Bilangan 22:38
Konteks22:38 Balaam said to Balak, “Look, I have come to you. Now, am I able 1 to speak 2 just anything? I must speak 3 only the word that God puts in my mouth.”
Bilangan 27:22
Konteks27:22 So Moses did as the Lord commanded him; he took Joshua and set 4 him before Eleazar the priest and before the whole community.
[22:38] 1 tn The verb is אוּכַל (’ukhal) in a question – “am I able?” But emphasizing this is the infinitive absolute before it. So Balaam is saying something like, “Can I really say anything?”
[22:38] 2 tn The Piel infinitive construct (without the preposition) serves as the object of the verb “to be able.” The whole question is rhetorical – he is saying that he will not be able to say anything God does not allow him to say.
[22:38] 3 tn The imperfect tense is here taken as an obligatory imperfect.