Verse Lens · Concise explanation
Numbers 31:47 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 47. 47Even 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, which kept the charge of the tabernacle of the LORD; as the LORD commanded Moses.
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Quick Meaning
Numbers 31:47 within “Captives and Spoil Are Divided and Levied,” names this act of violence or distribution without moral softening; in lightly modernized wording, the clause reads: Even of the children of Israel’s half, Moses took one portion of fifty, both of man and of beast, and gave them to the Levites, which kept the charge of the tabernacle of the LORD; as the LORD commanded Moses.
People and animals are counted, split, and taxed for sanctuary staff
This verse is one part of that explanation in Numbers 31:25–47. The complete section carries the connected meaning and how it should shape life.
Read It With
- Numbers 31:25–47
Read Numbers 31:47 with 31:25–47. It within “Captives and Spoil Are Divided and Levied,” names this act of violence or distribution without moral softening; in lightly modernized wording, the clause reads: Even of the children of Israel’s half, Moses took one portion of fifty, both of man and of beast, and gave them to the Levites, which kept the charge of the tabernacle of the LORD; as the LORD commanded Moses. The complete unit establishes this contextual meaning: The LORD orders Moses, Eleazar, and household heads to count people and animals, divide them between fighters and congregation, take one five-hundredth for priests and one fiftieth for Levites, and the narrative reports large totals and transfers, including 32,000 girls.
Why This Verse Appears Here
Captives and Spoil Are Divided and Levied contributes this unit's war movement to Numbers' progress from Sinai through wilderness crisis to Moab: The LORD orders Moses, Eleazar, and household heads to count people and animals, divide them between fighters and congregation, take one five-hundredth for priests and one fiftieth for Levites, and the narrative reports large totals and transfers, including 32,000 girls. At 31:47, the verse within “Captives and Spoil Are Divided and Levied,” names this act of violence or distribution without moral softening; in lightly modernized wording, the clause reads: Even of the children of Israel’s half, Moses took one portion of fifty, both of man and of beast, and gave them to the Levites, which kept the charge of the tabernacle of the LORD; as the LORD commanded Moses.
What Remains True
Because Numbers 31:47 within “Captives and Spoil Are Divided and Levied,” names this act of violence or distribution without moral softening; in lightly modernized wording, the clause reads: Even of the children of Israel’s half, Moses took one portion of fifty, both of man and of beast, and gave them to the Levites, which kept the charge of the tabernacle of the LORD; as the LORD commanded Moses, its proportionate enduring truth is this: War texts must be read with civilians, captives, children, sexual vulnerability, displacement, propaganda, accountability, and nontransferability fully visible. This unit also keeps the following boundary explicit: Accounting does not legitimize captivity, slavery, sexual vulnerability, human ownership, or religious profit from war; the 32,000 girls must not disappear inside arithmetic.
Continue in Context
Read the complete section for the connected explanation and how it should shape life. This verse is a doorway into that passage, not a saying that stands alone.
Read Numbers 31:25–47 — Captives and Spoil Are Divided and LeviedSources used for this Verse Lens
How certain is this explanation? strong
These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact reader-facing KJV wording, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and complete verse coverage for this thought unit.
Exact location: Numbers 31:25–47, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM corpus
Open source ↗hebrew text and morphology
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: Numbers
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible Project
Open Scriptures, release 2.2, 2021
Supports: Hebrew wording, morphology, names, numbers, speeches, poems, legal clauses, older-English controls, and translation limits.
Exact location: Open Scriptures MorphHB v.2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/Num.xml, Masoretic words and morphology for 31:25–47
Open source ↗translation and translator notes
NET Bible: Numbers with translators' notes
Biblical Studies Press
eBible.org distribution of the NET Bible, source files dated 2026-08-08
Supports: Unit-bounded translation, syntax, lexical, ritual, legal, number, name, poetic, and selected textual notes; silence is not evidence.
Exact location: NET Bible Numbers PDF, complete 134-page PDF, translation and translator notes attached to 31:25–47
Open source ↗