Numbers 31:3

Summary

Moses speaks to the people, commanding them to equip men from among themselves for war against Midian. The stated purpose of this military action is to carry out nikmat-Yehovah ("the vengeance of Yehovah") on Midian.

Key words

• y.da.Ber ("he spoke", H1696G) — piel verb in narrative sequence; the intensive stem marks this as a formal act of speaking/commanding, not casual talk.
• he.chal.Tzu ("be equipped", H2502B) — niphal imperative, plural. The niphal (passive/reflexive) stem suggests the men are to arm or muster themselves, rather than being armed by an external agent; grammatically it is a direct command to the group.
• nik.mat- ("vengeance of", H5360) — feminine singular noun in construct state, meaning it must be bound to what follows (Yehovah); the construct chain "vengeance-of-Yehovah" identifies whose vengeance is being executed.
• Yah.weh (H3068G) — proper name, the possessor in the construct phrase nikmat-Yehovah.
• yih.Yu ("they may be", H1961) — qal imperfect with vav, expressing purpose or continuation ("so that they may be... against Midian"), linking the mustering of verse 3 to the goal stated afterward.

What the text says

The verse opens with the narrative va-yedaBer construction, typical of Hebrew storytelling, marking a new speech event: Moses addressing ha-'Am ("the people", H5971A) with an infinitive of speech, le'mor ("saying", H0559). The core command is the niphal imperative heChaltzu, "be equipped," directed at "men from among you" ('anaShim me'ittekhem) for tzava' ("war/army", H6635H). The purpose clause introduced by ve-yihyu ("and let them be") ties the mustering to a specific military target, 'al-Midyan ("against Midian", H5921A + H4080H).

The final clause, latet nikmat-Yehovah be-Midyan ("to give the vengeance of Yehovah in Midian"), uses the infinitive tet ("to give", H5414H) governing the construct phrase nikmat-Yehovah. The construct state grammatically binds "vengeance" to "Yehovah" as the one to whom the vengeance belongs, distinguishing this from a vengeance belonging to Moses or the people themselves. The repetition of Midyan at the end (be-Midyan, "in/on Midian") reinforces the geographic and ethnic target of the action described.

Differences between versions

The LXX renders heChaltzu ("be equipped", H2502B) as Εξοπλίσατε ("arm yourselves"), an active imperative, differing from the Hebrew niphal form which carries passive/reflexive nuance. The LXX also adds ἔναντι κυρίου ("before the Lord") in the purpose clause, a phrase not present in the Hebrew text at this point, where the divine reference appears only later in nikmat-Yehovah. The Vulgate's ultionem Domini expetere ("to seek the vengeance of the Lord") uses a verbal construction (expetere, "to seek/demand") for what the Hebrew expresses through the infinitive latet ("to give"), shifting the nuance from "giving/executing" vengeance to "seeking" it.