Bilangan 18:14

18:14 “Everything devoted ¹  in Israel will be yours.

Bilangan 31:18

31:18 But all the young women ²  who have not had sexual intercourse with a man ³  will be yours. ⁴ 

[18:14]  ¹ tn The “ban” (חֵרֶם, kherem) in Hebrew describes that which is exclusively the Lord’s, either for his sanctuary use, or for his destruction. It seems to refer to an individual’s devoting something freely to God.

[31:18]  ² tn Or “girls.” The Hebrew indicates they would be female children, making the selection easy.

[31:18]  ³ tn Heb “who have not known [a] man by lying with a man.”

[31:18]  ⁴ sn Many contemporary scholars see this story as fictitious, composed by the Jews during the captivity. According to this interpretation, the spoils of war here indicate the wealth of the Jews in captivity, which was to be given to the Levites and priests for the restoration of the sanctuary in Jerusalem. The conclusion drawn from this interpretation is that returning Jews had the same problem as the earlier ones: to gain a foothold in the land. Against this interpretation of the account is a lack of hard evidence, a lack which makes this interpretation appear contrived and subjective. If this was the intent of a later writer, he surely could have stated this more clearly than by making up such a story.