28 And levy a tribute unto Jehovah of the men of war that went out to battle: one soul of five hundred, `both' of the persons, and of the oxen, and of the asses, and of the flocks:
Moreover thou shalt speak unto the Levites, and say unto them, When ye take of the children of Israel the tithe which I have given you from them for your inheritance, then ye shall offer up a heave-offering of it for Jehovah, a tithe of the tithe.
And of the children of Israel's half, thou shalt take one drawn out of every fifty, of the persons, of the oxen, of the asses, and of the flocks, `even' of all the cattle, and give them unto the Levites, that keep the charge of the tabernacle of Jehovah.
and blessed be God Most High, who hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand. And he gave him a tenth of all.
And unto the children of Levi, behold, I have given all the tithe in Israel for an inheritance, in return for their service which they serve, even the service of the tent of meeting.
And they burnt the city with fire, and all that was therein; only the silver, and the gold, and the vessels of brass and of iron, they put into the treasury of the house of Jehovah.
These also did king David dedicate unto Jehovah, with the silver and gold that he dedicated of all the nations which he subdued; of Syria, and of Moab, and of the children of Ammon, and of the Philistines, and of Amalek, and of the spoil of Hadadezer, son of Rehob, king of Zobah.
This Shelomoth and his brethren were over all the treasures of the dedicated things, which David the king, and the heads of the fathers' `houses', the captains over thousands and hundreds, and the captains of the host, had dedicated. Out of the spoil won in battles did they dedicate to repair the house of Jehovah.
Honor Jehovah with thy substance, And with the first-fruits of all thine increase: So shall thy barns be filled with plenty, And thy vats shall overflow with new wine.
In that time shall a present be brought unto Jehovah of hosts `from' a people tall and smooth, even from a people terrible from their beginning onward, a nation that meteth out and treadeth down, whose land the rivers divide, to the place of the name of Jehovah of hosts, the mount Zion.
And her merchandise and her hire shall be holiness to Jehovah: it shall not be treasured nor laid up; for her merchandise shall be for them that dwell before Jehovah, to eat sufficiently, and for durable clothing.
Surely the isles shall wait for me, and the ships of Tarshish first, to bring thy sons from far, their silver and their gold with them, for the name of Jehovah thy God, and for the Holy One of Israel, because he hath glorified thee.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on Numbers 31
Commentary on Numbers 31 Matthew Henry Commentary
Chapter 31
This chapter belongs to "the book of the wars of the Lord,' in which it is probable it was inserted. It is the history of a holy war, a war with Midian. Here is,
Num 31:1-6
Here,
Num 31:7-12
Here is,
Num 31:13-24
We have here the triumphant return of the army of Israel from the war with Midian, and here,
Num 31:25-47
We have here the distribution of the spoil which was taken in this expedition against Midian. God himself directed how it should be distributed, and Moses and Eleazar did according to the directions, and thus unhappy contests among themselves were prevented and the victory was made to turn to the common benefit. It was fit that he who gave them the prey should order the disposal of it. All we have is from God, and therefore must be subject to his will.
Num 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 won did not puff them up, so as to make them forget their duty to him. Observe in their address to them,