Numbers 24:7

24:7 He will pour the water out of his buckets, ¹ 

and their descendants will be like abundant ²  water; ³ 

their king will be greater than Agag, ⁴ 

and their kingdom will be exalted.

Deuteronomy 33:28

33:28 Israel lives in safety,

the fountain of Jacob is quite secure, ⁵ 

in a land of grain and new wine;

indeed, its heavens ⁶  rain down dew. ⁷ 

Psalms 68:26

68:26 In your large assemblies praise God,

the Lord, in the assemblies of Israel! ⁸ 

Proverbs 5:16

5:16 Should your springs be dispersed ⁹  outside,

your streams of water in the wide plazas?

[24:7]  ¹ tc For this colon the LXX has “a man shall come out of his seed.” Cf. the Syriac Peshitta and Targum.

[24:7]  ² tn Heb “many.”

[24:7]  ³ 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]  ⁴ 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.

[33:28]  ⁵ tn Heb “all alone.” The idea is that such vital resources as water will some day no longer need protection because God will provide security.

[33:28]  ⁶ tn Or “skies.” The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heaven(s)” or “sky” depending on the context.

[33:28]  ⁷ tn Or perhaps “drizzle, showers.” See note at Deut 32:2.

[68:26]  ⁸ tn Heb “from the fountain of Israel,” which makes little, if any, sense here. The translation assumes an emendation to בְּמִקְרָאֵי (bÿmiqra’ey, “in the assemblies of [Israel]”).

[5:16]  ⁹ tn The verb means “to be scattered; to be dispersed”; here the imperfect takes a deliberative nuance in a rhetorical question.