Bible Strands
Deuteronomy 3:7
But all the livestock and plunder of the cities we carried off for ourselves.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Moses addresses the Israelites regarding the completed campaigns east of the Jordan. He clarifies that while the inhabitants of conquered cities faced total destruction, the spoils were retained by the Israelite forces.
The words — The verb בַּזּוֹנוּ (ba.Zo.nu) translates literally to "we plundered," operating alongside הַבְּהֵמָה (ha.behemah) for "livestock" and שְלַל (she.lal) for "booty." These terms specify exactly what was extracted from the cities after the people were devoted to destruction.
The thread — The text establishes this exact division of spoils in Deuteronomy 2:35, Joshua 8:27, and Joshua 11:11. Each passage records Israel taking only the animals and plunder while the inhabitants were put to the sword.
Why it lands — The verse requires the reader to observe that biblical conquest distinguishes sharply between the fate of people and the fate of property. It demands acknowledgment that material acquisition is permitted only where the text explicitly allows it amid judgment.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
But all the cattle, and the spoil of the cities, we took for a prey to ourselves.
Cross-references
- Deuteronomy 2:35 We carried off for ourselves only the livestock and the plunder from the cities we captured.
- Joshua 8:27 Israel took for themselves only the cattle and plunder of that city, as the LORD had commanded Joshua.
- Joshua 11:11 The Israelites put everyone in Hazor to the sword, devoting them to destruction. Nothing that breathed remained, and Joshua burned down Hazor itself.