And the officers which were over thousands of the host ,.... Over the twelve thousand, of which the host or army consisted: namely, the captains of thousands, and the captains of hundreds, came near unto Moses; of their own accord, without being sent, or required to do what they did. read more
And they said unto Moses ,.... Gave the following relation to him, which is a very surprising one: thy servants have taken the sum of the men of war which are under our charge ; since the war with Midian was over, they had mustered the several companies under their command, such as had thousands, and those that had hundreds: and there lacketh not one man of us ; which is a most amazing and unheard of thing, that in waging war with a whole nation, slaying all their males, sacking and... read more
Verse 48 48.And the officers which were over the thousands. We have here an example of signal gratitude, that the leaders of the army, when they saw that none of their men were lost, consecrated their spoils of gold and silver to the Lord. By the offering of the first-fruits, they had already sufficiently testified their piety and obedience; nor, indeed, after they had faithfully complied with God’s command, could anything more have been expected from them; hence does their liberality deserve... read more
There is no mention of any resistance on the part of the Midianites. The Israelites saw in this and in the preservation of all those engaged, proofs that the Lord had been with them in the work, and hence, the free-will oblation of Numbers 31:50. read more
Judgment on Midian (31:1-54)God now sent Israel to carry out his judgment on the Midianites (and Balaam with them) for the evil they did to Israel at Peor (see 25:1-9,14-17). Since it was a ‘holy’ war, the person who led the Israelite forces was not the army general Joshua, but the priest Phinehas (see 25:10-13). The Israelites were to destroy the Midianite fighting forces and burn their settlements. All captives and goods seized in battle were to be given to God, represented by the high... read more
"And the officers that were over the thousands of the host, the captains of thousands, and the captains of hundreds, came near unto Moses; and they said unto Moses, Thy servants have taken the sum of the men of war that are under our charge, and there lacketh not one man of us. And we have brought Jehovah's oblation, what every man hath gotten, of jewels of gold, ankle-chains, and bracelets, signet-rings, ear-rings, and armlets, to make atonement for our souls before Jehovah. And Moses and... read more
Numbers 31:48-50. The officers which were over thousands, &c.— After their return from war, the officers of the army made a muster of the soldiery to see what number they had lost. Three kinds of officers are distinguished: 1. Those who had the command of several thousands as the generals and lieutenant-generals. 2. Those who were over a thousand men each, as our colonels. 3. Centurions, or captains. Upon this muster they found, that not one man had fallen in the battle, Numbers 31:49. A... read more
48-54. officers . . . said . . . there lacketh not one man of us—A victory so signal, and the glory of which was untarnished by the loss of a single Israelitish soldier, was an astonishing miracle. So clearly betokening the direct interposition of Heaven, it might well awaken the liveliest feelings of grateful acknowledgment to God (Psalms 44:2; Psalms 44:3). The oblation they brought for the Lord "was partly an atonement" or reparation for their error (Psalms 44:3- :), for it could not possess... read more
3. Reprisal against the Midianites and the settlement of the Transjordanian tribes chs. 31-32Moses’ last campaign ch. 31The writer now recorded the fulfillment of God’s instructions to Moses that Israel should destroy the Midianites (Numbers 25:16-18). In this account, the aftermath of the battle receives more attention than the battle itself. Evidently God included this chapter here for two reasons at least. It records Israel’s victory over one of her enemies, and it explains the way she... read more
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Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Numbers 31:48-54
Here is a great example of piety and devotion in the officers of the army, the colonels, that are called captains of thousands, and the inferior officers that were captains of hundreds; they came to Moses as their general and commander-in-chief, and, though he was now going off the stage they very humbly and respectfully addressed themselves to him, calling themselves his servants; the honours they had 1305 won did not puff them up, so as to make them forget their duty to him. Observe in their... read more