He commands the Jews to swindle the Egyptians by false pretence, “spoiling” them of their jewelry (Ex. 3:19-22). He authorized them to take _usury_ of strangers, but not of one another; and to sell the “flesh of animals that had died of themselves” to strangers and aliens, but not to run the risk of poisoning themselves (Deut. 14:21). In the affair with the Midianites _Moses was more cruel than the officers and common soldiery_. He was “_wroth with them_” because they had saved all the women alive, and required that they should go back and finish the brutal butchery. I cannot do this subject justice without transcribing a large portion of Num. 31: “And they warred against the Midianites, as the Lord commanded Moses; and they slew all the males. “And they slew the kings of Midian, beside the rest of them that were slain; namely, Evi, and Rekem, and Zur, and Hur, and Reba, five kings of Midian; Balaam also the son of Beor they slew with the sword. “And the children of Israel took all the women of Midian captives, and their little ones, and took the spoil of all their cattle, and all their flocks, and all their goods. “And they burnt all their cities wherein they dwelt, and all their goodly castles, with fire. “And they took all the spoil, and all the prey, both of men and of beasts. “And they brought the captives, and the prey, and the spoil, unto Moses and Eleazar the priest, and unto the congregation of the children of Israel, unto the camp at the plains of Moab, which are by Jordan near Jericho. “And Moses, and Eleazar the priest, and all the princes of the congregation, went forth to meet them without the camp. “And Moses was wroth with the officers of the host, with the captains over thousands, and captains over hundreds, which came from the battle. “And Moses said unto them, Have ye saved all the women alive? “Behold, these caused the children of Israel, through the counsel of Balaam, to commit trespass against the Lord in the matter of Peor, and there was a plague among the congregation of the Lord. “Now therefore kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman that hath known man by lying with him. “But all the women children, that have not known a man by lying with him, keep alive for yourselves.”