Numbers 31:13

“And Moses and Eleazar the priest, and all the princes of the congregation, etc.] Attended, no doubt, with a proper retinue: went forth to meet them without the camp; partly to do honour to them, and to congratulate them on their victory, and partly to hinder them going into the camp directly, until they were purified; (see <011417>Genesis 14:17,18).”

“Moses, and Eleazar the priest, . . . went forth to meet them without the camp--partly as a token of respect and congratulation on their victory, partly to see how they had executed the Lord's commands, and partly to prevent the defilement of the camp by the entrance of warriors stained with blood.”

“Without the camp - Partly to put respect upon them, and congratulate with them for their happy success; and partly to prevent the pollution of the camp by the untimely entrance of the warriors into it. Numbers 31:17”

“31:13 outside the camp: Probably to keep from contaminating the Tabernacle and all of the people, the returning troops were subjected to purification rituals because of their contact with corpses (31:19-24).”

“went forth: Gen 14:17; Sa1 15:12, Sa1 30:21 without the camp: Num 31:12, Num 31:22-24, Num 5:2, Num 19:11 Numbers 31:14”

“Treatment of the Prisoners. - When Moses went out to the front of the camp with Eleazar and the princes of the congregation to meet the returning warriors, he was angry with the commanders, because they had left all the women alive, since it was they who had been the cause, at Balaam's instigation, of the falling away of the Israelites from Jehovah to worship Peor; and he commanded all the male children to be slain, and every woman who had lain with a man, and only the young girls who had hitherto had no connection with a man to be left alive. החיל פּקוּדי, lit., the appointed persons, i.e., the officers of the army, who were then divided into princes (captains) over thousands and hundreds.…”