Isaiah 15:2

15:2 They went up to the temple, ¹ 

the people of Dibon went up to the high places to lament. ² 

Because of what happened to Nebo and Medeba, ³  Moab wails.

Every head is shaved bare,

every beard is trimmed off. ⁴ 

Isaiah 26:16

26:16 O Lord, in distress they looked for you;

they uttered incantations because of your discipline. ⁵ 

Numbers 22:39

22:39 So Balaam went with Balak, and they came to Kiriath-huzoth.

Numbers 22:41--23:3

22:41 Then on the next morning Balak took Balaam, and brought him up to Bamoth Baal. ⁶  From there he saw the extent of the nation.

Balaam Blesses Israel

23:1 ⁷ 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 ⁸  altar a bull and a ram. 23:3 Balaam said to Balak, “Station yourself ⁹  by your burnt offering, and I will go off; perhaps the Lord will come to meet me, and whatever he reveals to me ¹⁰  I will tell you.” ¹¹  Then he went to a deserted height. ¹² 

Numbers 23:14

23:14 So Balak brought Balaam ¹³  to the field of Zophim, to the top of Pisgah, ¹⁴  where ¹⁵  he built seven altars and offered a bull and a ram on each altar.

Numbers 23:28

23:28 So Balak took Balaam to the top of Peor, that looks toward the wilderness. ¹⁶ 

Numbers 24:17

24:17 ‘I see him, but not now;

I behold him, but not close at hand. ¹⁷ 

A star ¹⁸  will march forth ¹⁹  out of Jacob,

and a scepter ²⁰  will rise out of Israel.

He will crush the skulls ²¹  of Moab,

and the heads ²²  of all the sons of Sheth. ²³ 

Proverbs 1:28

1:28 Then they will call to me, but I will not answer;

they will diligently seek ²⁴  me, but they will not find me.

Jeremiah 48:35

48:35 I will put an end in Moab

to those who make offerings at her places of worship. ²⁵ 

I will put an end to those who sacrifice to other gods.

I, the Lord, affirm it! ²⁶ 

[15:2]  ¹ tn Heb “house.”

[15:2]  ² tn Heb “even Dibon [to] the high places to weep.” The verb “went up” does double duty in the parallel structure.

[15:2]  ³ tn Heb “over [or “for”] Nebo and over [or “for”] Medeba.”

[15:2]  ⁴ sn Shaving the head and beard were outward signs of mourning and grief.

[26:16]  ⁵ tn The meaning of this verse is unclear. It appears to read literally, “O Lord, in distress they visit you, they pour out [?] an incantation, your discipline to them.” פָּקַד (paqad) may here carry the sense of “seek with interest” (cf. Ezek 23:21 and BDB 823 s.v.) or “seek in vain” (cf. Isa 34:16), but it is peculiar for the Lord to be the object of this verb. צָקוּן (tsaqun) may be a Qal perfect third plural form from צוּק (tsuq, “pour out, melt”), though the verb is not used of pouring out words in its two other occurrences. Because of the appearance of צַר (tsar, “distress”) in the preceding line, it is tempting to emend the form to a noun and derive it from צוּק (“be in distress”) The term לַחַשׁ (lakhash) elsewhere refers to an incantation (Isa 3:3; Jer 8:17; Eccl 10:11) or amulet (Isa 3:20). Perhaps here it refers to ritualistic prayers or to magical incantations used to ward off evil.

[22:41]  ⁶ sn The name Bamoth Baal means “the high places of Baal.”

[23:1]  ⁷ 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).

[23:2]  ⁸ 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.

[23:3]  ⁹ 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.

[23:3]  ¹⁰ 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.

[23:3]  ¹¹ tn The verb is the perfect tense with vav (ו) consecutive. This clause is dependent on the clause that precedes it.

[23:3]  ¹² 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.

[23:14]  ¹³ tn Heb “he brought him”; the referents (Balak and Balaam) have been specified in the translation for clarity.

[23:14]  ¹⁴ tn Some scholars do not translate this word as “Pisgah,” but rather as a “lookout post” or an “elevated place.”

[23:14]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “and he built.”

[23:28]  ¹⁶ tn Or perhaps as a place name, “Jeshimon” (cf. 21:20).

[24:17]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “near.”

[24:17]  ¹⁸ 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 a.d. 135.

[24:17]  ¹⁹ 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.”

[24:17]  ²⁰ 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.”

[24:17]  ²¹ tn The word is literally “corners,” but may refer to the corners of the head, and so “skull.”

[24:17]  ²² 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.

[24:17]  ²³ 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.

[1:28]  ²⁴ tn Heb “look to.” The verb שָׁחַר (shakhar, “to look”) is used figuratively of intensely looking (=seeking) for deliverance out of trouble (W. L. Holladay, Concise Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon, 366); cf. NLT “anxiously search for.” It is used elsewhere in parallelism with בָּקַשׁ (baqash, “to seek rescue”; Hos 5:15). It does not mean “to seek early” (cf. KJV) as is popularly taught due to etymological connections with the noun שַׁחַר (shakhar, “dawn”; so BDB 1007 s.v. שָׁחַר).

[48:35]  ²⁵ tn Heb “high place[s].” For the meaning and significance of this term see the study note on 7:31.

[48:35]  ²⁶ tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”