1And the sons of Israel will remove and will encamp in the deserts of Moab, from the other side of Jordan at Jericho. 2And Balak, son of Zippor, will see all that Israel did to the Amorite. 3And Moab will be afraid from before the people greatly, for they were many; and Moab will feel disgust from the face of the sons of Israel. 4And Moab will say to the old men of Midian, Now this gathering will lick up all round about us, as the ox licking up the green of the field. And Balak, son of Zippor, the king of Moab in that time. 5And he will send messengers to Balaam, son of Beor, to Pethor, which is by the river of the land of the sons of his people, to call to him, saying, Behold, a people came forth out of Egypt: behold, it covered the eye of the earth, and it dwelt from before me. 6And now, come now, curse to me this people, for he is strong above me: perhaps I shall be able to strike upon him, and drive him out of the land, for I know whom thou shalt praise is praised, and whom thou shalt curse, shall be cursed. 7And the old men of Moab and the old men of Midian, will go, and divinations in their hand; and they will come to Balsam, and they will speak to him the words of Balak. 8And he will say to them, Remain here this night, and I will turn back word to you according as Jehovah will speak to me: and the leaders of Moab will dwell with Balaam. 9And God will come to Balaam, and will say, What men these with thee? 10And Balaam will say to God, Balak, son of Zippor, king of Moab, sent to me, 11Behold, the people came forth out of Egypt, and it will cover the eye of the earth: now come curse him to me; perhaps I shall be able to fight against him and I drove him out 12And God will say to Balaam, Thou shalt not go with them; thou shalt not curse the people: for he is praised. 13And Balaam will rise in the morning and will say to the leaders of Balak, Go to your land: for Jehovah refused to give me to go with you. 14And the leaders will rise and go to Balak, and say, Balaam refused to come with us, 15And Balak will add yet to send leaders, many and honorable, more than these. 16And they will go to Balaam, and say to him, Thus said Balak, son of Zippor, Now thou wilt not withhold from coming to me: 17For honoring, I will honor thee greatly, and all which thou shalt say to me I will do; and come, now, curse to me this people. 18And Balaam will answer, and say to the servants of Balak, If Balak will give to me his house full of silver and gold, I shall not be able to pass over the mouth of Jehovah my God to do little or great 19And now, sit ye down, now also in here this night, and I shall know what Jehovah will add to speak with me. 20And God will come to Balaam at night, and say to him, If the men have come to call to thee, rise up, go with them, and only the word which I shall speak to thee, thou shalt do it 21And Balaam will rise up in the morning, and saddle his ass, and go with the leaders of Moab. 22And the anger of God will kindle because he went; and the messenger of Jehovah will stand in the way, for an adversary to him: and he rode upon his ass, and his two young men with him. 23And the ass will see the messenger of Jehovah standing in the way, and his sword drawn in his hand: and the ass will turn from the way and go into the field: and Balaam will strike the ass to turn her in the way. 24And the messenger of Jehovah will stand in the hollow of the vineyards, an enclosure hence, and an enclosure thence. 25And the ass will see the messenger of Jehovah and she will press to the wall, and she will press Balaam's foot to the wall; and he will add to strike her, 26And the messenger of Jehovah will add to pass by and stand in a narrow place where is no way to turn to the right, and to the left 27And the ass will see the messenger of Jehovah and she will lie down under Balaam: and Balaam's anger will kindle, and he will strike the ass With a rod. 28And Jehovah will open the mouth of the ass, and she will say to Balaam, What did I to thee that thou hast smitten me this three beats? 29And Balaam will say to the ass, Because thou didst vex me: would that a sword was in my hand, for now I had killed thee. 30And the ass will say to Balaam, Am not I thine ass which thou didst ride upon me ever since thou wert till this day? and being accustomed, was I accustomed to do to thee thus? And he will say, No. 31And Jehovah will uncover the the eyes of Balsam, and he will see the messenger of Jehovah standing in the way, and his sword drawn in his hand; and he will bow down and worship upon his face. 32And the messenger of Jehovah will say to him, For what didst thou strike thine ass this three beats? behold, I came forth for an adversary, for the way is perverse before me. 33And the ass will see me, and will turn before me this three beats: unless she turned from before me for now also I had slain thee, and preserved her alive. 34And Balaam will say to the messenger of Jehovah, I sinned; for I knew not that thou stoodest to meet me in the way; and now if evil in thine eyes, I will turn back to me. 35And the messenger of Jehovah will say to Balaam, Go with the men: and only the word which I shall speak to thee thou shalt speak it: and Balaam will go with the leaders of Balak. 36And Balak will hear that Balsam came, and he will go forth to meet him to a city of Moab, which is by the boundary of Arnon, which is m the end of the boundary. 37And Balak will say to Balaam, Sending, did I not send to thee to call to thee? wherefore camest thou not to me? indeed shall I not be able to honor thee? 38And Balaam will say to Balak, Behold, I come to thee: being able, shall I be able to speak any thing? the word which Jehovah shall put in my mouth I will speak it 39And Balaam will go with Balak and they will come to Kirjath Huzoth. 40And Balak will sacrifice oxen and sheep, and he will send to Balaam and to the leaders which were with him. 41And it will be in the morning, and Balak will take Balaam, and will bring him up to the heights of Baal, and he will see from thence the end of the people.
Jamieson Fausset Brown Bible Commentary 1 BALAK'S FIRST MESSAGE FOR BALAAM REFUSED. (Num. 22:1-20)
Israel . . . pitched in the plains of Moab--so called from having formerly belonged to that people, though wrested from them by Sihon. It was a dry, sunken, desert region on the east of the Jordan valley, opposite Jericho.
2 Balak--that is, "empty." Terrified (
Deut 2:25;
Exod 15:15) at the approach of so vast a multitude and not daring to encounter them in the field, he resolved to secure their destruction by other means.
4 elders of Midian--called kings (
Num 31:8) and princes (
Josh 13:21). The Midianites, a distinct people on the southern frontier of Moab, united with them as confederates against Israel, their common enemy.
5 He sent messengers therefore unto Balaam--that is, "lord" or "devourer" of people, a famous soothsayer (
Josh 13:22).
son of Beor--or, in the Chaldee form, Bosor--that is, "destruction."
Pethor--a city of Mesopotamia, situated on the Euphrates.
6 Come . . . curse me this people--Among the heathen an opinion prevailed that prayers for evil or curses would be heard by the unseen powers as well as prayers for good, when offered by a prophet or priest and accompanied by the use of certain rites. Many examples are found in the histories of the Greeks and Romans of whole armies being devoted to destruction, and they occur among the natives of India and other heathen countries still. In the Burmese war, magicians were employed to curse the British troops.
7 the elders of Moab and . . . of Midian departed with the rewards of divination--like the fee of a fortune teller, and being a royal present, it would be something handsome.
8 Lodge here this night, and I will bring you word again, as the Lord shall speak unto me, &c.--God usually revealed His will in visions and dreams; and Balaam's birth and residence in Mesopotamia, where the remains of patriarchal religion still lingered, account for his knowledge of the true God. His real character has long been a subject of discussion. Some, judging from his language, have thought him a saint; others, looking to his conduct, have described him as an irreligious charlatan; and a third class consider him a novice in the faith, who had a fear of God, but who had not acquired power over his passions [HENGSTENBERG].
13 the Lord refuseth to give me leave to go with you--This answer has an appearance of being good, but it studiously concealed the reason of the divine prohibition [
Num 22:12], and it intimated his own willingness and desire to go--if permitted. Balak despatched a second mission, which held out flattering prospects, both to his avarice and his ambition (
Gen 31:30).
19 tarry ye also here this night, that I may know what the Lord will say unto me more--The divine will, as formerly declared, not being according to his desires, he hoped by a second request to bend it, as he had already bent his own conscience, to his ruling passions of pride and covetousness. The permission granted to Balaam is in accordance with the ordinary procedure of Providence. God often gives up men to follow the impulse of their own lusts; but there is no approval in thus leaving them to act at the prompting of their own wicked hearts (
Josh 13:27).
21 THE JOURNEY. (Num. 22:21-41)
Balaam . . . saddled his ass--probably one of the white sprightly animals which persons of rank were accustomed to ride. The saddle, as usually in the East, would be nothing more than a pad or his outer cloak.
22 God's anger was kindled because he went--The displeasure arose partly from his neglecting the condition on which leave was granted him--namely, to wait till the princes of Moab "came to call him" [
Num 22:20], and because, through desire for "the wages of unrighteousness" [
2Pet 2:15], he entertained the secret purpose of acting in opposition to the solemn charge of God.
24 the angel of the Lord stood in a path of the vineyards--The roads which lead through fields and vineyards are so narrow that in most parts a man could not pass a beast without care and caution. A stone or mud fence flanks each side of these roads, to prevent the soil being washed off by the rains.
28 the Lord opened the mouth of the ass--to utter, like a parrot, articulate sounds, without understanding them. That this was a visionary scene is a notion which seems inadmissible, because of the improbability of a vision being described as an actual occurrence in the middle of a plain history. Besides, the opening of the ass's mouth must have been an external act, and that, with the manifest tenor of Peter's language, strongly favors the literal view [
2Pet 2:15-16]. The absence of any surprise at such a phenomenon on the part of Balaam may be accounted for by his mind being wholly engrossed with the prospect of gain, which produced "the madness of the prophet" [
2Pet 2:16]. "It was a miracle, wrought to humble his proud heart, which had to be first subjected in the school of an ass before he was brought to attend to the voice of God speaking by the angel" [CALVIN].
34 I have sinned . . . if it displease thee, I will get me back again--Notwithstanding this confession, he evinced no spirit of penitence, as he speaks of desisting only from the outward act. The words "go with the men" was a mere withdrawal of further restraint, but the terms in which leave was given are more absolute and peremptory than those in
Num 22:20.
36 when Balak heard that Balaam was come, he went out to meet him--Politeness requires that the higher the rank of the expected guest, greater distance is to be gone to welcome his arrival.
38 the word that God putteth in my mouth, that shall I speak--This appears a pious answer. It was an acknowledgment that he was restrained by a superior power.
39 Kirjath-huzoth--that is, "a city of streets."
40 Balak offered oxen and sheep--made preparations for a grand entertainment to Balaam and the princes of Midian.
41 high places of Baal--eminences consecrated to the worship of Baal-peor (see on
Num 25:3) or Chemosh.