Numbers 21:28-29

21:28 For fire went out from Heshbon,

a flame from the city of Sihon.

It has consumed Ar of Moab

and the lords ¹  of the high places of Arnon.

21:29 Woe to you, Moab.

You are ruined, O people of Chemosh! ² 

He has made his sons fugitives,

and his daughters the prisoners of King Sihon of the Amorites.

Numbers 22:7-8

22:7 So the elders of Moab and the elders of Midian departed with the fee for divination in their hand. They came to Balaam and reported ³  to him the words of Balak. 22:8 He replied to them, “Stay ⁴  here tonight, and I will bring back to you whatever word the Lord may speak to me.” So the princes of Moab stayed with Balaam.

Numbers 22:36

Balaam Meets Balak

22:36 When Balak heard that Balaam was coming, he went out to meet him at a city of Moab which was on the border of the Arnon at the boundary of his territory.

Numbers 23:7

23:7 Then Balaam ⁵  uttered ⁶  his oracle, saying,

“Balak, the king of Moab, brought me ⁷  from Aram,

out of the mountains of the east, saying,

‘Come, pronounce a curse on Jacob for me;

come, denounce Israel.’ ⁸ 

Numbers 23:17

23:17 When Balaam ⁹  came to him, he was still standing by his burnt offering, along with the princes of Moab. And Balak said to him, “What has the Lord spoken?”

Numbers 26:63

26:63 These are those who were numbered by Moses and Eleazar the priest, who numbered the Israelites in the plains of Moab along the Jordan River opposite Jericho. ¹⁰ 

Numbers 36:13

36:13 These are the commandments and the decisions that the Lord commanded the Israelites through the authority ¹¹  of Moses, on the plains of Moab by the Jordan River ¹²  opposite Jericho. ¹³ 

[21:28]  ¹ tc Some scholars emend to בָּלְעָה (bal’ah), reading “and devoured,” instead of בַּעֲלֵי (ba’aley, “its lords”); cf. NAB, NRSV, TEV. This emendation is closer to the Greek and makes a better parallelism, but the MT makes good sense as it stands.

[21:29]  ² sn The note of holy war emerges here as the victory is a victory over the local gods as well as over the people.

[22:7]  ³ tn Heb “spoke.”

[22:8]  ⁴ tn The verb לִין (lin) means “to lodge, spend the night.” The related noun is “a lodge” – a hotel of sorts. Balaam needed to consider the offer. And after darkness was considered the best time for diviners to consult with their deities. Balaam apparently knows of the Lord; he testifies to this effect in 22:18.

[23:7]  ⁵ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Balaam) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[23:7]  ⁶ tn Heb “took up.”

[23:7]  ⁷ 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.

[23:7]  ⁸ 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.

[23:17]  ⁶ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Balaam) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[26:63]  ⁷ map For the location of Jericho see Map5 B2; Map6 E1; Map7 E1; Map8 E3; Map10 A2; Map11 A1.

[36:13]  ⁸ tn Heb “by the hand.”

[36:13]  ⁹ tn The word “River” is not in the Hebrew text, but has been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[36:13]  ¹⁰ map For the location of Jericho see Map5 B2; Map6 E1; Map7 E1; Map8 E3; Map10 A2; Map11 A1.