And they warred against the Midianites, &c.— The twelve thousand men chosen out by Moses marched against the Midianites. The battle they gave them was less an ordinary combat, than an execution of justice upon criminals; and, being performed by the immediate direction of God, can certainly never be brought into example to warrant a similar conduct. All the males of Midian, and five kings, i.e. princes or governors, Judges 13:21 were slain with the edge of the sword. Balaam also underwent the same punishment. It is not certain how this prophet (of whom the historian says, that he went and returned to his place, or country, i.e. Mesopotamia, chap. Numbers 24:25 where see the note) happened to come again into Midian.—The Jews are of opinion, that he thought the defeat of the Israelites would be the punishment of that idolatry into which he had been the cause of seducing them; (see Numbers 31:16.) and that therefore he was desirous of sharing in their spoils. To him may be applied, Ezekiel 25:17; Ezekiel 25:17.* The wives of the enemy, their little children, and all the cattle, both great and small, fell into the hands of the Israelites; their cities and fenced towns were delivered up to the flames, and a general plunder was the consequence of a general slaughter. The captives, (Numbers 31:12.) i.e. the women and children; the prey, i.e. the cattle and flocks; and the spoil, i.e. the money and the goods, were brought to Moses and Eleazar. Now here it may be proper so observe, 1. That the word all, in these verses, is not to be taken in the strictest sense, as if it admitted of no exception; it only means the much greater number; and this observation may be extended to many other passages in Scripture; without which, it would be impossible to reconcile what Moses says here with what we read in Judges 6:1. The children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord, and the Lord delivered them into the hand of Midian seven years. 2. There was something very singular in the conduct which the people of God observed towards those of Midian; nor can it be accounted for, either by those directions which God had given in relation to the wars which the Israelites were to wage against the seven nations, or by those rules which concerned their wars with other nations, and which were called by the Hebrews, wars for the good of the commonwealth. With respect to the first, God commanded, of the cities of those people which the Lord thy God doth give thee for an inheritance, thou shalt save nothing alive that breatheth; but thou shalt utterly destroy them, that they teach you not to do after all their abominations, &c. Deuteronomy 20:16. With respect to other nations, it is thus commanded in the same chapter, Numbers 31:10, &c. When thou comest nigh unto a city to fight against it, then proclaim peace unto it. And it shall be, that all the people that is found therein shall be tributaries unto thee, and they shall serve thee. And if it will make war against thee, then thou shalt besiege it. And when the Lord thy God hath delivered it into thine hands, thou shalt smite every male thereof with the edge of the sword. But the women, and the little ones, and the cattle, and all that is within the city, even all the spoil thereof, shalt thou take unto thyself. We cannot determine whether the Israelites were obliged to put in practice these orders rigidly, as the command of God seems to require; or whether God only gave them a right, but left them at liberty to spare whom they should think fit, and particularly all who were willing to renounce idolatry. The author of the book Sithri is of this latter opinion; and he builds it upon the reason which God himself assigns, when he commands them utterly to destroy the seven nations; namely, lest they should teach them to do after all their abominations; which seems to imply, that they who were willing to return from their abominations, should be exempted from such rigorous treatment. The object, however, is, to remove the difficulty which consists in the Midianites suffering the extremity of the law, though they were not of the seven nations. We do not find that Moses offered them peace, and that they refused it. Some interpreters think that they obviate this objection, by saying, that the laws above quoted were not given when Israel fought against Midian; and yet it appears, that this battle was fought immediately before the death of Moses. See Numbers 31:2 and chap. Numbers 27:13. May we not rather suppose, that this law of mercy which God gave, was to regulate the conduct of the Israelites when God himself did not subjoin an exception; but that in this case he expressly orders, as it appears, the Midianites to be put to the sword, and their cities reduced to ashes? See Saurin's 66th Dissertation.
* It is not necessary to suppose that Balaam dwelt upon the borders of the Euphrates.—He lived among the Aramites, and Aramea extended to the Elanitic Gulf of the Red Sea: so that, perhaps, Balaam had not so far to go, on his return to the country of Midian, as some imagine.