Numbers 22:5-21

22:5 And he sent messengers to Balaam ¹  son of Beor at Pethor, which is by the Euphrates River ²  in the land of Amaw, ³  to summon him, saying, “Look, a nation has come out of Egypt. They cover the face ⁴  of the earth, and they are settling next to me. 22:6 So ⁵  now, please come and curse this nation ⁶  for me, for they are too powerful for me. Perhaps I will prevail so that we may conquer them ⁷  and drive them out of the land. For I know that whoever you bless is blessed, ⁸  and whoever you curse is cursed.”

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 ⁹  to him the words of Balak. 22:8 He replied to them, “Stay ¹⁰  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. 22:9 And God came to Balaam and said, “Who are these men with you?” 22:10 Balaam said to God, “Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab, has sent a message to me, saying, 22:11 “Look, a nation has come out ¹¹  of Egypt, and it covers the face of the earth. Come now and put a curse on them for me; perhaps I will be able to defeat them ¹²  and drive them out.” ¹³  22:12 But God said to Balaam, “You must not go with them; you must not curse the people, ¹⁴  for they are blessed.” ¹⁵ 

22:13 So Balaam got up in the morning, and said to the princes of Balak, “Go to your land, ¹⁶  for the Lord has refused to permit me to go ¹⁷  with you.” 22:14 So the princes of Moab departed ¹⁸  and went back to Balak and said, “Balaam refused to come with us.”

Balaam Accompanies the Moabite Princes

22:15 Balak again sent princes, ¹⁹  more numerous and more distinguished than the first. ²⁰  22:16 And they came to Balaam and said to him, “Thus says Balak son of Zippor: ‘Please do not let anything hinder you from coming ²¹  to me. 22:17 For I will honor you greatly, ²²  and whatever you tell me I will do. So come, put a curse on this nation for me.’”

22:18 Balaam replied ²³  to the servants of Balak, “Even if Balak would give me his palace full of silver and gold, I could not transgress the commandment ²⁴  of the Lord my God ²⁵  to do less or more. 22:19 Now therefore, please stay ²⁶  the night here also, that I may know what more the Lord might say to me.” ²⁷  22:20 God came to Balaam that night, and said to him, “If the men have come to call you, get up and go with them; but the word that I will say to you, that you must do.” 22:21 So Balaam got up in the morning, saddled his donkey, and went with the princes of Moab.

[22:5]  ¹ 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]  ² tn Heb “by the river”; in most contexts this expression refers to the Euphrates River (cf. NAB, NCV, NRSV, TEV, CEV, NLT).

[22:5]  ³ 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]  ⁴ tn Heb “eye.” So also in v. 11.

[22:6]  ⁵ tn The two lines before this verse begin with the particle הִנֵּה (hinneh), and so they lay the foundation for these imperatives. In view of those circumstances, this is what should happen.

[22:6]  ⁶ tn Heb “people.” So also in vv. 10, 17, 41.

[22:6]  ⁷ tn The construction uses the imperfect tense אוּכַל (’ukhal, “I will be able”) followed by the imperfect tense נַכֶּה (nakkeh, “we will smite/attack/defeat”). The second verb is clearly the purpose or the result of the first, even though there is no conjunction or particle.

[22:6]  ⁸ tn The verb is the Piel imperfect of בָּרַךְ (barakh), with the nuance of possibility: “whomever you may bless.” The Pual participle מְבֹרָךְ (mÿvorakh) serves as the predicate.

[22:7]  ⁹ tn Heb “spoke.”

[22:8]  ¹⁰ 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.

[22:11]  ¹¹ tn In this passage the text differs slightly; here it is “the nation that comes out,” using the article on the noun, and the active participle in the attributive adjective usage.

[22:11]  ¹² tn Here the infinitive construct is used to express the object or complement of the verb “to be able” (it answers the question of what he will be able to do).

[22:11]  ¹³ tn The verb is the Piel perfect with vav (ו) consecutive. It either carries the force of an imperfect tense, or it may be subordinated to the preceding verbs.

[22:12]  ¹⁴ tn The two verbs are negated imperfects; they have the nuance of prohibition: You must not go and you must not curse.

[22:12]  ¹⁵ tn The word בָּרוּךְ (barukh) is the Qal passive participle, serving here as the predicate adjective after the supplied verb “to be.” The verb means “enrich,” in any way, materially, spiritually, physically. But the indication here is that the blessing includes the promised blessing of the patriarchs, a blessing that gave Israel the land. See further, C. Westermann, Blessing in the Bible and the Life of the Church (OBT).

[22:13]  ¹⁶ tc The LXX adds “to your lord.”

[22:13]  ¹⁷ tn The main verb is the Piel perfect, “he has refused.” This is followed by two infinitives. The first (לְתִתִּי, lÿtitti) serves as a complement or direct object of the verb, answering the question of what he refused to do – “to give me.” The second infinitive (לַהֲלֹךְ, lahalokh) provides the object for the preceding infinitive: “to grant me to go.”

[22:14]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “rose up.”

[22:15]  ¹⁹ tn The construction is a verbal hendiadys. It uses the Hiphil preterite of the verb “to add” followed by the Qal infinitive “to send.” The infinitive becomes the main verb, and the preterite an adverb: “he added to send” means “he sent again.”

[22:15]  ²⁰ tn Heb “than these.”

[22:16]  ²¹ tn The infinitive construct is the object of the preposition.

[22:17]  ²² tn The construction uses the Piel infinitive כַּבֵּד (kabbed) to intensify the verb, which is the Piel imperfect/cohortative אֲכַבֶּדְךָ (’akhabbedkha). The great honor could have been wealth, prestige, or position.

[22:18]  ²³ tn Heb “answered and said.”

[22:18]  ²⁴ tn Heb “mouth.”

[22:18]  ²⁵ sn In the light of subsequent events one should not take too seriously that Balaam referred to Yahweh as his God. He is referring properly to the deity for which he is acting as the agent.

[22:19]  ²⁶ tn In this case “lodge” is not used, but “remain, reside” (שְׁבוּ, shÿvu).

[22:19]  ²⁷ tn This clause is also a verbal hendiadys: “what the Lord might add to speak,” meaning, “what more the Lord might say.”