21.10–11 Cf. 33.41–44, with stops at Zalmonah and Punon not listed in ch. 21 (see v. 4). The location of Oboth is unknown. Iye-abarim, possibly “the ruins of the Abarim.” Abarim, from the root that means “across,” i.e., across the Jordan (from the point of view of an Israelite writer), is a word that describes an area or mountain range in Moab (see 27.12; 33.47). Here the text seems to place the Israelites to the east of Moab, below the Arnon (v. 13); cf. v. 12, where they appear to be south of Moab.
21.12 The style of the itinerary changes in this verse, and the stopping places no longer correspond to the list of “stages” in Num 33 (see 33.45), so commentators generally see a shift here to a different source from the Priestly tradition, possibly simply the old epic sources (see Introduction; 10.29–36). In Deut 2.8–25, the Wadi Zered appears to be the southern boundary of Moab, between Moab and Edom, probably modern Wadi el-Hesa.
21.13 The Arnon, modern Wadi el-Mujib, was at some periods the northern boundary of Moab. A ninth-century BCE Moabite inscription attributed to King Mesha (2 Kings 3.4–27) describes his regaining the territory north of the Arnon from Israel, in whose control it had been since the time of the Israelite king Omri (1 Kings 16.21–30). The inscription was indeed found north of the Arnon. The other side of the Arnon must refer to the north side, since the Israelites were marching from the south.
21.14–15 The Book of the Wars of the LORD is otherwise unknown. Cf. the Book of Jashar (Josh 10.13; 2 Sam 1.18). These fragments suggest the existence of collections of poems about Israel’s early wars of conquest. Such wars were called “the wars of the LORD” because of the Israelites’ belief that the Lord led them in battle (i.e., “holy wars,” see, e.g., Josh 6; Judg 4.14–16; 11.30–33; 1 Sam 14.6–10, 23; 18.17; 25.28). The translation of the poem is problematical. For Ar as a town in Moab, see 21.28; Deut 2.18. The name probably means “town,” in fact. The seat of Ar could refer to its location or to some dwelling in the town.
21.16–18 An otherwise unknown miraculous provision of water; cf. Ex 17.1–7; Num 20.2–11, although the “Song of the Well” could obviously be sung about any well.
21.19 Mattanah and Nahaliel are unknown. Bamoth, “high places,” could refer to a number of sites, e.g., Bamoth-baal, 22.41; Josh 13.17; Beth-bamoth in the Mesha Inscription (see note on 21.13).
21.20 Valley here could refer to a valley within a series of hills and need not clash with the top of Pisgah. For Pisgah as hills, see, e.g., 23.14; Deut 3.17, 27; 34.1. Pisgah is on the Moabite plateau above the Jordan Valley (Deut 34.1), and so the march has come northwest to this point. The wasteland referred to in this verse must be the area north of the Dead Sea and east of the Jordan River. The same word is used of that area on the west side of the river as well.
21.21–35 The defeat of kings Sihon and Og. See the similar narratives in Deut 2.24–3.7; Judg 11.19–22; and many other mentions such as Josh 12.1–5; 13.10–12; Jer 48.45.
21.21 Amorites. See 13.29; Gen 10.16.
21.22 Cf. 20.17, 19. The Israelites still need to move farther north in order to press their attack on Canaan from the east, and this brings them to the border of Amorite territory. The King’s Highway. See 20.17.
21.23 Cf. 20.18, 20–21. Jahaz (also mentioned in the Mesha Inscription, see note on 21.13) seems to be the limit of Moab’s land (Isa 15.4; Jer 48.34) and was probably near Dibon (see 21.30).
21.24 Earlier in ch. 21 Israel bypassed Edom, but here the Israelites fight with the Amorites. The Jabbok is modern Wadi Zerqa. On the Ammonites, see Gen 19.38. The area of Ammon in the highlands east of the Jordan Valley was already widely settled in the middle of the second millennium BCE.
21.25–26 All these towns has no obvious referent. The site of Heshbon in this early period has not been certainly identified but was probably in the highlands east of the Jordan Valley, opposite Jericho. Villages, lit. “daughters,” i.e., dependent towns. According to these verses, the territory in question (north of the Arnon) had once been Moabite, just as in King Mesha’s inscription (see note on 21.13).
21.27–30 The Song of Heshbon is a song in praise of an Amorite victory over Moab.
21.29 Chemosh is the national god of Moab, known also from the Mesha Inscription (see 21.13); see also 1 Kings 11.7, 33; 2 Kings 23.13; Jer 48.7, 13, 46; cf. Judg 11.12–24. Cf. the people of Chemosh here and in Jer 48.46 with Israel as “the people of the LORD” in Num 11.29; 2 Kings 9.6; Ezek 36.20; Zeph 2.10.
21.30 Dibon, about thirty miles southwest of Amman, and Medeba, about twenty miles southwest of Amman. See 33.45; Josh 13.8–9. The Hebrew of v. 30 is not at all clear.
21.32 Jazer. Site unknown; see 32.1–4; Josh 13.24–25.
21.33–35 The defeat of King Og, another Amorite king. Bashan is northern Transjordan, a plateau of volcanic origin and famous in biblical passages as a fertile land; see Ps 22.12; Isa 2.13; 33.9; Jer 50.19; Ezek 27.6; 39.18; Mic 7.14; Nah 1.4; Zech 11.2. Edrei, about sixty miles south of Damascus; see Deut 3.8–10.
21.34 Do not be afraid…your hand. Cf. Josh 10.8.
NUMBERS 22
Balak Summons Balaam to Curse Israel
1The Israelites set out, and camped in the plains of Moab across the Jordan from Jericho. 2Now Balak son of Zippor saw all that Israel had done to the Amorites. 3Moab was in great dread of the people, because they were so numerous; Moab was overcome with fear of the people of Israel. 4And Moab said to the elders of Midian, “This horde will now lick up all that is around us, as an ox licks up the grass of the field.” Now Balak son of Zippor was king of Moab at that time. 5He sent messengers to Balaam son of Beor at Pethor, which is on the Euphrates, in the land of Amaw,a to summon him, saying, “A people has come out of Egypt; they have spread over the face of the earth, and they have settled next to me. 6Come now, curse this people for me, since they are stronger than I; perhaps I shall be able to defeat them and drive them from the land; for I know that whomever you bless is blessed, and whomever you curse is cursed.”
7So the elders of Moab and the elders of Midian departed with the fees for divination in their hand; and they came to Balaam, and gave him Balak’s message. 8He said to them, “Stay here tonight, and I will bring back word to you, just as the LORD speaks to me” so the officials of Moab stayed with Balaam. 9God came to Balaam and said, “Who are these men with you?” 10Balaam said to God, “King Balak son of Zippor of Moab, has sent me this message: 11‘A people has come out of Egypt and has spread over the face of the earth; now come, curse them for me; perhaps I shall be able to fight against them and drive them out.’” 12God said to Balaam, “You shall not go with them; you shall not curse the people, for they are blessed.” 13So Balaam rose in the morning, and said to the officials of Balak, “Go to your own land, for the LORD has refused to let me go with you.” 14So the officials of Moab rose and went to Balak, and said, “Balaam refuses to come with us.”
15Once again Balak sent officials, more numerous and more distinguished than these. 16They came to Balaam and said to him, “Thus says Balak son of Zippor: ‘Do not let anything hinder you from coming to me; 17for I will surely do you great honor, and whatever you say to me I will do; come, curse this people for me.’” 18But Balaam replied to the servants of Balak, “Although Balak were to give me his house full of silver and gold, I could not go beyond the command of the LORD my God, to do less or more. 19You remain here, as the others did, so that I may learn what more the LORD may say to me.” 20That night God came to Balaam and said to him, “If the men have come to summon you, get up and go with them; but do only what I tell you to do.” 21So Balaam got up in the morning, saddled his donkey, and went with the officials of Moab.
Balaam, the Donkey, and the Angel
22God’s anger was kindled because he was going, and the angel of the LORD took his stand in the road as his adversary. Now he was riding on the donkey, and his two servants were with him. 23The donkey saw the angel of the LORD standing in the road, with a drawn sword in his hand; so the donkey turned off the road, and went into the
field; and Balaam struck the donkey, to turn it back onto the road. 24Then the angel of the LORD stood in a narrow path between the vineyards, with a wall on either side. 25When the donkey saw the angel of the LORD, it scraped against the wall, and scraped Balaam’s foot against the wall; so he struck it again. 26Then the angel of the LORD went ahead, and stood in a narrow place, where there was no way to turn either to the right or to the left. 27When the donkey saw the angel of the LORD, it lay down under Balaam; and Balaam’s anger was kindled, and he struck the donkey with his staff. 28Then the LORD opened the mouth of the donkey, and it said to Balaam, “What have I done to you, that you have struck me these three times?” 29Balaam said to the donkey, “Because you have made a fool of me! I wish I had a sword in my hand! I would kill you right now!” 30But the donkey said to Balaam, “Am I not your donkey, which you have ridden all your life to this day? Have I been in the habit of treating you this way?” And he said, “No.”
31Then the LORD opened the eyes of Balaam, and he saw the angel of the LORD standing in the road, with his drawn sword in his hand; and he bowed down, falling on his face. 32The angel of the LORD said to him, “Why have you struck your donkey these three times? I have come out as an adversary, because your way is perverseb before me. 33The donkey saw me, and turned away from me these three times. If it had not turned away from me, surely just now I would have killed you and let it live.” 34Then Balaam said to the angel of the LORD, “I have sinned, for I did not know that you were standing in the road to oppose me. Now therefore, if it is displeasing to you, I will return home.” 35The angel of the LORD said to Balaam, “Go with the men; but speak only what I tell you to speak.” So Balaam went on with the officials of Balak.
36When Balak heard that Balaam had come, he went out to meet him at Ir-moab, on the boundary formed by the Arnon, at the farthest point of the boundary. 37Balak said to Balaam, “Did I not send to summon you? Why did you not come to me? Am I not able to honor you?” 38Balaam said to Balak, “I have come to you now, but do I have power to say just anything? The word God puts in my mouth, that is what I must say.” 39Then Balaam went with Balak, and they came to Kiriath-huzoth. 40Balak sacrificed oxen and sheep, and sent them to Balaam and to the officials who were with him.
Balaam’s First Oracle
41On the next day Balak took Balaam and brought him up to Bamoth-baal; and from there he could see part of the people of Israel.c
next chapter
* * *
a Or land of his kinsfolk
b Meaning of Heb uncertain
c Heb lacks of Israel
22.1 The last stage in the journey from the wilderness of Sinai, before the crossing of the Jordan River; see Num 33.48–49; 36.13; Deut 1.1–5; Josh 3.1.
22.2–24.25 The story of Balaam, son of Beor. The biblical stories of Balaam have been supplemented by the discovery at Tell Deir ‘Alla in Jordan of a plaster inscription dating to the eighth century BCE. The text, which is probably non-Israelite, relates that Balaam, son of Beor, a “seer of the gods,” receives an upsetting night visit from the gods and then reports to his people that he has seen a divine council meeting (see Gen 1.26) where impending disaster is apparently planned for the earth. The Balaam story in Num 22–24 combines epic and poetic sources, resulting in a few apparent contradictions: on the one hand, Balaam’s journey to Balak seems rather short, with a donkey and two servants (22.21–35), while, on the other, he is said to come from upper Syria (22.5); he is outspokenly loyal to the God of Israel, but his failure to curse Israel continues to surprise Balak; he is portrayed as both prophet and diviner. The connection, if any, between Balaam and Bela son of Beor (an Edomite king, Gen 36.32–33; 1 Chr 1.43–44) is obscure. Some of the mentions of Balaam in the Bible refer to the narrative in chs. 22–24; some refer to the negative Balaam tradition in 31.8, 16; and others have slightly different traditions from either of these (see Deut 23.3–6; Josh 13.22; 24.9–10; Judg 11.25; Neh 13.1–2; Mic 6.5; Rev 2.14).
22.2 Balak is mentioned only in these chapters and in references to them (Josh 24.9; Judg 11.25; Mic 6.5). All that Israel…Amorites. See 21.21–35.
22.3 Moab…people of Israel. Cf. Josh 2.8–11.
22.4 On the connection between Balaam and Midian, see 31.8, 16.
22.5 Pethor, possibly Pitru on the upper Euphrates, where Syrian and Mesopotamian cultures came together; see also 23.7; Deut 23.4. This identification for Pethor, however, accords badly with vv. 21–35, where a short journey seems envisioned (see note on 22.2–24.25). Amaw, or “his people” see text note a and cf. 24.14. There is a place-name in northern Syria that might correspond to Hebrew Amaw. Amaw might also be a scribal error for Ammon. Spread over the face of the earth; cf. the same expression used of locusts in Ex 10.5, 15.
22.6 Balaam’s role here is one who blesses and curses; cf. vv. 7, 40; 23.1–3.
22.7 Fees for divination. See the negative interpretation of Balaam’s role as diviner in Josh 13.22; see also Deut 18.10–14. Divination was a common ancient cultic practice designed to discover information by interpretation of some object or event, such as the configuration of the entrails of a sacrificed animal or the pattern of oil drops on water. Diviners learned traditional interpretations preserved in long lists of many possible configurations of the various media.
22.8 Balaam, a non-Israelite, maintains unexpectedly that he must confer with the Lord, i.e., with Yahweh, the God of Israel; see also vv. 12–13, 18; Gen 26.28. Not unexpectedly, the God of Israel does not give Balaam permission to curse Israel for Balak king of Moab (v. 6). Equally unusual, the Moabites and Midianites in the story seem to accept that Balaam is dependent on the Lord for his blessings and curses, as if the Lord were the only god Balaam could possibly call on. Cf. 21.29. Balaam here reflects a tradition in which a prophet is the mouthpiece for a deity. See Deut 18.18; also Num 22.18–20, 35, 38; 23.3, 15, 17, 26; 24.13.
22.18 My God. Balaam here refers to the Lord as his own god. Cf. v. 8.
22.20 Balaam is given permission to go with the men but not to curse Israel.
22.22–35 The story of Balaam’s talking donkey is a fable that perhaps pokes fun at Balaam–the seer whose donkey can see more than he can. Cf. the story of trees talking in Judg 9.7–15.
22.22 God’s anger is unexplained in the text as we have it; cf. v. 20.
22.23a Cf. Josh 5.13–15.
22.28 Opened the mouth of the donkey. Cf. v. 31 (although a different Hebrew word is used for “open”).
22.31 The LORD opened the eyes of Balaam, so that he could see something supernatural; cf. 2 Kings 6.15–17.
22.32 The angel seems to be, in some sense, the Lord; see also 20.16.
22.35 Angel. Cf. 22.20, 32.
22.36–39 Balak comes to meet Balaam when he gets to Moab’s border.
22.36 Ir-moab, or “the city of Moab,” perhaps the same as Ar in Moab; see 21.15, 28; Deut 2.9, 18, 29; Isa 15.1. On the Arnon as the northern boundary of Moab, see 21.13.
22.39 Kiriath-huzoth, “the town of streets.” Site unknown.
22.40 The sacrifices could be part of Balaam’s divining; see v. 7; 23.2, 14; cf. 24.1.
22.41 Bamoth-baal, Pisgah (23.14), and Peor (23.28) are in the hills above the eastern Jordan Valley; see 21.19–20; Deut 3.27; 34.1; Josh 13.17–20.
NUMBERS 23
1Then Balaam said to Balak, “Build me seven altars here, and prepare seven bulls and seven rams for me.” 2Balak did as Balaam had said; and Balak and Balaam offered a bull and a ram on each altar. 3Then Balaam said to Balak, “Stay here beside your burnt offerings while I go aside. Perhaps the LORD will come to meet me. Whatever he shows me I will tell you.” And he went to a bare height.
4Then God met Balaam; and Balaam said to him, “I have arranged the seven altars, and have offered a bull and a ram on each altar.” 5The LORD put a word in Balaam’s mouth, and said, “Return to Balak, and this is what you must say.” 6So he returned to Balak,a who was standing beside his burnt offerings with all the officials of Moab. 7T
hen Balaamb uttered his oracle, saying:
“Balak has brought me from Aram,
the king of Moab from the eastern mountains:
‘Come, curse Jacob for me;
Come, denounce Israel!’
8How can I curse whom God has not cursed?
How can I denounce those whom the LORD has not denounced?
9For from the top of the crags I see him,
from the hills I behold him.
Here is a people living alone,
and not reckoning itself among the nations!
10Who can count the dust of Jacob,
or number the dust-cloudc of Israel?
Let me die the death of the upright,
and let my end be like his!”
11Then Balak said to Balaam, “What have you done to me? I brought you to curse my enemies, but now you have done nothing but bless them.” 12He answered, “Must I not take care to say what the LORD puts into my mouth?”
Balaam’s Second Oracle
13So Balak said to him, “Come with me to another place from which you may see them; you shall see only part of them, and shall not see them all; then curse them for me from there.” 14So he took him to the field of Zophim, to the top of Pisgah. He built seven altars, and offered a bull and a ram on each altar. 15Balaam said to Balak, “Stand here beside your burnt offerings, while I meet the LORD over there.” 16The LORD met Balaam, put a word into his mouth, and said, “Return to Balak, and this is what you shall say.” 17When he came to him, he was standing beside his burnt offerings with the officials of Moab. Balak said to him, “What has the LORD said?” 18Then Balaam uttered his oracle, saying:
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