E- Num_30:1-16; Num_31:1-54; Num_32:1-42

Pgs. 449-459

Ch, 30-32

SECTION XLII

MATTOTH. AND Mosheh spake with the chiefs of the Tribes of the Beni Israel,saying: This is the Word which the Lordhath spoken, saying: A man, a son of thirteen when he shall have vowed a vowbefore the Lord, or have sworn an oath, saying, I will withhold from such athing which is permitted to me, shall not be allowed to relax his word (at hisown will): nevertheless, the house of judgment (beth dina) can absolve him; butif they absolve him not, whatsoever hath gone out of his mouth he shallperform. And afemale who hath not passed twelve years when she hath vowed a vow before theLord, and hath bound herself in her father’s house until her thirteenth year;and her father hear her vow, and whatever bond she hath bound upon her soul,and her father be acquiescent, and speak not to her; then every vow and everybond which she hath bound upon her soul shall be confirmed. But if her fatherprohibit her on the day that he heareth, or, not being prepared to confirm,annulleth after he hath heard, (then) no vow or bond that she hath bound uponher soul shall be confirmed; but is remitted and forgiven her before the Lord,because her father hath made her free from the authority of the vow, (or, nullifiedto her the power of the vow.) And if when she hath been taken by a husband avow be upon her, or her lips have expressed that which is binding upon her soulwhile in her father’s house, and her father had not absolved her while unmarried,then, when she hath been married, it shall be confirmed. But if after she ismarried she make a vow, and her husband hear it, and on the day that he hearethit he is minded to confirm it, and is silent to her, then the vow and the bondwhich she hath bound upon her soul shall be ratified. But if her husbandprohibit her on the day that he heareth, then the vow which is upon her, andthe utterance of her lips which bound her soul, are remitted and forgiven her.Yet the vow of a widow, or a divorced, whatever hath bound her soul, shall beconfirmed upon her. But if, while she was in her husband’s house, or while shehad not attained to marriage years, she had vowed, or bound her soul with thebond of an oath which her husband had heard of, and had neither spoken norprohibited her, or had died before she was married, then all her vows shall beconfirmed, and all the obligations with which she had bound her soul beratified, and her father shall have no power to absolve her. But if her husbandreleased her [JERUSALEM. Her husband released her] on the day that he heard,then, whatever her lips had pronounced to be a vow, or a bond upon her soul,shall not be confirmed; and if her husband had annulled them, [JERUSALEM. Herhusband had released them,] and she, not knowing, had performed, it shall beforgiven her before the Lord. Every vow, every oath-bond to chasten thesoul, her husband may ratify or annul. But if her husband was silent andconsented when he heard from one day to the next, then all her vows and all thebonds upon her are ratified; by his silence he hath confirmed them; for be wassilent to her on the day, and consented, and absolved her not on the day thathe heard. But if, absolving, he would absolve her one day after he had heard,there is no force in the absolution; and if he then nullify the word, herhusband or her father shall bear her sin. These are the publications of thestatutes which the Lord commanded Mosheh (on these matters) between a man andhis wife, and a father and his daughter in the day of her youth in her father’shouse; [JERUSALEM. In the time of her youth in her father’s house;] but not inthe time of her youth, and she be in the house of her husband.

XXXI. And theLord spake with Mosheh, saying: Take retribution for the children of Israelfrom the Midianites; and afterward thou shalt be gathered to thy people. AndMoses spake with the people, saying: Arm of you men, [JERUSALEM. Arm of you,]for the host to make war against Midian, to give the people of the Lordavengement upon Midian; a thousand of each tribe of all the tribes of Israelsend ye to the war. And of the thousands of Israel fit men were chosen who gaveup themselves, a thousand of a tribe, twelve thousand, armed for the war. AndMosheh sent them, a thousand of each tribe to the war, them and Phinehas barElazar the priest unto the war, with the Uraia and Thummaia consecrated toinquire for them, and the Jubilee trumpets in his hand for assembling,encamping, and ordering forward the host of Israel. And they warred againstMidian, circumventing them from three corners, as the Lord had instructed Mosheh,and they killed every male; and they slew the kings of the Midianites with theslain of their armies, Evi, Rekem, Zur, who is Balak, and Hur and Reba, fivekings of Midian; and Bileam bar Beor they killed with the sword. And it waswhen Bileam the guilty saw Phinehas the priest pursuing him, he made use of hismagical arts, (lit., made words of enchantment,) and flew in the air of theheavens; but Phinehas forthwith pronounced the Great and Holy Name, and flewafter him, and seized him by his head, and bringing him down drew the sword,and sought to kill him; but he opened his mouth with words of deprecation, and saidto Phinehas: If thou wilt spare my life, I swear to thee that all the days Ilive I will not curse thy people. He answered him, and said: Art thou not Labanthe Amarite who didst seek to destroy Jakob our father, who wentest down intoMizraim, to destroy his children, and, after they had come out of Mizraim,didst send the wicked Amalek against them; and hast thou not now been sent tocurse them? But after thou hadst seen that thy works did not prosper, and thatthe Word of the Lord would not hear thee, thou didst give the evil counsel toBalak to set his daughters in the way to make them go wrong, when there fell ofthem twentyfour thousand. Therefore, it cannot be that thy life may be spared;and at once he drew the sword and slew him. And the sonsof Israel led captive the wives of the Midianites, their children, theircattle, and all their flocks, and destroyed all their goods; and all theirtowns, the houses, of their rulers, and the high places of their houses ofworship, they burned with fire; but they took all the spoil and the prey bothof men and beasts, and brought to Mosheh, Elazar the priest, and all the congregationof Israel, the captives, the prey, and the spoils, at the camp in the fields ofMoab, by the Jordan, near Jericho. And Moshehand Elazar the priest, with all the heads of the congregation, went forth tomeet them without the camp. But Mosheh was angry with the leaders appointedover the host, the chiefs of thousands and of hundreds who came from the warwith the host; and Mosheh said to them, Why have you spared all the women?These are they who caused the offence of the sons of Israel, by the counsel ofBileam, to do wrongly before the Lord in the matter of Peor, so that pestilencecame upon the congregation of the Lord. Now, therefore, slay every male amongthe children, and every woman who hath known a man; but every female child youshall stand before the Crown of Holiness, (the priest’s tiara,) and look uponher: she who is not a virgin will be pallid in the face, but she who is avirgin child will blush in the face, like fire; them you shall spare. But asfor you, abide without the camp seven days; whoever hath slain a man, ortouched the dead, you shall sprinkle on the third; and on the seventh day bothyou and your captives, and every garment, and whatever is made of skin, goats’hair, horn, or bone, and every vessel of wood, you shall sprinkle. And Elazar the priest said to the men of the host who had returned fromthe war: This is the manifestation of the decree of the law which the Lord hathcommanded to Mosheh. Nevertheless, these (articles) without their rust, thegold, silver, brass, iron, tin, and lead, [JERUSALEM. Tin and lead,] theirvessels, but not the unformed and simple (metals), every thing whose nature itis to abide the fire, of the pans, pots, spits, and gridirons, you shall maketo pass through fire to purify them, and afterward (sprinkle them) with watersuch as is used to purify the unclean; but whatever will not abide the firecoverlids, cups flagons, and utensils, you shall make to pass through fortysata of water; and you shall wash your raiment on the seventh day to be clean,and afterwards come into the camp. And theLord spake with Mosheh saying: Take the sum of the prey of the captives, bothof man and beast, and take their amount, thou and Elazar the priest, and thechiefs of the fathers of the congregation; and divide the spoil between the menof war who took the spoil in the conflict of battle, having gone forth with thehost, and between all the congregation; and separate that which is to be givenup to the Name of the Lord by the men of war who went forth with the host: onewoman out of five hundred; so, likewise, of oxen, asses, and sheep. From theirhalf, the portion of the men of war, shalt thou take them, and give to Elazarthe priest, as a separation unto the Name of the Lord; but of the half (fallingto) the children of Israel thou shalt take one out of fifty of the women, andof the oxen, the asses, and of all the cattle, and give them to the Levites whokeep charge of the Lord’s tabernacle; and Mosheh and Elazar the priest did asthe Lord commanded Mosheh. And the amount of the prey,the rest of the spoil which had been taken by the people who went forth in thehost,-the number of the sheep was six hundred and seventy-fivethousand; oxen, seventy-two thousand; asses, sixty-one thousand;persons, the women who had not known man, all the persons thirty-twothousand. And the half of the portion for the men who had gone to the war, thenumber of the sheep was three hundred and thirty-seven thousand fivehundred; and the amount of that brought up for the Name of the Lord was of sheepsix hundred and seventy-five; oxen thirty-six thousand, those forthe Name of the Lord seventy-two; asses thirty thousand five hundred, forthe Name of the Lord sixty-one; persons sixteen thousand, for the Name ofthe Lord thirty-two. And Mosheh gave the number separated to the Name ofthe Lord unto Elazar the priest, as the Lord commanded Mosheh. And the halfpart for the children of Israel which Mosheh divided from the men’s who wentforth to the war, the amount was three hundred and thirty-seven thousandfive hundred sheep, thirty-six thousand oxen, thirty thousand fivehundred asses, and sixteen thousand women. And Mosheh took from the half partfor the children of Israel of that which bad been captured, one out of fifty,whether of man or beast, and gave it to the Levites who kept charge of thetabernacle of the Lord, as the Lord commanded Mosheh. And theofficers who had been appointed over the thousands of the host, the captains ofthousands and of hundreds, drew near to Mosheh, and they said to Mosheh, Thyservants have taken the account of the men of war who have been with us, andnot any of them are wanting. And we have brought a gift unto the Name of theLord, forasmuch as the Lord hath delivered the Midianites into our hands, andwe have been able to subdue their land and their cities. And we entered intotheir chambers, and there saw their daughters, fair, tender, and delicate; andevery man who found on them jewels of gold, loosened the coronets from theirheads, the earrings from their ears, the necklaces from their necks, thebracelets from their arms, the rings from their fingers, and the brooches fromtheir bosoms;-but in all this we abstained from lifting our eyes uponthemselves, or gazing on one of them, lest we should sin with any one of them,and die the death which the wicked die in the world to come. And may this behad in memorial for us in the day of the great judgment, to make propitiationfor our souls before the Lord. [JERUSALEM. And we have brought the oblation ofthe Lord. When we entered into the houses of the Midianite kings, and intotheir sleeping-chambers, and saw there the fair and delicate daughters ofthe Midianite kings, we took from their beads their golden coronets, theearrings from their ears, the rings from their fingers, the bracelets fromtheir arms, and the jewels from their bosoms; yet, Mosheh our master! far wasit from us,-not one of us was united with any one of them, neither willhe be companion with her in Gehinnom. In the world to come may it stand to us,in the day of the great judgment, to propitiate for our souls before the Lord.]

AndMosheh and Elazar the priest took the gold from them, every article fabricated;and the sum of all the gold of the separation which they had separated unto theName of the Lord was sixteen thousand seven hundred and fifty shekels, from thecaptains of thousands and of hundreds. For the men of the host had taken spoil,every man for himself. And Mosheh and Elazar the priest took the gold from thecaptains of thousands and of hundreds, and brought it into the tabernacle ofordinance, a good memorial of the sons of Israel before the Lord.

XXXII. Now the sons of Reuben and of Gad possessed much cattle,exceeding much: and they surveyed the land of Mikvar and of Gilead, and,behold, it was a region suitable for cattle folds. [JERUSALEM. And they saw theland of Mikvar and of Gilead, and, behold, it was a place of wealth.] And thesons of Gad and Reuben came and spoke to Mosheh, Elazar, and the princes of thecongregation, saying: Makelta, Madbeshta, Mikvar, Beth Nimre, Beth Hoshbane,Maalath Meda, Shiran, Beth Kebureth, de Moshe, and Behon, [JERUSALEM. Makalta,Madbeshta, Mikvar, Beth Nimrin, Heshbon, Elhala, Shebam, Nebo, and Behan,] theland which the Lord hath subdued, and whose inhabitants he hath smitten beforethe congregation of Israel, is a land suitable for cattle, and thy servantshave cattle. [JERUSALEM. Wealth.] They said therefore, If we have found gracebefore thee, let this land be given to thy servants for a possession, and letus not pass over Jordan. But Moshehsaid to the sons of Gad and Reuben, Shall your brethren go to the war, and yousit down here? And why should you enfeeble [JERUSALEM. And why do you break]the will of the sons of Israel from going over to the land which the Lord hathgiven to them? So did your fathers when I sent them from Rekem Giah to surveythe land: they went up to the brook of Ethkela, and saw the land, [JERUSALEM.They went unto Segola, and saw the land,] but enfeebled the will of Israel’sheart, that they would not enter into the land which the Lord had given tothem. And the anger of the Lord was that day moved, and He sware, saying Ifthese men who came out of Mizraim from twenty years old and up ard shall seethe land which I covenanted to Abraham, Izhak, and Jakob, because they have notfully (walked) according to My fear; except Kaleb bar Jephunneh the Kenezite,and Jehoshua bar Nun, for they have fully (walked) after the fear of the Lord.And the anger of the Lord was moved against Israel, and He made them wander inthe wilderness forty years, until all that generation which did evil before theLord have been consumed. And, behold, you are risen up after your fathers,disciples of wicked men, to increase yet the anger of the Lord against Israel.[JERUSALEM. You have multiplied the men of sin yet to increase the strength ofHis displeasure.] For if you go back from fearing Him, He will still make themabide in the wilderness, and so will you destroy all this people.

Andthey drew near to him, and said, We will build sheepfolds for our flocks, andtowns for our families; but we will go armed among the sons of Israel until wehave brought them into their place: but our families shall dwell in townsdefended against the inhabitants of the land. [JERUSALEM. In cities fortifiedagainst the (former) masters of the land.] We will not return to our homesuntil the sons of Israel possess every one his inheritance. For we will notinherit with them over the Jordan and beyond; for our inheritance cometh to usbeyond Jordan eastward.

AndMosheh said to them, If you will perform this thing; if you will go forth armedbefore the people of the Lord to the war, if some of you armed will pass overJordan before the Lord’s people to go on with the war until He hath driven outthe enemy before Him, and the land be subdued before the people of the Lord, thenafterwards you shall return, and be acquitted before the Lord and by Israel;and this land shall be yours for an inheritance before the Lord. But if you willnot perform this, behold, ye will have sinned before the Lord your God, andknow that your sin will meet you. Build (then) cities for your little ones andfolds for your sheep, and do that which hath proceeded from your mouth.[JERUSALEM. Build cities for your little ones and folds for your sheep, and dothat which hath come out of your mouth.] And the sons of Gad and Reuben spake to Mosheh with one consent,saying, Thy servants will do whatever my lord hath commanded: our children,wives, flocks, and all our cattle shall be here in the cities of Gilead; butthy servants will go over, every one armed for the host, before the people of theLord to the war, as my lord hath said. And Mosheh commanded concerning them Elazar the priest, and Jehoshuabar Nun, and the heads of the tribes of the Beni Israel, and said to them: Ifthe sons of Gad and of Reuben go over the Jordan with you, every one armed forthe war, before the people of the Lord, and the land be subdued before you,then shall you give to them the land of Gilead for a possession. But if theywill not pass over armed with you, then they shall receive an inheritance amongyou in the land of Kenaan. But the sons of Gad and Reuben answered and said:Whatsoever the Lord hath spoken to thy servants so will we do. We will go overarmed before the Lord’s people into the land of Kenaan, that our inheritancemay be on this side the Jordan. And Mosheh gave to them, the sons of Gad and of Reuben, and to the halftribe of Menasheh bar Joseph, the kingdom. of Sihon king of the Amoraee, andthe kingdom of Og king of Mathnan, the land with its cities by the limits ofthe cities of the land round about. And the sons of Gad built (rebuilt)Madbashta and Maklalta and Lechaiath, [JERUSALEM. And the sons of Gad builtDebeshta, and Maklalta, and Lechaiath,] and Maklelath, Shophena, and MikvarGeramatha, [JERUSALEM. And Maklalta of Shophan, and Makvar, and Jegbeha,] andthe strong city of Beth Nimrin, and Beth Haran, fenced cities (with) folds forsheep. And the sons of Reuben built (rebuilt) Beth Heshbon and Mahalath Mera,and the city of the two streets paved with marble which is Beresha, and theplace of the sepulchre of Mosheh, and (rebuilt) the city of Balak, destroyingout of it the idol of Peor, in the house of his high places, and the city whosewalls surrounded it, inscribed with the names of his heroes, and Shiran. Andafter they had built them they called their names after the names of the menwho had built them. And the sons of Makir bar Menasheh went to Gilead and subdued it, anddrave out the Amoraee who were therein. And Mosheh gave Gilead to Makir barMenasheh, and he dwelt in it. And Jair bar Menasheh went and subdued theirvillages, and called them the villages of Jair. And Nobach went and subduedKenath and its villages, and called it Nobach, after his own name.