only the twelve thousand had risked their away their lives in blind confidence that lives to smite Midian, For the application some advantage will accrne thereby to the of a like principle to other cases see Josh. army at large ; rather, he fonght under the xxii. 8 ; 1 Sam, xxx. 24 ; 2 Mace. viii. conviction that to each, as well as to all, life 28, 30, and victory were pledged upon condition of Ver, 29.-An heave offering unto the obedience and courage. In this case no one Lord. Septuagint, ra, cl,rapxd, Kvpiov. was found unfaithful, and therefore no ono The Hebrew word tl~i (to lift) from which was allowed to fall. terwmah is derived, had practically lost Ver. 60.-What every man bath gotten. its literal significance, just as the English The whole, apparently, of their booty in word has in the phrase " to lift cattle ; " golden ornaments was given up as a thank hence terwmah often means simply that offering, and in addition to this was all that which is set aside as an offering. No doubt the soldiers had taken and kept. The the offering levied on the portion of the abundance of costly ornaments among a warriors was in the nature of tithe for the race of nomads living in squalid tents and benefit of Elea.zar and the priests. hovels may excite surprise; but it is still the Ver. 30.-One portion of fifty. Two per case (under circumstances far less favourable cent. of the prey. This probably corre- to the amassing of such wealth) among the sponded very closely to the number of Le- Bedawin and kindred tribes (see also on vites as compared with the twelve tribes, Judges viii. 24-26). Chains. il'.)lf!~- and would tend to show that God intended Septuagint, xX,awva. Clasps for the arm, as the Levites to be neither better nor worse off in 2 Sam. i. 10. Tablets. 11i~'.::l. Probably than their neighbours. golden balls or beads hung round the neck Ver. 32.-The booty, being the rest of (see on Exod. xxxv. 22). , A different wor<l the prey. Rather, " the prey (IJip?r.iiJ, eee is used in Isa. iii. 20. on ver. 11), to wit, the rest of the' booty" Ver, 62.-Silcteen thousand seven hundred (lfiJ, as in eh. xiv. 3, 31). Septuagint, and fifty shekels. If the shekel of weight ro ,r">,.Eovauµa rij, ,rpovoµiji;, i. e. what actu- be taken as ·66 of an ounce, the offeiing l'<ill ally remained to be divided. The numbers have amounted to more than 11,000 ounces given are obviously round numbers, such as of gold, worth now about £40,000. If, the Israelites seem always to have employed according to other estimates, the golden in enumeration. The immense quantity of shekel was worth 30s., the value of the offer- cattle captured was in accordance with the ing will have been some £25,000. habits of the Midianites in the days of Ver. 64.-Brought it into the tabernacle Gideon (Judges vi. 6) and of their modern of the congregation. It is not said what representatives to-day. was done with this enormous quantity of Ver. 49.-There lacketh not one man of gold, which must have been a ea.use of us. The officers naturally regarded this as a anxiety as well as of piide to the priests. very wonderful circumstance ; and so indeed It may have formed a fund for the support it was, -;,;hether Midian made any resistance of the tabernacle services during the long or not. It was, however, in strict keeping years of neglect which followed the con- with the promises of that temporal dispens- quest, or it mo.y h11ve been drawn upon for o.tion. It would have been no satisfaction to national purposes. A memorial. To bring the Israelite who fell upon the threshold of them into favourable remembrance with the the promised land to know that victory re- Lord. For this sense of 1,i~t (Septuagint, mained with his comrades. His was not µv,,µ6uuvov) cf. Exod, xxviii. 12, 29. the courage of modern soldiers, who fling
NOTE ON THE EXTERMINATION OF THE MIDIANITES. The grave moral difficulty presented by the treatment of their enemies by the Israelites, under the sanction or even direct command of God, is here presented in its gravest form, It will be best first to state the proceedings in all their ugliness '. then to reject the false excuses made for them; and lastly, to justify (if possible) th 11 Divine sanction accorded to them. I. That the l\liuianites had injured Israel is clear; as also that thoy had done 8 _ NUMBERS, D D 402 THE BOOK OF NUMBERS. [OH, XXXI. 1-54,