Numbers 31:44

Study note

Setting — Moses reports the division of plunder to Eleazar and the tribal leaders following the campaign against Midian. The text records the specific livestock counts allocated to the congregation’s half of the spoils.

The words — The Hebrew וּבָקָר (u-vaqar) translates literally as "and cattle," accompanied by שִׁשִּׁים וָשְׁלֹשֶׁת אֲלָפִים (shishim va-sheloshet alafim), meaning "six and thirty thousand."

The thread — This inventory structure runs directly through the surrounding verses, which list the congregation’s share of sheep in Numbers 31:43 and donkeys in Numbers 31:45.

Why it lands — The text states a precise number of cattle before assigning them to a specific group. It requires the reader to note how material resources are cataloged and apportioned within a defined community structure.

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.