Quote:
Originally Posted by Timmy
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Well, the "fact" that 16,000 virgins were even found in the nation of the Midianites seems to be remarkable.
However, seeing this as a story about tribal warfare, it's perhaps best to start with the opening statement: God is portrayed as telling Moses, "Moses you are going to die, but before you do, the nation of the Midianites will perish as well."
It doesn't really appear to have been intended as a "happy narrative." Also, given the fact that this was written seven or eight hundred years after the event we must see the writers and the later redactors as having cast many of the historical events (like warfare) in a rather fatalistic fashion as being the will of God."
Since an event had already happened, and since the writers believed that God controlled these events, their existential fatalism attributed whatever came to pass as being by the "word of God" or in line with "the will of God."
Notice also the parallels to other similar events like Saul's taking the booty from the raids against the Amalekites (
1 Samuel 15). One important point here is that Israel had a way in which they were commanded to go about their warfare. They were never to engage in war for the simple pleasure of gathering plunder or "captives." The rather angry disposition of the plunder and captives (i.e" "slaves") by both prophets (Moses and Samuel) is the key highlight here. Israel is intended to learn a lesson from this about the why's and wherefore's for declaring war.
Even if they do capture a "spoil" or plunder, God Himself will take the plunder away from them. Compare this to the conquests of modern Israel in 1967 and 1973. Many Jews feel that the lessons from passages like
Numbers 31, are still to be learned today.
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