Bible/King James/Documentary Hypothesis/Priestly source/Midianite spoils list
<Bible, English, King James, According to the documentary hypothesis | Priestly source
According to the documentary hypothesis, the torah was redacted together from a number of earlier source texts. The largest of these is referred to as the "Priestly source", due to its concentration on details which would be of interest to the Aaronid priesthood.
The reconstructed text of this source contains several elements which are separable from the narrative, including several laws, and descriptions of how rituals should be carried out. It is sometimes believed that these were originally separate documents held as priestly records. One of these separable elements is the spoils from the battle against the midianites (expressed somewhat repetatively at Numbers 31:25-54):
The text is based on numbers 31:25-54, but does not reproduce it, instead presenting a simplified version containing the same information
The Midianite spoils list
edit1 Take the sum of the prey that was taken,
2 And divide the prey into two parts; between them that took the war upon them, who went out to battle, and between all the congregation:
3 And levy a tribute unto the LORD of the men of war which went out to battle, take it of their half:
4 One soul of five hundred, for an heave offering of the LORD.
5 And of the children of Israel's half, thou shalt take one portion of fifty,
6 And give them unto the Levites, which keep the charge of the tabernacle of the LORD.
| The booty | The full number | The half portion that went out to war | The LORD's tribute | The half pertaining to the congregation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sheep | 675,000 | 337,500 | 675 | 337,500 |
| Beeves | 72,000 | 36,000 | 72 | 36,000 |
| Asses | 61,000 | 30,500 | 61 | 30,500 |
| Women that had not known man by lying with him | 32,000 | 16,000 | 32 | 16,000 |
7 And the officers which were over thousands of the host, the captains of thousands, and captains of hundreds,
8 Brought an oblation for the LORD, what every man hath gotten,
9 Of jewels of gold, chains, and bracelets, rings, earrings, and tablets, to make an atonement for our souls before the LORD.
10 And all the gold of the offering that they offered up to the LORD, was 16,750 shekels.