- And the Lord spoke unto Moses, saying, Avenge the children of Israel of the Midianites; afterward shall you be gathered unto your people. And Moses spoke unto the people, saying, Arm some of yourselves unto the war, and let them go against the Midianites and avenge the Lord of Midian. Of every tribe a thousand, throughout all the tribes of Israel, shall you send to the war. So there were delivered out of the thousands of Israel a thousand of every tribe, twelve thousand armed for war. And Moses sent them to the war, a thousand of every tribe, them and Phinehas, the son of Eleazar the priest, to the war, with the holy instruments and the trumpets to blow in his hand. And they warred against the Midianites, as the Lord commanded Moses, and they slew all the males. And they slew the kings of Midian, besides 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. And the children of Israel took all the women of Midian captives, and their little ones, and took the spoil of all their cattle, and all their flocks, and all their goods. And they burned all their cities wherein they dwelled, and all their fine castles with fire. And they took all the spoil and all the prey, both of men and of beasts. And they brought the captives, and the prey, and the spoil unto Moses, and Eleazar the priest, and unto the congregation of the children of Israel, unto the camp at the plains of Moab, which are by Jordan near Jericho.
- And Moses, and Eleazar the priest, and all the princes of the congregation went forth to meet them outside the camp. And Moses was angry with the officers of the host, with the captains over thousands and captains over hundreds who came from the battle. And Moses said unto them, Have you saved all the women alive? Behold, these caused the children of Israel, through the counsel of Balaam, to commit trespass against the Lord in the matter of Peor, and there was a plague among the congregation of the Lord. Now therefore kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman that has known man by lying with him. But all the women children that have not known a man by lying with him, keep alive for yourselves. And do stay outside the camp seven days, whoever has killed any person and whoever has touched any slain. Purify both yourselves and your captives on the third day and on the seventh day, and purify all your raiment, and all that is made of skins, and all work of goats’ hair, and all things made of wood.
- And Eleazar the priest said unto the men of war who went to the battle, This is the ordinance of the law which the Lord commanded Moses: Only the gold, and the silver, the brass, the iron, the tin, and the lead — everything that may endure the fire — you shall make it go through the fire, and it shall be clean. Nevertheless, it shall be purified with the water of separation. And all that abides not the fire you shall make go through the water. And you shall wash your clothes on the seventh day, and you shall be clean, and afterward you shall come into the camp.
- And the Lord spoke unto Moses, saying, Take the sum of the prey that was taken, both of man and of beast — you, and Eleazar the priest, and the chief fathers of the congregation. 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. And levy a tribute unto the Lord of the men of war who went out to battle: one soul of five hundred, both of the people, and of the cattle, and of the asses, and of the sheep. Take it of their half and give it unto Eleazar the priest for a heave offering of the Lord. And of the children of Israel’s half, you shall take one portion of fifty — of the people, of the cattle, of the asses, and of the flocks, of all manner of beasts — and give them unto the Levites who keep the charge of the tabernacle of the Lord. And Moses and Eleazar the priest did as the Lord commanded Moses.
- And the booty, being the rest of the prey which the men of war had caught, was six hundred seventy-five thousand sheep, and seventy-two thousand cattle, and sixty-one thousand asses, and thirty-two thousand people in all, of women that had not known man by lying with him.
- And the half which was the portion of them that went out to war was in number three hundred thirty-seven thousand five hundred sheep. And the Lord’s tribute of the sheep was six hundred seventy-five. And the cattle were thirty-six thousand, of which the Lord’s tribute was seventy-two. And the asses were thirty thousand five hundred, of which the Lord’s tribute was sixty-one. And the people were sixteen thousand, of which the Lord’s tribute was thirty-two people. And Moses gave the tribute which was the Lord’s heave offering unto Eleazar the priest, as the Lord commanded Moses.
- And of the children of Israel’s half, which Moses divided from the men that warred — now the half that pertained unto the congregation was three hundred thirty-seven thousand five hundred sheep, and thirty-six thousand cattle, and thirty thousand five hundred asses, and sixteen thousand people — even of the children of Israel’s half, Moses took one portion of fifty, both of man and of beast, and gave them unto the Levites who kept the charge of the tabernacle of the Lord, as the Lord commanded Moses.
- And the officers who were over thousands of the host — the captains of thousands and captains of hundreds — came near unto Moses. And they said unto Moses, your servants have taken the sum of the men of war who are under our charge, and there lacks not one man of us. We have therefore brought an offering for the Lord, what every man has gotten of jewels, of gold, chains, and bracelets, rings, earrings, and tablets, to make an atonement for our souls before the Lord. And Moses and Eleazar the priest took the gold of them, even all wrought jewels. And all the gold of the offering that they offered up to the Lord — of the captains of thousands and of the captains of hundreds — was sixteen thousand seven hundred fifty shekels; for the men of war had taken spoil, every man for himself. And Moses and Eleazar the priest took the gold of the captains of thousands and of hundreds and brought it into the tabernacle of the congregation, for a memorial for the children of Israel before the Lord.
- Now the children of Reuben and the children of Gad had a very great multitude of cattle. And when they saw the land of Jazer and the land of Gilead — that behold, the place was a place for cattle — the children of Gad and the children of Reuben came and spoke unto Moses, and to Eleazar the priest, and unto the princes of the congregation, saying, Ataroth, and Dibon, and Jazer, and Nimrah, and Heshbon, and Elealeh, and Sebam, and Nebo, and Beon, even the country which the Lord smote before the congregation of Israel, is a land for cattle, and your servants have cattle. Wherefore, said they, if we have found grace in your sight, let this land be given unto your servants for a possession, and bring us not over Jordan. And Moses said unto the children of Gad and to the children of Reuben, Shall your brethren go to war, and shall you sit here? And why do you discourage the heart of the children of Israel from going over into the land which the Lord has given them? Thus did your fathers, when I sent them from Kadesh-Barnea to see the land; for when they went up unto the valley of Eshcol and saw the land, they discouraged the heart of the children of Israel, that they should not go into the land which the Lord had given them. And the Lord’s anger was kindled the same time, and he swore, saying, Surely none of the men that came up out of Egypt, from twenty years old and upward, shall see the land which I swore unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, because they have not wholly followed me — save Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenezite, and Joshua the son of Nun; for they have wholly followed the Lord. And the Lord’s anger was kindled against Israel, and he made them wander in the wilderness forty years, until all the generation that had done evil in the sight of the Lord was consumed. And behold, you are risen up in your fathers’ stead, an increase of sinful men, to augment yet the fierce anger of the Lord toward Israel. For if you turn away from after him, he will yet again leave them in the wilderness, and you shall destroy all this people.
- And they came near unto him and said, We will build sheepfolds here for our cattle, and cities for our little ones. But we ourselves will go ready armed before the children of Israel, until we have brought them unto their place. And our little ones shall dwell in the fortified cities, because of the inhabitants of the land. We will not return unto our houses until the children of Israel have inherited every man his inheritance, for we will not inherit with them on that side of Jordan or beyond, because our inheritance is fallen to us on this side of Jordan eastward.
- And Moses said unto them, If you will do this thing — if you will go armed before the Lord to war, and will go all of you armed over Jordan before the Lord, until he has driven out his enemies from before him and the land is subdued before the Lord — then afterward you shall return and be guiltless before the Lord and before Israel, and this land shall be your possession before the Lord. But if you will not do so, behold, you have sinned against the Lord. And be sure your sin will find you out. Build cities for your little ones, and folds for your sheep, and do that which has proceeded out of your mouth.
- And the children of Gad and the children of Reuben spoke unto Moses, saying, Your servants will do as my lord commands. Our little ones, our wives, our flocks, and all our cattle shall be there in the cities of Gilead, but your servants will pass over, every man armed for war, before the Lord to battle, as my lord says.
- So concerning them Moses commanded Eleazar the priest, and Joshua the son of Nun, and the chief fathers of the tribes of the children of Israel. And Moses said unto them, If the children of Gad and the children of Reuben will pass with you over Jordan, every man armed to battle before the Lord, and the land shall be subdued before you, then you shall give them the land of Gilead for a possession. But if they will not pass over with you armed, they shall have possessions among you in the land of Canaan. And the children of Gad and the children of Reuben answered, saying, As the Lord has said unto your servants, so will we do. We will pass over armed before the Lord into the land of Canaan, that the possession of our inheritance on this side of Jordan may be ours.
- And Moses gave unto them — even to the children of Gad, and to the children of Reuben, and unto half the tribe of Manasseh the son of Joseph — the kingdom of Sihon king of the Amorites, and the kingdom of Og king of Bashan, the land with the cities thereof in the borders, even the cities of the country round about. And the children of Gad built Dibon, and Ataroth, and Aroer, and Atroth, Shophan, and Jazar, and Jogbehah, and Bethnimrah, and Bethharan — fortified cities, and folds for sheep. And the children of Reuben built Heshbon, and Elealeh, and Kiriathaim, and Nebo, and Baal-Meon — their names being changed — and Sibmah, and gave other names unto the cities which they built. And the children of Machir the son of Manasseh went to Gilead, and took it, and dispossessed the Amorite who was in it. And Moses gave Gilead unto Machir the son of Manasseh, and he dwelled therein. And Jair the son of Manasseh went and took the small towns thereof, and called them Havoth-Jair. And Nobah went and took Kenath and the villages thereof, and called it Nobah, after his own name.
- These are the journeys of the children of Israel, who went forth out of the land of Egypt with their armies under the hand of Moses and Aaron. And Moses wrote their departures according to their journeys by the commandment of the Lord, and these are their journeys according to their departures. And they departed from Rameses in the first month, on the fifteenth day of the first month. On the next day after the Passover, the children of Israel went out with a high hand in the sight of all the Egyptians; for the Egyptians buried all their first born, whom the Lord had smitten among them. Upon their gods also the Lord executed judgments.
- And the children of Israel removed from Rameses and pitched in Succoth. And they departed from Succoth and pitched in Etham, which is in the edge of the wilderness. And they removed from Etham and turned again unto Pihahiroth, which is before Baal-Zephon. And they pitched before Migdol. And they departed from before Pihahiroth and passed through the midst of the sea into the wilderness, and went three days’ journey in the wilderness of Etham, and pitched in Marah. And they removed from Marah and came unto Elim, and in Elim were twelve fountains of water and seventy palm trees, and they pitched there. And they removed from Elim and encamped by the Red Sea. And they removed from the Red Sea and encamped in the wilderness of Sin. And they took their journey out of the wilderness of Sin and encamped in Dophkah. And they departed from Dophkah and encamped in Alush. And they removed from Alush and encamped at Rephidim, where was no water for the people to drink. And they departed from Rephidim and pitched in the wilderness of Sinai. And they removed from the desert of Sinai and pitched at Kibroth-Hattaavah. And they departed from Kibroth-Hattaavah and encamped at Hazeroth. And they departed from Hazeroth and pitched in Rithmah. And they departed from Rithmah and pitched at Rimmon-Perez. And they departed from Rimmon-Perez and pitched in Libnah. And they removed from Libnah and pitched at Rissah. And they journeyed from Rissah and pitched in Kehelathah. And they went from Kehelathah and pitched in Mount Shepher. And they removed from Mount Shepher and encamped in Haradah. And they removed from Haradah and pitched in Makheloth. And they removed from Makheloth and encamped at Tahath. And they departed from Tahath and pitched at Tarah. And they removed from Tarah and pitched in Mithcah. And they went from Mithcah and pitched in Hashmonah. And they departed from Hashmonah and encamped at Moseroth. And they departed from Moseroth and pitched in Bene-Jaakan. And they removed from Bene-Jaakan and encamped at Horhagidgad. And they went from Horhagidgad and pitched in Jotbathah. And they removed from Jotbathah and encamped at Abronah. And they departed from Abronah and encamped at Ezion-Geber. And they removed from Ezion-Geber and pitched in the wilderness of Zin, which is Kadesh. And they removed from Kadesh and pitched in Mount Hor, in the edge of the land of Edom.
- And Aaron the priest went up into Mount Hor at the commandment of the Lord, and died there, in the fortieth year after the children of Israel had come out of the land of Egypt, in the first day of the fifth month. And Aaron was a hundred twenty-three years old when he died in Mount Hor.
- And king Arad the Canaanite, who dwelled in the south in the land of Canaan, heard of the coming of the children of Israel.
- And they departed from Mount Hor and pitched in Zalmonah. And they departed from Zalmonah and pitched in Punon. And they departed from Punon and pitched in Oboth. And they departed from Oboth and pitched in Ijeabarim, in the border of Moab. And they departed from Iim and pitched in Dibon-Gad. And they removed from Dibon-Gad and encamped in Almon-Diblathaim. And they removed from Almon-Diblathaim and pitched in the mountains of Abarim, before Nebo. And they departed from the mountains of Abarim and pitched in the plains of Moab by Jordan, near Jericho. And they pitched by Jordan, from Bethjeshimoth even unto Abelshittim, in the plains of Moab.
- And the Lord spoke unto Moses in the plains of Moab by Jordan, near Jericho, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When you are passed over Jordan into the land of Canaan, then you shall drive out all the inhabitants of the land from before you, and destroy all their pictures, and destroy all their molten images, and quite pluck down all their high places. And you shall dispossess the inhabitants of the land and dwell therein, for I have given you the land to possess it. And you shall divide the land by lot for an inheritance among your families. And to the more you shall give the more inheritance, and to the fewer you shall give the less inheritance. Every man’s inheritance shall be in the place where his lot falls, according to the tribes of your fathers you shall inherit. But if you will not drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you, then it shall come to pass that those whom you let remain of them shall be pricks in your eyes and thorns in your sides, and shall vex you in the land wherein you dwell. Moreover, it shall come to pass that I shall do unto you as I thought to do unto them.
- And the Lord spoke unto Moses, saying, Command the children of Israel and say unto them, When you come into the land of Canaan — this is the land that shall fall unto you for an inheritance, even the land of Canaan with the borders thereof — then your south quarter shall be from the wilderness of Zin along by the border of Edom. And your south border shall be the outermost coast of the salt sea eastward. And your border shall turn from the south to the ascent of Akrabbim, and pass on to Zin. And the ends thereof shall be from the south to Kadesh-Barnea, and shall go on to Hazar-Addar, and pass on to Azmon. And the border shall turn from Azmon unto the river of Egypt, and the ends of it shall be at the sea. And as for the western border, you shall even have the great sea for a border. This shall be your west border.
- And this shall be your north border: from the great sea you shall mark out for you Mount Hor. From Mount Hor you shall mark out your border unto the entrance of Hamath, and the ends of the border shall be to Zedad. And the border shall go on to Ziphron, and the ends of it shall be at Hazar-Enan. This shall be your north border.
- And you shall mark out your east border from Hazar-Enan to Shepham. And the border shall go down from Shepham to Riblah, on the east side of Ain. And the border shall descend and shall reach unto the side of the Sea of Chinnereth eastward. And the border shall go down to Jordan, and the ends of it shall be at the salt sea. This shall be your land with the borders thereof round about.
- And Moses commanded the children of Israel, saying, This is the land which you shall inherit by lot, which the Lord commanded to give unto the nine tribes, and to the half-tribe; for the tribe of the children of Reuben according to the house of their fathers, and the tribe of the children of Gad according to the house of their fathers, have received their inheritance. And half the tribe of Manasseh have received their inheritance. The two tribes and the half-tribe have received their inheritance on this side of Jordan near Jericho eastward, toward the sunrise.
- And the Lord spoke unto Moses, saying, These are the names of the men who shall divide the land unto you: Eleazar the priest, and Joshua the son of Nun. And you shall take one prince of every tribe to divide the land by inheritance. And the names of the men are these: Of the tribe of Judah, Caleb the son of Jephunneh; and of the tribe of the children of Simeon, Shemuel the son of Ammihud; of the tribe of Benjamin, Elidad the son of Chislon; and the prince of the tribe of the children of Dan, Bukki the son of Jogli; the prince of the children of Joseph, for the tribe of the children of Manasseh, Hanniel the son of Ephod; and the prince of the tribe of the children of Ephraim, Kemuel the son of Shiphtan; and the prince of the tribe of the children of Zebulun, Elizaphan the son of Parnach; and the prince of the tribe of the children of Issachar, Paltiel the son of Azzan; and the prince of the tribe of the children of Asher, Ahihud the son of Shelomi; and the prince of the tribe of the children of Naphtali, Pedahel the son of Ammihud. These are they whom the Lord commanded to divide the inheritance unto the children of Israel in the land of Canaan.
- And the Lord spoke unto Moses in the plains of Moab by Jordan, near Jericho, saying, Command the children of Israel that they give unto the Levites of the inheritance of their possession cities to dwell in. And you shall give also unto the Levites suburbs for the cities, round about them. And the cities shall they have to dwell in, and the suburbs of them shall be for their cattle, and for their goods, and for all their beasts.
- And the suburbs of the cities which you shall give unto the Levites shall reach from the wall of the city and outward a thousand cubits, round about. And you shall measure from outside the city on the east side two thousand cubits, and on the south side two thousand cubits, and on the west side two thousand cubits, and on the north side two thousand cubits. And the city shall be in the center. This shall be to them the suburbs of the cities.
- And among the cities which you shall give unto the Levites, there shall be six cities for refuge which you shall appoint for the manslayer, that he may flee there; and to them you shall add forty-two cities. So all the cities which you shall give to the Levites shall be forty-eight cities. Them shall you give with their suburbs. And the cities which you shall give shall be of the possession of the children of Israel. From them that have many you shall give many, but from them that have few you shall give few. Everyone shall give of his cities unto the Levites according to his inheritance which he inherits.
- And the Lord spoke unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel and say unto them, When you have come over Jordan into the land of Canaan, then you shall appoint yourself cities to be cities of refuge for you, that the slayer may flee there, who kills any person unintentionally. And they shall be unto you cities for refuge from the avenger, that the manslayer die not until he stand before the congregation in judgment. And of these cities which you shall give, six cities shall you have for refuge. You shall give three cities on this side of Jordan, and three cities shall you give in the land of Canaan, which shall be cities of refuge. These six cities shall be a refuge — both for the children of Israel, and for the stranger, and for the sojourner among them, that everyone that kills any person unawares may flee there.
- And if he smite him with an instrument of iron so that he die, he is a murderer. The murderer shall surely be put to death. And if he smite him with throwing a stone by which he may die, and he die, he is a murderer. The murderer shall surely be put to death. Or if he smite him with a hand weapon of wood by which he may die, and he die, he is a murderer. The murderer shall surely be put to death. The avenger of blood himself shall slay the murderer. When he meets him, he shall slay him. But if he thrust him of hatred, or hurl at him by laying in wait, that he die, or in enmity smite him with his hand that he die, he that smote him shall surely be put to death, for he is a murderer. The avenger of blood shall slay the murderer when he meets him.
- But if he thrust him suddenly without enmity, or have cast upon him anything without laying in wait, or with any stone by which a man may die, seeing him not, and cast it upon him that he die, and was not his enemy neither sought his harm, then the congregation shall judge between the slayer and the avenger of blood according to these judgments. And the congregation shall deliver the slayer out of the hand of the avenger of blood, and the congregation shall restore him to the city of his refuge to which he was fled. And he shall abide in it unto the death of the high priest who was anointed with the holy oil. But if the slayer shall at any time come outside the border of the city of his refuge to which he was fled, and the avenger of blood find him outside the borders of the city of his refuge, and the avenger of blood kill the slayer, he shall not be guilty of blood, because he should have remained in the city of his refuge until the death of the high priest. But after the death of the high priest, the slayer shall return into the land of his possession.
- So these things shall be for a statute of judgment unto you, throughout your generations, in all your dwellings.
- Whoever kills any person, the murderer shall be put to death by the mouth of witnesses. But one witness shall not testify against any person to cause him to die. Moreover, you shall take no satisfaction for the life of a murderer who is guilty of death, but he shall be surely put to death. And you shall take no satisfaction for him that is fled to the city of his refuge, that he should come again to dwell in the land, until the death of the priest. So you shall not pollute the land wherein you are. For blood, it defiles the land, and the land cannot be cleansed of the blood that is shed therein but by the blood of him that shed it. Defile not therefore the land which you shall inhabit, wherein I dwell. For I the Lord dwell among the children of Israel.
- And the chief fathers of the families of the children of Gilead the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, of the families of the sons of Joseph, came near, and spoke before Moses and before the princes, the chief fathers of the children of Israel. And they said, The Lord commanded my lord to give the land for an inheritance by lot to the children of Israel. And my lord was commanded by the Lord to give the inheritance of Zelophehad our brother unto his daughters. And if they are married to any of the sons of the other tribes of the children of Israel, then shall their inheritance be taken from the inheritance of our fathers and shall be put to the inheritance of the tribe unto which they are received; so shall it be taken from the lot of our inheritance. And when the jubilee of the children of Israel shall be, then shall their inheritance be put unto the inheritance of the tribe unto which they are received; so shall their inheritance be taken away from the inheritance of the tribe of our fathers.
- And Moses commanded the children of Israel according to the word of the Lord, saying, The tribe of the sons of Joseph has said well. This is the thing which the Lord does command concerning the daughters of Zelophehad, saying: Let them marry to whom they think best, only to the family of the tribe of their father shall they marry. So shall not the inheritance of the children of Israel remove from tribe to tribe. For every one of the children of Israel shall keep himself to the inheritance of the tribe of his fathers. And every daughter that possesses an inheritance in any tribe of the children of Israel shall be wife unto one of the family of the tribe of her father, that the children of Israel may enjoy every man the inheritance of his fathers. Neither shall the inheritance remove from one tribe to another tribe, but every one of the tribes of the children of Israel shall keep himself to his own inheritance.
- Even as the Lord commanded Moses, so did the daughters of Zelophehad; for Mahlah, Tirzah, and Hoglah, and Milcah, and Noah, the daughters of Zelophehad, were married unto their father’s brothers’ sons. And they were married into the families of the sons of Manasseh the son of Joseph, and their inheritance remained in the tribe of the family of their father. These are the commandments and the judgments which the Lord commanded by the hand of Moses unto the children of Israel, in the plains of Moab by Jordan, near Jericho.
Chapter 13