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Text -- Numbers 22:1-23 (NET)
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Strongs On/Off
Context
Balaam Refuses to Curse Israel
22:1 The Israelites traveled on and camped in the plains of Moab on the side of the Jordan River across from Jericho .
22:2 Balak son of Zippor saw all that the Israelites had done to the Amorites .
22:3 And the Moabites were greatly afraid of the people , because they were so numerous . The Moabites were sick with fear because of the Israelites .
22:4 So the Moabites said to the elders of Midian , “Now this mass of people will lick up everything around us, as the bull devours the grass of the field . Now Balak son of Zippor was king of the Moabites at this time .
22:5 And he sent messengers to Balaam son of Beor at Pethor , which is by the Euphrates River in the land of Amaw , to summon him, saying , “Look , a nation has come out of Egypt . They cover the face of the earth , and they are settling next to me.
22:6 So now , please come and curse this nation for me, for they are too powerful for me . Perhaps I will prevail so that we may conquer them and drive them out of the land . For I know that whoever you bless is blessed , and whoever you curse is cursed .”
22:7 So the elders of Moab and the elders of Midian departed with the fee for divination in their hand . They came to Balaam and reported to him the words of Balak .
22:8 He replied to them, “Stay here tonight , and I will bring back to you whatever word the Lord may speak to me.” So the princes of Moab stayed with Balaam .
22:9 And God came to Balaam and said , “Who are these men with you?”
22:10 Balaam said to God , “Balak son of Zippor , king of Moab , has sent a message to me, saying,
22:11 “Look , a nation has come out of Egypt , and it covers the face of the earth . Come now and put a curse on them for me; perhaps I will be able to defeat them and drive them out .”
22:12 But God said to Balaam , “You must not go with them; you must not curse the people , for they are blessed .”
22:13 So Balaam got up in the morning , and said to the princes of Balak , “Go to your land , for the Lord has refused to permit me to go with you.”
22:14 So the princes of Moab departed and went back to Balak and said , “Balaam refused to come with us.”
Balaam Accompanies the Moabite Princes
22:15 Balak again sent princes , more numerous and more distinguished than the first .
22:16 And they came to Balaam and said to him, “Thus says Balak son of Zippor : ‘Please do not let anything hinder you from coming to me.
22:17 For I will honor you greatly , and whatever you tell me I will do . So come , put a curse on this nation for me.’”
22:18 Balaam replied to the servants of Balak , “Even if Balak would give me his palace full of silver and gold , I could not transgress the commandment of the Lord my God to do less or more .
22:19 Now therefore, please stay the night here also , that I may know what more the Lord might say to me.”
22:20 God came to Balaam that night , and said to him, “If the men have come to call you, get up and go with them; but the word that I will say to you, that you must do .”
22:21 So Balaam got up in the morning , saddled his donkey , and went with the princes of Moab .
God Opposes Balaam
22:22 Then God’s anger was kindled because he went , and the angel of the Lord stood in the road to oppose him. Now he was riding on his donkey and his two servants were with him.
22:23 And the donkey saw the angel of the Lord standing in the road with his sword drawn in his hand , so the donkey turned aside from the road and went into the field . But Balaam beat the donkey , to make her turn back to the road .
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Names, People and Places, Dictionary Themes and Topics
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Names, People and Places:
Dictionary Themes and Topics:
Balak |
Balaam |
Angel |
ASS |
ABEL-SHITTIM |
Greed |
DIVINATION |
MAGIC; MAGICIAN |
MOAB; MOABITES |
CHARM |
Heathen |
Temptation |
Worldliness |
Sorcery |
Moabites |
Hypocrisy |
WANDERINGS OF ISRAEL |
MOAB |
Zippor |
God |
more
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expand allCommentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes
NET Notes -> Num 22:1; Num 22:1; Num 22:1; Num 22:1; Num 22:4; Num 22:5; Num 22:5; Num 22:5; Num 22:5; Num 22:6; Num 22:6; Num 22:6; Num 22:6; Num 22:7; Num 22:8; Num 22:11; Num 22:11; Num 22:11; Num 22:12; Num 22:12; Num 22:13; Num 22:13; Num 22:14; Num 22:15; Num 22:15; Num 22:16; Num 22:17; Num 22:18; Num 22:18; Num 22:18; Num 22:19; Num 22:19; Num 22:22; Num 22:22; Num 22:23
NET Notes: Num 22:1 For the location of Jericho see Map5 B2; Map6 E1; Map7 E1; Map8 E3; Map10 A2; Map11 A1.
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NET Notes: Num 22:4 The word is simply “company,” but in the context he must mean a vast company – a horde of people.
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NET Notes: Num 22:6 The verb is the Piel imperfect of בָּרַךְ (barakh), with the nuance of possibility: “whomever you may ...
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NET Notes: Num 22:8 The verb לִין (lin) means “to lodge, spend the night.” The related noun is “a lodge” – a hotel o...
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NET Notes: Num 22:11 The verb is the Piel perfect with vav (ו) consecutive. It either carries the force of an imperfect tense, or it may be subordinated to the prece...
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NET Notes: Num 22:12 The word בָּרוּךְ (barukh) is the Qal passive participle, serving here as the predicate adjective afte...
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NET Notes: Num 22:13 The main verb is the Piel perfect, “he has refused.” This is followed by two infinitives. The first (לְתִת...
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NET Notes: Num 22:17 The construction uses the Piel infinitive כַּבֵּד (kabbed) to intensify the verb, which is the Piel imperfec...
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NET Notes: Num 22:18 In the light of subsequent events one should not take too seriously that Balaam referred to Yahweh as his God. He is referring properly to the deity f...
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NET Notes: Num 22:19 This clause is also a verbal hendiadys: “what the Lord might add to speak,” meaning, “what more the Lord might say.”
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