the soldiers who had come back from the campaign, 'This is an article of the Law which Yahweh prescribed to Moses: ²²although gold, silver, bronze, iron, tin and lead, ²³everything that can withstand fire can be cleaned by being passed through fire, it must still be purified with water for purification. Whatever cannot resist fire you must pass through water. ²⁴'Wash your clothes on the seventh day and you will then be clean. You may then re-enter the camp.'

Division of the booty. (Nu.31.25-54)

²⁵Yahweh spoke to Moses and said: ²⁶'With the priest Eleazar and the heads of families in the community, take a count of the spoils and captives, human and animal. ²⁷You will then share out the spoil, half and half, between those who fought the campaign and the rest of the community. ²⁸From the share of the combatants who took part in the campaign, you will set aside one out of every five hundred persons, oxen, donkeys and sheep as Yahweh's portion. ²⁹You will take this from the half share coming to them and give it to the priest Eleazar as the portion set aside for Yahweh. ³⁰From the half coming to the Israelites, you will take one out of every fifty persons, oxen, donkeys, sheep, and all other animals, and give them to the Levites who are responsible for Yahweh's Dwelling.' ³¹Moses and the priest Eleazar did as Yahweh had ordered Moses. ³²The spoils, the remainder of the booty captured by the soldiers, came to six hundred and seventy-five thousand sheep and goats, ³³seventy-two thousand head of cattle, ³⁴sixty-one thousand donkeys, ³⁵and in persons, women who had never slept with a man, thirty-two thousand in all. ³⁶Half was assigned to those who had taken part in the war, namely three hundred and thirty-seven thousand five hundred sheep and goats, ³⁷of which Yahweh's portion was six hundred and seventy-five, ³⁸thirty-six thousand head of cattle, of which Yahweh's portion was seventy-two, ³⁹thirty thousand five hundred donkeys, of which Yahweh's portion was sixty-one, ⁴⁰and sixteen thousand persons, of which Yahweh's portion was thirty-two. ⁴¹Moses gave the priest Eleazar the portion set aside for Yahweh, as Yahweh had ordered Moses. ⁴²As for the half coming to the Israelites which Moses had separated from that of the combatants, ⁴³this half, the community's share, came to three hundred and thirty-seven thousand five hundred sheep and goats, ⁴⁴thirty-six thousand head of cattle, ⁴⁵thirty thousand five hundred donkeys ⁴⁶and sixteen thousand persons. ⁴⁷From this half, the Israelites' share, Moses took one out of every fifty, human and animal, and gave them to the Levites who were responsible for Yahweh's Dwelling, as Yahweh had ordered Moses. ⁴⁸The officers of the thousands who had fought the campaign, the commanders of the thousands and commanders of the hundreds, came to Moses ⁴⁹and said, 'Your servants have numbered the soldiers under their command: none of our men is missing. ⁵⁰So, as an offering for Yahweh, we have brought what each of us has found in the way of gold ornaments, armlets and bracelets, rings, earrings and breastplates, to make expiation for ourselves before Yahweh.' ⁵¹Moses and the priest Eleazar accepted this gold from them, all this jewellery. ⁵²This portion of gold given to Yahweh by the commanders of the thousands and commanders of the hundreds amounted to sixteen thousand seven hundred and fifty shekels. ⁵³Each of the soldiers took his own booty. ⁵⁴But Moses and the priest Eleazar, having accepted the gold from the commanders of the thousands and commanders of the hundreds, brought it into the Tent of Meeting, to be a reminder of the Israelites before Yahweh.

East of Jordan. (Nu.32.1-42)

32¹Now, the Reubenites and Gadites owned very large herds of cattle. Having seen that the territories of Jazer and Gilead formed an ideal region for raising stock, ²the Gadites and Reubenites went to Moses, the priest Eleazar and the leaders of the community, and said to them, ³'The territory of Ataroth, Dibon, Jazer, Nimrah, Heshbon, Elealeh, Sebam, Nebo and Beon, ⁴which Yahweh has conquered before the advancing community of Israel, is ideal land for raising stock, and your servants are cattle breeders. ⁵So', they said, 'if you approve, give your servants this land for us to own; do not make us cross the Jordan.' ⁶Moses said to the Gadites and Reubenites, 'Do you intend your brothers to go into battle while you stay here? ⁷Why are you discouraging the Israelites from crossing to the country which Yahweh has given them? ⁸Your fathers behaved in the same way when I sent them from Kadesh-Barnea to see the country, ⁹for, having gone as far as the Valley of Eshcol and seen the country, they discouraged the Israelites from entering the country which Yahweh had given them. ¹⁰Hence Yahweh's anger was aroused that day and he swore this oath, ¹¹'No man of twenty years and over, who left Egypt, shall set eyes on the country which I promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob . . . , for they have not followed me absolutely, ¹²except for Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite, and Joshua son of Nun: these indeed have followed Yahweh absolutely.' ¹³Yahweh's anger being aroused by Israel, he made them wander in the desert for forty years, until the generation that offended Yahweh had all disappeared. ¹⁴And now you rise up in your father's place, offshoot of sinful stock, to increase Yahweh's burning anger with Israel even more! ¹⁵If you turn away from him, he will prolong the time spent in the desert, and you will bring about this entire people's ruin.' ¹⁶They came to Moses and said, 'We should like to build sheepfolds here for our flocks and towns for our little ones. ¹⁷We ourselves will take up arms and lead the Israelites until we have brought them to the place appointed for them, while our little ones stay in the fortified towns to be safe from the local inhabitants. ¹⁸We will not return to our homes until every one of the Israelites has taken possession of his heritage. ¹⁹For we shall have no heritage with them on the other bank of the Jordan or beyond, since our heritage has fallen to us here, east of the Jordan.' ²⁰Moses said to them, 'If you do as you have said, if you are prepared to fight before Yahweh, ²¹and if all those of you who bear arms cross the Jordan before Yahweh, until he has driven all his enemies out before him, ²²then, once the country has become subject to Yahweh, you may go back, and will have discharged your obligation to Yahweh and Israel, and Yahweh will consider this territory yours. ²³But if you do not, you will sin against Yahweh, and be sure your sin will find you out. ²⁴Build towns, then, for your little ones and folds for your flocks; but do what you have promised.' ²⁵The Gadites and Reubenites said to Moses, 'Your servants will do as my lord directs. ²⁶Our little ones, our wives, our flocks and all our livestock will stay in the towns of Gilead, ²⁷but your servants, each armed for war, will cross in Yahweh's name and fight, as my lord says.' ²⁸So Moses gave orders about them to the priest Eleazar, Joshua son of Nun, and the heads of families in the Israelite tribes. ²⁹Moses said to them, 'If the Gadites and Reubenites, all those under arms, cross the Jordan with you to fight in Yahweh's name, then, once the country has become subject to you, you will give them the territory of Gilead as theirs. ³⁰But if they will not cross with you under arms, they will receive their domains in Canaan with the rest of you.' ³¹To this, the Gadites and Reubenites replied, 'What Yahweh has said to your servants, we shall do. ³²Under arms, we shall cross in Yahweh's name into Canaan, so that ownership of our heritage on this side of the Jordan will be ours.' ³³Moses then gave them—the Gadites, the Reubenites and the half-tribe of Manasseh son of Joseph—the kingdom of Sihon king of the Amorites and the kingdom of Og king of Bashan, the country and the towns within its territory, and the country's frontier-towns. ³⁴The Gadites rebuilt Dibon, Ataroth, Aroer, ³⁵Atroth-Shophan, Jazer, Jogbehah, ³⁶Beth-Nimrah and Beth-Haran as fortified towns with folds for the flocks. ³⁷The Reubenites rebuilt Heshbon, Elealeh, Kiriathaim, ³⁸Nebo and Baal-Meon (the names of which were altered), and Sibmah, giving new names to the towns which they rebuilt. ³⁹The descendants of Machir son of Manasseh went to Gilead. They conquered it and drove out the Amorites who were there. ⁴⁰Moses gave Gilead to Machir son of Manasseh, and he settled there. ⁴¹Jair son of Manasseh went and seized their encampments, renaming them the Encampments of Jair. ⁴²Nobah went and seized Kenat with its dependent townships, and called it Nobah after himself.

The camplist. (Nu.33.1-49)

33¹These were the stages of the journey made by the Israelites when they left Egypt in their companies under the leadership of Moses and Aaron. ²Moses recorded their starting-points in writing whenever they moved on at Yahweh's order. The stages, from one starting-point to another, were as follows: ³They left Rameses in the first month. It was the fifteenth day of the first month, the day following the Passover, when the Israelites confidently set out, under the eyes of all Egypt. ⁴The Egyptians were burying those of their own people whom Yahweh had struck down, all the first-born; Yahweh had carried out his judgement on their gods. ⁵The Israelites left Rameses and camped at Succoth. ⁶Then they left Succoth and encamped at Etham which is on the edge of the desert. ⁷They left Etham, turned back to Pi-Hahiroth, opposite Baal-Zephon, and encamped before Migdol. ⁸They left Pi-Hahiroth, crossed the sea into the desert, and after marching for three days in the desert of Etham they encamped at Marah. ⁹They left Marah and reached Elim. At Elim there were twelve springs of water and seventy palm trees; they encamped there. ¹⁰They left Elim and encamped by the Sea of Reeds. ¹¹They left the Sea of Reeds and encamped in the desert of Sin. ¹²They left the desert of Sin and encamped at Dophkah. ¹³They left Dophkah and encamped at Alush. ¹⁴They left Alush and encamped at Rephidim; the people found no drinking water there. ¹⁵They left Rephidim and encamped in the desert of Sinai. ¹⁶They left the desert of Sinai and encamped at Kibroth-ha-Taavah. ¹⁷They left Kibroth-ha-Taavah and encamped at Hazeroth. ¹⁸They left Hazeroth and encamped at Rithmah. ¹⁹They left Rithmah and encamped at Rimmon-Perez. ²⁰They left Rimmon-Perez and encamped at Libnah. ²¹They left Libnah and encamped at Rissah. ²²They left Rissah and encamped at Kehelathah. ²³They left Kehelathah and encamped at Mount Shepher. ²⁴They left Mount Shepher and encamped at Haradah. ²⁵They left Haradah and encamped at Makheloth. ²⁶They left Makheloth and encamped at Tahath. ²⁷They left Tahath and encamped at Terah. ²⁸They left Terah and encamped at Mithkah. ²⁹They left Mithkah and encamped at Hashmonah. ³⁰They left Hashmonah and encamped at Moseroth. ³¹They left Moseroth and encamped at Bene-Jaakan. ³²They left Bene-Jaakan and encamped at Hor-Gidgad. ³³They left Hor-Gidgad and encamped at Jotbathah. ³⁴They left Jotbathah and encamped at Abronah. ³⁵They left Abronah and encamped at Ezion-Geber. ³⁶They left Ezion-Geber and encamped in the desert of Zin, that is, at Kadesh. ³⁷They left Kadesh and encamped at Mount Hor, on the borders of the land of Edom. ³⁸The priest Aaron went up Mount Hor on Yahweh's orders and died there in the fortieth year of the Exodus of the Israelites from Egypt, in the fifth month, on the first day of the month. ³⁹Aaron was a hundred and twenty-three years old when he died on Mount Hor. ⁴⁰The king of Arad, the Canaanite who lived in the Negeb of Canaan, heard of the Israelites' arrival. ⁴¹They left Mount Hor and encamped at Zalmonah. ⁴²They left Zalmonah and encamped at Punon. ⁴³They left Punon and encamped at Oboth. ⁴⁴They left Oboth and encamped in Moabite territory at Iye-Abarim. ⁴⁵They left Iyim and encamped at Dibon-Gad. ⁴⁶They left Dibon-Gad and encamped at Almon-Diblathaim. ⁴⁷They left Almon-Diblathaim and encamped in the Abarim mountains facing Nebo. ⁴⁸They left the Abarim mountains and encamped on the Plains of Moab, near the Jordan opposite Jericho. ⁴⁹They encamped near the Jordan between Beth-ha-Jeshimoth and Abel-ha-Shittim, on the Plains of Moab.

Instructions before crossing the Jordan. (Nu.33.50-56)

⁵⁰Yahweh spoke to Moses on the Plains of Moab, near the Jordan by Jericho, and said: ⁵¹'Speak to the Israelites and say: 'When you have crossed the Jordan into Canaan, ⁵²you will drive out all the local inhabitants before you. You will destroy all their painted images, you will destroy all their metal statues and you will demolish all their high places. ⁵³You will take possession of the country and settle in it, for I have given you the country as your property. ⁵⁴You will share it out by lot among your clans. To a large clan you will give a larger heritage, and to a smaller clan you will give a smaller heritage. Where the lot falls for each, that will be his. Your heritage will depend on the size of your tribe. ⁵⁵If, however, you do not drive out the local inhabitants before you, the ones you allow to remain will be thorns in your eyes and thistles in your sides and will harass you in the country where you are living, ⁵⁶and I shall treat you as I intended to treat them.' '

The Boundaries of the land. (Nu.34.1-15)

34¹Yahweh spoke to Moses and said, ²'Give the Israelites this order. Say: 'When you enter the country (Canaan), this will be the country which forms your heritage. This is Canaan as defined by its boundaries: ³'The southern part of your country will start from the desert of Zin, on the borders of Edom. Your southern boundary will start on the east at the end of the Salt Sea. ⁴It will then turn south towards the Ascent of the Scorpions and go by Zin to end in the south at Kadesh-Barnea. It will then run towards Hazar-Addar and pass through Azmon. ⁵From Azmon the boundary will turn towards the Torrent of Egypt and end at the Sea. ⁶'Your seaboard will be on the Great Sea; this will be your western boundary. ⁷'Your northern boundary will be as follows: you will draw a line from the Great Sea to Mount Hor, ⁸then from Mount Hor you will draw a line to the Pass of Hamath, and the boundary will end at Zedad. ⁹From there it will run on to Ziphron and end at Hazar-Enan. This will be your northern boundary. ¹⁰'You will then draw your eastern boundary from Hazar-Enan to Shepham. ¹¹The boundary will run down from Shepham towards Riblah on the east side of Ain. Further down it will keep to the eastern shore of the Sea of Chinnereth. ¹²The frontier will then follow the Jordan and end at the Salt Sea. 'Such will be your country with the boundaries surrounding it.' ' ¹³Moses then gave the Israelites this order: 'This is the country, where your heritages will be assigned by lot, and which Yahweh has ordered to be given to the nine tribes and the half-tribe, ¹⁴for the tribe of the Reubenites with their families and the tribe of the Gadites with their families have already received their heritage; the half-tribe of Manasseh has also received its heritage. ¹⁵These two tribes and the half-tribe have received their heritage on the other side of the Jordan by Jericho, to the east, towards the sunrise.'

The men chosen to divide the land. (Nu.34.16-29)

¹⁶Yahweh spoke to Moses and said: ¹⁷'Here are the names of the men who will divide the country up for you: the priest Eleazar and Joshua son of Nun, ¹⁸and you will take one leader from each tribe to divide the country up into heritages. ¹⁹Here are the names of these men: 'For the tribe of Judah, Caleb son of Jephunneh; ²⁰'for the tribe of the Simeonites, Shemuel son of Ammihud; ²¹'for the tribe of Benjamin, Elidad son of Chislon; ²²'for the tribe of the Danites, the leader Bukki son of Jogli; ²³'for the sons of Joseph: for the tribe of Manasseh, the leader Hanniel son of Ephod; ²⁴'for the tribe of the Ephraimites, the leader Kemuel son of Shiphtan; ²⁵'for the tribe of the Zebulunites, the leader Elizaphan son of Parnach; ²⁶'for the tribe of the Issacharites, the leader Paltiel son of Azzan; ²⁷'for the tribe of the Asherites, the leader Ahihud son of Shelomi; ²⁸'for the tribe of the Naphtalites, the leader Pedahel son of Ammihud.' ²⁹These were the men whom Yahweh ordered to divide Canaan into heritages for the Israelites.

The Levite cities. (Nu.35.1-8)

35¹Yahweh spoke to Moses on the Plains of Moab, near the Jordan by Jericho, and said: ²'Order the Israelites, from the heritage they possess, to give the Levites towns in which to live and pasture land round the towns. You will give these to the Levites. ³The towns must be their homes and the surrounding pasture land must be for their cattle, their possessions and all their animals. ⁴The pasture land surrounding the towns which you give to the Levites will extend, from the walls of the towns, for a thousand cubits all round. ⁵'Outside the town, measure two thousand cubits to the east, two thousand cubits to the south, two thousand cubits to the west and two thousand cubits to the north, the town lying in the centre; such will be the pasture lands of these towns. ⁶The towns you give to the Levites will be six cities of refuge, ceded by you as sanctuary for those who commit manslaughter; and you will give forty-two towns in addition. ⁷Altogether you will give the Levites forty-eight towns, with their pasture lands. ⁸Of the towns which you give from the Israelites' possessions, you will give more from those who have more, and less from those who have less. Each will give some of his towns to the Levites, in proportion to the heritage he himself has received.'

Cities of refuge. (Nu.35.9-34)

⁹Yahweh spoke to Moses and said: ¹⁰'Speak to the Israelites and say: 'Once you have crossed the Jordan into Canaan, ¹¹you will find towns, some of which you will make into cities of refuge where those who have accidentally committed manslaughter can take sanctuary. ¹²These towns will afford you refuge from the avenger of blood, so that the killer will not be put to death before standing trial before the community. ¹³Of the towns you give, six will serve you as cities of refuge: ¹⁴as cities of refuge, you will give three towns on the other side of the Jordan and will give three towns in Canaan. ¹⁵These six towns will serve as refuge for the Israelites, for the foreigner and for the resident alien, where anyone who has accidentally killed someone can take sanctuary. ¹⁶'But if he has struck the person with an iron object so as to cause death, he is a murderer. The murderer will be put to death. ¹⁷If he has struck him with a stone meant for killing, and has killed him, he is a murderer. The murderer will be put to death. ¹⁸Or if he has struck him with a wooden instrument meant for killing, and has killed him, he is a murderer. The murderer will be put to death. ¹⁹The avenger of blood will put the murderer to death. Whenever he finds him, he will put him to death. ²⁰'If the killer has maliciously manhandled his victim, or thrown some lethal missile to strike him down, ²¹or out of enmity dealt him the death-blow with his fist, then he who struck the blow will be put to death; he is a murderer; the avenger of blood will put him to death whenever he finds him. ²²If, however, he has manhandled his victim by chance, without malice, or thrown some missile at him not meaning to hit him ²³or, without seeing him, dropped on him a stone meant for killing and so killed him, so long as he bore him no malice and wished him no harm, ²⁴then the community will decide in accordance with these rules between the one who struck the blow and the avenger of blood, ²⁵and will save the killer from the clutches of the avenger of blood. They will send him back to the city of refuge where he had taken sanctuary, and there he will stay until the death of the high priest who has been anointed with the holy oil. ²⁶Should the killer leave the bounds of the city of refuge in which he has taken sanctuary ²⁷and the avenger of blood encounter him outside the bounds of his city of refuge, the avenger of blood may kill him without fear of reprisal; ²⁸since the killer should stay in his city of refuge until the death of the high priest; only after the death of the high priest is he free to go back to his own piece of property. ²⁹Such will be the legal rule for you and your descendants, wherever you may live. ³⁰'In any case of homicide, the evidence of witnesses will determine whether the killer must be put to death; but a single witness is not enough to sustain a capital charge. ³¹You will not accept a ransom for the life of a murderer condemned to death; he must die. ³²Nor will you accept a ransom for anyone who, having taken sanctuary in his city or refuge, wishes to come back and live at home before the death of the high priest. ³³Do not profane the country you live in. Blood profanes the country and, for the country, the only expiation for the blood shed in it is the blood of the man who shed it. ³⁴So do not defile the country which you live in and where I live; for I, Yahweh, live among the Israelites.' '

Marriage of heiresses. (Nu.36.1-13)

36¹Then the heads of families of the clan descended from Gilead, son of Machir, son of Manasseh, one of the clans descended from Joseph, came forward and, addressing Moses and the leaders, the Israelite heads of families, ²they said: 'Yahweh has ordered my lord to apportion the Israelites' heritages in the country by lot and my lord has been ordered by Yahweh to give the heritage of our brother Zelophehad to his daughters. ³Now, if they marry someone from another Israelite tribe, their heritage will be alienated from our ancestral heritage. The heritage of the tribe to which they will then belong will be increased, and the heritage allotted to us will be diminished. ⁴And when the jubilee for the Israelites comes round, these women's heritage will become part of the heritage of the tribe to which they then belong, and be alienated from the heritage of our ancestral tribe.' ⁵At Yahweh's bidding, Moses gave the Israelites this order. He said: 'What the Josephite tribe says is true. ⁶This is Yahweh's ruling for Zelophehad's daughters: 'They may marry whom they please, providing they marry into a clan of their father's tribe. ⁷But the heritages of Israelites are not to be transferred from tribe to tribe; each Israelite will stick to the heritage of his own tribe. ⁸Any daughter who owns a heritage in an Israelite tribe will marry into a clan of her own paternal tribe, so that the Israelites may each preserve the heritage of his father. ⁹No heritage may be transferred from one tribe to another; each Israelite tribe will stick to its own heritage.' ' ¹⁰Zelophehad's daughters did as Yahweh had ordered Moses. ¹¹Mahlah, Tirzah, Hoglah, Milcah and Noah, daughters of Zelophehad, married the sons of their father's brothers. ¹²Since they married into clans descended from Manasseh son of Joseph, their heritage reverted to the tribe of their father's clan. ¹³Such were the commandments and laws that Yahweh prescribed for the Israelites through Moses on the Plains of Moab near the Jordan by Jericho.