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 4 with eyes open: 5
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. 6
A star 7 will march forth 8 out of Jacob,
and a scepter 9 will rise out of Israel.
He will crush the skulls 10 of Moab,
and the heads 11 of all the sons of Sheth. 12
24:18 Edom will be a possession,
Seir, 13 his enemies, will also be a possession;
but Israel will act valiantly.
24:19 A ruler will be established from Jacob;
he will destroy the remains of the city.’” 14
24:20 Then Balaam 15 looked on Amalek and delivered this oracle: 16
“Amalek was the first 17 of the nations,
but his end will be that he will perish.”
24:21 Then he looked on the Kenites and uttered this oracle:
“Your dwelling place seems strong,
and your nest 18 is set on a rocky cliff.
24:22 Nevertheless the Kenite will be consumed. 19
How long will Asshur take you away captive?”
24:23 Then he uttered this oracle:
“O, who will survive when God does this! 20
24:24 Ships will come from the coast of Kittim, 21
and will afflict Asshur, 22 and will afflict Eber,
and he will also perish forever.” 23
11:1 Now a certain man named Lazarus was sick. He was from Bethany, the village where Mary and her sister Martha lived. 27
1 tn Heb “word.”
2 tn Heb “and thus you shall speak.”
3 tn Heb “word.”
4 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.
5 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.
6 tn Heb “near.”
7 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
8 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.”
9 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.”
10 tn The word is literally “corners,” but may refer to the corners of the head, and so “skull.”
11 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.
12 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.
13 sn Seir is the chief mountain range of Edom (Deut 33:2), and so the reference here is to the general area of Edom.
14 tn Or, understanding the Hebrew word for “city” as a place name, “of Ir” (cf. NRSV, NLT).
15 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Balaam) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
16 tn Heb “and he lifted up his oracle and said.” So also in vv. 21, 23.
17 sn This probably means that it held first place, or it thought that it was “the first of the nations.” It was not the first, either in order or greatness.
18 sn A pun is made on the name Kenite by using the word “your nest” (קִנֶּךָ, qinnekha); the location may be the rocky cliffs overlooking Petra.
19 tc Heb “Nevertheless Cain will be wasted; how long will Asshur take you captive?” Cain was believed to be the ancestor of the Kenites. The NAB has “yet destined for burning, even as I watch, are your inhabitants.” Asshur may refer to a north Arabian group of people of Abrahamic stock (Gen 25:3), and not the Assyrian empire.
20 tc Because there is no parallel line, some have thought that it dropped out (see de Vaulx, Les Nombres, 296).
21 tc The MT is difficult. The Kittim refers normally to Cyprus, or any maritime people to the west. W. F. Albright proposed emending the line to “islands will gather in the north, ships from the distant sea” (“The Oracles of Balaam,” JBL 63 [1944]: 222-23). Some commentators accept that reading as the original state of the text, since the present MT makes little sense.
22 tn Or perhaps “Assyria” (so NCV, TEV, CEV, NLT).
23 tn Or “it will end in utter destruction.”
24 tn Grk “and in your name do.” This phrase was not repeated here in the translation for stylistic reasons.
25 tn Grk “say this from himself.”
26 tn The word “Jewish” is not in the Greek text, but is clearly implied by the context (so also NIV; TEV “the Jewish people”).
27 tn Grk “from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha.”
28 tn Grk “and faithful.” The construction in Greek (as well as Paul’s style) suggests that the saints are identical to the faithful; hence, the καί (kai) is best left untranslated (cf. Eph 1:1). See ExSyn 281-82.
29 tn Grk “brothers,” but the Greek word may be used for “brothers and sisters” or “fellow Christians” as here (cf. BDAG 18 s.v. ἀδελφός 1, where considerable nonbiblical evidence for the plural ἀδελφοί [adelfoi] meaning “brothers and sisters” is cited).
30 tn Or “Grace to you and peace.”
31 tc Most witnesses, including some important ones (א A C F G I [P] 075 Ï it bo), read “and the Lord Jesus Christ” at the end of this verse, no doubt to conform the wording to the typical Pauline salutation. However, excellent and early witnesses (B D K L Ψ 33 81 1175 1505 1739 1881 al sa) lack this phrase. Since the omission is inexplicable as arising from the longer reading (otherwise, these