Numbers 31:50 - Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Bible Comments

The “chains” were “armlets” 2 Samuel 1:10. The “rings” were “finger-rings,” or “seal-rings;” and the “tablets” were worn suspended from the neck Exodus 35:22.

To make an atonement for our souls before the Lord - Compare Exodus 30:11-16. The atonement was not for any special offence committed (which would have called for a sacrifice of blood-shedding), but rather like the half-shekel given at the census in the Book of Exodus (loc. cite), was an acknowledgment of having received undeserved mercies. These, if unacknowledged, would have entailed guilt on the soul.

Numbers 31:50

50 We have therefore brought an oblation for the LORD, what every man hath gotten,e of jewels of gold, chains, and bracelets, rings, earrings, and tablets, to make an atonement for our souls before the LORD.