Bilangan 23:7-8

23:7 Then Balaam ¹  uttered ²  his oracle, saying,

“Balak, the king of Moab, brought me ³  from Aram,

out of the mountains of the east, saying,

‘Come, pronounce a curse on Jacob for me;

come, denounce Israel.’ ⁴ 

23:8 How ⁵  can I curse ⁶  one whom God has not cursed,

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

Bilangan 22:11

22:11 “Look, a nation has come out ⁷  of Egypt, and it covers the face of the earth. Come now and put a curse on them for me; perhaps I will be able to defeat them ⁸  and drive them out.” ⁹ 

Bilangan 22:17

22:17 For I will honor you greatly, ¹⁰  and whatever you tell me I will do. So come, put a curse on this nation for me.’”

Bilangan 24:10

24:10 Then Balak became very angry at Balaam, and he struck his hands together. ¹¹  Balak said to Balaam, “I called you to curse my enemies, and look, you have done nothing but bless ¹²  them these three times!

[23:7]  ¹ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Balaam) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[23:7]  ² tn Heb “took up.”

[23:7]  ³ 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]  ⁴ 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]  ⁵ tn The figure is erotesis, a rhetorical question. He is actually saying he cannot curse them because God has not cursed them.

[23:8]  ⁶ tn The imperfect tense should here be classified as a potential imperfect.

[22:11]  ⁷ tn In this passage the text differs slightly; here it is “the nation that comes out,” using the article on the noun, and the active participle in the attributive adjective usage.

[22:11]  ⁸ tn Here the infinitive construct is used to express the object or complement of the verb “to be able” (it answers the question of what he will be able to do).

[22:11]  ⁹ tn The verb is the Piel perfect with vav (ו) consecutive. It either carries the force of an imperfect tense, or it may be subordinated to the preceding verbs.

[22:17]  ¹⁰ tn The construction uses the Piel infinitive כַּבֵּד (kabbed) to intensify the verb, which is the Piel imperfect/cohortative אֲכַבֶּדְךָ (’akhabbedkha). The great honor could have been wealth, prestige, or position.

[24:10]  ¹¹ sn This is apparently a sign of contempt or derision (see Job 27:23; and Lam 2:15).

[24:10]  ¹² tn The construction is emphatic, using the infinitive absolute with the perfect tense for “bless.”