This verse is part of a larger passage in Numbers 31 that details the spoils of war taken by the Israelites after their victory over the Midianites. Let's break down the verse and its context:
The context: After defeating the Midianites, the Israelite army took a vast amount of livestock and other spoils. Moses and Eleazar the priest were instructed by God (Yahweh) to count and divide the spoils.
"The donkeys were thirty thousand five hundred": This simply states the total number of donkeys captured as part of the spoils.
"of which Yahweh's tribute was sixty-one": This is the key part. Yahweh (God) commanded that a portion of the spoils be given as a "tribute" or offering to Him. This tribute was a way of acknowledging God's role in the victory and dedicating a portion of the spoils to Him. In this specific instance, 61 donkeys were taken from the total count as Yahweh's tribute.
Significance and Interpretation:
Acknowledgment of Divine Blessing: The tribute offered to Yahweh was a tangible expression of gratitude for His help in the victory. It recognized that the success was not solely due to their own strength, but to God's favor.
Sanctification of Spoils: By dedicating a portion of the spoils to God, the rest of the spoils were, in a sense, sanctified or made permissible for use by the Israelites.
Proportional Offering: The tribute was often calculated as a proportion of the total spoils. The specific proportion varied depending on the type of spoil and whether it was taken by soldiers or the general Israelite population. In the case of the donkeys, 61 out of 30,500 is a relatively small percentage.
Use of the Tribute: What happened to the tribute offerings given to Yahweh? Generally, they would have been used to support the priests and Levites who served in the Tabernacle (and later the Temple), or for other religious purposes.
In summary, the verse describes part of the process of distributing the spoils of war after the Israelites defeated the Midianites. It highlights that a specific number of donkeys (61) were designated as a tribute to Yahweh, representing a recognition of God's role in their victory and a dedication of part of the spoils to Him.
This verse is part of a larger passage in Numbers 31 that details the spoils of war taken by the Israelites after their victory over the Midianites. Let's break down the verse and its context:
The context: After defeating the Midianites, the Israelite army took a vast amount of livestock and other spoils. Moses and Eleazar the priest were instructed by God (Yahweh) to count and divide the spoils.
"The donkeys were thirty thousand five hundred": This simply states the total number of donkeys captured as part of the spoils.
"of which Yahweh's tribute was sixty-one": This is the key part. Yahweh (God) commanded that a portion of the spoils be given as a "tribute" or offering to Him. This tribute was a way of acknowledging God's role in the victory and dedicating a portion of the spoils to Him. In this specific instance, 61 donkeys were taken from the total count as Yahweh's tribute.
Significance and Interpretation:
Acknowledgment of Divine Blessing: The tribute offered to Yahweh was a tangible expression of gratitude for His help in the victory. It recognized that the success was not solely due to their own strength, but to God's favor.
Sanctification of Spoils: By dedicating a portion of the spoils to God, the rest of the spoils were, in a sense, sanctified or made permissible for use by the Israelites.
Proportional Offering: The tribute was often calculated as a proportion of the total spoils. The specific proportion varied depending on the type of spoil and whether it was taken by soldiers or the general Israelite population. In the case of the donkeys, 61 out of 30,500 is a relatively small percentage.
Use of the Tribute: What happened to the tribute offerings given to Yahweh? Generally, they would have been used to support the priests and Levites who served in the Tabernacle (and later the Temple), or for other religious purposes.
In summary, the verse describes part of the process of distributing the spoils of war after the Israelites defeated the Midianites. It highlights that a specific number of donkeys (61) were designated as a tribute to Yahweh, representing a recognition of God's role in their victory and a dedication of part of the spoils to Him.