Bilangan 22:39

22:39 So Balaam went with Balak, and they came to Kiriath-huzoth.

Bilangan 22:41--23:3

22:41 Then on the next morning Balak took Balaam, and brought him up to Bamoth Baal. ¹  From there he saw the extent of the nation.

Balaam Blesses Israel

23:1 ² 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 ³  altar a bull and a ram. 23:3 Balaam said to Balak, “Station yourself ⁴  by your burnt offering, and I will go off; perhaps the Lord will come to meet me, and whatever he reveals to me ⁵  I will tell you.” ⁶  Then he went to a deserted height. ⁷ 

Bilangan 23:14

23:14 So Balak brought Balaam ⁸  to the field of Zophim, to the top of Pisgah, ⁹  where ¹⁰  he built seven altars and offered a bull and a ram on each altar.

Bilangan 23:28

23:28 So Balak took Balaam to the top of Peor, that looks toward the wilderness. ¹¹ 

Bilangan 24:17

24:17 ‘I see him, but not now;

I behold him, but not close at hand. ¹² 

A star ¹³  will march forth ¹⁴  out of Jacob,

and a scepter ¹⁵  will rise out of Israel.

He will crush the skulls ¹⁶  of Moab,

and the heads ¹⁷  of all the sons of Sheth. ¹⁸ 

[22:41]  ¹ sn The name Bamoth Baal means “the high places of Baal.”

[23:1]  ² 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]  ³ 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]  ⁴ 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]  ⁵ 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]  ⁶ tn The verb is the perfect tense with vav (ו) consecutive. This clause is dependent on the clause that precedes it.

[23:3]  ⁷ 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.

[23:14]  ⁸ tn Heb “he brought him”; the referents (Balak and Balaam) have been specified in the translation for clarity.

[23:14]  ⁹ tn Some scholars do not translate this word as “Pisgah,” but rather as a “lookout post” or an “elevated place.”

[23:14]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “and he built.”

[23:28]  ¹¹ tn Or perhaps as a place name, “Jeshimon” (cf. 21:20).

[24:17]  ¹² tn Heb “near.”

[24:17]  ¹³ sn This is a figure for a king (see also Isa 14:12) not only in the Bible but in the ancient Near Eastern literature as a whole. The immediate reference of the prophecy seems to be to David, but the eschatological theme goes beyond him. There is to be a connection made between this passage and the sighting of a star in its ascendancy by the magi, who then traveled to Bethlehem to see the one born King of the Jews (Matt 2:2). The expression “son of a star” (Aram Bar Kochba) became a title for a later claimant to kingship, but he was doomed by the Romans in a.d. 135.

[24:17]  ¹⁴ tn The verb is the perfect tense with vav (ו) consecutive; it is equal to the imperfect expressing the future. The verb דָּרַךְ (darakh), related to the noun “way, road,” seems to mean something like tread on, walk, march.”

[24:17]  ¹⁵ sn The “scepter” is metonymical for a king who will rise to power. NEB strangely rendered this as “comet” to make a parallel with “star.”

[24:17]  ¹⁶ tn The word is literally “corners,” but may refer to the corners of the head, and so “skull.”

[24:17]  ¹⁷ tc The MT reads “shatter, devastate.” Smr reads קֹדְקֹד (qodqod, “head; crown; pate”). Smr follows Jer 48:45 which appears to reflect Num 24:17.

[24:17]  ¹⁸ sn The prophecy begins to be fulfilled when David defeated Moab and Edom and established an empire including them. But the Messianic promise extends far beyond that to the end of the age and the inclusion of these defeated people in the program of the coming King.