Any one who did not know what had taken place, might have supposed, when he saw them returning, that they were coming in, not from war and from a pitched battle, but rather from a display and field-day of exercise under arms, such as often take place in time of peace; and these field-days are days of exercise and practise, while the men train themselves among friends to attack their enemies.
Section 1.311
Therefore they destroyed all their cities, razing them to the ground or else burning them, so that no one could tell that any cities had ever been inhabited in that land. And they led away a perfectly incalculable number of prisoners, of whom they chose to slay all the full-grown men and women, the men because they had set the example of wicked counsels and actions, and the women because they had beguiled the youth of the Hebrews, becoming the causes to them of incontinence and impiety, and at the last of death; but they pardoned all the young male children and all the virgins, their tender age procuring them forgiveness;
Section 1.312
and as they had taken a vast booty from the king’s palace, and from private houses, and also from the dwellings of all kinds in the open country (for there was not less booty in the country places than in the cities), they came to the camp, laden with all the wealth which they had taken from the enemy.
Section 1.313
And Moses praised Phinehas their general, and those who had served under him for their good success, and also because they had not been covetous of their own advantage, running after booty and thinking of nothing, but appropriating the spoil to themselves, but because they had brought it all into the common stock, so that they who had staid behind in the tents might share in the booty; and he ordered those men to remain outside the camp for some days, and the high priest he commanded to purify both the men themselves, and those of their allies who had returned from fighting by their side, of bloodshed;
Section 1.314
for even though the slaughter of the enemies of one’s country is according to law, still he who kills a man, even though justly and in self-defence, and because he has been attacked, still appears to be guilty of blood by reason of his supreme and common relationship to a common father; on which account those who had slain enemies were in need of rites of purification, to cleanse them from what was looked upon as a pollution.
Section 1.315
However, after no long lapse of time he divided the booty among those who had taken a part in the expedition, and they were but a small number, giving one half among those who had remained inactive at home, and the other half to those who were still in the camp; for he looked upon it as just and equitable to give the share of the advantages gained, to those who had shared in the contest, if not with their souls, at all events with their bodies; for as the spectators were not inferior to the actual combatants in their zeal, they were inferior only in point of time and in respect of their being anticipated.
Section 1.316
And as the smaller body had received each a larger share of the booty, by reason of their having been the foremost in encountering danger, and the larger body had received each a smaller share, by reason of their having remained at home; it appeared indispensable that they should consecrate the first fruits of the whole of the booty; those therefore who had remained at home brought a fiftieth, and those who had been actually engaged in the war, brought and contributed a five hundredth part; and of ten first fruits Moses commanded that portion which came from those who had borne a part in the expedition, to be given to the high priest, and that portion which came from those who had remained in the camp, to the keepers of the temple whose name were the Levites.
Section 1.317
And the captains of thousands, and centurions, and all the rest of the multitude of commanders of battalions and companies willingly contributed special first fruits, as an offering for their own safety, and that of those who had gone out to war, and for the victory which had been gained in a manner beyond all hope, giving up all the golden ornaments which had fallen to the lot of each individual, in the apportionment of the booty, and the most costly vessels, of which the material was gold. All which things Moses took, and, admiring the piety of those who contributed them, dedicated them in the consecrated tabernacle as a memorial of the gratitude of the men; and the division of the first fruits was very beautiful;
Section 1.318
those which had been given by the men who had borne their share in the war, he distributed among the keepers of the temple as among men who had only displayed one half of virtue, namely eagerness without action; but the first fruits of those who had warred and fought, who had encountered danger with their bodies and lives, and thus had displayed perfect and complete excellence, he allotted to him who presided over the keepers of the temple, namely to the high priest; and the first fruits of the captains, as being the offerings of chiefs and rulers, he allotted to the great ruler of all, namely to God.
Section 1.319
All these wars were carried on and brought to an end before the Hebrews had crossed Jordan, the river of the country, being wars against the inhabitants of the country on the other side of Jordan, which was a rich and fertile land, in which there was a large champaign fertile in corn, and also very productive of herbage and fodder for cattle;
Section 1.320
and when the two tribes who were occupied in feeding cattle saw this country, the two tribes being a sixth part of the whole Hebrew host, they besought Moses to permit them to take their inheritance in that district, where in fact they were already settled; for they said that the place was very suitable for cattle to be kept, and fed, and bred in, inasmuch as it was well watered and full of good herbage, and as it produced spontaneously abundant grass for the feeding of sheep.
Section 1.321
But as he thought that they claimed a sort of right, by some kind of pre-eminence, to receive their share and the honours due to them before their time, or else that they preferred this petition by reason of their being unwilling to encounter the wars which were impending, as there were still many kings who were making ready to attack them, and who were the possessors of all the country inside the river, he was very indignant at their request, and answered them in anger, and said,
Section 1.322
"Shall you then sit here and enjoy leisure, and yield to indolence at so improper a time? and shall the wars which still threaten us, afflict all your countrymen, and your relations, and your friends, and shall the prizes be given to you alone, as if you had all contributed to the success? And shall battles and wars, and distresses, and the most extreme dangers await others?