The commanders happily offered gold objects to show gratitude for a great victory with no loss of life (see Exodus 30:12). Ancient art and literature show that the Midianites and other desert peoples, both men and women, wore gold jewelry. They used it as decoration, and as a form of wealth they could take with them (for example, Judges 8:24–26).
Moses and Eleazar brought this large collection to the Tent of Meeting as a memorial of this special event (compare Numbers 16:39–40; Zechariah 6:14).