Numbers 23:8-11

23:8 How ¹  can I curse ²  one whom God has not cursed,

or how can I denounce one whom the Lord has not denounced?

23:9 For from the top of the rocks I see them; ³ 

from the hills I watch them. ⁴ 

Indeed, a nation that lives alone,

and it will not be reckoned ⁵  among the nations.

23:10 Who ⁶  can count ⁷  the dust ⁸  of Jacob,

Or number ⁹  the fourth part of Israel?

Let me ¹⁰  die the death of the upright, ¹¹ 

and let the end of my life ¹²  be like theirs.” ¹³ 

Balaam Relocates

23:11 Then Balak said to Balaam, “What have you done to me? I brought you to curse my enemies, but on the contrary ¹⁴  you have only blessed them!” ¹⁵ 

Numbers 23:18

Balaam Prophesies Again

23:18 Balaam ¹⁶  uttered ¹⁷  his oracle, and said,

“Rise up, ¹⁸  Balak, and hear;

Listen to me, son of Zippor:

Numbers 24:5-10

24:5 ‘How ¹⁹  beautiful are your tents, O Jacob,

and your dwelling places, O Israel!

24:6 They are like ²⁰  valleys ²¹  stretched forth,

like gardens by the river’s side,

like aloes ²²  that the Lord has planted,

and like cedar trees beside the waters.

24:7 He will pour the water out of his buckets, ²³ 

and their descendants will be like abundant ²⁴  water; ²⁵ 

their king will be greater than Agag, ²⁶ 

and their kingdom will be exalted.

24:8 God brought them out of Egypt.

They have, as it were, the strength of a young bull;

they will devour hostile people ²⁷ 

and will break their bones

and will pierce them through with arrows.

24:9 They crouch and lie down like a lion,

and as a lioness, ²⁸  who can stir him?

Blessed is the one who blesses you,

and cursed is the one who curses you!’”

24:10 Then Balak became very angry at Balaam, and he struck his hands together. ²⁹  Balak said to Balaam, “I called you to curse my enemies, and look, you have done nothing but bless ³⁰  them these three times!

Deuteronomy 23:5

23:5 But the Lord your God refused to listen to Balaam and changed ³¹  the curse to a blessing, for the Lord your God loves ³²  you.

Psalms 109:28

109:28 They curse, but you will bless. ³³ 

When they attack, they will be humiliated, ³⁴ 

but your servant will rejoice.

Micah 6:5

6:5 My people, recall how King Balak of Moab planned to harm you, ³⁵ 

how Balaam son of Beor responded to him.

Recall how you journeyed from Shittim to Gilgal,

so you might acknowledge that the Lord has treated you fairly.” ³⁶ 

[23:8]  ¹ tn The figure is erotesis, a rhetorical question. He is actually saying he cannot curse them because God has not cursed them.

[23:8]  ² tn The imperfect tense should here be classified as a potential imperfect.

[23:9]  ³ tn Heb “him,” but here it refers to the Israelites (Israel).

[23:9]  ⁴ sn Balaam reports his observation of the nation of Israel spread out below him in the valley. Based on that vision, and the Lord’s word, he announces the uniqueness of Israel – they are not just like one of the other nations. He was correct, of course; they were the only people linked with the living God by covenant.

[23:9]  ⁵ tn The verb could also be taken as a reflexive – Israel does not consider itself as among the nations, meaning, they consider themselves to be unique.

[23:10]  ⁶ tn The question is again rhetorical; it means no one can count them – they are innumerable.

[23:10]  ⁷ tn The perfect tense can also be classified as a potential nuance. It does not occur very often, but does occur several times.

[23:10]  ⁸ sn The reference in the oracle is back to Gen 13:16, which would not be clear to Balaam. But God had described their growth like the dust of the earth. Here it is part of the description of the vast numbers.

[23:10]  ⁹ tn Heb “and as a number, the fourth part of Israel.” The noun in the MT is not in the construct state, and so it should be taken as an adverbial accusative, forming a parallel with the verb “count.” The second object of the verse then follows, “the fourth part of Israel.” Smr and the LXX have “and who has numbered” (וּמִסְפָּר, umispar), making this colon more parallel to the preceding one. The editor of BHS prefers this reading.

[23:10]  ¹⁰ tn The use of נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh) for the subject of the verb stresses the personal nature – me.

[23:10]  ¹¹ sn Here the seer’s words link with the promise of Gen 12:3, that whoever blesses Israel will be blessed. Since the blessing belongs to them, the upright (and not Balak), Balaam would like his lot to be with them.

[23:10]  ¹² tn Heb “my latter end.”

[23:10]  ¹³ tn Heb “his.”

[23:11]  ¹⁴ tn The Hebrew text uses הִנֵּה (hinneh) here to stress the contrast.

[23:11]  ¹⁵ tn The construction is emphatic, using the perfect tense and the infinitive absolute to give it the emphasis. It would have the force of “you have done nothing but bless,” or “you have indeed blessed.” The construction is reminiscent of the call of Abram and the promise of the blessing in such elaborate terms.

[23:18]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “he.” The antecedent has been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[23:18]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “took up.”

[23:18]  ¹⁸ tn The verb probably means “pay attention” in this verse.

[24:5]  ¹⁹ tn Here מָה (mah) has an exclamatory sense: “How!” (see Gen 28:17).

[24:6]  ²⁰ tn Heb “as valleys they spread forth.”

[24:6]  ²¹ tn Or “rows of palms.”

[24:6]  ²² sn The language seems to be more poetic than precise. N. H. Snaith notes that cedars do not grow beside water; he also connects “aloes” to the eaglewood that is more exotic, and capable of giving off an aroma (Leviticus and Numbers [NCB], 298).

[24:7]  ²³ tc For this colon the LXX has “a man shall come out of his seed.” Cf. the Syriac Peshitta and Targum.

[24:7]  ²⁴ tn Heb “many.”

[24:7]  ²⁵ sn These two lines are difficult, but the general sense is that of irrigation buckets and a well-watered land. The point is that Israel will be prosperous and fruitful.

[24:7]  ²⁶ sn Many commentators see this as a reference to Agag of 1 Sam 15:32-33, the Amalekite king slain by Samuel, for that is the one we know. But that is by no means clear, for this text does not identify this Agag. If it is that king, then this poem, or this line in this poem, would have to be later, unless one were to try to argue for a specific prophecy. Whoever this Agag is, he is a symbol of power.

[24:8]  ²⁷ tn Heb “they will devour nations,” their adversaries.

[24:9]  ²⁸ tn On the usage of this word see HALOT 517 s.v. לָבִיא.

[24:10]  ²⁹ sn This is apparently a sign of contempt or derision (see Job 27:23; and Lam 2:15).

[24:10]  ³⁰ tn The construction is emphatic, using the infinitive absolute with the perfect tense for “bless.”

[23:5]  ³¹ tn Heb “the Lord your God changed.” The phrase “the Lord your God” has not been included in the translation here for stylistic reasons to avoid redundancy. Moreover, use of the pronoun “he” could create confusion regarding the referent (the Lord or Balaam).

[23:5]  ³² tn The verb אָהַב (’ahav, “love”) here and commonly elsewhere in the Book of Deuteronomy speaks of God’s elective grace toward Israel. See note on the word “loved” in Deut 4:37.

[109:28]  ³³ tn Another option is to translate the imperfect as a prayer/request (“may you bless”).

[109:28]  ³⁴ tn The verbal sequence is perfect + prefixed form with vav (ו) consecutive. Since the psalmist seems to be anticipating the demise of his enemies, he may be using these forms rhetorically to describe the enemies’ defeat as if it were already accomplished. Some emend the text to קָמוּ יֵבֹשׁוּ (qamu yevoshu, “may those who attack me be humiliated”). See L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 (WBC), 75.

[6:5]  ³⁵ tn Heb “remember what Balak…planned.”

[6:5]  ³⁶ tn Heb “From Shittim to Gilgal, in order to know the just acts of the Lord.” Something appears to be missing at the beginning of the line. The present translation supplies the words, “Recall how you went.” This apparently refers to how Israel crossed the Jordan River (see Josh 3:1; 4:19-24).