Numbers 31:28

Numbers 31:28 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And levy a tribute unto the Lord of the men of war which went out to battle: one soul of five hundred, both of the persons, and of the beeves, and of the asses, and of the sheep:
• English Standard Version (ESV)And levy for the Lord a tribute from the men of war who went out to battle, one out of five hundred, of the people and of the oxen and of the donkeys and of the flocks.
• New King James Version (NKJV)And levy a tribute for the Lord on the men of war who went out to battle: one of every five hundred of the persons, the cattle, the donkeys, and the sheep;
• New Living Translation (NLT)From the army’s portion, first give the Lord his share of the plunder—one of every 500 of the prisoners and of the cattle, donkeys, sheep, and goats.

Context of Numbers 31:28

26“You and Eleazar the priest and the family heads of the community are to count all the people and animals that were captured. 27Divide the spoils equally between the soldiers who took part in the battle and the rest of the community. From the soldiers who fought in the battle, set apart as tribute for the Lord one out of every five hundred, whether people, cattle, donkeys or sheep. 29Take this tribute from their half share and give it to Eleazar the priest as the Lord’s part. 30From the Israelites’ half, select one out of every fifty, whether people, cattle, donkeys, sheep or other animals. Give them to the Levites, who are responsible for the care of the Lord’s tabernacle.”

Numbers 31:28 word by word

וַהֲרֵמֹתָ֨ מֶ֜כֶס לַֽיהוָ֗ה מֵאֵ֞ת אַנְשֵׁ֤י הַמִּלְחָמָה֙ הַיֹּצְאִ֣ים לַצָּבָ֔א אֶחָ֣ד נֶ֔פֶשׁ מֵחֲמֵ֖שׁ הַמֵּא֑וֹת מִן־הָאָדָם֙ וּמִן־הַבָּקָ֔ר וּמִן־הַחֲמֹרִ֖ים וּמִן־הַצֹּֽאן׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And levyרוּםrûm · to exaltH7311
• a tributeמֶ֫כֶסmekes · tributeH4371
• unto the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
• of the menאֱנוֹשׁ'ĕnôsh · humanH582
• of warמִלְחָמָהmilchâmâh · battleH4421
• which went outיָצָאyâtsâ' · to come out: comeH3318
• to battleצָבָאtsâbâ' tsebâ'âh · army: warH6635
• oneאֶחָד'echâd · oneH259
• soulנֶ֫פֶשׁnephesh · soul: personH5315
• of fiveחָמֵשׁchâmêsh chămishshâh · fiveH2568
• hundredמֵאָהmê'âh mê'yâh · hundredH3967
• of the personsאָדָם'âdâm · manH120
• and of the beevesבָּקָרbâqâr · cattleH1241
• and of the assesחֲמוֹרchămôr chămôr · donkeyH2543
• and of the sheepצֹאןtsô'n tse'ôn · flockH6629

Cross-references for Numbers 31:28

• Genesis 14:20And praise be to God Most High, who delivered your enemies into your hand.” Then Abram gave him a tenth of everything.
• Joshua 6:19All the silver and gold and the articles of bronze and iron are sacred to the Lord and must go into his treasury.”
• 2 Samuel 8:11King David dedicated these articles to the Lord, as he had done with the silver and gold from all the nations he had subdued:
• 1 Chronicles 18:11King David dedicated these articles to the Lord, as he had done with the silver and gold he had taken from all these nations: Edom and Moab, the Ammonites and the Philistines, and Amalek.
• 1 Chronicles 26:26Shelomith and his relatives were in charge of all the treasuries for the things dedicated by King David, by the heads of families who were the commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds, and by the other army commanders.
• Proverbs 3:9Honor the Lord with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your crops;
• Isaiah 18:7At that time gifts will be brought to the Lord Almighty from a people tall and smooth-skinned, from a people feared far and wide, an aggressive nation of strange speech, whose land is divided by rivers— the gifts will be brought to Mount Zion, the place of the Name of the Lord Almighty.
• Isaiah 23:18Yet her profit and her earnings will be set apart for the Lord; they will not be stored up or hoarded. Her profits will go to those who live before the Lord, for abundant food and fine clothes.
• Isaiah 60:9Surely the islands look to me; in the lead are the ships of Tarshish, bringing your children from afar, with their silver and gold, to the honor of the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, for he has endowed you with splendor.
• Matthew 22:21“Caesar’s,” they replied. Then he said to them, “So give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.”
• Numbers 31:30From the Israelites’ half, select one out of every fifty, whether people, cattle, donkeys, sheep or other animals. Give them to the Levites, who are responsible for the care of the Lord’s tabernacle.”
• Numbers 18:26“Speak to the Levites and say to them: ‘When you receive from the Israelites the tithe I give you as your inheritance, you must present a tenth of that tithe as the Lord’s offering.

Commentaries on Numbers 31:28

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 28And levy a tribute unto the Lord - one soul of five hundred, etc. - The person to be employed in the Lord's service, under the Levites - the cattle either for sacrifice, or for the use of the Levites, Numbers 31:30. Some monsters have supposed that one out of every five hundred of the captives was offered in sacrifice to the Lord! but this is abominable. When God chose to have the life of a man, he took it in the way of justice, as in the case of…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 25-47Verses 25-47 Whatever we have, God justly claims a part. Out of the people's share God required one in fifty, but out of the soldiers' share only one in five hundred. The less opportunity we have of honouring God with personal services, the more should we give in money or value.Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 25-31They divided the plunder into two equal parts. Half went to those who fought against the Midianites and half to the Israelites who stayed behind (compare 1 Samuel 30:21–25). In this way, everyone participated in the conflict. Yet, the smaller group of soldiers each received a larger portion than the much larger group who stayed behind.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 25-3925-39. Take the sum of the prey that was taken--that is, of the captives and cattle, which, having been first lumped together according to ancient usage (Ex 15:9; Jud 5:30), were divided into two equal parts: the one to the people at large, who had sustained a common injury from the Midianites and who were all liable to serve: and the other portion to the combatants, who, having encountered the labors and perils of war, justly received the largest share…Read the comment

Topics related to Numbers 31:28

• Armies
• Priest
• Servant
• Spoils

In the dictionaries

• Beeves
• Booty
• Prey
• Purify
• Abel-Shittim
• Balaam
• Moses
• Numbers, Book of
• Person, Personality
• Slave; Slavery

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