23:14 So Balak brought Balaam 1 to the field of Zophim, to the top of Pisgah, 2 where 3 he built seven altars and offered a bull and a ram on each altar.
23:27 Balak said to Balaam, “Come, please; I will take you to another place. Perhaps it will please God 4 to let you curse them for me from there.” 5 23:28 So Balak took Balaam to the top of Peor, that looks toward the wilderness. 6
1 tn Heb “he brought him”; the referents (Balak and Balaam) have been specified in the translation for clarity.
2 tn Some scholars do not translate this word as “Pisgah,” but rather as a “lookout post” or an “elevated place.”
3 tn Heb “and he built.”
4 tn Heb “be pleasing in the eyes of God.”
5 sn 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 told Balak in the prophecy that other attempts would fail. But Balak refuses to give up so easily. So he insists they perform the ritual and try again. This time, however, Balaam will change his approach, and this will result in a dramatic outpouring of power on him.
7 tn Or perhaps as a place name, “Jeshimon” (cf. 21:20).