23:1 1 Balaam said to Balak, “Build me seven altars here, and prepare for me here seven bulls and seven rams.” 23:2 So Balak did just as Balaam had said. Balak and Balaam then offered on each 2 altar a bull and a ram. 23:3 Balaam said to Balak, “Station yourself 3 by your burnt offering, and I will go off; perhaps the Lord will come to meet me, and whatever he reveals to me 4 I will tell you.” 5 Then he went to a deserted height. 6
23:4 Then God met Balaam, who 7 said to him, “I have prepared seven altars, and I have offered on each altar a bull and a ram.” 23:5 Then the Lord put a message 8 in Balaam’s mouth and said, “Return to Balak, and speak what I tell you.” 9
23:6 So he returned to him, and he was still 10 standing by his burnt offering, he and all the princes of Moab. 23:7 Then Balaam 11 uttered 12 his oracle, saying,
“Balak, the king of Moab, brought me 13 from Aram,
out of the mountains of the east, saying,
‘Come, pronounce a curse on Jacob for me;
come, denounce Israel.’ 14
1 sn The first part of Balaam’s activity ends in disaster for Balak – he blesses Israel. The chapter falls into four units: the first prophecy (vv. 1-10), the relocation (vv. 11-17), the second prophecy (vv. 18-24), and a further location (vv. 25-30).
2 tn The Hebrew text has “on the altar,” but since there were seven of each animal and seven altars, the implication is that this means on each altar.
3 tn The verb הִתְיַצֵּב (hityatsev) means “to take a stand, station oneself.” It is more intentional than simply standing by something. He was to position himself by the sacrifice as Balaam withdrew to seek the oracle.
4 tn Heb “and the word of what he shows me.” The noun is in construct, and so the clause that follows functions as a noun clause in the genitive. The point is that the word will consist of divine revelation.
5 tn The verb is the perfect tense with vav (ו) consecutive. This clause is dependent on the clause that precedes it.
6 sn He went up to a bald spot, to a barren height. The statement underscores the general belief that such tops were the closest things to the gods. On such heights people built their shrines and temples.
7 tn The relative pronoun is added here in place of the conjunction to clarify that Balaam is speaking to God and not vice versa.
8 tn Heb “word.”
9 tn Heb “and thus you shall speak.”
10 tn The Hebrew text draws the vividness of the scene with the deictic particle הִנֵּה (hinneh) – Balaam returned, and there he was, standing there.
11 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Balaam) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
12 tn Heb “took up.”
13 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.
14 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.