Numbers 22:4-5

22:4 So the Moabites said to the elders of Midian, “Now this mass of people ¹  will lick up everything around us, as the bull devours the grass of the field. Now Balak son of Zippor was king of the Moabites at this time. 22:5 And he sent messengers to Balaam ²  son of Beor at Pethor, which is by the Euphrates River ³  in the land of Amaw, ⁴  to summon him, saying, “Look, a nation has come out of Egypt. They cover the face ⁵  of the earth, and they are settling next to me.

[22:4]  ¹ tn The word is simply “company,” but in the context he must mean a vast company – a horde of people.

[22:5]  ² sn There is much literature on pagan diviners and especially prophecy in places in the east like Mari (see, for example, H. B. Huffmon, “Prophecy in the Mari Letters,” BA 31 [1968]: 101-24). Balaam appears to be a pagan diviner who was of some reputation; he was called to curse the Israelites, but God intervened and gave him blessings only. The passage forms a nice complement to texts that deal with blessings and curses. It shows that no one can curse someone whom God has blessed.

[22:5]  ³ tn Heb “by the river”; in most contexts this expression refers to the Euphrates River (cf. NAB, NCV, NRSV, TEV, CEV, NLT).

[22:5]  ⁴ tn Heb “in the land of Amaw” (cf. NAB, NRSV, TEV); traditionally “in the land of the sons of his people.” The LXX has “by the river of the land.”

[22:5]  ⁵ tn Heb “eye.” So also in v. 11.