Numbers 23:20

23:20 Indeed, I have received a command ¹  to bless;

he has blessed, ²  and I cannot reverse it. ³ 

Numbers 6:24

6:24 “The Lord bless you ⁴  and protect ⁵  you;

Numbers 23:25

Balaam Relocates Yet Again

23:25 Balak said to Balaam, “Neither curse them at all ⁶  nor bless them at all!” ⁷ 

Numbers 24:9

24:9 They crouch and lie down like a lion,

and as a lioness, ⁸  who can stir him?

Blessed is the one who blesses you,

and cursed is the one who curses you!’”

Numbers 23:11

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 ⁹  you have only blessed them!” ¹⁰ 

Numbers 6:27

6:27 So they will put my name ¹¹  on the Israelites, and I will bless them.”

Numbers 22:6

22:6 So ¹²  now, please come and curse this nation ¹³  for me, for they are too powerful for me. Perhaps I will prevail so that we may conquer them ¹⁴  and drive them out of the land. For I know that whoever you bless is blessed, ¹⁵  and whoever you curse is cursed.”

Numbers 24:10

24:10 Then Balak became very angry at Balaam, and he struck his hands together. ¹⁶  Balak said to Balaam, “I called you to curse my enemies, and look, you have done nothing but bless ¹⁷  them these three times!

Numbers 6:23

6:23 “Tell Aaron and his sons, ‘This is the way ¹⁸  you are to bless ¹⁹  the Israelites. Say ²⁰  to them:

Numbers 22:12

22:12 But God said to Balaam, “You must not go with them; you must not curse the people, ²¹  for they are blessed.” ²² 

Numbers 24:1

Balaam Prophesies Yet Again

24:1 ²³ When Balaam saw that it pleased the Lord to bless Israel, ²⁴  he did not go as at the other times ²⁵  to seek for omens, ²⁶  but he set his face ²⁷  toward the wilderness.

[23:20]  ¹ 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]  ² 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]  ³ 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.

[6:24]  ⁴ tn The short blessing uses the jussive throughout, here the Piel jussive with a pronominal suffix. While the jussive has quite a range of nuances, including wish, desire, prayer, or greeting, the jussives here are stronger. The formal subject of the verb is the Lord, and the speaker pronouncing the blessing is the priest, notably after emerging from the holy of holies where atonement has been made. The Lord says in this passage that when the priest says this, then the Lord will bless them. The jussive then is an oracle, not a wish or a prayer. It is a declaration of what the Lord imparts. It is as binding and sure as a patriarchal blessing which once said officially could not be taken back. The priest here is then pronouncing the word of the Lord, declaring to the congregation the outcome of the atonement.

[6:24]  ⁵ tn The verb “to keep” concerns the divine protection of the people; its basic meaning is “to exercise great care over,” “to guard,” or “to give attention to” (see TWOT 2:939). No doubt the priestly blessing informed the prayer and promise that makes up Ps 121, for the verb occurs six times in the eight verses. So in addition to the divine provision (“bless” basically means “enrich” in a number of ways) there is the assurance of divine protection.

[23:25]  ⁷ tn The verb is preceded by the infinitive absolute: “you shall by no means curse” or “do not curse them at all.” He brought him to curse, and when he tried to curse there was a blessing. Balak can only say it would be better not to bother.

[23:25]  ⁸ tn The same construction now works with “nor bless them at all.” The two together form a merism – “don’t say anything.” He does not want them blessed, so Balaam is not to do that, but the curse isn’t working either.

[24:9]  ¹⁰ tn On the usage of this word see HALOT 517 s.v. לָבִיא.

[23:11]  ¹³ tn The Hebrew text uses הִנֵּה (hinneh) here to stress the contrast.

[23:11]  ¹⁴ 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.

[6:27]  ¹⁶ tn The idea of their putting the name of Yahweh on the people is somewhat problematic. The pronouncing of the name of Yahweh in this context over the people was taken to be the effectual means of blessings. “Putting the name on them” is an expression that emphasizes the truth that he is their God and they are his people or that having his name is having his blessing.

[22:6]  ¹⁹ 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]  ²⁰ tn Heb “people.” So also in vv. 10, 17, 41.

[22:6]  ²¹ 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]  ²² 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.

[24:10]  ²² sn This is apparently a sign of contempt or derision (see Job 27:23; and Lam 2:15).

[24:10]  ²³ tn The construction is emphatic, using the infinitive absolute with the perfect tense for “bless.”

[6:23]  ²⁵ tn Or “thus.”

[6:23]  ²⁶ tn The Piel imperfect has the nuance of instruction. The particle “thus” explains that the following oracle is the form to use.

[6:23]  ²⁷ tn Here is the only use of the verb אָמַר (’amar) as an infinitive absolute; it functions as a verb form, an imperative or an imperfect of instruction. Several commentators have attempted to emend the text to get around the difficulty, but such emendations are unnecessary.

[22:12]  ²⁸ tn The two verbs are negated imperfects; they have the nuance of prohibition: You must not go and you must not curse.

[22:12]  ²⁹ 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).

[24:1]  ³¹ sn For a thorough study of the arrangement of this passage, see E. B. Smick, “A Study of the Structure of the Third Balaam Oracle,” The Law and the Prophets, 242-52. He sees the oracle as having an introductory strophe (vv. 3, 4), followed by two stanzas (vv. 5, 6) that introduce the body (vv. 7b-9b) before the final benediction (v. 9b).

[24:1]  ³² tn Heb “it was good in the eyes of the Lord.”

[24:1]  ³³ tn Heb “as time after time.”

[24:1]  ³⁴ tn The word נְחָשִׁים (nÿkhashim) means “omens,” or possibly “auguries.” Balaam is not even making a pretense now of looking for such things, because they are not going to work. God has overruled them.

[24:1]  ³⁵ tn The idiom signifies that he had a determination and resolution to look out over where the Israelites were, so that he could appreciate more their presence and use that as the basis for his expressing of the oracle.