Christian Standard Bible
Numbers 31:7
7They waged war against Midian, as the Lord had commanded Moses, and killed every male.
Numbers 31:7 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And they warred against the Midianites, as the Lord commanded Moses; and they slew all the males.
- New International Version (NIV)They fought against Midian, as the Lord commanded Moses, and killed every man.
- English Standard Version (ESV)They warred against Midian, as the Lord commanded Moses, and killed every male.
- New King James Version (NKJV)And they warred against the Midianites, just as the Lord commanded Moses, and they killed all the males.
Context of Numbers 31:7
5So one thousand were recruited from each Israelite tribe out of the thousands in Israel — twelve thousand equipped for war. 6Moses sent one thousand from each tribe to war. They went with Phinehas son of Eleazar the priest, in whose care were the holy objects and signal trumpets. They waged war against Midian, as the Lord had commanded Moses, and killed every male. 8Along with the others slain by them, they killed the Midianite kings — Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba, the five kings of Midian. They also killed Balaam son of Beor with the sword. 9The Israelites took the Midianite women and their dependents captive, and they plundered all their cattle, flocks, and property.
Read all of Numbers 31Numbers 31:7 word by word
וַֽיִּצְבְּאוּ֙ עַל־מִדְיָ֔ן כַּאֲשֶׁ֛ר צִוָּ֥ה יְהוָ֖ה אֶת־מֹשֶׁ֑ה וַיַּֽהַרְג֖וּ כָּל־זָכָֽר׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Numbers 31:7
- Deuteronomy 20:13When the Lord your God hands it over to you, strike down all its males with the sword.
- Judges 21:11This is what you should do: Completely destroy every male, as well as every woman who has gone to bed with a man.”
- 1 Samuel 27:9Whenever David attacked the land, he did not leave a single person alive, either man or woman, but he took flocks, herds, donkeys, camels, and clothing. Then he came back to Achish,
- 1 Kings 11:15Earlier, when David was in Edom, Joab, the commander of the army, had gone to bury the dead and had struck down every male in Edom.
- Judges 6:1The Israelites did what was evil in the sight of the Lord. So the Lord handed them over to Midian seven years,
Commentaries on Numbers 31:7
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 7-12Verses 7-12 The Israelites slew the Kings of Midian. They slew Balaam. God's overruling providence brought him thither, and their just vengeance found him. Had he himself rightly believed what he had said of the happy state of Israel, he would not have thus herded with the enemies of Israel. The Midianites' wicked wiles were Balaam's projects: it was just that he should perish with them, Ho 4:5. They took the women and children captives. They burnt their…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 7The Israelites killed all of the Midianite men in the particular groups they attacked from their camp in the plains of Moab (31:12). They did not destroy all the Midianites who were part of the larger Midianite alliance (compare Judges 6–8). The number of animals and virgins mentioned in Numbers 31:32–35 shows that the 12,000 Hebrews fought a large enemy army.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 77. they slew all the males--This was in accordance with a divine order in all such cases (De 20:13). But the destruction appears to have been only partial--limited to those who were in the neighborhood of the Hebrew camp and who had been accomplices in the villainous plot of Baal-peor (Nu 25:1-3), while a large portion of the Midianites were absent on their pastoral wanderings or had saved themselves by flight. (Compare Jud 6:1).Read the comment
Topics related to Numbers 31:7
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Numbers 31
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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