Study Desk

Moses and Eleazar obeyed and called together all the men of that age group. They assembled in the plains of Moab across the Jordan River from Jericho. These were the Israelites who came out of Egypt:

and his sons Nemuel, Dathan, and Abiram. (These are the Dathan and Abiram who were chosen by the community. They defied Moses and Aaron and joined the followers of Korah when they rebelled against the Lord .

The ground opened and swallowed them, and they died with Korah and his followers when fire destroyed 250 men; they became a warning to the people.

Nadab and Abihu died when they offered unholy fire to the Lord .

All these clans were listed by Moses and Eleazar when they took a census of the Israelites in the plains of Moab across the Jordan River from Jericho.

The Lord had said that all of them would die in the wilderness, and except for Caleb son of Jephunneh and Joshua son of Nun they all did.

They went and stood before Moses, Eleazar the priest, the leaders, and the whole community at the entrance of the Tent of the Lord 's presence and said,

So Moses said to the people, "Get ready for war, so that you can attack Midian and punish them for what they did to the Lord .

They attacked Midian, as the Lord had commanded Moses, and killed all the men,

including the five kings of Midian: Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba. They also killed Balaam son of Beor.

They took all the loot that they had captured, including the prisoners and the animals,

The following is a list of what was captured by the soldiers, in addition to what they kept for themselves: 675,000 sheep and goats, 72,000 cattle, 61,000 donkeys, and 32,000 virgins.

The tribes of Reuben and Gad had a lot of livestock. When they saw how suitable the land of Jazer and Gilead was for cattle,

they went to Moses, Eleazar, and the other leaders of the community and said,

They went as far as Eshcol Valley and saw the land, but when they returned, they discouraged the people from entering the land which the Lord had given them.

‘I swear that because they did not remain loyal to me, none of the men twenty years old or older who came out of Egypt will enter the land that I promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.'

This included everyone, except Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite and Joshua son of Nun; they remained loyal to the Lord .

They approached Moses and said, "First, allow us to build stone enclosures here for our sheep and fortified towns for our dependents.

All your fighting men are to cross the Jordan and under the command of the Lord they are to attack our enemies until the Lord defeats them

But if they do not cross the Jordan and go into battle with you, they are to receive their share of the property in the land of Canaan, as you do."