Bilangan 24:3-9
Konteks24:3 Then he uttered this oracle: 1
“The oracle 2 of Balaam son of Beor;
the oracle of the man whose eyes are open; 3
24:4 the oracle of the one who hears the words of God,
who sees a vision from the Almighty,
although falling flat on the ground 4 with eyes open: 5
24:5 ‘How 6 beautiful are your tents, O Jacob,
and your dwelling places, O Israel!
24:6 They are like 7 valleys 8 stretched forth,
like gardens by the river’s side,
like aloes 9 that the Lord has planted,
and like cedar trees beside the waters.
24:7 He will pour the water out of his buckets, 10
and their descendants will be like abundant 11 water; 12
their king will be greater than Agag, 13
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 14
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, 15 who can stir him?
Blessed is the one who blesses you,
and cursed is the one who curses you!’”
Bilangan 23:7-10
Konteks23:7 Then Balaam 16 uttered 17 his oracle, saying,
“Balak, the king of Moab, brought me 18 from Aram,
out of the mountains of the east, saying,
‘Come, pronounce a curse on Jacob for me;
come, denounce Israel.’ 19
23:8 How 20 can I curse 21 one whom God has not cursed,
or how can I denounce one whom the Lord has not denounced?
23:9 For from the top of the rocks I see them; 22
from the hills I watch them. 23
Indeed, a nation that lives alone,
and it will not be reckoned 24 among the nations.
23:10 Who 25 can count 26 the dust 27 of Jacob,
Or number 28 the fourth part of Israel?
Let me 29 die the death of the upright, 30
and let the end of my life 31 be like theirs.” 32
Bilangan 23:18-24
Konteks23:18 Balaam 33 uttered 34 his oracle, and said,
“Rise up, 35 Balak, and hear;
Listen to me, son of Zippor:
23:19 God is not a man, that he should lie,
nor a human being, 36 that he should change his mind.
Has he said, and will he not do it?
Or has he spoken, and will he not make it happen? 37
23:20 Indeed, I have received a command 38 to bless;
he has blessed, 39 and I cannot reverse it. 40
23:21 He 41 has not looked on iniquity in Jacob, 42
nor has he seen trouble 43 in Israel.
The Lord their God is with them;
his acclamation 44 as king is among them.
23:22 God brought them 45 out of Egypt.
They have, as it were, the strength of a wild bull. 46
23:23 For there is no spell against 47 Jacob,
nor is there any divination against Israel.
At this time 48 it must be said 49 of Jacob
and of Israel, ‘Look at 50 what God has done!’
23:24 Indeed, the people will rise up like a lioness,
and like a lion raises himself up;
they will not lie down until they eat their 51 prey,
and drink the blood of the slain.” 52
[24:3] 1 tn Heb “and he took up his oracle and said.”
[24:3] 2 tn The word נְאֻם (nÿ’um) is an “oracle.” It is usually followed by a subjective genitive, indicating the doer of the action. The word could be rendered “says,” but this translations is more specific.
[24:3] 3 tn The Greek version reads “the one who sees truly.” The word has been interpreted in both ways, “shut” or “open.”
[24:4] 4 tn The phrase “flat on the ground” is supplied in the translation for clarity. The Greek version interprets the line to mean “falling asleep.” It may mean falling into a trance.
[24:4] 5 tn The last colon simply has “falling, but opened eyes.” The falling may simply refer to lying prone; and the opened eyes may refer to his receiving a vision. See H. E. Freeman, An Introduction to the Old Testament Prophets, 37-41.
[24:5] 6 tn Here מָה (mah) has an exclamatory sense: “How!” (see Gen 28:17).
[24:6] 7 tn Heb “as valleys they spread forth.”
[24:6] 8 tn Or “rows of palms.”
[24:6] 9 sn The language seems to be more poetic than precise. N. H. Snaith notes that cedars do not grow beside water; he also connects “aloes” to the eaglewood that is more exotic, and capable of giving off an aroma (Leviticus and Numbers [NCB], 298).
[24:7] 10 tc For this colon the LXX has “a man shall come out of his seed.” Cf. the Syriac Peshitta and Targum.
[24:7] 12 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] 13 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] 14 tn Heb “they will devour nations,” their adversaries.
[24:9] 15 tn On the usage of this word see HALOT 517 s.v. לָבִיא.
[23:7] 16 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Balaam) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[23:7] 18 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] 19 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] 20 tn The figure is erotesis, a rhetorical question. He is actually saying he cannot curse them because God has not cursed them.
[23:8] 21 tn The imperfect tense should here be classified as a potential imperfect.
[23:9] 22 tn Heb “him,” but here it refers to the Israelites (Israel).
[23:9] 23 sn Balaam reports his observation of the nation of Israel spread out below him in the valley. Based on that vision, and the
[23:9] 24 tn The verb could also be taken as a reflexive – Israel does not consider itself as among the nations, meaning, they consider themselves to be unique.
[23:10] 25 tn The question is again rhetorical; it means no one can count them – they are innumerable.
[23:10] 26 tn The perfect tense can also be classified as a potential nuance. It does not occur very often, but does occur several times.
[23:10] 27 sn The reference in the oracle is back to Gen 13:16, which would not be clear to Balaam. But God had described their growth like the dust of the earth. Here it is part of the description of the vast numbers.
[23:10] 28 tn Heb “and as a number, the fourth part of Israel.” The noun in the MT is not in the construct state, and so it should be taken as an adverbial accusative, forming a parallel with the verb “count.” The second object of the verse then follows, “the fourth part of Israel.” Smr and the LXX have “and who has numbered” (וּמִסְפָּר, umispar), making this colon more parallel to the preceding one. The editor of BHS prefers this reading.
[23:10] 29 tn The use of נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh) for the subject of the verb stresses the personal nature – me.
[23:10] 30 sn Here the seer’s words link with the promise of Gen 12:3, that whoever blesses Israel will be blessed. Since the blessing belongs to them, the upright (and not Balak), Balaam would like his lot to be with them.
[23:10] 31 tn Heb “my latter end.”
[23:18] 33 tn Heb “he.” The antecedent has been supplied in the translation for clarity.
[23:18] 35 tn The verb probably means “pay attention” in this verse.
[23:19] 36 tn Heb “son of man.”
[23:19] 37 tn The verb is the Hiphil of קוּם (qum, “to cause to rise; to make stand”). The meaning here is more of the sense of fulfilling the promises made.
[23:20] 38 tn The Hebrew text simply has “I have received [to] bless.” The infinitive is the object of the verb, telling what he received. Balaam was not actually commanded to bless, but was given the word of blessing so that he was given a divine decree that would bless Israel.
[23:20] 39 sn The reference is probably to the first speech, where the
[23:20] 40 tn The verb is the Hiphil of שׁוּב (shuv), meaning “to cause to return.” He cannot return God’s word to him, for it has been given, and it will be fulfilled.
[23:21] 41 tn These could be understood as impersonal and so rendered “no one has discovered.”
[23:21] 42 sn The line could mean that God has regarded Israel as the ideal congregation without any blemish or flaw. But it could also mean that God has not looked on their iniquity, meaning, held it against them.
[23:21] 43 tn The word means “wrong, misery, trouble.” It can mean the idea of “disaster” as well, for that too is trouble. Here it is parallel to “iniquity” and so has the connotation of something that would give God reason to curse them.
[23:21] 44 tn The people are blessed because God is their king. In fact, the shout of acclamation is among them – they are proclaiming the
[23:22] 45 tn The form is the Hiphil participle from יָצַא (yatsa’) with the object suffix. He is the one who brought them out.
[23:22] 46 sn The expression is “the horns of the wild ox” (KJV “unicorn”). The point of the image is strength or power. Horns are also used in the Bible to represent kingship (see Pss 89 and 132).
[23:23] 47 tn Or “in Jacob.” But given the context the meaning “against” is preferable. The words describe two techniques of consulting God; the first has to do with observing omens in general (“enchantments”), and the second with casting lots or arrows of the like (“divinations” [Ezek 21:26]). See N. H. Snaith, Leviticus and Numbers (NCB), 295-96.
[23:23] 48 tn The form is the preposition “like, as” and the word for “time” – according to the time, about this time, now.
[23:23] 49 tn The Niphal imperfect here carries the nuance of obligation – one has to say in amazement that God has done something marvelous or “it must be said.”
[23:23] 50 tn The words “look at” are not in the Hebrew text but have been added in the translation for clarity.
[23:24] 51 tn The pronoun “their” has been supplied for clarity; it is not present in the Hebrew text.
[23:24] 52 sn The oracle compares Israel first to a lion, or better, lioness, because she does the tracking and hunting of food while the lion moves up and down roaring and distracting the prey. But the lion is also the traditional emblem of Judah, Dan and Gad, as well as the symbol of royalty. So this also supports the motif of royalty as well as power for Israel.
