Numbers 23:1

Balaam Blesses Israel

23:1 ¹ Balaam said to Balak, “Build me seven altars here, and prepare for me here seven bulls and seven rams.”

Numbers 23:29

23:29 Then Balaam said to Balak, “Build seven altars here for me, and prepare seven bulls and seven rams.”

Numbers 1:31

1:31 Those of them who were numbered from the tribe of Zebulun were 57,400.

Numbers 2:8

2:8 Those numbered in his division are 57,400.

Numbers 29:32

29:32 “‘On the seventh day you must offer seven bulls, two rams, and fourteen lambs one year old, all without blemish,

Numbers 23:14

23:14 So Balak brought Balaam ²  to the field of Zophim, to the top of Pisgah, ³  where ⁴  he built seven altars and offered a bull and a ram on each altar.

Numbers 28:11

Monthly Offerings

28:11 “‘On the first day of each month ⁵  you must offer as a burnt offering to the Lord two young bulls, one ram, and seven unblemished lambs a year old,

Numbers 28:27

28:27 But you must offer as the burnt offering, as a sweet aroma to the Lord, two young bulls, one ram, seven lambs one year old,

Numbers 29:2

29:2 You must offer a burnt offering as a sweet aroma to the Lord: one young bull, one ram, and seven lambs one year old without blemish.

Numbers 29:8

29:8 But you must offer a burnt offering as a pleasing aroma to the Lord, one young bull, one ram, and seven lambs one year old, all of them without blemish. ⁶ 

Numbers 29:36

29:36 But you must offer a burnt offering, an offering made by fire, as a pleasing aroma to the Lord, one bull, one ram, seven lambs one year old, all of them without blemish,

Numbers 30:2

30:2 If a man ⁷  makes a vow ⁸  to the Lord or takes an oath ⁹  of binding obligation on himself, ¹⁰  he must not break his word, but must do whatever he has promised. ¹¹ 

[23:1]  ¹ sn The first part of Balaam’s activity ends in disaster for Balak – he blesses Israel. The chapter falls into four units: the first prophecy (vv. 1-10), the relocation (vv. 11-17), the second prophecy (vv. 18-24), and a further location (vv. 25-30).

[23:14]  ² tn Heb “he brought him”; the referents (Balak and Balaam) have been specified in the translation for clarity.

[23:14]  ³ tn Some scholars do not translate this word as “Pisgah,” but rather as a “lookout post” or an “elevated place.”

[23:14]  ⁴ tn Heb “and he built.”

[28:11]  ³ tn Heb “of your months.”

[29:8]  ⁴ tn Heb “they shall be to you without blemish.”

[30:2]  ⁵ tn The legal construction states the class to which the law applies, and then lays down the condition: “men [man] – if….”

[30:2]  ⁶ tn The Hebrew text uses a cognate accusative construction to express this: “a man if he vows a vow.”

[30:2]  ⁷ tn The expression is “swear an oath” (הִשָּׁבַע שְׁבֻעָה, hishava’ shÿvu’ah). The vow (נֵדֶר, neder) was a promise to donate something of oneself or one’s substance to the Lord. The solemn oath seals the vow before the Lord, perhaps with sacrifice. The vocabulary recalls Abraham’s treaty with Abimelech and the naming of Beer Sheba with the word (see Gen 21).

[30:2]  ⁸ tn The Hebrew text hasלֶאְסֹר אִסָּר (le’sor ’issar), meaning “to take a binding obligation.” This is usually interpreted to mean a negative vow, i.e., the person attempts to abstain from something that is otherwise permissible. It might involve fasting, or abstaining from marital sex, but it might also involve some goal to be achieved, and the abstaining from distractions until the vow is fulfilled (see Ps 132). The נֶדֶר (neder) may have been more for religious matters, and the אִסָּר more for social concerns, but this cannot be documented with certainty.

[30:2]  ⁹ tn Heb “according to all that goes out of his mouth.”