Vengeance on Midian

The LORD announces vengeance on Midian and tells Moses that his own death will follow. Moses gathers a force from every tribe and sends them out with Phinehas and the holy vessels.

A¹nd the LORD said to Moses, ²“Take vengeance on the Midianites for the Israelites. After that, you will be gathered to your people.” ³So Moses told the people, “Arm some of your men for war, that they may go against the Midianites and execute the LORD’s vengeance on them. ⁴Send into battle a thousand men from each tribe of Israel.” ⁵So a thousand men were recruited from each tribe of Israel— twelve thousand armed for war. ⁶And 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.

Israel strikes Midian as commanded, killing its men and kings, and Balaam dies with them. The army takes women, children, animals, and goods, burns the settlements, and brings everything back to the camp.

⁷Then they waged war against Midian, as the LORD had commanded Moses, and they killed every male. ⁸Among the slain were Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba— the five kings of Midian. They also killed Balaam son of Beor with the sword. ⁹The Israelites captured the Midianite women and their children, and they plundered all their herds, flocks, and goods. ¹⁰Then they burned all the cities where the Midianites had lived, as well as all their encampments, ¹¹and carried away all the plunder and spoils, both people and animals. ¹²They brought the captives, spoils, and plunder to Moses, to Eleazar the priest, and to the congregation of Israel at the camp on the plains of Moab, by the Jordan across from Jericho.

Moses meets the returning army in anger because the women have been spared. He recalls their part in Israel’s unfaithfulness at Peor and orders the death of the boys and of every woman who has known a man, while the girls are spared.

¹³And Moses, Eleazar the priest, and all the leaders of the congregation went to meet them outside the camp. ¹⁴But Moses was angry with the officers of the army — the commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds — who were returning from the battle. ¹⁵“Have you spared all the women?” he asked them. 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. ¹⁷So now, kill all the boys, as well as every woman who has had relations with a man, ¹⁸but spare for yourselves every girl who has never had relations with a man.

Those who killed or touched the dead must stay outside the camp and undergo purification, along with their captives and possessions. Eleazar then gives the rules for cleansing metal through fire and other items through water before the soldiers return.

¹⁹All of you who have killed a person or touched the dead are to remain outside the camp for seven days. On the third day and the seventh day you are to purify both yourselves and your captives. ²⁰And purify every garment and leather good, everything made of goat’s hair, and every article of wood.” ²¹Then Eleazar the priest said to the soldiers who had gone into battle, “This is the statute of the law which the LORD has commanded Moses: ²²Only the gold, silver, bronze, iron, tin, and lead— ²³everything that can withstand the fire— must be put through the fire, and it will be clean. But it must still be purified with the water of purification. And everything that cannot withstand the fire must pass through the water. ²⁴On the seventh day you are to wash your clothes, and you will be clean. After that you may enter the camp.”