Numbers 24:3-4

24:3 Then he uttered this oracle: ¹ 

“The oracle ²  of Balaam son of Beor;

the oracle of the man whose eyes are open; ³ 

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 

Numbers 23:7

23:7 Then Balaam ⁶  uttered ⁷  his oracle, saying,

“Balak, the king of Moab, brought me ⁸  from Aram,

out of the mountains of the east, saying,

‘Come, pronounce a curse on Jacob for me;

come, denounce Israel.’ ⁹ 

Numbers 23:18

Balaam Prophesies Again

23:18 Balaam ¹⁰  uttered ¹¹  his oracle, and said,

“Rise up, ¹²  Balak, and hear;

Listen to me, son of Zippor:

Job 27:1

A Protest of Innocence

27:1 And Job took up his discourse again: ¹³ 

Matthew 13:35

13:35 This fulfilled what was spoken by the prophet: ¹⁴ 

“I will open my mouth in parables,

I will announce what has been hidden from the foundation of the world.” ¹⁵ 

¹ tn Heb “and he took up his oracle and said.”

² tn The word נְאֻם (nÿ’um) is an “oracle.” It is usually followed by a subjective genitive, indicating the doer of the action. The word could be rendered “says,” but this translations is more specific.

³ tn The Greek version reads “the one who sees truly.” The word has been interpreted in both ways, “shut” or “open.”

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 “he”; the referent (Balaam) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁷ tn Heb “took up.”

⁸ 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.

⁹ 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.

¹⁰ tn Heb “he.” The antecedent has been supplied in the translation for clarity.

¹¹ tn Heb “took up.”

¹² tn The verb probably means “pay attention” in this verse.

¹³ tn The Hebrew word מָשָׁל (mashal) is characteristically “proverb; by-word.” It normally refers to a brief saying, but can be used for a discourse (see A. R. Johnson, “MasŒal,” VTSup 3 [1955]: 162ff.).

¹⁴ tc A few important mss (א* Θ Ë^1,13 33) identify the prophet as Isaiah, a reading that is significantly harder than the generic “prophet” because the source of this prophecy is not Isaiah but Asaph in Ps 78. Jerome mentioned some mss that had “Asaph” here, though none are known to exist today. This problem is difficult because of the temptation for scribes to delete the reference to Isaiah in order to clear up a discrepancy. Indeed, the vast majority of witnesses have only “the prophet” here (א¹ B C D L W 0233 0242 Ï lat sy co). However, as B. M. Metzger points out, “if no prophet were originally named, more than one scribe might have been prompted to insert the name of the best known prophet – something which has, in fact, happened elsewhere more than once” (TCGNT 27). In light of the paucity of evidence for the reading ᾿Ησαΐου, as well as the proclivity of scribes to add his name, it is probably best to consider the shorter reading as authentic.

¹⁵ sn A quotation from Ps 78:2.