of the Hebrew suggest that even the countrymen of Moses looked upon
his act of violence with disfavour.

But the meekness of Moses is further illustrated in the laws attributed
to him, in which the death penalty is almost as common as it was in
England in the Middle Ages.

Also, in the thirty-first chapter of Numbers we have the following
story. The Lord commands Moses to "avenge the children of Israel
of the Midianites," after which Moses is to die. Moses sends out
an army:

And they warred against the Midianites, as the Lord commanded
Moses; and they slew all the males.

And they slew the kings of Midian, besides 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. ...