24:20 Then Balaam 1 looked on Amalek and delivered this oracle: 2
“Amalek was the first 3 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 4 is set on a rocky cliff.
1 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Balaam) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
2 tn Heb “and he lifted up his oracle and said.” So also in vv. 21, 23.
3 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.
4 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.