Numbers 23:21-30

23:21 He ¹  has not looked on iniquity in Jacob, ² 

nor has he seen trouble ³  in Israel.

The Lord their God is with them;

his acclamation ⁴  as king is among them.

23:22 God brought them ⁵  out of Egypt.

They have, as it were, the strength of a wild bull. ⁶ 

23:23 For there is no spell against ⁷  Jacob,

nor is there any divination against Israel.

At this time ⁸  it must be said ⁹  of Jacob

and of Israel, ‘Look at ¹⁰  what God has done!’

23:24 Indeed, the people will rise up like a lioness,

and like a lion raises himself up;

they will not lie down until they eat their ¹¹  prey,

and drink the blood of the slain.” ¹² 

Balaam Relocates Yet Again

23:25 Balak said to Balaam, “Neither curse them at all ¹³  nor bless them at all!” ¹⁴  23:26 But Balaam replied ¹⁵  to Balak, “Did I not tell you, ‘All that the Lord speaks, ¹⁶  I must do’?”

23:27 Balak said to Balaam, “Come, please; I will take you to another place. Perhaps it will please God ¹⁷  to let you curse them for me from there.” ¹⁸  23:28 So Balak took Balaam to the top of Peor, that looks toward the wilderness. ¹⁹  23:29 Then Balaam said to Balak, “Build seven altars here for me, and prepare seven bulls and seven rams.” 23:30 So Balak did as Balaam had said, and offered a bull and a ram on each altar.

[23:21]  ¹ tn These could be understood as impersonal and so rendered “no one has discovered.”

[23:21]  ² sn The line could mean that God has regarded Israel as the ideal congregation without any blemish or flaw. But it could also mean that God has not looked on their iniquity, meaning, held it against them.

[23:21]  ³ tn The word means “wrong, misery, trouble.” It can mean the idea of “disaster” as well, for that too is trouble. Here it is parallel to “iniquity” and so has the connotation of something that would give God reason to curse them.

[23:21]  ⁴ tn The people are blessed because God is their king. In fact, the shout of acclamation is among them – they are proclaiming the Lord God as their king. The word is used normally for the sound of the trumpet, but also of battle shouts, and then here acclamation. This would represent their conviction that Yahweh is king. On the usage of this Hebrew word see further BDB 929-30 s.v. תְּרוּעָה; HALOT 1790-91 s.v.

[23:22]  ⁵ tn The form is the Hiphil participle from יָצַא (yatsa’) with the object suffix. He is the one who brought them out.

[23:22]  ⁶ sn The expression is “the horns of the wild ox” (KJV “unicorn”). The point of the image is strength or power. Horns are also used in the Bible to represent kingship (see Pss 89 and 132).

[23:23]  ⁷ tn Or “in Jacob.” But given the context the meaning “against” is preferable. The words describe two techniques of consulting God; the first has to do with observing omens in general (“enchantments”), and the second with casting lots or arrows of the like (“divinations” [Ezek 21:26]). See N. H. Snaith, Leviticus and Numbers (NCB), 295-96.

[23:23]  ⁸ tn The form is the preposition “like, as” and the word for “time” – according to the time, about this time, now.

[23:23]  ⁹ tn The Niphal imperfect here carries the nuance of obligation – one has to say in amazement that God has done something marvelous or “it must be said.”

[23:23]  ¹⁰ tn The words “look at” are not in the Hebrew text but have been added in the translation for clarity.

[23:24]  ¹¹ tn The pronoun “their” has been supplied for clarity; it is not present in the Hebrew text.

[23:24]  ¹² sn The oracle compares Israel first to a lion, or better, lioness, because she does the tracking and hunting of food while the lion moves up and down roaring and distracting the prey. But the lion is also the traditional emblem of Judah, Dan and Gad, as well as the symbol of royalty. So this also supports the motif of royalty as well as power for Israel.

[23:25]  ¹³ 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]  ¹⁴ 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.

[23:26]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “answered and said.”

[23:26]  ¹⁶ tn This first clause, “all that the Lord speaks” – is a noun clause functioning as the object of the verb that comes at the end of the verse. It is something of an independent accusative case, since it is picked up with the sign of the accusative: “all that the Lord speaks, it I must do.”

[23:27]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “be pleasing in the eyes of God.”

[23:27]  ¹⁸ sn Balak is stubborn, as indeed Balaam is persistent. But Balak still thinks that if another location were used it just might work. Balaam had actually told Balak in the prophecy that other attempts would fail. But Balak refuses to give up so easily. So he insists they perform the ritual and try again. This time, however, Balaam will change his approach, and this will result in a dramatic outpouring of power on him.

[23:28]  ¹⁹ tn Or perhaps as a place name, “Jeshimon” (cf. 21:20).