Bible Strands
Numbers 31:8
Among the slain were Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba—the five kings of Midian. They also killed Balaam son of Beor with the sword.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The narrator records the conclusion of the Israelite military campaign against Midian, executed in direct response to the divine command given to Moses. The text lists the specific casualties among the defeated leadership and the foreign prophet.
The words — מַלְכֵ֨י (mal.Khei) denotes the five ruling authorities of Midian, while הָרְג֣וּ (ha.re.Gu) specifies that they were put to death by the sword.
The thread — Zur appears again in Numbers 25:15 as the father of Cozbi, linking this battle to the earlier Baal-peor incident. Balaam’s death is later cited in Jude 1:11 as an example of those who pursue profit through divine deception.
Why it lands — The verse demands recognition that divine judgment targets both political authority and spiritual influence. It requires the reader to acknowledge the completeness of the executed command without minimizing its severity.
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 they slew the kings of Midian, beside the rest of them that were slain; namely, Evi, and Rekem, and Zur, and Hur, and Reba, five kings of Midian: Balaam also the son of Beor they slew with the sword.
Cross-references
- Joshua 13:21 all the cities of the plateau and all the kingdom of Sihon king of the Amorites, who reigned in Heshbon until Moses killed him and the chiefs of Midian (Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba), the princes of Sihon who lived in the land.
- Numbers 25:15 And the name of the slain Midianite woman was Cozbi, the daughter of Zur, a tribal chief of a Midianite family.
- Jude 1:11 Woe to them! They have traveled the path of Cain; they have rushed for profit into the error of Balaam; they have perished in Korah’s rebellion.
- Revelation 2:14 But I have a few things against you, because some of you hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to place a stumbling block before the Israelites so they would eat food sacrificed to idols and commit sexual immorality.
- Numbers 22:4 So the Moabites said to the elders of Midian, “This horde will devour everything around us, as an ox licks up the grass of the field.” Since Balak son of Zippor was king of Moab at that time,
- Numbers 22:10 And Balaam said to God, “Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab, sent me this message:
- Numbers 24:25 Then Balaam arose and returned to his homeland, and Balak also went on his way.
- Numbers 25:18 For they assailed you deceitfully when they seduced you in the matter of Peor and their sister Cozbi, the daughter of the Midianite leader, the woman who was killed on the day the plague came because of Peor.”
- Psalms 9:16 The LORD is known by the justice He brings; the wicked are ensnared by the work of their hands. Higgaion Selah
- Psalms 10:2 In pride the wicked pursue the needy; let them be caught in the schemes they devise.