New King James Version
Numbers 31:7
7And they warred against the Midianites, just as the Lord commanded Moses, and they killed all the males.
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 Living Translation (NLT)They attacked Midian as the Lord had commanded Moses, and they killed all the men.
Context of Numbers 31:7
5So there were recruited from the divisions of Israel one thousand from each tribe, twelve thousand armed for war. 6Then Moses sent them to the war, one thousand from each tribe; he sent them to the war with Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest, with the holy articles and the signal trumpets in his hand. And they warred against the Midianites, just as the Lord commanded Moses, and they killed all the males. 8They killed the kings of Midian with the rest of those who were killed—Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba, the five kings of Midian. Balaam the son of Beor they also killed with the sword. 9And the children of Israel took the women of Midian captive, with their little ones, and took as spoil all their cattle, all their flocks, and all their goods.
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 20:13And when the Lord your God delivers it into your hands, you shall strike every male in it with the edge of the sword.
- Judges 21:11And this is the thing that you shall do: You shall utterly destroy every male, and every woman who has known a man intimately.”
- 1 Samuel 27:9Whenever David attacked the land, he left neither man nor woman alive, but took away the sheep, the oxen, the donkeys, the camels, and the apparel, and returned and came to Achish.
- 1 Kings 11:15For it happened, when David was in Edom, and Joab the commander of the army had gone up to bury the slain, after he had killed every male in Edom
- Judges 6:1Then the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord. So the Lord delivered them into the hand of Midian for 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
New King James Version — © 1982 Thomas Nelson, Inc
Commentaries