29:1 So Jacob moved on 1 and came to the land of the eastern people. 2
“Balak, the king of Moab, brought me 5 from Aram,
out of the mountains of the east, saying,
‘Come, pronounce a curse on Jacob for me;
come, denounce Israel.’ 6
41:2 Who stirs up this one from the east? 7
Who 8 officially commissions him for service? 9
He hands nations over to him, 10
and enables him to subdue 11 kings.
He makes them like dust with his sword,
like windblown straw with his bow. 12
1 tn Heb “and Jacob lifted up his feet.” This unusual expression suggests that Jacob had a new lease on life now that God had promised him the blessing he had so desperately tried to gain by his own efforts. The text portrays him as having a new step in his walk.
2 tn Heb “the land of the sons of the east.”
3 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Balaam) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
4 tn Heb “took up.”
5 tn The passage calls for a past tense translation; since the verb form is a prefixed conjugation, this tense should be classified as a preterite without the vav (ו). Such forms do occur, especially in the ancient poetic passages.
6 sn The opening lines seem to be a formula for the seer to identify himself and the occasion for the oracle. The tension is laid out early; Balaam knows that God has intended to bless Israel, but he has been paid to curse them.
7 sn The expression this one from the east refers to the Persian conqueror Cyrus, as later texts indicate (see 44:28-45:6; 46:11; 48:14-16).
8 tn The interrogative particle is understood by ellipsis.
9 tn Heb “[in] righteousness called him to his foot.”
10 tn Heb “he [the Lord] places before him [Cyrus] nations.”
11 tn The verb יַרְדְּ (yardÿ) is an otherwise unattested Hiphil form from רָדָה (radah, “rule”). But the Hiphil makes no sense with “kings” as object; one must understand an ellipsis and supply “him” (Cyrus) as the object. The Qumran scroll 1QIsaa has יוֹרִד (yorid), which appears to be a Hiphil form from יָרַד (yarad, “go down”). Others suggest reading יָרֹד (yarod), a Qal form from רָדַד (radad, “beat down”).
12 sn The point is that they are powerless before Cyrus’ military power and scatter before him.