Numbers 23:1-20

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.” 23:2 So Balak did just as Balaam had said. Balak and Balaam then offered on each ²  altar a bull and a ram. 23:3 Balaam said to Balak, “Station yourself ³  by your burnt offering, and I will go off; perhaps the Lord will come to meet me, and whatever he reveals to me ⁴  I will tell you.” ⁵  Then he went to a deserted height. ⁶ 

23:4 Then God met Balaam, who ⁷  said to him, “I have prepared seven altars, and I have offered on each altar a bull and a ram.” 23:5 Then the Lord put a message ⁸  in Balaam’s mouth and said, “Return to Balak, and speak what I tell you.” ⁹ 

23:6 So he returned to him, and he was still ¹⁰  standing by his burnt offering, he and all the princes of Moab. 23:7 Then Balaam ¹¹  uttered ¹²  his oracle, saying,

“Balak, the king of Moab, brought me ¹³  from Aram,

out of the mountains of the east, saying,

‘Come, pronounce a curse on Jacob for me;

come, denounce Israel.’ ¹⁴ 

23:8 How ¹⁵  can I curse ¹⁶  one whom God has not cursed,

or how can I denounce one whom the Lord has not denounced?

23:9 For from the top of the rocks I see them; ¹⁷ 

from the hills I watch them. ¹⁸ 

Indeed, a nation that lives alone,

and it will not be reckoned ¹⁹  among the nations.

23:10 Who ²⁰  can count ²¹  the dust ²²  of Jacob,

Or number ²³  the fourth part of Israel?

Let me ²⁴  die the death of the upright, ²⁵ 

and let the end of my life ²⁶  be like theirs.” ²⁷ 

Balaam Relocates

23:11 Then Balak said to Balaam, “What have you done to me? I brought you to curse my enemies, but on the contrary ²⁸  you have only blessed them!” ²⁹  23:12 Balaam replied, ³⁰  “Must I not be careful ³¹  to speak what the Lord has put in my mouth?” ³²  23:13 Balak said to him, “Please come with me to another place from which you can observe them. You will see only a part of them, but you will not see all of them. Curse them for me from there.”

23:14 So Balak brought Balaam ³³  to the field of Zophim, to the top of Pisgah, ³⁴  where ³⁵  he built seven altars and offered a bull and a ram on each altar. 23:15 And Balaam ³⁶  said to Balak, “Station yourself here ³⁷  by your burnt offering, while I meet the Lord there. 23:16 Then the Lord met Balaam and put a message ³⁸  in his mouth and said, “Return to Balak, and speak what I tell you.” 23:17 When Balaam ³⁹  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?”

Balaam Prophesies Again

23:18 Balaam ⁴⁰  uttered ⁴¹  his oracle, and said,

“Rise up, ⁴²  Balak, and hear;

Listen to me, son of Zippor:

23:19 God is not a man, that he should lie,

nor a human being, ⁴³  that he should change his mind.

Has he said, and will he not do it?

Or has he spoken, and will he not make it happen? ⁴⁴ 

23:20 Indeed, I have received a command ⁴⁵  to bless;

he has blessed, ⁴⁶  and I cannot reverse it. ⁴⁷ 

[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).

[23:2]  ² tn The Hebrew text has “on the altar,” but since there were seven of each animal and seven altars, the implication is that this means on each altar.

[23:3]  ³ tn The verb הִתְיַצֵּב (hityatsev) means “to take a stand, station oneself.” It is more intentional than simply standing by something. He was to position himself by the sacrifice as Balaam withdrew to seek the oracle.

[23:3]  ⁴ tn Heb “and the word of what he shows me.” The noun is in construct, and so the clause that follows functions as a noun clause in the genitive. The point is that the word will consist of divine revelation.

[23:3]  ⁵ tn The verb is the perfect tense with vav (ו) consecutive. This clause is dependent on the clause that precedes it.

[23:3]  ⁶ sn He went up to a bald spot, to a barren height. The statement underscores the general belief that such tops were the closest things to the gods. On such heights people built their shrines and temples.

[23:4]  ⁷ tn The relative pronoun is added here in place of the conjunction to clarify that Balaam is speaking to God and not vice versa.

[23:5]  ⁸ tn Heb “word.”

[23:5]  ⁹ tn Heb “and thus you shall speak.”

[23:6]  ¹⁰ tn The Hebrew text draws the vividness of the scene with the deictic particle הִנֵּה (hinneh) – Balaam returned, and there he was, standing there.

[23:7]  ¹¹ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Balaam) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[23:7]  ¹² tn Heb “took up.”

[23:7]  ¹³ 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]  ¹⁴ 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.

[23:8]  ¹⁵ tn The figure is erotesis, a rhetorical question. He is actually saying he cannot curse them because God has not cursed them.

[23:8]  ¹⁶ tn The imperfect tense should here be classified as a potential imperfect.

[23:9]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “him,” but here it refers to the Israelites (Israel).

[23:9]  ¹⁸ sn Balaam reports his observation of the nation of Israel spread out below him in the valley. Based on that vision, and the Lord’s word, he announces the uniqueness of Israel – they are not just like one of the other nations. He was correct, of course; they were the only people linked with the living God by covenant.

[23:9]  ¹⁹ tn The verb could also be taken as a reflexive – Israel does not consider itself as among the nations, meaning, they consider themselves to be unique.

[23:10]  ²⁰ tn The question is again rhetorical; it means no one can count them – they are innumerable.

[23:10]  ²¹ tn The perfect tense can also be classified as a potential nuance. It does not occur very often, but does occur several times.

[23:10]  ²² sn The reference in the oracle is back to Gen 13:16, which would not be clear to Balaam. But God had described their growth like the dust of the earth. Here it is part of the description of the vast numbers.

[23:10]  ²³ tn Heb “and as a number, the fourth part of Israel.” The noun in the MT is not in the construct state, and so it should be taken as an adverbial accusative, forming a parallel with the verb “count.” The second object of the verse then follows, “the fourth part of Israel.” Smr and the LXX have “and who has numbered” (וּמִסְפָּר, umispar), making this colon more parallel to the preceding one. The editor of BHS prefers this reading.

[23:10]  ²⁴ tn The use of נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh) for the subject of the verb stresses the personal nature – me.

[23:10]  ²⁵ sn Here the seer’s words link with the promise of Gen 12:3, that whoever blesses Israel will be blessed. Since the blessing belongs to them, the upright (and not Balak), Balaam would like his lot to be with them.

[23:10]  ²⁶ tn Heb “my latter end.”

[23:10]  ²⁷ tn Heb “his.”

[23:11]  ²⁸ tn The Hebrew text uses הִנֵּה (hinneh) here to stress the contrast.

[23:11]  ²⁹ tn The construction is emphatic, using the perfect tense and the infinitive absolute to give it the emphasis. It would have the force of “you have done nothing but bless,” or “you have indeed blessed.” The construction is reminiscent of the call of Abram and the promise of the blessing in such elaborate terms.

[23:12]  ³⁰ tn Heb “he answered and said.” The referent (Balaam) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[23:12]  ³¹ tn The verb שָׁמַר (shamar) means “to guard, watch, observe” and so here with a sense of “be careful” or even “take heed” (so KJV, ASV). The nuance of the imperfect tense would be obligatory: “I must be careful” – to do what? to speak what the Lord has put in my mouth. The infinitive construct “to speak” is therefore serving as the direct object of שָׁמַר.

[23:12]  ³² tn The clause is a noun clause serving as the direct object of “to speak.” It begins with the sign of the accusative, and then the relative pronoun that indicates the whole clause is the accusative.

[23:14]  ³³ tn Heb “he brought him”; the referents (Balak and Balaam) have been specified in the translation for clarity.

[23:14]  ³⁴ tn Some scholars do not translate this word as “Pisgah,” but rather as a “lookout post” or an “elevated place.”

[23:14]  ³⁵ tn Heb “and he built.”

[23:15]  ³⁶ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Balaam) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[23:15]  ³⁷ tn The verse uses כֹּה (koh) twice: “Station yourself here…I will meet [the Lord] there.”

[23:16]  ³⁸ tn Heb “word.”

[23:17]  ³⁹ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Balaam) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[23:18]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “he.” The antecedent has been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[23:18]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “took up.”

[23:18]  ⁴² tn The verb probably means “pay attention” in this verse.

[23:19]  ⁴³ tn Heb “son of man.”

[23:19]  ⁴⁴ tn The verb is the Hiphil of קוּם (qum, “to cause to rise; to make stand”). The meaning here is more of the sense of fulfilling the promises made.

[23:20]  ⁴⁵ tn The Hebrew text simply has “I have received [to] bless.” The infinitive is the object of the verb, telling what he received. Balaam was not actually commanded to bless, but was given the word of blessing so that he was given a divine decree that would bless Israel.

[23:20]  ⁴⁶ sn The reference is probably to the first speech, where the Lord blessed Israel. Balaam knows that there is nothing he can do to reverse what God has said.

[23:20]  ⁴⁷ tn The verb is the Hiphil of שׁוּב (shuv), meaning “to cause to return.” He cannot return God’s word to him, for it has been given, and it will be fulfilled.