Numbers 24 - Introduction
_Balaam's prophetic messages_(J)... [ Continue Reading ]
_Balaam's prophetic messages_(J)... [ Continue Reading ]
_he went not, as at the other times, to meet with_ OMENS] The Heb. has a curious idiom which may be rendered either as in R.V., or -as at other times" (omitting -the"), i.e. as was his usual practice on similar occasions. In either case the verse cannot be from the same writer as that of ch. 23, for... [ Continue Reading ]
Numbers 24:1-2. Balaam knew that Jehovah wished Israel to be blessed; he did not therefore seek an omen to guide him, but began his declaration at once.... [ Continue Reading ]
The opening triplet is as follows: THE ORACLE OF BALAAM SON OF BEOR. The oracle of the man whose eye is (?) CLOSED. The oracle of one that heareth the words of God. The form of it should be compared with 2 Samuel 23:1, where the same word -oracle" is used. The text appears to be corrupt. The wo... [ Continue Reading ]
_Balaam's first prophetic message_. In its present form this consists of nine couplets and two triplets. But the text has undergone corruption, and perhaps there were originally eleven couplets.... [ Continue Reading ]
The parallelism of these opening words with those in Numbers 24:15 suggests that the line -And knoweth the knowledge of the Most High" has fallen out of the present passage. _the Almighty_ Heb. _Shaddai_. Numbers 24:16 and Genesis 49:25 are probably the only pre-exilic occurrences of the word. In th... [ Continue Reading ]
_As valleys are they spread forth As_ WADIES THAT STRETCH THEMSELVES OUT; beautifully watered glens stretching away into the distance. Like the three following, it is a simile of luxuriant prosperity. _As lign-aloes_&c. Heb. _"ahâlîm_. But this word elsewhere denotes a fragrant perfume brought from... [ Continue Reading ]
The first two lines are difficult and perhaps corrupt. Some explain them as a description of the luxuriance of Israel's future home. Israel is pictured as a man carrying buckets to water his crop; and his seed, i.e. his corn, will be grown in well-watered ground. Cf. Psalms 65:9 f. _And_ MAY _his ki... [ Continue Reading ]
The first two lines are identical (with the exception of -him" for -them") with Numbers 23:22 (E); and in both traditions the words follow a reference to Israel's king, and precede the metaphor of the lion and lioness. _And smite_them _through with his arrows_ lit. -and (as for) his arrows he shall... [ Continue Reading ]
_Blessed be every one_&c. The clauses occur inverted in Genesis 27:29.... [ Continue Reading ]
_these three times_ If the utterances in chs. 23 and 24 have been rightly assigned to E and J respectively, these words must have been added by the editor who combined the two accounts.... [ Continue Reading ]
Balak, in anger, bade Balaam flee back to his land. Balaam replied, as before, that he was bound to utter the message which Jehovah gave him, and, instead of departing at once, uttered four further declarations.... [ Continue Reading ]
_I will advertise thee I will_ COUNSEL _thee_. -Advertise" is an archaism, meaning -inform"; cf. Ruth 4:4 (A.V. [Note:.V. The Authorised Version.]).... [ Continue Reading ]
See Numbers 24:3.... [ Continue Reading ]
_Balaam's second prophetic message_. This consists of seven couplets and a triplet.... [ Continue Reading ]
In accordance with Numbers 24:14 Balaam treats of the future of Israel. -I see him (Israel), but not (as he is) now; I behold him, but not (encamped as he is) nigh." _There shall come forth_ lit. -there hath trodden" (דָּרַךְ). Read probably יִזְרַח _there shall_ RISE. _a star_ A metaphor for a gl... [ Continue Reading ]
which were _his enemies_ Heb. has simply -his enemies," attached very awkwardly to the preceding words. Perhaps a word has been lost, and we should read -His enemies " in contrast with the next clause: AND _Israel doeth valiantly_.... [ Continue Reading ]
An obscure verse, which is perhaps a later addition to the song. It appears to look forward to a Messianic prospect of universal dominion. Some think that Numbers 24:18 are both entirely corrupt beyond restoration. _shall one have dominion_ This and the following verb are impersonal. -And dominion... [ Continue Reading ]
_The utterance on Amalek_. _And he_ SAW _Amalek_ The country of the Amalekites and that of the Kenites (Numbers 24:21) might be just visible from the Moabite hills, lying far to the south and south-west. _the first of the nations_ i.e. the choicest; Heb. _rê"shîth_. Cf. Numbers 18:12. There is no... [ Continue Reading ]
_The utterance on the Kenites_. _And he_ SAW _the Kenite_ The singular adjective stands for the whole tribe; cf. 1 Samuel 15:6; 1 Samuel 30:29 (Heb.). In the next verse the tribe is called by the name of its reputed ancestor Ḳain. ENDURING _is thy dwelling place_ With this and the following line c... [ Continue Reading ]
_Until Asshur_&c. The Heb. can only be translated as in R.V. marg., -How long? Asshur shall &c." The words for -how long" (_-ad mâh_) may be a corruption of the name of some place in the east; -unto shall Asshur carry thee captive." Asshur or Ashur is the true form of the name Assyria; cf. Numbers 2... [ Continue Reading ]
_when God doeth this_ The only rendering which the words will bear is -on account of God appointing him." If Numbers 24:21 were all one poem, as some think, -him" might refer to Asshur, appointed by God as an instrument of destruction.... [ Continue Reading ]
_Balaam's last prophetic message_. This is the most obscure of all the poems. The translation is uncertain, and no historical event is known to which the words can refer. Kittim, derived from Kitti a town in Cyprus, was a name used for Greece; cf. Genesis 10:4 (where Kittim is reckoned as a son of... [ Continue Reading ]
_ships_shall come … _Kittim ships_ FROM THE SIDE _of Kittim_. The clause has no verb, and, if the text is right, it must form the subject of the following verb -shall afflict," the intervening -and" being disregarded. _Asshur_and _Eber_. The two names appear to denote the world powers of the east;... [ Continue Reading ]