Numbers 24:1
TO SEEK FOR ENCHANTMENTS] lit. 'to meet omens': see on Numbers 23:3. TOWARD THE WILDERNESS] i.e. towards the plain where the Israelites were encamped: see Numbers 21:20; Numbers 22:1.... [ Continue Reading ]
TO SEEK FOR ENCHANTMENTS] lit. 'to meet omens': see on Numbers 23:3. TOWARD THE WILDERNESS] i.e. towards the plain where the Israelites were encamped: see Numbers 21:20; Numbers 22:1.... [ Continue Reading ]
BALAAM (CONTINUED) 1-9. Balaam's Third Utterance.... [ Continue Reading ]
THE SPIRIT OF GOD CAME UPON HIM] cp. 1 Samuel 19:20. The following utterances are introduced in a more solemn manner (see Numbers 24:3; Numbers 24:15), and are prophetic of the future.... [ Continue Reading ]
HATH SAID] The English here is too commonplace to represent the original, which is in a very lofty and impassioned strain. 'Oracle of Balaam, son of Beor; oracle of the man whose eyes are opened; oracle of him who hears the words of God, who sees the vision of the Almighty, falling upon his face wit... [ Continue Reading ]
FALLING _into a trance_] rather, 'falling upon his face.' There is no word in the original corresponding to the words 'into a trance.' He falls to the ground, overpowered by the Spirit of God that comes upon him: cp. 1 Samuel 19:24; Ezekiel 1:28; Daniel 8:17; Acts 9:4; Revelation 1:17.... [ Continue Reading ]
The images in this and the next v. are those of fruitfulness and vigour. The LIGN (i.e. the wood) ALOE is a large spreading tree much prized for its aromatic qualities (Proverbs 7:17; Song of Solomon 4:14), and the CEDAR is the king of trees (1 Kings 4:33; Psalms 104:16): cp. Psalms 1:3; Ezekiel 31:... [ Continue Reading ]
See on Numbers 23:2. The subject of the second half of the v. is Israel, who is compared to a ravening lion, the king of beasts.... [ Continue Reading ]
BLESSED _is_ HE, etc.] cp. Genesis 12:8; Genesis 27:29. 10-14. Balak in anger dismisses Balaam, who before departing predicts the destruction of Moab and other nations by Israel. 15-24. Balaam's Fourth Utterance: a prediction of the dominion of Israel and the downfall of Moab, Edom, Amalek, and As... [ Continue Reading ]
I SHALL SEE HIM, ETC.] This should be rendered 'I see him' (i.e. the Israel of the future, and specially the Star who is to rise among them) '.. I behold him.. A Star is risen out of Jacob..' To the eye of Balaam, in his spiritual ecstasy, the future stands out as the present. A STAR] A common symbo... [ Continue Reading ]
SEIR] the name given to the land of the Edomites: see Genesis 36:8; Deuteronomy 2:4. HIS ENEMIES] the enemies of Israel, or rather of the Buler here spoken of. The fulfilment of this prophecy is recorded in 2 Samuel 8:14. Cp. also Isaiah 63:1, and see on Numbers 20:8; Numbers 20:9.... [ Continue Reading ]
FIRST OF THE NATIONS] probably in rank; but see on Exodus 17:8. The next clause reads 'but his end (shall come) to destruction': cp. Exodus 17:14; Exodus 17:16, and for the fulfilment of the prediction see 1 Samuel 14:48; 1 Samuel 15:7; 1 Samuel 30:17; 2 Samuel 8:12; 1 Chronicles 4:43.... [ Continue Reading ]
THE KENITES] Unlike the tribes previously mentioned the Kenites were always friendly to the Israelites, and consequently the words of Balaam foretelling their destruction are more of sympathy than of threatening. Hobab, the father-in-law of Moses, was a Kenite, and his descendants settled alongside... [ Continue Reading ]
The rendering is doubtful. We may translate, 'Nevertheless the Kenite shall be wasted. How long? Asshur (i.e. Assyria) shall carry thee away captive.' Or, 'But the Kenite shall not be wasted until Asshur shall carry thee (i.e. Israel) away captive.'... [ Continue Reading ]
CHITTIM] the dwellers in Cyprus or in the islands of the Mediterranean generally. They are said to have emigrated from Phœnicia. In Genesis 10:4 the Chittim are said to be descended from Javan, the ancestor of the Ionian (i.e. the Greek) races. In Daniel 11:30 the 'ships of Kittim 'are those of the... [ Continue Reading ]