Numbers

SCROLL TO BOTTOM FOR CONTENT THREADS.

Prior Book \| Prior Chapter \| Prior Verse \| Next Verse \| Next Chapter \| Next Book \| Viewing NASB and Amplified 2015
NASB	Numbers 31:1 Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,
AMPLIFIED 2015	Numbers 31:1 The LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

SCROLL TO BOTTOM FOR CONTENT THREADS.

Subject: Midianites reappear?

Bible Note: Hi, Terry;

At some point, everyone has to decide if the Bible is truthful or not. If I decide that it is not truthful, then apparent inconsistencies and contradictions can easily be found and my choice appears to be upheld.

If I decide that it is truthful, then I try to resolve these apparent inconsistencies and contradictions. Having decided that it is truthful, I offer the following observations:

God told Moses to "take vengeance" on the Midianites (v.2); "vengeance" does not necessarily imply complete destruction. The account makes it plain that of the Midianites attacked, all the men and boys were killed. It is not known if all Midianites everywhere were attacked. (The campaign SEEMS to have been fairly short with no real travel, pursuit, or "search and destroy" missions involved, but that's just my opinion.)

Further, this vengeance was presumably in the context of worshipping the Baal of Peor (v.16, Numbers 25:16-18). It seems reasonable that the population of Midianites responsible would be the subject of this vengeance. But, again, this does not exclude the survival of nomadic Midianites who were not in the immediate area and not party to Israel's sin.

Hope this helps.

Peace and grace,
Steve aka Indiana Jones