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Text -- Numbers 23:18-30 (NET)
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Strongs On/Off
Context
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 .
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Names, People and Places, Dictionary Themes and Topics
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Names, People and Places:
Dictionary Themes and Topics:
Moabites |
Hypocrisy |
God |
POETRY, HEBREW |
Temptation |
Sorcery |
Worldliness |
PROPHECY; PROPHETS, 1 |
Pisgah |
BALAAM |
Peor |
Jeshimon |
Unicorn |
Zippor |
Prophets |
UNCHANGEABLE; UNCHANGEABLENESS |
PROVERB |
WILD OX |
Perfection |
Truth |
more
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expand allCommentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes
NET Notes -> Num 23:18; Num 23:18; Num 23:18; Num 23:19; Num 23:19; Num 23:20; Num 23:20; Num 23:20; Num 23:21; Num 23:21; Num 23:21; Num 23:21; Num 23:22; Num 23:22; Num 23:23; Num 23:23; Num 23:23; Num 23:23; Num 23:24; Num 23:24; Num 23:25; Num 23:25; Num 23:26; Num 23:26; Num 23:27; Num 23:27; Num 23:28
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NET Notes: Num 23:19 The verb is the Hiphil of קוּם (qum, “to cause to rise; to make stand”). The meaning here is more of the sense of ...
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NET Notes: Num 23:20 The verb is the Hiphil of שׁוּב (shuv), meaning “to cause to return.” He cannot return God’s word to h...
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NET Notes: Num 23:21 The people are blessed because God is their king. In fact, the shout of acclamation is among them – they are proclaiming the Lord God as their k...
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NET Notes: Num 23:22 The expression is “the horns of the wild ox” (KJV “unicorn”). The point of the image is strength or power. Horns are also used...
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NET Notes: Num 23:23 The words “look at” are not in the Hebrew text but have been added in the translation for clarity.
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NET Notes: Num 23:24 The oracle compares Israel first to a lion, or better, lioness, because she does the tracking and hunting of food while the lion moves up and down roa...
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NET Notes: Num 23:25 The same construction now works with “nor bless them at all.” The two together form a merism – “don’t say anything.̶...
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NET Notes: Num 23:26 This first clause, “all that the Lord speaks” – is a noun clause functioning as the object of the verb that comes at the end of the ...
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NET Notes: Num 23:27 Balak is stubborn, as indeed Balaam is persistent. But Balak still thinks that if another location were used it just might work. Balaam had actually t...
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