1Then the children of Israel left that place and camped on the west side of Moab, by the Jordan River near Jericho. 2And when Balak (SepPhor’s son) saw what the Israelites did to the Amorites, 3[he] and the people of Moab became very concerned and upset, because there were many Israelites. 4So, the Moabites said to the elders of Midian, ‘This gathering is going lick up everything around us like a calf would swallow down the greens in a field!’ Well, Balak (the son of SepPhor) was the king of Moab at the time. 5So he sent ambassadors to call BalaAm the son of Beor, who was at Phathura (which is alongside a river in the land of his people). [And he told them] to say, ‘Look, these people who have come from Egypt are covering the land… and now they are camping close to me! 6So, come and curse these people for me, because they are stronger than we are. Then we will be able to attack them and drive them out of the land. Because, I know that whoever you bless will be blest, and whoever you curse will be cursed.’ 7So the elders of Moab and Midian left, carrying their charms in their hands, and they went to BalaAm and told him everything that Balak had said. 8Then he told them: ‘Spend the night here and I will tell you whatever the Lord says to me.’ So the leaders of Moab then spent the night with BalaAm. 9And God came to BalaAm [during the night] and asked him, ‘Who are these men that are with you?’ 10And BalaAm replied, ‘Balak (the son of SepPhor and the king of Moab) sent them to Me. For he said, 11Look; These people have come from Egypt, and they [literally] cover the land. And now they are camping close to me. So, come and curse them for me, then I can cut them down and drive them out of the land.’ 12And God told BalaAm: ‘You must not go with them, nor should you curse these people, because they are blest.’ 13So, when BalaAm got up the next morning, he told Balak’s [ambassadors]: ‘Hurry and return to your lord, because God won’t allow me to go with you.’ 14Then the Moabites got up and returned to Balak, and said, ‘BalaAm won’t come with us.’ 15Well, Balak then sent some [of his] rulers who were even more respected than the last ones. 16They went to BalaAm and said, ‘This is what Balak the son of SepPhor says: I beg you; Please hurry and come to me, 17for I will honor you with great [gifts], and I will do anything you ask. So, come and curse these people for me!’ 18But BalaAm answered Balak’s leaders in these words: ‘If Balak were to give me his house full of silver and gold, I still wouldn’t be able to violate the words of God Jehovah and do anything good or anything bad, for I know [this is wrong]. 19But spend [another] night here, and I will see what the Lord says.’ 20Then God came to BalaAm during the night and told him, ‘When these men who came to call you [awaken], go with them. But just do the things that I tell you to do.’ 21Well, when BalaAm got up in the morning, he saddled his burro and went with the leaders of Moab. 22But God became very angry and sent His messenger to stop him. So, as he was riding along on his burro, accompanied by two of his servants; 23when the burro saw the messenger of God standing in her way with a sword in his hand, she turned aside and went into the field. Well, BalaAm started hitting the [animal] with a stick to make her [behave]. 24Then Jehovah’s messenger went and stood in the Avenue of Vines, which had a fence on both sides. 25And when the burro saw God’s messenger, she pushed up against the wall, squeezing BalaAm’s foot, and he started hitting her again. 26Then Jehovah’s messenger went ahead and stood in a narrow place where it was impossible to turn either right or left. 27And when the burro saw the messenger of God, she just sat down under BalaAm. Well, BalaAm was furious, and he again started beating the burro with his stick. 28But God opened the burro’s mouth, and she asked BalaAm, ‘Just what have I done to you that you’ve started beating me a third time?’ 29And BalaAm told the burro, ‘You’re making a fool of me. Why, if I had had a sword in my hand I would have killed you!’ 30Then the burro told BalaAm: ‘I’m the burro that you’ve ridden since you were young; have I ever disobeyed you?’ And [BalaAm] replied, ‘No.’ 31And at that, God opened BalaAm’s eyes so he could see the messenger of Jehovah standing in the way with his sword in his hand. So he prostrated himself and bowed to his face. 32Then God’s messenger asked him, ‘Why did you beat your burro this third time? Look; I came and stood in front of you three times, because the way that you’re heading is wrong! And when this burro saw me, she turned away from me three times. 33Why, if she hadn’t turned away, I would have killed you and left her alive!’ 34Well at that, BalaAm said to Jehovah’s messenger, ‘I have sinned! I didn’t realize that you were standing in our way. So, if it displeases you for me to go on, I will turn back.’ 35Then Jehovah’s messenger told BalaAm: ‘Go on with these men! However, make sure that whatever I tell you is what you will tell them!’ So, BalaAm traveled on with Balak’s rulers. 36Well, when Balak heard that BalaAm had arrived [in his land], he traveled to a city at the border of Arnon (which is on the edge of Moab) to meet him. 37Then Balak asked BalaAm: ‘Didn’t I send for you? So, why didn’t you come to me? May I not be allowed to honor you?’ 38And BalaAm replied, ‘Look, I’m here now. But let me [warn] you; whatever God tells me is what I must say.’ 39So, BalaAm traveled with Balak until they reached the Cities of Streets. 40There Balak offered sheep and calves [to God], then he called for BalaAm and the leaders who were with him. 41And since it was morning, Balak took BalaAm to the sacred column of Baal, and introduced him to some of the people there.
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.