Bilangan 24:17

24:17 ‘I see him, but not now;

I behold him, but not close at hand. ¹ 

A star ²  will march forth ³  out of Jacob,

and a scepter ⁴  will rise out of Israel.

He will crush the skulls ⁵  of Moab,

and the heads ⁶  of all the sons of Sheth. ⁷ 

Bilangan 24:2

24:2 When Balaam lifted up his eyes, he saw Israel camped tribe by tribe; ⁸  and the Spirit of God came upon him.

1 Samuel 8:2

8:2 The name of his firstborn son was Joel, and the name of his second son was Abijah. They were judges in Beer Sheba.

1 Samuel 8:1

Israel Seeks a King

8:1 In his old age Samuel appointed his sons as judges over Israel.

1 Tawarikh 18:2

18:2 He defeated the Moabites; the Moabites became David’s subjects and brought tribute. ⁹ 

Mazmur 60:10

60:10 Have you not rejected us, O God?

O God, you do not go into battle with our armies.

Yesaya 25:10

25:10 For the Lord’s power will make this mountain secure. ¹⁰ 

Moab will be trampled down where it stands, ¹¹ 

as a heap of straw is trampled down in ¹²  a manure pile.

Yeremia 48:46

48:46 Moab, you are doomed! ¹³ 

You people who worship Chemosh will be destroyed.

Your sons will be taken away captive.

Your daughters will be carried away into exile. ¹⁴ 

[24:17]  ¹ tn Heb “near.”

[24:17]  ² 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]  ³ 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]  ⁴ 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]  ⁵ tn The word is literally “corners,” but may refer to the corners of the head, and so “skull.”

[24:17]  ⁶ 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]  ⁷ 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.

[24:2]  ⁸ tn Heb “living according to their tribes.”

[18:2]  ⁹ tn Heb “and the Moabites were servants of David, carriers of tribute.”

[25:10]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “for the hand of the Lord will rest on this mountain”; TEV “will protect Mount Zion”; NCV “will protect (rest on NLT) Jerusalem.”

[25:10]  ¹¹ tn Heb “under him,” i.e., “in his place.”

[25:10]  ¹² tc The marginal reading (Qere) is בְּמוֹ (bÿmo, “in”). The consonantal text (Kethib) has בְּמִי (bÿmi, “in the water of”).

[48:46]  ¹³ tn Heb “Woe to you, Moab.” For the usage of this expression see 4:13, 31; 13:17 and the translator’s note on 4:13 and 10:19.

[48:46]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “Your sons will be taken away into captivity, your daughters into exile.”