Numbers 31 15

Numbers 31:15 kjv

And Moses said unto them, Have ye saved all the women alive?

Numbers 31:15 nkjv

And Moses said to them: "Have you kept all the women alive?

Numbers 31:15 niv

"Have you allowed all the women to live?" he asked them.

Numbers 31:15 esv

Moses said to them, "Have you let all the women live?

Numbers 31:15 nlt

"Why have you let all the women live?" he demanded.

Numbers 31 verses

Numbers 31 15 Meaning

Numbers 31:15 records Moses' angry rebuke to the returning commanders and soldiers after their battle against Midian. His rhetorical question, "Have you let all the women live?", expresses his shock and profound displeasure that they spared the Midianite women, particularly those who, in the preceding events of Numbers 25, enticed the Israelite men into idolatry and sexual immorality with Baal of Peor, leading to a devastating plague. Moses perceived their actions as a grave spiritual failure, a compromise with wickedness that threatened the purity and very existence of Israel's covenant with God.

Numbers 31 15 Context

Numbers chapter 31 describes the execution of the Lord's command to avenge Israel against Midian, fulfilling a decree from Numbers 25. The Midianites, through the wicked counsel of Balaam, had instigated the Israelite men to engage in sexual immorality with their women and participate in the worship of Baal of Peor, resulting in a severe plague that killed 24,000 Israelites. This divine judgment for their sin, particularly the defilement by sexual immorality and idolatry, prompted God to instruct Moses to wipe out Midian. The war itself was successful, and the Israelites captured spoil, livestock, and women and children. Moses, Aaron's son Eleazar, and the chiefs of the congregation went out to meet the returning warriors. It is in this precise moment, upon seeing the live women, that Moses' furious question in verse 15 erupts. His rage stems from their failure to execute the "herem" (devotion to destruction) completely, specifically sparing the women who were directly implicated in Israel's catastrophic sin. This action threatened to reintroduce the very spiritual defilement that had led to the plague and violated the sacredness of God's command.

Numbers 31 15 Word analysis

• And Moses said (וַיֹּאמֶר מֹשֶׁה – vayyomer Moshe): This is a common Hebrew narrative device, signaling Moses' direct intervention. Here, it precedes a rhetorical question born of anger and zeal for God's holiness. It emphasizes the weight and authority of his words.
• to them (אֲלֵהֶם – alehem): Refers to the military leaders and the soldiers returning from the Midianite campaign. The address is public, serving as a reprimand and a necessary correction for the entire group.
• Have you let live (הַחִיִּיתֶם – hakhayyitem): The prefix ha- indicates an interrogative ("have you?"). The verb khāyāh (חָיָה), "to live," is in the Hiphil causative stem, meaning "to cause to live," or "to spare." Moses' rhetorical question is loaded with disbelief and anger; he knew God's command meant no such sparing for these specific, culpable women. It challenges their understanding of God's holy war directives.
• all the women (כָּל־הַנָּקֵבָה – kol-hannəqēḇāh): "All the female ones." This phrase underscores the extent of their failure. The command (implicit from Num 25 context and future verses in 31) was to deal decisively with the women who caused Israel's sin. "All" indicates the sweeping nature of their mistake.

• "And Moses said to them, 'Have you let all the women live?'": This phrase reflects Moses' immediate and strong reaction. The shock and disappointment are palpable, underscoring the critical nature of obedience to divine commands, especially in matters of spiritual purity and herem. It sets the stage for Moses' subsequent instruction to correct this grave error (Num 31:17-18). The core issue is that the soldiers and commanders had forgotten or willfully ignored the profound spiritual danger these Midianite women represented to Israel. Their survival was a direct affront to God's justice against those who tempted Israel into idolatry and defilement.

Numbers 31 15 Bonus section

The strong language used by Moses reflects the severity of the offense. In ancient Near Eastern warfare, sparing women and children was sometimes a common practice for spoils or servitude. However, God's commands regarding the nations posing existential spiritual threats to Israel, like the Midianites here, transcended these typical war conventions. The specific command to eradicate stemmed from the unique covenant relationship Israel had with Yahweh and the imperative to maintain spiritual purity. The Midianite women were seen as more than just "women" in a generic sense; they were agents of seduction, embodying a theological threat. Their retention would introduce cultic prostitution and idolatry back into the camp, re-igniting God's wrath and demonstrating a lack of zeal for His holy standards. This passage also highlights that military victories, even those divinely aided, require complete and nuanced obedience to God's moral and cultic laws, not just tactical success.

Numbers 31 15 Commentary

Numbers 31:15 encapsulates Moses' righteous indignation stemming from his understanding of the immediate context (the Baal of Peor incident in Num 25) and the broader principle of divine justice against those who defile God's covenant people. The Midianite women were not mere captives of war; they were instruments of spiritual warfare, having enticed Israel into idolatry and sexual sin, resulting in a devastating plague. Moses' question is thus a piercing rebuke, challenging the commanders' failure to grasp the profound spiritual danger and the necessity of executing God's judgment fully. Sparing these women was an act of grave disobedience that threatened to reintroduce pagan influence and immorality into the Israelite camp, effectively nullifying the very purpose of the divinely ordained war. This incident underscores God's demand for radical separation from defiling influences and underscores that partial obedience is often disobedience in God's eyes, with potentially catastrophic spiritual consequences for His people.