Text -- Numbers 24:1-18 (NET)

Balaam Prophesies Yet Again

24:1 When Balaam saw that it pleased the Lord to bless Israel, he did not go as at the other times to seek for omens, but he set his face toward the wilderness. 24:2 When Balaam lifted up his eyes, he saw Israel camped tribe by tribe; and the Spirit of God came upon him. 24:3 Then he uttered this oracle: “The oracle of Balaam son of Beor; the oracle of the man whose eyes are open; 24:4 the oracle of the one who hears the words of God, who sees a vision from the Almighty, although falling flat on the ground with eyes open: 24:5 ‘How beautiful are your tents, O Jacob, and your dwelling places, O Israel! 24:6 They are like valleys stretched forth, like gardens by the river’s side, like aloes that the Lord has planted, and like cedar trees beside the waters. 24:7 He will pour the water out of his buckets, and their descendants will be like abundant water; their king will be greater than Agag, and their kingdom will be exalted. 24:8 God brought them out of Egypt. They have, as it were, the strength of a young bull; they will devour hostile people and will break their bones and will pierce them through with arrows. 24:9 They crouch and lie down like a lion, and as a lioness, who can stir him? Blessed is the one who blesses you, and cursed is the one who curses you!’” 24:10 Then Balak became very angry at Balaam, and he struck his hands together. Balak said to Balaam, “I called you to curse my enemies, and look, you have done nothing but bless them these three times! 24:11 So now, go back where you came from! I said that I would greatly honor you; but now the Lord has stood in the way of your honor.” 24:12 Balaam said to Balak, “Did I not also tell your messengers whom you sent to me, 24:13 ‘If Balak would give me his palace full of silver and gold, I cannot go beyond the commandment of the Lord to do either good or evil of my own will, but whatever the Lord tells me I must speak’? 24:14 And now, I am about to go back to my own people. Come now, and I will advise you as to what this people will do to your people in the future.”

Balaam Prophesies a Fourth Time

24:15 Then he uttered this oracle: “The oracle of Balaam son of Beor; the oracle of the man whose eyes are open; 24:16 the oracle of the one who hears the words of God, and who knows the knowledge of the Most High, who sees a vision from the Almighty, although falling flat on the ground with eyes open: 24:17 ‘I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not close at hand. A star will march forth out of Jacob, and a scepter will rise out of Israel. He will crush the skulls of Moab, and the heads of all the sons of Sheth. 24:18 Edom will be a possession, Seir, his enemies, will also be a possession; but Israel will act valiantly.

Commentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes

NET Notes: Num 24:1

¹ sn For a thorough study of the arrangement of this passage, see E. B. Smick, “A Study of the Structure of the Third Balaam Oracle,” The Law and the Prophets, 242-52. He sees the oracle as having an introductory strophe (vv. 3, 4), followed by two stanzas (vv. 5, 6) that introduce the body (vv. 7b-9b) before the final benediction (v. 9b).

² tn Heb “it was good in the eyes of the Lord.”

³ tn Heb “as time after time.”

⁴ tn The word נְחָשִׁים (nÿkhashim) means “omens,” or possibly “auguries.” Balaam is not even making a pretense now of looking for such things, because they are not going to work. God has overruled them.

⁵ tn The idiom signifies that he had a determination and resolution to look out over where the Israelites were, so that he could appreciate more their presence and use that as the basis for his expressing of the oracle.

NET Notes: Num 24:2

¹ tn Heb “living according to their tribes.”

NET Notes: Num 24:3

¹ tn Heb “and he took up his oracle and said.”

² tn The word נְאֻם (nÿ’um) is an “oracle.” It is usually followed by a subjective genitive, indicating the doer of the action. The word could be rendered “says,” but this translations is more specific.

³ tn The Greek version reads “the one who sees truly.” The word has been interpreted in both ways, “shut” or “open.”

NET Notes: Num 24:4

¹ tn The phrase “flat on the ground” is supplied in the translation for clarity. The Greek version interprets the line to mean “falling asleep.” It may mean falling into a trance.

² tn The last colon simply has “falling, but opened eyes.” The falling may simply refer to lying prone; and the opened eyes may refer to his receiving a vision. See H. E. Freeman, An Introduction to the Old Testament Prophets, 37-41.

NET Notes: Num 24:5

¹ tn Here מָה (mah) has an exclamatory sense: “How!” (see Gen 28:17).

NET Notes: Num 24:6

¹ tn Heb “as valleys they spread forth.”

² tn Or “rows of palms.”

³ sn The language seems to be more poetic than precise. N. H. Snaith notes that cedars do not grow beside water; he also connects “aloes” to the eaglewood that is more exotic, and capable of giving off an aroma (Leviticus and Numbers [NCB], 298).

NET Notes: Num 24:7

¹ tc For this colon the LXX has “a man shall come out of his seed.” Cf. the Syriac Peshitta and Targum.

² tn Heb “many.”

³ sn These two lines are difficult, but the general sense is that of irrigation buckets and a well-watered land. The point is that Israel will be prosperous and fruitful.

⁴ sn Many commentators see this as a reference to Agag of 1 Sam 15:32-33, the Amalekite king slain by Samuel, for that is the one we know. But that is by no means clear, for this text does not identify this Agag. If it is that king, then this poem, or this line in this poem, would have to be later, unless one were to try to argue for a specific prophecy. Whoever this Agag is, he is a symbol of power.

NET Notes: Num 24:8

¹ tn Heb “they will devour nations,” their adversaries.

NET Notes: Num 24:9

¹ tn On the usage of this word see HALOT 517 s.v. לָבִיא.

NET Notes: Num 24:10

¹ sn This is apparently a sign of contempt or derision (see Job 27:23; and Lam 2:15).

² tn The construction is emphatic, using the infinitive absolute with the perfect tense for “bless.”

NET Notes: Num 24:11

¹ tn Heb “flee to your place.”

NET Notes: Num 24:13

¹ tn Heb “I am not able to go beyond.”

² tn Heb “mouth.”

³ tn Heb “from my heart.”

NET Notes: Num 24:14

¹ tn The construction is the particle הִנֵּה (hinneh) suffixed followed by the active participle. This is the futur instans use of the participle, to express something that is about to happen: “I am about to go.”

² tn Heb “in the latter days.” For more on this expression, see E. Lipinski, “באחרית הימים dans les textes préexiliques,” VT 20 (1970): 445-50.

NET Notes: Num 24:15

¹ tn Heb “and he took up his oracle and said.”

NET Notes: Num 24:17

¹ tn Heb “near.”

² sn This is a figure for a king (see also Isa 14:12) not only in the Bible but in the ancient Near Eastern literature as a whole. The immediate reference of the prophecy seems to be to David, but the eschatological theme goes beyond him. There is to be a connection made between this passage and the sighting of a star in its ascendancy by the magi, who then traveled to Bethlehem to see the one born King of the Jews (Matt 2:2). The expression “son of a star” (Aram Bar Kochba) became a title for a later claimant to kingship, but he was doomed by the Romans in a.d. 135.

³ tn The verb is the perfect tense with vav (ו) consecutive; it is equal to the imperfect expressing the future. The verb דָּרַךְ (darakh), related to the noun “way, road,” seems to mean something like tread on, walk, march.”

⁴ sn The “scepter” is metonymical for a king who will rise to power. NEB strangely rendered this as “comet” to make a parallel with “star.”

⁵ tn The word is literally “corners,” but may refer to the corners of the head, and so “skull.”

⁶ tc The MT reads “shatter, devastate.” Smr reads קֹדְקֹד (qodqod, “head; crown; pate”). Smr follows Jer 48:45 which appears to reflect Num 24:17.

⁷ sn The prophecy begins to be fulfilled when David defeated Moab and Edom and established an empire including them. But the Messianic promise extends far beyond that to the end of the age and the inclusion of these defeated people in the program of the coming King.

NET Notes: Num 24:18

¹ sn Seir is the chief mountain range of Edom (Deut 33:2), and so the reference here is to the general area of Edom.