The officers who were over the thousands of the army, the captains of thousands, and the captains of hundreds, came near to Moses.
Parallel Translations
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The officers who were over the thousands of the army, the captains of thousands, and the captains of hundreds, came near to Moses.
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And the officers which were over thousands of the host, the captains of thousands, and captains of hundreds, came near unto Moses:
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And the officers that were over the thousands of the host, the captains of thousands, and the captains of hundreds, came near unto Moses;
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Explain this verse (5 sources)
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John Gill 1763 · Public Domain For the men of war had taken spoil, every…
For the men of war had taken spoil, every man for himself. And which he kept for himself, and did not deliver in with the prey or booty, which was brought to Moses and Eleazar, the sum of which was taken by them; and this seems to confirm what has been hinted, that, as each soldier had taken spoil for himself, so everyone contributed his quota towards this freewill offering to the Lord.
Numbers 31:54
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain officers . . . said . . . there…
officers . . . said . . . there lacketh not one man of us--A victory so signal, and the glory of which was untarnished by the loss of a single Israelitish soldier, was an astonishing miracle. So clearly betokening the direct interposition of Heaven, it might well awaken the liveliest feelings of grateful acknowledgment to God (Psa 44:2-3). The oblation they brought for the Lord "was partly an atonement" or reparation for their error (Num 31:14-16), for it could not possess any expiatory virtue, and partly a tribute of gratitude for the stupendous service rendered them. It consisted of the "spoil," which, being the acquisition of individual valor, was not divided like the "prey," or livestock, each soldier retaining it in lieu of pay; it was offered by the "captains" alone, whose pious feelings were evinced by the dedication of the spoil which fell to their share. There were jewels to the amount of 16,750 shekels, equal to £87,869 16s. 5d. sterling.
Next: Numbers Chapter 32
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain The Gifts Consecrated to the Lord
The Gifts Consecrated to the Lord
v. 48. And the officers which were over thousands of the host, (namely,) the captains of thousands and captains of hundreds, came near unto Moses;
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v. 49. and they said unto Moses, Thy servants have taken the sum of the men of war which are under our charge, and there lacketh not one man of us. "This is one of the features of this narrative which shows that we are dealing here with the execution of a divine sentence. It implies an extraordinary divine protection, which is in accordance with the view that they were in a peculiar sense the Lord’s instruments. " (Gosman. )
v. 50. We have therefore brought an oblation for the Lord, what every man hath gotten, of the individual plunder which they had made, of jewels of gold, chains, armbands, and bracelets, seal-rings, rings, such as were fastened in the noses, earrings, and tablets, small golden spheres which were used for personal adornment, to make an atonement for our souls before the Lord, for the blessing of their safe return, since they felt that they were not worthy of such divine goodness.
v. 51. And Moses and Eleazar, the priest, took the gold of them, even all wrought jewels, gold that had been fashioned into jewelry.
v. 52. And all the gold of the offering that they offered up, to the Lord, of the captains of thousands and of the captains of hundreds, was sixteen thousand seven hundred and fifty shekels (16,750), or more than $160,000, not too large a sum, by any means; for the nomadic tribes were rich in jewelry as well as in herds and flocks.
v. 53. (For the men of war had taken spoil, every man for himself. )
v. 54. And Moses and Eleazar, the priest, took the gold of the captains of thousands and of hundreds, and brought it into the Tabernacle of the Congregation, into the treasury of the Sanctuary, for a memorial for the children of Israel before the Lord. It pleases the Lord, even now, if believers, for special manifestations of God’s goodness and mercy, show their appreciation in special gifts of gratitude, for the work of the Lord.
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 the commanders over thousands and the captains over hundreds
the commanders over thousands and the captains over hundreds
Possible meanings are 1) these numbers represent the exact amount of soldiers that these commanders and captains led. AT: "the commanders over 1,000 soldiers and the captains over 100 soldiers" or 2) the words translated as "thousands" and "hundreds" do not represent exact numbers, but are the names of larger and smaller military divisions. AT: "the commanders over large military divisions and the captains over smaller military divisions" See how you translated a similar phrase in Numbers 31:14. (See: Numbers)
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Your servants have counted
The commanders refer to themselves as "your servants." This is a polite way to speak to someone with greater authority.
not one man is missing
This can be stated in a positive statement. "we know for certain that every man is here" (See: Litotes)
translationWords
commander
servant
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 31:48-49 Though it is unusual for no soldiers from…
31:48-49 Though it is unusual for no soldiers from an army to be killed in battle, it is not impossible. Classical authors also reported battles in which few or no Roman soldiers were killed. If the Israelites had the advantages of preparation, surprise, and overwhelming force, they could have defeated the Midianites and lost no troops, especially in light of God’s blessing.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.