The Israelites' Holy War With Midian

Continuing a chronological Bible study:

(Numbers 31:1) And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, (2) "Avenge the children of Israel on the Midianites; afterward you shall be gathered to your people.”

The events of chapter 31 follow those of chapter 27, after an interruption where the Lord reviewed the law of sacrifices and the law of vows in the previous three chapters.  In Numbers 27:13 the Lord had told Moses that once he had been permitted to see the promised land, he would die, and would not be allowed to enter the land of Canaan because he had rebelled against the commandment of the Lord (Numbers 20:12).

Now the Lord told Moses that he was first to make war upon the Midianites to avenge the children of Israel for the injury they had done to them by sending their daughters among them to entice them to adultery and idolatry.  After that, he would be gathered to his people, meaning he would die as all his people before him.

(3) And Moses spoke to the people, saying, “Arm some of yourselves for war, and let them go against the Midianites, and avenge the LORD on Midian."

Moses then told the people to arm some of their able-bodied men of war and let them go against the Midianites to avenge the LORD.  Note the Lord had said in verse 2 to avenge the children of Israel, but Moses now called it vengeance for the Lord.  The Israelites had indeed suffered and lost 24,000 people due to the iniquity they were drawn into by the Midianites, but Moses recognized this had been an affront to their Lord and called the people to avenge His name and honor which had been dishonored by their sins of lewdness and idolatry.

(4) "Of every tribe a thousand, throughout all the tribes of Israel, shall you send to the war."

Each tribe was to send 1000 men to war.

(5) So there were delivered out of the thousands of Israel, a thousand of every tribe, twelve thousand armed for war.

The people did as Moses had instructed, and delivered out of each tribe 1000 men armed for war, for a total of 12,000 men from the tribes of Reuben, Simeon, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher, Ephraim, Manasseh, and Benjamin.  The tribe of Levi, as priests and caretakers of the tabernacle, would not have sent men to war.

(6) 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.

Moses sent the thousand men from each tribe to war.  We see that the tribe of Levi did participate; Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest, went to war with holy articles from the sanctuary and trumpets to blow, signifying this was the Lord's battle.

(7) And they warred against the Midianites, as the LORD commanded Moses; and they killed all the males.

The 12,000 Israelite soldiers warred against the Midianites as the Lord had commanded Moses they do, and they killed all the males.  This means all the males who warred against them, or the ones who did not escape; it cannot mean every last Midianite male, as the Midianites would later raise their war heads again.

(8) And they killed the kings of Midian, besides the rest of them who were slain, namely, Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba, five kings of Midian; Balaam also, the son of Beor, they slew with the sword.

They also killed the kings of Midian, in addition to every other male who was killed.  The five kings of Midian who were killed were Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba.  They also killed Balaam, who was either still in Midian on his way back to his home, or had returned to Midian, as we were told in Numbers 24:25 he "returned to his place" after his meeting with Balak that had been intended, but failed, to curse Israel.

(9) And the children of Israel took the women of Midian captive, and their little ones, and took as spoil all their cattle, all their flocks, and all their goods.

The Israelites took the women and their children captive, and took as spoil all their cattle, flocks, and goods.  Once again it must be understood that not all the women were taken captive, just as not all the men were killed, because the Midianites would come against Israel again; but all who came against them and did not escape were killed and their women and children taken captive.

(10) And they burnt all their cities wherein they dwelt, and all their goodly castles, with fire.

The Israelites burned all the cities where the people mentioned in the above verses dwelt.  They also burned the castles which probably belonged to the kings they had killed.

(11) And they took all the spoil, and all the prey, of men and of beasts.

The Israelites took all the spoil of the goods, and all the prey of men and livestock.

(12) And they brought the captives, the prey, and the spoil, to Moses, and Eleazar the priest, and to the congregation of the children of Israel, to the camp at the plains of Moab by Jordan near Jericho.

The Israelite soldiers brought the captives and their large booty to Moses and Eleazar the priest, and to the congregation at their camp in the plains of Moab by the Jordan River across from Jericho.

(13) And Moses, Eleazar the priest, and all the leaders of the congregation, went to meet them outside the camp.

Moses, Eleazar, and all the leaders of the congregation, actually went out of the camp to meet the returning Israelites outside the camp.

(14) And Moses was angry with the officers of the army, the captains over thousands and captains over hundreds, who had come from the battle.

Moses turned out to be very angry with the officers of the Israelite army, those captains over thousands and captains over hundreds, who had come back from the battle with their captives and their rich booty.

(15) And Moses said to them, “Have you saved all the women alive? (16) 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."

Moses was angry they had kept all the women alive.  After all, they were the main ones who first caused the Israelites to sin against their Lord, when they, apparently at the counsel of Balaam, went among the Israelites and enticed them into lewdness and eventually idolatry; and because of that, there had been a plague among the congregation of Israel.

(17) “Now therefore, kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman who has known a man intimately."

Moses instructed the Israelite army to kill every male child and every woman who had known a man intimately.  Only the female children were spared.  Usually women and children were spared in these situations, as they were usually unable to resist.  However in this case, the women were the most guilty of wrongdoing against the Israelites, and the male children would later have become men and warriors against them.  Besides, the Lord God, the author, creator, and supporter of life, has every right to dispose of it when He sees proper; and as righteous and just, He cannot do anything but what is right and just.  Knowing all that is and what will be, He knows what each life would have done.  Also just because someone is taken away from this physical life doesn't always mean the end; God also takes people to save them from the evil to come (Isaiah 57:1), which could very well describe the future existence of these particular children.  Taking the children away to be with Him would be a most loving and merciful act.

(18) "But all the women children, who have not known a man intimately, keep alive for yourselves."

The female children were spared and could be taken by the Israelites.  They could be maidservants, or they could even become wives of Israelite men if they embraced the Israelite religion.

(19) "And you do abide outside the camp seven days; whoever has killed any person, and whoever has touched any slain, purify yourselves and your captives on the third day and on the seventh day.

Even though the Israelite soldiers had acted as the Lord had commanded them, they had become unclean and defiled by touching the dead, and had to go through the prescribed purification process.  Anyone who had killed or had come in contact with any slain, were to purify themselves and their captives (the female children) on the third and on the seventh day of the seven days they remained outside the camp.

(20) "And purify all clothing, and all that is made of skins, and all work of goats' hair, and all things made of wood."

They were to purify all their spoils.  All clothing, skins, works of goats' hair, such as coverings of tents were made from, and all things made of wood, were to be purified by washing them.

(21) And Eleazar the priest said to the men of war who had gone to the battle, “This is the ordinance of the law which the LORD commanded Moses: (22) Only the gold, the silver, the brass, the iron, the tin, and the lead, (23) Everything that may abide the fire, you shall put through the fire, and it shall be clean; nevertheless it shall be purified with the water of purification; all that cannot endure fire you shall put through the water."

Eleazar the priest told the men who had gone to battle about the law of purification of unclean people and things, according to what Moses had said as received from the Lord.  Items made of gold, silver, brass, and the like, that could withstand fire, were to be put through the fire and would be cleaned that way.  However, they were also to be purified with the water of purification, water mixed with the ashes of the burnt red heifer (Numbers 19:17).  All items that could not endure fire were to be washed with water.

(24) “And you shall wash your clothes on the seventh day and be clean, and afterward you may come into the camp.”

After cleansing and purifying everything else, on the seventh day they were to wash their own clothes, and then they were allowed to come into the camp.

(25) And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, (26) "Take the sum of the prey that was taken, of man and of beast, you and Eleazar the priest and the chief fathers of the congregation."

The Lord then told Moses to make a count of all the plunder that was taken, both of man and beast.  Moses, Eleazar the priest, and the chiefs of the congregation were to do this.

(27) "And divide the prey into two parts, between them who took part in the war, who went out to battle, and all the congregation."

The plunder was to be divided into two equal parts between those who had gone into battle and all those others of the congregation.  Because all the Israelites were harmed by the Midianites, they all were to share in the plunder.  However, since there were just 12,000 men of war who had gone to battle, they had a far greater share of the plunder, as well they should, since they had been the ones who faced the dangers of war.

(28) "And levy a tribute for the LORD on the men of war who went out to battle, one of every five hundred of the persons, the cattle, the donkeys, and the sheep; (29) Take it of their half, and give it to Eleazar the priest, for a heave offering to the LORD."

There was to be a tribute or tax on the men who had gone to battle to be given to their Lord.  One out of every 500 of the people (the female children), and one of every 500 of the cattle, and likewise of the donkeys and the sheep, was to be taken from the soldiers' half of the plunder, and was to be given to Eleazar for a heave offering to the Lord, as a way to thank or give a tithe of sorts to the Lord for their success and victory and for all the plunder they had taken.

(30) “And from the children of Israel’s half you shall take one of every fifty, of the persons, of the cattle, the donkeys, and the flocks, of all manner of beasts, and give them to the Levites, who keep the charge of the tabernacle of the LORD.”

From the congregation's half of the plunder, they were to take one of every fifty of the people, of the cattle, and of every kind of livestock or animals taken, and those were to be given to the Levites who were employed in the service of the tabernacle.

(31) And Moses and Eleazar the priest did as the LORD commanded Moses.

Moses and Eleazar did just as the Lord had commanded to Moses they do.

(32) And the booty, being the rest of the prey which the men of war had caught, was six hundred and seventy-five thousand sheep, (33) And seventy-two thousand cattle, (34) And sixty-one thousand donkeys, (35) And thirty-two thousand persons in all, of women who had not known a man intimately.

These verses seem to reference the total booty, or the live prey of the booty.  I'm not sure what is meant by the "rest of the prey", unless perhaps it was what remained after the soldiers' seven days outside the camp, before it was counted.  The original word translated as "rest" was "yether" and it means "overhanging (by implication) an excess, remainder".  However, it can also mean "abundance, affluence, superiority, excellency", so perhaps the meaning was that the abundance of the total prey numbered 675,000 sheep, 72,000 cattle, 61,000 donkeys, and 32,000 young woman or girls who had never known a man intimately.

(36) And the half, the portion of them who went out to war, was in number three hundred and thirty-seven thousand five hundred sheep, (37) And the LORD'S tribute of the sheep was six hundred and seventy-five. (38) And the cattle were thirty-six thousand, of which the LORD’s tribute was seventy-two. (39) And the donkeys were thirty thousand five hundred, of which the LORD’s tribute was sixty-one. (40) And the persons were sixteen thousand, of which the LORD’s tribute was thirty-two persons.

The half portion of that total prey that went to the men who went out to war numbered 337,500 sheep, 36,000 cattle, 30,500 donkeys, and 16,000 virgins.  The Lord's tribute of these numbered 675 sheep, 72 cattle, 61 donkeys, and 32 virgins.

(41) And Moses gave the tribute, the LORD'S heave offering, to Eleazar the priest, as the LORD commanded Moses.

Moses gave the tribute of 675 sheep, 72 cattle, 61 donkeys, and 32 virgins, to Eleazar the priest, for a heave offering, as the Lord had commanded to Moses.  People given as an offering to the Lord cannot be understood as being sacrificed, but with this heave offering they were presented, or perhaps even ceremonially raised and lowered, in dedication to God and afterward would have been reserved for the priests' use.

(42) And of the children of Israel's half, which Moses divided from the men that warred, (43) Now the half belonging to the congregation was three hundred and thirty-seven thousand five hundred sheep, (44) And thirty-six thousand cattle, (45) And thirty thousand five hundred donkeys, (46) And sixteen thousand persons.

The children of Israel's half of the prey which Moses had divided out of the total prey, totaled 337,500 sheep, 36,000 cattle, 30,500 donkeys, and 16,000 virgins.

(47) Of the children of Israel's half, Moses took one portion of fifty, of man and of beast, and gave them to the Levites, who kept the charge of the tabernacle of the LORD, as the LORD commanded Moses.

Of the children of Israel's half, Moses took one of each fifty, of the virgins, and of each species of animal, and gave them to the Levites who kept charge of the tabernacle, just as the Lord had commanded he do.  Although the numbers given to the Levites was not recorded here, it can be easily calculated.  The children of Israel, being required to give one in fifty, gave ten times more than the soldiers who gave one in 500; therefore their numbers were 6750 sheep, 720 cattle, 610 donkeys, and 320 virgins.

(48) And the officers who were over thousands of the army, the captains of thousands and captains of hundreds, came near to Moses; (49) And they said to Moses, “Your servants have taken a count of the men of war who are under our command, and not a man of us is missing."

The officers of the army of Israelites came to Moses and reported to him that after waging war with a whole nation, killing all the males and the kings, burning their cities, taking so many captives and such a large booty, miraculously not a single one of the 12,000 soldiers was killed or missing.

(50) "We have therefore brought an oblation for the LORD, what every man has gotten, of jewels of gold, chains, and bracelets, rings, earrings, and necklaces, to make an atonement for our souls before the LORD."

In thanksgiving for success and sparing all their lives, the officers brought a freewill offering over and above the tribute that was levied upon them.  It seems to read that they brought to the Lord all the gold jewels and jewelry that the soldiers had taken as plunder.  They said it was to make atonement for their souls before the Lord, perhaps for their error in judgment in sparing all the women.

(51) And Moses and Eleazar the priest took the gold from them, even all the crafted jewels.

Moses and Eleazar received all the gold and fashioned jewelry from them.

(52) And all the gold of the offering that they offered up to the LORD, from the captains of thousands, and from the captains of hundreds, was sixteen thousand seven hundred and fifty shekels. (53) (The men of war had taken spoil, every man for himself.)

The value of all the gold the officers had offered to the Lord was 16,750 shekels.  The opinion on what a shekel of gold was worth in those times varies, but with one conversion chart I used at Convert-me.com it calculated it was equal to 0.4 ounce.  16,750 shekels would equal 6700 ounces of gold.  At the current US value of over $1500 an ounce, that would make it worth well over $10,000,000.  With this large amount, I have to believe the meaning of the parenthetical 53rd verse was that the amount was so large because every man of war had taken some gold for himself which he now offered to the Lord.  However, there are some who believe that the meaning was that some men held back the gold they took for themselves and it was not part of the offering.  That would seem to imply the meaning of the parenthetical remark was that the amount was so small because the men held back, and that just doesn't seem to be the logical meaning to me.  Whether they gave all their gold or they gave of their gold, it was still quite a large freewill offering they gave to their Lord over and above the tribute they were required to give Him.

(54) And Moses and Eleazar the priest took the gold from 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.

Moses and Eleazar took the gold from the officers and brought it into the tabernacle, probably laying it up in some chamber there, in remembrance of the victory the Israelites had obtained because of their Lord's goodness and protection, that they would remember this victory and trust Him in all future endeavors.  That's the way I took the meaning to be, but some Biblical scholars suggest it was laid up in the tabernacle to remind the Lord that they had given it to Him.  I really don't like that suggestion and wouldn't think it would be acceptable to the Lord if it was a bribe for purely selfish reasons.  However, Matthew Henry, in his Commentary on the Whole Bible, put it a little more softly:  "...that he (God), being well pleased with this thankful acknowledgment of favours bestowed, might continue and repeat his mercies to them."

I rather think the moral of this story, or rather historical incident, is that the people obeyed the Lord in avenging the children of Israel, thus avenging the Lord because their lewdness and idolatry had greatly dishonored Him.  Being imperfect as all men are, they erred in their judgment in keeping all the women alive, but did as Moses instructed they do when this was brought to their attention.  Their success in war was remarkable that so small an army could overcome such multitudes, and still more miraculous that not one soldier was killed or missing.  Again quoting Matthew Henry, this time in his Concise Commentary on the Whole Bible, the army then "...presented the gold they found among the spoils, as an offering to the Lord. Thus they confessed, that instead of claiming a reward for their service, they needed forgiveness of much that had been amiss, and desired to be thankful for the preservation of their lives, which might justly have been taken away." 

Jethro's Wise Counsel and the Appointment of Judges

Continuing a chronological Bible study:

(Exodus 18:1) When Jethro, the priest of Midian, Moses's father-in-law, heard of all that God had done for Moses and for Israel His people, and that the LORD had brought Israel out of Egypt; (2) Then Jethro, Moses’s father-in-law, took Zipporah, Moses's wife, after he had sent her back,

Moses's father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Midian, heard all that the Lord had done for Moses and the children of Israel, bringing them out of Egypt.  He then took his daughter, Moses's wife, Zipporah, and went to meet him.  It is not clear when Zipporah and Moses's sons returned to Midian to her father, but it may have been when they were on the way to Egypt from Midian, at the inn, when Zipporah took the sharp stone and cut off the foreskin of her son and cast it at Moses's feet (Exodus 4:25).  That was the last we read of her until now.  Perhaps she had been alarmed at the danger to which one of her sons had been exposed, and afraid of even worse, left Moses and returned to her father.  Or perhaps Moses, foreseeing the troubles to which his wife and children were likely to be exposed had he taken them to Egypt, sent them back to his father-in-law until such time when God would deliver His people.  Jethro, now finding that God had delivered them and destroyed their enemies, went to visit Moses and to bring his wife and sons back to him.

(3) And her two sons, of whom the name of one was Gershom, for he said, “I have been a stranger in a foreign land”; (4) And the name of the other was Eliezer, for he said, “The God of my father was my help, and delivered me from the sword of Pharaoh”. (5) And Jethro, Moses's father-in-law, came with his sons and his wife to Moses in the wilderness, where he was encamped at the mountain of God.

Jethro, Moses's father-in-law, took Moses's wife, Zipporah, and his two sons with him.  Gershom was Moses's firstborn son, as we read in Exodus 2:22, and his name literally meant "refugee"; he was born when Moses had fled to Midian to escape Pharaoh and was a stranger in that foreign land.  Moses's second son was Eliezer, which literally meant "God of help" or "God is help"; he so named him because God was his help and delivered him from Pharaoh.  Jethro came with Zipporah and her sons Gershom and Eliezer, to Moses in the wilderness where he camped at Mount Horeb.

(6) And he said to Moses, “I, your father-in-law Jethro, am coming to you with your wife and her two sons with her.” (7) And Moses went out to meet his father-in-law, bowed down, and kissed him; and they asked each other about their welfare, and they went into the tent.

Jethro obviously sent word to Moses when he was a way off that he was coming with Moses's wife and children.  Moses went out to meet him, bowed out of respect to him, kissed him, and they each asked about how the other was doing, and then went inside the tent.

(8) And Moses told his father-in-law all that the LORD had done to Pharaoh and to the Egyptians for Israel’s sake, all the hardship that had come upon them on the way, and how the LORD had delivered them. (9) And Jethro rejoiced for all the goodness which the LORD had done for Israel, whom He had delivered out of the hand of the Egyptians.

Moses told Jethro about all that the Lord had done to Pharaoh and the Egyptians in order to deliver Israel from their hands.  He told him about all the hardships they had encountered in the wilderness, and how the Lord had delivered them out of each and every one.  Jethro was very happy to hear of all the good things the Lord had done for Israel.

(10) And Jethro said, “Blessed be the LORD, who has delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians and out of the hand of Pharaoh, and who has delivered the people from under the hand of the Egyptians. (11) Now I know that the LORD is greater than all gods, for in the thing in which they dealt proudly, He was above them.”

Jethro gave the glory to God for what He had done.  Now Jethro knew that the Lord was greater than all the other gods.  In all the ways they acted proudly, whether it was the way they enslaved the children of Israel, or the magicians who tried to mimic the Lord, or Pharaoh himself laying down the law, in all the ways they dealt proudly, the Lord was greater than the Egyptians and all their gods.  It was Matthew Henry who pointed out in his Commentary on the Whole Bible, "While the Israelites were themselves murmuring, notwithstanding all God's goodness to them, here was a Midianite rejoicing."  Jethro was a priest, a Midianite priest.  What exactly did that mean with regard to his belief in the one true God?  He was a godly man; that part seems obvious by his words and behavior.  I don't believe Moses would have married the daughter of a pagan priest.  Some say he was always a believer in the one true God, and this was just confirmation to him.  Others believe he was at this time converted to the one true God.  I believe it might be a little of both.  Midian was a son of Abraham from his wife Keturah (Gen. 25:1-2).  I have read that the Midianites worshiped a variety of gods, but as Abrahamic descendants, they would have had knowledge of the one true God.  From scripture, we have to assume they had indeed turned away from the one true God as they were not included with God's children of Israel.  Jethro, having knowledge of the one true God, and having now heard of His miraculous rescue and provision for His people, was convinced that this was the one true God, greater than all other gods he may have worshiped previously.

(12) And Jethro, Moses's father-in-law, took a burnt offering and sacrifices for God; and Aaron came, and all the elders of Israel, to eat bread with Moses's father-in-law before God.

I believe it may have been to confirm with a sign of his belief in the one true God, and his desire to worship and give glory to the Lord, that Jethro then gave a burnt offering and offered sacrifices to the Lord.  Aaron and all the elders of Israel came to share and eat in the place of the offered sacrifices to the Lord.

(13) And it came to pass on the next day, that Moses sat to judge the people; and the people stood before Moses from morning until evening. (14) And when Moses's father-in-law saw all that he did for the people, he said, “What is this thing that you are doing for the people? Why do you alone sit, and all the people stand by you from morning until evening?” (15) And Moses said to his father-in-law, “Because the people come to me to inquire of God. (16) When they have a matter, they come to me, and I judge between one and another; and I make known the statutes of God and His laws.”

Even though his father-in-law had come for a visit, it appears that on the next day, Moses was back to work, apparently counseling the people, answering inquiries, and judging controversies between people.  It appears to have been an unending task, as people were lined up before him from morning until evening.  Jethro asked Moses about it, I think his point being why Moses "alone" sat and judged the people from morning until evening.  Moses answered matter-of-factly that he did it because the people came to him.  He realized that they saw that God worked through Moses and spoke to him, so they came to him to know the will of God; and I am sure Moses was happy to be a mediator between God and the people, happy that they trusted him to be led by God, and happy they sought their Lord's will.  Additionally, when the people had a matter they could not solve, they came to Moses to judge between the parties, making known God's laws in each situation. 

(17) And Moses's father-in-law said to him, “The thing that you do is not good. (18) You will surely wear away, both you, and this people that is with you; for this thing is too much for you; you are not able to perform it by yourself."

How many times do good people of integrity pile too much on themselves thinking it is their responsibility?  Jethro, as the wise father-in-law, was teaching Moses to delegate!  Sometimes it takes an outsider to see more clearly what is going on and what is needed.  Jethro could see it was no good the way it was being done at present.  Not that anything was morally wrong, but he could see how time consuming it was, and that Moses would wear himself out at that rate, and then wouldn't be any good to any of the people.  The people's patience would probably wear thin having to wait in lines all day to hear what Moses had to say.

(19) “Listen now to my voice; I will give you counsel, and God will be with you: Stand before God for the people, so that you may bring the causes to God. (20) And you shall teach them ordinances and laws, and show them the way in which they must walk and the work they must do."

Jethro was a wise man and may have been given understanding and a solution to Moses's problem by inspiration of the Holy Spirit.  He had just confessed that the Lord was greatest of all, and had sacrificed to the Lord, and might well have received insights from the Holy Spirit, as he made it a point to tell Moses to listen to him, he would give him counsel, and God would be with him.  Moses was to stand before God between God and the people as their mediator, which sounds like what he had been doing, but it would come to mean just the difficult cases would come before Moses.  Moses would teach the people about God's ordinances and laws; then they would not have to bring every little thing to him.  He would not just teach them legalism, but he would show them the way in which they should walk before the Lord, and the works they should do.  He would teach them about their way of life as children of the Lord.

(21) “Moreover you shall select from all the people able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness; and place such over them to be rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens. (22) And let them judge the people at all seasons; and it shall be, that every great matter they shall bring to you, but every small matter they themselves shall judge. So it will be easier for you, for they will bear the burden with you. (23) If you do this thing, and God so commands you, then you will be able to endure, and all this people will also go to their place in peace.”

Additionally, Moses was to select men from all the people to be "rulers", as the scripture says, but their jobs appear to be judges; perhaps "wardens" or "overseers" or "managers" might be the preferred definitions of the word "sar".  Although scripture doesn't say exactly how this was to work, I found this rather concise and sensible description of how it worked from the Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge by Canne, Browne, Blayney, Scott, and others:  "Whatever matter the decarch, or ruler over ten, could not decide, went to the pentecontarch, or ruler of fifty, and thence by degrees to the hecatontarch, or ruler over a hundred, to the chiliarch, or ruler over a thousand, to Moses, and at length to God himself. Each magistrate had the care or inspection of only ten men; the decarch superintended ten private characters; the hecatontarch ten decarchs; and the chiliarch, ten hecatontarchs."

I love this description of how Moses was to select judges!  They were to be men who feared God, men of truth, and unselfish men who hated covetousness, the idea being that they would do their work for God, and would never pervert justice for personal gain.  Imagine if we selected judges by that criteria now!  Our land wouldn't be filled with the blood of tens of millions of unborn babies, for one thing!  The men Moses selected were to judge at all times, taking care of all the small matters, bringing to Moses only what was too difficult for them to judge.  In this way, it would be easier on Moses, as he would have "lower court judges", so to speak, bearing some of the burden of judging the people with him.  Jethro offered this good advice and plan, but was modest enough to leave the decision of whether or not to invoke it, to Moses under the direction of God.  However, if he did follow this plan, Jethro added that Moses would be able to endure and continue helping the people, and the people would be able to go to their places in peace, having had their disputes handled in a much more timely manner.

(24) So Moses heeded the voice of his father-in-law and did all that he had said.

Knowing the nature of Moses, I am quite sure he did pray about the matter and receive confirmation from God, and did follow the advice of his father-in-law.  Moses was not afraid to take the advice of an outsider or "inferior".  John Wesley said it well, "Those are not so wise as they would be thought to be, who think themselves too wise to be counselled; for a wise man will hear, and will increase learning, and not slight good counsel, though given by an inferior."

(25) And Moses chose able men out of all Israel, and made them heads over the people: rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens. (26) And they judged the people at all seasons; the hard cases they brought to Moses, but every small matter they judged themselves.

Moses indeed chose judges from among the people and made them heads of groups of people, and they judged the people's smaller matters at all times.  Only the more difficult cases were brought to Moses.

(27) And Moses let his father-in-law depart, and he went his way to his own land.

After that, Moses "let" his father-in-law leave.  Perhaps he had been encouraging him to stay, as many of the commentaries I read point to a passage in Numbers believing it to be the same time as this, when Moses was doing just that.  Perhaps he reluctantly allowed this wise counselor and aid to him to depart back to his own country.  It does seem that Jethro now had, if not a new, definitely a renewed and enhanced knowledge of the Lord that he would now take back to his people in Midian.  I am struck by this awesome example of how God often uses people to enact His will.  God could have easily told Moses Himself how to set up this "judicial system".  By using Jethro, someone who could have been considered Moses's inferior, Moses was helped by remaining humble and teachable.  A "lesser" man could have certainly become terribly prideful by this time.  God, in His mercy, was constantly teaching and refining Moses.  In addition, think of all the good that could come from Jethro going back to his people to tell them of all that the Lord had done, and how he was convinced that He was the greatest of all gods.  I always love watching a Godly plan come together!

The Posterity of Esau

As I am following a chronological reading schedule of the Bible by Skip Andrews, I am skipping ahead a few chapters to begin this study in Genesis chapter 36.  Since Jacob and Esau were twins, their lives were parallel, so it's time to see what Esau has been up to:

(Genesis 36:1) Now these are the generations of Esau, who is Edom.

We were told in Genesis 25:30 that Esau was called Edom, which means "red", because of the red stew for which he traded his birthright.  However, if we back up to verse 25 in that same chapter, we were told that Esau was born red and hairy.  He was named Esau, which Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew Definitions tells us means "hairy"; he is also called Edom, for the red part.

(2) Esau took his wives from the daughters of Canaan: Adah the daughter of Elon the Hittite, and Aholibamah the daughter of Anah, the daughter of Zibeon the Hivite;

We were previously told that Esau had taken Canaanite wives which greatly grieved his parents (Gen. 26:34-35).  It is unclear if these wives are the same as the ones mentioned in that passage, or these are in addition to those wives.  It is very possible that Adah and Bashemath (from Gen. 26:34) are names for the same person as each is called the daughter of Elon the Hittite.  As for Aholibamah, she is said here to be the daughter of Anah and also the daughter of Zibeon the Hivite; that is the way that should read, I believe.  Later in verse 24, we are told that Anah is the son of Zibeon, and we know "the child of" often means "descendant of" in the Bible, so Aholibamah is a descendant of both Anah and Zibeon.  I see no way of connecting Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite (from Gen. 26:34) to Aholibamah here, so they must be different wives.  

(3) And Bashemath Ishmael's daughter, sister of Nebajoth.

This is a continuation of verse 2, naming another of Esau's wives.  This definitely appears to be the same woman as Mahalath from Genesis 28:9 as both are called daughters of Ishmael and sisters of Nebajoth.

(4) And Adah bore Eliphaz to Esau, and Bashemath bore Reuel. (5) And Aholibamah bore Jeush, Jaalam, and Korah; these were the sons of Esau who were born to him in the land of Canaan.

Now Esau's children are mentioned.  Perhaps the wives listed above are the ones mentioned because they are the ones who gave Esau children, perhaps explaining why Judith from Genesis 26:34 is not mentioned.  Although I didn't personally read the ancient writings myself, Dr. John Gill wrote that Jerome and Jonathan in the early centuries after Christ (A.D. 200-400) said that this Eliphaz is the same friend of Job that came to visit him.  That Eliphaz was called a Temanite, and Tema was a son of Ishmael.  I suppose it could be true, but what stands out to me in my personal study is that I am supposed to be studying a chronological reading of the Bible and I was instructed to read Job before Abraham, and this is the second time Temanites have been mentioned, meaning at least the life of Abraham and perhaps those of his children, should have been read chronologically before Job, but it's too late for that now.  I certainly digress. The sons of Esau born to him in the land of Canaan were Eliphaz, Reuel, Jeush, Jaalam, and Korah.

(6) And Esau took his wives, and his sons, and his daughters, and all the persons of his house, and his cattle and all his animals, and all his substance which he had gotten in the land of Canaan, and went to a country away from the face of his brother Jacob.

Esau apparently had daughters, too, although those were not named.  He took his entire family and household and left the land of Canaan away from his brother Jacob.

(7) For their riches were too great for them to dwell together, and the land where they were strangers could not support them because of their cattle.  (8) So Esau dwelt in Mount Seir; Esau is Edom.

They were still sojourners and not possessors in the land of Canaan, so they still had the land's inhabitants to dwell among, and there was not room for both Jacob and Esau there, so Esau moved to Mt. Seir.  Again we are reminded that Esau is also called Edom, probably to explain why his descendants are called Edomites in the next verse.

(9) And these are the generations of Esau the father of the Edomites in Mount Seir: (10) These are the names of Esau's sons: Eliphaz the son of Adah the wife of Esau, and Reuel the son of Bashemath the wife of Esau.

Here begins a genealogy of Esau.  His sons are listed again, one might assume in a chronological order, with Eliphaz being his oldest son by his wife Adah, and Reuel his second son by his wife Bashemath. 

(11) And the sons of Eliphaz were Teman, Omar, Zepho, Gatam, and Kenaz.

The firstborn son of Eliphaz was Teman, which may be more likely the namesake of the Temanites, which identifies the Eliphaz in Job.  It seems there is discrepancy among scholars as to whether the city of Teman was named for Tema, the son of Ishmael, or more likely for Teman, the grandson of Esau.

(12) And Timna was the concubine of Eliphaz, Esau's son, and she bore Amalek to Eliphaz; these were the sons of Adah, Esau's wife.

Amalek was the father of the Amalekites who were bitter enemies of the Jews.  As a son of Eliphaz's concubine, he is added to the list of "sons", or actually grandsons that were borne by Adah.

(13) And these are the sons of Reuel: Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah; these were the sons of Bashemath, Esau's wife.

The "sons", or more precisely grandsons that came from Esau's wife Bashemath, were Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah, none of whom are mentioned elsewhere in the Bible, other than perhaps if they occur in a genealogy.

(14) And these were the sons of Aholibamah, Esau's wife, the daughter of Anah, the daughter of Zibeon; and she bore to Esau Jeush, Jaalam, and Korah.

Esau's sons by Aholibamah are listed again with no sons of theirs mentioned.

(15) These were dukes of the sons of Esau: the sons of Eliphaz the firstborn son of Esau, duke Teman, duke Omar, duke Zepho, duke Kenaz,

A duke was a captain or a governor, but could also be a head of family.  Sons and grandsons of Esau are listed as dukes or leaders of some sort.

(16) Duke Korah, duke Gatam, and duke Amalek; these were the dukes of Eliphaz in the land of Edom; these were the sons of Adah.

Korah is inserted here as a son of Adah.  There is a Korah who is a son of Aholibamah, but as he is mentioned later among her sons, I don't believe this is the same Korah, unless he was mistakenly mentioned twice.  1 Chronicles 1:36 lists these sons of Eliphaz and adds Timna.  Timna was also the name of Eliphaz's concubine, so perhaps Korah is another son of Timna who was also identified by his mother's name.   

(17) And these are the sons of Reuel, Esau's son: duke Nahath, duke Zerah, duke Shammah, duke Mizzah; these are the dukes of Reuel in the land of Edom; these are the sons of Bashemath Esau's wife. (18) And these are the sons of Aholibamah Esau's wife: duke Jeush, duke Jaalam, duke Korah; these were the dukes of Aholibamah the daughter of Anah, Esau's wife. (19) These are the sons of Esau, who is Edom, and these are their dukes.

The list of dukes from Esau's sons and grandsons continues.

(20) These are the sons of Seir the Horite, who inhabited the land: Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, and Anah, (21) And Dishon, and Ezer, and Dishan; these are the dukes of the Horites, the children of Seir in the land of Edom.

Now we have a description of the original inhabitants of the land, the sons of Seir the Horite, first mentioned in Genesis 14:6.  Anah is listed as a son, but I believe he is the son of Zibeon as discovered above, but just as grandsons of Esau were called sons, all these are descendant sons of Seir, and also called dukes. 

(22) And the children of Lotan were Hori and Hemam; and Lotan's sister was Timna.

Seir's son Lotan's children are mentioned, probably to show the relationship of Timna, who became Eliphaz's concubine, and mother of his son Amalek, and possibly another son known by Timna or Korah.

(23) And the children of Shobal were these: Alvan, Manahath, Ebal, Shepho, and Onam.

The sons of Shobal, the second son of Seir, are listed.

(24) And these are the children of Zibeon: both Ajah and Anah; this was the Anah who found the mules in the wilderness, as he fed the donkeys of Zibeon his father.

The third son of Seir is Zibeon and his sons are listed, including Anah, who was listed as the fourth "son" of Seir.  Anah is described to the reader who would know the story, although we have not been privy to it.  There is no consensus among historians as to what this story might be.  Some believe that Anah may have discovered breeding horses with donkeys produced mules, but I tend to believe the second story.  The word translated as "mules" is "yem" and also thought to mean "warm or hot springs", so he probably discovered hot springs.  In fact, the meaning is uncertain, as it is used only one time in all of scripture.  Readers of the day may have known what this Anah was famous for, but we just have to take their word for it.  It could be this Anah was being described to distinguish him from another Anah, and therein lies the problem of trying to decipher who all these people are who are only mentioned once or twice.   

(25) And the children of Anah were these: Dishon, and Aholibamah the daughter of Anah.

It appears this Dishon was named after his uncle who was mentioned in verse 21 as a son of Seir.  I suppose it's possible we also have an Anah named after his uncle Anah, and maybe Zibeon is a brother to one and a father to another.  Whew!  It's easy to get bogged down in the "weeds".  I believe the true intent of mentioning this genealogy of Seir and the original inhabitants of the land is to show how the Edomites married into this group of people.  Timna, Esau's son Eliphaz's concubine and the mother of Eliphaz's son Amalek, was a descendant of Seir, as was Aholibamah, who became Esau's wife.

(26) And these are the children of Dishon: Hemdan, Eshban, Ithran, and Cheran.

This appears to go back to the uncle Dishon, the son of Seir, and names his children.

(27) The children of Ezer are these: Bilhan, Zaavan, and Akan. (28) The children of Dishan are these: Uz and Aran.

The children of the last two sons of Seir are listed, none particularly noteworthy except perhaps Uz, for whom the land of Uz may have been named.

(29) These are the dukes of the Horites: duke Lotan, duke Shobal, duke Zibeon, duke Anah, (30) Duke Dishon, duke Ezer, and duke Dishan; these are the dukes of Hori, among their dukes in the land of Seir.

All the sons of Seir are listed as dukes.  Hori was Lotan's son and Seir's grandson.  It would seem the Horites were called so after him, in the land of Seir, the original inhabitant of the land.

(31) And these are the kings who reigned in the land of Edom, before there reigned any king over the children of Israel.

Next we begin a list of kings who reigned in the land that would become known as the land of Edom, called so after Esau.  It is unclear whether these are kings who reigned before, during, or after the time it became known as Edom.  There are scholars who believe the dukes of Esau rose up to take over from the kings.  There are others, as I found when I read these accounts in 1 Chronicles 1 below, who believe these kings came from Esau.  I honestly do not know, nor can I tell from scripture, but obviously the Edomites came to power and had some dominion, as was prophesied by Isaac to his Esau in Genesis 27.  There has been much discussion among Biblical scholars as to how Moses, who supposedly wrote the first five books of the Bible, could have mentioned any possibility that there would ever be a king over Israel when they had no king in his lifetime.  I see no problem with this as Moses evidently wrote under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.  There are many prophetic pictures of the coming Christ found in these books written by him.

(32) And Bela the son of Beor reigned in Edom, and the name of his city was Dinhabah. (33) And Bela died, and Jobab the son of Zerah of Bozrah reigned in his place. (34) And Jobab died, and Husham of the land of Temani reigned in his place.

A succession of kings is begun, but I don't see any noteworthy names, except perhaps that the land of Temani may be so-called after Teman, the son of Eliphaz (Esau's son) above.  If that is so, then it does seem there is an influence of the family of Esau during the reign of kings in the land.

(35) And Husham died, and Hadad the son of Bedad, who attacked Midian in the field of Moab, reigned in his place; and the name of his city was Avith.

Again we have an aside, a description of this Bedad that the original reader would have known, but one of someone of whom we have not been made aware.  It is possible that the Midian he attacked was Abraham's son by Keturah, and that would have been noteworthy to the early reader.

(36) And Hadad died, and Samlah of Masrekah reigned in his place. (37) And Samlah died, and Saul of Rehoboth by the river reigned in his place. (38) And Saul died, and Baal-Hanan the son of Achbor reigned in his place.

The succession of kings who reigned in the land of Edom continues with no especially noteworthy names.

(39) And Baal-Hanan the son of Achbor died, and Hadar reigned in his place; and the name of his city was Pau; and his wife's name was Mehetabel, the daughter of Matred, the daughter of Mezahab.

Hadar appears to be the last of the kings in this land.  His wife seems to be a person of note because of the particular mention of her and her ancestors, but once again, we present-day readers don't really know who she is.  Dr. John Gill supposes that this monarchy was put to an end "by the united familes of Seir and Esau, and changed into dukedoms; of which there were seven of the race of Seir, and fourteen of the race of Esau, of whom an account is given in the preceding part of this chapter..."  I say "supposes" because I haven't found any other historical evidence for his assertion.  The other early commentaries I study are silent on this.

(40) And these are the names of the dukes that came of Esau, according to their families, after their places, by their names: duke Timnah, duke Alvah, duke Jetheth,

Dr. Gill continues his thought that after the monarchy ceased, the government in Edom was by dukes partly by the race of Seir and partly by the race of Esau.  He points out that neither Esau nor the sons of his first two wives are called dukes, only his sons by his last wife and his grandsons, which seems to show that the dukedoms were not immediate in the land, but may have occurred later when an end was put to the monarchy by "the joint influence of Seir and Esau".

I now turn to Keil and Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament which points out that "the names which follow are not a second list of Edomitish tribe-princes (viz., of those who continued the ancient constitution, with its hereditary aristocracy, after Hadar's death), but merely relate to the capital cities of the old phylarchs, is evident from the expression in the heading, 'After their places, by their names,' as compared with Gen 36:43, 'According to their habitations in the land of their possession.'"  In this statement, I don't know if this commentary is refuting the idea set forth by Dr. Gill or not.  K & D continues that since that is the intention of the list, it should come to no surprise that only two names in this list correspond to those given in Genesis 36:15-19.  "This proves nothing more than that only two of the capitals received their names from the princes who captured or founded them, viz., Timnah and Kenaz."  (Actually, I personally thought Teman was one, too, mentioned in verse 42 with Kenaz.)  I am relieved to know I don't have to research where all the these new dukes came from!  If I am interpreting this correctly, we formerly already read a list of some of the dukes that came initially from Esau's sons and grandsons, and now we have more who have names of cities corresponding to their names that have perhaps sprung up since the beginning of the dukedoms of Esau.  Perhaps we are being shown how the Edomites grew in the region.  I have to say I feel like I have spent a long time trapped in the weeds in this study by names that really don't have any more significance in the Bible.  It was important to the early reader and it is significant in that out of Esau grew a mighty people.  The lists of dukes from Esau continues:

(41) Duke Aholibamah, duke Elah, duke Pinon,

As there appeared to be a son of Eliphaz, Esau's son, known by his mother's name, Timna, there appears to be a son known as Aholibamah, and evidently a place also known by that name.

(42) Duke Kenaz, duke Teman, duke Mibzar, (43) Duke Magdiel, duke Iram; these are the dukes of Edom, according to their dwelling places in the land of their possession; Esau is the father of the Edomites.

It is important to note that as the posterity of Esau grew, his descendants came to take possession of the land of Seir.  In verses 6-8 above, Esau first went to Mount Seir, and by the time this chapter ended, many dukes have come from the line of Esau and they possess the land formerly held by Seir and a line of kings.

As this is a chronological Bible study, my reading now turns to 1 Chronicles 1:35 where the genealogy of Esau is recapped:

(1 Chronicles 1:35) The sons of Esau were Eliphaz, Reuel, Jeush, Jaalam, and Korah. (36) The sons of Eliphaz were Teman, Omar, Zephi, Gatam, and Kenaz; and Timna and Amalek. (37) The sons of Reuel were Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah. (38) And the sons of Seir were Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah, Dishon, Ezer, and Dishan.

I find it interesting that in this genealogy in 1 Chronicles 1, which is a genealogy starting with Adam, that Seir is introduced in it along with Esau.  Seir was not of the race of Esau, but as Esau's family married into his, and Esau's descendants eventually overtook his land, I suppose he has an important role in the line of Esau.

(39) And the sons of Lotan were Hori and Homam; and Timna was Lotan's sister. (40) The sons of Shobal were Alian, Manahath, Ebal, Shephi, and Onam. And the sons of Zibeon were Ajah and Anah.

Alian was written as Alvan before.  The original name appears to be the same:  Alvan or Alyan, originally meaning "tall".

(41) The son of Anah was Dishon. And the sons of Dishon were Amram, Eshban, Ithran, and Cheran.

Amram appears to be the same as Hemdan in Genesis 36:26.  The original name was either "Chemdan" or "Chamran", probably depending on the handwriting on the particular early manuscript first read.

(42) The sons of Ezer were Bilhan, Zaavan, and Jaakan. The sons of Dishan were Uz and Aran. (43) Now these are the kings who reigned in the land of Edom before any king reigned over the children of Israel: Bela the son of Beor, and the name of his city was Dinhabah;

Again I find it peculiar that a list of kings who reigned before and/or during the time the Edomites were growing and taking possession of the land, would be included in a genealogy that started with Adam and concluded with the families of the sons of Isaac.  The 1599 Geneva Bible Translation Notes supposes that these are kings who came from Esau, and although I was not sure about that when I was studying Esau's descendants in Genesis 36, it certainly does seem to fit now that they are included in a genealogy along with a description of Esau's descendants.  As I have supposed all along, at the very least, these genealogies of Esau show how his power and dominion grew, and show how he intermarried with the original inhabitants of the land.

(44) And when Bela was dead, Jobab the son of Zerah of Bozrah reigned in his place; (45) And when Jobab was dead, Husham of the land of the Temanites reigned in his place; (46) And when Husham was dead, Hadad the son of Bedad, who attacked Midian in the field of Moab, reigned in his place, and the name of his city was Avith. (47) And when Hadad was dead, Samlah of Masrekah reigned in his place. (48) And when Samlah was dead, Shaul of Rehoboth by the river reigned in his place. (49) And when Shaul was dead, Baal-Hanan the son of Achbor reigned in his place. (50) And when Baal-Hanan was dead, Hadad reigned in his place; and the name of his city was Pai; and his wife's name was Mehetabel, the daughter of Matred, the daughter of Mezahab.

The list of kings continues pretty much as it did in Genesis 36, with a few variations in spellings.

(51) Hadad died also. And the dukes of Edom were duke Timnah, duke Aliah, duke Jetheth,

"Hadad died also."  Then begins a list of the dukes of Edom.  This makes it sound as if the monarchy ended and then the dukedoms of Edom began.  As I've said before, whether they are part of Esau's descendants or not, they played a part in making Edom what it was, and that is about as much as I am going to get out of this study! 

(52) Duke Aholibamah, duke Elah, duke Pinon, (53) Duke Kenaz, duke Teman, duke Mibzar, (54) Duke Magdiel, duke Iram. These are the dukes of Edom.

As I am happy to be finished with this cumbersome genealogy, I will reflect on the fact that genealogies were important in Biblical times.  All these descendants of Esau could trace their lineage back to Abraham, and that was of utmost importance to the people back then, as that made them a part of the blessings and promises that God made to Abraham and his descendants.