Numbers 24:4

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 the latter passage the divine title should probably be read "El Shaddai, which occurs in Exodus 6:3; Ezekiel 10:5 and five times in Genesis. Shaddai alone occurs, besides here and Numbers 24:16, thirty-eight times, of which thirty-one are in Job, and it also forms a part of two or three proper names.

Its original meaning is much disputed; -the Almighty" has become a conventional equivalent, but is in no sense a rendering of the word. It is possible that its true spelling is Shadai. See the writer's note in Exodus, pp. 40 f.

Falling down, and having his eyes uncovered] This is generally understood to mean -falling asleep, or into a prophetic trance (A.V. [Note:.V. The Authorised Version.]), but having the eyes of the mind open to receive God's revelation." Balaam, however, is not represented as receiving his messages in a state of unconsciousness. But there is nothing in the narrative which actually forbids this explanation.