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Texts -- Numbers 23:16-30 (NET)

Context
23:16 Then the Lord met Balaam and put a message in his mouth and said , “Return to Balak , and speak what I tell you.” 23:17 When Balaam came to him, he was still standing by his burnt offering , along with the princes of Moab . And Balak said to him, “What has the Lord spoken ?”
Balaam Prophesies Again
23:18 Balaam uttered his oracle , and said , “Rise up , Balak , and hear ; Listen to me, son of Zippor : 23:19 God is not a man , that he should lie , nor a human being , that he should change his mind . Has he said , and will he not do it? Or has he spoken , and will he not make it happen ? 23:20 Indeed , I have received a command to bless ; he has blessed , and I cannot reverse it. 23:21 He has not looked on iniquity in Jacob , nor has he seen trouble in Israel . The Lord their God is with them; his acclamation as king is among them. 23:22 God brought them out of Egypt . They have, as it were, the strength of a wild bull . 23:23 For there is no spell against Jacob , nor is there any divination against Israel . At this time it must be said of Jacob and of Israel , ‘Look at what God has done !’ 23:24 Indeed , the people will rise up like a lioness , and like a lion raises himself up ; they will not lie down until they eat their prey , and drink the blood of the slain .”
Balaam Relocates Yet Again
23:25 Balak said to Balaam , “Neither curse them at all nor bless them at all !” 23:26 But Balaam replied to Balak , “Did I not tell you, ‘All that the Lord speaks , I must do ’?” 23:27 Balak said to Balaam , “Come , please ; I will take you to another place . Perhaps it will please God to let you curse them for me from there .” 23:28 So Balak took Balaam to the top of Peor , that looks toward the wilderness . 23:29 Then Balaam said to Balak , “Build seven altars here for me, and prepare seven bulls and seven rams .” 23:30 So Balak did as Balaam had said , and offered a bull and a ram on each altar .

Pericope

NET

Bible Dictionary

  • PROPHECY; PROPHETS, 1

    [isbe] PROPHECY; PROPHETS, 1 - prof'-e-si, prof'-e-si, prof'-ets: I. THE IDEA OF BIBLICAL PROPHECY 1. The Seer and Speaker of God 2. Prophetical Inspiration 3. Relation to Dreams 4. Freedom of Inspiration 5. Supernatural Visions of...

  • POETRY, HEBREW

    [isbe] POETRY, HEBREW - po'-et-ri: I. IS THERE POETRY IN THE OLD TESTAMENT? Poetry Defined: 1. In Matter, Concrete and Imaginative 2. In Form, Emotional and Rhythmical II. NEGLECT OF HEBREW POETRY: CAUSES III. CHARACTERISTICS OF HE...

  • NUMBER

    [isbe] NUMBER - num'-ber: I. NUMBER AND ARITHMETIC II. NOTATION OF NUMBERS 1. By Words 2. By Signs 3. By Letters III. NUMBERS IN OLD TESTAMENT HISTORY IV. ROUND NUMBERS V. SIGNIFICANT NUMBERS 1. Seven and Its Multiples (1) Ritual U...

  • Moabites

    [nave] MOABITES Descendants of Lot through his son Moab, Gen. 19:37. Called the people of Chemosh, Num. 21:29. The territory E. of Jordan, bounded on the N. by the river Arnon, Num. 21:13; Judg. 11:18. Children of Israel command...

  • MOSES

    [isbe] MOSES - mo'-zez, mo'-ziz (mosheh; Egyptian mes, "drawn out," "born"; Septuagint Mouse(s)). The great Hebrew national hero, leader, author, law-giver and prophet. I. LIFE 1. Son of Levi 2. Foundling Prince 3. Friend of the Pe...

  • MAGIC; MAGICIAN

    [isbe] MAGIC; MAGICIAN - maj'-ik, ma-jish'-an: I. DEFINITION II. DIVISION OF THE SUBJECT 1. Magic as Impersonal 2. Margic as Personal III. MAGIC AND RELIGION IV. MAGIC IN THE BIBLE 1. Hostility to Magic 2. Potency of Magical Words ...

  • Lintel

    [ebd] (1.) Heb. mashkoph, a projecting cover (Ex. 12:22, 23; ver. 7, "upper door post," but R.V. "lintel"); the head-piece of a door, which the Israelites were commanded to mark with the blood of the paschal lamb. (2.) Heb. kaphta...

  • LION

    [isbe] LION - li'-un: (1) Occurring most often in the Old Testament is 'aryeh, plural 'ardyoth. Another form, 'ari, plural 'arayim, is found less often. 1. Names: Compare 'ari'el, "Ariel" (Ezr 8:16; Isa 29:1,2,7); char'el, "upper a...

  • INFINITE; INFINITUDE

    [isbe] INFINITE; INFINITUDE - in'-fin-it, in-fin'-i-tud: 1. Scripture Use: The word "infinite" occurs 3 times only in the text of the King James Version (Job 22:5; Ps 147:5; Nah 3:9) and once in margin (Nah 2:9). In Ps 147:5, "His ...

  • Hypocrisy

    [nave] HYPOCRISY. Job 8:13-15; Job 13:16; Job 15:31, 33, 34; Job 17:8; Job 20:4, 5 vs. 6-18.; Job 27:8-10 vs. 13-18.; Job 31:33, 34; Job 34:30; Job 36:13, 14; Psa. 5:9; Psa. 50:16, 17; Psa. 52:4; Psa. 55:12-14, 20, 21, 23; Psa. 78...

  • God

    [nave] GOD. List of Sub-Topics Miscellany; Unclassified Scriptures Relating to; Access to; Compassion of; Creator; Creator of Mankind; Eternity of; Faithfulness of; Fatherhood of; Favor of; Foreknowledge of; Glory of; Goodness of...

  • GRIEVANCE

    [isbe] GRIEVANCE - grev'-ans (`amal): Occurs only in the King James Version as a translation of Hab 1:3, "Why dost thou show me iniquity, and cause me to behold grievance?" (the Revised Version (British and American) "look upon per...

  • ENCHANTMENT

    [isbe] ENCHANTMENT - en-chant'-ment: The occult arts, either supposedly or pretentiously supernatural, were common to all oriental races. They included enchantment, sorcery, witchcraft, sooth-saying, augury, necromancy, divination ...

  • Desert

    [ebd] (1.) Heb. midbar, "pasture-ground;" an open tract for pasturage; a common (Joel 2:22). The "backside of the desert" (Ex. 3:1) is the west of the desert, the region behind a man, as the east is the region in front. The same H...

  • DIVINATION

    [isbe] DIVINATION - div-i-na'-shun: 1. Definition 2. Kinds of Divination 3. Fundamental Assumption in Divination 4. Legitimate and Illegitimate Divination 5. The Bible and Divination 6. Modes of Divination Mentioned in the Bible: T...

  • BLESS

    [isbe] BLESS - (barakh): This word is found more frequently in the Old Testament than in the New Testament, and is used in different relations. (1) It is first met in Gen 1:22 at the introduction of animal life upon the earth, wher...

  • BETH-PEOR

    [isbe] BETH-PEOR - beth-pe'-or (beth pe`or; oikos Phogor; in Joshua (Vaticanus), Baithphogor, or beth-): "Over against Beth-peor" the Israelites were encamped, "beyond the Jordan, in the valley," when Moses uttered the speeches rec...

  • BALAAM

    [isbe] BALAAM - ba'-lam bil`am, "devourer"): The son of Beor, from a city in Mesopotamia called Pethor, a man possessing the gift of prophecy, whose remarkable history may be found in Nu 22:2 through 24:25; compare Num 31:8,16; Dt ...

  • BAAL (1)

    [isbe] BAAL (1) - ba'-al: (ba`al; or Baal): The Babylonian Belu or Bel, "Lord," was the title of the supreme god among the Canaanites. I. NAME AND CHARACTER OF BAAL II. ATTRIBUTES OF BAAL III. BAAL-WORSHIP IV. TEMPLES, ETC. V. USE ...

  • ANTHROPOLOGY

    [isbe] ANTHROPOLOGY - an-thro-pol'-o-ji: I. TERMS EMPLOYED II. NATURE OF MAN BIBLICAL CONCEPTION III. ORIGIN OF MAN FROM SCRIPTURE ACCOUNT: NARRATIVES OF CREATION IV. UNITY OF THE RACE: VARIOUS THEORIES V. EVOLUTIONARY THEORY AS TO...

Arts

Hymns

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  • [Num 23:21] Jesus, Lord Of Our Salvation

Resources/Books

Expository Notes on the Bible (Constable)

  • This section continues the events begun in verses 1-7.Jacob's eyes were failing in his old age (v. 10) so he did not recognize Ephraim and Manasseh (cf. 27:1). He may not have seen them for several years previously and may ha...
  • This pericope serves a double purpose. It introduces the rigorous conditions under which the Egyptians forced the Israelites to live, and it sets the stage for the birth of Moses.1:8-14 The new king (v. 8) was perhaps Ahmose ...
  • "Only voluntary gifts were acceptable as materials for the Lord's house (25:2; 35:3, 21-22, 29), since love rather than compulsion is the basis of all truly biblical giving (2 Cor. 9:7)."431Moses employed four different terms...
  • To formulate a statement that summarizes the teaching of this book it will be helpful to identify some of the major revelations in Numbers. These constitute the unique values of the book.The first major value of Numbers is th...
  • I. Experiences of the older generation in the wilderness chs. 1-25A. Preparations for entering the Promised Land from the south chs. 1-101. The first census and the organization of the people chs. 1-42. Commands and rituals t...
  • 22:1-20 Moab had not attacked Israel as the people of God had moved north along Moab's eastern border. In fact the Moabites sold the Israelites bread and water (Deut. 2:29). The Moabites probably counted on Sihon, who had for...
  • "Chapters 23 and 24 are two of the brightest chapters in the book of Numbers. Scores of wonderful things are said about Israel, mainly prophetical. The dark sins of the past were forgotten; only happy deliverance from Egypt w...
  • This chapter contains one of the great failures of Israel that followed one of its great blessings.238As God was preparing to bless His people they were preparing to disobey Him."So now we come to the ultimate rebellion of Is...
  • In the preceding chapter Moses explained the proper types of marital union. In this chapter he set forth the proper types of union of individuals with the covenant community.This section of verses (vv. 1-8) deals with people ...
  • Jephthah did not rush into battle but wisely tried to settle the Ammonites' grievance with Israel peacefully. His approach reveals his humility as well as his wisdom. Most men would have wanted to demonstrate their prowess in...
  • "In the short pericope 13:7b-15a obedience was the stone on which Saul stumbled; here it is the rock that crushes him."147Chapter 15 records one of the battles Saul had with the Amalekites, Israel's enemy to the south (cf. 14...
  • Haman covered his head (v. 12) as a sign of his grief (cf. 2 Sam. 15:30; 19:4; Jer. 14:3-4; Ezek. 24:17). His friends evidently realized that unseen forces were maintaining the blessing that they had observed following the Je...
  • This prophecy shows that there were no more rulers left in Judah who could restore the nation to its former glory. Evidently the exiles hoped that some Davidic descendant would prove successful in overcoming the Babylonians a...
  • 5:14 Again the prophet urged the Israelites to seek good rather than evil so they could live (cf. vv. 4-6). Then the sovereign, almighty Yahweh would truly be with them, as they professed He was even as they practiced their i...
  • 6:1-2 Micah called his audience to hear what Yahweh had told him to say. Yahweh had a case (lawsuit, Heb. rib) to bring against His people. The Lord was summoning Israel to defend herself in a courtroom setting. He addressed ...
  • 5:6 As with our dreams, John's vision contained some unusual features. John saw the Messiah as a Lamb.229The Lamb is a symbol of Jesus Christ at His first advent, meek and submissive to a sacrificial death as our substitute (...
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