Balaam instructs Balak to build seven altars and prepare seven bulls and seven rams, blending pagan customs with the worship of the true God, intending to curse Israel. Despite the heathenish nature of the sacrifices, God intervenes, putting words in Balaam's mouth to bless Israel instead. The episode highlights Balaam's manipulation of religious rites for personal gain while ultimately serving God's purposes.

1. NUMBERS 23 COMMENTARY
EDITED BY GLENN PEASE
Balaam’s First Message
1 Balaam said, “Build me seven altars here, and
prepare seven bulls and seven rams for me.”
BARNES, "Balaam, after the general custom of the pagan, prefaced his divinations by
sacrifice. In the number of the altars regard was probably had to the number of the then
known planets. Yet Balaam evidently intended his sacrifice as an offering to the true
God.
CLARKE"Build me here seven altars, etc. - The oxen and the rams were such as
the Mosaic law had ordered to be offered to God in sacrifice; the building of seven altars
was not commanded. Some think that these seven altars were built to the seven planets:
this is most gratuitously said; of it there is no proof whatever; it is mere trifling, even
with conjecture. As seven was a number of perfection, Balaam chose it on this occasion,
because he intended to offer a grand sacrifice, and to offer a bullock and a ram upon
each of the altars; the whole to be made a burnt-offering at the same time. And as he
intended to offer seven bullocks and seven rams at the same time, it could not be
conveniently done on one altar, therefore he ordered seven to be built. We need go no
farther to find out his reasons.
GILL, "And Balaam said unto Balak,.... When upon one of the high places of Baal,
and after having taken a view of the people of Israel as they lay encamped:
build me here seven altars; this was purely Heathenish; for not only the Israelites
after the law of Moses had but one altar, but the patriarchs before that never built but
one altar at a time. Some have thought regard is had to the seven planets worshipped by
Heathens; though no doubt Balaam pretended to sacrifice to Jehovah the true God, in
order to gain him over to him to agree to it to curse Israel, and persuaded Balak, though
an idolater, to join with him; and, the more easily to bring him to it, mixes Heathen rites
and customs in sacrifice to him:
and prepare me here seven oxen, and seven rams; which were creatures offered
1

2. in sacrifice according to the law of Moses, and before that was given, and by persons who
were not under it; and even by seven of each sort, and that by the express command of
God, Job_42:8. It may be observed, that both in this, and the preceding clause, the word
here is carefully expressed, namely, in one of the high places; there the altars were
erected, and thither the oxen were brought to be sacrificed; so that both the place, and
the number of the altars, savoured of Heathenish worship, in which he complied to
induce the king to sacrifice to Jehovah.
HENRY 1-5, "Here is, I. Great preparation made for the cursing of Israel. That which
was aimed at was to engage the God of Israel to forsake them, and either to be on Moab's
side or to stand neuter. O the sottishness of superstition, to imagine that God will be at
men's beck! Balaam and Balak think to bribe him with altars and sacrifices, offered
without any warrant or institution of his: as if he would eat the flesh of bulls or drink the
blood of goats. Ridiculous nonsense, to think that these would please God, and gain his
favour, when there could be in them no exercise either of faith or obedience! Yet, it
should seem, they offered these sacrifices to the God of heaven the supreme Numen -
Divinity, and not to any of their local deities. But the multiplying of altars was an
instance of their degeneracy from the religion of their ancestors, and their apostasy to
idolatry; for those that multiplied altars multiplied gods. Ephraim made many altars to
sin, Hos_8:11. Thus they liked not to retain God in their knowledge, but became vain in
their imaginations; and yet presumptuously expected hereby to gain God over to them
from Israel, who had his sanctuary among them, and his anointed altar. Observe here, 1.
How very imperious Balaam was, proud to have the command of a king and to give law
to princes. Such is the spirit of that wicked one who exalts himself above all that is called
God, or that is worshipped. With what authority does Balaam give orders! Build me here
(in the place I have pitched upon) seven altars, of stone or turf. Thus he covers his
malice against Israel with a show of devotion, but his sacrifice was an abomination,
being brought with such a wicked mind, Pro_21:27. That which he aimed at was not to
honour God with the sacrifices of righteousness, but to enrich himself with the wages of
unrighteousness. 2. How very obsequious Balak was. The altars were presently built, and
the sacrifices prepared, the best of the sort, seven bullocks and seven rams. Balak makes
no objection to the charge, nor does he snuff at it, or think it either a weariness or a
disparagement to stand by his burnt-offering as Balaam ordered him.
II. The turning of the curse into a blessing, by the overruling power of God, in love to
Israel, which is the account Moses gives of it, Deu_23:5.
1. God puts the blessing into the mouth of Balaam. While the sacrifices were burning,
Balaam retired; he went solitary, into some dark grove on the top of the high place,
Deu_23:3, marg. Thus much he knew, that solitude gives a good opportunity for
communion with God; those that would meet with him must retire from the world, and
the business and conversation of it, and love to be private, reckoning themselves never
less alone than when alone, because the Father is with them. Enter therefore into thy
closet, and shut the door, and be assured that God will meet thee if thou seek him in the
due order. But Balaam retired with a peradventure only, having some thoughts that God
might meet him; but being conscious to himself of guilt, and knowing that God had
lately met him in anger, he had reason to speak doubtfully: Peradventure the Lord will
come to meet me, Num_23:3. But let not such a man think that he shall receive any
favour from God. Nay, it should seem, though he pretended to go and meet with God, he
really designed to use enchantments; see Num_24:1. But, whatever he intended. God
designed to serve his own glory by him, and therefore met Balaam, Num_23:4. What
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3. communion has light with darkness? No friendly communion, we may be sure. Balaam's
way was still perverse, and God was still an adversary to him; but, Balak having chosen
him for his oracle, God would constrain him to utter such a confession, to the honour of
god and Israel, as should render those for ever inexcusable who should appear in arms
against them. When Balaam was aware that God met him, probably by an angel, he
boasted of his performances: I have prepared seven altars, and offered upon every
altar a bullock and a ram. How had he done it? It cost him nothing; it was done at
Balak's expense; yet, (1.) He boasts of it, as if he had done some mighty thing. The acts of
devotion which are done in hypocrisy are commonly reflected upon with pride and vain
glory. Thus the Pharisee went up to the temple to boast of his religion, Luk_18:11, Luk_
18:12. (2.) He insists upon it as a reason why God should gratify him in his desire to
curse Israel, as if now he had made God his debtor, and might draw upon him for what
he pleased. He thinks God is so much beholden to him for these sacrifices that the least
he can do in recompense for them is to sacrifice his Israel to the malice of the king of
Moab. Note, It is a common cheat that wicked people put upon themselves, to think that
by the shows of piety they may prevail with God to countenance them, and connive at
them, in their greatest immoralities, especially in persecution, Isa_66:5. However,
thought the sacrifice was an abomination, God took the occasion of Balaam's expectation
to put a word into his mouth (Num_23:5); for the answer of the tongue if from the
Lord, and thus he would show how much those are mistaken who say, With our tongue
we will prevail, our lips are our own, Psa_12:4. He that made man's mouth knows how
to manage it, and to serve his own purposes by it. This speaks terror to daring sinners,
that set their mouth against the heavens. God can make their own tongues to fall upon
them, Psa_64:8. And it speaks comfort to God's witnesses, whom at any time he calls out
to appear for him; if God put a word into the mouth of Balaam, who would have defied
God and Israel, surely he will not be wanting to those who desire to glorify God and edify
his people by their testimony, but it shall be given them in that same hour what they
should speak.
JAMISON, "Num_23:1-30. Balak’s sacrifices.
Balaam said unto Balak, Build me here seven altars — Balak, being a heathen,
would naturally suppose these altars were erected in honor of Baal, the patron deity of
his country. It is evident, from Num_23:4 that they were prepared for the worship of the
true God; although in choosing the high places of Baal as their site and rearing a number
of altars (2Ki_18:22; Isa_17:8; Jer_11:13; Hos_8:11; Hos_10:1), instead of one only, as
God had appointed, Balaam blended his own superstitions with the divine worship. The
heathen, both in ancient and modern times, attached a mysterious virtue to the number
seven; and Balaam, in ordering the preparation of so many altars, designed to mystify
and delude the king.
K&D, "Balaam's First Words. - Num_23:1-3. Preparations for the first act, which
was performed at Bamoth-baal. At Balaam's command Balak built seven altars, and then
selected seven bullocks and seven rams, which they immediately sacrificed, namely, one
bullock and one ram upon each altar. The nations of antiquity generally accompanied all
their more important undertakings with sacrifices, to make sure of the protection and
help of the gods; but this was especially the case with their ceremonies of adjuration.
According to Diod. Sic. ii. 29, the Chaldeans sought to avert calamity and secure
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4. prosperity by sacrifices and adjurations. The same thing is also related of other nations
(see Hengstenberg, Balaam, p. 392). Accordingly, Balaam also did everything that
appeared necessary, according to his own religious notions, to ensure the success of
Balak's undertaking, and bring about the desired result. The erection of seven altars, and
the sacrifice of seven animals of each kind, are to be explained from the sacredness
acquired by this number, through the creation of the world in seven days, as being the
stamp of work that was well-pleasing to God. The sacrifices were burnt-offerings, and
were offered by themselves to Jehovah, whom Balaam acknowledged as his God.
CALVIN, "1.Build me here seven altars. We more positively conclude from hence
that this degenerate prophet had been by no means wont to prophesy in accordance
with pure revelations from God, but that the art of divination, in which he boasted,
had some affinity to magical exorcisms, and was infected with many errors and
deceptions. Still this did not prevent him from being sometimes a true prophet by
the inspiration of God’s Spirit; because, as has been already said, whilst the world
was plunged in darkness, it was God’s will that some little sparks of light should still
shine, in order to render even the most ignorant inexcusable. Since, therefore,
Balaam was only endowed with a special gift, he borrowed devices in various
directions, which savored of nothing but the illusions of the devil, and were utterly
foreign to the true and legitimate method of consulting (God.) Hence came the seven
victims and the seven altars; for, although God, by consecrating the seventh day
unto Himself, as also in the seven lamps, and other things, indicated that there was
something of perfection in that number; nevertheless, afterwards, many strange
superstitions were invented, and under this pretense Satan cunningly deluded
wretched men, by persuading them that secret virtues were contained in this
number seven. This frivolous subtlety prevailed also among profane writers, so that
they sought the confirmation of the error throughout all nature. Thus they allege the
seven planets, as many Pleiades, the Septemtriones, (153) and as many circles or
zones; and again, that infants do not come into the world alive till the seventh
month. Many such things they heap together in order to prove that some hidden
mystery is implied in the number seven. This contagion reached the Christians also:
for on this point the ancients (154) sometimes philosophize too refinedly, and have
in general preferred to corrupt (Scripture) rather than not to restrict the gifts of the
Spirit to this number, and to establish the sevenfold grace of the Holy Ghost. It is
plain that Balaam was infected by this fanciful notion, when he endeavours to draw
down God by seven altars, and twice seven sacrifices. Let us, however, learn from
Balak’s prompt compliance, that the superstitious neither spare expense, nor refuse
anything which is demanded by the masters of their errors. Wherefore we must
beware lest we be rashly credulous; whilst at the same time we take care lest, when
it is clear what we ought to do, we should be withheld by discreditable supineness,
when unbelievers hasten so eagerly and speedily to their own destruction.
COFFMAN, "The preparations having been completed, this chapter gives the first
two of some seven of the prophecies of Balaam. These are called parables in our
4

5. version, but these utterances of Balaam bear no resemblance whatever to N.T.
parables of Jesus. Whitelaw explained that this type of utterance resembled the
"burden" of the later prophets, "in that it was not a discourse uttered to men, but a
thing revealed in a man, of which he had to deliver himself as best he might in such
words as came to him. His inward eye was fixed on this revelation, and he gave
utterance to it without consideration of those who heard."[1] It appears that such
communications came when the prophet was in an unusual type of trance, in which
his eyes remained open. Today, we would refer to these pronouncements simply as
"prophecies."
These various oracles or prophecies of Balaam are given in a highly dramatic and
powerful style of poetry in the most ancient Hebrew manner with many parallel or
contrasting lines. It is agreed among the most dependable scholars that, "These are
authentic utterances from about 1500 B.C.";[2] and that there is nothing at all in
these chapters that requires the postulation of any date later than the times of
Moses.[3]
The great mystery of this entire episode continues to be connected with God's
manifest use of a wicked and corrupt man, such as Balaam proved to be, as the
heavenly spokesman for some of the grandest prophecies to be found in the entire
word of God. Balaam's roots were pagan, he had the confidence of pagan rulers,
and was in their employ, seeking their favor, when these prophecies were uttered,
making his acceptability to the pagan world as a competent witness almost perfect,
despite his acquaintance with and knowledge of the true God. What a devastating
effect the prophecies of such a prophet must have had upon the entire pagan world
of that era. This, of course, would have been an enormous help for the Israelites in
the conquest they were about to begin, and it could have been that such a benefit to
the conquering hosts of Israel was exactly the kind of thing God planned in his use
of such a messenger to the pagan populations of that day.
Numbers 23:1-7
"And Balaam said unto Balak, Build me here seven altars, and prepare me here
seven bullocks and seven rams. And Balak did as Balaam had spoken; and Balak
and Balaam offered on every altar a bullock and a ram. And Balaam said unto
Balak, Stand by thy burnt-offering, and I will go: peradventure Jehovah will come
to meet me; and whatsoever he showeth me I will tell thee. And he went to a bare
height. And God met Balaam: and he said unto him, I have prepared the seven
altars, and I have offered up a bullock and a ram on every altar. And Jehovah put a
word in Balaam's mouth, and said, Return unto Balak, and thus thou shalt speak.
And he returned unto him, and, lo, he was standing by his burnt-offering, he, and
all the princes of Moab. And he took up his parable, and said:
It is obvious from Balaam's mention of his having prepared "the seven altars, etc.,"
that he was acting upon God's specific instructions regarding his procedure upon
that occasion. That all of this is unusual in a most extraordinary sense is obvious,
5

6. but it was the will of God thus to communicate with Balak, and through him, with
all the pagan rulers of that day."
"I will go ... peradventure God will come to meet me ..." (Numbers 23:3). Balaam's
procedure here was that of following the usual customs of paganism. "Balaam here
was going out to look for a manifestation of Jehovah in the significant phenomena of
nature."[4] The pagan world had no "sure word of Prophecy," and, therefore, they
sought to know the mind of God by looking for clues in the sky, in nature, or in
natural phenomena. Any such thing as an eclipse of the sun, for example, would
have been hailed as an omen of disaster.
"A bare height ..." (Numbers 23:4). This means a bald, or barren eminence
affording a wide view of surrounding terrain. That Balaam should have selected
such a place is in perfect harmony with the context, as the heathen augurs were
always accustomed to select elevated places for their auspices, with an extensive
prospect, especially the towering and barren summits of mountains that were rarely
visited by men.[5]
For the Children of Israel such appeals to natural phenomena, usually called
auguries, were forbidden (Leviticus 19:26). That God indeed responded to Balaam
following such procedures must be credited to the unusual and extraordinary
intention and purpose of God upon this occasion. "God's thus dealing with Balaam
here was in an exceptional manner."[6]
Despite God's permissive use of such pagan devices on this occasion, however, he
made it most clear and certain that the message received by Balaam on that occasion
was in no sense whatever suggested or derived from any such thing. Balaam was not
left to conclude that this or that was meant, because God "put a very distinct and
unmistakable word into Balaam's mouth, and commanded him to make it known to
Balak."[7]
The principal complaint of critics with reference to these chapters regarding
Balaam is that the account has a "contradiction." This allegation is based on the
fact that some passages seem to associate Balaam with Midian and most of the
others associate him with Moab. Recent research, however, destroys such criticisms.
"Balak was a Midianite who became the king of Moab!"[8] From this it is clear that
the bringing in of the Elders of Midian was due, not to the influence of Balaam, but
to that of Balak.
COKE, "Numbers 23:1. Build me here seven altars, &c.— That is, say some, in
honour of that God who had consecrated the number seven by ceasing from his
works of creation on the seventh day. That Balaam sacrificed to Jehovah, the true
God, there can be no question; but Psalmanazar's reasons why he erected seven
altars seem the most probable. He observes, that the kind and number of victims
here mentioned is not only enjoined by the Mosaic law upon various occasions, but
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7. also to Job's three friends, by way of atonement for their trespass. Job 42:8. But as
to this number of altars, we no where read of any such, nor indeed of any more than
one at a time, either under the patriarchal or Mosaic dispensation. A greater
number was not compatible with the notion of one Supreme Being, whom Balaam
professed to worship; but if he reared them to seven planets, which were esteemed
the greatest and most powerful of all the subordinate deities, as we have great
reason to suppose he did, because that kind of theology had been some time in vogue
in Egypt, and spread itself in all those parts;—then it is plain, that he applied to
them in that manner only as to the most powerful mediators, to render a Supreme
Deity propitious to his wishes. See on the foregoing chapter, Second Principle, page
576. What makes this interpretation the more probable, is, that upon his meeting
with God at the conclusion of the first of those grand ceremonies, he addresses him
in these terms, I have prepared seven altars, and offered upon each of them a
bullock and a ram, Numbers 23:4 but does not in either part mention the word to
thee, as He would of course have done, had these altars been designedly reared, or
the victims been offered to him; so that he means no more, according to the theology
then reigning, than this: "I have invoked, by the usual rites, the seven planets, or
inferior deities, to whom thou hast committed the government of the world, to
interpose their mediation with thee, on the behalf of Moab and Midian." What
confirms this interpretation the more, is, that after Balaam has declared the tenor of
the divine answer, in terms the most opposite to Balak's wishes, that monarch does
not desire him to apply himself to some other inferior deities, there being little
reason to hope that these should prove more successful than the former; but only
desires him to repeat the same sacrifices to them from some other eminence,
(Numbers 23:13.) which might prove more favourable than this: to which we may
add, that the last two trials are performed at the desire of, and in compliance with,
the superstitious king, and not by the prophet's advice or choice, who could not but
certainly conclude, from the express tenor of the first divine answer, the
impossibility of obtaining a reversion of it. However, as this worship and invocation
of the planets was one of the main branches of heathen idolatry, against which God
had so solemnly declared his displeasure, and done so many wonders both in Egypt
and other places to extirpate it out of the minds of those infatuated nations, we may
reasonably rank it among the unlawful means which Balaam made use of upon this
occasion, and which Moses mentions under the name of divinations, or
enchantments. See chap. Numbers 24:1. Others he might, and probably did use,
which Moses has given us no further account of, than where he tells us, that when
Balaam found, at the third trial, that God was determined to bless Israel, he went
not as at other times to seek for them; but set his face towards the wilderness: i.e.
towards the Israelitish host; and, having received the divine impulse, delivered his
third blessing on them, in more emphatical and magnificent terms than he had done
at the two former; till Balak, quite out of patience at his expressing himself in so
high and extraordinary a manner, at once silenced and dismissed him with
contempt and disgrace; ch. Numbers 24:10.
Numbers 23:2. Balak and Balaam offered on every altar— Kings in ancient times
were priests also, whereof we have a striking example in Melchisedeck; see Genesis
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8. 14:18. So that Balak might be priest of the Moabites as well as king, and thus
officiate with Balaam in the sacerdotal functions; though some have thought that he
did no more than barely present the sacrifices to be offered by Balaam for him and
his people.
TRAPP."Numbers 23:1 And Balaam said unto Balak, Build me here seven altars,
and prepare me here seven oxen and seven rams.
Ver. 1. Build me here seven altars.] Here, in Baal’s high places. [Numbers 22:41] A
sinful mixture, such as was that of those mongrels [2 Kings 17:28-29] and their
natural nephews, the Samaritans, [John 4:5] Ambidexters in their religion, which
being grosser at first, was afterward refined by Manasseh a Jewish priest - such
another as Balaam - that in Alexander’s time made a defection to them, and brought
many Jews with him. Of Constantinus Copronymus it is said, how truly I know not,
that he was neither Jew, heathen, nor Christian, sed colluviem quandam impietatis,
but a hodge podge of wickedness. And of Redwald, king of the East Saxons, the first
that was baptized, Camden reports, that he had in the same Church one altar for
Christian religion and another for sacrificing to devils. And a loaf of the same
leaven was that resolute Rufus, that painted God on the one side of his shield, and
the devil on the other, with this desperate inscription, In utrumque paratus, Ready
for either, catch as catch may.
POOLE, "Balak and Balsam sacrifice: God meets him, and he blesses Israel,
Numbers 23:1-10. Balak is troubled: they go to another place to curse them: they
sacrifice again: Balaam consults God, who meets him, and he again blesses Israel,
Numbers 23:11-21. They go to a third place, and sacrifice again, Numbers 23:27-30.
The altars were either,
1. To Baal, in whose high places this was done and to whom alone Balak used to
sacrifice. Or rather,
2. To the true God, otherwise he would not have mentioned it to God as an
argument why he should grant his requests, as he doth Numbers 23:4. And though
Balak was averse from God and his worship, yet he would be easily overruled by
Balaam, who doubtless told him that it was in vain to make an address to any other
than the God of Israel, who alone was able either to bless or curse them, as he
pleased. And therefore when Balaam lost his design this way he tried it another way
with greater success, but still used to the same method, in provoking their own God
to destroy the Israelites, Num 25. But though he direct his sacrifices to the right
object, he chooseth a wrong place, and, to comply with Balak’s desire, makes use of
the high places of Baal for this end, and mingles his own superstitions with the
worship of God, in erecting divers altars, according to the manner of heathens and
idolators, 2 Kings 18:22 Isaiah 17:8 Jeremiah 11:13 Hosea 8:11 10:1 12:11; whereas
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9. God appointed and holy men used but one altar, though many sacrifices were to be
offered upon it, Genesis 8:20 Exodus 17:15 24:4. Seven was the solemn and usual
number in sacrifices, 1 Chronicles 15:26 2 Chronicles 29:21 Job 42:8.
WHEDON, " PREPARATORY SACRIFICES, Numbers 23:1-6.
1. Build me here — Against the express prohibition of God Balaam proceeds in his
purpose to gain Jehovah’s permission to curse his chosen people. His wickedness he
attempts to veil from his own moral sense by his extraordinary religiousness, as
some professed Christians lengthen the creed to compensate a shortened decalogue.
He is determined to effect his purpose, not in spite of Jehovah, but by gaining his
approval. He wishes to obey the will of God after he has won that will to his own
purpose.
Seven altars — For the symbolism of the number seven, a number denoting
perfection, see Leviticus 4:6, note. Here is a strange mixture of paganism and
Judaism. The Levitical law never recognises but one altar of sacrifice, which
prefigures Christ. Hebrews 13:10. Many altars characterize polytheism. Jeremiah
11:13; Hosea 10:1; Hosea 12:11; Amos 3:14. The seven oxen and seven rams are
strictly Levitical. See 1 Chronicles 15:26; 2 Chronicles 29:21; Job 42:8. “The nations
of antiquity generally accompanied all their more important undertakings with
sacrifices to make sure of the protection of their gods; but this was especially the
case with their ceremonies of adjuration.” — Keil.
ELLICOTT, "(1) Build me here seven altars.—The patriarchs of old, as their pious
descendants after the giving of the Law, never erected more than one altar in one
place. A plurality of altars was the badge of idolatry. Hengsten-berg adduces several
instances in proof that the ancients were accustomed to have recourse to sacrifice
and conjuration in order to avert calamity and produce prosperity. (History of
Balaam and his Prophecies, p. 392.) The number seven was regarded as significant
among the Greeks and Romans, as well as among the Israelites.
PARKER, " Balaam"s Vision of the Church
Numbers 22-24
Let Israel, as gathered within sight of Moab, be regarded as representing the
Church of the living God: let Balak, king of Moab, be regarded as representing all
the forces which encounter the Church of the living God with suspicion or hostility:
let Balaam be regarded as the prophet of the Lord standing between the Church
and the kingdoms of heathenism, and declaring the divine purpose, and dwelling in
sacred and rapturous eloquence upon the condition, the forces, and the destiny, of
the Church of Christ. Such are the conditions which are now before us:—Israel the
Church, Balak heathenism and every manner of hostility, Balaam the voice of
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10. Heaven, the prophet of God. Such being the picture, what are the doctrines which
underlie it and breathe through it and appeal to our confidence and imagination?
First of all, the Church is represented as being "blessed." We read,—"And God
said unto Balaam, Thou shalt not go with them; thou shalt not curse the people: for
they are blessed" ( Numbers 22:12). To repeat that word is best to explain it. Some
words refuse to pass into other terms, for they are themselves their best
expositors;—blessed is one of those words. We are not taught that Israel was in a
state of momentary enjoyment—passing through some transient experience of
gladness; but Israel is represented as sealed with a divine benediction: Israel is
blessed—not merely to be blessed, or reserved for blessing; but through eternity is
blessed—set in sureness in the divine covenant, created and made a people by the
divine knowledge and purpose and love. Here is no small contention as between
momentary complacency and momentary hostility: we are in the eternal region, we
are standing amid the august certainties of divine purpose, recognition and
determination. The Church Isaiah , therefore, blessed—sealed, gathered around the
Lord, set in his sight,—an inheritance, a possession, a sanctuary. That the Church
does not rise to the glory of its election according to the divine purpose has no
bearing whatever upon the argument. All things are in process; nothing is yet
finished. Is it a temple?—the walls are being put up. Is it a tree?—the tree is yet in
process of growing, and we Know nothing yet of its magnitude or its fruitfulness. Is
it a character?—time is required, and we must read destiny—not in immediate
appearances, but in the divine decree and in the inspired revelation. A man is not in
reality what he appears to be at any given moment: man is as to possibility what he
is in the divine thought. Until we have seen that thought in clearest realisation, it
little becomes us to sneer at the meanest specimen of human nature, or to mock the
handiwork of God. Let this stand: that there is a family, a Church, an institution—
describe it by any name—which is "blessed";—in other words, there is a spot on the
earth on which the divine complacency rests like a Sabbath-light; we may well
consider our relation to that place; it would not be unbecoming even the dignity of
reason to ask what its own relation is to that sacred and ever-blessed position.
This being the case, the negative seems to become the positive when we read that the
Church of the living God is beyond the power of human cursing. Said
Balaam,—"How shall I curse, whom God hath not cursed?" That is a great
principle. Balaam might use the words of cursing, but there would be no anathema
in his impotent speech. The curse of man cannot get within the sanctuary of God.
The Church is hidden within the pavilion of the Most High: the Church is beyond
"the strife of tongues": the curses are all outside noises—like the wings of night-
birds beating against the eternal granite. "No weapon that is formed against thee
shall prosper";—the weapon shall be formed, the weapon shall be lifted up, the
weapon shall apparently come down; but it shall miss thee, and cut nothing but the
vacant air. Unless we have some such confidence as this, we shall be the sport of
every rumour, exposed to every wild alarm, without peace: in the whole week there
will be no Sabbath day, after the day"s tumult there will be no time of repose: the
house will be open to the encroachment of every evil. We must, therefore, stand in
great principles, and take refuge in the sanctuary of divine and revealed
10

11. appointments. You cannot injure the really good man: you may throw many stones
at him, but you will never strike him; much speech may be levelled against him, but
the speech will be without point. A good man is the Lord"s jewel; a soul in harmony
with the Christian purpose is a soul hidden in the security of God"s almightiness.
That we do not realise this is to our shame and not to the discredit of the inspired
testimony. When a Christian is in alarm, he is doing more injury to the Christian
cause than can be done by any outside assailants; when the good man interrupts his
prayer by some expression of fear or doubt, he is doing more to invalidate every
argument for the sufficiency of prayer than can be done by the most penetrating
intellectual criticism or by the most audacious unbelief. Our religion is nothing if it
does not make us feel our security and turn that security into a temple of living and
daily praise. It still lies, therefore, with the believer to injure his cause, to bring
discredit upon God"s temple, and to expose the Eternal Father to human suspicion.
Let us beware of this, lest the enemies of God should be found in his own household.
Is there not something in the condition of the Church that might excite—shall we
call it?—the envy—the religious envy of the world? Read chapter Numbers
23:10—"Who can count the dust of Jacob, and the number of the fourth part of
Israel?" The Church grows upon the attentive vision; at first it does not seem to be
what it really Isaiah , but as the prophet looks the little one becomes a thousand and
the small nation becomes a great empire, and those who were of little account from a
physical point of view rise into immeasurable proportions of force and possibilities
of service. The Church is—let us repeat—what God sees it to be: God sees it to be
the power of the world, the light to illuminate it, the salt to preserve it, the city to be
as a beacon in relation to it. The Lord has said that the Church shall overcome all
opposition. The time in which it is about to do this Isaiah , by our reckoning, very
long—so long, that our poor patience almost expires and our faith sharpens itself
into an almost doubtful inquiry, saying,—O Lord! how long?—the wicked are
robust, evil-minded men are many in number, and virtue seems to be cast out upon
the street and to be exposed to a very precarious fortune—O Lord! how long? It is a
natural question, full of reasonableness from a merely human point of view, and it
never can be suppressed except by that increase cf faith which makes our life
superior to the death-principle that is in us—that fills us with a sense of already-
realised immortality. Balaam saw Israel to be an innumerable host. Numbers played
a great part in the imagination of the Eastern mind, and the Lord, touching the
imagination of Balak along the only accessible lines, makes Balaam speak about the
great host. Why, the dust of it could not be counted; no reckoning could sum up the
fourth part of Israel; and as the numbers increased and came down in threatening
countless multitudes upon the imagination of Balak, he was staggered by the vision
of the majesty of Israel. That is the view we must take of the case. Let God number
his Church. He teaches us by all these allusions that numbering is impossible on our
part. We do but vex ourselves by taking the statistics of the Church: only God can
take them, and he so represents them as to dazzle the imagination—to throw our
power of reckoning into absolute despair. From the beginning, he spoke thus about
numbers: he would never entrust us with the exact numerical secret; when he told
one man how many children he should have, he said,—More than the stars, more
11

12. than the sands upon the sea-shore,—innumerable. God"s arithmetic is not a
pronounceable quantity; it touches the imagination and excites the wonder, until
imagination and wonder consent in their intellectual impotence to fall down like
white-robed worshippers and say,—Thine is the kingdom and the power and the
glory, thou Father in heaven!
According to Balaam, the Church is named in an unchangeable decree: "God is not
a Prayer of Manasseh , that he should lie; neither the son of Prayer of Manasseh ,
that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and
shall he not make it good?" ( Numbers 23:19). This is not a God that can be changed
by temptation or whose decrees can be varied by circumstances. We do not surprise
him by our sin. He does not alter the will because the younger son has gone away
contrary to his expectation: when he made the will he foresaw the apostasy. There is
nothing omitted from the divine reckoning. He saw the sin before he called me his
child; he knew every time the arm of rebellion would be lifted and every time the
voice of unbelief would challenge the integrity of his promises. The will overrides all
these things: the Testator foresaw them, and the covenant was made in view of
them. Herein is comfort, but not licence; herein is a great security, but no
permission to tempt the living God. The view which the divine eye took of the whole
situation was a complete view; reckoning up all sides, all forces, all possibilities and
issues, the decree went forth, that out of this human nature, come whence it may—
straight from God"s hands, in one form or the other, it must have come—this
human nature shall be the temple of the living God, and out of those human eyes
shall gleam the fire of divinity. If we believed anything short of this, our testimony
would not be worth delivering—at best, it would be but a happy conjecture, or a
fanciful possibility, wanting in lines of solidity, and in characteristics of certainty—
wanting in the absoluteness which alone can give a steadiness of position to the
human will and the destiny of the human career. Were all these covenants,
arrangements and promises open to mere criticism of a verbal kind, we should have
no inheritance—we should be but beggars to the last, living upon appearances and
exhausting the unsubstantial fortune of illusory hopes; but our Christian position
Isaiah ,—God is unchangeable, the covenant is unalterable, the good man is the
accepted of God, and the almightiness of God is pledged to see the good man
through river, sea, wilderness, and the battle, being God"s, can only end in one way.
According to Balaam"s vision of the Church, Israel is guiltless and royal. This is
proved by chapter Numbers 23:21—"He hath not beheld iniquity in Jacob, neither
hath he seen perverseness in Israel: the Lord his God is with him, and the shout of a
king is among them."
Herein is the mystery of love. Already we begin to see the meaning of the marvellous
expression—"Where sin abounded, grace did much more abound." "He hath not
beheld iniquity in Jacob, neither hath he seen perverseness in Israel"—whilst, from
the human point of view, he has never seen anything else. The whole history up to
this point has been on the part of Israel or Jacob a disclosure of meanness,
selfishness, complaining, perfidy, and perverseness. Both the statements are
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13. perfectly true. They may not be open to the cheap reconciliation of mere verbal
adjustment, but they are strictly in harmony with the great central line which unites
and consolidates the universe. God does not judge in great and final senses by the
detailed slips, losses, mistakes, misadventures, follies, and sins of his people;—what
a life would be God"s eternity could it be vexed by these details! We are lacking in
the divine charity which sees the "man" within the "sinner"—which sees behind the
iniquity the divine seed. We are lacking in the divine benevolence which
distinguishes between the action of the hand—which sometimes does not express the
motion of the will—and the inward and set purpose of the sanctified soul. We count
ourselves clever if we can trip one another up in discrepancies of speech, in small or
great shortcomings,—if we can but record a heavy score against some brother, as to
a lapse here and a mistake there, and some evil deed yonder. God does not measure
the man or Church according to that standard and method: he sees the purpose, he
reads the soul, and he sees that nowhere is there a redder blush of shame for
anything evil which the hand has done than in the soul of the man who has been
convicted as the trespasser. So there are two views to be taken of the Church—the
small view, the magisterial criticism, the estimate which is formed by the ingenuity
that is most successful in fault-finding; or the view which is taken by God"s
purpose, by divine charity, by eternal election and decree. God"s purpose is to have
the uttermost parts of the earth for an inheritance and a possession; and already the
earth may be called his:—"The earth is the Lord"s, and the fulness thereof"—not
looked at here and now and within given lines—so looked at it is the devil"s earth, it
is ripped and seamed by ten thousand times ten thousand graves;—little children"s
bones are rotting in it, bad men are building their thrones and palaces upon it. The
devil"s hunting-ground is this earth within a narrow or limited point of view; but in
the divine purpose, in the great outcome of things, this earth is verdant as the upper
paradise, pure as spotless snow,—a sanctuary of the Lord; all lands and languages,
all seas, all thrones, all powers, are baptized in the Triune Name, and the whole
earth is a worthy annexe of God"s own heaven. Take any other view, and you
become at once unsettled, unsteady, depleted of all enrichment arising from
confidence and hope and promise. This is the true view, for it is the view given in the
Scriptures of God.
Balaam recognises the operation of a miracle in all this. He describes Israel as a
supreme miracle of God. He says,—"... according to this time it shall be said of
Jacob and of Israel, What hath God wrought!" ( Numbers 23:23). Thus the Church
becomes the uppermost miracle. From the first it did not seem such workmanship
was possible: the material was rough, the conditions were impracticable,—
everything seemed to be as different as possible from the grace and purpose of
Heaven; but years passed on, and the generations and the ages, and still the mighty
Worker continued with patient love to carry forward his purpose, and already
chaos seems to be taking shape, already some notes harmonious are heard through
all the harsh discord, already there is the outlining of a horizon radiant with the
silver of rising day, already God seems to be subduing, overruling, controlling, and
establishing things; and looking further on the prophet says,—"According to this
time it shall be said of Jacob and of Israel, What hath God wrought!"—how
13

14. wondrous the transformation; how sublime the moral majesty; how gracious the
complete deliverance! That, again, is our standing ground. "Not by might, nor by
power, but by my Spirit, saith the Lord." It is not within our little ability to
establish the divine kingdom upon the earth; but God will bring in an everlasting
kingdom: he "will overturn, overturn, overturn,... until he come whose right it is."
So we wait on in patience—patience often sorely troubled, patience that is vexed by
many a question from the hostile side: men say,—"Where is the promise of his
coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the
beginning of the creation"—not seeing the invisible Hand, not having that sharp
vision which perceives the rectification of lines so fibrous and so delicate, not
knowing that God"s transformation is being worked from the interior; that it is not
a case of external painting but a case of spiritual regeneration, and according to the
majesty of the subject within whose life this mystery is to be accomplished is the
time which even God requires for the outworking and consummation of his miracle.
Then Balaam paints a picture—such a picture as would appeal to the Eastern
imagination. He compares Jacob and Israel to the most beautiful of all spectacles; he
says,—"How goodly are thy tents, O Jacob, and thy tabernacles, O Israel! As the
valleys are they spread forth, as gardens by the river"s side, as the trees of lign aloes
which the Lord hath planted, and as cedar trees beside the waters. He shall pour the
water out of his buckets, and his seed shall be in many waters, and his king shall be
higher than Agag, and his kingdom shall be exalted" ( Numbers 24:5-7). Why speak
so much about streams and rivers and waters?—because nothing appealed so
vividly to the Oriental imagination. To have plenty of water was to be rich in the
days of Balaam and in the country of Balak. So Balaam, taught by the Lord to speak
the music of truth and of heaven, speaks of Jacob and Israel as being "valleys"
where the water rolled, "as gardens by the river"s side, as the trees of lign aloes...
and as cedar trees beside the waters." In other parts of the Old Testament those
same cedar trees are spoken of with the rapture of poetry:—they put out their dark
roots towards the river, they suck up the streams, and they report the success of the
root in the far-spreading branches which seem to have lifted themselves up to the
very clouds of heaven. Every country has its own standards of success, its own signs
of prosperity, its own symbols which most vividly appeal to the imagination of the
inhabitants; and water constituted the great object of admiration and of
thankfulness in the Eastern mind. And then the King that was coming was to be
"higher than Agag" ( Numbers 22:7). The word "Agag" means "high"; the word
"Agag" is the name of the Amalekite kings, as "Pharaoh" was the name of the kings
of Egypt, and "Abimelech" the name of the kings of the Philistines; so Agag is not
any one personal king but the you or I of the Amalekite nation; and when Balak and
his hosts looked upon their mighty Agag, Balaam said,—He is a child compared
with the coming King—a mere infant of days compared with the crowned One of
Jacob; when He comes whose right it is to reign, all other kings and princes will
acknowledge his right, and fall down before him, and pay their crowns as tribute to
his majesty.
This, then, is the position of the Church of Christ. We believe a great future is in
14

15. store for the Church. Were we to look at the Church within given lines, we should
say,—Great is its poverty, very questionable its intellectual standpoint; a very
troubled community is the Church—vexing itself by divers theologies and
conceptions and theories and speculations. But we must not look at the question in
that way. Call for the Lord"s prophet: let "the man whose eyes are open" be called
to stand on the hills of Moab, and his speech will be:—
PULPIT, "Build me here seven altars. According to the common opinion of the
heathen, it was necessary to propitiate with sacrifices the God with whom they had
to do, and if possible to secure his favourable consideration on their side. The
number seven was especially connected with the revelation of the tree God, the
Creator of the world, and was probably observed here for this reason. The sacrifices
were offered no doubt to Jehovah.
PETT, "Introduction
E. FROM KADESH TO THE PLAINS OF MOAB (chapters 20-25).
The New Beginning.
After the gap for the wilderness wanderings and the return to Kadesh, there now
follows a series of historical events which bring Israel to the plains of Moab, and
point to a new beginning. History has become important again because Yahweh’s
purposes were now going forward. The first section (Numbers 20:1 to Numbers
21:20) deals with the view that was to be taken of the future. It was to be a move
from dearth to abundance, from death to life. The old was being put to one side, so
that the new could take over, although only under Yahweh.
· It commences with the arrival at Kadesh (qdsh - the holy place) to find little water
there, followed by the death of Miriam, the prophetess, who would have been
greatly influential among those who had come out of Egypt. All is death. But at the
same time it promises that the resulting seeming dearth will be followed by
abundant water (Numbers 20:1-11), although even that at the cost of death for it
goes on to reveal that neither Aaron nor Moses will enter the land. They will die in
God’s time and be replaced by new leaders (Numbers 20:12-13).
· It warns against seeing the future simply in terms of aggression and spoliation.
When Edom resist their advance they must not show aggression and seize their land
but must go another way. For Edom’s land belongs to Edom and has been given to
them by God (this is implicit in Numbers and explicit in Deuteronomy 2), just as
shortly their land will belong to them (Numbers 20:14-21). Israel is only to offer
death to those who deserve death.
· It tells of the death of Aaron and his replacement as ‘the Priest’ by his son,
Eleazar, a member of the new generation, which will lead on to greater blessing
15

16. (Numbers 20:22-29). Out of death comes life.
· It describes the first defeat of the Canaanites, a further indication of the new
beginning and a firstfruit of what was to come. They are at last ready to take the
land (Numbers 21:1-3).
· It then warns of what the result will be for those of the new generation who rebel
against God, in the judgment of the fiery serpents which were a flashback to and
reminder of the old wilderness days (Deuteronomy 8:15). Let them remember the
wilderness, for that is what awaits those who rebel against Yahweh, as it had
awaited their fathers (Numbers 21:4-10).
And it finally describes the arrival at a place of abundance of water sufficient to
cause them to sing with joy and praise, a symbol of the new beginning, a symbol of
life (Numbers 21:11-20 compare Numbers 22:5-8).
The second section (Numbers 21:21 to Numbers 25:18) will go on to deal with
victory in the Wars of Yahweh including the defeat of the Amorites who had once
defeated them (Numbers 21:21 to Numbers 22:1 compare Deuteronomy 1:44), the
‘battle’ with Balaam (Numbers 22:1 to Numbers 24:25), and their establishment in
the plains of Moab having received their first instalment of Yahweh’s inheritance
(Numbers 25:1 a) which results in the sin of Peor and deliverance by the hand of
Phinehas, son of Eleazar (Numbers 25:1-18).
Battles Against Evil Influence (Numbers 22:2 to Numbers 25:18).
Having defeated the Amorites and being in process of possessing their land Israel
are now faced with a more subtle threat. This commences with the approach of the
Aramean prophet Balaam, and continues with the results of his later evil plan.
3). The Defeat of the Evil Influence of Balaam (Numbers 22:2 to Numbers 24:25).
The follow-up war against the Amorites in Bashan may still have been in progress
under different generals while what follows was going on. ("They possessed his
land" - Numbers 21:35, and that would take time. See Numbers 32:39-42). But
meanwhile Moab, watching Israel from behind their frontiers, wondered what they
were going to do next, and decided to take their own initiative.
In those days warfare was conducted on a number of levels. The most obvious was
the clash of armies. But behind the clash of armies could be a variety of other
activities. These could include interchange of correspondence enforcing their case
by citing the power of their gods (see Judges 11:12-28), both encouraging their own
troops and dismaying the enemy. Preliminary ‘battles’ taking place between
champions in order to determine whose god was the most powerful (see 1 Samuel
17). And so on. But nothing was more important than ensuring that the gods were
on your side. And that was where certain men seen as possessing awesome powers
16

17. came in. Such men, ‘prophets’, ‘soothsayers’ and ‘diviners’ were seen as having
special influence with the gods, and operated through dreams, visions, trances,
omens, enchantments and the occult. We can compare the execration texts from
Egypt, written on pottery against Egypt’s enemies, pottery which was then broken
in order to apply the curse. (Amalek probably saw Moses with his hands held up in
the same light - Exodus 17:11). One such ‘diviner’ in those days was the mighty
Bala‘-‘am (‘the nation swallower’), held in awe throughout the Ancient Near East. It
was to him that Moab were to turn.
Thus in these chapters we have revealed in the tactics of Balak, king of Moab, a
different approach to the challenging of Israel from those before him. For while
Israel had made no attempt to interfere with Moab, Balak was afraid. Here was a
large and seemingly belligerent army on his frontiers and he wanted to get rid of
them. But he seemingly did not feel up to taking them on in battle. Having probably
heard of what Yahweh had done previously, and having seen them destroy the
enemy that he himself had been unable to defeat, he decided that he needed ‘similar’
powers on his side, and he needed somehow to influence Yahweh.
So he sent for Bala‘am (the ‘nation-swallower’), the famous prophet-diviner,
requesting that he come to him so that he might curse Israel. Balaam, the prophet-
diviner, was a man of great reputation who apparently lived in northern Syria. Such
people professed to be able to influence events by use of various occult methods.
They would often enter into drug induced trances in which they could see and hear
almost anything. They hired themselves out for gold, and their fees were high. The
subsequent story in fact reveals what an enigmatic figure he was. For while he was
certainly wanting to oblige Balak by bringing divine powers to his rescue, at the
same time he openly acknowledged that they were not fully under his control. He
acknowledged that unless the ‘gods’ were cooperative he could not achieve his ends.
Indeed in seeking to exercise his gifts with Yahweh he was revealed as being limited
in what he could achieve right from the beginning, by the response that came when
he commenced his sorceries.
However, while not approving of his methods, the account does suggest a certain
genuineness in what he sought to do, so much so that God was willing to have
dealings with him and reveal things to him on behalf of His own people. Yet it is
quite obvious that Balaam involved himself in the occult. He clearly considered that
he did get in touch with other world beings, and did expect to receive messages from
them. He was thus seen as engaging in spiritism and divination. Using Moses’ terms,
he contacted devils (Deuteronomy 32:17). But as with the medium of Endor later (1
Samuel 28:6-25), where confronted with such, God was willing to use them in order
to bring home His own message.
Bala‘am was not a worshipper of Yahweh, but that he was willing to listen to Him
and respond to Him the account makes clear. It would seem that at first he
mistakenly thought that he could treat Yahweh like any of his other other-world
‘contacts’. But he soon learned that he was dealing with something outside his
17

18. previous experience. What harm he could actually have done to Israel we do not
know, but certainly at the time everyone thought that he could do great harm.
The account is clearly a unity for it is based on a number of sections which follow a
basically chiastic pattern in four instalments, Numbers 22:2-14; Numbers 22:15-38;
Numbers 22:39 to Numbers 24:13; Numbers 24:14-25. But they also inter-relate.
Balaam is the man whose eyes are open in Numbers 24:3; Numbers 24:15. In
Numbers 24:4; Numbers 24:16 he is the one who has ‘heard the words of God and
saw the vision of the Almighty, falling into a trance (or ‘falling down’) but having
his eyes open’. (This certainly sounds like drug use). He ‘took up his parable
(incantation)’ five times in Numbers 24:3; Numbers 24:15; Numbers 24:20-21;
Numbers 24:23. His extra prophecies are fourfold (Numbers 24:15-24) which with
his threefold prophecies/blessings in Numbers 23:7-10; Numbers 23:18-24; Numbers
24:3-9 make up a sevenfold series of prophecies.
The whole account is also notable for the emphasis put on threefold action. The ass
avoided the angel of Yahweh three times (Numbers 22:28; Numbers 22:32; see
verses 23, 25, 27). Balaam had three major encounters with Yahweh (Numbers
22:9-12; Numbers 22:20; Numbers 22:32-35). Balaam offered three sets of sacrifices
(Numbers 22:39 to Numbers 24:13). Yahweh gives His word to Balaam three times
(Numbers 23:5; Numbers 23:16; Numbers 24:2 compare Numbers 22:38). Three
times things happen ‘in the morning’ (Numbers 22:13; Numbers 22:21; Numbers
22:41). We can note also that to Yahweh the messengers are but ‘men’ (’anoshim)
three times (Numbers 22:9; Numbers 22:20; Numbers 22:35).
But we may ask, ‘why is so much space given in Scripture to this rather strange
history when seemingly larger affairs are dealt with in a few sentences?’ The answer
lies mainly in the words which God put in Balaam’s mouth. Three times he spoke,
followed by further prophecy, and in doing so he confirmed the promises of God to
His people. That they were spoken by a non-Israelite prophet of the status of
Balaam made them even more significant. The words of such a man as Balaam
would be a major encouragement as Israel prepared to enter the land in order to
take possession, for they would be seen as coming from an external prophetic
source. It was only human nature among the weaker of them that while they might
have some doubts about what Yahweh promised, the promises seemed much more
certain when spoken by such a man as Balaam. And God graciously allowed it to be
so for their sakes.
In his first prophecy Balaam would speak of Israel as being like the dust of the earth
(compare Genesis 13:16), and as being innumerable (Numbers 23:10 compare
Genesis 12:2; Genesis 13:16), both recognised signs of blessing as promised by
Yahweh. He would also describe them as a nation dwelling alone, different from all
other nations (Numbers 23:9), a holy nation (compare Exodus 19:5-6), thus further
confirming the promises and revealing that they were blessed by their God.
In the second he would speak of their deliverance from Egypt and their being firmly
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19. established, with God among them as their King with, metaphorically speaking, the
strength and horns of the wild ox (Numbers 23:21), a fearsome Opponent indeed,
who could dispense lions with the toss of his head. While Israel themselves were
depicted as being, along with their God, dangerous and victorious like a pride of
lions (Numbers 23:24). In other words Israel had become a powerful people, with
the even more powerful Yahweh living among them as their King and God.
In the third he saw them as being in a land of fruitfulness, with plenteous waters
available to them (see Numbers 21:14-18), and spreading that fruitfulness around
the world, with their God still being powerful and they still being like a victorious
pride of lions.
And finally he saw the coming to them of a future ruler who would be victorious
over all around him (compare Genesis 17:6). This remarkable series of prophecies,
revealing the rise and triumph of Israel from early beginnings to its final triumph,
will be considered in more detail in the commentary. But it explains the importance
laid on these prophecies.
Then, secondly, God’s control of Balaam was probably seen as an example of the
greatness of Yahweh. The mighty Balaam was feared throughout the Ancient Near
East, but he was nothing before Yahweh. He was seen as subject to Yahweh’s will.
The thought would be that if Yahweh could defeat Balaam, He could defeat anyone.
For that Balaam was an awesome figure comes out in that his name has been found
in an Aramaic text written on wall plaster at Tell Deir ‘Alla in the Jordan valley
dating from around 700 BC in which he is seen as involved with a number of gods
and goddesses whose will he conveys to a disobedient people. His reputation as a
powerful contact person between men and the gods had passed into history, it had
been immortalised.
The Threefold Activity of Balaam In Moab (22:41-24:13).
In what follows we now have a triad of attempts by Balak to curse Israel which all
follow the same pattern. These are sandwiched between Balaam going with Balak
(Numbers 22:41) and Balaam being bidden to return home (Numbers 24:12-13).
This parallels the triad of encounters with the Angel of Yahweh in the first passage.
The reader is intended to see Balaam’s activity in terms of the noble ass, just as
Israel were to be seen metaphorically as like a lion or a lioness (Numbers 23:24;
Numbers 24:9) and Yahweh as a large horned wild-ox (Numbers 23:22; Numbers
24:8).
This comes out in that there are significant parallels and contrasts with the first
account. Here Balak is seen as driving on a reluctant Balaam in the same way as
Balaam drove on his reluctant ass. As the noble ass was really controlled, not by his
rider but by the angel of Yahweh, so was Balaam to be seen as really controlled, not
by Balak, but by Yahweh. Furthermore this happened because Balaam could see
what Balak could not see, just as the noble ass could see what Balaam could not see.
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20. So Balaam has now replaced the ass as the ‘instrument’ of Yahweh. And as Balaam
was angry with his ass three times, so Balak was angry with Balaam three times. As
God finally spoke through the ass, so finally did the Spirit of Yahweh come on
Balaam (Numbers 24:2) who was now ‘the man whose eyes are open’ (Numbers
24:3; Numbers 24:15), and speak through him. This does not represent Balaam as
‘an ass’ in any derogatory sense, it depicts him as an unwilling instrument of
Yahweh, as the noble ass was, but whose eyes were now open as they had not been
previously. Thus the incident of the ass illuminates all that follows. Balaam was seen
to be as much in subjection to Yahweh as his ass had been to him.
Analysis.
a Balaam goes with Balak (Numbers 22:41)
b Balaam builds seven altars and offers sacrifices (Numbers 23:1-3)
c Yahweh speaks to Balaam and he prophesies favourably to Israel num (23:4-10)
d Balak is angry and asks him to try again (Numbers 23:11-13).
b Seven more altars and seven more sacrifices (Numbers 23:14-15).
c Yahweh speaks to Balaam and he again prophesies favourably (Numbers
23:16-24)
d Balak requests that Balaam ceases either blessing or cursing and asks that he try
again (Numbers 23:25-26).
b Seven more altars and seven more sacrifices (Numbers 23:27-30)
c Balaam blesses Israel (Numbers 24:1-9).
d Balak is angry with Balaam (Numbers 24:10-11).
a Balaam castigates Balak (Numbers 24:12-13)
BI 1-4, "Balak and Balaam offered on every altar.
The sacrifice of Balak and Balaam
I. Objectively this sacrifice was as perfect as the offerers could make it. Clearly they
aimed at presenting a perfect offering. This is exhibited—
1. In the number of offerings. Seven was regarded as a sacred and perfect number.
2. In the victims offered. The most valuable that were used for sacrifices.
3. In the kind of offerings. They were burnt-offerings, which were presented without
20

21. any reserve, being entirely consumed in honour of the Divine Being.
II. Subjectively this sacrifice was very imperfect, and even sinful. In the sentiments and
motives of the offerers there was much that was erroneous and evil.
1. The sacrifice was offered with an admixture of faith and superstition.
2. The sacrifice was offered under the impression that the offering was meritorious
on the part of the offerers, and placed God under an obligation to them.
3. The sacrifice was offered as a means to induce God to change His mind.
4. The sacrifice was offered with a view of obtaining permission and power to curse
the people of God.
Learn:
1. That the true value of sacrifice is to be looked for not in the quantity or quality of
the offering, but in the spirit of the offerer.
2. Trusting in Christ Jesus for acceptance, let us present ourselves to God. “God
must be worshipped with our best. A man’s best is himself; and to sacrifice this is the
true sacrifice.”
3. He who has truly given himself to God will keep back nothing from Him. (W.
Jones.)
2 Balak did as Balaam said, and the two of them
offered a bull and a ram on each altar.
GILL, "And Balak did as Balaam had spoken,.... Ordered seven altars to be built,
and prepared seven bullocks and rams for sacrifice:
and Balak and Balsam offered on every altar a bullock and a ram; both seem
to be concerned in offering the sacrifices; Balak, though a king, it being usual for kings to
be priests also, as Melchizedek was, and Balaam as a prophet; and these sacrifices were
offered to the true God, as seems clear from Num_23:4 and to which Balak, at the
direction of Balaam, agreed, in order to gain the Lord on his side, that he might prevail
over the people of Israel.
JAMISON, "
K&D, "
TRAPP, "Numbers 23:2 And Balak did as Balaam had spoken; and Balak and
Balaam offered on [every] altar a bullock and a ram.
21

22. Ver. 2. And Balak did.] Ready to conform to any religion, so he might obtain his
purposes. God abhors these lukewarm neuter passives, that are inter coelum
terramque penduli, that halt between two, that commit idolatry between the porch
and the altar, with those five and twenty miscreants. [Ezekiel 8:16]
3 Then Balaam said to Balak, “Stay here beside
your offering while I go aside. Perhaps the Lord
will come to meet with me. Whatever he reveals to
me I will tell you.” Then he went off to a barren
height.
BARNES, "Balaam apparently expected to mark some phenomenon in the sky or in
nature, which he would be able, according to the rules of his art, to interpret as a
portent. It was for such “auguries” (not as the King James Version “enchantments”
Num_23:23) that he now departed to watch; contrast Num_24:1.
An high place - Or, “A bare place on the hill,” as opposed to the high place with its
grove of trees.
CLARKE"Stand by thy burnt-offering - We have already seen that blessing and
cursing in this way were considered as religious rites, and therefore must be always
preceded by sacrifice. See this exemplified in the case of Isaac, before he blessed Jacob
and Esau, Genesis 27 (note), and the notes there. The venison that was brought to Isaac,
of which he did eat, was properly the preparatory sacrifice.
GILL, "And Balaam said unto Balak, stand by thy burnt offering,.... By which it
appears that the sacrifices offered were of this sort, and there might be one, which was
more peculiarly the burnt offering of Balak; though he might be more or less with
Balaam concerned in them all; at which he was directed to stand while it was burning,
presenting that and himself to the Lord, that he would have respect to both:
and I will go; depart from thence, at some little distance, unto some private place:
peradventure the Lord will come to meet me; upon the offering of these sacrifices
to him, though he could not be certain of it, he having lately shown some displeasure
22

23. and resentment unto him; and this was also in the daytime, when it was in the night he
usually came unto him:
and whatsoever he showeth me I will tell thee; the whole of it, truly as it is,
whether agreeable or not:
and he went to an high place; but he was in one already, and therefore if this is the
sense of the word, he must go to another, into a grove in one of the high places, where he
might be retired, and so fit for a divine converse; and the Targum of Onkelos renders it
alone: but rather the sense is, that he went into a plain, as De Dieu has shown from the
use of the word in the Syriac language; he was upon a high place, and he went down
from thence into the plain, perhaps into a cave at the bottom of the hill, a retired place,
where he hoped the Lord would meet him, as he did.
JAMISON, "Stand by thy burnt offering — as one in expectation of an important
favor.
peradventure the Lord will come to meet me: and whatsoever he showeth
me — that is, makes known to me by word or sign.
he went to an high place — apart by himself, where he might practise rites and
ceremonies, with a view to obtain a response of the oracle.
K&D 3-4, "After the offering of the sacrifices, Balaam directed the king to stand by
his burnt-offering, i.e., by the sacrifices that had been offered for him upon the seven
altars, that he might go out for auguries. The meaning of the words, “I will go,
peradventure Jehovah will come to meet me,” is apparent from Num_24:1 : and “he
went no more to meet with the auguries” (‫ים‬ ִ‫שׁ‬ ָ‫ח‬ְ‫,נ‬ see at Lev_19:26). Balaam went out to
look for a manifestation of Jehovah in the significant phenomena of nature. The word
which Jehovah should show to him, he would report to Balak. We have here what is just
as characteristic in relation to Balaam's religious stand-point, as it is significant in its
bearing upon the genuine historical character of the narrative, namely, an admixture of
the religious ideas of both the Israelites and the heathen, inasmuch as Balaam hoped to
receive or discover, in the phenomena of nature, a revelation from Jehovah. Because
heathenism had no “sure word of prophecy,” it sought to discover the will and counsel of
God, which are displayed in the events of human history, through various signs that
were discernible in natural phenomena, or, as Chryssipus the Stoic expresses it in Cicero
de divin. ii. 63, “Signa quae a Diis hominibus portendantur.”
(Note: See the remarks of Nägelsbach and Hartung on the nature of the heathen
auspices, in Hengstenberg's Balaam and his Prophecies (pp. 396-7). Hartung
observes, for example: “As the gods did not live outside the world, or separated from
it, but the things of time and space were filled with their essence, it followed, as a
matter of course, that the signs of their presence were sought and seen in all the
visible and audible occurrences of nature, whether animate or inanimate. Hence all
the phenomena which affected the senses, either in the elements or in the various
creatures, whether sounds or movements, natural productions or events, of a
mechanical or physical, or voluntary or involuntary kind, might serve as the media of
revelation.” And again (p. 397): “The sign in itself is useless, if it be not observed. It
was therefore necessary that man and God should come to meet one another, and
23

24. that the sign should not merely be given, but should also be received.”)
To look for a word of Jehovah in this way, Balaam betook himself to a “bald height.” This
is the only meaning of ‫י‬ ִ‫פ‬ ְ‫,שׁ‬ from ‫ה‬ָ‫פ‬ָ‫,שׁ‬ to rub, to scrape, to make bare, which is
supported by the usage of the language; it is also in perfect harmony with the context, as
the heathen augurs were always accustomed to select elevated places for their auspices,
with an extensive prospect, especially the towering and barren summits of mountains
that were rarely visited by men (see Hengstenberg, ut sup.). Ewald, however, proposes
the meaning “alone,” or “to spy,” for which there is not the slightest grammatical
foundation.
CALVIN, "3.And Balaam said unto Balak. In this respect, also, he imitates the true
servants of God: for he seeks retirement, because God has almost always appeared
unto His servants when they have been separated from the company of men. You
would say that he was another Moses, when he exhorts the king to persevering
prayer, and, in order that he may be more earnest in supplication, bids him remain
perfectly still by the altars. Meanwhile he withdraws himself from the crowd, and
the eyes of the witnesses, so that he may be more ready to receive the revelation.
Since, however, there was no sincerity in him, we may probably conclude, that in
vain ostentation he imitated the servants of God, that, like one of God’s councillors,
he might bring forth the secrets from the shrines of heaven. I know not why some
render the word ‫,שפי‬ shephi, alone, others, sad; (155) it is more suitable to take it for
a high place; which other similar passages confirm. The impostor, therefore, retired
into a higher place, or summit, in order that he might come forth from thence more
surely established as a prophet by his familiar intercourse with God.
COKE, "Numbers 23:3. Stand by thy burnt-offering— By which he means not any
particular offering, but the whole sacrifice offered on the seven altars. And I will go,
says Balaam, i.e. I will retire into solitude and silence to meet the Lord, Numbers
23:15. (see the note on chap. Numbers 24:1.) peradventure the Lord will come to
meet me: from which it is inferred, that it was customary in those early times for
prophets and other pious persons, after performing the sacred rites, to retire into
some solitary place to wait for an answer from God. And therefore Balaam speaks
of God's meeting with him, or communicating his mind to him, as a thing which
might now probably happen to him, as it seems to have been done upon other
occasions. Accordingly, he went into an high place; but as he was in a high place
already, some are for rendering it, he went into a valley, or, as our margin renders
it, he went solitary, i.e. into the most retired part of the grove, which those high
places were seldom without, and where he expected to receive the oracle from God;
but the original word ‫שׁפי‬ shephi, signifies a high craggy, place: see Isaiah 13:2.
Jeremiah 3:2 and it is most probable that Balaam ascended into a higher part of
these mountains, for the greater solemnity of his meeting with Jehovah. Mr. Le
Clerc founds a conjecture upon this passage, peradventure the Lord, &c. that the
angels appeared sometimes to those who offered sacrifices, and that such
24

25. apparitions gave occasion to the famous doctrine of the heathens, of the evocation of
the deities; which Jamblichus has thoroughly treated of in his book on the Mysteries
of the Egyptians. Our readers may meet with an extract from that book, in the
treatise of father Mourgues, intitled, A Theological Plan of Pythagorism. This
celebrated Jesuit has there fully discussed all the questions concerning this
pretended evocation of the gods. See Saurin, Dissert. 64.
TRAPP, "Numbers 23:3 And Balaam said unto Balak, Stand by thy burnt offering,
and I will go: peradventure the LORD will come to meet me: and whatsoever he
sheweth me I will tell thee. And he went to an high place.
Ver. 3. Stand by thy burnt offering.] Or, Present thyself, to see if God will accept thy
person.
POOLE, " By thy burnt-offering; as in God’s presence, as one that offers thyself its
well as thy sacrifices to obtain his favour. I will go to some solitary and convenient
place, where I may by my enchantments prevail with God to appear to me, and to
answer thy and my desires in cursing this people.
Whatsoever he showeth me, i.e. reveals to me, either by word or sign.
To an high place; or, into the plain, as that word properly signifies, for he was now
in a high place, Numbers 22:4. But this is not material, it was doubtless some
solitary place, where he might use some gestures and ceremonies which he would
not have others see, and where he might more reasonably expect to meet with God;
for both good and evil spirits most commonly appeared to persons in such places.
WHEDON, " 3. Burnt offering — See Leviticus 1:3, note.
The Lord will come to meet me — In what way he expected the manifestation of
Jehovah is seen in Numbers 24:1 : “He went not to seek for enchantments,” which,
after the manner of false prophets, he colours with the name of Jehovah. See
Leviticus 19:26, note. We have here a further commingling of Judaism and
paganism — an expectation of a revelation of Jehovah’s will, but through the
significant phenomena of nature, because heathenism had no “sure word of
prophecy.”
A high place — A bald height. To such high and solitary places soothsayers were
accustomed to resort for an observation of the signs.
PULPIT, "Peradventure the Lord will come to meet me. It might be concluded from
Numbers 24:1 that Balaam went only to look for "auguries," i.e; for such natural
signs in the flight of birds and the like as the heathen were wont to observe as
25

26. manifestations of the favour or disfavour of God, the success or failure of
enterprises. It seems clear that it was his practice to do so, either as having some
faith himself in such uncertainties, or as stooping to usual heathen arts which he
inwardly despised. But from the fact that God met him (we know not how), and that
such supernatural communication was not unexpected, we may conclude that
Balaam's words meant more for himself than the mere observance of auguries,
whatever they may have meant for Balak. To an high place. Rather, "to a bald
place" ( ‫י‬ ִ‫פ‬ ֶ‫שׁ‬ —compare the meaning of "Calvary"), from which the immediate
prospect was uninterrupted.
4 God met with him, and Balaam said, “I have
prepared seven altars, and on each altar I have
offered a bull and a ram.”
BARNES, "God met Balaam - God served His own purposes through the arts of
Balaam, and manifested His will through the agencies employed to seek it, dealing thus
with Balaam in an exceptional manner. To God’s own people auguries were forbidden
Lev_19:26.
I have prepared seven altars - And therefore Balaam expected that God on His
part would do what was desired by the donor; compare Num_22:15 note.
GILL, "And God met Balaam,.... Not in a kind and gracious manner; not out of any
respect to him and his offerings; not to indulge him with any spiritual communion with
him; nor to communicate his mind and will to him as a friend of his; not to gratify his
desires, and grant the request of the king of Moab, or to smile upon and succeed the
scheme that they had concerted; but for the sake of his people Israel, to counterwork the
designs of their enemies; to blast and confound them, and turn their curses into
blessings; and particularly to oblige Balaam to bless the people he was so desirous of
cursing for the sake of gain:
and he said unto him; in a bragging boasting way, in order to gain his favour, and
carry his point:
I have prepared seven altars, and I have offered upon every altar a bullock
and a ram: that is, to him the Lord; for had they been offered to Baal, he could never
26

27. have had the nerve to have spoken of them to God; and which he could never have
proposed as a reason why he should be regarded by him, or expect on account of them
any favour from him: and indeed these altars and sacrifices were not at his expense,
though they were prepared and offered at a motion of his; nor were they offered in a
right manner, nor with a right end, nor from a right principle, and were far from being
acceptable unto God, yea, were abominable unto him; see Pro_21:27.
JAMISON 4-6, "God met Balaam — not in compliance with his incantations, but
to frustrate his wicked designs and compel him, contrary to his desires and interests, to
pronounce the following benediction [Num_23:8-10].
K&D 4-6, "“And God came to meet Balaam,” who thought it necessary, as a true
hariolus, to call the attention of God to the altars which had been built for Him, and the
sacrifices that had been offered upon them. And God made known His will to him,
though not in a natural sign of doubtful signification. He put a very distinct and
unmistakeable word into his mouth, and commanded him to make it known to the king.
CALVIN, "4.And God met Balaam. It is wonderful that God should have
determined to have anything in common with the pollutions of Balaam; since there
is no communion between light and darkness, and He detests all association with
demons; but, however hateful to God the impiety of Balaam was, this did not
prevent Him from making use of him in this particular act. This meeting him, then,
was by no means a proof of His favor, as if he approved of the seven altars, and
sanctioned these superstitions; but as He well knows how to apply corrupt
instruments to His use, so by the mouth of this false prophet, He promulgated the
covenant, which He had made with Abraham, to foreign and heathen nations.
In truth, he boasts of his seven altars, as if he had duly propitiated God. Thus do
hypocrites arrogantly trust that they deserve well of God, when they do but provoke
His anger. God, however, passes over this corrupt worship, and proceeds with what
He had determined; for He sends Balaam to be a proclaimer and witness of the
sureness of His grace towards His chosen people. He supplies, indeed, His servants
with what they speak, and controls their tongues; for neither would they be
sufficient to think anything, unless the ability were bestowed by Him; and no one
can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost. Still the holy Prophets were in
suchwise organs of the Spirit, that they gave forth from the heart the treasures
which God had deposited with them. In this view, Jeremiah says that he “did eat the
words of God,” (Jeremiah 15:16;) and Ezekiel, that he ate the roll on which his
prophecies were written. (Ezekiel 3:1.) For we must not conceive an inspiration
( ἐνθουσιασμὸς) such as that by which the heathens supposed their diviners to be
carried away, so that the heavenly afflatus transported them, or threw them into
ecstasies; but rather did that take place in them, which David declares of himself: “I
believed, therefore have I spoken,” (Psalms 116:10 :) and God illuminated their
senses before He guided their tongues. The case of Balaam was different, whose
27

28. mind was alienated while he delivered the words which were put into his mouth.
(156)
TRAPP. "Numbers 23:4 And God met Balaam: and he said unto him, I have
prepared seven altars, and I have offered upon [every] altar a bullock and a ram.
Ver. 4. I have prepared seven altars.] He boasts of his devotions, and so thinks to
demerit God’s favour. So those hypocrites in Isaiah. [Isaiah 58:3] Non sic deos
coluimus, ut ille nos vinceret, We have not so served the gods, as that the enemy
should have the better of us, said the Emperor Antonius, the philosopher.
POOLE, " God met Balaam, not to comply with Balaam’s charms, nor to gratify,
but to oppose, his wicked desires, and to fierce him against his own inclination and
interest to utter the following words.
A bullock and a ram, which I pray thee accept, and give me leave to curse thy
people, as their abundant wickedness deserves.
WHEDON, "4. God met Balaam — Not in the flight of birds or in any natural sign
of doubtful signification, but by a distinct and unequivocal message which he was
commanded to declare to Balak. This was done, not for the sake of Balak, but for
the good of Israel. Where his people are concerned God may direct the result of a
pagan divination. Ezekiel 21:19-23.
PULPIT, "I have prepared seven altars. Balaam, acting for the king of Moab, his
heathen patron, in this difficult business, points out to God that he had given him
the full quota of sacrifices to begin with. It was implied in this reminder that God
would naturally feel disposed to do something for Balaam in return.
5 The Lord put a word in Balaam’s mouth and
said, “Go back to Balak and give him this word.”
GILL, "And the Lord put a word in Balaam's mouth.... Not grace into his heart,
nor the fear of God within him, but suggested to him what to say; impressed it strongly
on him, that he could not forget it, and with such power and weight, that he was obliged
28

29. to deliver it:
and said, return unto Balak, and thus shalt thou speak; that is, unto him, and
what is expressed in Num_22:7.
TRAPP, "Numbers 23:5 And the LORD put a word in Balaam’s mouth, and said,
Return unto Balak, and thus thou shalt speak.
Ver. 5. And the Lord put a word in Balaam’s mouth.] The words thus put into his
mouth, do but pass from him; they are not polluted by him, because they are not
his! as the trunk through which a man speaks is not more eloquent for the speech
uttered through it. Balaam did not "eat" God’s word as Jeremiah did, [Jeremiah
15:16] nor believe what he had spoken, as David, and after him St Paul did. [Psalms
116:10 2 Corinthians 4:13] No more did Plato, Seneca, and other heathens, in their
divine sentences.
BI 5-12, "How shall I curse, whom God hath not cursed?
Balaam’s first parable; or, the blessedness of the people of God
Balaam’s declaration of the happiness of Israel sets forth the blessedness of the people of
God.
I. It is placed beyond the power of their enemies.
II. It consists in their separation from the ungodly. In three respects were the Israelites
separated from other nations.
1. Politically they were independent of them.
2. Morally they were separated from them.
3. By the possession of peculiar privileges they were separated from them.
III. It consists also is their vast numbers.
1. Unlimited as regards time.
2. Unlimited as regards place.
3. Unlimited as regards race or class.
IV. It consists also in righteousness of character.
V. It is in some respects desired even by the ungodly. (W. Jones.)
Balaam’s eulogy on Israel
1. He pronounceth them safe, and out of the reach of his envenomed darts.
(1) He owns the design was to curse them (verse7).
(2) He owns the design defeated, and his own inability to accomplish it. He could
not so much as give them an ill word or an ill wish (Num_23:8).
29

30. (a) The weakness and impotency of his magic skill, for which others valued
him so much, and doubtless he valued himself no less. He was the most
celebrated man of that profession, and yet owns himself baffled. God had
warned the Israelites not to use divination (Lev_19:31), and this providence
gave them a reason for that law by showing them the weakness and folly of it.
As they had seen the magicians of Egypt befooled, so here the great conjuror
of the East (Isa_47:12-14).
(b) It is a confession of the sovereignty and dominion of the Divine power.
He owns that he could do no more than God would suffer him to do; for God
could overrule all his purposes and turn his counsels headlong.
(c) It is a confession of the inviolable security of the people of God.
Note—
1. God’s Israel are owned and blessed of Him. He has not cursed them, for they are
delivered from the curse of the law; He has not abandoned them, though mean and
vile.
2. Those that have the good-will of heaven have the ill-will of hell; the serpent and
his seed have an enmity to them.
3. Though the enemies of God’s people may prevail far against them, yet they cannot
curse them: that is, they cannot do them any real mischief, much less a ruining
mischief, for they cannot separate them from the love of God (Rom_8:39).
2. He pronounceth them happy—in three things.
(1) Happy in their peculiarity, and distinction from the rest of the nations
(Num_23:9). It is the duty and honour of those that are dedicated to God to be
separated from the world, and not to walk according to the course of it. Those
who make conscience of peculiar duties may take the comfort of peculiar
privileges, which it is likely Balaam has an eye to here; God’s Israel shall not
stand upon a level with other nations, but be dignified above them all, as a people
near to God and set apart for Him.
(2) Happy in their numbers; not so few and despicable as they were represented
to Him, but an innumerable company which made them both honourable and
formidable (Num_23:10). Balak would have him see the utmost part of the
people (Num_22:41), hoping the more he saw of them the more would he be
exasperated against them, and throw out his curses with the more keenness and
rage; but it proved quite contrary; instead of being angry at their numbers he
admired them. The better we are acquainted with God’s people the better opinion
we have of them. He takes notice of the number—
(a) Of the dust of Jacob, i.e., the people of Jacob, concerning whom it was
foretold that they should be as the dust for number (Gen_28:14). Thus he
owns the fulfilling of the promise made to the fathers, and expects that it
should be yet further accomplished.
(b) Of the fourth part of Israel; alluding to the form of their camp which was
cast into four squadrons under four standards. Note, God’s Israel is a very
great body; His spiritual Israel is so, and they will appear to be so, when they
shall all be gathered together unto Him in the great day (Rev_7:9).
30

31. (3) Happy in their last end. Let me die the death of the righteous Israelites, that
are in covenant with God, and let my last end, or future state, be like theirs, or
my recompense, viz., in the other world. Here—
(a) It is taken for granted that death is the end of all men; the righteous
themselves must die; and it is good for each of us to think of this with
application, as Balaam himself doth here, speaking of his own death.
(b) He goes upon the supposition of the soul’s immortality, and a different
state on the other side death, to which this is a noble testimony, and an
evidence of its being anciently known and believed. For how could the death
of the righteous be more desirable than the death of the wicked upon any
other account, but that of a happiness in another world, since in the manner
and circumstances of dying we see all things come alike to all?
(c) He pronounceth the righteous truly blessed, not only while they live, but
when they die; which makes their death not only more desirable than the
death of others, but even more desirable than life itself; for in that sense his
wish may be taken. Not only when I do die, let me die the death of the
righteous; but I could even now be willing to die, on that condition that I
might die the death of the righteous and take my end this moment provided it
might be like his. (Matthew Henry, D. D.)
The distinctive character of God’s people
I. The twofold question proposed.
1. “How shall I curse, whom God hath not cursed?” This supposes that God had
blessed Israel. To be blessed of the Lord is all that a man can desire. But who are they
that are blessed of God?
(1) They on whom God has set His love; not for anything in them to merit that
love.
(2) When that solemn engagement was entered into, the Book of Eternal Life
was written, and the names of those ordained to it written therein.
2. “How shall I defy, whom the Lord hath not defied?” The idea refers to warfare
(1Sa_17:45). God’s spiritual Israel, whose names are in the Book of Life, are they
whom God hath not defied, that is, He hath made them more than conquerors
through Him that loved them. And, in order to see this, we must look upon them as
being in Christ, their Covenant Head, from all eternity. So that, just as He came off
more than conqueror over all His spiritual foes, so shall they.
II. Notice how conspicuous Israel is in the eyes of God.
1. “For from the top of the rocks I see him.” We may regard God as saying this of His
people, chosen in Christ.
(1) There is the rock of the everlasting covenant. He sees them not as sinful. He
sees not perverseness in them, but He sees them accepted in the Beloved, and
made complete in Him.
(2) There is the rock of sovereign grace.
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32. (3) There is the rock of God’s faithfulness.
2. From the hills I behold him.
(1) God’s eternity.
(2) God’s uuchangeableness.
III. The distinctiveness of Israel from the world. “Lo, the people shall dwell alone,” &c.
God’s regenerated blood-bought people, as a spiritual fact, live alone. True, they are in
the world, perform its duties, and are reckoned among the nations, but they are not of
the world (Joh_15:19). As soon as God calls them in His grace, puts His Spirit in them,
and makes them new creatures in Christ Jesus, from that time they may be said to live
alone. For, let a regenerated person live in the same house in which are a number of
unregenerate persons, his own relatives, he lives alone, for he has desires and feelings
and spiritual sympathies different from theirs. His dwelling-place is on high; he walks
with God in the light of the living; the Spirit of God draws his affections upwards, so that
he may be said to live alone, so far as outward society goes. Yet he is not alone, for he has
the presence of God with him. (J. J. Eastmead.)
The people shall dwell alone.—
Israel dwelling alone
I. The exact fulfilment of this ancient prediction, in every different age constitutes one of
the most astonishing features of Jewish history.
1. Travellers have related that the deep red waters of the Rhone, flowing into the
Lake of Geneva, may afterwards be traced for miles and miles; the dark, turbid
stream of the river still refusing to mingle with the clear waters of the lake. And thus
it is, and ever has been, with the Jews. Like that river they have in every age
continued a distinct people, and this too amidst circumstances which, it might have
been thought, must have inevitably broken down every middle wall of partition
between them and others.
2. And there is yet another consideration. It is without a parallel in the history of the
world. In every case where even the most discordant elements have been thrown
together, they have imperceptibly blended in the course of ages.
II. Some of the improving reflections which it may be intended that we should derive
from the prophecy.
1. There is a national use to be made of this prediction of Balaam. What is literally
true of Israel is spiritually true of England. We, as a people, may be said to be
“dwelling alone.” In regard to our mercies, our privileges, and our blessings, how
much have we received above all other people under heaven! No slavery tolerated
amongst us—law for the poorest—protection for the weakest, and the homes of
England bright and happy—such as are found nowhere else. And above all the rest,
the greatness of our religious privileges.
2. But, from the national, let us turn to the individual application of the prophecy.
Let us admonish you that there is an important sense in which every Christian must
“dwell alone.” You cannot follow Christ and yet be like other men. (H. Hutton, M. A.)
32

33. The true Israel dwelling alone, and not reckoned among the nations
This text is a prophecy, and hath more steps towards its accomplishment than one. The
prosperity and distinction of a far more illustrious family than the house of Israel are
intended here: While, therefore, the literal Israel are the type, the prophecy is to be
applied to the saints of God in every age as the antitype.
I. Specify some circumstances in the history of Israel, strongly typical of the people of
God in all ages. In this view, the history of Israel becomes an instructive emblem of the
original state, deliverance, pilgrimage, and happy rest of the ransomed of the Lord.
II. Specify some of the peculiarities which distinguish them from the rest of the world.
My text represents them as a distinct incorporated society. They are a people—a people
dwelling—a people dwelling alone—and a people who shall not be reckoned among the
nations. They are a distinct people, as to their extraction, as to their language, as to their
privileges, as to their objects of pursuit, as to their manners, as to their allies, as to their
sorrows, and as to their joys.
III. Point out whence it is that the redeemed of the Lord are such a singular people.
“They shall not be reckoned among the nations.” Literally has this prediction been
accomplished in the history of the posterity of Jacob. Understanding the prediction in
relation to God’s redeemed people, I have these four particulars to adduce, in accounting
for this singularity. They are not reckoned among the nations.
1. Because they were ordained to this distinction in the electing purpose.
2. Because they were consecrated to this singularity by the blood of the Surety.
3. Because they are disposed by the grace of God to choose this distinction for
themselves.
4. Because natural men possess no inclination to submit to their restrictions. Upon a
review of all that has been said do not you perceive—
(1) That regeneration, or the new birth, produces an immense change at once
upon the nature, the state, the temper, and manners of men? They keep
themselves “unspotted from the world,” by “walking in the fear of the Lord.”
(2) See the reality, as well as importance, of the distinction between the Church
and the world. (W. Taylor.)
An appeal in behalf of the Society for Promoting Christianity among the
Jews
How awful is the contrast in this history between the mind of God and the designs and
wishes of man! And I am disposed to think that such a reference will lead us to the
conclusion that the conduct of men in all ages has borne a resemblance to that of the
king of Moab in this particular instance; and that the people whom God has especially
distinguished and blessed has been singularly the object of the contempt or cruelty of
man.
I. In the first place, we are to examine the contrast in different ages between the designs
33

34. of God and the conduct of man towards the people of Israel.
1. And here it is scarcely necessary to observe that the persecution of the Jews on
their journey to the promised land was not confined to the instance recorded in the
text. The Egyptian persecution, for instance, has scarcely any parallel in history.
2. But let us pass on to another period. It pleased God, in a most singular manner, to
stir up the mind of Cyrus to rebuild the temple of Jerusalem. But no sooner was the
merciful design developed, than the hostility of man discovered itself. The books in
which the history of the rebuilding of the temple is recorded, describe a succession of
the most criminal plots to resist its progress.
3. Thus, also, at a third period. No epoch is more distinguished by the merciful
designs of God in favour of the Jews than the time of our Lord’s appearance upon
earth. One of the highest evidences of the favour of God, is the gift or increase of the
means of religious instruction. Consider, then, the peculiar privileges of the Jews at
the coming of Christ. But how were they regarded by the inhabitants of the world?
They were neglected, and they were oppressed. They were enslaved by the Romans,
and every species of indignity was inflicted upon them.
4. But let us now come to a fourth period, viz., to our own days. And here it is
necessary to observe that, notwithstanding the continued unbelief of the Jews, the
merciful intentions of God towards His prostrate people are as obvious now as at any
other period of their history. They are indeed fallen, but is the patience of God
therefore towards them exhausted—has He no mercies in store for them—does He
mean to leave them in the dust? Such is the design of God with regard to the people
of Israel, which is revealed to ourselves. And now let us contrast it with the conduct
of mankind. Consider, then, the contempt in which the Jews are almost universally
held. Is not the word Jew a name almost of execration among many? But can such a
feeling be made to harmonise with the designs of God? Can the voice of insult have
any concord with the lofty and triumphant songs and triumphs of prophecy?
II. I proceed to examine some of the reasons by which this opposition to the will of God
is justified.
1. Some persons attempt to vindicate their neglect of the Jews by a reference to the
crimes of this people in the earlier stage of their history. But then, are we to be the
administrators of Divine vengeance? Are we, by a sort of posthumous retribution, to
visit the crimes of other ages upon the people of this?
2. A second reason for this neglect of the Jews is founded upon the defects of their
present character. Can a people such as these merit any public regard? Are they not
stamped with all the features most offensive to God and to good men? These also are
facts not to be disputed. Their rejection of Christ has brought with it a train of the
most tremendous curses: His “blood” has been and is “upon them and upon their
children.” Their moral defects spring from their religious defects. They want honesty,
because they are ignorant of Christ. They want purity, because they have never been
led to the fountain which “cleanseth from all sin.” Give them, under God, a
knowledge of their Saviour, and you shall see the graces of Christianity bursting
upon the barren soil, the water rushing from the rock, and the wilderness
blossoming like the rose.
3. Again, a third class of objectors say, “Why not leave the Jews as you find them? It
is inhuman to disturb their repose, and introduce faction among them.” To this I
34

35. answer, If the conduct of the friends of this society is intolerant, it is the intolerance
of Heaven: it is the intolerance of the “good Shepherd who laid down His life for the
sheep.”
4. A fourth class of objectors have said, “You take upon yourselves to be, not only the
interpreters, but the agents and executors of prophecy. Because God has predicted
that the Jews are to be restored, you assume that He means you to be the
administrators of His plans.”—We answer, no; we are not following the voice of
prophecy, which may apply to others as well as to ourselves: we are obeying the
command of God, which must apply to ourselves in common with all Christians.
5. Again, it has been said by some, “We discover no particular encouragement to
undertake the conversion of the Jews at the present moment, either in the
circumstances of our own country, or in those of the world in general.” To this I
reply, that I do discover such encouragement. I discover it in the dislocation of the
Mahometan power, which has always been the grand political barrier to Jewish
restoration. I discover it in the fact that many of the Jews themselves entertain the
same opinion. I discover it in the remarkable circumstance, which appears to be well
authenticated, of many Jews having manifested of late a singular disposition to
migrate to their own land. I hear again the voice of Him, who condescended to spring
from a Jewish mother, and to dwell upon its favoured soil, calling upon us to teach
all nations, “beginning at Jerusalem.” “The age of chivalry is gone.” And God be
praised that it is, if by that term is designated the unnatural combinations of pious
zeal and fiery ambition, by which the Crusaders were characterised. But, thank God,
the age of Christian zeal is not gone. And to that zeal I would now present an
adequate, a sublime, a most interesting object. It is before men inflamed by this holy
ambition I would lift up the banner of the Cross. Oh, remember that even now “the
gates of the daughter of Zion lament and mourn, and that she, being desolate, sits on
the ground.” (J. W. Cunningham, M. A.)
Balaam’s vision and prayer
I. His splendid vision.
1. He saw the pleasant tent-life of the people. Reposing peacefully on the strong arm
of the Lord. Every truly good man’s life is an illustration.
2. He saw the shadow of Israel’s impending victory.
3. He saw Israel’s most savage foe, Balak, chained to his lair.
II. His beautiful prayer.
1. He believed in death, aye, in two sorts of death; he puts the death of the righteous
over against the death of the wicked, though he makes no mention of the latter.
2. He believed that the death of the righteous was always desirable. (W. V. Young.)
The vision from the rocks
So from these desert lands, and these desert hills, we gaze upon the Church on her way
to Canaan, about to be settled in the blessed land and holy city. And when we gaze, what
35

36. do we see?
I. The ruggedness of the land of our present sojourn. It is the region of hostility as well
as barrenness. This is not our rest. These dark mountains are not our home.
II. The glorious land. Afar off just now, but still visible, still beautiful. It is the paradise
of God; it is the new Jerusalem; the city which hath foundations; the new heavens and
new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.
III. A people delivered from a present evil world. Once in bondage, now free; once
groaning under oppression, now in the service of a heavenly Master, and heirs of the
world to come; the Red Sea crossed, and now between them and their persecutors an
iron wall. Forgiven and redeemed; with their backs on Egypt, and their faces to
Jerusalem.
IV. A people sustained by Jehovah Himself. Theirs is the hidden manna, the water from
the smitten rock. Jehovah feeds them; Jehovah gives them the living water. It is not man
but God who cares for them.
V. A pilgrim band. They are strangers on the earth; this is not their home; here is not
their city. Their loins are girt, and their staff is in their hand, and they are hastening
onward. No sitting down; no taking ease; no folding of their hands. Forward, still
forward, is their watchword!
VI. A people bought with a price. Their ransom has been blood; and they are not their
own. Another life has gone for theirs.
VII. A people loved with an infinite love. The banner that is over them is love. The song
they sing is love, “Unto Him that loved us.” It is a love which passeth knowledge; a love
without bound or end; a love eternal and Divine.
VIII. A people preparing to pass over to the goodly land. (H. Bonar, D. D.)
6 So he went back to him and found him standing
beside his offering, with all the Moabite officials.
GILL, "And he returned unto him,.... Immediately, as soon as he was told what to
say:
and, lo, he stood by his burnt sacrifice; continued in his devotions, hoping for
success, and waiting for Balaam's return:
he and all the princes of Moab; not only those that were sent to Balaam, but
36

37. perhaps all the princes of the kingdom who were got together on this occasion, and by
reason of the imminent danger they apprehended the nation was in on account of Israel.
HENRY, "Balaam pronounces the blessing in the ears of Balak. He found him
standing by his burnt-sacrifice (Num_23:6), closely attending it, and earnestly
expecting the success. those that wold have an answer of peace from God must abide by
the sacrifice, and attend on the Lord without distraction, not weary in well doing.
Balaam, having fixed himself in the place appointed for his denouncing curses against
Israel, which perhaps he had drawn up in form ready to deliver, takes up his parable,
and it proves a blessing, Num_23:7. He pronounces Israel safe and happy, and so
blesses them.
WHEDON, "6. All the princes of Moab — The king and the princes faithfully
watched their smoking altars, anxiously awaiting the return of the man who was
reputed to have influence with Jehovah sufficient to call down wasting and mildew
upon the glistening tents of their enemies spread out in the plains below. They
hoped that the angel of death would hover over their foes with pestilence and
destruction on his wings when the curse should stream from the mouth of the
mighty magician.
7 Then Balaam spoke his message:
“Balak brought me from Aram,
the king of Moab from the eastern mountains.
‘Come,’ he said, ‘curse Jacob for me;
come, denounce Israel.’
BARNES, "Aram - Or, “highland.” This term denotes the whole elevated region,
from the northeastern frontier of Palestine to the Euphrates and the Tigris. The country
between these streams was especially designated “Aram-naharaim,” or “Aram of the two
rivers:” the Greeks called it Mesopotamia; and here, according to Deu_23:4, was
Balaam’s home. Compare Num_22:5 note.
37

38. GILL, "And he took up his parable, and said,.... Pronounced the word, the
prophetic word, which God had put into his mouth; so the Targums of Jonathan and
Jerusalem call it, the parable of his prophecy; so called, because, in prophecies, often
figurative and enigmatical expressions are used, and also sententious and weighty ones,
either of which are sometimes called parables; see Psa_78:2,
Balak the king of Moab hath brought me from Aram; or Syria, that is, from
Mesopotamia, as the Septuagint translate it; and so the Targum of Jonathan, from Aram
or Syria, which is by Euphrates:
out of the mountains of the east: it being the mountainous part of Mesopotamia or
Chaldea, where Balaam dwelt, which lay to the east of the land of Moab:
saying, come, curse me Jacob, and come, defy Israel; he owns that this was
Balak's view in sending for him; nor does he deny that be himself came with such an
intention, could he be able to execute it; even curse the people of Israel, with the utmost
abhorrence and detestation of them, and in the most furious and wrathful manner, as
the last word used signifies.
HENRY 7-10, "He pronounces them safe, and out of the reach of his envenomed
darts. [1.] He owns that the design was to curse them, that Balak sent for him out of his
own country, and that he came, with that intent, Num_23:7. The message sent to him
was, Come, curse me Jacob, and come, defy Israel. Balak intended to make war upon
them, and he would have Balaam to bless his arms, and to prophesy and pray for the
ruin of Israel. [2.] He owns the design defeated, and his own inability to accomplish it.
He could not so much as give them an ill word or an ill wish: How shall I curse those
whom God has not cursed? Num_23:8. Not that therefore he would not do it, but
therefore he could not do it. this is a fair confession, First, Of the weakness and
impotency of his own magic skill, for which others valued him so much, and doubtless
he valued himself no less. He was the most celebrated man of that profession, and yet
owns himself baffled. God had warned the Israelites not to use divination (Lev_19:31),
and this providence gave them a reason for that law, by showing them the weakness and
folly of it. As they had seen the magicians of Egypt befooled, so, here, the great conjurer
of the east. See Isa_47:12-14. Secondly, It is a confession of the sovereignty and
dominion of the divine power. He owns that he could do no more than God would suffer
him to do, for God could overrule all his purposes, and turn his counsels headlong.
Thirdly, It is a confession of the inviolable security of the people of God. Note, 1. God's
Israel are owned and blessed of him. He has not cursed them, for they are delivered from
the curse of the law; he has not defied them, nor rejected or abandoned them, though
mean and vile. 2. Those that have the good-will of Heaven have the ill-will of hell; the
serpent and this seed have an enmity to them. 3. Though the enemies of God's people
may prevail far against them, yet they cannot curse them; that is, they cannot do them
any real mischief, much less a ruining mischief, for they cannot separate them from the
love of God, Rom_8:39.
(2.) He pronounces them happy in three things: -
[1.] Happy in their peculiarity, and distinction from the rest of the nations: From the
top of the rock I see him, Num_23:9. And it seems to have been a great surprise to him
that whereas, it is probable, they were represented to him as a rude and disorderly
rabble, that infested the countries round about in rambling parties, he was them a
38

39. regular incorporated camp, in which appeared all the marks of discipline and good
order; he saw them a people dwelling alone, and foresaw they would continue so, and
their singularity would be their unspeakable honour. Persons of quality we call person of
distinction; this was Israel's praise, though their enemies turned it to their reproach,
that they differed from all the neighbouring nations, not only in their religion and sacred
rites, but in their diet, and dress, and common usages, as a people called out of the
world, and not to be conformed to it. They never lost their reputation till they mingled
among the heathen, Psa_106:35. Note, It is the duty and honour of those that are
dedicated to God to be separated from the world, and not to walk according to the course
and custom of it. Those who make conscience of peculiar duties may take the comfort of
peculiar privileges, which it is probable Balaam has an eye to here. God's Israel shall not
stand upon a level with other nations, but be dignified above them all, as a people near
to God, and set apart for him.
[2.] Happy in their numbers, not so few and despicable as they were represented to
him, but an innumerable company, which made them both honourable and formidable
(Num_23:10): Who can count the dust of Jacob? The number of the people was the
thing that Balak was vexed at (Num_22:3): Moab was afraid of them, because they
were many; and God does here by Balaam promote that fear and vexation, foretelling
their further increase. Balak would have him see the utmost part of the people (Num_
22:41), hoping the more he saw of them the more he would be exasperated against them,
and throw about his curses with the more keenness and rage; but it proved quite
contrary: instead of being angry at their numbers, he admired them. The better
acquainted we are with God's people the better opinion we have of them. He takes notice
of the number, First, Of the dust of Jacob; that is, the people of Jacob, concerning whom
it was foretold that they should be as the dust for number, Gen_28:14. Thus he owns the
fulfilling of the promise made to the fathers, and expects that it should be yet further
accomplished. Perhaps it was part of David's fault in numbering the people that he
offered to count the dust of Jacob, which God had said should be innumerable.
Secondly, Of the fourth part of Israel, alluding to the form of their camp, which was cast
into four squadrons, under four standards. Note, God's Israel are a very great body, his
spiritual Israel are so, and they will appear to be so when they shall all be gathered
together unto him in the great day, Rev_7:9.
[3.] Happy in their end: Let me die the death of the righteous Israelites, that are in
covenant with God, and let my last end, or future state, be like theirs, or my
recompence, namely, in the other world. Here, First, It is taken for granted that death is
the end of all men; the righteous themselves must die: and it is good for us to think of
this with application, as Balaam himself does here, speaking of his own death. Secondly,
he goes upon the supposition of the soul's immortality, and a different state on the other
side death, to which this is a noble testimony, and an evidence of its being anciently
known and believed. For how could the death of the righteous be more desirable than
the death of the wicked upon any other account than as it involved happiness in another
world, since in the manner and circumstances of dying we see all things come alike to
all? Thirdly, He pronounces the righteous truly blessed, not only while they live, but
when they die, which makes their death not only more desirable than the death of
others, but even more desirable than life itself; for in that sense his wish may be taken.
Not only, “When I do die, let me die the death of the righteous;” but, “I could even now
be willing to die, on condition that I might die the death of the righteous, and reach my
end this moment, provided it might be like his.” Very near the place where Balaam now
was, on one of the mountains of Moab, not long after this, Moses died, and to that
39

40. perhaps God, who put this word into his mouth, designed it should have a reference,
that by it Moses might be encouraged to go up and die such a death as Balaam himself
wished to die. Fourthly, He shows his opinion of religion to be better than his
resolution; there are many who desire to die the death of the righteous, but do not
endeavour to live the life of the righteous. Gladly would they have their end like theirs,
but not their way. They would be saints in heaven, but not saints on earth. This is the
desire of the slothful, which kills him, because his hands refuse to labour. This of
Balaam's is only a wish, not a prayer, and it is a vain wish, being only a wish for the end,
without any care for the means. Thus far this blessing goes, even to death, and beyond it,
as far as the last end. Now,
JAMISON, "took up his parable — that is, spoke under the influence of
inspiration, and in the highly poetical, figurative, and oracular style of a prophet.
brought me from Aram — This word joined with “the mountains of the East,”
denotes the upper portion of Mesopotamia, lying on the east of Moab. The East enjoyed
an infamous notoriety for magicians and soothsayers (Isa_2:6).
K&D, "Balaam's first saying. - Having come back to the burnt-offering, Balaam
commenced his utterance before the king and the assembled princes. ‫ל‬ָ‫שׁ‬ ָ‫,מ‬ lit., a simile,
then a proverb, because the latter consists of comparisons and figures, and lastly a
sentence or saying. The application of this term to the announcements made by Balaam
(Num_23:7, Num_23:18, Num_24:3, Num_24:15, Num_24:20), whereas it is never
used of the prophecies of the true prophets of Jehovah, but only of certain songs and
similes inserted in them (cf. Isa_14:4; Eze_17:2; Eze_24:3; Mic_2:4), is to be accounted
for not merely from the poetic form of Balaam's utterances, the predominance of
poetical imagery, the sustained parallelism, the construction of the whole discourse in
brief pointed sentences, and other peculiarities of poetic language (e.g., ‫,בּנ‬ Num_24:3,
Num_24:15), but it points at the same time to the difference which actually exists
between these utterances and the predictions of the true prophets. The latter are
orations addressed to the congregation, which deduce from the general and peculiar
relation of Israel to the Lord and to His law, the conduct of the Lord towards His people
either in their own or in future times, proclaiming judgment upon the ungodly and
salvation to the righteous. “Balaam's mental eye,” on the contrary, as Hengstenberg
correctly observes, “was simply fixed upon what he saw; and this he reproduced without
any regard to the impression that it was intended to make upon those who heard it.” But
the very first utterance was of such a character as to deprive Balak of all hope that his
wishes would be fulfilled.
Num_23:7
“Balak, the king of Moab, fetches me from Aram, from the mountains of the East,”
i.e., of Mesopotamia, which was described, as far back as Gen_29:1, as the land of the
sons of the East (cf. Num_22:5). Balaam mentions the mountains of his home in
contradistinction to the mountains of the land of the Moabites upon which he was then
standing. “Come, curse me Jacob, and come threaten Israel.” Balak had sent for him for
this purpose (see Num_22:11, Num_22:17). ‫ה‬ ָ‫ֲמ‬‫ע‬ֹ‫ז‬, for ‫ה‬ ָ‫מ‬ ְ‫ָע‬‫ז‬, imperative (see Ewald, §
228, b.). ‫ם‬ַ‫ָע‬‫ז‬, to be angry, here to give utterance to the wrath of God, synonymous with
40

41. ‫ב‬ ַ‫ָק‬‫נ‬ or ‫ב‬ ַ‫ב‬ ָ‫,ק‬ to curse. Jacob: a poetical name for the nation, equivalent to Israel.
CALVIN, "7.And he took up his parable and said. The word ‫,משל‬ mashal, signifies
all weighty and notable sayings, especially when expressed in exalted language. The
meaning, therefore, is, that Balaam began to speak eloquently, and in no ordinary
strain. Nor can it be doubted but that he aroused Balak’s attention by this grandeur
of language through God’s secret influence; that the wretched man might
acknowledge that Balaam now spoke in no mortal fashion, but that there was
something of divine inspiration in his words, so that his mind might be the more
deeply affected by the revelation. The sum of what he said was to this effect, that
there was not merely perversity and folly in Balak’s design to curse the people, but
that whatever he attempted would be vain and useless, since he was fighting against
God. At the same time, he renounces for himself that power, which Balak was
persuaded that he eminently possessed: for Moses has already recorded the words of
Balak before spoken, “I know that he whom thou cursest is cursed,” as if the power
of God were transferred to him, so that he might exercise it according to his will.
But what was this, but to depose God from His supremacy? Consequently this
abominable imagination is refuted by the mouth of Balaam, when he attributes the
right of blessing to God alone. “How (he says) should I curse except according to
God’s command?” not that God always restrains the wicked from declaring what is
opposed to His truth: for we know that they often prate at random, vomit forth their
blasphemies by the mouthful, obscure the light by their falsehoods, and endeavor, as
far as in them lies, to overthrow the faithfulness of God. But inasmuch as Balaam
was compelled to play a different part, viz., to proclaim the revelation suggested to
him by God, he confesses that his tongue was tied, so that he could not utter a single
syllable against God’s command.
Since mention is made of Syria, some have supposed that Balaam was fetched from
Mesopotamia; and some color was given to this mistake, because the art of
divination had its rise amongst the Chaldeans. But, as has been said before, it is not
credible that the fame of the man should have extended so far; and again, in the
short time during which the people remained there, how could an embassy have
been twice sent to a distant country? for they would have occupied at least six
months. Besides, we shall soon see that he was slain among the Midianites. But it is
very probable that the country was included under the name of Aram or Syria,
which even profane authors describe as contiguous to Arabia, towards the Red Sea.
Now, since, in reference to the land of Moab, Midian was to the eastward, and,
moreover, was high and mountainous, it is rightly added that he was called “from
the mountains of the east;” and thus does he designate a place well known to the
Moabites, on account of its neighborhood to them.
COFFMAN, "FIRST ORACLE
"From Aram hath Balak brought me,
41

42. The king of Moab from the mountains of the East:
Come, curse me Jacob,
And come, defy Israel.
How shall I curse, whom God hath not cursed?
And how shall I defy, whom Jehovah hath not defied?
For from the top of the rocks I see him,
And from the hills I behold him:
Lo, it is a people that dwelleth alone,
And shall not be reckoned among the nations.
Who can count the dust of Jacob,
Or number the fourth part of Israel?
Let me die the death of the righteous,
And let my last end be like his!"
"Aram ..." (Numbers 23:7b). "This is the ancient name of Mesopotamia."[9] "It
includes the northern part of Mesopotamia and Syria as far south as the borders of
Palestine and the larger part of Arabia Petraea."[10] Note that "mountains of the
East" are in apposition with Aram, and this helps to identify its location.
"Who can count the dust of Jacob ..." (Numbers 23:10). God had promised
Abraham that his posterity should be as innumerable as the stars of the heaven or
the "dust of the earth" (Genesis 13:16); and here is a confirmation of that prophecy
in the mouth of Balaam. Could this have derived in any manner from anything in
Balaam's mind? No! We must reject interpretations that are based upon what
scholars suppose that Balaam "had in mind." Balaam was not the author of these
prophecies. God gave them. Carson, for example, rejected the thought that there
was any reference to the "after-life" in Balaam's last lines here, saying that, "The
thought of blessing beyond the grave could hardly have been in Balaam's
mind!"[11] Certainly that comment is true, but, since the words here are of God,
and not of Balaam, it can hardly be denied that the request as it stands is surely big
enough to include life after death.
"Let me die the death of the righteous ..." The word "righteous" here (Numbers
42

43. 23:10) is plural and therefore refers to all of the nation of Israel. His in the same
context also speaks of the nation "as a corporate unity."[12] As far as it pertained to
Balaam, such a request was futile. He died fighting on the side of the enemies of
Israel (Numbers 31:8).
TRAPP. "Numbers 23:7 And he took up his parable, and said, Balak the king of
Moab hath brought me from Aram, out of the mountains of the east, [saying], Come,
curse me Jacob, and come, defy Israel.
Ver. 7. And he took up his parable.] Or, Pithy and powerful speech, uttered in
numerous and sententious terms, and taken among the heathen for prophecies or
oracles: poemata pro vaticiniis, &c. Poets were taken for prophets, [Titus 1:12] and
poems for prophecies. Hence their ‫,ףפןיקןלבםפויב‬ wherein opening a book of Homer,
Hesiod, &c., they took upon them, by the first verse they lighted upon, to divine.
Tragedians also, for their parables, or master sentences, were highly esteemed of
old, insomuch as, after the discomfit of the Athenians in Sicily, they were relieved
who could repeat somewhat of Euripides.
Out of Aram.] Aram Naharim, or Mesopotamia, so called, because it is situated
between those two rivers of Paradise, Tigris and Euphrates. This was Abraham’s
country, where, while he was in it, he "served strange gods." [Joshua 24:2]
POOLE, " He took up, to wit, into his mouth; he expressed or spoke.
His parable, i.e. his oracular and prophetical speech; which he calls a parable,
because of the weightiness of the matter, and the majesty and smartness of the
expressions which is usual in parables.
From Aram; from Aram, Naharaim, or Mesopotamia, Deuteronomy 23:4. See
Genesis 10:22. Aram lay
towards the mountains of the east: the east was infamous for charmers or
soothsayers, Isaiah 2:6.
Jacob; the posterity of Jacob, i.e. Israel, as it here follows.
WHEDON, " BALAAM’S FIRST PROPHECY, Numbers 23:7-12.
7. Parable — Hebrew mashal, a simile. Hengstenberg makes the use of this word in
reference to the prophecies of Balaam an indication of the difference between them
and real prophecy. All these oracular speeches of Balaam are, in the Hebrew, in a
highly poetic form. They are dignified and sublime productions immediately caused
by the Spirit of God. The mental eye of the speaker was fixed only upon what he
saw, and this he uttered without the least regard to the expectations and desires of
43

44. his hearers. The very first utterance must have extinguished all hope in the mind of
the Moabite king. Aram literally signifies the high land. The Seventy render it
Mesopotamia. See Numbers 22:5, note; Deuteronomy 23:4; Genesis 29:1, note.
When Aram is used alone it generally denotes Western Syria, and when
Mesopotamia is designated the word naharayim, of the two rivers, is added. This
high land swarmed with soothsayers.
Of the east — The exact direction was northeast. The Hebrews were accustomed to
specify only the four principal points of the compass.
Defy — Rather detest, with angry threats and fierce indignation. See Daniel 11:30.
PULPIT, "Took up his parable. ‫ל‬ ָ‫שׁ‬ ָ‫מ‬ (cf. Numbers 21:27). Balaam's
utterances were in the highest degree poetical, according to the antithetic
form of the poetry of that day, which delighted in sustained parallelisms, in
lofty figures, and in abrupt turns. The "mashal" of Balaam resembled the
"burden" of the later prophets in this, that it was not a discourse uttered to
men, but a thing revealed in him of which he had to deliver himself as best
he might in such words as came to him. His inward eye was fixed on this
revelation, and he gave utterance to it without consideration of those who
heard. Aram, i.e; Aram-Naharaim, or Mesopotamia (cf. Genesis 29:1;
Deuteronomy 23:4). Defy, or "threaten,' i.e; with the wrath of Heaven.
Jacob. The use of this name as the poetical equivalent of Israel shows that
Balaam was familiar with the story of the patriarch, and understood his
relation to the people before him.
8 How can I curse
those whom God has not cursed?
How can I denounce
those whom the Lord has not denounced?
CLARKE"How shall I curse, whom God hath not cursed? - It was granted on
all hands that no incantations nor imprecations could avail, unless God concurred and
44

45. ratified them. From God’s communication to Balaam he saw that God was determined to
bless and defend Israel, and therefore all endeavors to injure them must be in vain.
GILL, "How shall I curse whom God hath not cursed?.... The sense is, that it was
impossible for him to curse those that God did not curse himself, or would not have
cursed by others; not but that he had a good will to it, to get Balak's money and honour,
but he knew not how to accomplish it; yea, he saw it was in vain to attempt it, it was a
thing that could not possibly be done: God does not, nor will he curse his spiritual Israel;
they are blessed by him in Christ, and they shall be blessed; nor is it in the power of their
enemies to curse them, or do them any harm: the Targums of Jonathan and Jerusalem,
instead of God and the Lord in this and the following clause, use the phase,"the Word of
the Lord;''the essential Word, the Son of God, who is so far from cursing his people, that
he has delivered them from the curses of the law, being made a curse for them, that the
blessings of the everlasting covenant of grace might come upon them; and they are
blessed of God in him, and for his sake, with all spiritual blessings:
or how shall I defy whom the Lord hath not defied? which is the same thing in
other words, only this last word is expressive of more contempt and indignation.
JAMISON, "How shall I curse, whom God hath not cursed? — A divine
blessing has been pronounced over the posterity of Jacob; and therefore, whatever
prodigies can be achieved by my charms, all magical skill, all human power, is utterly
impotent to counteract the decree of God.
K&D 8-10, "Num_23:8-10
“How shall I curse whom God does not curse, and how threaten whom Jehovah does
not threaten?” Balak imagined, like all the heathen, that Balaam, as a goetes and
magician, could distribute blessings and curses according to his own will, and put such
constraint upon his God as to make Him subservient to his own will (see at Num_22:6).
The seer opposes this delusion: The God of Israel does not curse His people, and
therefore His servant cannot curse them. The following verses (Num_23:9 and Num_
23:10) give the reason why: “For from the top of the rocks I see him, and from the hills I
behold him. Lo, it is a people that dwelleth apart, and is not numbered among the
heathen. Who determines the dust of Jacob, and in number the fourth part of Israel?
Let my soul die the death of the righteous, and my end be like his?” There were two
reasons which rendered it impossible for Balaam to curse Israel: (1) Because they were a
people both outwardly and inwardly different from other nations, and (2) because they
were a people richly blessed and highly favoured by God. From the top of the mountains
Balaam looked down upon the people of Israel. The outward and earthly height upon
which he stood was the substratum of the spiritual height upon which the Spirit of God
had placed him, and had so enlightened his mental sight, that he was able to discern all
the peculiarities and the true nature of Israel. In this respect the first thing that met his
view was the fact that this people dwelt alone. Dwelling alone does not denote a quiet
and safe retirement, as many commentators have inferred from Deu_33:28; Jer_49:31,
and Mic_7:14; but, according to the parallel clause, “it is not reckoned among the
nations,” it expresses the separation of Israel from the rest of the nations. This
45

46. separation was manifested outwardly to the seer's eye in the fact that “the host of Israel
dwelt by itself in a separate encampment upon the plain. In this his spirit discerned the
inward and essential separation of Israel from all the heathen” (Baumgarten). This
outward “dwelling alone” was a symbol of their inward separation from the heathen
world, by virtue of which Israel was not only saved from the fate of the heathen world,
but could not be overcome by the heathen; of course only so long as they themselves
should inwardly maintain this separation from the heathen, and faithfully continue in
covenant with the Lord their God, who had separated them from among the nations to
be His own possession. As soon as Israel lost itself in heathen ways, it also lost its own
external independence. This rule applies to the Israel of the New Testament as well as
the Israel of the Old, to the congregation or Church of God of all ages. ‫ב‬ֵ‫שּׁ‬ ַ‫ח‬ ְ‫ת‬ִ‫י‬ ‫ע‬ , “it
does not reckon itself among the heathen nations,” i.e., it does not share the lot of the
other nations, because it has a different God and protector from the heathen (cf. Deu_
4:8; Deu_33:29). The truth of this has been so marvellously realized in the history of the
Israelites, notwithstanding their falling short of the idea of their divine calling, “that
whereas all the mightier kingdoms of the ancient world, Egypt, Assyria, Babel, etc., have
perished without a trace, Israel, after being rescued from so many dangers which
threatened utter destruction under the Old Testament, still flourishes in the Church of
the New Testament, and continues also to exist in that part which, though rejected now,
is destined one day to be restored” (Hengstenberg).
In this state of separation from the other nations, Israel rejoiced in the blessing of its
God, which was already visible in the innumerable multitude into which it had grown.
“Who has ever determined the dust of Jacob?” As the dust cannot be numbered, so is the
multitude of Israel innumerable. These words point back to the promise in Gen_13:16,
and applied quite as much to the existing state as to the future of Israel. The beginning of
the miraculous fulfilment of the promise given to the patriarchs of an innumerable
posterity, was already before their eyes (cf. Deu_10:22). Even now the fourth part of
Israel is not to be reckoned. Balaam speaks of the fourth part with reference to the
division of the nation into four camps (ch. 2), of which he could see only one from his
point of view (Num_22:41), and therefore only the fourth part of the nation. ‫ר‬ָ‫פּ‬ ְ‫ס‬ ִ‫מ‬ is an
accusative of definition, and the subject and verb are to be repeated from the first clause;
so that there is no necessity to alter ‫ר‬ָ‫פּ‬ ְ‫ס‬ ִ‫מ‬ into ‫ר‬ַ‫פ‬ ָ‫ס‬ ‫י‬ ִ‫.מ‬ - But Israel was not only visibly
blessed by God with an innumerable increase; it was also inwardly exalted into a people
of ‫ים‬ ִ‫ר‬ָ‫שׁ‬ְ‫,י‬ righteous or honourable men. The predicate ‫ים‬ ִ‫ר‬ָ‫שׁ‬ְ‫י‬ is applied to Israel on
account of its divine calling, because it had a God who was just and right, a God of truth
and without iniquity (Deu_32:4), or because the God of Israel was holy, and sanctified
His people (Lev_20:7-8; Exo_31:13) and made them into a Jeshurun (Deu_32:15; Deu_
33:5, Deu_33:26). Righteousness, probity, is the idea and destination of this people,
which has never entirely lost it, though it has never fully realized it. Even in times of
general apostasy from the Lord, there was always an ἐκλογή in the nation, of which
probity and righteousness could truly be predicated (cf. 1Ki_19:18). The righteousness of
the Israelites was “a product of the institutions which God had established among them,
of the revelation of His holy will which He had given them in His law, of the forgiveness
of sins which He had linked on to the offering of sacrifices, and of the communication of
His Spirit, which was ever living and at work in His Church, and in it alone”
(Hengstenberg). Such a people Balaam could not curse; he could only wish that the end
of his own life might resemble the end of these righteous men. Death is introduced here
as the end and completion of life. “Balaam desires for himself the entire, full,
46

47. indestructible, and inalienable blessedness of the Israelite, of which death is both the
close and completion, and also the seal and attestation” (Kurtz). This desire did not
involve the certain hope of a blessed life beyond the grave, which the Israelites
themselves did not then possess; it simply expressed the thought that the death of a
pious Israelite was a desirable good. And this it was, whether viewed in the light of the
past, the present, or the future. In the hour of death the pious Israelite could look back
with blessed satisfaction to a long life, rich “in traces of the beneficent, forgiving,
delivering, and saving grace of God;” he could comfort himself with the delightful hope
of living on in his children and his children's children, and in them of participating in the
future fulfilment of the divine promises of grace; and lastly, when dying in possession of
the love and grace of God, he could depart hence with the joyful confidence of being
gathered to his fathers in Sheol (Gen_25:8).
TRAPP, "Numbers 23:8 How shall I curse, whom God hath not cursed? or how
shall I defy, [whom] the LORD hath not defied?
Ver. 8. How shall I curse?] He had a good mind to it, but did not, because he durst
not: God stood over him with a whip, as it were; the angel with a sword in his hand
could not be forgotten by him. Virtus nolentium nulla est.
How shall I defy?] How easy a thing is it to wag a wicked tongue? to find good
words in mouth of hell?
WHEDON, "8. Whom God hath not cursed — Balaam could not curse Israel,
because God withheld him from so doing. Thus this master magician confesses that
he is neither to help nor to hurt without leave from God. In language strikingly
similar is the Babylonian exposed to shame by the prophet. See Isaiah 47:12-14.
9 From the rocky peaks I see them,
from the heights I view them.
I see a people who live apart
and do not consider themselves one of the
nations.
47

48. BARNES, "For from the top of the rocks ... - The “for” indicates the constraint
under which Balaam felt himself. He had been met by God in his own way; from the cliff
he had watched for the expected augury; and by the light of this he here interprets,
according to the rules of his art, the destiny of Israel.
Dwell alone - i. e., apart from others, undisturbed by their tumults, and therefore in
safety and just security. Compare the same idea in marginal reference; Jer_49:31; and
Mic_7:14. This tranquility was realized by the Israelites so long as they clave to God as
their shelter and protection. But the inward “dwelling alone” was the indispensable
condition of the outward “dwelling alone,” and so soon as the influence of the pagan
world affected Israel internally, the external power of paganism prevailed also. Balaam
himself, when he eventually counseled tempting the people into sin, acted upon the
knowledge that God’s blessing and Israel’s prosperity depended essentially on
faithfulness to God.
CLARKE"From the top of the rocks I see him - That is, from the high places of
Baal where he went, Num_22:41, that he might the more advantageously see the whole
camp of Israel.
The people shall dwell alone - They shall ever be preserved as a distinct nation.
This prophecy has been literally fulfilled through a period of 3300 years to the present
day. This is truly astonishing.
GILL, "For from the top of the rocks I see him, and from the hills I behold
him,.... That is, Israel in their camps; Balaam being at this time on the top of a rock, or
on an high hill, from whence he had a view of Israel, encamped in the plains of Moab
below him:
lo, the people shall dwell alone; this certainly respects their dwelling in the land of
Canaan, where they dwelt a separate people from all others, distinguished by their
language, religion, laws, customs, and manner of living, being different both in their
clothing, and in their food, from other people; nor had they dealings, nor did they
company with those of other nations; see Est_3:8 "or shall dwell safely" (z), or securely,
not so much because of the situation of their country, but because of the protection of
the Almighty; see Deu_33:28.
and shall not be reckoned among the nations; as belonging to them, shall not be
made of any account by them, but be despised and reproached for their religion chiefly;
nor reckon themselves of them, nor mix with them; so the Targum of Jerusalem,"they
shall not be mixed;''or, as Jonathan,"they shall not be led in the laws of the people;''and
though they are now scattered among the people and nations of the world, yet they are
not mixed with them, nor reckoned to be a part of them; nor do they reckon themselves
to be of them, but are a separate distinct people from them. Thus Israel, or the people of
God in a spiritual sense, dwell alone; not solitarily, or without company, in every sense,
for they have the company of Father, Son, and Spirit, of angels and saints; but they dwell
in God, in Christ, in the house of God, and with one another, separately and distinctly
from the world: they are a separate people in the love of God; in the choice of them in
Christ; in the covenant of grace made with them in him; in redemption by him; in his
48

49. intercession for them; in effectual calling; as they will be in the resurrection morn, and
in heaven to all eternity: and they shall dwell safely, God being around them; Christ the
rock and fortress of them; the Spirit in them being greater than he that is in the world;
angels their guardians, and they in a strong city, whose walls and bulwarks are salvation:
nor are they reckoned among the nations; they are chosen, redeemed, and called out of
them, and are not accounted of by them any other than the refuse and offscouring of all
things; nor do they reckon themselves to be of the world, but as pilgrims and strangers
in it. Baal Hatturim refers this prophecy to the days of the Messiah; see Jer_23:5.
JAMISON, "from the top — literally, “a bare place” on the rocks, to which Balak
had taken him, for it was deemed necessary to see the people who were to be devoted to
destruction. But that commanding prospect could contribute nothing to the
accomplishment of the king’s object, for the destiny of Israel was to be a distinct,
peculiar people, separated from the rest of the nations in government, religion, customs,
and divine protection (Deu_33:28). Song that although I might be able to gratify your
wishes against other people, I can do nothing against them (Exo_19:5; Lev_20:24).
CALVIN, "9For from the top of the rocks I see him. Unless I am mistaken, the
meaning is that, although he only beheld the people from afar, so that he could not
accurately perceive their power from so high and distant a spot, still they portended
to him something great and formidable. A closer view generally intimidates men;
besides, a body of twenty thousand men then dazzles our sight, as if the number
were five times as great: whilst the real extent of a thing is also more accurately
ascertained. But Balaam declares, in the spirit of prophecy, that he sees far more in
the people of God than their distance from him would allow; for, posted as he was
on a high eminence, he would have only belleld them as dwarfs with the ordinary
vision of men. He says, that “the people shall dwell alone,” as being by no means in
want of external support: for ‫,לבדד‬ lebadad, is equivalent to solitarily or separately.
It is said of the people, therefore, that they shall dwell in such a manner as to be
content with their own condition, neither desiring the wealth or power of others, nor
seeking their aid. The fact that the people had recourse at one time to the Egyptians,
at another to the Assyrians, and entangled themselves in improper alliances, is not
repugnant to this prophecy, in which the question is not as to the virtue of the
people, but only as to the blessing of God, which is again celebrated in the same
words in Deuteronomy 33:28
What follows, that “they shall not be reckoned among the nations,” must not be
understood in depreciation of them, as if it were said that they should be of no credit
or position; but the elect people is exalted above all others in dignity and excellence,
as though he had said that there should be no nation under heaven equal to or
comparable with them. And, although there were other kingdoms more illustrious
for the flourishing condition of their people, and superior both in the number of
their inhabitants, and in all kinds of prosperity, still this people never forfeited their
pre-eminence, since they were distinguished, not so much by wealth and external
endowments, as by the adoption of God. Thus, Mount Sion is called noble above all
49

50. other mountains, because God had there chosen to make His abode. Others explain
it that the people should be alone, so as not to be brought into comparison with the
Gentiles, inasmuch as its religion should be separate from the whole world, and
unmingled with heathen corruptions. The exposition which I have given is, however,
more simple.
COKE, "Numbers 23:9. For from the top of the rocks I see him, &c.— That is, from
the top of the rocks on which he then stood: this, and the next expression, may relate
not only to the present view he had of the camp of the Israelites, but to their future
settlement in Canaan, wherein they were represented to his "mind's eye" as
dwelling securely under the protection of the Almighty. The people shall dwell
alone, says Hebrews 1.e. separated from other nations by peculiar laws, religion,
and manners; and how could Balaam, says Bishop Newton, upon a distant view only
of the people, whom he had never seen or known before, have discovered the genius
and manners, not only of the people then living, but of their posterity to the latest
generations? What renders it more extraordinary is, the singularity of the
character; that they should differ from all the people in the world, and should dwell
by themselves among the nations without mixing and incorporating with any. The
time too when this is affirmed increases the wonder, it being before the people were
well known in the world; before their religion and government were established,
and even before they had obtained a settlement any where. But yet, that the
character was fully verified in the event, not only all history testifies, but we have
even ocular demonstration at this day. The Jews in their religion and laws, their
rites and ceremonies, their manners and customs, were so totally different from all
other nations, that they had little intercourse or communion with them. An eminent
author (see the Divine Legation, book 2: sec. 6 b. 5: sec. 2.) hath shewn, that there
was a general inter-community among the gods of Paganism; but no such thing was
allowed between the God of Israel and the gods of other nations: there was to be no
fellowship between God and Belial, though there might be between Belial and
Dagon; hence the Jews were branded for their inhumanity and unsociableness; and
they generally hated, as they were hated by, the rest of mankind. Other nations, the
conquerors and the conquered, have often associated, and united as one body under
the same laws; but the Jews, in their captivities, have commonly been more bigoted
to their own religion, and more tenacious of their own rites and customs, than at
other times; and even now, while they are dispersed among all nations, they yet live
distinct and separate from all, trading only with others, but eating, marrying, and
conversing among themselves. We see, therefore, how exactly and wonderfully
Balaam characterised the whole race, from the first to the last, when he said, the
people shall dwell alone, and shall not be reckoned among the nations. See Dissert.
on Prophecies, p. 123.
TRAPP, "Numbers 23:9 For from the top of the rocks I see him, and from the hills I
behold him: lo, the people shall dwell alone, and shall not be reckoned among the
nations.
50

51. Ver. 9. From the top of the rocks I see him.] And have no power to hurt him. She
heard me without daunting; I departed not without terror, when I opened the
conspiracy against her life; howbeit, clothed with the best art I could; - said Parry
the traitor concerning Queen Elizabeth. (a) Achilles was said to be Styge armatus,
but Israel was Deo armatus, and therefore extra iactum.
Lo, the people shall dwell alone.] That they might have no meddling with the
heathen. God would not have them lie near the sea coasts, for the Philistines lay
between them and the sea, lest they should by commerce wax prouder, as Tyre did,
[Ezekiel 27:3] and learn foreign fashions. See Esther 3:8. Hence Judea, though part
of the continent, is called an "island." [Isaiah 20:6]
POOLE, "From the top of the rocks, upon which I now stand, I see the people,
according to thy desire, Numbers 22:41, but cannot improve that sight to the end for
which thou didst design it, to wit, to curse them. This people are of a distinct kind
from others, God’s peculiar people, separated from all other nations, as in religion
and laws, also in Divine protection; and therefore my enchantments cannot have
that power against them which they have against other persons and people. See
Exodus 19:5 Leviticus 20:21,26.
WHEDON, " 9. From the top of the rocks — From which he thought that he might
most effectually curse the people; but the sight of them did so amaze him that he
blessed them.
Shall dwell alone — This predicts not so much quietude and safety as
unprecedented separation from all the Gentile world. This isolation was manifested
to the natural eye of the seer in the fact that the Israelites were then dwelling in a
separate encampment on the plain. “In this his spirit discerned the inward and
essential separation of Israel from all the heathen.” — Baumgarten. As soon as they
lost this peculiarity by copying heathen ways they lost their independence.
Shall not be reckoned — Literally, shall not reckon itself among the Gentiles, having
a different God and Defender. The capacity of the Jews to resist absorption into the
nations among which they have been scattered for eighteen centuries is one of the
world’s perpetual wonders. The Jews are a standing, incontrovertible proof of the
truth of revelation.
ELLICOTT, " (9) For from the top of the rocks I see him . . . —From the summit of
the rocky mountain on which Balak had erected his seven altars, Balaam, according
to one interpretation (see Numbers 22:41, and Note), had a full view of the
outstretched camps of Israel.
Lo, the people shall dwell alone . . . —Better, Lo, it is a people that dwelleth alone,
and that is not numbered, &c. In the fact that the host of Israel dwelt by itself in a
51

52. separate encampment, Balaam discerned a type of the essential separation of Israel
from the surrounding nations. When Israel adopted the ways of the heathen nations
it speedily lost its external independence. Hengstenberg observes upon the last
clause of this verse as follows:—“How truly Balaam said that Israel ‘did not reckon
itself with the heathen’ appears from the fact that while all the powerful empires of
the ancient world—the Egyptian, Assyrian, Babylonian, and others—have utterly
perished, Israel (which even under the Old Covenant was rescued from so many
dangers that threatened its entire destruction, particularly in being brought back
from exile) flourishes anew in the Church of the New Covenant, and continues also
to exist in that part of it which, though at present rejected, is destined to restoration
at a future period.” (History of Balaam, &c., p. 409.)
PULPIT, "Numbers 23:9
The people shall dwell alone, and shall not be reckoned. Rather, "It is a people that
dwelleth apart, and is not numbered." It was not the outward isolation on which his
eye was fixed, for that indeed was only temporary and accidental, but the religious
and moral separateness of Israel as the chosen people of God, which was the very
secret of their national greatness.
10 Who can count the dust of Jacob
or number even a fourth of Israel?
Let me die the death of the righteous,
and may my final end be like theirs!”
BARNES, "The fourth part of Israel - i. e., each one of the four camps, into which
the host of Israel was divided (see Num. 2), seemed to swarm with innumerable
multitudes. Possibly Balaam could only see one camp. Balaam bears testimony in this
verse to the fulfillment of the promises in Gen_13:16; Gen_28:14.
The righteous - i. e., the ancestors of Israel, who “died in faith, not having received
the promises, but having seen them afar off” Heb_11:13. With their histories Balaam was
familiar, particularly with that of Abraham, “the righteous man” whom God had “raised
up from the east (and) called to His foot” Isa_41:2.
Let my last end be like his - Render rather, “last estate,” for the reference is not so
much to the act of death, as to all that followed upon it - to the future, in which the name
52

53. and influence of the deceased person would be perpetuated.
CLARKE"Let me die the death of the righteous - Probably Balaam had some
presentiment that he should be taken off by a premature death, and therefore he lodges
this petition against it. The death of the righteous in those times implied being gathered
to one’s fathers in a good old age, having seen his children, and children’s children; and
to this, probably, the latter part of this petition applies: And let my last end be like his,
(‫כמהו‬ ‫אחריתי‬ ‫ותהי‬ uthehi acharithi chamohu, And let my Posterity be like his). It has
been generally supposed that Balaam is here praying for a happy death, such as true
Christians die who die in the Lord; and in this way his words are generally applied; but I
am satisfied this is not their meaning. The prayer, however, understood in the common
way, is a good one, and may be offered to God profitably. A righteous man is one who is
saved from his sins, who is justified and sanctified through the blood of the covenant,
and who lives, not only an innocent, but also a holy and useful life. He who would die
well should live well; for a bad death must be the issue of a bad life.
GILL, "Who can count, the dust of Jacob,.... The people of Israel, their posterity so
called, not because of their original, the dust of the earth, but because of their numbers,
being as numerous as the dust of the earth, or sand of the sea, as it was promised they
should be, Gen_28:14 and which is here confirmed by the prophecy of Balaam:
and the number of the fourth part of Israel; one of the four camps of Israel, as the
Targums of Onkelos and Jonathan; for this people was divided into four camps, under so
many standards, which were those of Judah, Reuben, Ephraim, and Dan, see Num_2:1,
and one of them is represented by Balaam as so numerous, as not to be counted, or
should be so, see Hos_1:10. The spiritual Israel of God, though comparatively few, are in
themselves, and will be when all together, a great number, which no man can number,
Rev_7:9,
let me die the death of the righteous; which are among them, as Jarchi, among the
Israelites; for they were not all righteous, nor are any, of themselves, or by their own
works, but by the righteousness of Christ: or the death of the upright ones (a); such as
are upright in heart and life, who have right spirits renewed in them, and walk uprightly
according to the rule of the divine word; such as are Israelites indeed, in whom there is
no guile; the word used is pretty near, in sound and signification, to Jeshurun, one of the
names of Israel, Deu_32:15, the Targums of Jonathan and Jerusalem render it,"the
death of the true ones,''who are truly righteous and upright, truly gracious persons; who
have the truth of grace, and the root of the matter in them: these die as well as others,
yet their death is different from others, not in the thing itself, but in the concomitants
and consequences of it; they die in the Lord, in union to him, in faith of him, in hope of
eternal life by him, and their death is precious to him; and in consequence of this they
are carried by angels to glory at death are immediately in heaven with Christ, and it will
be well with them to all eternity. Balaam had some notion of this; and though he did not
care to live the life of such, he wished to die their death, or that he might be as happy at
death as they; by which he bears a testimony to the immortality of the soul, to a future
state after death, and to an eternal life and happiness to be enjoyed by good men:
53

54. and let my last end be like his; which is a phrase expressive of much the same thing
as before: death is the end of a man in this world; and the end of a righteous man in it is
peace, rest, salvation, and eternal life, or is what follows upon it, and he then enters into:
some render it, "my reward" (b), which comes to much the same sense, the above being
the righteous man's reward, not in a way of debt, but grace; others render the word, "my
posterity" (c); but it is not certain Balaam had any, and if he had, his concern seems to
be more for himself than for them.
JAMISON, "Who can count the dust of Jacob? — an Oriental hyperbole for a
very populous nation, as Jacob’s posterity was promised to be (Gen_13:16; Gen_28:14).
the number of the fourth part of Israel — that is, the camp consisted of four
divisions; every one of these parts was formidable in numbers.
Let me die the death of the righteous — Hebrew, “of Jeshurun”; or, the
Israelites. The meaning is: they are a people happy, above all others, not only in life, but
at death, from their knowledge of the true God, and their hope through His grace.
Balaam is a representative of a large class in the world, who express a wish for the
blessedness which Christ has promised to His people but are averse to imitate the mind
that was in Him.
CALVIN, "10.Who can count the dust of Jacob? Hence it is plain that what Balaam
was to say was suggested to him by God, since he quotes the words of God’s solemn
promise, wherein the seed of Abraham is compared to the dust of the earth. Still, we
must bear in mind what I have just adverted to, that, although that multitude was
reduced to a small number by the sin of the people, nevertheless this was not
declared in vain, inasmuch as that little body at length expanded itself so as to fill
the whole world. Speaking by hyperbole, then, he says that their offspring would be
infinite, since the fourth part will be almost innumerable. His aspiration at the
conclusion is more emphatic than a simple affirmation. “I would (he says) that I
might share with them their last end!” (157) For, in the first place, every one longs
for what is most for his good; and again, Balaam confesses himself unworthy to be
reckoned among the elect people of God. Hence it might be easily inferred how
foolishly Balak trusted to his curse. Further, in these words he refers to everlasting
felicity; as much as to say that (Israel) would be blessed in death as in life. At the
same time he is a witness to our future immortality; not that he had reflected in
himself wherefore the death of the righteous would be desirable, but God extorted
this confession from an unholy man, so that, either unwillingly or thoughtlessly, he
exclaimed that God so persevered in the extension of His paternal favor towards His
people, that He did not cease to be gracious to them even in their death. Hence it
follows, that the grace of God extends beyond the bounds of this perishing life.
Wherefore this declaration contains a remarkable testimony to our future
immortality. For although Balaam, perhaps, did not thoroughly consider what he
desired, still, there is no doubt but that he truly professed that he wished it for
himself. Nevertheless, as hypocrites are wont to do, he did but conceive an
evanescent wish, for it was in no real seriousness that he sought what he was
54

55. convinced was best. (158)
The Israelites are called righteous (recti,) as also in other places, not on account of
their own righteousness, but in accordance with God’s good pleasure, who had
deigned to separate them from the unclean nations.
TRAPP, "Numbers 23:10 Who can count the dust of Jacob, and the number of the
fourth [part] of Israel? Let me die the death of the righteous, and let my last end be
like his!
Ver. 10. Let me die the death.] But he was so far from living the life of the righteous,
that he gave pestilent counsel against the lives of God’s Israel: and though here, in a
fit of compunction, he seem a friend, yet he was afterward slain by the sword of
Israel, whose happiness he admireth, and desires to share in. [Numbers 31:8]
Carnales non curant quaerere, quem tamen desiderant invenire; cupientes consequi,
sed non et sequi, (a) Carnal men care not to seek that which they would gladly find,
&c. Some faint desires, and short-winded wishes, may be sometimes found in them,
but the mischief is, they would break God’s chain, sunder happiness from holiness,
salvation from sanctification, the end from the means; they would dance with the
devil all day, and then sup with Christ at night; live all their lives long in Delilah’s
lap, and then go to Abraham’s bosom when they die. The Papists have a saying that
a man would desire to live in Italy, a place of great pleasure, but to die in Spain,
because there the Catholic religion, as they call it, is so sincerely professed. And a
heathen being asked, whether he would rather be Socrates, a painful philosopher, or
Croesus, a wealthy king; answered, that for this life he would be Croesus, but for
the life to come Socrates. Thus all men wish well to heaven’s happiness; but bad
men find no more comfort of it, than a man doth of the sun when it shines not in his
own horizon. Balaam might here be compared to a stranger, that travelling a far
country, seeth the state and magnificence of the court, and is admitted into the
presence chamber, which greatly doth affect him, though himself have no part or
interest in the king. {See Trapp on "Numbers 24:5"}
POOKE, : The dust of Jacob, i.e. the numberless people of Jacob or Israel, who,
according to God’s promise; Genesis 13:16 28:14, are now become as the dust of the
earth.
Of the fourth part of Israel, i.e. of one of the camps of Israel; for they were divided
into four camps, Num 2, which Balaam from this height could easily discover; much
less can any man number all their host.
Of the righteous, i.e. of his righteous and holy people, the Israelites, called
Jehesurun, Deuteronomy 32:15, which word signifies upright or righteous. The
sense is, they are not only happy above other nations in this life, as I have said, and
therefore in vain should I curse them, but they have this peculiar privilege, that they
are happy after death; their happiness begins where the happiness of other people
55

56. ends; and therefore I heartily wish that my soul may have its portion with theirs
when I die. But it was a vain wish; for as he would not live as God’s people did, so
he died by the sword, as others of God’s enemies did, Numbers 31:8 Joshua 13:22.
My last end, i.e. my death, as the word is used. Or, my posterity, as this Hebrew
word signifies, Psalms 119:13 Daniel 11:4 Amos 4:2. And as the covenant and
blessing of God given to Abraham did reach to his posterity, so this might not be
unknown to Balaam, which might give him occasion for this wish. Or, my reward,
as the word is taken, Proverbs 23:18 24:20. But the first sense seems the most true,
because it agrees best with the usage of Scripture to repeat the same thing in other
words, and this includes the third sense, to wit, the reward, which is here supposed
to follow death; and for posterity, it doth not appear that he had any, or, if he had,
that he was so very solicitous for them; or that he knew the tenor of God’s covenant
with Abraham and his posterity. Nay, he rather seems to have had some hope of
ruining Abraham’s posterity, which he attempted both here and afterwards.
ELLCOTT, " (10) Who can count the dust of Jacob?—These words point back to
the promise made to Abraham: “And I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth,”
&c. (Genesis 13:16).
And the number of the fourth part of Israel.—The Israelites were divided into four
great encampments (Numbers 2). It is probable that Balaam could only see one of
these encampments from Bamoth-Baal (Numbers 22:41); but see below on Numbers
23:13.
The death of the righteous.—The Hebrew word yesharim (upright, or righteous) is
applied to Israel because God, who is just and right (Deuteronomy 32:4). had chosen
His people to be a Jeshurun (Deuteronomy 32:15; Deuteronomy 33:5; Deuteronomy
33:26)—a holy and peculiar people, following after righteousness and judgment.
The end of Balaam (Numbers 31:8) presented a strange contrast to his prayer, and
showed that even the prayer of the wicked is abomination in the sight of the Lord.
(See Proverbs 28:9.)
PULPIT, "Numbers 23:10
The fourth part of Israel. ‫ע‬ַ‫ת־רב‬ ֶ‫א‬ is so rendered by the Targums, as alluding to the
four great camps into which the host was divided. The Septuagint has δήμους,
apparently from an incorrect reading. The Samaritan and the older versions,
followed by the Vulgate, render it "progeny,'" but this meaning is conjectural, and
there seems no sufficient reason to depart from the common translation. Let me die
the death of the righteous. The word "righteous" is in the plural ( ‫ים‬ ִ‫ר‬ ָ‫שׁ‬ְ‫,י‬ δικαίων ):
it may refer either to the Israelites as a holy nation, living and dying in the favour of
God; or to the patriarchs, such as Abraham, the promises made to whom, in faith of
which they died, were already so gloriously fulfilled. If the former reference was
intended, Balaam must have had a much fuller and happier knowledge of "life and
56

57. immortality" than the Israelites themselves, to whom death was dreadful, all the
more that it ended a life protected and blessed by God (cf. e.g; Psalms 88:10-12;
Isaiah 38:18, Isaiah 38:19). It is hardly credible that so singular an anticipation of
purely Christian feeling should really be found in the mouth of a prophet of that
day, for it is clear that the words, however much inspired, did express the actual
emotion of Balaam at the moment. It is therefore more consistent with the facts and
probabilities of the case to suppose that Balaam referred to righteous Abraham (cf.
Isaiah 41:2) and his immediate descendants, and wished that when he came to die he
might have as sure a hope as they had enjoyed that God would bless and multiply
their seed, and make their name to be glorious in the earth. Let my last end be like
his. ‫ית‬ ִ‫ר‬ַ‫ח‬ ַ‫א‬ (last end) is the same word translated "latter days" and "latter end" in
Numbers 24:14, Numbers 24:20. It means the last state of a people or of a man as
represented in his offspring; the sense is not incorrectly expressed by the
Septuagint, γένοιτο τὸ σπέρμα μου ὡς τὸ σπέρμα τούτων.
GREAT TEXTS, "The Death to Die
Let me die the death of the righteous, and let my last end be like his!—Num_23:10.
1. The Israelites were now, after long wandering in the wilderness, on the point of taking possession
of the Promised Land. Arrived on its verge, their numbers and their discipline, strengthened and
consolidated by nearly forty years of hardship in the desert, struck terror into the heart of Balak,
king of Moab. So he sent off messengers, chosen from among his princes, to Balaam; the distance at
which Balaam lived, at Pethor on the Euphrates, serving to indicate the wide reputation he enjoyed
as a powerful magician or sorcerer. These envoys were to persuade him to come and curse Israel, in
the expectation that his malediction would destroy them. Balaam was nothing loth, yet before he
went he would see what God might say to him. God appeared to him at night in vision, and told him
that he must not go with the messengers, that he must not curse the people, for that they were
blessed. Balaam obeyed; but instead of communicating to the messengers God’s reply in full, he
abridged it by merely telling them that God refused to give him leave to go with them. He did not tell
them that God had emphatically declared that he should not curse the people, for that they were
blessed. The Moabite princes, having received God’s message from Balaam in this garbled form,
garbled it themselves still further in repeating it to Balak. Instead of saying to him that God refused
Balaam leave to come, they merely said, “Balaam refuseth to come.” Probably they thought that the
God who refused him leave was only his own avarice and greed of gain. So, at least, Balak seems to
have thought, for, instead of being discouraged, he only sent a second embassy of higher rank, with
richer gifts, who should say, “Let nothing, I pray thee, hinder thee from coming unto me: for I will
promote thee unto very great honour, and will do whatsoever thou sayest unto me: come, therefore, I
pray thee, and curse me this people.”
The spirit of avarice, awakened by the first embassy, had now got full possession of Balaam; and,
therefore, though he made the most pompous protestations of his entire fidelity to God, and of the
utter impossibility of saying or doing anything but what God commanded or permitted, he wound up
with the lame conclusion that they should stay with him another night, to see what the Lord would
say unto him more; in other words, to see whether God might not change His mind, like some weak
mortal, and permit His prophet to pronounce a gainful curse upon His people. So God, who answers
fools after their folly, who, in the strong language of the 18th Psalm, “with the perverse shows
himself perverse,” in other words, whose voice, speaking through the conscience, may always be
altered and vitiated by a persevering determination to attend only to what we like—God permitted
him to go with the messengers if they came to call him. Balaam made no further delay. He rose up
57

58. early in the morning, and saddled his ass and went with the men. But he was sternly warned, and he
determined for his own safety’s sake to say nothing except what God should say to him. Still, strange
to say, he fancied that by magical rites and sacrifices, in which the mystic number seven was twice
repeated, he might prevail on God to change His mind. Thrice did he make the presumptuous
attempt, and thrice was he obliged, instead of curses, to pour forth blessings. So he had violated his
conscience to no purpose; he had made nothing by his wicked journey; the Lord had kept him from
honour, as Balak told him with bitter mockery; he had lost the promise of the life to come, without
gaining anything for the life that now is; he went back to his distant home ungraced and unrewarded.
2. As he uttered this prayer Balaam was among the mountain-peaks of Moab, and before him lay a
deeply impressive scene. In the far distance in front of him were the hills of Ephraim and Judah, with
numerous openings that gave glimpses of fertile plains and smiling valleys. Still nearer was the plain
through which the sacred Jordan rolled—a plain some six or seven miles broad. Immediately below
him lay the eastern hillside, covered in part by a long belt of acacia groves. Among these groves he
could see thousands of tents belonging to the Hebrew wanderers—the chosen of the Lord. In vain
had he striven to draw down the displeasure of the Almighty upon them, and, now that he thought of
their special religious knowledge, and spiritual advantages, he regarded them as “righteous,” and felt
constrained to give sincere utterance to his deepest wish: “Let me die the death of the righteous, and
let my last end be like his!”
The text occurs in the first of the prophecies or oracles uttered by Balaam. His eye ranges over “the
utmost part of the people.” Accordingly, after the repetition of the declaration that he cannot curse
or defy, except at the bidding of the Lord, the leading idea which expresses itself is the idea of their
vast multitude, dwelling apart from the nations, in “numbers numberless” as the sand on the
seashore.
Num_23:7-10.—“And he took up his parable, and said—
From Aram hath Balak brought me,
The king of Moab from the mountains of the East.
Come, curse me Jacob,
And come, defy Israel.
How shall I curse, whom God hath not cursed?
And how shall I defy, whom the Lord hath not defied?
For from the top of the rocks I see him,
And from the hills I behold him:
Lo, it is a people that dwell alone,
And shall not be reckoned among the nations.
Who can count the dust of Jacob,
Or number the fourth part of Israel?
Let me die the death of the righteous,
And let my last end be like his!”
58

59. The parable, as a whole, is as simple as it is forcible. The only point which needs explanation is the
connection with the context of the celebrated aspiration of the last couplet—suddenly introducing the
conception of the blessing of righteousness after the mere contemplation of multitude and strength.
That connection is probably to be found in the allusions made in the previous couplets to the
separation of the people from all others, and the comparison of them to the “dust” or sand. It is
hardly possible not to trace in these, signs of some knowledge, in itself most probable, of the great
promises to Abraham (Gen_22:17) and to his descendants: “I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the
heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore.” These are the “righteous ones.” To them is
fulfilled, in special fulness, that general promise of offspring from generation to generation, which
ancient faith believed to be given to all the righteous. “Thou shalt know also that thy seed shall be
great; and thine offspring as the grass of the field” (Job_5:25); “His seed shall be mighty upon earth;
the generation of the upright shall be blessed” (Psa_112:2). Hence the aspiration of Balaam is that he
may die as they died, full of years and honour—their last hour lighted up by the promise of seed as
the stars of heaven—sure that the same blessing of God, under which they had lived, would deepen
and widen out into the greatness of a magnificent future.1 [Note: A. Barry, Parables of the Old
Testament, 227.]
3. The literal translation of the text is, “Let my soul (or my life) die the death of righteous men, and
let my future be like that of one of them.” The future, or last end (as our translation gives it) is a very
general expression, and may mean anything that comes after. The authors of the old Greek version of
the Seventy thought that the prophet meant his posterity, and have so rendered the word. But
Balaam, it is to be feared, was too complete an egotist to have taken even that first step out of the
abject selfishness which makes a man care for his posterity more than for himself. The common
traditional interpretation of the passage is the truest. The selfish, worldly prophet did actually desire
for a moment that, when he died, he might die the death of righteous men, and that whatever there
be that follows death might be for him such as it was for them.
Let us consider—
I. The Righteous.
II. Balaam.
III. The Death of the Righteous.
IV. The Death of Balaam.
I
The Righteous
1. It is necessary to observe particularly what Balaam understood by righteous. And he himself is
introduced in the Book of Micah as explaining it; if by righteous is meant good, as to be sure it is. “O
my people, remember now what Balak king of Moab consulted, and what Balaam the son of Beor
answered him from Shittim unto Gilgal.” From the mention of Shittim it is manifest that it is this
very story which is here referred to, though another part of it, the account of which is not now
extant. “Remember what Balaam answered, that ye may know the righteousness of the Lord”; i.e. the
righteousness which God will accept. Balak demands, “Wherewith shall I come before the Lord, and
bow myself before the high God? Shall I come before him with burnt-offerings, with calves of a year
old? Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, or with ten thousands of rivers of oil? Shall I
give my first-born for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?” Balaam
answers him, “He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good: and what doth the Lord require of thee,
but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?” Here is a good man expressly
characterized, as distinct from a dishonest and a superstitious man. No words can more strongly
59

60. exclude dishonesty and falseness of heart than doing justice and loving mercy, and both these, as well
as walking humbly with God, are put in opposition to those ceremonial methods of recommendation
which Balak hoped might have served the turn. It thus appears what he meant by “the righteous,”
whose death he desired to die.
He serves his country best
Who lives pure life and doeth righteous deed,
And walks straight paths, however others stray,
And leaves his sons as uttermost bequest
A stainless record which all men may read.
This is the better way.
No drop but serves the slowly lifting tide;
No dew but has an errand to some flower;
No smallest star but sheds some helpful ray,
And, man by man, each helping all the rest,
Makes the firm bulwark of the country’s power.
There is no better way.
2. It would be felt to be a prayer universally applicable, were it not for one doubt: “There is none
righteous; no, not one.… All have sinned and come short of the glory of God!” It is true that Balaam
would feel no such difficulty. To him it was quite sufficient to be able to believe that some of the Jews
conscientiously lived up to the rich heritage of truth they had received. That was sufficient to
constitute them “righteous” in his view. But still the difficulty remains, that if we know that nobody
is righteous the prayer becomes an empty mockery. But St. Paul himself supplies a cheering reply to
this problem in the very chapter from which the above passage is quoted (Rom_3:2-22): “By the
deeds of the law shall no flesh be justified. But now the righteousness of God without the law is
manifested; … even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus unto all and upon all them
that believe.” Wesley puts the matter very plainly in his twentieth sermon: “Inherent righteousness is
not the ground of our acceptance with God, but the fruit of it, and is therefore not identical with the
imputed righteousness of Christ, but is consequent upon it.”
On Sundays we have attended the Welsh service in the morning, which we could easily follow, and
the English in the afternoon. As there are four services in the day, the English sermon generally falls
to some clergyman passing through, and they do not always fare well in consequence; for instance,
ten days ago an old canon of Manchester, who preached, recommended us to keep regularly a
journal for entering all our good and all our bad actions, and to take care to keep the balance on the
side of the former, as we should then feel very comfortable on our death-beds.1 [Note: Life and
Letters of Fenton J. A. Hort, i. 86.]
3. To Balaam’s mind, however, as the context shows, the term “the righteous” had a special
application. He meant “the righteous people,” as they called themselves, the chosen nation. “Who can
count the dust of Jacob, or number the fourth part of Israel? Let me die the death of the righteous,
and let my last end be like his!” They were, indeed, a chosen people—highly favoured of God to
receive the revelations of His Spirit, and called to be “Jehovah’s servant,” for ministering the
60

61. knowledge of His love and truth to all the world. But even in the mind of the writer of this story they
must have been distinguished rather by the possession of a purer faith, a greater knowledge—at least
in some higher minds—of what was pleasing to God both in worship and practice, than by their
diligence in acting accordingly. This, at least, was the righteousness on which they prided themselves
in later days, as in the days of St. Paul—on their supposed nearness to God, from His clearer
revelation of Himself to them. We may well doubt the justness of this their own valuation of
themselves, when we remember our Lord’s declaration in the Gospel, that the servant, who knew not
his lord’s will, and did it not, shall be beaten with few stripes; but he, that knew it, and prepared not
himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. For, unto whom much is
given, of him shall much be required.
II
Balaam
1. The judgment which we form of the character of Balaam is one of unmitigated condemnation. We
know and say that he was a false prophet and a bad man. This is however, doubtless, because we
come to the consideration of his history having already prejudged his case. St. Peter, St. Jude, and St.
John have passed sentence upon him. And so we read the history of Balaam, familiar with these
passages, and colouring all with them. But assuredly this is not the sentence we should have
pronounced if we had been left to ourselves, but one much less severe. Repulsive as Balaam’s
character is when it is seen at a distance, when it is seen near it has much in it that is human, like our
own, inviting compassion—even admiration; there are traits of firmness, conscientiousness,
nobleness. He offers to retrace his steps as soon as he perceives that he is doing wrong. He asks
guidance of God before he will undertake a journey: “And he said unto them, Lodge here this night,
and I will bring you word again, as the Lord shall speak unto me.” He professes—and in earnest—“If
Balak would give me his house full of silver and gold, I cannot go beyond the word of the Lord my
God, to do less or more.” He prays to die the death of the righteous, and that his last end may be like
his. Yet the inspired judgment of his character, as a whole, stands recorded as one of unmeasured
severity.
2. “The object we now have before us,” says Butler, in a famous passage, “is the most astonishing in
the world: a very wicked man, under a deep sense of God and religion, persisting still in his
wickedness, and preferring the wages of unrighteousness, even when he had before him a lively view
of death, and that approaching period of his days which should deprive him of all those advantages
for which he was prostituting himself; and likewise a prospect, whether certain or uncertain, of a
future state of retribution: all this joined with an explicit ardent wish, that, when he was to leave this
world he might be in the condition of a righteous man. Good God, what inconsistency, what
perplexity is here! With what different views of things, with what contradictory principles of action,
must such a mind be torn and distracted! It was not unthinking carelessness, by which he ran on
headlong in vice and folly, without ever making a stand to ask himself what he was doing; no; he
acted upon the cool motives of interest and advantage. Neither was he totally hard and callous to
impressions of religion, what we call abandoned; for he absolutely refused to curse Israel. When
reason assumes her place, when convinced of his duty, when he owns and feels and is actually under
the influence of, the Divine authority; whilst he is carrying on his views to the grave, the end of all
temporal greatness; under this sense of things, with the better character and more desirable state
present—full before him—in his thoughts, in his wishes, voluntarily to choose the worst—what
fatality is here! Or how otherwise can such a character be explained? And yet, strange as it may
appear, it is not altogether an uncommon one: nay, with some small alterations, and put a little lower,
it is applicable to a very considerable part of the world. For if the reasonable choice be seen and
acknowledged, and yet men make the unreasonable one, is not this the same contradiction, that very
inconsistency, which appeared so unaccountable?”1 [Note: Butler, Sermons, 97.]
“Now and then,” says Peter Rosegger, “I take my soul out from its cage. I smooth its wings and brush
away the dust. Then I throw it up, to see how high it can go. It flies up above the housetop, it circles
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62. round and round. It settles on a neighbouring tree. It looks up, but the sky is so far. It looks down,
the earth is so near. It is hard to soar, it is easy to descend; and so in a little time my soul comes
fluttering down to me, and creeps into its cage again. My hope is in the Holy Dove, the Spirit of God
Himself, that comes down to earth and bears my soul upon its wings to heaven.”
3. The story of Balaam may be entitled “a drama of the ruin of conscience.” We are introduced to
him at the crisis of his life. What had gone before we do not know, although we see clearly manifested
in him, on the one hand, the tyranny of a strong besetting sin and, on the other, the helpfulness and
strength of religious principle. He is evidently in the habit of seeking guidance from God, of listening
to and obeying the voice of conscience. The message of Balak, with its offer of silver, and gold, and
honours, is the turning-point of his life. The struggle between conscience and his besetting sin is most
dramatically portrayed; it is a tragedy, ending in the defeat of conscience, in the ruin of character,
probably in the loss of a soul.
We often see two individuals in the same family, brothers perhaps, inheriting from the same
parentage, brought up under the same environment, and living together until some great decision has
to be made by each. The one decides for right, for God; and his life afterwards, while it is not free
from struggle, and has its imperfections, is a steady progress upward. The other brother yields to the
temptation, and though he makes, from time to time, efforts to recover himself, yet they seem to be
unavailing, and he falls lower and lower until, perhaps, becoming hopeless and despairing, he gives
up the fight. What made the difference between the two at the moment of trial? It was the life which
had gone before: in the one, a life of fidelity to principle, to conscience, even in small matters; in the
other, a life of carelessness about little things, as though they were too unimportant to be made
matters of principle. In the first the will gradually became stronger and stronger to resist temptation,
and so was able to make the right decision at the crisis of life; in the other the will had been
weakened by many little acts of self-indulgence, so that when the great demand was made upon it, it
could not rise up to meet the temptation, it yielded and never again recovered. The whole principle is
summed up in our Lord’s words, “He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much;
and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much.”1 [Note: A. G. Mortimer.]
The smallest thing thou canst accomplish well,
The smallest ill. ’Tis only little things
Make up the present day, make up all days,
Make up thy life. Do thou not therefore wait,
Keeping thy wisdom and thy honesty,
Till great things come with trumpet-heraldings!1 [Note: A Layman’s Breviary.]
4. What were the motives which led to the perversion of conscience in Balaam? There are two
opposite motives which sway men. Some, like Simon Magus, will give gold to be admired and
wondered at; some will barter honour for gold. In Balaam the two are blended. We see the desire at
once for honour and for wealth; wealth, perhaps, as being another means of ensuring reputation.
And so have we seen many begin and end in our own day—begin with a high-minded courage which
flatters none; speaking truth, even unpalatable truth; but when this advocacy of truth brings, as it
brought to Balaam, men to consult them, and they rise in the world and become men of
consideration, then by degrees the love of truth is superseded, and passes into a love of influence. Or
they begin with a generous indifference to wealth—simple, austere; by degrees they find the society
of the rich leading them from extravagance to extravagance, till at last, high intellectual and spiritual
powers become the servile instruments of appropriating gold. The world sees the sad spectacle of the
man of science and the man of God waiting at the doors of princes, or cringing before the public for
promotion and admiration.
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63. The garlands wither on your brow;
Then boast no more your mighty deeds;
Upon death’s purple altar now,
See, where the victor-victim bleeds;
Your head must come
To the cold tomb:
Only the actions of the just
Smell sweet and blossom in their dust.2 [Note: James Shirley.]
III
The Death of the Righteous
1. There are many ways in which men go out of the world. Some withdraw in carelessness and
indifference, some in heaviness and fear, some without hope or expectation, some with a mere wish to
make an end of physical discomfort, some hardened in frigid stoicism, and some in a maze of dreams,
saying to themselves, Peace, Peace, when there is no peace. There is another manner of departure
which leads all the rest in dignity and beauty. It is the death of the righteous—joy with peace; a trust
in God that rests on strong foundations; a heart confiding in a covenant promise which it knows to be
certain and sure; perfect submission to the will which is evermore a will of love; resignation of self
and all into those hands which come forth through the gathering darkness; sacrificial surrender
gladly paying the debt due to sin;—these signs mark the death of the righteous. And to all this, since
Christ came, are to be added the presence of the Saviour, the thought that He has gone that way
before us and knows every step of the path, the conviction that to die is gain, the assurance that the
Lord shall raise us up at the Last Day, and that whosoever liveth and believeth in Him shall never
die.
At end of Love, at end of Life,
At end of Hope, at end of Strife,
At end of all we cling to so—
The sun is setting—must we go?
At dawn of Love, at dawn of Life,
At dawn of Peace that follows Strife,
At dawn of all we long for so—
The sun is rising—let us go!1 [Note: Louise Chandler Moulton.]
2. There was but One in this world to whom could fitly be applied the title of “the Righteous,” our
Lord Jesus Christ Himself; and when we pray, “Let me die the death of the righteous!” it is like
saying, “Let me die as my Master died, let my last end be like His.”
(1) First, we observe that our Blessed Lord sets before us a new view of death. If on the one hand it is
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64. gloomy, if it tells us that death is the dire penalty, the necessary penance of sin, yet on the other hand
it is not without brightness, for it tells us that death is the paying of the debt of sin, and is therefore
the entrance into the land of everlasting life, that it is the gate of heaven itself.
“Rise,” said the Master, “come unto the feast.”
She heard the call, and rose with willing feet;
But thinking it not otherwise than meet
For such a bidding to put on her best,
She is gone from us for a few short hours
Into her bridal closet, there to wait
For the unfolding of the palace gate
That gives her entrance to the blissful bowers.
We have not seen her yet, though we have been
Full often to her chamber door, and oft
Have listen’d underneath the postern green,
And laid fresh flowers, and whispered short and soft,
For she hath made no answer, and the day
From the clear west is fading fast away.
(2) Next, we notice that our Lord teaches us how to prepare for death—that is, for a good death:
“Right dear in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints.” Our Lord teaches how to prepare that
our death may be like “the death of his saints,” precious in the sight of God. The fundamental
principle surely is this, that none can die the death of the righteous who are not trying to live the life
of the righteous. Our Lord’s death teaches us, first, that we must follow His life. We cannot face
death with the calmness, with the joy with which He faced it, “Who for the joy set before him
endured the cross, despising the shame,” unless our life has been an attempt to follow Him—has been
the life of the righteous.
Those who have crushed out their higher aspirations, and lived a mere careless worldly life—without
a thought of the Unseen Hand which was guiding them, without a reference to the Will of the Lord of
their conscience, without any desire to be conformed to the image of His Son—will have little power
or courage to grasp that Unseen Hand, and rest their souls upon it, when the senses are failing. Faith,
affiance, trust, in the Unseen is not a single act: it is a habit of soul, generated by many acts, by
constant acting. The “life of the righteous” is a life of faith. Without faith, without a belief, a trust, in
God, how can the soul stand upright in the midst of life’s storms, or stand firm against its “manifold
temptations”? Even when explicit faith may have been lost or overshadowed for a time, what is every
act of virtuous self-denial but a homage to the Unseen? The “righteous” then—the faithful—are
“blessed in their death,” with the same blessedness which they enjoyed in their lifetime. There is no
other possible. Infinite as is the Mercy of our God, and Great as is His Power, He cannot make the
Past not to have been: and, remember, we are making it now that which it will be for ever.
The strong light which the teachings of Jesus have thrown on the Law of God, revealing its deep
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65. spiritual requirements—and not His words only, but His life and His death—have given us a
standard which must, if it is realized, introduce penitence into our lives, not as a mere outward form
or occasional service, or as a kind of composition for our offences, but as the spirit of our daily life—
as the true temper of those who see their own baseness, selfishness, and coldness, in the light of God’s
pardoning, paternal Love. This repentance—a continual daily turning to God—will make the last,
the inevitably remorseful last look at life from the dying pillow, less bitter, less intolerable, even for
those who will have much in themselves, in their own course, to regret. But, if deferred till then, with
what anguish will it come? Yes! penitence is needful—not to propitiate an angry God—not as the
attitude of a slave, who crouches creeping to avert the uplifted lash—but because it is the right, the
truly human, feeling for those who see their own inward faults and the transgressions of their lives.
And but little indeed does any one know of the comfort and relief of such repentance, who would
dream of putting it off till all opportunity was over of obeying the gracious words—“Go and sin no
more!”1 [Note: J. W. Colenso.]
3. Balaam envied the prospects of the dying Hebrew; but when we consider the blessedness of those
who die “in the Lord,” we feel that his old prayer is truer than ever. The earliest recorded example is
that of St. Stephen. At his trial his enemies gnashed upon him with their teeth, but his Friend in
heaven brought instant help.
A minister of the gospel died at the early age of thirty-seven. Some days before the end, his wife
asked him how he was, and he replied that he felt very ill, “but unspeakably happy in my dear Lord
Jesus.” The last day he lived, his wife repeated the familiar lines from Dr. Watts—
“Jesus can make a dying bed
Feel soft as downy pillows are.”
The dying man replied, “Yes, He can. He does. I feel it.”2 [Note: J. A. Clapperton.]
On the thirtieth of January, 1646, Father Anne de Nou‫כ‬ set out from Three Rivers to go to the fort
built by the French at the mouth of the river Richelieu, where he was to say mass and hear
confessions. De Nou‫כ‬ was sixty-three years old, and had come to Canada in 1625. As an indifferent
memory disabled him from mastering the Indian languages, he devoted himself to the spiritual
charge of the French, and of the Indians about the forts within reach of an interpreter. For the rest,
he attended the sick, and in times of scarcity fished in the river, or dug roots in the woods for the
subsistence of his flock. In short, though sprung from a noble family of Champagne, he shrank from
no toil, however humble, to which his idea of duty or his vow of obedience called him. The old
missionary had for companions two soldiers and a Huron Indian. They wandered from their course,
and at evening encamped on the shore of the island of St. Ignace. At daybreak parties went out to
search. The two soldiers were readily found, but they looked in vain for the missionary. All day they
were ranging the ice, firing their guns and shouting; but to no avail, and they returned disconsolate.
There was a converted Indian, whom the French called Charles, at the fort, one of four who were
spending the winter there. On the next morning, the second of February, he and one of his
companions, together with Baron, a French soldier, resumed the search; and, guided by the slight
depressions in the snow which had fallen on the wanderer’s footprints, the quick-eyed savages traced
him through all his windings, found his camp by the shore of the island, and thence followed him
beyond the fort. He had passed near without discovering it—perhaps weakness had dimmed his
sight—stopped to rest at a point a league above, and thence made his way about three leagues
farther. Here they found him. He had dug a circular excavation in the snow, and was kneeling in it
on the earth. His head was bare, his eyes open and turned upwards, and his hands clasped on his
breast. His hat and his snow-shoes lay at his side. The body was leaning slightly forward, resting
against the bank of snow before it, and frozen to the hardness of marble. Thus, in an act of kindness
and charity, died the first martyr of the Canadian mission.1 [Note: Francis Parkman, The Jesuits in
North America, ii. 75.]
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66. Oh, safe for evermore,
With never a weird to dree:
Is any burden sore
When one’s beloved goes free?
Come pain, come woe to me,
My well-beloved goes free!
You are so far away,
And yet have come so near:
On many a heavy day
I think of you, my dear,
Safe in your shelter there,
Christ’s hand upon your hair.1 [Note: Katharine Tynan Hinkson.]
IV
The Death of Balaam
1. “Let me die the death of the righteous, and let my last end be like his!” Was ever prayer more
beautiful than this? Was ever answer to prayer sadder? Falstaff “babbling o’ green fields,” the old
backslider trying to grope his way in the dark to the green pasture of the 23rd Psalm, is a less tragic
sight than Balaam’s headless form huddled among the heap of Midian’s dead.
2. Foiled in his attempt to procure a curse on Israel by means of sacrifices and incantations, Balaam,
as we are told in the Apocalypse, tried to effect his end by indirect and yet more devilish means.
Purity of mind and body, and freedom from idolatry, were the very conditions on which Israel
enjoyed the Divine favour. If they could be tempted to anything at variance with these, their doom
was sealed. So reasoned the prophet, and applying his very knowledge of God to the service of the
devil, he taught Balak his vile secret. If he could seduce the Israelites to commit fornication, and to
join in the unhallowed sacrifices of the lewd god of Peor, they might still be ruined. The 25th chapter
of Numbers shows the partial success of this infernal artifice. And when we take it in connexion with
the brief notice in a subsequent passage, that in warring with Moab they slew Balaam also, the son of
Beor, with the sword, we are driven to suppose that, after returning home to Pethor unsuccessful in
the first instance, Balaam had actually gone back to Balak, to induce him to try seduction on those
against whom magic had been powerless; that he had awaited there the issue of his vile suggestions,
and had at length died in arms, fighting against the nation whose only offence against him had been
that God had not allowed him to pronounce a lucrative curse upon them. And this was the end of the
man who had said, “Let me die the death of the righteous, and let my last end be like his!” In all
history there is no more signal instance of the literal fulfilment of the most fearful imprecation that
ever was conceived or uttered: “Let his prayer be turned into sin!”
There was a noble soul that strove to become the man, but; another soul, light, vain, and lustful,
throve meanwhile; and in the reaction that followed the great scene upon the hills, it sprang forward
at the head of its train of passions and overthrew the man of God in Balaam, “and Balaam the son of
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67. Beor they slew with the sword.” “Lust dwells hard by hate.” The soul that had now become the man
naturally hated the people of the law, and so he sank swiftly from sin to sin, till he was found at last
among the heathen dead.1 [Note: J. M. Gibbon.]
3. What are the lessons of the death of Balaam? Chiefly these two: First, that no man should expect
to die the death of the righteous who does not live the life of the righteous; and, second, that wishes,
however earnest, do not necessarily bring the thing wished for.
(1) Why should any one expect to come to a good death who will not lead a good life? This world is
not governed by chance, or fate, or caprice. Surely there is a Righteous Ruler among us; and He rules
by just and equitable laws. More than this may we say: that there is a unity or a oneness, in the
various parts of God’s world, of such a kind, that, by looking at what is in one place, we can tell what
must be in another. “Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so every good tree
bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth
evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.” The Lord was speaking of trees and
shrubs and plants; in reality He was talking, in a figure, about the souls and the lives of men. If the
life has been hard, sharp, and angry, and such that a bramble-bush is its proper emblem; if a man
has permitted his sins, like thick weeds, to choke the seed of spiritual life, what sense is there in
looking for mellowness, and fruitage, and pleasant, profitable things in him when the summer is past
and the autumn days are come?
(2) Balaam wished that he might die the death of the righteous. And in every such wish some things
are implied the presence of which is better than their absence. There is first a knowledge of good. The
man who so speaks knows something at least (as Balaam said) of the knowledge of the Most High.
Again, the honest utterance of such a wish implies that, as there is knowledge in the understanding,
so is there also life in the conscience. And yet how far was his wish from being fulfilled. Balaam knew
well that he who would die the death of the righteous must first be righteous—must first have lived
the life of the righteous. Conscious, as in his inmost soul he must have been, that he was at present far
from that righteousness, that the whole bent of his heart was evil, that he was under the dominion of
one overmastering passion which alone and of itself was turning all his religion into practical
hypocrisy, he should have set himself with determined resolution to unravel this web of deceit, to
retrace his crooked steps, to seek that straight and narrow way from which he had so long and so
obstinately wandered, to lay afresh the very foundations of his spiritual being, and become that
which heretofore he had been satisfied to seem. He knew well that the distinction between the last end
of the righteous and of the wicked is no arbitrary difference, but the equitable, the natural result of a
long course of voluntary acts. To wish for the death, without resolving to live the life, of the
righteous, is to dream of an effect without a cause, of a harvest without a seed-time.
4. As for death-bed repentances, or late conversions, about which it would seem that no one could
speak with too great caution, or too severe a reserve, men talk of them with a boldness which is
effrontery. Who knows anything about the worth of such changes? Are they really changes? If he
who at his last hour calls on God and professes repentance and faith, were to recover, who can say
that he would not forget it all, and straightway go back to his old ways? Men have done so in a
thousand cases: would they not always do so? Is it repentance to cease from sinning only when the
power of sinning has gone? Is it not a mockery to style it repentance, when it is not the man who
forsakes his sins, but his sins that forsake the man? What is that conversion which a man professes,
when the nerves are unstrung, the frame prostrated, the mind enfeebled, the functions in disorder,
the power to think, meditate, and pray reduced to a minimum by restlessness, fever, and pain?
Whatever may come of this in another world, one thing is certain: The Gospel, rightly understood,
holds out no hope to delay. God promises pardon to the penitent, but not a morrow to the
procrastinator; and as for those theories which make void the simple teachings of Christ, and
promise to show us full ripe clusters of grapes on the bitter bramble and luscious figs on the thistle,
they are but inventions of men. Reason and revelation have but one voice: both warn against rash
boasting, in cases where the life has not been that which a Christian man ought to live. The solitary
instance in Scripture of a dying sinner’s repentance shakes not the weight of the general argument.
Our Lord, on His cross, pardoned one of the two that hung beside Him; nay, He said, “To-day shalt
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68. thou be with me in Paradise.” But the case stands alone. One such man was pardoned, that we might
hope: one such only, lest we should presume. God showed His power; but He also at once withdrew
and hid His hand, lest men should make a rule of an exception and boldly continue in sin.
COKE, "Numbers 23:10. Who can count the dust of Jacob? &c.— God promised to Abraham,
first, that his posterity should inherit the land of Canaan; and secondly, that they should
be as numerous as the dust of the earth, Genesis 13:15-16. Balaam confirms this double
promise: the first part in the preceding verse, the second in this; where he speaks of the
prodigious multiplication of the people. These words may regard the present state of the
Israelites; but they principally respect the future. The LXX well express the meaning of this
place in their translation: Who can count the seed of Jacob? The number of the fourth part
of Israel refers to the division of Israel into the four camps; so that the meaning is,—How
vast must be the number of this people, when one of their camps is so numerous as to be
almost past reckoning! What we render, and the number of the fourth part, Houbigant
renders, and can number the multitude.
Let my last end be like his— These words may be rendered, let my posterity be like his;
and so the LXX have it. The Gemara on this place strongly recommends the above
interpretation: "May I die neither by a violent nor immature death, which was peculiarly
promised to those Israelites who kept the law." Bishop Sherlock also understands the
words in this sense, as referring to temporal posterity. But Houbigant is of opinion, that
the words have a much higher sense. He supposes the righteous to mean, not the
contumacious Israelites, but those whom that people figured out; and that the parable of
Balaam is of the same kind with the parables of our Saviour. Balaam wishes, says he, so to
survive his fate, as they will do who shall die the death of the just; signifying, by this with,
the future immortality of the just, an immortality to be desired by all mortals. It is a good
remark which a commentator makes upon the text, that all mankind have a desire after
happiness and the reward of virtue; but few have resolution to withstand the temptations
of vice, and maintain their integrity against the allurements of worldly honours, riches, or
sensual pleasures. "Just so," says Epictetus, "many would be conquerors at the Olympic
games, many philosophers like Socrates, though they have no inclination to submit to the
previous and necessary steps. He that would win the crown must contend."
"Oh let me die his death!" all Nature cries. "Then live his life,"—all Nature falters there.
YOUNG, Night V.
REFLECTIONS.—To engage God on his side, Balaam prepares his sacrifices; and Balak, at
his command, offers. Hereupon, 1. He retires with an expectation of meeting with God; and
though the sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord, yet, for purposes of his
own glory, he will give him his answer. Balaam, on God's appearance, boasts of the charge
he had been at in the sacrifices, and seems to expect such an answer as corresponded to
his wishes; but God confounded his desires, and made him the unwilling prophet of
Israel's glory and Moab's confusion. Note; (1.) They who think to make God a debtor by
their services, will be deeply disappointed; the curse of pride on the services of the self-
righteous will be heavier than the curse of sin on the careless. (2.) God will meet those
who wait on him in his ways with an answer of peace, and put a word in their mouth of
blessing and comfort. 2. His return to Balak, who stood by his sacrifice. He was not weary
of waiting in so bad a cause; and shall not we, much more, always pray and never faint?
Balak is now big with expectation, but how confounded with Balaam's message! His
parable, or prophetic word, confirms Israel's blessedness. Note; Balaam is struck with
their appearance, and bursts forth into an admiration of their happiness. They are
confessedly a people separated from God, under the divine guidance, and distinguished,
by their honourable peculiarity, from all the nations around them. God's are a peculiar
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69. people, distinguished by a holy separation from the world, in all their ways, and designed
to dwell with him in his heavenly land of bliss and glory. He expresses his astonishment at
their multitude, countless as the dust of the plain where they appeared; yea the fourth part
of them, a squadron only of their hosts, appears innumerable: so remarkably were the
promises to Abraham fulfilled, even by the confession of their enemies. Note; When all
God's spiritual Israel are collected at the last great day, they will be a more glorious host,
which no man can number. Fain would he have his lot in death with righteous Israel, nor
wishes a greater portion than that his last end might be like theirs. Vain wish! succeeded
by no efforts, and dying as it dropped from his tongue. Note; (1.) The death of the
righteous is desirable, not dreadful: at their absence from the body they will be admitted to
the presence of their Lord. (2.) Many wish their end who do not like their way; but these are
inseparable. We must be companions with them in our lives, if in our deaths we would not
be divided. Highly provoked at the unexpected disappointment, the king of Moab, with
rage, reproaches the prophet; while Balaam urges, in his defence, the necessity under
which he acted, and owns the over-ruling power of the Almighty God. Note; (1.) God will
make men know that the heavens rule. (2.) Kings rage in vain against the Lord, and against
his anointed.
WHEEDON, " 10. The dust of Jacob — Posterity so multiplied as to be countless as the
dust. The hyperbole was a common rhetorical figure with Oriental writers, especially in
indicating a great number. Genesis 13:16, note; Exodus 32:12.
The death of the righteous — The qualities which in Balaam’s conception are implied in
the term righteous are, “to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with God.”
Micah 6:8. He ascribes these qualities to Israel as a whole, because there were some
among them of unquestioned rectitude, and others who evinced their rectitude of heart by
prompt repentance after any temporary defection. There is no sufficient evidence that
Balaam’s desire embraced blessedness beyond the grave. The whole prophecy has
reference to unbroken prosperity up to a peaceful death. “How much soever men differ in
the course of life they prefer, and in their ways of palliating and excusing their vices to
themselves, yet all agree in one thing, desiring to die the death of the righteous. This
surely is remarkable. The observation may be extended further, and put thus: There is no
man but would choose, after having had the pleasure or advantage of a vicious action, to
be free of the guilt of it — to be in the state of an innocent man. This shows, at least, the
disturbance and implicit dissatisfaction in vice arising partly from an immediate sense of
having done evil, and partly from an apprehension that this inward sense shall, one time or
another, be seconded by a higher judgment, upon which our whole being depends.” —
Bishop Butler.
11 Balak said to Balaam, “What have you done to
me? I brought you to curse my enemies, but you
have done nothing but bless them!”
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70. GILL, "And Balak said unto Balaam, what hast thou done unto me?.... Or "for
me" (f); nothing at all, to answer his purpose, or his end in sending for him:
I took thee to curse mine enemies: so he calls the Israelites, though they had never
done him any wrong; nor committed any acts of hostility against him, nor showed any
intention to commit any; nay, were forbidden by the Lord their God to contend in battle
with him and his people:
and, behold, thou hast blessed them altogether; or, "in blessing blessed" (g),
done nothing but bless them, and that with many blessings, or pronounced them
blessed, and prophesied of their blessedness, for their number, their safety, and of their
happiness, not only in life, but at and after death.
HENRY11-12, "We are told, 1. How Balak fretted at it, Num_23:11. He pretended to
honour the Lord with his sacrifices, and to wait for the answer God would send him; and
yet, when it did not prove according to his mind, he forgot God, and flew into a great
passion against Balaam, as if it had been purely his doing: “What hast thou done unto
me! How hast thou disappointed me!” Sometimes God makes the enemies of his church
a vexation one to another, while he that sits in heaven laughs at them, and the efforts of
their impotent malice. 2. How Balaam was forced to acquiesce in it. He submits because
he cannot help it, and yet humours the thing with no small address, as if he had been
peculiarly conscientious, answering Balak with the gravity of a prophet: Must I not take
heed to speak that which the Lord has put in my mouth? Num_23:12. Thus a confession
of God's overruling power is extorted from a wicked prophet, to the further confusion of
a wicked prince.
K&D, "Balak reproached Balaam for this utterance, which announced blessings to the
Israelites instead of curses. But he met his reproaches with the remark, that he was
bound by the command of Jehovah. The infinitive absolute, ֵ‫ר‬ ָ‫,בּ‬ after the finite verb,
expresses the fact that Balaam had continued to give utterance to nothing but blessings.
‫ר‬ ֵ‫בּ‬ ַ‫ד‬ ְ‫ל‬ ‫ר‬ ַ‫מ‬ ָ‫,שׁ‬ to observe to speak; ‫ר‬ ַ‫מ‬ָ‫,שׁ‬ to notice carefully, as in Deu_5:1, Deu_5:29, etc.
But Balak thought that the reason might be found in the unfavourable locality; he
therefore led the seer to “the field of the watchers, upon the top of Pisgah,” whence he
could see the whole of the people of Israel. The words ‫וגו‬ ‫נּוּ‬ ֶ‫א‬ ְ‫ר‬ ִ‫תּ‬ ‫ר‬ֶ‫ֲשׁ‬‫א‬ (Num_23:13) are to
be rendered, “whence thou wilt see it (Israel); thou seest only the end of it, but not the
whole of it” (sc., here upon Bamoth-baal). This is required by a comparison of the verse
before us with Num_22:41, where it is most unquestionably stated, that upon the top of
Bamoth-baal Balaam only saw “the end of the people.” For this reason Balak regarded
that place as unfavourable, and wished to lead the seer to a place from which he could
see the people, without any limitation whatever. Consequently, notwithstanding the
omission of ‫י‬ ִ‫כּ‬ (for), the words ‫הוּ‬ֵ‫צ‬ ָ‫ק‬ ‫ס‬ֶ‫פ‬ ֶ‫א‬ can only be intended to assign the reason why
Balak supposed the first utterances of Balaam to have been unfavourable. ‫הוּ‬ֵ‫צ‬ ָ‫ק‬ = ‫ם‬ָ‫ע‬ ָ‫ה‬
70

71. ‫ה‬ֵ‫צ‬ ְ‫,ק‬ the end of the people (Num_22:41), cannot possibly signify the whole nation, or, as
Marck, de Geer, Gesenius, and Kurtz suppose, “the people from one end to the other,” in
which case ‫ם‬ָ‫ע‬ ָ‫ה‬ ‫ה‬ֵ‫צ‬ ְ‫ק‬ (the end of the people) would signify the very opposite of ‫הוּ‬ֵ‫צ‬ ָ‫ק‬ (the
end of it); for ‫ם‬ָ‫ע‬ ָ‫ה‬ ‫ה‬ֵ‫צ‬ ְ‫ק‬ is not interchangeable, or to be identified, with ‫ה‬ֶ‫צ‬ ָ‫קּ‬ ִ‫מ‬ ‫ם‬ָ‫ע‬ ָ‫ל־ה‬ָ‫כּ‬
(Gen_19:4), “the whole people, from the end or extremity of it,” or from its last man; in
other words, “to the very last man.” Still less does ‫ם‬ָ‫ע‬ ָ‫ה‬ ‫ה‬ֵ‫צ‬ ְ‫ק‬ ‫ס‬ֶ‫פ‬ ֶ‫א‬ signify “the uttermost
end of the whole people, the end of the entire people,” notwithstanding the fact that
Kurtz regards the expression, “the end of the end of the people,” as an intolerable
tautology. ‫נ‬ ְ‫ב‬ ָ‫,ק‬ imperative with nun epenth., from ‫ב‬ ַ‫ב‬ ָ‫.ק‬ The “field of the watchers,” or
“spies (zophim), upon the top of Pisgah,” corresponds, no doubt, to “the field of Moab,
upon the top of Pisgah,” on the west of Heshbon (see at Num_21:20). Mount Nebo, from
which Moses surveyed the land of Canaan in all its length and breadth, was one summit,
and possibly the summit of Pisgah (see Deu_3:27; Deu_34:1). The field of the spies was
very probably a tract of table-land upon Nebo; and so called either because watchers
were stationed there in times of disturbance, to keep a look-out all round, or possibly
because it was a place where augurs made their observations of the heavens and of birds
(Knobel). The locality has not been thoroughly explored by travellers; but from the spot
alluded to, it must have been possible to overlook a very large portion of the Arboth
Moab. Still farther to the north, and nearer to the camp of the Israelites in these Arboth,
was the summit of Peor, to which Balak afterwards conducted Balaam (Num_23:28),
and where he not only saw the whole of the people, but could see distinctly the camps of
the different tribes (Num_24:2).
CALVIN, "11.And Balak said unto Balaam. The proud man again reproaches the
false prophet, as if he had fairly purchased of him the right of prophecy. (159)
Behold how the reprobate seek God by crooked paths, and desire to have nothing to
do with Him, unless He yields to their improper wishes — in a word, unless they
render Him submissive to them. Balaam, therefore, is compelled to repress this
stupid arrogance, by pleading God’s command, and declaring that nothing more
was allowed him than to announce what God prescribed. But we must remember
that this was only spoken in reference to a particular act, when, as far as his words
went, he acted the part of a true prophet, although his feelings were altogether on
the other side.
COFFMAN, ""And Balak said unto Balaam, What hast thou done unto me? I took
thee to curse mine enemies, and, behold, thou hast blessed them altogether. And he
answered and said, Must I not take heed to speak that which Jehovah putteth in my
mouth?
And Balak said unto him, Come, I pray thee, with me unto another place, from
whence thou mayest see them; thou shalt see but the utmost part of them, and shalt
not see them all: and curse me them from thence. And he took him into the field of
Zophim, to the top of Pisgah, and built seven altars, and offered up a bullock and a
ram on every altar. And he said unto Balak, Stand here by thy burnt-offering, while
71

72. I meet Jehovah yonder. And Jehovah met Balaam, and put a word in his mouth, and
said, Return unto Balak, and thus shalt thou speak. And he came to him, and, lo, he
was standing by his burnt-offering, and the princes of Moab with him. And Balak
said unto him, What hath Jehovah spoken? And he took up his parable, and said,
SECOND ORACLE
Rise up, Balak, and hear;
Hearken unto me, thou son of Zippor:
God is not a man, that he should lie,
Neither the son of man, that he should repent:
Hath he said, and will he not do it?
Or hath he spoken, and will he not make it good?
Behold, I have received commandment to bless:
And he hath blessed, and I cannot reverse it.
He hath not beheld iniquity in Jacob;
Neither hath he seen perverseness in Israel:
Jehovah his God is with him,
And the shout of a king is among them.
God bringeth them forth out of Egypt;
He hath as it were the strength of the wild-ox.
Surely there is no enchantment with Jacob;
Neither is there any divination with Israel:
Now shall it be said of Jacob and of Israel,
What hath God wrought!
Behold, the people riseth up as a lioness,
And as a lion doth he lift himself up:
72

73. He shall not lie down until he eat of the prey,
And drink the blood of the slain.
And Balak said unto Balaam, Neither curse them at all, nor bless them at all. But
Balaam answered and said unto Balak, Told not I thee, saying, All that Jehovah
speaketh, that I must do?"
The first eight lines of this second oracle have the impact upon Balak, saying, in
effect, "Look, Balak, what a fool you are to think that Almighty God, having blessed
his people already, will now withhold that blessing, or curse Israel!" The rest of this
second oracle reaffirms in stronger tones than ever the blessing of Jacob by
Jehovah, promising, among other blessings, that he shall destroy his enemies as a
lion slays and devours the prey.
"The shout of a king is among them ..." (Numbers 23:21). Does this verse say that
Israel, at the time this was written, was under the monarchy? Indeed, it says no such
thing; but this very mention of such a word sets off a whole truck load of allegations
to the effect that this episode was not written until long after Moses in the days
following the Judges after which the monarch was set up in Israel. As a matter of
truth, the word "king" does not even belong in the rendition here. The Septuagint
(LXX) and the Samaritan versions of the Pentateuch both render the passage: "The
Lord his God is with him (with Jacob), and royal majesty accompanies him."[13]
This gives the true meaning of the passage. The "king" in view here was in no sense
an earthly ruler of the Jews, but God Himself. This is clear, even as it stands in the
common versions:
Jehovah his God is with him,
And the shout of a king is among them.
The parallelism, which is the basic pattern of all these poems demands that the
second line repeat the thought of the first. It is therefore God who is referred to in
the second line. Was God Israel's king? Of course; and, therefore, it is not
technically wrong to render "king" in the second line, provided that it is not
misunderstood as to just WHO is the king spoken of. It was precisely to avoid any
misunderstanding on this point that led the Septuagint (LXX) and the Samaritan
versions to avoid the word "king." Dummelow properly discerned the true meaning
of this place, as in his comment: "The shout of a king is not the shout raised by a
king, but the shout raised at the presence of a king. Israel rejoices at having God as
their king."[14]
The words rendered "lioness" and "lion" in Numbers 23:24 are found in some
translations as "old lion," "strong lion," and "great lion." Orlinsky denied that
"lioness" is ever a justifiable rendition here.[15] The imagery here is taken almost
73

74. verbatim from Jacob's blessing of Judah in Genesis 49. We agree with Whitelaw
that, "it is altogether fantastic to suppose that Balaam had just seen a lion come up"
out of the valley of the Jordan, and that "this inspired" his parable.[16]
"What hath God wrought ...!" (Numbers 23:23). This verse has always been a
source of wonder and challenge. When S. F. B. Morse, having duly prepared for it,
sent the first message by wireless telegraph from Washington, D.C., to Baltimore,
MD, on May 24,1844, these four words constituted the message. In context, the
words are an affirmation that men shall never cease to wonder and to praise God
for what he did on behalf of Israel. A whole mighty nation delivered from slavery in
a single night, armed for their journey and launched upon a course of conquest that
would make them, for a while, the greatest nation in antiquity! Who could have
imagined such a thing? Yet God did it!
"Thou shalt see but the utmost part of them ... " (Numbers 23:13). The strategy of
Balak here was that Balaam should see only the outposts of Israel, the stragglers, the
"fringes" as it were of the mighty hosts of Israel, and with such a limited view
before him, perhaps Balaam could come up with a curse. This is still the strategy of
the Devil. He challenges his Satanic followers not to look at the mighty hosts of true
believers who receive and obey the truth, seeking to focus attention upon the
"fringes" of God's kingdom, the weak, the failing, the backsliders, and the quitters.
It has been said that Satan has not designed a new strategy in 10,000 years. We are
aware of efforts to reverse the meaning of Numbers 23:13, but in light of the
fundamental truth underlying what it says "as is," we shall leave the passage as it is.
TRAPP, "Numbers 23:11 And Balak said unto Balaam, What hast thou done unto
me? I took thee to curse mine enemies, and, behold, thou hast blessed [them]
altogether.
Ver. 11. What hast thou done unto me.] Hereby it appears that Balak, in serving of
God by building altars and offering sacrifices, did but serve himself upon God; as
Ephraim bore "fruit to himself"; [Hosea 10:1] and "Did ye fast to me, even to me?"
[Zechariah 7:5]
12 He answered, “Must I not speak what the Lord
puts in my mouth?”
74

75. GILL, "And he answered and said,.... By reply to Balak:
must I not take heed to speak that which the Lord hath put in my mouth?
pretending a great regard to the word of God, and to great carefulness to speak it, exactly
and punctually as he received it, whereas he was forced to it, and could not do otherwise.
TRAPP, "Numbers 23:12 And he answered and said, Must I not take heed to speak
that which the LORD hath put in my mouth?
Ver. 12. Must I not take heed to speak.] See how those hypocrites mock one with
another. Potest augur augurem videre, et non ridere? (a) said Cato.
WHEDON, "12. Must I not take heed — This truly noble utterance implies that
Balaam did not speak under physical constraint from Jehovah, a mere fiction of
Philo, but as a free agent, clearly perceiving and admiring the right, but strongly
desiring the wrong. Says Bishop Butler: “He is plainly represented to be under no
other force or restraint than the fear of God.” This double part which Balaam is
playing, his apparent readiness to obey Jehovah and his wish to minister to the
wicked desire of his employer, will ere long bring certain ruin upon himself.
Balaam’s Second Message
13 Then Balak said to him, “Come with me to
another place where you can see them; you will
not see them all but only the outskirts of their
camp. And from there, curse them for me.”
BARNES, "Balak seems to hope that the prophet’s words in Num_23:10 reflected the
impression conveyed by the scene before him at the moment of the augury; and so that
the sight of a mere few straggling Israelites in the utmost part of the camp might induce
a different estimate of their resources and prospects.
75

76. CLARKE"Thou shalt see but the utmost part of them - Balak thought that the
sight of such an immense camp had intimidated Balaam, and this he might gather from
what he said in the tenth verse: Who can count the dust of Jacob, etc.; he thought
therefore that he might get Balaam to curse them in detached parties, till the whole
camp should be devoted to destruction by successive execrations.
GILL, "And Balak said unto him,.... Seemingly satisfied with his answer, however,
he could not help himself, and was willing to make the best of him he could, and try what
he could do with him another time and elsewhere:
come, I pray thee, with me unto another place, from whence thou mayest
see them; for he had a mighty notion that both the sight of the people, and the place
from whence they were seen, would greatly contribute to answer the end he had in view,
cursing the people:
thou shall see but the utmost part of them, and shalt not see them all; for he
thought, either that he was so charmed with so glorious a sight as the regular
encampment of such a body of people was, that he could not find in his heart to curse
them; or that he was so terrified at the sight of such a vast number of people, that he
dared not attempt it; and therefore Balak proposed to have him to a place where he
could only see a part of them and not the whole:
and curse me them from thence: that part, hoping that when he had cursed them
he would gradually go on till he had cursed them all: but there is this objection to our
version, and the sense it directs to, that Balaam had been brought to a place already,
where he had seen the utmost part of the people, Num_22:41 wherefore some read (h)
the middle clause in a parenthesis, and in the past tense "(for thou hast seen but the
utmost part of them, and hast not seen them all)"; and therefore would have him come
to a place where he might see them all, and curse them from thence.
JAMISON, "Come, ... with me unto another place, from whence thou
mayest see them — Surprised and disappointed at this unexpected eulogy on Israel,
Balak hoped that, if seen from a different point of observation, the prophet would give
utterance to different feelings; and so, having made the same solemn preparations,
Balaam retired, as before, to wait the divine afflatus.
K&D, "And Balak said unto him,.... Seemingly satisfied with his answer, however,
he could not help himself, and was willing to make the best of him he could, and try what
he could do with him another time and elsewhere:
come, I pray thee, with me unto another place, from whence thou mayest
see them; for he had a mighty notion that both the sight of the people, and the place
from whence they were seen, would greatly contribute to answer the end he had in view,
cursing the people:
76

77. thou shall see but the utmost part of them, and shalt not see them all; for he
thought, either that he was so charmed with so glorious a sight as the regular
encampment of such a body of people was, that he could not find in his heart to curse
them; or that he was so terrified at the sight of such a vast number of people, that he
dared not attempt it; and therefore Balak proposed to have him to a place where he
could only see a part of them and not the whole:
and curse me them from thence: that part, hoping that when he had cursed them
he would gradually go on till he had cursed them all: but there is this objection to our
version, and the sense it directs to, that Balaam had been brought to a place already,
where he had seen the utmost part of the people, Num_22:41 wherefore some read (h)
the middle clause in a parenthesis, and in the past tense "(for thou hast seen but the
utmost part of them, and hast not seen them all)"; and therefore would have him come
to a place where he might see them all, and curse them from thence.
CALVIN, "13.And Balac said unto him. Balak did, as almost all superstitious
persons usually do; for, because with them nothing is certain or established, they are
carried about from one speculation to another, and try now this and now that
expedient. But especially do they imagine that there is some magical power in the
sight, as if the eyes contributed partly to the efficacy of their incantations. It appears
from profane writers that this was formerly a commonly received opinion, that the
gaze of the enchanter had much effect upon his art. Balak, therefore, removes his
sorcerer to another place, that there he might the better exercise his divinations.
There is some ambiguity in the words. Some render them thus, “Come to another
place, that thou mayest see from thence, (160) mayest see a part, and not the whole,”
as if Balak feared that the multitude itself frightened Balaam, or diminished the
power of his incantations. Their opinion, however, is the more probable, who take
the verb see, where it is used the second time, in the perfect tense, so that the sense
is, “Come to a place where thou mayest behold them; for as yet thou hast not seen
the whole, but only a part;” for we know how common a thing with the Hebrews is
such an employment of one tense for another. With respect to the place to which
Balaam was taken, it little matters whether we believe ‫צפים‬ ‫,שדה‬ sedeh tzophim and
‫פסגה‬ pis’gah, to be nouns proper or appellative, since it is sufficiently clear that, if
they were given to the place, it was on account of its position; for it is very likely that
there was a level place upon the hill, which might justly be called “The hill of the
spies.”
COKE"Numbers 23:13. Balak said,—Come—with me unto another place— Balak
seems to believe, that the sight of such a numerous people had an effect upon the
prophet; and therefore he wishes him now to pass to another place, that he might
see only a part of them: whence it seems probable, that they conceived it necessary
to have some part at least of the devoted people in view, in order to give effect to
their imprecations; as we observed on Numbers 22:41 of the former chapter.
77

78. TRAPP, "Numbers 23:13 And Balak said unto him, Come, I pray thee, with me
unto another place, from whence thou mayest see them: thou shalt see but the
utmost part of them, and shalt not see them all: and curse me them from thence.
Ver. 13. From whence thou mayest see them.] And over-look them, as they say
witches do, B‫בףךביםוים‬ quasi ‫ךביםוים‬ ‫;צבוףי‬ Nescio quis teneros, &c. In Hebrew the
same word signifies both an eye and a fountain; to show, that from the eye, as a
fountain, flows both sin and misery.
POOLE, "He thought the sight of the people necessary both to excite Balaam’s
passions, and to strengthen and direct his conjurations; but he would now have him
see but a part of the people, and not all, because the sight of all of them might
dismay and discourage him, and, as it did before, raise his fancy to an admiration of
the multitude and of the felicity of the people, Numbers 23:9,10.
WHEDON, "Verse 13
THE SECOND PROPHECY, Numbers 23:13-26.
13. But the utmost part — Balak attributes the failure of Balaam’s first effort to the
fact that the magnitude of Israel’s encampment, taken in at one sweep of his eyes,
had influenced his mind and changed the curse to a blessing. He is now taken to a
place from which only one edge of the camp can be seen.
ELLICOTT, "(13) Thou shalt see but the utmost part of them . . . —If this
rendering be correct, it strongly confirms that interpretation of Numbers 22:41
according to which Balaam saw the whole host of Israel from Bamoth-Baal. The
words may, however, be rendered thus: Thou seest (i.e., here) but the utmost part of
them, and thou dost not see them all. If the interpretation of Numbers 22:41 is
adopted, which restricts the view from Bamoth-Baal to the extremity of the host of
Israel, the meaning of this verse would seem to be that if Balaam could obtain a full
view of the entire army he would not only perceive the ground which existed for
Balak’s alarm, but would be induced to put forth more strenuous efforts to deliver
him from so formidable an invasion. On the other hand, if that interpretation of
Numbers 22:41 be adopted, which implies that from Bamoth-Baal Balaam had a
view of the whole of the host of Israel from one extremity of their camps to the
other, the meaning of this verse would be that although the sight of so vast and
orderly a mass produced so powerful an effect upon Balaam that he was unable to
utter the curses which he had desired to pronounce upon Israel, such an effect
would not be equally likely to be produced if only a portion of the camps was visible
at the same time.
PETT, "Numbers 23:13
78

79. ‘And Balak said to him, “Come, I pray you, with me to another place, from where
you may see them. You shall see but the utmost part of them, and shall not see them
all. And curse me them from there.” ’
It is interesting to note that Balak reluctantly accepted the explanation and decided
that this particular height clearly brought them in contact with ‘gods’ not
favourable to their cause. These were ‘the heights of Baal’. Clearly Baal was in
league with Yahweh. The solution must therefore be to try another place. Perhaps
on a new mountain the gods there could be persuaded to call on Yahweh to act in his
favour. We see from this something of the beliefs of people outside Israel, and the
uniqueness of Israel’s religion.
“You shall see but the utmost part of them, and shall not see them all.” The
impression being given is that their numbers were so large that wherever they stood
they could not all be seen at once.
PULPIT, "Numbers 23:13
Come … unto another place. Balak attributed the miscarriage of his enterprise thus
far to something inauspicious in the locality. Thou shalt see but the utmost part of
them. ‫ה‬ ֶ‫א‬ ְ‫ר‬ ִ‫ת‬ ‫הוּ‬ֶ‫צ‬ָ‫ק‬ ‫ס‬ֶ‫פ‬ ֶ‫.א‬ Both the meaning of the nouns and the tense of the verb are
disputed. By some "ephes katsehu" (the end of the last of them) is held equivalent to
"the whole of them," which seems to contradict the next clause even if defensible in
itself. The ordinary rendering is favoured by the Septuagint ( ἀλλ ἢ μέρος τι αὐτοῦ
ὄψει) and by the Targums. On the other hand, some would read the verb in the
present tense, and understand Balak's words to refer to the place they were leaving.
This is in accordance with the statement in Numbers 22:41, and it would certainly
seem as if Balak and Balaam moved each time nearer to that encampment which
was for different masons the center of attraction to them both.
14 So he took him to the field of Zophim on the
top of Pisgah, and there he built seven altars and
offered a bull and a ram on each altar.
79

80. BARNES, "he field of Zophim - Or, “of watchers.” It lay upon the top of Pisgah,
north of the former station, and nearer to the Israelite camp; the greater part of which
was, however, probably concealed from it by an intervening spur of the hill. Beyond the
camp Balaam’s eye would pass on to the bed of the Jordan. It was perhaps a lion coming
up in his strength from the swelling of that stream (compare Jer_49:19) that furnished
him with the augury he awaited, and so dictated the final similitude of his next parable.
GILL, "And he brought him into the field of Zophim,.... Or Sede Tzophim, as
Hillerus (i) reads it, so called from the watch tower, and watchmen in it: Jarchi says, it
was a high place, where a watchman stood to observe if an army came against a city, and
so a very proper place to take a view of the armies of Israel from:
to the top of Pisgah; a high hill in this place, where perhaps the watch tower was, or,
however, the watchman stood: this looked towards Jeshimon or Bethjesimoth, in the
plain of Moab, where Israel lay encamped, see Num_21:20, and built seven altars, and
offered a bullock and a ram on every altar: as he had done before, Num_23:2.
JAMISON, "he brought him into the field of Zophim ... top of Pisgah — a flat
surface on the summit of the mountain range, which was cultivated land. Others render
it “the field of sentinels,” an eminence where some of Balak’s guards were posted to give
signals [Calmet].
K&D 14-17, "Num_23:14-17
Upon Pisgah, Balak and Balaam made the same preparations for a fresh revelation
from God as upon Bamoth-baal (Num_23:1-6). ‫ֹה‬‫כּ‬ in Num_23:15 does not mean “here”
or “yonder,” but “so” or “thus,” as in every other case. The thought is this: “Do thou stay
(sc., as thou art), and I will go and meet thus” (sc., in the manner required). ‫ה‬ ֶ‫ר‬ ָ‫קּ‬ ִ‫א‬ (I will
go and meet) is a technical term here for going out for auguries (Num_24:1), or for a
divine revelation.
COKE, "Numbers 23:14. The field of Zophim to the top of Pisgah— Zophim,
signifies watchmen; and the field of Zophim seems to have been a plain on the top of
the mountain, where watchmen were placed in order to give a signal upon the
approach of enemies. See Isaiah 21:11; Isaiah 52:8. Pisgah was a very high
mountain in the country of Moab, from some parts of which almost the whole extent
of Canaan might be seen. Deuteronomy 3:27. But Balak, it appears, brought Balaam
to that side of it where he could not see much of the camp of Israel. Spencer
supposes, that in this place were the obelisks on which they placed the images of the
tutelar gods of their country. De Leg. Heb. lib. ii. c. 22.
WHEDON, "14. The field of Zophim was the cultivated field of the watchmen on
80

81. the slope or top of the range of Pisgah. Mr. Porter identifies it with the ruins of
Main, at the foot of Attarus, which he calls Pisgah. The watchers may have been
sentinels in war or augurs in peace observing the heavens and the birds.
ELLICOTT, "(14) The field of Zophim.—i.e., of watchers. Tne spot seems to be
identified with that from which Moses afterwards surveyed the promised land
(Deuteronomy 3:27), and which is described in Deuteronomy 34:1 as “the mountain
of Nebo,” or Mount Nebo. It is possible, however, that Pisgah may have had more
than one of such summits.
PETT, "Numbers 23:14
‘And he took him to the field of Zophim (the watchers), to the top of the Pisgah, and
built seven altars, and offered up an ox bull and a ram on every altar.’
This time Balak took Balaam to the field of Zophim, to the top of the Pisgah. There
again they went through the motions of Balaam’s usual approach to his control.
Zophim means ‘the watchers’. The previous site was the ‘heights of Baal’. The
names may therefore link with particular deities seen as connected with particular
Moabite holy places.
15 Balaam said to Balak, “Stay here beside your
offering while I meet with him over there.”
GILL, "And he said unto Balak, stand here by thy burnt offering,.... As he had
before directed him, Num_23:3.
while I meet the Lord yonder; pointing to some place at a little distance, where he
expected to meet the Lord, and have some instructions from him, which he seemed
confident of, having met with him once already.
WHEDON, " 15. Stand here — Rather, Do thou stand thus, as thou art.
While I meet — In the Hebrew this verb meet has no object. It is technically used
for going out for auguries, (Numbers 24:1,) or for the words of Jehovah. Literally, I
will meet thus, that is, in the required manner.
81

82. PETT. "Numbers 23:15
‘And he said to Balak, “Stand here by your whole burnt offering, while I meet
yonder.” ’
Once again Balaam told Balak to stand by his offering. This was important so that
the ‘gods’ would know to whom they owed this offering that they had received, and
might be persuaded by it. It was a considerable offering. Then he went to ‘meet’
whoever would appear.
PULPIT, "While I meet the Lord yonder. Rather, "and I will go and meet thus."
‫ה‬ֹ‫כּ‬ ‫ה‬ ֶ‫ר‬ָ‫קּ‬ ִ‫א‬ ‫י‬ ִ‫כ‬ֹ‫נ‬ ָ‫א‬ ְ‫.ו‬ Balaam does not say whom or what he is going to meet, but from the
use of the same term in Numbers 25-24:1 . I it is evident that he employed the
language of soothsayers looking for auguries. He may have spoken vaguely on
purpose, because he was in truth acting a part with Balak.
16 The Lord met with Balaam and put a word in
his mouth and said, “Go back to Balak and give
him this word.”
CLARKE"What hath the Lord spoken? - Balak himself now understood that
Balaam was wholly under the influence of Jehovah, and would say nothing but what God
commanded him; but not knowing Jehovah as Balaam did, he hoped that he might be
induced to change his mind, and curse a people whom he had hitherto determined to
bless.
GILL, "And when he came to him, behold, he stood by his burnt offering,....
As before; Num_23:6 and the princes of Moab with him; Jarchi observes, that before it
is said, all the princes of Moab, but not so here; for when they saw there was no hope of
succeeding, some of them went away, and only some were left:
and Balak said unto him, what hath the Lord spoken? being in haste to know
what it was, whether agreeable or not.
TRAPP. "Numbers 23:16 And the LORD met Balaam, and put a word in his mouth,
and said, Go again unto Balak, and say thus.
82

83. Ver. 16. Put a word.] {See Trapp on "Numbers 23:5"
WHEDON, "16. Put a word in his mouth — An instance of verbal inspiration. God
can impress words upon the human mind in ways which our poor philosophy
cannot fathom.
PETT, "Numbers 23:16
‘And Yahweh met Balaam, and put a word in his mouth, and said, “Return to
Balak, and thus shall you speak.” ’
Once again Balaam sought his ‘control’, and once again Yahweh met with him and
put His word in Balaam’s mouth (either through Balaam’s control, or more
probably directly). He was to go back with it to Balak.
17 So he went to him and found him standing
beside his offering, with the Moabite officials.
Balak asked him, “What did the Lord say?”
CLARKE"What hath the Lord spoken? - Balak himself now understood that
Balaam was wholly under the influence of Jehovah, and would say nothing but what God
commanded him; but not knowing Jehovah as Balaam did, he hoped that he might be
induced to change his mind, and curse a people whom he had hitherto determined to
bless.
GILL, "And when he came to him, behold, he stood by his burnt offering,....
As before; Num_23:6 and the princes of Moab with him; Jarchi observes, that before it
is said, all the princes of Moab, but not so here; for when they saw there was no hope of
succeeding, some of them went away, and only some were left:
and Balak said unto him, what hath the Lord spoken? being in haste to know
what it was, whether agreeable or not.
83

84. CALVIN, "17.And when he came to him. Balak inquires what God had answered,
although he had rejected the previous revelation. Thus do hypocrites profess
anxious solicitude in inquiring the will of God, whilst the knowledge of it is
intolerable to them. Therefore their extreme earnestness in inquiry is nothing but
mere dissimulation. Besides, Balak hunts, as it were, for the answer of God by a
distant divination, whereas a testimony to God’s will was all the time engraven upon
his heart. But this is the just punishment of perverse curiosity, when the wicked
endeavor to impose a law upon God, that he may submit to their wishes. Balak
omits nothing in regard to outward ceremonies; he humbly attends upon the altars
for the purpose of propitiating God; but in the meantime he would have Him
obedient to himself, and cannot endure to listen to Him, unless He speaks to him in
flattering and deceptive terms.
PETT, "Numbers 23:17
‘And he came to him, and, lo, he was standing by his whole burnt offering, and the
princes of Moab with him. And Balak said to him, “What has Yahweh spoken?” ’
Then Balaam returned to where Balak was, obediently standing by his offering with
his chieftains. They were agog to know what, message he had received, what
Yahweh had spoken. They were hopeful that this time it would be satisfactory, and
that Yahweh had been turned against His people. After all he had offered fourteen
ox bulls.
18 Then he spoke his message:
“Arise, Balak, and listen;
hear me, son of Zippor.
GILL, "And he took up his parable,.... Pronounced the word put into his mouth:
and said, rise up Balak, and hear; not from his seat, as Eglon a successor of his did,
Jdg_3:20 for he was now standing by his burnt offering; but the sense is, that he would
raise his attention, and stir up himself with all diligence to hear what he was about to
say:
hearken unto me, thou son of Zippor; or to his word, as the Targums of Onkelos
and Jonathan, which follow.
84

85. JAMISON, "Rise up — As Balak was already standing (Num_23:17), this expression
is equivalent to “now attend to me.” The counsels and promises of God respecting Israel
are unchangeable; and no attempt to prevail on Him to reverse them will succeed, as
they may with a man.
K&D, "The second saying. - “Up, Balak, and hear! Hearken to me, son of Zippor!”
‫,קוּם‬ “stand up,” is a call to mental elevation, to the perception of the word of God; for
Balak was standing by his sacrifice (Num_23:17). ‫ין‬ִ‫ֱז‬‫א‬ ֶ‫ה‬ with ‫ד‬ַ‫,ע‬ as in Job_32:11,
signifies a hearing which presses forward to the speaker, i.e., in keen and minute
attention (Hengstenberg). ‫נ‬ ְ‫,בּ‬ with the antiquated union vowel for ‫ן‬ ֶ‫;בּ‬ see at Gen_1:24.
Num_23:19
“God is not a man, that He should lie; nor a son of man, that He should repent: hath
He said, and should He not do it? and spoken, and should not carry it out?”
Num_23:20
“Behold, I have received to bless: and He hath blessed; and I cannot turn it.” Balaam
meets Balak's expectation that he will take back the blessing that he has uttered, with the
declaration, that God does not alter His purposes like changeable and fickle men, but
keeps His word unalterably, and carries it into execution. The unchangeableness of the
divine purposes is a necessary consequence of the unchangeableness of the divine
nature. With regard to His own counsels, God repents of nothing; but this does not
prevent the repentance of God, understood as an anthropopathic expression, denoting
the pain experienced by the love of God, on account of the destruction of its creatures
(see at Gen_6:6, and Exo_32:14). The ‫ה‬ before ‫הוּא‬ Num_23:19) is the interrogative ‫ה‬
(see Ges. §100, 4). The two clauses of Num_23:19, “Hath He spoken,” etc., taken by
themselves, are no doubt of universal application; but taken in connection with the
context, they relate specially to what God had spoken through Balaam, in his first
utterance with reference to Israel, as we may see from the more precise explanation in
Num_23:20, “Behold, I have received to bless' (‫ח‬ ַ‫ק‬ָ‫,ל‬ taken, accepted), etc. ‫יב‬ ִ‫שׁ‬ ֵ‫,ה‬ to lead
back, to make a thing retrograde (Isa_43:13). Samuel afterwards refused Saul's request
in these words of Balaam (Num_23:19), when he entreated him to revoke his rejection
on the part of God (1Sa_15:29).
Num_23:21
After this decided reversal of Balak's expectations, Balaam carried out still more fully
the blessing which had been only briefly indicated in his first utterance. “He beholds not
wickedness in Jacob, and sees not suffering in Israel: Jehovah his God is with him, and
the shout (jubilation) of a king in the midst of him.” The subject in the first sentence is
God (see Hab_1:3, Hab_1:13). God sees not ‫ֶן‬‫ו‬ ָ‫,א‬ worthlessness, wickedness, and ‫ל‬ ָ‫מ‬ָ‫,ע‬
tribulation, misery, as the consequence of sin, and therefore discovers no reason for
cursing the nation. That this applied to the people solely by virtue of their calling as the
holy nation of Jehovah, and consequently that there is no denial of the sin of individuals,
is evident from the second hemistich, which expresses the thought of the first in a
positive form: so that the words, “Jehovah his God is with him,” correspond to the
words, “He beholds not wickedness;” and “the shout of a king in the midst of it,” to His
not seeing suffering. Israel therefore rejoiced in the blessing of God only so long as it
85

86. remained faithful to the idea of its divine calling, and continued in covenant fellowship
with the Lord. So long the power of the world could do it no harm. The “shout of a king”
in Israel is the rejoicing of Israel at the fact that Jehovah dwells and rules as King in the
midst of it (cf. Exo_15:18; Deu_33:5). Jehovah had manifested Himself as King, by
leading them out of Egypt.
Num_23:22
“God brings them out of Egypt; his strength is like that of a buffalo.” ‫ל‬ ֵ‫א‬ is God as the
strong, or mighty one. The participle ‫ם‬ ָ‫יא‬ ִ‫צ‬ ‫מ‬ is not used for the preterite, but designates
the leading out as still going on, and lasting till the introduction into Canaan. The plural
suffix, ‫ָם‬-, is used ad sensum, with reference to Israel as a people. Because God leads
them, they go forward with the strength of a buffalo. ‫ת‬ ‫ֲפ‬‫ע‬ ‫,תּ‬ from ‫ף‬ֵ‫ָע‬‫י‬, to weary,
signifies that which causes weariness, exertion, the putting forth of power; hence the
fulness of strength, ability to make or bear exertions. ‫ם‬ ֵ‫א‬ ְ‫ר‬ is the buffalo or wild ox, an
indomitable animal, which is especially fearful on account of its horns (Job_39:9-11;
Deu_33:17; Psa_22:22).
Num_23:23
The fellowship of its God, in which Israel rejoiced, and to which it owed its strength,
was an actual truth. “For there is no augury in Jacob, and no divination in Israel. At the
time it is spoken to Jacob, and to Israel what God doeth.” ‫י‬ ִ‫כּ‬ does not mean, “so that, as
an introduction to the sequel,” as Knobel supposes, but “for,” as a causal particle. The
fact that Israel was not directed, like other nations, to the uncertain and deceitful
instrumentality of augury and divination, but enjoyed in all its concerns the immediate
revelation of its God, furnished the proof that it had its God in the midst of it, and was
guided and endowed with power by God Himself. ‫שׁ‬ ַ‫ַח‬‫נ‬ and ‫ם‬ ֶ‫ס‬ ֶ‫,ק‬ οἰωνισμός and μαντεία,
augurium et divinatio (lxx, Vulg.), were the two means employed by the heathen for
looking into futurity. The former (see at Lev_19:26) was the unfolding of the future from
signs in the phenomena of nature, and inexplicable occurrences in animal and human
life; the latter, prophesying from a pretended or supposed revelation of the Deity within
the human mind. ‫ת‬ֵ‫ע‬ָ‫,כּ‬ “according to the time,” i.e., at the right time, God revealed His
acts, His counsel, and His will to Israel in His word, which He had spoken at first to the
patriarchs, and afterwards through Moses and the prophets. In this He revealed to His
people in truth, and in a way that could not deceive, what the heathen attempted in vain
to discover through augury and divination (cf. Deu_18:14-19).
(Note: “What is here affirmed of Israel, applies to the Church of all ages, and also
to every individual believer. The Church of God knows from His word what God
does, and what it has to do in consequence. The wisdom of this world resembles
augury and divination. The Church of God, which is in possession of His word, has
no need of it, and it only leads its followers to destruction, from inability to discern
the will of God. To discover this with certainty, is the great privilege of the Church of
God” (Hengstenberg).)
CALVIN, "18.And he took up his parable and said. We have already explained the
meaning of this expression, namely, to make use of glowing and elevated language,
in order the more to awaken the attention of the hearer. The same also is the object
of the preface, “Rise up, Balak, and hear; hearken unto me, thou son of Zippor;” for
86

87. such repetitions are mostly emphatic, and indicate something uncommon.
When he declares that “God cannot lie, because he is not like men,” it is a severe
kind of censure, as much as to say, “Would you make God a liar?“ for it became
requisite that the frantic eagerness of Balak should be repressed, and prevented
from proceeding any further. Hence, however, a lesson of supreme utility may be
extracted, namely, that men are altogether wrong when they form their estimate of
God from their own disposition and habits. Still, almost all men labor under this
mistake. For how comes it that we are so prone to waver, except because we weigh
God’s promises in our own scale? In order, therefore, that we may learn to lift up
our minds above the world, whenever the faithfulness and certainty of God’s word
are in question, it is well for us to reflect how great the distance is between ourselves
and God. Men are wont to lie, because they are fickle and changeable in their plans,
or because sometimes they are unable to aceomplish what they have promised; but
change of purpose arises either from levity or bad faith, or because we repent of
what we have spoken foolishly and inconsiderately. But to God nothing of this sort
occurs; for He is neither deceived, nor does He deceitfully promise anything, nor, as
James says, is there with Him any “shadow of turning.” (James 1:7.) We now
understand to what this dissimilitude between God and men refers, namely, that we
should not travesty God according to our own notions, but, in our consideration of
His nature, should remember that he is liable to no changes, since He is far above all
heavens. As to the meaning of the repentance of God, of which mention is often
made, let my readers seek it elsewhere in its proper place. We must, however, at the
same time, observe the application of the lesson; for the words “God is true,” would
have no efficacy in themselves, unless they are applied to their appropriate use, i.e.,
that we should with unhesitating faith acquiesce in His promises, and seriously
tremble at His threats. For with the same object it is said that the word of God is
pure and perfect, and is compared with gold refined seven times in the fire; and this
also is the tendency of the conclusion, which is presently added: “Shall He not fulfill
what He has spoken?” Balak desired to have the people cursed, whom God had
adopted: Balaam declares that this is impossible, because God is unchangeable in
that which he has decreed. In a word, he teaches us the same truth as Paul does, that
the election of his people is “without repentance,” because it is founded on the
gratuitous liberality of God. (Romans 11:29.) If, then, this saying was extorted from
the hireling false prophet, how inexcusable will be our stupidity, if our minds vary
and waver in embracing God’s word, as if He Himself were variable.
COKE, "Numbers 23:18. Rise up, Balak, and hear, &c.— The repetitions are of the
most noble and sublime kind; and this introduction to his discourse, full of fire and
grandeur, was truly worthy of a prophet actually charged to pronounce the oracles
of a God, in whose presence kings and nations themselves are nothing. Balaam could
not demand of Balak an attention full of respect for the oracles of God with more
dignity.
TRAPP, "Numbers 23:18 And he took up his parable, and said, Rise up, Balak, and
87

88. hear; hearken unto me, thou son of Zippor:
Ver. 18. Rise up, Balak.] The greatest potentate must reverently attend to the word
of God. Ehud, though a fat unwieldy man, stood up to hear a message from God.
[ 3:20] So did Constantine the Great, (a) and our Edward VI, hear sermons
standing, and usually uncovered. (b)
POOLE, " Rise up: this word implies, either,
1. The reverence wherewith he should hear and receive God’s message, as Eglon
did, Jude 3:20, which might have been probable, if Balak had been now sitting, as
Ehud there was; but he was standing, Numbers 23:15: or rather,
2. The diligent attention required; Rouse up thyself, and carefully mind what I say.
WHEDON, " 18. Rise up, Balak, and hear — The king, who was already in an erect
bodily attitude, is called to elevate his thoughts for the reception of the divine
revelation. He is called to a hearing with an alert and minute attention.
PETT, " Numbers 23:18-24 (18a-24)
‘And he took up his incantation (parable),’
Once again Balaam gave out his incantation. Note even here the chiastic
construction.
Numbers 23:18-24 (18b-24)
“Rise up, Balak, and hear;
Listen to me, you son of Zippor,
a God is not a man, that he should lie,
a Nor the son of man, that he should repent,
a Has he said, and will he not do it?
a Or has he spoken, and will he not make it good?
b Behold, I have received commandment to bless,
b And he has blessed, and I cannot reverse it.
88

89. c He has not beheld iniquity in Jacob,
c Nor has he seen perverseness in Israel,
d Yahweh his God is with him,
d And the shout of a king is among them.
d God brings them forth out of Egypt,
d He has as it were the towering horns (or ‘strength’) of the wild-ox.
c Surely there is no enchantment with Jacob,
c Nor is there any divination with Israel.
b Now shall it be said of Jacob,
b And of Israel, What has God wrought!
a Behold, the people rise up as a lioness,
a And as a lion does he lift himself up,
a He shall not lie down until he eat of the prey,
a And drink the blood of the slain.
They were soon to be disillusioned. The second trance statement began more
directly than the first. It asked Balak if he really thought that Yahweh would
change His mind.
“Rise up, Balak, and hear. Listen to me, you son of Zippor. God is not a man, that
he should lie, nor the son of man, that he should repent. Has he said, and will he not
do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not make it good?” He learned that Yahweh
was not ‘a man’, who might be liable to lie. He was not ‘a son of man’ (the
equivalent of ‘man’) that He should change His mind. What He had said, He would
do. What He had spoken He would make happen. Thus the word already given was
sure of fulfilment. But now in the light of this second approach more was to be
added in favour of Israel.
So Balaam then went on to declare that, ‘Behold, I have received the word to bless,
and he has blessed, and I cannot reverse it.’ In other words, as Yahweh had chosen
to bless Israel, Balaam had no alternative but to declare that blessing. It was
something that he was unable to reject or reverse. It was not in his hands to decide.
89

90. “He has not beheld iniquity in Jacob, Nor has he seen perverseness in Israel.” The
hope had always been that in some way ‘Yahweh’ could be made to find fault with
Israel or could be persuaded to ‘foresee’ some trouble or misfortune ahead for them.
After all the ‘gods’ of other nations were very often seen as taking it out on their
people because of some reason or other, or for no reason at all, and could therefore
be bribed to cooperate. (Balaam was not used to dealing with the Sovereign God).
But he had learned that Yahweh would find no fault with Israel, and that He could
see no trouble or misfortune ahead for them, or at least not the kind that could
make Him curse them.
Then he declared what Balak did not want to hear (and what Israel did want to
hear). ‘Yahweh his God is with him, and the shout of a king is among them.’
Far from being displeased with His people, he declared, Yahweh was ‘with them’ as
their God. He was enthroned among them as their king to Whom they shouted their
allegiance. All was well between them and their God. The parallelism confirms that
the king in mind here is Yahweh. So this people whom Balak wanted Yahweh to
curse actually acknowledged Him as their king and shouted their allegiance to Him,
because He was with them and among them. There was therefore no likelihood that
He would curse them.
What was more, he pointed out, ‘God brings them forth out of Egypt, He has as it
were the towering horns or strength of the wild-ox.’ Not only was Yahweh their
King, but as their God Who was among them He had brought them out of Egypt
with His mighty power, power and strength which was like that of the towering
horns of a mighty wild-ox, totally irresistible. He was thus not a God to be messed
around with. And He was the Deliverer of this people.
Nothing was known that had greater strength than the wild ox with its mighty
horns. It was untameable. And thus had Israel’s God shown Himself to be of
invincible power,
“Surely there is no enchantment with Jacob, nor is there any divination with
Israel.” This parallels the statement that He found no iniquity in them ((Numbers
23:21). He now added that it was really no good trying to fight Israel with
enchantments. For enchantments could only counter other enchantments. But
Jacob/Israel did not use enchantments. He had been able to discern none among
them.
We find here a remarkable confirmation of the fact that at this stage Israel were
free from those who worked enchantments, as God’s Instruction had demanded that
they should be (Exodus 22:18; Leviticus 19:26; Leviticus 19:31; Leviticus 20:6;
Leviticus 20:27; Deuteronomy 18:10-12). Israel were not involved in any way in the
occult.
“Now shall it be said of Jacob, and of Israel, What has God wrought!”. Here the
90

91. parallel is with the fact that God had blessed them (Numbers 23:20). They had
rather trusted in their God, and He had wrought on their behalf. Thus he, Balaam
the enchanter, had no power against them. They were outside his sphere.
“Behold, the people rise up as a lioness, and as a lion does he lift himself up. He shall
not lie down until he eat of the prey, and drink the blood of the slain.” Balaam then
finished his prophecy by declaring that Israel were, in fact, like a lioness rising up to
commence the hunt, and that Yahweh Himself was like a lion, not lying down again
until He has seized the prey. To ‘drink the blood of the slain’ metaphorically
referred simply to partaking in their death. All knew that a pack of lions, once they
had been roused to the hunt, did not lie down again until they had been successful.
This parallels ‘Has He said, and will He not do it? Or has He spoken, and will He
not make it good?’
So all were to take note that Israel were to be feared because Yahweh was with
them. And that like a lioness they should not be disturbed, lest they rise and seize
the prey. It was best to let sleeping lions lie.
“To drink the blood of the slain”. Later Jesus would charge the Pharisees with
‘drinking His blood’ in slaying Him. Their fathers had partaken of the blood of the
prophets (Matthew 23:30) and now they were seeking His. Yet it was well they did
so, for only through the shedding of that blood could men receive life and
forgiveness from Him by partaking in the benefit of His death (John 6:48-63).
19 God is not human, that he should lie,
not a human being, that he should change his
mind.
Does he speak and then not act?
Does he promise and not fulfill?
CLARKE"God is not a man, that he should lie - This seems to be spoken to
correct the foregoing supposition of Balak that God could change his mind. Even the
heathen would not allow that their supreme god could be caught in a falsity. Hence
91

92. Aeschylus, in Prometh. vinct. 1068: -
Ψευδηγορειν γαρ ουκ επισταται στομα
Το Διον, αλλα παν επος τελει.
“The mouth of Jove knows not to frame a lie;
But every word finds full accomplishment.”
GILL, "God is not a man, that he should lie,.... Man is a creature consisting of a
body of flesh and blood, and of a soul, a created and finite spirit; but God, though he has
the parts of an human body ascribed to him in a figurative sense, yet is not to be
conceived of in a corporeal manner; and though he is a Spirit, yet eternal, immense, and
infinite; and much less is as a sinful man, who goes astray from the womb speaking lies;
no, let God be true, and every man a liar: he is God, that cannot lie; his counsels of old
are faithfulness and truth; his promises yea and amen in Christ; the Scriptures inspired
by him are true, and the prophecies of them are punctually accomplished, particularly
what he foretold of the people of Israel, and promised unto them; that they should be
happy, and inherit the land of Canaan; that be would be true and faithful to them, and
there could be no hope, by any means whatever, to make him false and unfaithful to his
word: neither the son of man, that he should repent; repentance is found in men, who
repent for what they have done, or change their minds, as to what they intended to do or
set about; perceiving it to be wrong to do it, or that they are able to do it, some
unforeseen thing turning up they were not aware of: but nothing of this kind belongs to
God, or can befall him; he never changes his mind, alters his counsels, purposes, and
decrees, and never varies in his affections to his people, nor makes void his choice of
them, or covenant with them; and his calling of them by his grace, and his gifts of grace
bestowed upon them, are without repentance: and particularly with respect to the people
of Israel, there was no reason to hope or believe that God would change his purposes or
promises respecting their outward happiness, and enjoyment of the land of Canaan; or
that ever he would be prevailed upon to curse them, or admit them to be cursed, when
he was determined, and had so peremptorily promised that he would bless them:
hath he said, and shall he not do it? or "hath he spoken, and shall he not make it
good?" whether it be with regard to things temporal, spiritual, or eternal; for there is no
variableness nor shadow of turning in his mind; he never forgets his word, he foresees
all events, he is able to perform, and is true and faithful; and therefore whatever is gone
out of his lips will never be altered, but will be most certainly fulfilled, Psa_89:34 Isa_
14:24.
JAMISON, "Rise up — As Balak was already standing (Num_23:17), this expression
is equivalent to “now attend to me.” The counsels and promises of God respecting Israel
are unchangeable; and no attempt to prevail on Him to reverse them will succeed, as
they may with a man.
92

93. K&D, "Num_23:19
“God is not a man, that He should lie; nor a son of man, that He should repent: hath
He said, and should He not do it? and spoken, and should not carry it out?”
COKE, "Numbers 23:19. God is not a man— The prophet is here compelled, in the
strongest manner, to proclaim his own folly, and the vain expectation of the king of
Moab; asserting, that it is not to be imagined that the high God is subject to the
uncertain humours and fluctuating passions of weak mortals; or that he can be
induced by sacrifices, by prayers, or by any other means, to break his word, or
falsify his promise. Respecting God's repenting, see the note on Genesis 6:6. They
must be extremely dull who are insensible to the sublimity of this passage.
TRAPP.,"Numbers 23:19 God [is] not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of
man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do [it]? or hath he spoken,
and shall he not make it good?
Ver. 19. That he should repent.] When at any time God is said to repent, it is
Mutatio rei, non Dei; effectus non affectus; facti non consilii: it is not a change of his
will, but of his work.
POOLE, " That he should lie, i.e. break his faith and promises made to his people
for their preservation and benediction.
That he should repent, . e. change his counsels or purposes; which men do, either
because they are not able to execute them, or because they are better informed and
their minds changed by some unexpected occurrent, or by their lusts and passions,
none of which have place in God. And therefore I plainly see that all our endeavours
and repeated sacrifices are to no purpose, and can make no impression in God, nor
induce him to curse those whom he hath purposed, and solemnly and frequently
promised, to bless.
Shall he not do it? Is he like a man that oft speaks and promises what he either
never intends, or cannot or will not perform?
WHEDON, " 19. God is not a man, that he should lie — The aim of Balak’s second
sacrifice was to produce such a change in Jehovah as may be effected in the
purposes of men. The king is informed that God is unchangeable, and so wholly
unlike fickle men. The principles governing his acts toward man are unalterably
fixed independent of what man will freely perform. Having announced that he will
reward the righteous and punish the wicked, to reverse this decree would be to
overturn his own throne of moral government.
That he should repent — “With regard to his own counsels God repents of nothing;
but this does not prevent the repentance of God, understood as an anthropopathic
93

94. expression, denoting the pain experienced by the love of God on account of the
destruction of its creatures. Genesis 6:6, note; Exodus 32:14.” — Keil. Samuel
refused Saul’s request in similar words when urged to revoke his rejection by
Jehovah. 1 Samuel 15:29.
20 I have received a command to bless;
he has blessed, and I cannot change it.
BARNES, "I have received commandment to bless - literally, “I have received
to bless.” The reason of his blessing lay in the augury which he acknowledged, and in the
divine overruling impulse which he could not resist, not in any “commandment” in
words.
GILL, "Behold, I have received commandment to bless,.... The people of Israel,
to pronounce a blessing upon them, to declare them a happy people:
and he hath blessed, and I cannot reverse it; God has blessed them, has
determined to bless them, has promised to bless them, has blessed them in the victories
he has given them, and will complete the blessing of them, by bringing them into the
land he has given them: so the blessings which God has designed for his spiritual Israel,
and bestows upon them, are irreversible; they are blessings indeed, spiritual ones, and
are for ever; he blesses them with himself, as their covenant; God, their portion here and
hereafter, with Christ his Son, and all things with him, with righteousness, peace, and
pardon, with his Spirit and the grace thereof, with sonship, heirship, and eternal life.
K&D, "Num_23:20
“Behold, I have received to bless: and He hath blessed; and I cannot turn it.” Balaam
meets Balak's expectation that he will take back the blessing that he has uttered, with the
declaration, that God does not alter His purposes like changeable and fickle men, but
keeps His word unalterably, and carries it into execution. The unchangeableness of the
divine purposes is a necessary consequence of the unchangeableness of the divine
nature. With regard to His own counsels, God repents of nothing; but this does not
prevent the repentance of God, understood as an anthropopathic expression, denoting
the pain experienced by the love of God, on account of the destruction of its creatures
(see at Gen_6:6, and Exo_32:14). The ‫ה‬ before ‫הוּא‬ Num_23:19) is the interrogative ‫ה‬
(see Ges. §100, 4). The two clauses of Num_23:19, “Hath He spoken,” etc., taken by
themselves, are no doubt of universal application; but taken in connection with the
context, they relate specially to what God had spoken through Balaam, in his first
94

95. utterance with reference to Israel, as we may see from the more precise explanation in
Num_23:20, “Behold, I have received to bless' (‫ח‬ ַ‫ק‬ָ‫,ל‬ taken, accepted), etc. ‫יב‬ ִ‫שׁ‬ ֵ‫,ה‬ to lead
back, to make a thing retrograde (Isa_43:13). Samuel afterwards refused Saul's request
in these words of Balaam (Num_23:19), when he entreated him to revoke his rejection
on the part of God (1Sa_15:29).
CALVIN, "20.Behold I have received commandment to bless. He signifies that a
command to bless had been given him, antl a positive law laid down for him. For, as
has been said, he was not free and independent in this matter; but God had bound
him to exercise the prophetic office, even against his own will. Hence he declares
that it is not in his power to alter the revelation, of which he is the minister and
witness. But there is a remarkable expression introduced in the midst of his
declaration, viz., that God himself had blessed; whereby he intimates that the lot of
men, whether adverse or prosperous, depends on the authority of God alone; and
that no other commission is given to the prophets, except to promulgate what God
has appointed; as if he had said, It belongs to God alone to decree what the
condition of men is to be; He has chosen me to proclaim His blessing; it is not in my
power either to reverse or withdraw it. Now, since Balaam here sustains the
character of a true Prophet, we may gather from his words that no other power of
binding or loosing is given to the ministers of the Word, except that they should
faithfully bring forward what they may have received from God.
BI, "He hath blessed; and I cannot reverse it.
Immutable benedictions
I. Blessings are decreed for the people of God. The difficulty of believing in the glorious
truth of the supreme blessedness of the children of God is so common that there must be
some reasons for it.
1. One reason is that the largest blessings belong to the future. For the present,
Christians have to endure the trials of a wilderness pilgrimage. We need faith to
expect the good things of the unseen future.
2. A deeper reason is that the best blessings are spiritual. To the carnal mind they
appear wearisome in the extreme, just as the exquisite tones of the finest melody do
to a man who has no ear for music. Here also men need faith to believe that the
highest blessings are necessarily at present above their appreciation.
II. The attempt to reverse these blessings results in the increase of them. The evil
intention results unwittingly in a beneficent action. Consider some of the applications of
this principle of Providence.
1. The captivity. Nebuchadnezzar, who aimed at destroying the Jewish nation, was
indirectly its great benefactor in fulfilling the Divine prophecies of necessary
chastisement and forcing the people to a painful discipline, which effectually and for
ever purged them of their old besetting sin of idolatry.
2. The temptation of Christ. The tempter sought to overthrow the Son of God and
Saviour of the world. But the result of the forty days’ trial in the wilderness was that
Christ came forth fitted to be our great high priest by means of the very endurance of
95

96. that temptation.
3. The death of Christ. His enemies hoped to overthrow His cause by means of this.
But it was overruled to secure His triumph and to accomplish the great end of His
mission.
4. The persecution of the Church. The Christians, scattered by the persecution that
followed the death of Stephen, fled from Jerusalem only to spread the gospel in all
directions, and so to increase their own numbers and to magnify the name of their
God.
5. The troubles of life generally. The sufferer is described as being “delivered unto
Satan.” The motive of Satan must be purely malignant. Yet the suffering he inflicts is
expressly designed for the good of the sufferer—“that the spirit may be saved in the
day of the Lord Jesus” (1Co_5:5).
III. The blessings of which the people of god cannot be robbed by their most violent foes
may be lost by their own sin, (W. F. Adeney, M. A.)
The curses of man turned into blessings by God
The principle embodied here is this: that when God hath determined to bless His people,
His purposes will be executed even by those whose intent it is only to reverse them. Tills
is the solution of all the apparent mysteries and incongruities in the present state of
things: and it will apply—
I. To the Church of Christ at large—and, next, to every individual among the people of
God. To this Church—that is, this army of the living God, though separated in different
divisions, we look, in the interpretation of God’s promises, as Balaam looked upon Jacob
in his goodly tents, and Israel in his outstretched tabernacle. To these we refer the
benediction of the royal psalmist, “They shall prosper that love Thee”; and to these we
apply what may be termed the reversed invocation of the text -a curse becoming a
blessing—“Behold, I have received commandment to bless; and He hath blessed; and I
cannot reverse it.” But it is not less needful, though it be less pleasing, to observe how, as
in the case of Israel, the most severe and searching probation came upon them—not
amidst the perils and privations of the wilderness, but amid the abundance and
prosperity of the promised land. So the Church, when the fires of persecution had been
extinguished, was, and still continues to be, in danger far more imminent. We must
beware, lest those prevail who would openly assault her bulwarks, and attempt her
battlements in vain. As to the end, indeed, all is safe, and all is sure; God has determined
to bless, and earth and hell cannot reverse it (Isa_2:2; Hab_2:14; Php_2:10-11). But it is
not the less needful to beware lest, in the meantime, corruption be introduced amongst
us from an unsuspected quarter, by intermixture with the enemies of God, while, amidst
the rising mists of error, our candlestick burns dimly, if even, through apostasy, it be not
removed out of its place. Intercourse with the irreligious and unbelieving, whatever be
the pretext, is plainly to be suspected and to be shunned. The blessing of God upon a
good cause may be forfeited, and will be nullified, by alliance with wicked men. What
else can the crew expect, if they allow themselves to be piloted by traitors, but that they
shall strike on a rock suddenly, and go down into the depths of destruction?
II. I proceed, however, to the second, and more practical part of the subject—the
application of the principle embodied in the text to each individual believer. Rightly
96

97. understood, and closely applied, it is to him a covert from all the storms of life, a shield
against the fiery arrows of the wicked one, a very present help in time of trouble. God
hath blessed, man cannot reverse it: and, however the world may plot, and however it
may appear to the servant of the Most High, there is One who worketh all things after
the counsel of His own will. The devices of man may appear to be successful, but it is His
counsel only that shall abide. It is very important, however, to keep in mind that, while
Scripture develops the purposes of God’s will, it does not profess to reveal the processes
of God’s work. It states a definite and determined end, but it makes no specific mention
of the means. “The Lord will perfect that which concerneth me,” declares the Psalmist,
but how, and by whom, God only knows. “He that hath begun a good work in you,” says
the apostle, “will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ”; but who can say whether the
work will proceed in sunshine or in clouds? Perhaps the latter; not improbably the latter.
It is enough for us to know that God is working out a blessing: we must not be cast
down, though it come through the channel of a calamity, and with the aspect of a curse.
The richest stream of benefit and glory that ever flowed forth to a lost and polluted world
was thus opened. How did Christ redeem us from the curse of the law but by being made
a curse for us? Many sought to quench God’s light by lifting up the Redeemer on the
Cross, and they thus imparted to it instrumentally a power which in the end shall draw
all men unto Him. (T. Dale, M. A.)
21 “No misfortune is seen in Jacob,
no misery observed[a] in Israel.
The Lord their God is with them;
the shout of the King is among them.
BARNES, "“Iniquity” and “perverseness” are found together again in the Hebrew of
Psa_10:7; Psa_90:10, and elsewhere; and import wickedness together with that
tribulation which is its proper result.
The shout - The word is used (Lev_23:24 note) to describe the sound of the silver
trumpets. The “shout of a king” will therefore refer to the jubilant sounds by which the
presence of the Lord as their King among them was celebrated by Israel.
CLARKE"He hath not beheld iniquity in Jacob, neither hath he seen
perverseness in Israel - This is a difficult passage; for if we take the words as spoken
of the people Israel, as their iniquity and their perverseness were almost unparalleled,
such words cannot be spoken of them with strict truth. If we consider them as spoken of
the patriarch Jacob and Israel, or of Jacob after he became Israel, they are most strictly
97

98. true, as after that time a more unblemished and noble character (Abraham excepted) is
not to be found in the page of history, whether sacred or profane; and for his sake, and
for the sake of his father Isaac, and his grandfather Abraham, God is ever represented as
favoring, blessing, and sparing a rebellious and undeserving people; see the note on
Gen_49:33. In this way, I think, this difficult text may be safely understood.
There is another way in which the words may be interpreted, which will give a good
sense. ‫און‬ aven not only signifies iniquity, but most frequently trouble, labor, distress,
and affliction; and these indeed are its ideal meanings, and iniquity is only an
accommodated or metaphorical one, because of the pain, distress, etc., produced by sin.
‫עמל‬ amal, translated here perverseness, occurs often in Scripture, but is never
translated perverseness except in this place. It signifies simply labor, especially that
which is of an afflictive or oppressive kind. The words may therefore be considered as
implying that God will not suffer the people either to be exterminated by the sword, or to
be brought under a yoke of slavery. Either of these methods of interpretation gives a
good sense, but our common version gives none.
Dr. Kennicott contends for the reading of the Samaritan, which, instead of ‫הביט‬ ‫לא‬ lo
hibbit, he hath not seen, has ‫אבט‬ ‫לא‬ lo abbit, I do not see, I do not discover any thing
among them on which I could ground my curse. But the sense above given is to be
preferred.
GILL, "He hath not beheld iniquity in Jacob, neither hath he seen
perverseness in Israel,.... Not that there was no sin in them, nor any observed by the
Lord; yet not so as to mark it in strict justice, and punish for it; but he forgave it, hid his
face from it, and did not impute it to them; all the three Targums restrain it to idolatry,
that there were none among them that worshipped idols, which was the reason why the
Lord could not be prevailed upon to curse them: and Aben Ezra observes, that from
hence Balak learnt to send women to the Israelites, to entice them to lewdness, and so to
idolatry, that he might be able to carry his point: this is true of the spiritual Israel of
God; for though there is sin in them, and which is continually done by them, yet their
sins are removed from them, and have been laid on Christ, and he has bore them, and
made reconciliation for them, and made an end of them, and has redeemed and saved
them from them; and God, by imputing his righteousness to them, has justified them
from all their sins, has forgiven all their iniquities, and blotted out all their
transgressions, and has cast them behind his back, and into the depths of the sea, and
has removed them as far from them as the east is from the west: and when God is said
not to see or behold iniquity in his people, it is to be understood, not of his eye of
Omniscience, with which he sees not only the sins of all men, but those of his own people
also, and takes notice of them in a providential way, and chastises them for them; but of
his eye of avenging justice, and purity regards the article of justification, which is a full
discharge from all sin, and a perfect covering of it from the justice of God, see Jer_
50:20,
the Lord his God is with him and which is his protection and defence, and in vain it
is for any to be against him, or seek to hurt him; nothing is a greater happiness, or can
be a greater safety, than to have the presence of God; it is this makes ordinances pleasant
and delightful; by this saints are assisted in duty, and supported under trials; it is an
98

99. instance of distinguishing and amazing goodness, and is what will make heaven be the
happy place and state it is: all the three Targums interpret it of the Word of the Lord that
is with them, and for their help; who is the Angel of God's presence, Immanuel, God
with us; and who has promised to be with his churches and ministers to the end of the
world, and will be with them through life, at death, and to all eternity:
and the shout of a king is among them; of God their King, the Shechinah of their
King, as the Targum of Onkelos; his glorious Majesty, to whom they make their joyful
acclamations, upon his appearing among them, and on the account of the victories he
gives them over their enemies: or of the King Messiah, as the Targum of Jonathan, the
King of kings, the Lord of lords; and so, in an ancient writing of the Jews (k), this
passage is referred to the days of the Messiah: and this shout may respect the joyful
sound of the Gospel, one part of which is, that Zion's King reigns, and which proclaims
him to be King, and speaks of the things concerning his kingdom, both the kingdom of
grace, and the kingdom of glory; some respect may be had to the sounding of the silver
trumpets by the priests on various occasions in Israel; see Num_10:1.
JAMISON, "He hath not beheld iniquity in Jacob — Many sins were observed
and punished in this people. But no such universal and hopeless apostasy had as yet
appeared, to induce God to abandon or destroy them.
the Lord his God is with him — has a favor for them.
and the shout of a king is among them — such joyful acclamations as of a people
rejoicing in the presence of a victorious prince.
K&D, "Num_23:21
After this decided reversal of Balak's expectations, Balaam carried out still more fully
the blessing which had been only briefly indicated in his first utterance. “He beholds not
wickedness in Jacob, and sees not suffering in Israel: Jehovah his God is with him, and
the shout (jubilation) of a king in the midst of him.” The subject in the first sentence is
God (see Hab_1:3, Hab_1:13). God sees not ‫ֶן‬‫ו‬ ָ‫,א‬ worthlessness, wickedness, and ‫ל‬ ָ‫מ‬ָ‫,ע‬
tribulation, misery, as the consequence of sin, and therefore discovers no reason for
cursing the nation. That this applied to the people solely by virtue of their calling as the
holy nation of Jehovah, and consequently that there is no denial of the sin of individuals,
is evident from the second hemistich, which expresses the thought of the first in a
positive form: so that the words, “Jehovah his God is with him,” correspond to the
words, “He beholds not wickedness;” and “the shout of a king in the midst of it,” to His
not seeing suffering. Israel therefore rejoiced in the blessing of God only so long as it
remained faithful to the idea of its divine calling, and continued in covenant fellowship
with the Lord. So long the power of the world could do it no harm. The “shout of a king”
in Israel is the rejoicing of Israel at the fact that Jehovah dwells and rules as King in the
midst of it (cf. Exo_15:18; Deu_33:5). Jehovah had manifested Himself as King, by
leading them out of Egypt.
CALVIN, "21.He hath not beheld iniquity in Jacob. Some understand by ‫,און‬ aven,
‫עמל‬ , gnamal, idols, (161) which bring nothing but deadly labor and trouble to their
worshippers; as if it were said that Israel was pure and untainted by such offenses,
99

100. in that they duly served the one true God. But how will it be correct to say that God
saw not idolatry in the people, when they had so openly fallen into it? For, although
the golden calf was only made on one occasion, still their manifold and almost
constant rebellions were such as to forbid these wicked and perverse men from
being thus absolved. Since, however, these two words in connection signify all sorts
of iniquities, which tend to men’s hurt, or to the infliction of harm and loss, a more
proper meaning will be, that such iniquity is not seen in Jacob as to include him
with the nations that are given to violence and crime. Nevertheless, even if we take it
thus, the former question still arises; for we know that the Israelites were scarcely
better than the worst of mankind. Some reply feebly, that it was not seen, because
God did not impute it; but, in my opinion, nothing else is meant by these words but
that the people were pleasing to God, because He had sanctified them. If any object,
that they were not therefore any the more just or innocent, the answer is easy —
that it is not here declared what they were, but only God’s grace is magnified, who
deigned to exalt them as a holy nation. In this way Jerusalem was the holy city and
the royal abode of God, though it was a den of thieves. On this ground Paul says
that the children of Abraham were “holy branches,” (Romans 11:16,) because they
sprang from a holy root. In the same sense they are everywhere called God’s
Children, however degenerate they might be. God, therefore, is said to have seen no
iniquity in them, with reference to His adoption; not that they were worthy of such
exalted praise, as if a distinction were drawn between them and the other nations —
not on account of their deserts, but from the mere good pleasure of God. Thus Paul
elsewhere, after he has compared them with the Gentiles, and has shewn that they
are their superiors in no respect, at length adds, “What advantage then hath the
Jew? or what profit is there of circumcision? Much (he says) every way; “and
adduces a mark of distinction which does not proceed from themselves, (162)
(Romans 3:1.) In a word, because it had pleased God to choose that people, He
rather manifested His love towards Himself and His own grace, than towards their
life and conduct.
Others take this passage otherwise, viz., that God did not behold iniquity, nor see
perverseness in Jacob, because He was not willing that he should be unrighteously
grieved or afflicted; as if it were said, If any one should wish unjustly to injure this
people, God will permit no violence or injustice to be done to them, but will rather
defend them as their shield. But if this sense be preferred, I should rather be
disposed to take the vero indefinitely, as if it were said, Perverseness shall not be
seen in Jacob; for when the Hebrews use the verb without a nominative, they extend
the matter in question into a general proposition, and then the verb in the active
voice may be suitably resolved into the passive. And thus the context will run better,
since it is added immediately afterwards, “The Lord his God is with him,” whereby
the reason seems to be given why perverseness (molestia) should not be seen against
Jacob, viz., because God would be at hand to render him aid. For we know that His
infinite power suffices to defend the safety of His Church, so that not even the gates
of hell should prevail against it.
What follows directly afterwards, “The shout or the rejoicing of a king is among
100

101. them,” I understand to be that God will always give them cause for triumph; for the
word which the old interpreter elsewhere renders rejoicing (jubilationem,) seems
here to be used for songs of rejoicing; but, since it also signifies the sound of a
trumpet, it will not be inappropriate to take it as that the people shall be terrible to
their enemies, because they shall boldly rush forward, or go down to the battle, as if
God sounded the trumpet.
COKE, "Numbers 23:21. He hath not beheld iniquity in Jacob, &c.— One shall not
behold affliction in Jacob, nor see vexation in Israel. Waterland. Houbigant renders
this, I shall not see iniquity, &c. The words will certainly bear the interpretation
which Dr. Waterland has given them, and which some of the versions countenance.
That our translation cannot be right, is evident from the character of the Israelites,
prone to all kinds of wickedness, and to idolatry in particular: so that those
interpreters who would understand the passage as referring to idolatry cannot be
followed. Of this number is the Vulgate, which renders the passage, There is no idol
in Jacob, nor is there any image seen in Israel. Le Clerc, with the LXX, and Dr.
Waterland, renders it, No one sees trouble in Jacob, nor distress in Israel, i.e. they
are and shall be a prosperous and happy people; a sufficient reason for which is
assigned in the next clause; namely, that the Lord their God is with them, and the
shout of a King is among them: i.e. they are under the special and immediate
protection of Jehovah, their peculiar king and governor; in which words we have an
immediate reference to the theocracy. The learned Gataker, in his Diatrib. Ang.
gives nearly the same interpretation; and so does Dr. Wall, in his notes.
TRAPP, "Numbers 23:21 He hath not beheld iniquity in Jacob, neither hath he seen
perverseness in Israel: the LORD his God [is] with him, and the shout of a king [is]
among them.
Ver. 21. He hath not beheld iniquity.] Of this place of Scripture we may say as we
did of another, This verse had been easy, had not commentators made it so knotty.
The sense I like best is, that at this time, when Balak hired Balaam, there was no
peccatum flagrans, no foul sin of that people, flaming in the eyes of God, or stinking
in his nostrils; and therefore there could be no enchantment against them. [Numbers
23:23] Whence that devilish counsel of his to Balak, to set fair women afore them, to
entice them to adultery and idolatry, and so to put them under God’s displeasure.
But what strange inferences are those from this text, that God sees no sin in his
elect, that the very being of their sins is abolished out of his sight; that God is never
displeased with his people, though they fall into adultery or the like sin, no not with
a fatherly displeasure! &c.
POOLE, " He, i.e. God, understood Numbers 23:20, and expressed Numbers 23:19,
hath not or doth not
101

102. behold or see iniquity or perverseness, i.e. any sin, in Jacob or
Israel; which cannot be meant of a simple seeing or knowing of him, for so God did
see and observe, yea, and chastise their sins, as is manifest, Exodus 32:9
Deuteronomy 9:13; but of such a sight of their sins as should provoke God utterly to
forsake and curse and destroy them, which was Balak’s desire, and Balaam’s hope
and design. For as Balaam knew that none but Israel’s God could curse or destroy
Israel, so he knew that nothing but their sin could move him so to do; and therefore
he took a right, though wicked, course afterwards to tempt them to sin, and thereby
to expose them to ruin, Num 25. And Balaam had now hoped that God was incensed
against Israel for their sins, and therefore would be prevailed with to give them up
to the curse and spoil. But, saith he, I was mistaken, I see God hath a singular
favour to this people, and though he sees and punisheth sin in other persons and
people with utter destruction, as he hath now done in Sihon and Og and the
Amorites, yet he will not do so with Israel; he winks at their sins, forgets and
forgives them, and will not punish them as their iniquities deserve. In this sense God
is said not to see sins, as elsewhere he is said to forget them, Isaiah 43:25 Jeremiah
31:34, and to cover them, Psalms 32:1, which keeps them out of sight, and so out of
mind; and to blot them out, Psalms 51:1,9, and to cast them behind his back, Isaiah
38:17, or into the depth of the sea, Micah 7:19, in which cases they cannot be seen
nor read. And men are oft said not to know or see those sins in their children or
others, which they do not take notice of so as to punish them. And this sense best
agrees with the context; God hath decreed and promised to bless this people, and he
hath blessed them, and I cannot reverse it, Numbers 23:20, and he will not reverse
it, though provoked to do so by their sins, which he will take no notice of. Others
thus, He hath not beheld, as hitherto he hath not, so for the future he will not
behold, i.e. so as to approve it, as that word is oft used, as Genesis 7:1 Isaiah 66:2
Habakkuk 1:13, or so as to suffer it, injury against Jacob, &c. For aven, here
rendered iniquity, is oft used in that sense, as Job 5:6,7 Pr 12:21 22:8. And the other
word, amal, rendered perverseness, oft notes vexation and trouble, as Job 5:6,7 Psa
25:17 36:4; and the particle beth, rendered in, is oft used for against, as Exodus
14:25 20:16 Numbers 12:1. So the sense is, God will not see them wronged or ruined
by any of their adversaries, whereof the following words may be a good reason, for
God is with him, &c. The Lord his God is with him, i.e. he hath a favour for this
people, and will defend and save them. So the phrase of God’s being with a person
or people signifies, as Jude 6:13 Psalms 46:7 Isaiah 8:10.
The shout of a king is among them, i.e. such joyful and triumphant shouts as those
wherewith a people congratulate the approach and presence of their king when he
appears among them upon some solemn occasion, or when he returns from battle
with victory and spoils. The expression implies God’s being their King and Ruler,
and their abundant security and just confidence in him as such. And here is an
allusion to the silver trumpets which were made by God’s command, and used upon
great solemnities, in which God their King was present in a special manner,
Numbers 10:9 Joshua 6:16,20 1 Samuel 4:5 2 Chronicles 13:12.
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103. WHEDON, " 21. Iniquity in Jacob — The Hebrew aven includes all kinds of sin,
especially idolatry. 1 Samuel 15:23. Hence the Chaldee Paraphrase and Targum of
Jonathan here read, “No servers of idols in the house of Jacob;” and the Vulgate,
Non est idolum in Jacob, nec videtur simulacrum: “There is no idol in Jacob, nor
does an image appear in Israel.” The Seventy render it thus: “No misery in Jacob,
no molestation or pain in Israel.” But even in the sense of guilt-entailing sin, new
Israel, after old rebellious Israel had perished in the wilderness, may have been so
diligent in the observance of the altar ritual, especially the day of atonement, (which
may have been only the day before,) that the nation was kept in a state of pardon
through the blood of sprinkling, God hiding his face from their sins and blotting out
their iniquities (Psalms 51:9) instead of setting them in the light of his countenance.
Psalms 90:8; Psalms 109:14-15. Says Bishop Butler: “They were a people of virtue,
so far as not to have drawn down, by their iniquity, that curse which Balaam was
soliciting leave to pronounce upon them.” A shocking perversion of this text is made
by those antinomians who quote it as a proof that God does not regard the iniquities
of those who are “in Christ,” and that only imputed, and not inwrought, holiness is
required. Shocking, indeed, is the antinomianism of McIntosh’s comment:
“Beholders many faults may find; but as regards our standing, our God sees us (the
elect) only in the comeliness of Christ; we are perfect in him.”
The shout of a king — The acclamations which attend the presence of a great and
victorious King (Jehovah) are among them, hence they could not be effectually
cursed, since his presence was a proof of his favour and protection. This passage is
quoted against the Mosaic authorship of the episode of Balaam as implying that the
Israelites were governed by a king at the time of its composition. But was not
Jehovah, their King, abiding in the very centre of the camp? Israel was surrounded
by kingdoms, which might suggest this language respecting the theocracy.
ELLICOTT, " (21) He hath not beheld iniquity . . . —The same combination of the
words aven (iniquity, or injustice) and amal (perverseness, or, rather, suffering or
grievance) occurs in Habakkuk 1:3.
The shout of a king.—The word which is rendered shout (teruah) is the same which
occurs in Leviticus 23:24, and which is there rendered blowing of trumpets. (Comp.
Joshua 6:5; Joshua 6:20, where the same word is rendered shout as here.)
PULPIT, "He hath not beheld iniquity in Jacob. The subject of this and the parallel
clause is left indefinite. If it is God, according to the A.V then it means that God in
his mercy shut his eyes to the evil which did exist in individuals, and for his own
sake would not impute it to the chosen nation. If it be impersonal, according to the
Septuagint and the Targums, "one does not behold iniquity," &c; then it means that
the iniquity was not flagrant, was not left to gather head and volume until it brought
down destruction. Perverseness. Rather, "suffering", the natural consequence of
sin. Compare the use of the two words in Psalms 10:7; Psalms 90:10. The shout of a
king is among them. The "shout" ( ‫ה‬ָ‫רוּﬠ‬ ִ‫תּ‬ ) is the jubilation of the nation with which
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104. it acclaims its victor king (cf. 1 Samuel 4:5, 1 Samuel 4:6). In Le 23:24; Psalms 47:5
it is used of the sounding of the sacred trumpets.
BI 21-24, "He hath not beheld iniquity in Jacob, neither hath He seen perverseness in
Israel.
The prophecies of Balaam
Prophecy is not Fatalism, but in many cases, at least, a forecasting of the certain
consequences of such and such moral antecedents. And this view of prophecy leads me
to that which is, after all, the most important aspect of the prophecies of Balaam. Here,
in the blessings he pronounced on Israel, we have an authoritative declaration of the
natural and inevitable outcome of the then condition of the chosen people; blessings
which, indeed, they sometimes reaped, and sometimes failed to reap—varying in their
relations to the God who spake to them by the lips of Balaam—but blessings which it is
open for us to reap, if we will only follow the Lord perfectly and with all our hearts.
I. We have here a declaration of the principles that lie at the foundation of all true
national and church life.
1. And the first of these principles that I shall refer to, is that mentioned in the
language of the text: “He hath not beheld iniquity in Jacob, neither hath He seen
perversity in Israel.” But if we are to accept these words as in any sense descriptive of
the actual condition of the Jewish people at this moment, we must understand them
in relation to the words that follow: “The Lord his God is with him, and the shout of
a king is among them.” That is, there was none of that iniquity and perverseness in
Israel which is the root and substance of all iniquity and perverseness, viz., the denial
of God’s presence in the midst of them, and a refusal to submit to Him as their King.
Whatever else they were (and they had their faults), the Israelites were not a godless
people; and being at heart a godly and God-fearing people, Jehovah saw fit to
interpret all the other features of their character according to this ruling disposition
of their lives, and to look over and excuse many other imperfections for the sake of
this predominating excellence.
2. Another element that characterised the moral condition of the Jewish people, was
that of the separation from the other nations of the earth. Their separation was their
security.
3. But there is, even still farther, a third element belonging to the moral condition of
the Jewish people that must not be overlooked; and that is the principle of order that
obtained amongst them. “Behold,” said the Psalmist, “how good and how pleasant a
thing it is for brethren to dwell together in unity” (Psa_130:1). And unity and order
are intimately related to each other. For order both expresses and promotes unity.
And unity makes order possible.
II. There is here also declared to us the blessedness of those in whom these principles
are realised and embodied. And the prophet lavisheth his praises on the Israelitish
people, as the representatives of those who realise and embody these principles. Thus,
e.g., he compares the tents of Israel to outspread valleys full of verdure and fertility; and
again, to gardens by the riverside, always fruitful and beautiful; and again he speaks of
them as trees of lign aloes, which the Lord had planted, laden with the most delicious
fragrance; and as cedar trees beside the waters, full of stately, sober beauty (Num_24:6).
And the blessedness of such he describes as not only personal, but diffusive. The godly
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105. are as water-bearers, pouring water out of their buckets on the “dry and thirsty land
where no water is,” and causing peace and plenty to abound (Num_24:7). They
themselves increase on every hand; and as they increase, the welfare of the world
advances. “Who can count the dust of Jacob, and the number of the fourth part of
Israel?” (Num_23:10). It was not that Israel was at that moment an innumerable people,
for this book is a record of the numbering of the people of Israel; but Israel had, in the
moral principles that governed its action and life, the germs of indefinite extension and
enlargement. And wherever it went it carried blessings for the nations in its hand.
III. The dignity and majesty of those who are thus blessed. Every symbol of strength and
vigour, of safety and security, does the prophet press into the service of his eulogy of
Israel’s greatness.
IV. The advantages that may be enjoyed by those who are only somewhat remotely
related to the people of God. “Come with us,” said Moses to Hobab, “and we will do you
good; for the Lord hath spoken good concerning Israel” (Num_10:29). There is such a
thing as blessedness, by being related to the blessed. And so Balaam says of Israel:
“Blessed is he that blesseth thee; and cursed is he that curseth thee” (Num_24:9; see
Mat_10:40; Mat_10:42). (W. Roberts.)
The justification of God’s people
What? Was Israel perfect? Was not their entire history one of rebellion and ingratitude
and sin? How then could God say He saw no iniquity or perverseness in them? Mark, it
is not said that Israel had no iniquity or perverseness. It is said God “beheld” none. Is
God, then, the minister of sin? God forbid! He only magnifies the riches of His grace by
putting it out of His sight. But is not this a license to the soul to continue in sin, or be
indifferent to it? Nay. The love that has pardoned is the love that constrains ever after to
“newness of life.” But notice again—God was never indifferent to sin in Israel. “He is of
too pure eyes to behold iniquity.” Yes, the least sin in them was marked and judged with
an unsparing hand. But when it came to this, should Satan make use of their sin to cast
them out for ever from God—to curse them—then God would see no sin in them. Then
His language is, “I have not beheld iniquity in Jacob, nor seen perverseness in Israel.”
Thus we have seen Israel’s complete justification before God. Now let us examine the
foundation on which it rests. “God is not a man that He should lie; neither the son of
man that He should repent: hath He said and shall He not do it? or hath tie spoken and
shall He not make it good?” Thus their justification, and everything that follows, rest
upon God’s unchangeable character. What a rock is that on which the weakest believer
rests! What untold blessings are his l and all secured by the faithfulness of that
unchanging God. But let us proceed and mark the streams of blessing which flow down
to the believer from this Rock. “The Lord his God is with him.” What can he lack, having
Him? He is with him to supply every need, to lead into every holy path, to unfold to his
soul from hour to hour all the riches of His grace, to quicken, to warn, to comfort, to
build up, and to carry on that work in the soul which His grace has begun, till it be
perfected in glory. Mark the next blessing—“the shout of a king is among them.” It is the
shout of joy. It is the joy of Christ in His people, and His people in Him: “these things
have I spoken unto you that My joy might remain in you, and that your joy may be full.”
It is the “shout of a king,” even of King Jesus, for He has gotten the victory! “Jehovah has
triumphed, and His people are free.” Mark the next blessing—“God brought them out of
Egypt.” The song of redemption is now their song, and will be for ever. “He hath, as it
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106. were, the strength of an unicorn” (or buffalo); “strong in the Lord and in the power of
His might.” As the sapling grows into the mighty tree, so that no storms can uproot it, so
the Christian grows by living upon Christ, and abiding in Him. All the trials of the way
arc converted into elements of strength. What can harm the child of God, then? What foe
can curse him whom God has so blessed? None. “What hath God wrought!” It is all God
here; man is nothing. Surely every crown must be laid for ever on the riches of His grace!
“Behold the people shall rise up as a great lion, and lift up himself as a young lion: he
shall not lie down till he eat of the prey, and drink the blood of the slain.” In the symbol
of the lion, under which the Lord’s people are here brought before us, we have the
victorious onward course of the Church of Christ. The Lord’s people are represented as
“rising up” in the majesty of Divine strength and power and victory over their spiritual
foes. And what is the last feature in the character of the Lord’s people presented in this
parable? It is victory over every foe at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ: “he shall not
lie down till he eat of the prey and drink the blood of the slain.” To “lie down” is the
expression for rest. In the morning of resurrection they will Pest, for then every enemy
will be given into their hands. (F. Whitfield, M. A.)
And the shout of a king is among them.—
The best war-cry
I. God’s presence among his people.
1. It is an extraordinary presence, for God’s ordinary and usual presence is
everywhere. Whither shall we flee from His presence? He is in the highest heaven
and in the lowest hell; the hand of the Lord is upon the high hills, and His power is in
all deep places. Still there is a peculiar presence; for God was among His people in
the wilderness as He was not among the Moabites and the Edomites their foes, and
God is in His Church as He is not in the world. He saith of His Church, “Here will I
dwell, for I have desired it.” This is much more than God’s being about us; it includes
the favour of God towards us. His consideration of us, His working with us.
2. God is with His people in the entireness of His nature. This is the glory of the
Church of God—to have the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God the
Father, and the communion of the Holy Ghost to be her never-failing benediction.
What a glory to have Father, Son, and Holy Spirit manifesting the Godhead in the
midst of our assemblies, and blessing each one of us!
3. For God to dwell with us: what a condescending presence this is! And will God in
very truth dwell among men? If the heaven of heavens cannot contain Him, will He
abide among His people? He will! “Know ye not that your bodies are the temples of
the Holy Ghost?”
4. What an awe this imparts to every true Church of God! You may go in and out of
certain assemblies, and you may say, “Here we have beauty I here we have
adornment, musical, ecclesiastical, architectural, oratorical, and the like!” but to my
mind there is no worship like that which proceeds from a man when he feels—the
Lord is here. What a hush comes over the soul! Here is the place for the unsandalled
foot and the prostrate spirit. Now are we on holy ground.
5. This is the one necessary of the Church: the Lord God must be in the midst of her,
or she is nothing. If God be there, peace will be within her walls, and prosperity
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107. within her palaces.
6. This presence of God is clearly discerned by the gracious, though others may not
know it.
II. The results of this Divine presence.
1. Leading (Num_23:22). We must have the Lord with us to guide us into our
promised rest.
2. The next blessing is strength. “He hath as it were the strength of an unicorn”
(Num_23:22). It is generally agreed that the creature here meant is an extinct
species of urns or ox, most nearly represented by the buffalo of the present period.
This gives us the sentence—“He hath as it were the strength of a buffalo.” When God
is in a Church, what rugged strength, what massive force, what irresistible energy is
sure to be there! And how untamable is the living force!
3. The next result is safety. “Surely there is no enchantment against Jacob, neither is
there any divination against Israel.” The presence of God quietly baffles all the
attempts of the evil one. Divination cannot touch a child of God: the evil one is
chained. Wherefore be of good courage; if God be for us, who can be against us?
4. Further than that, God gives to His people the next blessing, that is, of His so
working among them as to make them a wonder, and cause outsiders to raise
inquiries about them. “According to this time it shall be said of Jacob and of Israel,
What hath God wrought?”
5. When God is with His people He will give them power of a destructive kind. Do
not be frightened. Here is the text for it: “Behold, the people shall rise up as a great
lion, and lift up himself as a young lion”—that is, as a lion in the fulness of his
vigour—“he shall not lie down until he eat of the prey, and drink the blood of the
slain.” God has put into His Church, when He is in it, a most wonderful, destructive
power as against spiritual wickedness. A healthy Church kills error, and tears in
pieces evil.
III. What can be done for the securing and preserving of the presence of God with the
church?
1. There is something even in the conformation of a Church to secure this. God is
very tolerant, and He bears with many mistakes in His servants, and yet blesses
them; but depend upon it, unless a Church is formed at the very outset upon
scriptural principles and in God’s own way, sooner or later all the mistakes of her
constitution will turn out to be sources of weakness. Christ loves to dwell in a house
which is built according to His own plans, and not according to the whims and
fancies of men.
2. But next, God will only dwell with a Church which is full of life. The living God will
not inhabit a dead Church. Hence the necessity of having really regenerated people
as members of the Church. Remember that text: “God is not the God of the dead, but
of the living,” and it bears this sense among others, that He is not the God of a
Church made up of unconverted people. Oh that we may all live unto God, and may
that life be past all question.
3. That being supposed, we next notice that to have God among us we must be full of
faith. Do you believe your God? Alas, too many only believe a little! But do you
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108. believe His every word? Do you believe His grandest promises? Is He a real God to
you, making His words into facts every day of your lives? If so, then the Lord is
among us as in the holy place. Faith builds a pavilion in which her King delights to
sit enthroned.
4. With that must come prayer. Prayer is the breath of faith. Where prayer is fervent
God is present.
5. Supposing there is this faith and prayer, we shall also need holiness of life. You
know what Balaam did when he found he could not curse the people. Satanic was his
advice. He bade the king of Moab seduce the men of Israel by the women of Moab
that were fair to look upon; and he sadly succeeded. So in a Church. The devil will
work hard to lead one into licentiousness, another into drunkenness, a third into
dishonesty, and others into worldliness. If he can only get the goodly Babylonish
garment and the wedge of gold buried in an Achan’s tent, then Israel will be chased
before her adversaries. God cannot dwell in an unclean Church.
6. Lastly, when we have reached to that, let us have practical consecration. God will
not dwell in a house which does not belong to Him. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
The Divine presence needed in the Church
There are three special thoughts which come to us in connection with this text.
I. The first is, the absolute need, if the army of the Lord is to conquer, of the presence of
the Lord and of the realisation of His presence by those who are called by His name, and
wear His armour, and wield His weapons. It pleases the Lord to let us fight His battles,
to give us His armour and His weapons, and to inspire us with His courage, and to fill
our enemies with His terror. We have no power except it be given us by Him; we can
drive out no darkness of heathenism except the Lord be with us. We want more of our
own battle-cry, the “shout of our King,” telling of His actual presence with His host.
II. It is also necessary to realise the essential unity of the Church of Christ, of the army
of the living God. We should pray and work, and earnestly desire that all the people of
the Lord may be one. If we want a reason for the little progress made in the conquest of
the world of heathenism for the Lord of life and glory, if we want to account for the dark
and darkening fringe of sin and misery and unbelief within the borders of our own land,
we can find cause enough for these things in our failure to realise and to work and pray
for the ideal of the essential unity of the Church of Christ.
III. Our text inspires us with hope. There is no greater need for us, as individuals or as a
united body, than hope. And how can we be otherwise than full of hope when we call to
mind that the promise is for us, “The shout of a king is among them”? There is hope for
ourselves, and hope for others. Life passes on: friends pass away; strength for effort
grows less; unavailing efforts stretch out behind us in a long, increasing line, like
wounded men falling down to die in the terrible retreat: but still there is hope—hope that
will grow and increase, and come daily nearer to its accomplishment. “The shout of a
King is among us,” and we cannot be moving on to ultimate defeat. There is a battle,
terrible enough, to fight; but victory is the end, not defeat. (E. T. Leeke, M. A.)
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109. Surely there Is no enchantment against Jacob.—
Impregnable security of Israel; God’s wondrous doings on their behalf
I. The truth affirmed: “Surely there is no enchantment,” &c. The certainty of this may be
inferred—
1. Because the counsels of God are more than sufficient to baffle the designs and
plots of hell.
2. Because the power of Jehovah is ever effectual in thwarting the attacks of the
enemies of his people.
3. Because Divine goodness is more than enough to counteract the malevolence of
our foes.
4. The resources of God are more than adequate to render all the means of the
Church’s enemies abortive.
II. The exclamation uttered: “According to this time,” &c.
1. What is to be said? “What hath God wrought!” Agents are to be observed, but only
God praised. This is to keep up our dependence on God. This is to inspire with
adoration and praise. This is to keep human nature in its right place.
2. Who are to say it?
(1) Ministers of the gospel
(2) The pious.
3. When should it be said?
(1) In times of depression, as the means of consolation.
(2) In times of great exertion, as an incitement to perseverance.
(3) In times of great success, to give tone to our exultations.
(4) It will be reiterated in the world of the beatified for ever. There they will see,
in one beautiful series, the doings of God—behold the golden chain entire.
Application:
1. Our text may apply to many as to their Christian experience before God.
“Remember all the way which the Lord thy God led thee,” &c. (Deu_8:2).
2. The text is appropriate to Christian missions. What enemies, difficulties, and
discouragements have been overcome and surmounted! Well may we exclaim, “What
hath God wrought!”
3. Let God ever be exalted for the blessings we enjoy, and for all the good done in us
and by us. (J. Burns, D. D.)
The blessings of God and the acknowledgment which it demands
I. The source of effectual blessing. It directs us to the Deity, in His essential character, in
His active character, and in His relative character. And what is the interference we wish?
Various. Sometimes—
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110. 1. Deliverance—from danger internal and external—“enchantment.”
2. Blessing. “I have received commandment to bless,” &c
3. Forbearance. “He hath not beheld iniquity,” &c.
4. Stability. “The Lord his God is with him.”
5. Complete success.
II. The time from which his interposition is remarked. “According to this time it shall be
said.” The time of—
1. Conversion.
2. Renewed devotion.
3. Peculiar providential arrangement.
4. Earnest and decisive spirit of prayer.
III. The acknowledgement it demands. “It shall be said, What hath God wrought!”
1. Acknowledgment is implied and expected. “God wrought.”
2. It is spontaneously offered. “It shall be said.”
3. It is a personal and explicit token. “Jacob and Israel.”
4. It is to be recorded and gratefully renewed. “According to this time it shall be
said,” &c. (Samuel Thodey.)
A little trust is better than much foresight
That must have been a wonderful glimpse into the ways of God with men which led a
diviner to deny his own art, and to confess that to wait with childlike confidence on God
till in due time He reveals His will is a far greater and more precious gift than to force or
surprise the secrets of the future and to pass in spirit through the times to be. God “met”
Balaam to purpose when He taught him a truth which men, and even Christian men,
have not yet learned—that a little trust is better than much foresight, and that to walk
with God in patient and loving dependence is better than to know the things to come.
And this insight into the real value of his special gift was part of that training, that
discipline, by which, as we have seen, God was seeking to save His servant from his
besetting sin; for Balaam was proud of the gift which set him apart from and above his
fellows, of the eagle eye and unyielding spirit which made the supernatural as easy and
familiar to him as the natural, while they were trembling before every breath of change
and finding omens of disaster in the simplest occurrences of daily experience. He was
apt to boast that he was the man of an open eye, hearing the voice of God and seeing
visions from the Almighty, falling into trances in which the shadows of coming events
were cast upon his mind, and that he could read all secrets and understand all mysteries.
Unlike the great Hebrew prophets, who humbly confessed that the secret of the Lord is
with all who fear Him, and so made themselves one with their fellows, he was perverting
his high gifts to purposes of self-exaltation and self-aggrandisement. Was it not, then,
most salutary that he should be checked and rebuked in this selfish and perilous course?
And how could he be more effectually rebuked than by being shown a whole race
possessed of even higher gifts than his own, possessed above all of the gift of waiting for
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111. God to reveal His will to them in due time, and so raised out of all dependence on
divinations or enchantments? At this spectacle even his own high and sacred
endowment seemed but a vulgar toy, and the aspiration was kindled in his breast for that
greater good, that greatest of all gifts, the power to walk in ways of righteousness, and to
leave the future, with simple trust, in the hands of God. It is a lesson which we still need
to learn; for which of us would not rejoice had he prophetic raptures and trances of
which to boast, if men looked up to him as possessed of a solitary and mysterious power,
and resorted to him that he might forecast their fate and interpret to them the mysteries
by which they were perplexed? Which of us does not at times long to pierce the veil and
learn how it fares with those whom we have loved and lost awhile, or even what will be
the conditions of our own life in years to come or when death shall wear us away, instead
of waiting until in due time God shall reveal even this unto us? Let us, then, learn from
Balaam, if we have not yet learned it from David or St. Paul, that to rest in the Lord and
to wait patiently for Him is a higher achievement than to apprehend all mysteries; and
that to do His will in humble trust is a nobler function and power than to foresee what
that Will will do. (S. Cox, D. D.)
Neither curse them at all, nor bless them at all—
You cannot neutralise God
“Neither curse them at all, nor bless them at all.” But Balaam said, “No; you cannot treat
God’s messengers in that way. As a matter of fact they are here; you have to account for
them being here, and to reckon with them while they are here.” We cannot quiet things
by ignoring them. By simply writing “Unknowable” across the heavens we really do not
exclude supernatural or immeasurable forces. The ribbon is too narrow to shut out the
whole heaven; it is but a little strip; it looks contemptible against the infinite arch. We do
not exclude God by denying Him, nor by saying that we do not know Him or that He
cannot be known. We cannot neutralise God, so as to make Him neither the one thing
nor the other. So Balaam was the greatest mystery Balak had to deal with. It is the same
with the Bible-God’s supernatural Book. It will not lie where we want it to lie: it has a
way of getting up through the dust that gathers upon it and shaking itself, and making its
pages felt. It will open at the wrong place; would it open at some catalogue of names, it
might be tolerated, bat it opens at hot places, where white thrones are and severe
judgments, and where scales are tried and measuring wands are tested. It will speak to
the soul about the wrong-doing that never came to anything, and the wicked thought
that would have burned the heavens and scattered dishonour upon the throne of God.
(J. Parker, D. D.)
22 God brought them out of Egypt;
they have the strength of a wild ox.
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112. BARNES, "An unicorn - A wild bull, the now extinct Aurochs, formidable for its
size, strength, speed, and ferocity.
CLARKE"The strength of a unicorn - ‫ראם‬ reem and ‫ראים‬ reim. It is generally
allowed that there is no such beast in nature as the unicorn; i. e., a creature of the horse
kind, with one long rich curled horn in the forehead. The creature painted from fancy is
represented as one of the supporters of the royal arms of Great Britain. It is difficult to
say what kind of beast is intended by the original word. The Septuagint translate the
word μονοκερως, the unicorn, or one-horned animal; the Vulgate, sometimes,
unicornus; and in the text rhinocerotis, by which the rhinoceros, a creature which has its
name from the horn on its nose, is supposed to be meant. That no single-horned animal
can be intended by the reem of Moses, is sufficiently evident from this, that Moses,
speaking of Joseph, says, “he has the Horns of A unicorn,” or reem, where the horns are
spoken of in the plural, the animal in the singular. The creature referred to is either the
rhinoceros, some varieties of which have two horns on the nose, or the wild bull, urus, or
buffalo; though some think the beast intended is a species of goat; but the rhinoceros
seems the most likely. There is literally a monoceros, or unicorn, with one large curled
ivory horn growing horizontally out of his snout; but this is not a land animal, it is the
modiodan or nurwal, a marine animal of the whale kind, a horn of which is now before
me, measuring seven feet four inches; but I believe the rhinoceros is that intended by the
sacred writers.
GILL, "God brought them out of Egypt,.... With a mighty hand and stretched out
arm, and he will conduct them through the wilderness, and bring them safe to Canaan's
land; he that brought them from thence will not suffer them to perish by any means; it is
in vain to attempt to curse a people that is in such hands, and for whom he has done
such great things: Jarchi thinks this stands opposed to what Balak had said, Num_22:5,
thou sayest, "lo, a people is come out of Egypt";"they did not come out of themselves, but
God brought them:"
he hath as it were the strength of an unicorn; that is, not God, but the people he
brought out of Egypt, being a mighty people, able to push their enemies and subdue
them, being numerous and strong, especially as strengthened by the mighty God of
Jacob; and therefore their strength is expressed by the strength of this creature; for be it
what it will, whether the rhinoceros or the wild ox, or one kind of goats, as Bochart (l)
thinks; whatever is meant by the term here must be a strong creature, see Deu_33:17
and great is the strength of the spiritual Israel of God, which they have from him to
exercise grace, perform duty, withstand and overcome all their spiritual enemies, sin,
Satan, and the world.
JAMISON, "he hath as it were the strength of an unicorn — Israel is not as
they were at the Exodus, a horde of poor, feeble, spiritless people, but powerful and
invincible as a reem - that is, a rhinoceros (Job_39:9; Psa_22:21; Psa_92:10).
112

113. K&D, "Num_23:22
“God brings them out of Egypt; his strength is like that of a buffalo.” ‫ל‬ ֵ‫א‬ is God as the
strong, or mighty one. The participle ‫ם‬ ָ‫יא‬ ִ‫צ‬ ‫מ‬ is not used for the preterite, but designates
the leading out as still going on, and lasting till the introduction into Canaan. The plural
suffix, ‫ָם‬-, is used ad sensum, with reference to Israel as a people. Because God leads
them, they go forward with the strength of a buffalo. ‫ת‬ ‫ֲפ‬‫ע‬ ‫,תּ‬ from ‫ף‬ֵ‫ָע‬‫י‬, to weary,
signifies that which causes weariness, exertion, the putting forth of power; hence the
fulness of strength, ability to make or bear exertions. ‫ם‬ ֵ‫א‬ ְ‫ר‬ is the buffalo or wild ox, an
indomitable animal, which is especially fearful on account of its horns (Job_39:9-11;
Deu_33:17; Psa_22:22).
CALVIN, "22.God brouqht them out of Egypt. He assigns a reason for their
constant success, i.e., because God has once redeemed this people, He will not
forsake the work which He has begun. The argument is drawn from the continued
course of God’s blessings; for, since they flow from an inexhaustible fountain, their
progress is incessant. This, however, specially refers to the state of the Church, for
He will never cease to be gracious to His children, until He has led them to the very
end of their course. Rightly, therefore, does Balaam conclude that, because God has
once redeemed His people, He will be the perpetual guardian of their welfare. He
afterwards teaches that the power wherewith God defends His people shall be
invincible, for this is the meaning of the similitude of the unicorn.
COKE, "Numbers 23:21. He hath not beheld iniquity in Jacob, &c.— One shall not
behold affliction in Jacob, nor see vexation in Israel. Waterland. Houbigant renders
this, I shall not see iniquity, &c. The words will certainly bear the interpretation
which Dr. Waterland has given them, and which some of the versions countenance.
That our translation cannot be right, is evident from the character of the Israelites,
prone to all kinds of wickedness, and to idolatry in particular: so that those
interpreters who would understand the passage as referring to idolatry cannot be
followed. Of this number is the Vulgate, which renders the passage, There is no idol
in Jacob, nor is there any image seen in Israel. Le Clerc, with the LXX, and Dr.
Waterland, renders it, No one sees trouble in Jacob, nor distress in Israel, i.e. they
are and shall be a prosperous and happy people; a sufficient reason for which is
assigned in the next clause; namely, that the Lord their God is with them, and the
shout of a King is among them: i.e. they are under the special and immediate
protection of Jehovah, their peculiar king and governor; in which words we have an
immediate reference to the theocracy. The learned Gataker, in his Diatrib. Ang.
gives nearly the same interpretation; and so does Dr. Wall, in his notes.
POOLE, " God brought them out of Egypt, to wit, by a strong hand, and in spite of
all their enemies, and therefore it is in vain to seek or hope to overcome them.
113

114. He; either,
1. God, last mentioned. But so the comparison is mean and unbecoming. Or rather,
2. Israel, whom God brought out of Egypt; such change of numbers being very
common in the Hebrew language. The sense is, Israel is not now what he was in
Egypt, a poor, weak, dispirited, unarmed people, but high, and strong, and
invincible. The great strength and fierceness of a unicorn is celebrated in Scripture,
Numbers 24:8 Deuteronomy 33:17 Job 39:9 Psalms 22:21 92:10. But whether it be a
unicorn, or a rhinoceros, or a strong and fierce kind of wild goat, which is here
called reem, it is not needful here to determine.
WHEDON, " 22. God brought them — Literally, is bringing; implying that the act
was still going on.
The strength of a unicorn — This is not the rhinoceros, as some have supposed, but
the “wild ox,” (R.V.,) or buffalo, which is untamable and incapable of agricultural
service, and formidable on account of its horns. It was common in Palestine. Job
39:9-10; Deuteronomy 33:17; Psalms 22:21. Instead of strength Furst uses fleetness.
PULPIT, "God. ‫ל‬ ֵ‫,א‬ and also at the end of the next verse, and four times in the next
chapter (Numbers 23:4, Numbers 23:8, Numbers 23:16, Numbers 23:23 ). The use
seems to be poetic, and no particular signification can be attached to it. Brought
them, or, perhaps, "is leading them." So the Septuagint: θεὸς ὁ ἐξαγαγὼν αὐτόν.
Unicorn. Hebrew, ‫ם‬ ֵ‫א‬ ְ‫ר‬ . It is uniformly rendered μονοκέρως by the Septuagint,
under the mistaken notion that the rhinoceros was intended. It is evident, however,
from Deuteronomy 33:17 and other passages that the teem had two hems, and that
its horns were its most prominent feature. It would also appear from Job 39:9-12
and Isaiah 34:7 that, while itself untameable, it was allied to species employed in
husbandry. The reem may therefore have been the aurochs or urus, now extinct, but
which formerly had so large a range in the forests of the old world. There is some
doubt, however, whether the urns existed in those days in Syria, and it may have
been a wild buffalo, or some kindred animal of the bovine genus, whose size,
fierceness, and length of horn made it a wonder and a fear.
23 There is no divination against[b] Jacob,
no evil omens against[c] Israel.
It will now be said of Jacob
114

115. and of Israel, ‘See what God has done!’
BARNES, "Enchantment ... divination - More strictly “augury” and “soothsayer’s
token,” or the omen that was superstitiously observed. “Soothsayer” is the term applied
to Balaam in Jos_13:22.
The verse intimates that the seer was at last, through the overruling of his own
auguries, compelled to own what, had he not been blinded by avarice and ambition, he
would have discerned before - that there Was an indisputable interference of God on
Israel’s behalf, against which all arts and efforts of man must prove vain. The sense
suggested by margin (i. e., that the soothsayer’s art was not practiced in Israel) would be
strictly true (compare the Num_23:4 note).
According ... - Rather, in due time it shall be told to Jacob, etc. God will, through
His own divinely appointed means (e. g. the Urim and Thummim), reveal to Israel, as
occasion may require, His will and purposes.
CLARKE"There is no enchantment, etc. - Because God has determined to save
them, therefore no enchantment can prevail against them.
According to this time, etc. - I think this clause should be read thus: “As at this
time it shall be told to Jacob and to Israel what God worketh;” i. e., this people shall
always have prophetic information of what God is about to work. And indeed, they are
the only people under heaven who ever had this privilege. When God himself designed to
punish them because of their sins, he always forewarned them by the prophets; and also
took care to apprise them of all the plots of their enemies against them.
GILL, "Surely there is no enchantment against Jacob, neither is there any
divination against Israel,.... Balaam here owns, that all his enchantments and
divinations signified nothing, and would never prevail to bring a curse upon Israel; it
was a vain thing for him to use them, and as vain for Balak to expect anything from
them; neither he nor any other enchanter and soothsayer, using all the arts they are
masters of, could ever do any hurt to such a people, who were the peculiar care of God,
and were his church, against which the gates of hell could not prevail: or "in Jacob" and
"in Israel" (m); and this is the sense of all the Targums, that there are no enchantments
nor enchanters, no divinations nor diviners in Israel; these were not agreeable to them,
nor suffered among them, and therefore they were acceptable and well pleasing in the
sight of God and indeed this sense agrees both with the literal version of the words, and
is the sense Jarchi gives of them; that these people were fit for the blessing, because
there were no enchanters and diviners among them; though he mentions another, and
that is, that Israel had no need of enchanters and diviners, and of their enchantments
and divinations, because they had the prophets to inform them, and the Urim and
Thummim to declare things unto them:
115

116. according to this time it shall be said of Jacob, and of Israel, what hath God
wrought! as with respect to this time as well as to time past, and with respect to time to
come, even with respect to all times; it shall be said with wonder and amazement, what
great things has God done for this people! as bringing them out of the land of Egypt,
leading them through the Red sea, feeding and supplying them in the wilderness,
protecting them from their enemies there, expelling the inhabitants of the land of
Canaan, and setting them there in their stead; and wonderful things has God done for
his spiritual Israel, in the redemption of them by Christ, in the beginning and carrying
on the work of grace upon their hearts, by his Spirit; and at last he will bring them all to
the heavenly Canaan of rest and happiness, and where this will be matter of admiration
with them to all eternity, what has God done for us?
JAMISON, "Surely there is no enchantment against Jacob — No art can ever
prevail against a people who are under the shield of Omnipotence, and for whom
miracles have been and yet shall be performed, which will be a theme of admiration in
succeeding ages.
K&D, "Num_23:23
The fellowship of its God, in which Israel rejoiced, and to which it owed its strength,
was an actual truth. “For there is no augury in Jacob, and no divination in Israel. At the
time it is spoken to Jacob, and to Israel what God doeth.” ‫י‬ ִ‫כּ‬ does not mean, “so that, as
an introduction to the sequel,” as Knobel supposes, but “for,” as a causal particle. The
fact that Israel was not directed, like other nations, to the uncertain and deceitful
instrumentality of augury and divination, but enjoyed in all its concerns the immediate
revelation of its God, furnished the proof that it had its God in the midst of it, and was
guided and endowed with power by God Himself. ‫שׁ‬ ַ‫ַח‬‫נ‬ and ‫ם‬ ֶ‫ס‬ ֶ‫,ק‬ οἰωνισμός and μαντεία,
augurium et divinatio (lxx, Vulg.), were the two means employed by the heathen for
looking into futurity. The former (see at Lev_19:26) was the unfolding of the future from
signs in the phenomena of nature, and inexplicable occurrences in animal and human
life; the latter, prophesying from a pretended or supposed revelation of the Deity within
the human mind. ‫ת‬ֵ‫ע‬ָ‫,כּ‬ “according to the time,” i.e., at the right time, God revealed His
acts, His counsel, and His will to Israel in His word, which He had spoken at first to the
patriarchs, and afterwards through Moses and the prophets. In this He revealed to His
people in truth, and in a way that could not deceive, what the heathen attempted in vain
to discover through augury and divination (cf. Deu_18:14-19).
(Note: “What is here affirmed of Israel, applies to the Church of all ages, and also
to every individual believer. The Church of God knows from His word what God
does, and what it has to do in consequence. The wisdom of this world resembles
augury and divination. The Church of God, which is in possession of His word, has
no need of it, and it only leads its followers to destruction, from inability to discern
the will of God. To discover this with certainty, is the great privilege of the Church of
God” (Hengstenberg).)
CALVIN, "23.Surely there is no enchantment. This passage is commonly expounded
as an encomium on the people, because they are not given to enchantments and
116

117. magical superstitions, as God also had strictly enjoined upon them in His law that
they should not pollute themselves by such defilements. Others thus explain it, The
Israelites shall not want enchanters, because by the Urim and Thummim, or by the
Prophets, God would reveal to them whatever should be profitable for them. Their
opinion is more correct who thus interpret it, No enchantment and no divination
avails against the Israelites. Let us now proceed to explain this more clearly.
Balaam, in my judgment, confesses that there is no room for His enchantments, or
that his customary arts fail him now, because their efficacy and power cannot affect
the Israelites. And this confession harmonizes with the words of Pharaoh’s
magicians, when they said, “This is the finger of God,” (Exodus 8:19;) after they had
pertinaciously contended, until God compelled them to yield. Thus now Balaam
declares that the elect people were defended from on high, so that his divinations
were ineffectual, and his enchantments vain.
The other clause of the verse appears to me to be simply to this effect, that God
would henceforth perform mighty works for the defense of His people which should
be related with admiration. The translation which some give is constrained and far-
fetched, “As at this time it shall be said, What has God wrought in Israel?” for
Balaam rather would say, that great should be the progress of God’s grace, the
beginnings only of which then appeared; and in short, he declares that henceforth
memorable should be the performances of God in behalf of His people, which
should supply abundant subjects for history.
COKE, "Numbers 23:23. Surely there is no enchantment against Jacob, &c.— Here
the prophet bursts forth in a noble rapture, and declares to Balak, and the nobles
around, that all their impious machinations were in vain against a people whom the
Lord had determined to bless. So in Proverbs, ch. Numbers 21:30 it is said, There is
no wisdom, nor understanding, nor council against the Lord. Houbigant renders the
last clause, In its time it shall be told, what the God of Jacob and Israel may do, or
be about to do. This verse seems in the Hebrew to depend upon the foregoing; They
have, as it were, the strength of the unicorn; because ‫,כי‬ ki, there is no enchantment,
&c. In due time it shall be told to Jacob, and Israel, what the Lord is about to do:
and, most probably, the next verse refers to that which the people were to do by the
assistance of God; that is, to achieve the complete conquest of Canaan: but
concerning which we refer to the similar passage in the next chapter, 8th and 9th
verses. The ingenious reader need not be informed, that these prophecies of Balaam,
like the other pieces of ancient poetry in Scripture, are written in alternate metre.
See Dr. Lowth's Praelect. Poet. 4. 41. 20. 206. &c. 4to. The version which we have
followed, puts us in mind of a noble saying of Epictetus, (considering him as a
Heathen,) quoted by Mr. Saurin. "The croaking of the raven does not concern me;
suppose it forebodes that I should lose something; one of the members of my body, if
you please: what then? is it not always in my own power to be an honest man?
ravens have no influence over my virtue."
REFLECTIONS.—Not discouraged by one disappointment, this restless enemy of
God's people renews his attempts against them, hoping that another place and
117

118. sacrifice might be more successful, and that he might prevail against a part of the
hosts of Israel, if not against the whole. Balaam, as before, goes to meet the Lord,
and returns to answer Balak's inquiry with a message yet more confounding. They
who persist in the ways of sin, will surely find every successive day repeated and
bitterer disappointments. Balaam summons the King's solemn attention; for who
dares trifle when God is speaking by his servants? 1. He pronounces the will of God.
Israel is secure in the divine faithfulness, and the object of the divine regard. 2. He
declares their power irresistible. Since God is for them and with them, opposition is
vain. Note; It is our comfort to think, amidst every attack of our spiritual enemies,
that the everlasting arms of the omnipotent God are under us. 3. He foretels the
ravages they should make among the nations, like a great lion amidst the defenceless
flocks; so that their foes in amazement, and themselves in triumph, shall cry, "What
hath God wrought!" Note; (1.) God's wonders of grace will, to eternity, be the
matter of his people's triumphant songs. (2.) Where Jesus our King is in the midst of
us, we shall assuredly go on—conquering and to conquer. 4. He owns the vanity of
his own enchantments, and the fruitlessness of every other person's attempt. Even
the enemies of God's people shall at last be made to confess their impotence to hurt
them. Vicisti Galilaee.
TRAPP, "Numbers 23:23 Surely [there is] no enchantment against Jacob, neither [is
there] any divination against Israel: according to this time it shall be said of Jacob
and of Israel, What hath God wrought!
Ver. 23. Surely there is no enchantment.] No looking for signs of good luck, as
Numbers 24:1. The gates of hell shall not prevail against them.
POOLE, " I find by experience and serious consideration that all mine and thine
endeavours to enchant Israel are in vain, being frustrated by their omnipotent God.
I can do thee no service by my art against them.
According to this time; not only in succeeding times and ages, of which he speaks,
Numbers 24:17, &c., but even now, in this time and age, and so forward.
What hath God wrought!, i.e. how wonderful and glorious are those works which
God is now about to do for Israel, by drying up Jordan, by subduing the
Canaanites, &c.! These things will be matter of discourse and admiration to all ages.
ELLICOTT, "(23) Surely there is no enchantment against Jacob . . . —The verse
may be rendered as follows: For there is no augury in Jacob, and there is no divina-
Hon in Israel. At the (set) time it is told to Jacob and to Israel what God hath done
(or, doth). The ordinary meaning of the words nahash (omen, or augury) and kesem
(soothsaying, or divination), the use of the same preposition in Numbers 23:21
which is there rendered in, and more especially the second clause of the verse, seem
to decide the meaning of the former clause to be as it is here given. The Israelites
had no need of augury and divination, seeing that God revealed to them His acts.
118

119. His counsel, and His will. “What is here affirmed of Israel,” says Hengstenberg,
“applies to the Church of all ages, and also to every individual believer. The Church
of God knows from His own Word what God does, and what it has to do in
consequence. The wisdom of this world resembles augury and divination. The
Church of God, which is in possession of His word, has no need of it.” (History of
Balaam and his Prophecies, p. 441).
PULPIT, "Enchantment, ‫שׁ‬ַ‫ָח‬‫נ‬ . Rather, "augury." Septuagint, οἰωνισμός. See on Le
19:26, where the practice is forbidden to Israel. Against Jacob, or, "in Jacob," as
the marginal reading, and this is favoured by the Septuagint and the Targums, and
is equally true and striking. It was the proud peculiarity of Israel that he trusted not
to any magic arts or superstitious rites, uncertain in themselves, and always leading
to imposture, but to the direction and favour of the Almighty. Divination. ‫ם‬ֶ‫ס‬ֶ‫ק‬ .
Septuagint, μαντεία. The art of the soothsayer. According to this time it shall be said
of Jacob and of Israel. Rather, "in season," i.e; in God's good time, "it shall be said
to Jacob and to Israel. What hath God wrought! or, "what God doeth." The
meaning seems to be that augury and divination were useless and vain in the case of
Israel, because God himself declared and would declare his mighty acts in behalf of
his people, and that by no uncertain vaticination, but by open declaration.
24 The people rise like a lioness;
they rouse themselves like a lion
that does not rest till it devours its prey
and drinks the blood of its victims.”
CLARKE"Behold, the people shall rise up as a great lion - ‫לביא‬ labi, the
great, mighty, or old lion, the king of the forest, who is feared and respected by all the
other beasts of the field; so shall Israel be the subduer and possessor of the whole land of
Canaan. And as a young lion, ‫ארי‬ ari from ‫ארה‬ arah, to tear off, the predatory lion, or
the lion in the act of seizing and tearing his prey; - the nations against whom the
Israelites are now going shall be no more able to defend themselves against their attacks,
than the feeblest beasts of the forest are against the attacks of the strong lion.
GILL, "Behold, the people shall rise up as a great lion,.... Or rather, "as the
119

120. lioness" (n), which, as Aelianus says (o), is the strongest and most warlike beast, the
most fierce and furious, as is believed both by Greeks and Barbarians; and he mentions
the heroism of Perdiccas the Macedonian, and Semiramis the Assyrian, in engaging with
and killing, not the lion or leopard, but lioness:
and shall lift up himself as a young lion; both phrases denoting the courage and
strength of the people of Israel, in attacking their enemies and engaging them:
he shall not lie down; being once roused up and engaged in war:
until he eat of the prey, and drink the blood of the slain; as the lion does when it
has seized on a creature, tears it to pieces, eats its flesh and drinks its blood: this may
refer to the slaughter of the Midianites that would be quickly made, and among the slain
of whom Balaam himself was, Num_31:7, and to the slaughter and conquest of the
Canaanites under Joshua, and taking their spoils.
K&D, "Num_23:24
Through the power of its God, Israel was invincible, and would crush all its foes.
“Behold, it rises up, a people like the lioness, and lifts itself up like the lion. It lies not
down till it eats dust, and drinks the blood of the slain.” What the patriarch Jacob
prophesied of Judah, the ruler among his brethren, in Gen_49:9, Balaam here transfers
to the whole nation, to put to shame all the hopes indulged by the Moabitish king of the
conquest and destruction of Israel.
CALVIN, "24.Behold, the people shall rise up as a great lion. This comparison is not
in every respect accurate; for it does not signify that the Israelites should be cruel or
rapacious, but merely bold and strong, and prompt in their resistance if any should
provoke them. In the next chapter, it will occur again with a slight change in the
words. What Balaam here predicates generally of the whole people, is applied in the
blessings of Jacob to the tribe of Judah alone, (Genesis 49:9,) because it especially
excelled in bravery. The sum is, that however the people of Israel might be attacked
on every side, it should be endued with invincible fortitude, to overcome all assaults,
or to repel them vigorously. Let us, finally, remember that this courage, wherewith
Israel was to defend itself against all its enemies, was counted amongst the gifts of
God; as: if Balaam had said that they should be preserved by the help of God.
TRAPP, "Numbers 23:24 Behold, the people shall rise up as a great lion, and lift up
himself as a young lion: he shall not lie down until he eat [of] the prey, and drink the
blood of the slain.
Ver. 24. Behold the people.] This is chiefly true of God’s peculiar people, subduing
their spiritual enemies, [Micah 5:8-9] being bold as lions.
POOLE, " As a lion rouseth up himself to fight, or to go out to the prey; so shall
120

121. Israel stir up themselves to warlike attempts against all their enemies, as occasion
shall offer itself.
He shall not lie down, i.e. not rest or cease from fighting and pursuing.
WHEDON, " 24. As a great lion — Under the imagery of the king of the forest the
invincibility of the Hebrew military power, or of Jehovah energizing obedient Israel,
is strikingly set forth. The prediction of Jacob respecting Judah (Genesis 49:9) is
here extended to the whole nation, to blast the hope of Balak that he should destroy
Israel. See Numbers 24:8-9, notes.
Drink the blood — The cruelty and rapacity which these words might seem to
indicate are not intended. The simile must not bepressed too far. Strength, courage,
and national superiority are symbolized by the lion. Genesis 49:9, note.
PULPIT, "As a great lion. ‫יא‬ ִ‫ָב‬‫ל‬, generally translated "old lion," as in Genesis 49:9 .
By some it is rendered lioness (cf. Job 4:11; Nahum 2:12). As a young lion. ‫י‬ ִ‫ר‬ ַ‫,א‬ the
ordinary term for a lion without further distinction. It is altogether fantastic to
suppose that Balaam had just seen a lieu coming up from the ghor of Jordan, and
that this "omen" inspired his "mashal." The rising of a lion from its covert was one
of the most common of the more striking phenomena of nature in those regions, and
the imagery it afforded was in constant use; but in truth it is evident that these
similes are borrowed from Jacob's dying prophecy concerning Judah (Genesis
49:9), in which the word "prey" (Hebrew, ‫ף‬ ֶ‫ר‬ֶ‫,ט‬ a torn thing) is also found. Balaam
was acquainted with that prophecy, as he was with the promises made to Abraham
(cf. Genesis 49:10 with Genesis 13:16; Genesis 28:14).
25 Then Balak said to Balaam, “Neither curse
them at all nor bless them at all!”
GILL"And Balak said unto Balaam, neither curse them at all, nor bless
them at all. Signifying that it would be as well or better to do nothing at all, than to do
what he did; but the sense is not, that he would not have him curse them, that he could
never say, since he had pressed it both before and after this; wherefore the words should
be rendered, as they are by some (p), "if in cursing thou dost not curse", or will not
curse, "neither in blessing bless", or, however, do not bless: if he could not or would not
121

122. curse Israel, he would not have him bless them on any account; if he could do him and
his people no good in ridding them of their enemies, yet he desires him by no means to
do them any harm by discouraging them and encouraging Israel.
JAMISON, "Balaam's Last Words. - Num_23:25-30. Balak was not deterred,
however, from making another attempt. At first, indeed, he exclaimed in indignation at
these second sayings of Balaam: “Thou shalt neither curse it, nor even bless.” The double
‫ַם‬‫גּ‬ with ‫ֹא‬‫ל‬ signifies “neither - nor;” and the rendering, “if thou do not curse it, thou shalt
not bless it,” must be rejected as untenable. In his vexation at the second failure, he did
not want to hear anything more from Balaam. But when he replied again, that he had
told him at the very outset that he could do nothing but what God should say to him (cf.
Num_22:38), he altered his mind, and resolved to conduct Balaam to another place with
this hope: “peradventure it will please God that thou mayest curse me them from
thence.” Clericus observes upon this passage, “It was the opinion of the heathen, that
what was not obtained through the first, second, or third victim, might nevertheless be
secured through a fourth;” and he adduces proofs from Suetonius, Curtius, Gellius, and
others.
K&D, "And Balak said unto Balaam, neither curse them at all, nor bless
them at all. Signifying that it would be as well or better to do nothing at all, than to do
what he did; but the sense is not, that he would not have him curse them, that he could
never say, since he had pressed it both before and after this; wherefore the words should
be rendered, as they are by some (p), "if in cursing thou dost not curse", or will not
curse, "neither in blessing bless", or, however, do not bless: if he could not or would not
curse Israel, he would not have him bless them on any account; if he could do him and
his people no good in ridding them of their enemies, yet he desires him by no means to
do them any harm by discouraging them and encouraging Israel.
CALVIN, "25.And Balak said unto Balaam. Here we may behold as in a mirror how
wretchedly unbelievers are driven to and fro, so as to alternate between vain hopes
and fears, though by their changes of purpose they are still brought back to the
same errors, as if their blind passion led them through a labyrinth. When Balak sees
that he is deceived in his opinion, he seeks at least that the hireling prophet should
neither profit nor injure. This, however, is exactly as if he would have God to lie
idle; but presently he recovers his spirits, and endeavors to repurchase the curse,
which in his penitence he had abandoned. For this cause he drags Balaam to
another place, although he had already discovered that this was in vain. But thus
pertinaciously do unbelievers prosecute their wicked efforts: whilst, at the same
time, the disquietude which agitates them with doubts is the just reward of their
temerity.
WHEDON, " 25. Neither curse… nor bless — This issue of Balak’s machinations
against the people of God is only a single instance of the inspired declaration, “The
wrath of man shall praise thee,” which has been fulfilled all along the ages. The
efforts of infidelity to destroy Christ have all resulted in his exaltation. The stone,
the watch, and the seal, intended to keep the crucified Jesus in the tomb, have
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123. become strong proofs of the resurrection of our Lord. The assaults of rationalism,
by arousing Christian apologists to deeper researches, have contributed to lay bare
the immutable foundations of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
PETT, "Numbers 23:25
‘And Balak said to Balaam, “Neither curse them at all, nor bless them at all.” ’
Balak had heard enough. He begged Balaam neither to curse or bless them, for it
would be better if he did nothing than that he should bless them again as he had
done previously. This was strengthening them, not weakening them.
26 Balaam answered, “Did I not tell you I must do
whatever the Lord says?”
BARNES, "But Balaam answered and said unto Balak, told not I thee,.... He
appeals to him for his honesty and faithfulness, for honest and faithful he would be
thought to be, both to God and man; that when he first met him, he plainly told him
what he must expect: from him:
saying, all that the Lord speaketh, that I must do; which was very true, he was
obliged to do as he had bid him, and speak what he had said unto him, though it was
sore against his will; he would fain both have spoken and done otherwise, if he might
have been permitted.
GILL, "But Balaam answered and said unto Balak, told not I thee,.... He
appeals to him for his honesty and faithfulness, for honest and faithful he would be
thought to be, both to God and man; that when he first met him, he plainly told him
what he must expect: from him:
saying, all that the Lord speaketh, that I must do; which was very true, he was
obliged to do as he had bid him, and speak what he had said unto him, though it was
sore against his will; he would fain both have spoken and done otherwise, if he might
have been permitted.
JAMISON, "All that the Lord speaketh, that I must do — a remarkable
confession that he was divinely constrained to give utterances different from what it was
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124. his purpose and inclination to do.
CALVIN, "26.But Balaam answered and said. The mercenary prophet here
confesses that he has no more power of himself to be silent than to speak. Nor is
there any doubt but that he would excuse himself with servility to the proud king, to
whom he would willingly have sold himself; as if, in his desire to avert the odium
and blame from himself, he would state that he was carried away against his will by
the Divine afflatus. At the same time he throws back the blame on Balak himself,
who, though warned in time, had still foolishly sent to fetch him. The rest I have
already expounded.
TRAPP, "Numbers 23:26 But Balaam answered and said unto Balak, Told not I
thee, saying, All that the LORD speaketh, that I must do?
Ver. 26. That I must do.] Though with no goodwill. Devils and wicked men do God’s
will; but oft full sore against their own.
PETT, "Numbers 23:26
‘But Balaam answered and said to Balak, “Did I not tell you, saying, All that
Yahweh says, that I must do?” ’
But Balaam replied that there was nothing that he could do about it. As he had
already told him, if he contacted Yahweh he had to do what Yahweh said. In
matters like this he was not his own master.
Balaam’s Third Message
27 Then Balak said to Balaam, “Come, let me take
you to another place. Perhaps it will please God to
let you curse them for me from there.”
GILL, "And Balak said unto Balaam, come, I pray thee,.... Come along with me:
I will bring thee unto another place: if not better for the view of the people, yet a more
religious place, on which account the king hoped for success:
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125. peradventure it will please God that thou mayest curse me them from
thence; it may be God will give thee leave to curse the people from that place, being
devoted to sacred service: this is the first time that Balak makes mention of the name of
God; and he now seems to be satisfied that it was not Balaam's fault that he did not curse
Israel, but that he was hindered by God, who would not suffer him to do it.
COFFMAN. ""And Balak said unto Balaam, Come now, I will take thee unto
another place; peradventure it will please God that thou mayest curse me them from
thence. And Balak took Balaam unto the top of Peor, that looketh down upon the
desert. And Balaam said unto Balak, Build me here seven altars, and prepare me
here seven bullocks and seven rams. And Balak did as Balaam had said, and offered
up a bullock and a ram on every altar."
"Another place ..." (Numbers 23:27). Balak again and again sought "another place"
for the attempted cursing of Israel, as if one place could have been more or less
desirable than another for such a purpose. He had to learn the hard way that God is
everywhere! Jonah could not actually "lose" God by fleeing to Tarshish; and
neither could Balak have found any place on earth from which God would have
cursed Israel. Nevertheless, Balak, at once set the stage for the third oracle on top of
Peor.
The first two oracles came from the top of Pisgah, but the stage is now changed to
the top of Peor. Although the precise location of this peak is not surely known,[17]
its general locality is, "somewhere to the North of the Dead Sea, and opposite
Jericho, described as looking toward the desert."[18] This location was extremely
important to Israel. It was at Baal-Peor, somewhere in the vicinity of this mountain,
that the Wilderness Generation of Israel engaged in a crucial rebellion against God,
a tragedy that would later divide and destroy both the kingdoms of Israel. Balaam
himself is revealed to have been a vital part of that tragic failure of Israel, hence, the
appropriateness of this full account of Balaam's devices against Israel.
COKE, "Verse 27
Numbers 23:27. I will bring thee unto another place— As the Syrians imagined that
some gods were powerful in the hills, who could do nothing in the plains, 1 Kings
20:23; 1 Kings 20:28 so it seems there was such a conceit at this time in these
countries, that some gods had more power on one hill than on another. The idea of
local deities was very general. Thus Balak might imagine that his God had hitherto
been withheld by the gods of Israel from granting his desire, but might be more
powerful in another place. Low as were the conceptions of these idolaters respecting
their deities, do we not see the same style prevail in the Romish Church, where
much more virtue is attributed to some images of the Blessed Virgin, than to others?
for which reason devotees flock in greater numbers to the places where such images
are found.
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126. TRAPP, "Numbers 23:27 And Balak said unto Balaam, Come, I pray thee, I will
bring thee unto another place; peradventure it will please God that thou mayest
curse me them from thence.
Ver. 27. Peradventure it will please God.] Heb., It will be right in the eyes of God.
Never think it, man. "He is not a God that hath pleasure in wickedness." [Psalms
5:4]
WHEDON, " 27. Peradventure it will please God — “It was the opinion of the
heathen that what was not obtained through the first, second, or third victim might
nevertheless be secured through a fourth.” — Clericus. Hence the continued altar-
building and burnt offerings.
ELLICOTT, "(27) Peradventure it will please God . . . —Here Balak makes mention
of God as Elohim. He appears to be satisfied that Balaam was hindered by God
from uttering the curses which he desired him to pronounce upon Israel (comp.
Numbers 24:11). Or the words may have been spoken ironically (comp. Numbers
24:11, and Note).
PETT, " The Third Attempt To Influence Yahweh (Numbers 23:27 to Numbers
24:13).
The previous two attempts at enchantment having failed Balak decided that he must
try again, this time with Baal-peor. Some may wondered at Balak’s persistence, but
both he and Balaam probably thought that the next seven offerings would do the
trick. For seven times three would be divine completeness and perfection indeed.
Numbers 23:27-28
‘And Balak said to Balaam, “Come now, I will take you to another place. Perhaps it
will please God that you may curse me them from there.” And Balak took Balaam to
the top of Peor, which looks down on the desert.’
The stark mountain of Peor was his last hope. Here surely Baal-peor would come to
his help against these people. So he took Balaam there and called on him to make
another attempt to curse Israel for him.
PULPIT, "I will bring thee unto another place. At first (Numbers 23:25) Balak had
in his vexation desired to stop the mouth of Balaam, but afterwards he thought it
wiser to make yet another attempt to change the mind of God; as a heathen, he still
thought that this might be done by dint of importunity and renewed sacrifices.
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127. 28 And Balak took Balaam to the top of Peor,
overlooking the wasteland.
BARNES, "The position of Peor northward from Pisgah, along the Abarim heights, is
approximately determined by the extant notices of Beth-peor.
Jeshimon - was the waste, in the great valley below, where stood Beth-jeshimoth,
“the house of the wastes.”
CLARKE"Unto the top of Peor - Probably the place where the famous Baal-peor
had his chief temple. He appears to have been the Priapus of the Moabites, and to have
been worshipped with the same obscene and abominable rites.
GILL, "And Balak brought Balaam to the top of Peor,.... The name of an high
mountain in Moab, so called from a gap or opening in it; here the idol Baal was
worshipped, and from hence had the name of Baalpeor, Num_25:3 and here, very
probably, was a temple built to the honour of him, called Bethpeor, the house or temple
of Baalpeor, Deu_34:6,
that looketh towards Jeshimon; as Pisgah also did, and very likely it was not far
from it, since from thence they came hither, Num_23:14. Jeshimon is the same with
Bethjesimoth, and so the Targum of Jonathan here calls it, a part of the plains of Moab,
where Israel lay encamped, Num_33:49 so that from hence Balaam could have a full
view of them.
JAMISON, "Balak brought Balaam unto the top of Peor — or, Beth-peor
(Deu_3:29), the eminence on which a temple of Baal stood.
that looketh toward Jeshimon — the desert tract in the south of Palestine, on
both sides of the Dead Sea.
COKE, "Numbers 23:28. Unto the top of Peor— Which was the most famous high
place in all the country of Moab; and where, Selden conjectures, Baal had a temple,
and was thence called Baal-peor; just as Jupiter, worshipped at Olympus, was
called Jupiter Olympius. See Deuteronomy 34:6.
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128. REFLECTIONS.—Balak is now quite dispirited with his attempts. Fain would he
compound the matter, that Balaam shall neither bless nor curse, whilst he owns the
impulse he is under, which he is unable to controul. God's counsel shall stand,
notwithstanding the devices of man; and he will make the enemies of his people,
however unwilling, know that he has loved them. Once more the King is earnest to
make trial, and Balaam as desirous to gain the wages of unrighteousness; the place
chosen is sacred to Baal, the sacrifices repeated, and there he would fain hope at
least something may be done. Note; The devil always labours to prop up the sinking
hopes of sinners, and leads them from one refuge of lies to another till their ruin is
completed.
POOLE, "Peor, a high place called Beth-peor, Deuteronomy 3:29, i.e. the house or
temple of Peer, because there they worshipped Baal-peor.
WHEDON, " 28. Peor — Near to Beth-peor, a town of the Reubenites, (Joshua
13:20, note,) was one of the northern peaks of Abarim. “This point answers
admirably to Professor Paine’s Pisgah, Mount Siaghah.
Numbers 21:20, note. Either this or the second foreland, where are ruinous heaps,
from both of which there is a near and distinct view of the plain from ‘Beth-
jeshimon unto Abel-shittim,’ may be the top of Peor.” — Ridgaway.
Jeshimon — See Numbers 21:20, note.
ELLICOTT, "(28) Unto the top of Peor.—Mount Peor was one peak of the northern
part of the mountains of Abarim. It was nearer than the other heights to the camp of
the Israelites. It looked toward, or over the face of Jeshimon, i.e., the waste (or,
desert). See Numbers 21:20.
PULPIT, "Unto the top of Peer. On the meaning of Peer see on Numbers 25:3. This
Peer was a summit of the Abarim ranges northwards from Pisgah, and nearer to the
Israelites. The adjacent village, Beth-Peer, was near the place of Moses' burial
(Deuteronomy 34:6). From the phrase used in Deuteronomy 3:29; Deuteronomy
4:46, with which the testimony of Eusebius agrees, it must have lain almost opposite
Jericho on the heights behind the Arboth Moab. From Peer, therefore, the whole
encampment, in all its length and breadth, would lie beneath their gaze. Jeshi-men.
See on Numbers 21:20.
BI, "Balak brought Balaam unto the top of Peor.
The wicked are wise in their kind to bring their wicked purposes to pass
We may observe by continual experience the nature of ungodly men. They are cunning in
their kind; they watch their ways and times to fit them to work out their wicked devices.
Balak knew well enough he was not able to meet the Israelites in the open field, and
therefore dealeth otherwise. This is it which Stephen in his apology noteth (Act_7:19).
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129. Thus did Laban deal toward Jacob (Gen_31:1-2; Gen_31:41), changing his mind,
revoking his bargains, altering his wages, murmuring at his prosperity, and changing his
countenance toward him. This is noted also in the parable recorded (Luk_16:8). This we
see by many examples. Ahithophel’s counsel was esteemed like as one who had asked
counsel at the oracle of God, so were all his counsels both with David and with Absalom.
The like we see in Herod when he heard of the birth of Christ, as of a new-born King, by
the wise men. He pretendeth piety, but useth policy to destroy the babe our Saviour. The
same we might observe in the scribes and Pharisees after the ascension of Christ. They
spared no means to hinder the course of the gospel (Act_3:1-26; Act_4:1-37; Act_
5:1-42.), but used sometimes fair means, sometimes threatenings, sometimes
commandments to stop the mouths of the apostles. All which testimonies teach us that
which the prophet Jeremiah saith (Jer_4:22) of the people in his time agreeable to the
truth of this doctrine: “They are wise to do evil, bat to do well they have no knowledge.”
The reasons follow.
1. They serve a cunning master, the author of all confusion, the contriver of all
mischief, the worker of all wickedness, that old subtle serpent who worketh in all the
children of disobedience (Eph_2:2).
2. God giveth even to wicked men wisdom and understanding, to magnify His mercy,
who is good to all, and to aggravate their sin, who are made thereby without excuse
(Rom_1:20-21). Now, the greater His goodness is toward them, the heavier shall His
judgment and their punishment be (Luk_12:48). What is it that thou hast not
received? And if thou hast received it, why dost thou not glorify Him of whom thou
hast received it?
3. The enemies of God have knowledge, experience, foresight; they are as wise as
serpents, as subtle as foxes, to the end God may use them as His rods in correcting
His Church and in trying the faith of His people. So He proved the patience of the
Israelites by Pharaoh and the Egyptians, and by the cunning and crafty fetches which
they practised for their overthrow and destruction. So He tried Joseph and Mary by
the dissimulation of Herod, by whom they were constrained to depart out of Judaea
and to fly into the land of Egypt. The uses to be made of this doctrine are many.
(1) This should, on the other side, teach us to deal wisely and warily with them,
lest we be snared and circumvented by them. We are set as upon a hill, we are
placed as upon a stage. If we profess Christ Jesus, a small spot will be seen in our
garment. It behoveth us, therefore, to be wise as serpents and innocent as doves,
according to the counsel of our Saviour, to the end we may Stop the mouths of
gainsayers. Their wisdom is joined with wickedness; our wisdom must be
seasoned with godliness. Their policy is iniquity; with us policy and innocency
must accompany together, and kiss one another. Their wisdom is a
circumventing by laying of snares; our wisdom must be circumspect in avoiding
snares. If we have this wariness mingled with true sincerity, and all our actions
without dissimulation, it is both lawful and expedient to set wisdom against
wisdom, and policy against policy, and care against care, and understanding
against understanding, that so through their subtlety and our simplicity we be
not taken in their traps which they have laid for us.
(2) It is our duty to pray to God to be delivered from them, and trust in Him for
His help: He scattereth the devices of the crafty, so that their hands cannot
accomplish that which their hearts have enterprised—an excellent comfort to all
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130. the servants of God not to fear the high reaches and deep devices of their
enemies.
(3) This serveth to reprove two sorts of men that esteem not aright of this
worldly wisdom of wicked men; for some are offended at their wisdom because it
is so great, others rest contented in it because it is so excellent. (W. Attersoll.).
29 Balaam said, “Build me seven altars here, and
prepare seven bulls and seven rams for me.”
GILL, "And Balaam said unto Balak,.... Being willing to try again what could be
done, and to gratify the king, and especially to get the wages of unrighteousness, if
possible, which he dearly loved, as the apostle says, 2Pe_2:15.
build me here seven altars, and prepare me here seven bullocks and seven
rams; which had been done in two places before, Num_23:1 the same sort of creatures,
and the same number here as there, and these only clean creatures, such as were used in
sacrifice by the true worshippers of God, and which, no doubt, Balaam had knowledge
of, and therefore judged that those would be most acceptable to the Lord.
JAMISON, "He takes the seer “to the top of Peor, which looks over the face of the
desert” (Jeshimon: see at Num_21:20), and therefore was nearer to the camp of the
Israelites. Mount Peor was one peak of the northern part of the mountains of Abarim by
the town of Beth-peor, which afterwards belonged to the Reubenites (Jos_13:20), and
opposite to which the Israelites were encamped in the steppes of Moab (Deu_3:29;
Deu_4:46). According to Eusebius (Onom. s. v. Φογώρ), Peor was above Libias (i.e.,
Bethharam),
(Note: Ὑυπέρκειται δὲ τῆς νῦν Λιβαίδος καλουμένης. Jerome has “in supercilio
Libiados.”)
which was situated in the valley of the Jordan; and according to the account given under
Araboth Moab,
(Note: Καὶ ἔστι τόπος εἰς δεῦρο δεικνύμενος παρὰ τῷ ὄρει Φογώρ ὁ παράκειται
ἀνιόντων ἀπὸ Λιβίαδος ἐπὶ Ἐσσεβοὺς (i.e., Heshbon) τῆς Ἀραβίας ἀντικρὺ
Ἰεριχώ.)
it was close by the Arboth Moab, opposite to Jericho, on the way from Libias to
Heshbon. Peor was about seven Roman miles from Heshbon, according to the account
given s. v. Danaba; and Beth-peor (s. v. Bethphozor) was near Mount Peor, opposite to
Jericho, six Roman miles higher than Libias, i.e., to the east of it (see Hengstenberg,
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131. Balaam, p. 538).
Num_23:29-30
The sacrifices offered in preparation for this fresh transaction were the same as in the
former cases (Num_23:14, and Num_23:1, Num_23:2).
PETT, "Numbers 23:29
‘And Balaam said to Balak, “Build me here seven altars, and prepare me here seven
ox bulls and seven rams.” ’
Balaam again called on him to follow his usual pattern. It had always ‘worked’ in
the past. Another munificent offering to the gods might be successful, and might
change Yahweh’s mind. Three times seven was complete divine perfection.
There is in all this a deliberate intent in the writer’s mind to bring out the futility of
Balaam’s methods and Balak’s hopes. Yahweh the God of Israel just could not be
influenced by these methods. He was over and above them. They were useless.
Balaam might be powerful in his own sphere but against God he was powerless. All
he could do was prophecy in His favour.
30 Balak did as Balaam had said, and offered a
bull and a ram on each altar.
GILL, "And Balak did as Balaam had said,.... Though the sacrifices were
expensive, he did not grudge them; he spared no cost to gain his point, though he now
could have but little hope of it: and offered a bullock and a ram on every altar; as he had
done before, Num_23:2.
PETT, "Numbers 23:30
‘And Balak did as Balaam had said, and offered up an ox bull and a ram on every
altar.’
So Balak again did all that was required of him. An ox bull and a ram were offered
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132. up on each of seven altars.
132