Our Gemara on Amud Aleph continues discussing rules of acquisitions. An animal that can be acquired by pulling it into an area that is in his possession, but not by merely pulling it into an area that is not under his ownership. Panim Yafos (Matos) uses this Halacha to explain an anomalous feature of the spoils of war from the Biblical battle with Midyan (Bamidbar 31). In other Biblical wars, the soldiers were allowed to keep the booty, unless decreed for utter destruction. Yet here, the Jews are instructed to apportion the spoils to everyone, not just the soldiers.
Panim Yafos says that since the Jews did not acquire any land from Midian, and we learned in our Gemara that cattle cannot be acquired via drawing it into land that is unowned, the soldiers did not gain possession of the livestock. This is why the spoils of the battle of Midian were apportioned to all of the Jews.
There are a number of other distinct features of this battle as described in Bamidbar 31:
- The warriors were a select group. Only 1,000 soldiers were chosen from each tribe.
- Land was not acquired.
- The spoils were not just for the soldiers but apportioned to the Jewish people.
- Laws of purity and Kashrus purging were discussed subsequent to the acquisition of these spoils.
The language the Torah uses to describe the actual battle is unusual (Bamidbar 25:17):
צרור את־המדינים והכיתם אותם
“Antagonize the Midianites and defeat them.”
Rashi notes the verb form of the Hebrew word “antagonize” is present tense, “Tzuh-Ror”, with a kamatz, like “Zuh-Chor”, remember the Shabbos (Shemos 2:8).
Ohr Hachaim (Bamidbar 25:17) explains the unique quality of Midian is that they were beyond a physical threat but also ideological. The manner in which they sexually seduced the Jews into idolatrous practices rooted the sin deeply. The removal of their brand of evil requires an ongoing battle even in the present. This is why only select troops went to battle, and the language is present tense. This war was not only or principally a military battle, and therefore only those who would not allow themselves to be seduced physically or ideologically could participate. Ohr Hachaim says this is why an exception was made to the rule of not destroying fruit bearing trees in battle. Here, everything attached to the land, including the land, had to be utterly rejected. The land is symbolic for the deeply rooted attitudes and values of the Midianites.
We can also use this idea to understand why the laws of purging vessels and purity was discussed subsequent to this battle, as once again there was a need to root out an internal rot, instigated by the Midianites sexual and idolatrous provocations.
Translations Courtesy of Sefaria, except when, sometimes, I disagree with the translation 
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