Numbers 31:38

Study note

Setting — The text records a military accounting after a campaign, listing livestock totals and the portion set aside for Yahweh. The speaker is the narrator reporting the division of spoils to the community.

The words — מִכְסָם (mikh.Sa/m) = tax or tribute, and בָּקָר (ba.Kar) = cattle or herd. These terms anchor the verse in a formal inventory rather than a casual list.

The thread — Numbers 31:38 continues a running tally of war gains, pairing a total count of cattle with a specific levy for Yahweh. This accounting pattern repeats in Numbers 31:37 and Numbers 31:39, which list sheep and donkeys with their own designated portions.

Why it lands — It requires a reader to note that a fixed fraction of military spoils is formally separated before any human distribution takes place. The verse establishes a procedural boundary where divine claim is calculated and recorded alongside human shares.

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.