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NASB | Numbers 31:17 "Now therefore, kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman who has known man intimately. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Numbers 31:17 "Now therefore, kill every male among the children, and kill every woman who is not a virgin. |
Bible Question:
In this verse (and the next) Moses is speaking to his military officers after they returned from war with the Midianites. He was angry that they had not killed ALL the Midianites, but instead had brought back the boys, girls and women, along with all the other spoils of war. I have two questions: 1. how is Moses justified in ordering the murder of innocent male children and encouraging the officers to take the young virgin women for themselves? 2. in what capacity are the officers to "take" the young virgins "for themselves"? As wives, as mistresses, as concubines, what? |
Bible Answer: Dear Parable, If I may, I'd like to take a shot at answering these questions. Question #1, "how is Moses justified in ordering the murder of innocent male children and encouraging the officers to take the young virgin women for themselves?" Justification ultimately arises only from God Himself. The command for vengeance came came from the Lord (verse 1 and 2). Question #2, "in what capacity are the officers to 'take' the young virgins 'for themselves'? As wives, as mistresses, as concubines, what?" (sic) They were to be taken as slaves. There were two distinct kinds of slaves in Biblical times: First, there were the national slaves of the state. Usually, these were subjugated peoples (Numbers 31:25-47; Joshua 9:23; 2 Samuel 8:2, 14; 1 Chronicles 18:2, 6, 13). There was also a partial kind of slavery of people who owed a specific amount of labor, yet who lived otherwise free lives (Joshua 9:23). Second, there were people who entered slavery because of debt (Exodus 22:2; 2 Kings 4:1). Selling oneself into slavery was also an escape from extreme poverty (Leviticus 25:39; 25:13, 40). These kinds of slaves were to be freed in the year of Jubilee unless they chose to remain in the household of their master (Exodus 21:5-6; Deuteronomy 15:16-17). They were not required to serve more than six years (Exodus 21:2; Deuteronomy 15:12). As with everything else in the Law, both royal and private slave owners often failed to abide by its requirements (Jeremiah 34:8-22). Although slaves were deemed property (Exodus 21:32; Leviticus 25:46), the rights of the owner were strictly limited while the slave's interests were protected. Abusive treatment of a slave would result in manumition (Exodus 21:26-27). There is a kind of modern pride that deems all of our own values as superior to that of other peoples in other times. We must remember that God's revelation in history was progressive. Our attitudes toward things like slavery are, hopefully, rooted in a clearer picture of charity in the light of the New Testament. However, in a great number of other areas, we are woefully hypocritical. In Him, Doc |