Numbers 31 — Hebrew and Greek compared
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Same 23 Similar 11 Different 11 Divergent 4 Disparate 5
Disparate in this chapter: 31:6, 31:8, 31:16, 31:18, 31:28
Each verse is rendered independently from the Hebrew (Rabbinic reading tradition) and from the Greek (Saints reading tradition). The badge classifies the relationship between the two readings; the note beneath records the source document’s comparison and attributed interpretation. Each column retains its own verse references where numbering differs.
Mobilization of Troops
31:1 Same
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
31:1 YHWH spoke to Moses, saying,
Greek · Saints priority
31:1 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying,
31:2 Similar
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
31:2 “Take vengeance for the Israelites upon the Midianites. Afterward you shall be gathered to your people.”
Greek · Saints priority
31:2 “Exact vengeance for the Israelites from the Midianites. Finally you shall be added to your people.”
Both announce Moses’ death after the action against Midian.
31:3 Divergent
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
31:3 Moses spoke to the people, saying, “Arm men from among you for the army, that they may go against Midian to inflict YHWH’s vengeance on Midian.
Greek · Saints priority
31:3 Moses spoke to the people, saying, “Equip men from among you to draw up for battle before the Lord against Midian, to repay Midian with vengeance from the Lord.
Greek explicitly adds “before the Lord” to the battle preparations.
31:4 Same
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
31:4 You shall send a thousand from each tribe, from all the tribes of Israel, into the army.”
Greek · Saints priority
31:4 Send a thousand from each tribe, from all the tribes of Israel, to draw up for battle.”
31:5 Different
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
31:5 So a thousand from each tribe were supplied from the thousands of Israel: twelve thousand armed for war.
Greek · Saints priority
31:5 They counted out a thousand from each tribe from the thousands of Israel: twelve thousand equipped for battle.
Hebrew describes the men being handed over; Greek describes counting them out.
The Battle and the Captives
31:6 Disparate
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
31:6 Moses sent them into the army, a thousand from each tribe, together with Phinehas son of Eleazar the priest, with the sacred vessels and the alarm trumpets in his hand.
Greek · Saints priority
31:6 Moses sent them, a thousand from each tribe, with their force and Phinehas son of Eleazar, son of Aaron the priest, with the sacred vessels and the signaling trumpets in their hands.
Greek adds Aaron to the genealogy and assigns the vessels and trumpets to “their hands”; Hebrew has “his hand.” The ritual equipment’s stated custody differs.
Rabbinic reception: Rashi explains the Hebrew phrase in his hand as indicating Phinehas’ possession or authority. That supports retaining the singular custodian separately from the Greek plural their hands.
Source: Rashi, Numbers 31:6
31:7 Same
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
31:7 They waged war against Midian, as YHWH had commanded Moses, and killed every male.
Greek · Saints priority
31:7 They drew up for battle against Midian, as the Lord had commanded Moses, and killed every male.
Both texts report the killing; neither column softens its scope.
31:8 Disparate
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
31:8 They killed the kings of Midian among their slain: Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba, the five kings of Midian. They also killed Balaam son of Beor with the sword.
Greek · Saints priority
31:8 They killed the kings of Midian together with their slain: Evi, Zur, Rekem, Hur, and Robok, the five kings of Midian. They also killed Balaam son of Beor with the sword together with their slain.
Greek reorders Zur and Rekem, reads Robok for Reba, and repeats with their slain after Balaam. The killing context supports the slain sense of Greek traumatiai; the order, name, and repetition remain distinct.
31:9 Different
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
31:9 The Israelites took the women of Midian and their little ones captive, and plundered all their livestock, all their herds, and all their wealth.
Greek · Saints priority
31:9 They took the women of Midian and their dependents as spoil, and plundered their livestock, all their possessions, and their resources.
Hebrew expressly names little ones; Greek aposkeuē denotes the accompanying household or dependents, not merely baggage here.
31:10 Different
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
31:10 They burned all their inhabited towns and all their encampments with fire.
Greek · Saints priority
31:10 They burned all their towns in their settlements and their farmsteads with fire.
Hebrew ṭirot and Greek epauleis describe the subsidiary settlements differently.
31:11 Similar
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
31:11 They took all the spoil and all the captives, both people and livestock.
Greek · Saints priority
31:11 They took all the plunder and all their spoils, from people to livestock,
Both include human captives among what was taken.
31:12 Different
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
31:12 They brought the captives, the captured livestock, and the spoil to Moses, Eleazar the priest, and the congregation of the Israelites, at the camp on the plains of Moab by the Jordan opposite Jericho.
Greek · Saints priority
31:12 and brought the captives, the spoils, and the plunder to Moses, Eleazar the priest, and all the Israelites, at the camp at Araboth Moab, which is on the Jordan opposite Jericho.
Greek retains Araboth as a place-name; Hebrew identifies the plains of Moab. “All Israelites” corresponds to Hebrew’s congregation.
31:13 Same
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
31:13 Moses, Eleazar the priest, and all the leaders of the congregation went out to meet them outside the camp.
Greek · Saints priority
31:13 Moses, Eleazar the priest, and all the rulers of the congregation went out to meet them outside the camp.
Moses' Command
31:14 Similar
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
31:14 Moses was angry with the officers of the army, the commanders of thousands and the commanders of hundreds who were returning from the military campaign.
Greek · Saints priority
31:14 Moses was angry with the overseers of the force, the commanders of thousands and the commanders of hundreds who were returning from the battle formation,
Greek episkopoi here means military overseers; it does not name a Christian ecclesiastical office.
31:15 Different
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
31:15 Moses said to them, “Have you kept every female alive?
Greek · Saints priority
31:15 and Moses said to them, “Why have you taken every female alive?
Hebrew asks whether they kept the women alive; Greek explicitly asks why.
31:16 Disparate
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
31:16 Look! Through Balaam’s counsel these women caused the Israelites to act unfaithfully against YHWH in the matter of Peor, so that the plague came upon YHWH’s congregation.
Greek · Saints priority
31:16 For these women, according to Balaam’s word, caused the Israelites to turn away and disregard the Lord’s word because of Peor, and the plague came upon the Lord’s congregation.
Greek specifies turning away and disregarding the Lord’s word where Hebrew speaks of covenantal unfaithfulness. Balaam’s responsibility appears in both.
Apostolic reception: Revelation recalls Balaam teaching Balak to entice Israel into eating idol-offerings and sexual wrongdoing. It applies the Balaam tradition as a warning to a Christian congregation.
Source: Revelation 2:14
31:17 Different
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
31:17 Now kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman who has known a man by lying with a male.
Greek · Saints priority
31:17 Now kill every male among all the dependents, and kill every woman who has known a male’s bed.
Hebrew explicitly includes male children; Greek uses the collective household term apartia. Both contain the command to kill and distinguish women by sexual experience.
31:18 Disparate
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
31:18 But keep alive for yourselves all the young females who have not known a male’s bed.
Greek · Saints priority
31:18 Take alive all the female dependents who have not known a male’s bed.
Hebrew explicitly says “for yourselves”; Greek lacks that phrase and speaks of taking them alive. Both retain their status as captives, rather than describing a voluntary arrangement.
Purification Rituals
31:19 Similar
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
31:19 You shall camp outside the camp for seven days. All of you who killed a person or touched someone slain shall purify yourselves on the third day and the seventh day, both you and your captives.
Greek · Saints priority
31:19 You shall camp outside the camp for seven days. Everyone who killed someone or touches someone slain shall be purified on the third day and the seventh day, both you and your captives.
Both require purification after killing or contact with someone slain. Greek uses the participle tetrōmenos, whose slain sense is attested for this passage; its passive purification wording differs from the Hebrew imperative.
31:20 Similar
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
31:20 You shall purify every garment, every leather article, everything made from goats’ hair, and every wooden article.”
Greek · Saints priority
31:20 You shall thoroughly purify every covering, every leather article, every object made from goats’ material, and every wooden article.”
The materials correspond; “hair” makes the usual Hebrew contextual sense explicit.
31:21 Different
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
31:21 Eleazar the priest said to the men of the army who had gone into battle, “This is the statute of the instruction that YHWH commanded Moses:
Greek · Saints priority
31:21 Eleazar the priest said to the men of the force who were returning from the battle formation, “This is the ordinance of the law that the Lord prescribed to Moses:
Hebrew describes those coming to the war; Greek explicitly describes their return from battle.
31:22 Divergent
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
31:22 Only the gold, silver, bronze, iron, tin, and lead—
Greek · Saints priority
31:22 Except for the gold, silver, bronze, iron, lead, and tin—
Greek reverses the order of tin and lead. The same six metals are named.
31:23 Different
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
31:23 everything that can withstand fire you shall pass through fire, and it shall be clean; nevertheless, it must be purified with the water for impurity. Everything that cannot withstand fire you shall pass through water.
Greek · Saints priority
31:23 everything that passes through fire shall also be cleansed, but it shall be purified with the water of purification. Everything that does not pass through fire shall pass through water.
Hebrew explicitly directs the people to pass suitable objects through fire; Greek states the process more impersonally. Both also require the purification water.
31:24 Same
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
31:24 You shall wash your clothes on the seventh day and be clean; afterward you may enter the camp.”
Greek · Saints priority
31:24 You shall wash your clothes on the seventh day and be cleansed; afterward you may enter the camp.”
Divine Command for Division of Plunder
31:25 Same
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
31:25 YHWH said to Moses,
Greek · Saints priority
31:25 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying,
31:26 Same
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
31:26 “Take a count of the captured spoil, both people and livestock—you, Eleazar the priest, and the ancestral heads of the congregation.
Greek · Saints priority
31:26 “Take a total of the spoils of captivity, from people to livestock—you, Eleazar the priest, and the rulers of the congregation’s ancestral houses.
31:27 Similar
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
31:27 Divide the captured spoil equally between the warriors who went out to battle and the whole congregation.
Greek · Saints priority
31:27 Divide the spoils between the warriors who went out to battle and the whole congregation.
Hebrew’s verb explicitly means dividing into halves; Greek’s halves are stated in the following instructions.
31:28 Disparate
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
31:28 Levy a tribute for YHWH from the warriors who went out to battle: one living being out of every five hundred, from the people, cattle, donkeys, and flocks.
Greek · Saints priority
31:28 Set aside a levy for the Lord from the warriors who went out to battle: one living being out of every five hundred, from the people, livestock, cattle, sheep, and goats.
The rate agrees, but Greek explicitly lists goats and does not name donkeys here. Donkeys reappear in the Greek allocation at 31:39; the differing lists are preserved.
31:29 Different
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
31:29 Take it from their half and give it to Eleazar the priest as YHWH’s contribution.
Greek · Saints priority
31:29 Take it from their half and give the firstfruits of the Lord to Eleazar the priest.
Hebrew calls the allocation a contribution; Greek calls it firstfruits.
31:30 Divergent
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
31:30 From the Israelites’ half, take one out of every fifty, from the people, cattle, donkeys, flocks, and all livestock, and give them to the Levites who keep the charge of YHWH’s tabernacle.”
Greek · Saints priority
31:30 From the Israelites’ half, take one out of every fifty, from the people, cattle, sheep, donkeys, and all livestock, and give them to the Levites who keep the watches in the Lord’s tent.”
The livestock categories are reordered. Hebrew speaks of the tabernacle’s charge; Greek describes watches in the tent.
31:31 Same
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
31:31 Moses and Eleazar the priest did as YHWH had commanded Moses.
Greek · Saints priority
31:31 Moses and Eleazar the priest did as the Lord had prescribed to Moses.
Accounting and Division of the Spoil
31:32 Similar
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
31:32 The captured spoil remaining from the plunder that the army had taken was six hundred seventy-five thousand of the flocks,
Greek · Saints priority
31:32 The surplus of the plunder that the warriors had taken was six hundred seventy-five thousand sheep,
The total agrees. Hebrew tson can include sheep and goats; Greek here names sheep.
31:33 Same
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
31:33 seventy-two thousand cattle,
Greek · Saints priority
31:33 seventy-two thousand cattle,
31:34 Same
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
31:34 sixty-one thousand donkeys,
Greek · Saints priority
31:34 sixty-one thousand donkeys,
31:35 Same
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
31:35 and thirty-two thousand human beings in all, from the women who had not known a male’s bed.
Greek · Saints priority
31:35 and thirty-two thousand human beings in all, from the women who had not known a man’s bed.
Both count captive women within the distribution of spoil.
31:36 Similar
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
31:36 The half-share belonging to those who went out to battle numbered three hundred thirty-seven thousand five hundred of the flocks,
Greek · Saints priority
31:36 The half-share belonging to those who went out to war numbered three hundred thirty-seven thousand five hundred sheep,
The numerical share agrees.
31:37 Same
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
31:37 and YHWH’s tribute from the flocks was six hundred seventy-five.
Greek · Saints priority
31:37 and the levy for the Lord from the sheep was six hundred seventy-five.
31:38 Same
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
31:38 The cattle numbered thirty-six thousand, and their tribute to YHWH was seventy-two.
Greek · Saints priority
31:38 The cattle numbered thirty-six thousand, and the levy for the Lord was seventy-two.
31:39 Same
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
31:39 The donkeys numbered thirty thousand five hundred, and their tribute to YHWH was sixty-one.
Greek · Saints priority
31:39 The donkeys numbered thirty thousand five hundred, and the levy for the Lord was sixty-one.
31:40 Same
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
31:40 The human beings numbered sixteen thousand, and their tribute to YHWH was thirty-two persons.
Greek · Saints priority
31:40 The human beings numbered sixteen thousand, and their levy for the Lord was thirty-two persons.
Both assign a levy of persons. The verse does not state that these persons were sacrificed.
31:41 Divergent
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
31:41 Moses gave the tribute, YHWH’s contribution, to Eleazar the priest, as YHWH had commanded Moses.
Greek · Saints priority
31:41 Moses gave the levy for the Lord, God’s contribution, to Eleazar the priest, as the Lord had prescribed to Moses.
Greek explicitly adds “for the Lord” before describing the contribution as God’s.
31:42 Same
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
31:42 From the Israelites’ half, which Moses had separated from that of the men who fought—
Greek · Saints priority
31:42 From the Israelites’ half, which Moses had separated from the warriors—
31:43 Similar
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
31:43 the congregation’s half was three hundred thirty-seven thousand five hundred of the flocks,
Greek · Saints priority
31:43 the congregation’s half was three hundred thirty-seven thousand five hundred sheep,
The total agrees.
31:44 Same
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
31:44 thirty-six thousand cattle,
Greek · Saints priority
31:44 thirty-six thousand cattle,
31:45 Same
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
31:45 thirty thousand five hundred donkeys,
Greek · Saints priority
31:45 thirty thousand five hundred donkeys,
31:46 Same
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
31:46 and sixteen thousand human beings—
Greek · Saints priority
31:46 and sixteen thousand human beings—
31:47 Similar
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
31:47 Moses took one out of every fifty, from the people and livestock, and gave them to the Levites who kept the charge of YHWH’s tabernacle, as YHWH had commanded Moses.
Greek · Saints priority
31:47 Moses took one out of every fifty, from the people and livestock, and gave them to the Levites who kept the watches of the Lord’s tent, as the Lord had prescribed to Moses.
The rate and recipients agree.
The Officers’ Offering
31:48 Similar
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
31:48 The officers over the thousands of the army, the commanders of thousands and the commanders of hundreds, approached Moses.
Greek · Saints priority
31:48 All those appointed over the army’s units of a thousand, the commanders of thousands and the commanders of hundreds, approached Moses.
Greek explicitly says “all”; the offices correspond.
31:49 Same
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
31:49 They said to Moses, “Your servants have counted the warriors under our command, and not one man of ours is missing.
Greek · Saints priority
31:49 They said to Moses, “Your servants have totaled the warriors in our company, and not even one of them is missing.
31:50 Different
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
31:50 So we have brought YHWH’s offering, each man whatever gold article he found—armlets, bracelets, rings, earrings, and ornaments—to make atonement for our lives before YHWH.”
Greek · Saints priority
31:50 We have brought the gift to the Lord, each man whatever gold article he found—armlets, bracelets, rings, wrist ornaments, and hair ornaments—to make propitiation for us before the Lord.”
The jewelry terms do not align precisely; some Hebrew identifications are uncertain. Greek explicitly names a hair ornament. Both give the purpose of the rite on behalf of the people.
31:51 Same
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
31:51 Moses and Eleazar the priest received the gold from them, all of it fashioned articles.
Greek · Saints priority
31:51 Moses and Eleazar the priest received the gold from them, every article worked by hand.
31:52 Same
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
31:52 All the gold of the contribution that they presented to YHWH from the commanders of thousands and the commanders of hundreds was sixteen thousand seven hundred fifty shekels.
Greek · Saints priority
31:52 All the gold, the contribution that they set aside for the Lord from the commanders of thousands and the commanders of hundreds, was sixteen thousand seven hundred fifty shekels.
The weight agrees; no modern monetary value is imposed.
31:53 Same
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
31:53 The soldiers had taken plunder, each for himself.
Greek · Saints priority
31:53 The warriors had taken plunder, each for himself.
31:54 Different
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
31:54 Moses and Eleazar the priest received the gold from the commanders of thousands and of hundreds, and brought it into the Tent of Meeting as a memorial for the Israelites before YHWH.
Greek · Saints priority
31:54 Moses and Eleazar the priest received the gold from the commanders of thousands and of hundreds, and brought it into the Tent of Testimony as a memorial for the Israelites before the Lord.
Hebrew names the Tent of Meeting; Greek names the Tent of Testimony.
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Saints Translation · Companion comparison edition · working draft awaiting specialist review.