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Numbers 31:21 Then Eleazar the priest said to the soldiers who had gone into battle, "This is the statute of the law which the LORD has commanded Moses:
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border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr><td><iframe src="/ad1.htm" width="100%" height="48" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div></td></tr></table><div id="movebox2"><table border="0" align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr><td><div id="topheading"><a href="/numbers/31-20.htm" title="Numbers 31:20">◄</a> Numbers 31:21 <a href="/numbers/31-22.htm" title="Numbers 31:22">►</a></div></tr></table></div><div align="center" class="maintable2"><table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr><td><div id="topverse"> <a href="#audio" class="clickchap2" title="Context and Audio Bible"> Audio </a> <a href="#crossref" class="clickchap2" title="Cross References"> Cross </a> <a href="#study" class="clickchap2" title="Study Bible"> Study </a> <a href="#commentary" class="clickchap2" title="Commentary"> Comm </a> <a href="#lexicon" class="clickchap2" title="Lexicon"> Heb </a> </div><div id="leftbox"><div class="padleft"><div class="vheadingv"><b>Verse</b><a href="/bsb/numbers/31.htm" class="clickchap" style="color:#001320" title="Click any translation name for full chapter"> (Click for Chapter)</a></div><div id="par"><span class="versiontext"><a href="/niv/numbers/31.htm">New International Version</a></span><br />Then Eleazar the priest said to the soldiers who had gone into battle, “This is what is required by the law that the LORD gave Moses:<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/nlt/numbers/31.htm">New Living Translation</a></span><br />Then Eleazar the priest said to the men who were in the battle, “The LORD has given Moses this legal requirement:<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/esv/numbers/31.htm">English Standard Version</a></span><br />Then Eleazar the priest said to the men in the army who had gone to battle: “This is the statute of the law that the LORD has commanded Moses:<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/bsb/numbers/31.htm">Berean Standard Bible</a></span><br />Then Eleazar the priest said to the soldiers who had gone into battle, “This is the statute of the law which the LORD has commanded Moses:<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/kjv/numbers/31.htm">King James Bible</a></span><br />And Eleazar the priest said unto the men of war which went to the battle, This <i>is</i> the ordinance of the law which the LORD commanded Moses;<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/nkjv/numbers/31.htm">New King James Version</a></span><br />Then Eleazar the priest said to the men of war who had gone to the battle, “This <i>is</i> the ordinance of the law which the LORD commanded Moses:<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/nasb_/numbers/31.htm">New American Standard Bible</a></span><br />Then Eleazar the priest said to the men of war who had gone to battle, “This is the statute of the Law which the LORD has commanded Moses:<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/nasb/numbers/31.htm">NASB 1995</a></span><br />Then Eleazar the priest said to the men of war who had gone to battle, “This is the statute of the law which the LORD has commanded Moses:<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/nasb77/numbers/31.htm">NASB 1977 </a></span><br />Then Eleazar the priest said to the men of war who had gone to battle, “This is the statute of the law which the LORD has commanded Moses:<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/lsb/numbers/31.htm">Legacy Standard Bible </a></span><br />Then Eleazar the priest said to the men of war who had gone to battle, “This is the statute of the law which Yahweh has commanded Moses:<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/amp/numbers/31.htm">Amplified Bible</a></span><br />Then Eleazar the priest said to the men of war who had gone to battle, “This is the statute of the law which the LORD has commanded Moses:<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/csb/numbers/31.htm">Christian Standard Bible</a></span><br />Then the priest Eleazar said to the soldiers who had gone to battle, “This is the legal statute the LORD commanded Moses:<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/hcsb/numbers/31.htm">Holman Christian Standard Bible</a></span><br />Then Eleazar the priest said to the soldiers who had gone to battle, “This is the legal statute the LORD commanded Moses: <span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/asv/numbers/31.htm">American Standard Version</a></span><br />And Eleazar the priest said unto the men of war that went to the battle, This is the statute of the law which Jehovah hath commanded Moses:<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/erv/numbers/31.htm">English Revised Version</a></span><br />And Eleazar the priest said unto the men of war which went to the battle, This is the statute of the law which the LORD hath commanded Moses:<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/gwt/numbers/31.htm">GOD'S WORD® Translation</a></span><br />Then the priest Eleazar said to the soldiers who had gone into battle, "This is what the LORD's teachings told Moses to do:<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/gnt/numbers/31.htm">Good News Translation</a></span><br />Eleazar the priest said to the men who had returned from battle, "These are the regulations that the LORD has given to Moses. <span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/isv/numbers/31.htm">International Standard Version</a></span><br />Eleazar the priest told the soldiers who had gone to battle, "This is the ordinance of the law that the LORD commanded Moses <span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/msb/numbers/31.htm">Majority Standard Bible</a></span><br />Then Eleazar the priest said to the soldiers who had gone into battle, ?This is the statute of the law which the LORD has commanded Moses:<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/net/numbers/31.htm">NET Bible</a></span><br />Then Eleazar the priest said to the men of war who had gone into the battle, "This is the ordinance of the law that the LORD commanded Moses:<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/nheb/numbers/31.htm">New Heart English Bible</a></span><br />Eleazar the priest said to the men of war who went to the battle, "This is the statute of the law which the LORD has commanded Moses:<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/wbt/numbers/31.htm">Webster's Bible Translation</a></span><br />And Eleazar the priest said to the men of war who went to the battle, This is the ordinance of the law which the LORD commanded Moses;<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/web/numbers/31.htm">World English Bible</a></span><br />Eleazar the priest said to the men of war who went to the battle, “This is the statute of the law which Yahweh has commanded Moses. <div class="vheading2"><b>Literal Translations</b></div><span class="versiontext"><a href="/lsv/numbers/31.htm">Literal Standard Version</a></span><br />And Eleazar the priest says to the men of war who go to battle, “This [is] the statute of the law which YHWH has commanded Moses:<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/ylt/numbers/31.htm">Young's Literal Translation</a></span><br /> And Eleazar the priest saith unto the men of the host who go in to battle, 'This is the statute of the law which Jehovah hath commanded Moses:<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/slt/numbers/31.htm">Smith's Literal Translation</a></span><br />And Eleazar the priest will say to the men of war coming from the battle, This the law of instruction which Jehovah commanded Moses:<div class="vheading2"><b>Catholic Translations</b></div><span class="versiontext"><a href="/drb/numbers/31.htm">Douay-Rheims Bible</a></span><br />Eleazar also the priest spoke to the men of the army, that had fought, in this manner: This is the ordinance of the law, which the Lord hath commanded Moses: <span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/cpdv/numbers/31.htm">Catholic Public Domain Version</a></span><br />Likewise, Eleazar the priest spoke in this manner to the men of the army who had fought: “This is the precept of the law, which the Lord has commanded Moses:<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/nabre/numbers/31.htm">New American Bible</a></span><br />Eleazar the priest told the soldiers who had taken part in the battle: “This is the prescribed ritual which the LORD has commanded Moses:<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/nrsvce/numbers/31.htm">New Revised Standard Version</a></span><br />Eleazar the priest said to the troops who had gone to battle: “This is the statute of the law that the LORD has commanded Moses:<div class="vheading2"><b>Translations from Aramaic</b></div><span class="versiontext"><a href="/lamsa/numbers/31.htm">Lamsa Bible</a></span><br />And Eleazar the priest said to the men of war who had returned from the battle, This is the ordinance of the law which the LORD commanded Moses:<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/hpbt/numbers/31.htm">Peshitta Holy Bible Translated</a></span><br />And Eliazer the Priest told the men of the army who came from this war the commandment of the law that LORD JEHOVAH had commanded to Moshe;<div class="vheading2"><b>OT Translations</b></div><span class="versiontext"><a href="/jps/numbers/31.htm">JPS Tanakh 1917</a></span><br />And Eleazar the priest said unto the men of war that went to the battle: 'This is the statute of the law which the LORD hath commanded Moses:<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/sep/numbers/31.htm">Brenton Septuagint Translation</a></span><br />And Eleazar the priest said to the men of the host that came from the battle-array, This <i>is</i> the ordinance of the law which the Lord has commanded Moses.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/parallel/numbers/31-21.htm">Additional Translations ...</a></span></div></div></div><div id="centbox"><div class="padcent"><a name="audio" id="audio"></a><div class="vheadingv"><b>Audio Bible</b></div><iframe width="100%" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/yauBFvKLNNo?start=9580" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen></iframe><span class="p"><br /><br /><br /></span><div class="vheadingv"><b>Context</b></div><span class="hdg"><a href="/bsb/numbers/31.htm">Vengeance on Midian</a></span><br>…<span class="reftext">20</span>And purify every garment and leather good, everything made of goat’s hair, and every article of wood.” <span class="reftext">21</span><span class="highl"><a href="/hebrew/499.htm" title="499: ’el·‘ā·zār (N-proper-ms) -- God has helped, six Isr. From 'el and azar; God helper; Elazar, the name of seven Israelites.">Then Eleazar</a> <a href="/hebrew/3548.htm" title="3548: hak·kō·hên (Art:: N-ms) -- Priest. Active participle of kahan; literally, one officiating, a priest; also an acting priest.">the priest</a> <a href="/hebrew/559.htm" title="559: way·yō·mer (Conj-w:: V-Qal-ConsecImperf-3ms) -- To utter, say. A primitive root; to say.">said</a> <a href="/hebrew/413.htm" title="413: ’el- (Prep) -- To, into, towards. ">to</a> <a href="/hebrew/582.htm" title="582: ’an·šê (N-mpc) -- Man, mankind. From 'anash; properly, a mortal; hence, a man in general.">the soldiers</a> <a href="/hebrew/6635.htm" title="6635: haṣ·ṣā·ḇā (Art:: N-cs) -- Or tsbadah; from tsaba'; a mass of persons, especially reg. Organized for war; by implication, a campaign, literally or figuratively."></a> <a href="/hebrew/935.htm" title="935: hab·bā·’îm (Art:: V-Qal-Prtcpl-mp) -- To come in, come, go in, go. A primitive root; to go or come.">who had gone</a> <a href="/hebrew/4421.htm" title="4421: lam·mil·ḥā·māh (Prep-l, Art:: N-fs) -- A battle, war. From lacham; a battle; generally, war.">into battle,</a> <a href="/hebrew/2063.htm" title="2063: zōṯ (Pro-fs) -- Hereby in it, likewise, the one other, same, she, so much, such deed, that. Irregular feminine of zeh; this.">“This</a> <a href="/hebrew/2708.htm" title="2708: ḥuq·qaṯ (N-fsc) -- Something prescribed, an enactment, statute. Feminine of choq, and meaning substantially the same.">is the statute</a> <a href="/hebrew/8451.htm" title="8451: hat·tō·w·rāh (Art:: N-fs) -- Direction, instruction, law. Or torah; from yarah; a precept or statute, especially the Decalogue or Pentateuch.">of the law</a> <a href="/hebrew/834.htm" title="834: ’ă·šer- (Pro-r) -- Who, which, that. A primitive relative pronoun; who, which, what, that; also when, where, how, because, in order that, etc.">which</a> <a href="/hebrew/3068.htm" title="3068: Yah·weh (N-proper-ms) -- The proper name of the God of Israel. From hayah; self-Existent or Eternal; Jehovah, Jewish national name of God.">the LORD</a> <a href="/hebrew/6680.htm" title="6680: ṣiw·wāh (V-Piel-Perf-3ms) -- To lay charge (upon), give charge (to), command, order. A primitive root; to constitute, enjoin.">has commanded</a> <a href="/hebrew/853.htm" title="853: ’eṯ- (DirObjM) -- Apparent contracted from 'owth in the demonstrative sense of entity; properly, self."></a> <a href="/hebrew/4872.htm" title="4872: mō·šeh (N-proper-ms) -- A great Isr. leader, prophet and lawgiver. From mashah; drawing out, i.e. Rescued; Mosheh, the Israelite lawgiver.">Moses:</a> </span><span class="reftext">22</span>Only the gold, silver, bronze, iron, tin, and lead—…<div class="cred"><a href="//berean.bible">Berean Standard Bible</a> · <a href="//berean.bible/downloads.htm">Download</a></div><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a name="crossref" id="crossref"></a><div class="vheading">Cross References</div><div id="crf"><span class="crossverse"><a href="/leviticus/11-32.htm">Leviticus 11:32-33</a></span><br />When one of them dies and falls on something, that article becomes unclean; any article of wood, clothing, leather, sackcloth, or any implement used for work must be rinsed with water and will remain unclean until evening; then it will be clean. / If any of them falls into a clay pot, everything in it will be unclean; you must break the pot.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/leviticus/15-12.htm">Leviticus 15:12</a></span><br />Any clay pot that the man with the discharge touches must be broken, and any wooden utensil must be rinsed with water.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/leviticus/6-28.htm">Leviticus 6:28</a></span><br />The clay pot in which the sin offering is boiled must be broken; if it is boiled in a bronze pot, the pot must be scoured and rinsed with water.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/leviticus/8-10.htm">Leviticus 8:10-11</a></span><br />Next, Moses took the anointing oil and anointed the tabernacle and everything in it; and so he consecrated them. / He sprinkled some of the oil on the altar seven times, anointing the altar and all its utensils, and the basin with its stand, to consecrate them.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/leviticus/16-19.htm">Leviticus 16:19</a></span><br />He is to sprinkle some of the blood on it with his finger seven times to cleanse it and consecrate it from the uncleanness of the Israelites.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/exodus/30-17.htm">Exodus 30:17-21</a></span><br />And the LORD said to Moses, / “You are to make a bronze basin with a bronze stand for washing. Set it between the Tent of Meeting and the altar, and put water in it, / with which Aaron and his sons are to wash their hands and feet. ...<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/exodus/29-36.htm">Exodus 29:36-37</a></span><br />Sacrifice a bull as a sin offering each day for atonement. Purify the altar by making atonement for it, and anoint it to consecrate it. / For seven days you shall make atonement for the altar and consecrate it. Then the altar will become most holy; whatever touches the altar will be holy.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/exodus/40-9.htm">Exodus 40:9-11</a></span><br />Take the anointing oil and anoint the tabernacle and everything in it; consecrate it along with all its furnishings, and it shall be holy. / Anoint the altar of burnt offering and all its utensils; consecrate the altar, and it shall be most holy. / Anoint the basin and its stand and consecrate them.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/1_samuel/21-5.htm">1 Samuel 21:5</a></span><br />David answered, “Women have indeed been kept from us, as is usual when I set out. And the bodies of the young men are holy even on common missions. How much more so today!”<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/2_chronicles/29-15.htm">2 Chronicles 29:15-16</a></span><br />When they had assembled their brothers and consecrated themselves, they went in to cleanse the house of the LORD, according to the command of the king by the words of the LORD. / So the priests went inside the house of the LORD to cleanse it, and they brought out to the courtyard all the unclean things that they found in the temple of the LORD. Then the Levites took these things and carried them out to the Kidron Valley.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/isaiah/52-11.htm">Isaiah 52:11</a></span><br />Depart, depart, go out from there! Touch no unclean thing; come out from it, purify yourselves, you who carry the vessels of the LORD.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/ezekiel/36-25.htm">Ezekiel 36:25</a></span><br />I will also sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean. I will cleanse you from all your impurities and all your idols.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/matthew/23-25.htm">Matthew 23:25-26</a></span><br />Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. / Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, so that the outside may become clean as well.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/mark/7-4.htm">Mark 7:4</a></span><br />And on returning from the market, they do not eat unless they wash. And there are many other traditions for them to observe, including the washing of cups, pitchers, kettles, and couches for dining.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/john/2-6.htm">John 2:6</a></span><br />Now six stone water jars had been set there for the Jewish rites of purification. Each could hold from twenty to thirty gallons.</div><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a name="tsk" id="tsk"><div class="vheading">Treasury of Scripture</div><p class="tsk2">And Eleazar the priest said to the men of war which went to the battle, This is the ordinance of the law which the LORD commanded Moses;</p><p class="tskverse"><b><a href="/numbers/30-16.htm">Numbers 30:16</a></b></br> These <i>are</i> the statutes, which the LORD commanded Moses, between a man and his wife, between the father and his daughter, <i>being yet</i> in her youth in her father's house.</p><div class="vheading">Jump to Previous</div><a href="/numbers/31-14.htm">Battle</a> <a href="/numbers/31-7.htm">Commanded</a> <a href="/numbers/31-13.htm">Eleazar</a> <a href="/numbers/31-13.htm">Elea'zar</a> <a href="/numbers/31-14.htm">Host</a> <a href="/numbers/19-2.htm">Law</a> <a href="/numbers/31-12.htm">Moses</a> <a href="/numbers/29-37.htm">Ordinance</a> <a href="/numbers/31-13.htm">Priest</a> <a href="/numbers/27-11.htm">Requirement</a> <a href="/numbers/24-19.htm">Rule</a> <a href="/james/4-1.htm">Soldiers</a> <a href="/numbers/27-11.htm">Statute</a> <a href="/numbers/31-14.htm">War</a><div class="vheading2">Jump to Next</div><a href="/numbers/31-27.htm">Battle</a> <a href="/numbers/31-31.htm">Commanded</a> <a href="/numbers/31-26.htm">Eleazar</a> <a href="/numbers/31-26.htm">Elea'zar</a> <a href="/numbers/31-27.htm">Host</a> <a href="/deuteronomy/1-5.htm">Law</a> <a href="/numbers/31-25.htm">Moses</a> <a href="/numbers/35-29.htm">Ordinance</a> <a href="/numbers/31-26.htm">Priest</a> <a href="/romans/8-4.htm">Requirement</a> <a href="/numbers/32-22.htm">Rule</a> <a href="/numbers/31-27.htm">Soldiers</a> <a href="/numbers/35-29.htm">Statute</a> <a href="/numbers/31-26.htm">War</a><div class="vheading2">Numbers 31</div><span class="reftext">1. </span><span class="outlinetext"><a href="/numbers/31-1.htm">The Midianites are spoiled, and Balaam slain</a></span><br><span class="reftext">13. </span><span class="outlinetext"><a href="/numbers/31-13.htm">Moses is angry with the officers, for saving the women alive</a></span><br><span class="reftext">19. </span><span class="outlinetext"><a href="/numbers/31-19.htm">How the soldiers, with their captives and spoil, are to be purified</a></span><br><span class="reftext">25. </span><span class="outlinetext"><a href="/numbers/31-25.htm">The proportion in which the prey is to be divided</a></span><br><span class="reftext">48. </span><span class="outlinetext"><a href="/numbers/31-48.htm">The voluntary offering unto the treasure of the Lord</a></span><br></div></div><div id="mdd"><div align="center"><div class="bot2"><table align="center" width="100%"><tr><td><div align="center"> <script id="3d27ed63fc4348d5b062c4527ae09445"> (new Image()).src = 'https://capi.connatix.com/tr/si?token=51ce25d5-1a8c-424a-8695-4bd48c750f35&cid=3a9f82d0-4344-4f8d-ac0c-e1a0eb43a405'; </script> <script id="b817b7107f1d4a7997da1b3c33457e03"> (new Image()).src = 'https://capi.connatix.com/tr/si?token=cb0edd8b-b416-47eb-8c6d-3cc96561f7e8&cid=3a9f82d0-4344-4f8d-ac0c-e1a0eb43a405'; </script><br /><br /> <!-- /1078254/BH-728x90-ATF --> <div id='div-gpt-ad-1529103594582-2'> </div><br /><br /> <!-- /1078254/BH-300x250-ATF --> <div id='div-gpt-ad-1529103594582-0' style='max-width: 300px;'> </div><br /><br /> <!-- /1078254/BH-728x90-BTF --> <div id='div-gpt-ad-1529103594582-3'> </div><br /><br /> <!-- /1078254/BH-300x250-BTF --> <div id='div-gpt-ad-1529103594582-1' style='max-width: 300px;'> </div><br /><br /> <!-- /1078254/BH-728x90-BTF2 --> <div align="center" id='div-gpt-ad-1531425649696-0'> </div><br /><br /> <ins class="adsbygoogle" style="display:inline-block;width:200px;height:200px" data-ad-client="ca-pub-3753401421161123" data-ad-slot="3592799687"></ins> <script> (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); </script> <br /><br /> </div> </td></tr></table></div></div></div><div id="combox"><div class="padcom"><a name="study" id="study"></a><div class="vheading"><table width="100%"><tr><td width="99%" valign="top"><a href="/study/numbers/31.htm">Study Bible</a></td><td width="1%" valign="top"><a href="/study/numbers/" title="Book Summary and Study">Book ◦</a> <a href="/study/chapters/numbers/31.htm" title="Chapter summary and Study">Chapter </a></tr></table></div><b>Then Eleazar the priest said to the soldiers who had gone into battle</b><br>Eleazar, the son of Aaron, served as the high priest after Aaron's death. His role was crucial in guiding the Israelites in spiritual and ceremonial matters. The soldiers mentioned here had just returned from a victorious battle against the Midianites, a people who had previously led Israel into sin (Numbers 25). The priest's involvement underscores the importance of maintaining ritual purity and obedience to God's commands even in the aftermath of warfare. This reflects the broader biblical theme of God's holiness and the need for His people to remain distinct from surrounding nations.<p><b>“This is the statute of the law which the LORD has commanded Moses:</b><br>The phrase emphasizes the divine origin of the law, highlighting that it is not merely a human tradition but a command from God Himself. This underscores the authority of the law and the necessity for the Israelites to adhere to it. The reference to Moses connects this statute to the broader Mosaic Law, which was given at Sinai and forms the foundation of Israel's covenant relationship with God. The law often served as a means to set Israel apart, ensuring they lived in a way that reflected God's character. This particular statute likely pertains to purification rituals, which were essential for maintaining the community's holiness after contact with death and warfare.<div class="vheading2">Persons / Places / Events</div>1. <b><a href="/topical/e/eleazar_the_priest.htm">Eleazar the Priest</a></b><br>Eleazar was the son of Aaron and served as the high priest after Aaron's death. He played a crucial role in guiding the Israelites in religious and ceremonial matters.<br><br>2. <b><a href="/topical/t/the_soldiers.htm">The Soldiers</a></b><br>These were the Israelite warriors who had returned from battle against the Midianites, a conflict commanded by God as a form of judgment against Midian.<br><br>3. <b><a href="/topical/t/the_law_of_the_lord.htm">The Law of the LORD</a></b><br>This refers to the divine instructions given to Moses, which included various statutes and ordinances for the Israelites to follow, particularly concerning purity and holiness.<br><br>4. <b><a href="/topical/m/moses.htm">Moses</a></b><br>The leader of the Israelites who received the law from God and communicated it to the people. He was responsible for ensuring that God's commands were followed.<br><br>5. <b><a href="/topical/t/the_battle_against_midian.htm">The Battle Against Midian</a></b><br>This was a divinely sanctioned military campaign against the Midianites, who had led Israel into sin through idolatry and immorality.<div class="vheading2">Teaching Points</div><b><a href="/topical/t/the_importance_of_obedience.htm">The Importance of Obedience</a></b><br>Obedience to God's commands is crucial, as demonstrated by Eleazar's reminder to the soldiers. This teaches us the importance of adhering to God's Word in our lives.<br><br><b><a href="/topical/p/purity_and_holiness.htm">Purity and Holiness</a></b><br>The purification laws highlight the need for spiritual cleanliness. As believers, we are called to live holy lives, set apart for God's purposes.<br><br><b><a href="/topical/l/leadership_and_responsibility.htm">Leadership and Responsibility</a></b><br>Eleazar's role underscores the responsibility of spiritual leaders to guide others in following God's commands. This is a reminder for leaders today to faithfully teach and uphold biblical truths.<br><br><b><a href="/topical/g/god's_justice_and_mercy.htm">God's Justice and Mercy</a></b><br>The battle against Midian reflects God's justice against sin, but also His mercy in providing a way for purification. We are reminded of the balance between justice and mercy in God's character.<br><br><b><a href="/topical/t/the_role_of_the_law.htm">The Role of the Law</a></b><br>The law served as a guide for the Israelites, pointing them to God's standards. In Christ, we see the fulfillment of the law, calling us to live by the Spirit.<div class="vheading2">Lists and Questions</div><a href="/top10/lessons_from_numbers_31.htm">Top 10 Lessons from Numbers 31</a><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a href="/q/who_was_eleazar_in_the_bible.htm">Who was Eleazar in the Bible?</a><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a href="/q/who_was_herod_the_great.htm">Who was Ithamar in the Bible?</a><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a href="/q/does_num_18_20-24_conflict_on_levite_land.htm">Does the inheritance prohibition in Numbers 18:20-24 conflict with other passages that suggest Levites owned cities or land, indicating a possible textual inconsistency?</a><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a href="/q/how_did_david_use_the_ephod_for_guidance.htm">How did David consult the ephod for instant divine guidance in 1 Samuel 23:9-12 when similar direct communication is uncommon elsewhere in the Old Testament?</a><a name="commentary" id="commentary"></a><div class="vheading2"><a href="/commentaries/pulpit/numbers/31.htm">Pulpit Commentary</a></div><span class="cmt_sub_title">Verse 21.</span> - <span class="cmt_word">And Eleazar the priest said</span>, <span class="cmt_word">This is the ordinance</span> <span class="cmt_word">of the law</span> (<span class="hebrew">חֻקַּת הַתּורָה</span>, "law-statute, as in <a href="/numbers/19-2.htm">Numbers 19:2</a>) <span class="cmt_word">which the Lord commanded Moses.</span> There is something peculiar in this expression which points to the probability, either that this paragraph (verses 21-24) was added after the death of Moses, or that "the law was already beginning, even in the lifetime of Moses, to assume the position which it after. wards held - that, viz., of a fixed code to be interpreted and applied by the living authority of the priesthood. This is the earliest instance of the high priest declaring to the people what the law of God as delivered to Moses was, and then applying and enlarging that law to meet the present circumstances. It is no doubt possible that Eleazar referred the matter to Moses, but it would seem on the face of the narrative that he spoke on his own authority as high priest. When we compare the ceremonial of the later Jews, so precisely and minutely ordered for every conceivable contingency, with the Mosaic legislation itself, it is evident that the process of authoritative amplification must have been going on from the first; but it is certainly strange to find that process begun while Moses himself was alive and active. <span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/commentaries/numbers/31-21.htm">Parallel Commentaries ...</a></span><span class="p"><br /><br /><br /></span><a name="lexicon" id="lexicon"></a><div class="vheading">Hebrew</div><span class="word">Then Eleazar</span><br /><span class="heb">אֶלְעָזָ֤ר</span> <span class="translit">(’el·‘ā·zār)</span><br /><span class="parse">Noun - proper - masculine singular<br /></span><span class="str"><a href="/hebrew/strongs_499.htm">Strong's 499: </a> </span><span class="str2">Eleazar -- 'God has helped', six Israelites</span><br /><br /><span class="word">the priest</span><br /><span class="heb">הַכֹּהֵן֙</span> <span class="translit">(hak·kō·hên)</span><br /><span class="parse">Article | Noun - masculine singular<br /></span><span class="str"><a href="/hebrew/strongs_3548.htm">Strong's 3548: </a> </span><span class="str2">Priest</span><br /><br /><span class="word">said</span><br /><span class="heb">וַיֹּ֨אמֶר</span> <span class="translit">(way·yō·mer)</span><br /><span class="parse">Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular<br /></span><span class="str"><a href="/hebrew/strongs_559.htm">Strong's 559: </a> </span><span class="str2">To utter, say</span><br /><br /><span class="word">to</span><br /><span class="heb">אֶל־</span> <span class="translit">(’el-)</span><br /><span class="parse">Preposition<br /></span><span class="str"><a href="/hebrew/strongs_413.htm">Strong's 413: </a> </span><span class="str2">Near, with, among, to</span><br /><br /><span class="word">the soldiers</span><br /><span class="heb">אַנְשֵׁ֣י</span> <span class="translit">(’an·šê)</span><br /><span class="parse">Noun - masculine plural construct<br /></span><span class="str"><a href="/hebrew/strongs_582.htm">Strong's 582: </a> </span><span class="str2">Man, mankind</span><br /><br /><span class="word">who had gone</span><br /><span class="heb">הַבָּאִ֖ים</span> <span class="translit">(hab·bā·’îm)</span><br /><span class="parse">Article | Verb - Qal - Participle - masculine plural<br /></span><span class="str"><a href="/hebrew/strongs_935.htm">Strong's 935: </a> </span><span class="str2">To come in, come, go in, go</span><br /><br /><span class="word">into battle,</span><br /><span class="heb">לַמִּלְחָמָ֑ה</span> <span class="translit">(lam·mil·ḥā·māh)</span><br /><span class="parse">Preposition-l, Article | Noun - feminine singular<br /></span><span class="str"><a href="/hebrew/strongs_4421.htm">Strong's 4421: </a> </span><span class="str2">A battle, war</span><br /><br /><span class="word">“This</span><br /><span class="heb">זֹ֚את</span> <span class="translit">(zōṯ)</span><br /><span class="parse">Pronoun - feminine singular<br /></span><span class="str"><a href="/hebrew/strongs_2063.htm">Strong's 2063: </a> </span><span class="str2">Hereby in it, likewise, the one other, same, she, so much, such deed, that, </span><br /><br /><span class="word">is the statute</span><br /><span class="heb">חֻקַּ֣ת</span> <span class="translit">(ḥuq·qaṯ)</span><br /><span class="parse">Noun - feminine singular construct<br /></span><span class="str"><a href="/hebrew/strongs_2708.htm">Strong's 2708: </a> </span><span class="str2">Something prescribed, an enactment, statute</span><br /><br /><span class="word">of the law</span><br /><span class="heb">הַתּוֹרָ֔ה</span> <span class="translit">(hat·tō·w·rāh)</span><br /><span class="parse">Article | Noun - feminine singular<br /></span><span class="str"><a href="/hebrew/strongs_8451.htm">Strong's 8451: </a> </span><span class="str2">Direction, instruction, law</span><br /><br /><span class="word">which</span><br /><span class="heb">אֲשֶׁר־</span> <span class="translit">(’ă·šer-)</span><br /><span class="parse">Pronoun - relative<br /></span><span class="str"><a href="/hebrew/strongs_834.htm">Strong's 834: </a> </span><span class="str2">Who, which, what, that, when, where, how, because, in order that</span><br /><br /><span class="word">the LORD</span><br /><span class="heb">יְהוָ֖ה</span> <span class="translit">(Yah·weh)</span><br /><span class="parse">Noun - proper - masculine singular<br /></span><span class="str"><a href="/hebrew/strongs_3069.htm">Strong's 3069: </a> </span><span class="str2">YHWH</span><br /><br /><span class="word">has commanded</span><br /><span class="heb">צִוָּ֥ה</span> <span class="translit">(ṣiw·wāh)</span><br /><span class="parse">Verb - Piel - Perfect - third person masculine singular<br /></span><span class="str"><a href="/hebrew/strongs_6680.htm">Strong's 6680: </a> </span><span class="str2">To lay charge (upon), give charge (to), command, order</span><br /><br /><span class="word">Moses:</span><br /><span class="heb">מֹשֶֽׁה׃</span> <span class="translit">(mō·šeh)</span><br /><span class="parse">Noun - proper - masculine singular<br /></span><span class="str"><a href="/hebrew/strongs_4872.htm">Strong's 4872: </a> </span><span class="str2">Moses -- a great Israelite leader, prophet and lawgiver</span><br /><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><div class="vheading">Links</div><a href="/niv/numbers/31-21.htm">Numbers 31:21 NIV</a><br /><a href="/nlt/numbers/31-21.htm">Numbers 31:21 NLT</a><br /><a href="/esv/numbers/31-21.htm">Numbers 31:21 ESV</a><br /><a href="/nasb/numbers/31-21.htm">Numbers 31:21 NASB</a><br /><a href="/kjv/numbers/31-21.htm">Numbers 31:21 KJV</a><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a href="//bibleapps.com/numbers/31-21.htm">Numbers 31:21 BibleApps.com</a><br /><a href="//bibliaparalela.com/numbers/31-21.htm">Numbers 31:21 Biblia Paralela</a><br /><a href="//holybible.com.cn/numbers/31-21.htm">Numbers 31:21 Chinese Bible</a><br /><a href="//saintebible.com/numbers/31-21.htm">Numbers 31:21 French Bible</a><br /><a href="/catholic/numbers/31-21.htm">Numbers 31:21 Catholic Bible</a><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a href="/numbers/31-21.htm">OT Law: Numbers 31:21 Eleazar the priest said to the men (Nu Num.) </a></div></div></td></tr></table></div><div id="left"><a href="/numbers/31-20.htm" onmouseover='lft.src="/leftgif.png"' onmouseout='lft.src="/left.png"' title="Numbers 31:20"><img src="/left.png" name="lft" border="0" alt="Numbers 31:20" /></a></div><div id="right"><a href="/numbers/31-22.htm" onmouseover='rght.src="/rightgif.png"' onmouseout='rght.src="/right.png"' title="Numbers 31:22"><img src="/right.png" name="rght" border="0" alt="Numbers 31:22" /></a></div><div id="botleft"><a href="#" onmouseover='botleft.src="/botleftgif.png"' onmouseout='botleft.src="/botleft.png"' title="Top of Page"><img src="/botleft.png" name="botleft" border="0" alt="Top of Page" /></a></div><div id="botright"><a href="#" onmouseover='botright.src="/botrightgif.png"' onmouseout='botright.src="/botright.png"' title="Top of Page"><img src="/botright.png" name="botright" border="0" alt="Top of Page" /></a></div><div id="bot"><iframe width="100%" height="1500" scrolling="no" src="/botmenubhnew2.htm" frameborder="0"></iframe></div></td></tr></table></div></body></html>