The extremely disturbing practice of massacring most or all of a conquered population was widespread in the ancient Near East. Moses’ own wife was a Midianite. It is striking that he should now be so unmerciful toward the Midianites (so Alter, page 843). More than anything else, he considered the sin of idolatrous apostasy against the LORD to be very serious. One interpretation here is that the Midianite women in general were not allowed to live since they might have been some of the seducers of Baal-Peor (see 25.1-5), while the virgins could be taken by the Israelites and absorbed into the mainstream of Israelite religion and culture (so Plaut, page 1102). These virgins might also serve to restore the Israelite population that was depleted in the devastating plague at Shittim (see 25.9; so Gane, page 769). We are very distant from the original historical setting and socio-religious mind-set of ancient Israel. This passage is disturbing, even shockingly abhorrent, to us today, but translators have the obligation of rendering the biblical text as it stands, without attempting to soften or explain it in any way.

Now therefore, kill every male among the little ones: Moses tells the soldiers to kill all the captured Midianite boys since they were apparently viewed as potential warriors and thus enemies (so Olson, page 178). Good News Translation renders this clause simply as “So now kill every boy.”

And kill every woman who has known man by lying with him is literally “and kill every woman who has known a man through the lying down of a male [or, by lying with a male].” Moses also tells them to kill every woman who is not a virgin. “Every woman who has known a man” (New Revised Standard Version) is a traditional reference to married women. The Hebrew verb for has known is used figuratively here to mean “has had sex with”. In some languages it may be redundant to use both who has known man and by lying with him (so Chewa). Good News Translation removes the redundancy by rendering this clause as “and kill every woman who has had sexual intercourse,” and so do SPCL and Luther with “and [kill] all women who are no longer virgins,” which creates a contrast with keeping virgins alive in verse 18.

But all the young girls who have not known man by lying with him is literally “and all the little ones among the women who have not known lying down with a male,” which refers to young women who are virgins. They were not tainted with the impurity of the enemy. The expression for young girls should refer to those who are normally capable of having sex with a man. Good News Translation divides this group into two categories, saying “all the girls and all the [adult] women who are virgins” (similarly Die Bibel: Einheitsübersetzung der Heiligen Schrift), but the Hebrew grammar here makes this reading unlikely.

Keep alive for yourselves: Good News Translation also has this somewhat awkward expression in English. Better models are “allow [them] to live among you,” “do not kill … You may keep them for yourselves” (Contemporary English Version), and “you may spare for yourselves” (Revised English Bible).

Quoted with permission from de Regt, Lénart J. and Wendland, Ernst R. A Handbook on Numbers. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2016. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .