Numbers 24:7-9

24:7 He will pour the water out of his buckets, ¹ 

and their descendants will be like abundant ²  water; ³ 

their king will be greater than Agag, ⁴ 

and their kingdom will be exalted.

24:8 God brought them out of Egypt.

They have, as it were, the strength of a young bull;

they will devour hostile people ⁵ 

and will break their bones

and will pierce them through with arrows.

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

and as a lioness, ⁶  who can stir him?

Blessed is the one who blesses you,

and cursed is the one who curses you!’”

[24:7]  ¹ tc For this colon the LXX has “a man shall come out of his seed.” Cf. the Syriac Peshitta and Targum.

[24:7]  ² tn Heb “many.”

[24:7]  ³ sn These two lines are difficult, but the general sense is that of irrigation buckets and a well-watered land. The point is that Israel will be prosperous and fruitful.

[24:7]  ⁴ sn Many commentators see this as a reference to Agag of 1 Sam 15:32-33, the Amalekite king slain by Samuel, for that is the one we know. But that is by no means clear, for this text does not identify this Agag. If it is that king, then this poem, or this line in this poem, would have to be later, unless one were to try to argue for a specific prophecy. Whoever this Agag is, he is a symbol of power.

[24:8]  ⁵ tn Heb “they will devour nations,” their adversaries.

[24:9]  ⁶ tn On the usage of this word see HALOT 517 s.v. לָבִיא.