Numbers 22
22:1 a Following their victories over the Amorite kingdoms (21:21-35 b and study note), Israel took up residence in the plains of Moab on the eastern side of the Jordan Valley, northeast of the Dead Sea and across the river from the oasis of Jericho. The Hebrews camped there until they crossed the Jordan to enter Canaan (Josh 3:1 c).Summary for Num 22:2-24:25: 22:2–24:25 d The narrative of Balak and Balaam describes a pivotal moment in Israel’s history and contains humor, drama, and profound theological insights. The Lord’s will must be accomplished—nothing could thwart his plan for Israel.
Summary for Num 22:2-3: 22:2-3 e Balak is unknown outside of this incident (Josh 24:9 f; Judg 11:25 g; Mic 6:5 h; Rev 2:14 i). His territory had been seized by Sihon, the Amorite king (Num 21:26 j), whom Israel had just defeated (21:21-31 k). Balak may have imagined that his tiny kingdom was next.
22:4 l Midian: This desert people was descended from Abraham (Gen 25:1-2 m; Exod 2:15-16 n). Their alliance with Moab was the beginning of their conflicts with Israel (Num 22:7 o; see 25:6 p, 14-18 q; 31:2-10 r; Judg 6–8 s).
Summary for Num 22:5-6: 22:5-6 t Balaam was a pagan religious specialist (a diviner) from northwest Mesopotamia (see profile for Balaam at end of chapter). Like other ancient peoples, Moab and Midian believed that the spoken word—in the form of a blessing or curse—was powerful when uttered by a skilled diviner. Members of this trained profession claimed to possess special powers to learn about and manipulate the future course of events (see Deut 18:14 u; 1 Sam 6:2 v; 2 Kgs 21:6 w; Isa 44:25 x; Dan 2:1-12 y, 27-28 z; Mic 5:12 aa; Zech 10:2 ab). Israel’s enemies appealed to Balaam to pronounce curses upon the Hebrews, for they believed that such spoken words would be effective against them. Ancient armies pronounced such curses on their enemies before they entered battle. Belief in the power of the spoken word was common in ancient Israel even when not linked with divination (e.g., Gen 27:1-40 ac; Deut 27:15-26 ad; 1 Sam 14:24-28 ae; cp. Matt 21:18-22 af).
• Pethor (Num 22:5 ag) is probably ancient Pitru, located on the west side of the Euphrates River south of Carchemish, 400 miles from Moab.
22:7 ah set out with money to pay Balaam to place a curse upon Israel: As a professional diviner, Balaam could command considerable payment for his services (22:7 ai, 17-18 aj; cp. 1 Sam 9:7-8 ak; 2 Kgs 8:7-9 al).
22:8 am Stay here overnight: Balaam expected to receive a message from God at night (22:9 an, 19-20 ao; cp. Job 4:12-16 ap; Zech 1:8 aq).
• the Lord (Hebrew Yahweh): Balaam knew about Yahweh, the God of Israel, and expected a message from him as to what he could or could not do.
Summary for Num 22:9-18: 22:9-18 ar God prohibited Balaam from going with Balak’s messengers.
22:18 as Some have read Balaam’s reply to this second delegation as his attempt to prompt a more lucrative offer, but his refusal (24:13 at) weighs against this view. Instead, Balaam seemed determined to obey the Lord and called him my God.
Summary for Num 22:19-20: 22:19-20 au Balaam agreed to inquire about the Lord’s wishes one more time. God allowed him to accompany Balak’s representatives but admonished him to do exactly what God commanded (cp. 22:35 av).
Summary for Num 22:21-41: 22:21-41 aw The passage is clearly making fun of this professional seer, whose spiritual insights and obedience to God are not equal to those of his donkey.
22:22 ax God’s anger is puzzling in light of the permission he granted to Balaam in 22:20 ay. The Lord knew that the diviner’s intentions and character were not as honorable as he claimed in conversation with Balak’s messengers. Balaam’s foolish beating of the donkey demonstrates his ungodly character (Prov 12:10 az; cp. 1 Sam 25 ba).
Summary for Num 22:28-31: 22:28-31 bb The only scriptural parallel to this phenomenon of a talking animal is the serpent who spoke with Eve (Gen 3:1-5 bc). God used the donkey to rebuke the foolish diviner (2 Pet 2:15-16 bd).
22:34 be I have sinned: Balaam admitted his mistake in not perceiving the angel of the Lord or his intention and offered to go back.
22:35 bf The Lord ensured that Balaam would say only what God commanded (cp. 22:20 bg).
22:36 bh It is likely that this meeting place was in the northeastern corner of Balak’s small kingdom.
22:37 bi Balak thought Balaam did not understand how urgent the situation was nor how great the offered payment.
22:38 bj Balaam’s reply reflected the lesson he had learned in the donkey incident (cp. 22:20 bk, 35 bl).
Summary for Num 22:39-41: 22:39-41 bm Balak attempted to secure Balaam’s curse on Israel, first through a ritual offering and meal that would invoke the gods and Balaam, and second by taking Balaam to see the Israelite camp.
• Kiriath-huzoth is an unknown location.
22:41 bn Bamoth-baal (“high places of Baal”) was along the ridge of hills that overlooks the plains of Moab northeast of the Dead Sea (cp. “Bamoth” in 21:19 bo; Josh 13:17 bp). It was the first of three locations to which the Moabite king took Balaam so that he could see the sprawling Israelite camp (also Num 22:41 bq; 23:14 br, 28 bs). From such a high point he could see the Israelites (22:11 bt) and perform the ceremonies that Balak hoped would lead to a powerful imprecation (curse) against them.
Profile: Balaam
Balaam was a diviner—a person who read signs and omens to determine the future and performed rituals to change future events (see study note on Num 22:5-6; cp. Josh 13:22 bu). He was a diviner for hire, so when Balak, king of Moab, wanted to hire him to curse Israel, he was eager to get started. Even when God told him not to go, he hoped God would change his mind because he was very interested in the money (2 Pet 2:15 bv).
Finally, God allowed Balaam to go, but only if Balaam agreed to say what God told him to say, and only to frustrate Balak’s purposes (Deut 23:4-5 bw). On the road, Balaam’s donkey stopped and refused to move because the angel of the Lord was blocking the way. The donkey could see the angel, but Balaam was blind and foolish. Still, Balaam was smart enough not to curse the Israelites when God told him to bless them, and to Balak’s great frustration, that was all Balaam could do.
Recently, an inscription was found that mentions Balaam son of Beor, a diviner who had visions at night (cp. Num 22:9-12 bx, 20 by). The inscription was written on a plaster wall at Deir ‘Alla, eight miles east of the Jordan River, not far north of where the Hebrews were camped at the time of the Balaam incident. This nonbiblical text, dated 800–750 BC, identifies Balaam as a “seer of the gods” and reports that the gods, whose names in the inscription are similar to Shaddai (“Almighty”; cp. Num 24:4 bz, 16 ca), delivered a message to Balaam and announced judgment upon the world (cp. Num 24:15-25 cb). The inscription provides rare extrabiblical evidence about a Bible character.
While Balaam’s character and motives appear somewhat mixed in Numbers 22–24 cc, chapter 25 cd describes how the men of Israel sinned by sleeping with Moabite women and worshiping their gods, which made God angry with his people. While Balaam is not mentioned here, Numbers 31:16 ce names him as the originator of this plot. After his visions were finished, Balaam apparently remained in Moab and kept working the angles until he found a way to damage Israel and get the money. The Israelites killed him a short time later (Num 31:8 cf). Balaam became known as a magician with bad motives (see Deut 23:4-5 cg; Josh 13:22 ch), a false teacher who was only interested in pay (see Neh 13:2 ci; 2 Pet 2:15 cj; Jude 1:11 ck), and someone who led Israel into idolatry and immorality (Num 31:16 cl; see Rev 2:14 cm).
Passages for Further Study
Num 22:1–25:18 cn; 31:8 co, 16 cp; Josh 13:22 cq; 2 Pet 2:15-16 cr; Jude 1:11 cs; Rev 2:14 ct
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