Bible Strands
Numbers 31:27
Then divide the captives between the troops who went out to battle and the rest of the congregation.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The LORD speaks to Moses, continuing the directive immediately after the initial count of captives and livestock. The command establishes how the captured persons and animals are to be allocated.
The words — חָצִיתָ (cha.Tzi.ta) = you will divide and מַלְקוֹחַ (mal.Ko.ach) = booty. These terms anchor the verse in the concrete act of partitioning war acquisitions.
The thread — The distribution principle echoes in Joshua 22:8, where tribes return with immense wealth, and 1 Samuel 30:24, which mandates equal shares for combatants and those who guarded supplies. Psalm 68:12 similarly depicts a woman at home dividing the spoils of war.
Why it lands — The text demands that resources be allocated according to documented participation rather than arbitrary discretion. It requires readers to recognize structured equity as a baseline for communal survival.
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
And divide the prey into two parts; between them that took the war upon them, who went out to battle, and between all the congregation:
Cross-references
- Joshua 22:8 saying, “Return to your homes with your great wealth, with immense herds of livestock, with silver, gold, bronze, iron, and very many clothes. Divide with your brothers the spoil of your enemies.”
- 1 Samuel 30:24 Who will listen to your proposal? The share of the one who went to battle will match the share of the one who stayed with the supplies. They will share alike.”
- Psalms 68:12 “Kings and their armies flee in haste; she who waits at home divides the plunder.
- 1 Samuel 30:4 So David and the troops with him lifted up their voices and wept until they had no strength left to weep.