Bilangan 23:4--24:9
Konteks23:4 Then God met Balaam, who 1 said to him, “I have prepared seven altars, and I have offered on each altar a bull and a ram.” 23:5 Then the Lord put a message 2 in Balaam’s mouth and said, “Return to Balak, and speak what I tell you.” 3
23:6 So he returned to him, and he was still 4 standing by his burnt offering, he and all the princes of Moab. 23:7 Then Balaam 5 uttered 6 his oracle, saying,
“Balak, the king of Moab, brought me 7 from Aram,
out of the mountains of the east, saying,
‘Come, pronounce a curse on Jacob for me;
come, denounce Israel.’ 8
23:8 How 9 can I curse 10 one whom God has not cursed,
or how can I denounce one whom the Lord has not denounced?
23:9 For from the top of the rocks I see them; 11
from the hills I watch them. 12
Indeed, a nation that lives alone,
and it will not be reckoned 13 among the nations.
23:10 Who 14 can count 15 the dust 16 of Jacob,
Or number 17 the fourth part of Israel?
Let me 18 die the death of the upright, 19
and let the end of my life 20 be like theirs.” 21
23:11 Then Balak said to Balaam, “What have you done to me? I brought you to curse my enemies, but on the contrary 22 you have only blessed them!” 23 23:12 Balaam replied, 24 “Must I not be careful 25 to speak what the Lord has put in my mouth?” 26 23:13 Balak said to him, “Please come with me to another place from which you can observe them. You will see only a part of them, but you will not see all of them. Curse them for me from there.”
23:14 So Balak brought Balaam 27 to the field of Zophim, to the top of Pisgah, 28 where 29 he built seven altars and offered a bull and a ram on each altar. 23:15 And Balaam 30 said to Balak, “Station yourself here 31 by your burnt offering, while I meet the Lord there. 23:16 Then the Lord met Balaam and put a message 32 in his mouth and said, “Return to Balak, and speak what I tell you.” 23:17 When Balaam 33 came to him, he was still standing by his burnt offering, along with the princes of Moab. And Balak said to him, “What has the Lord spoken?”
23:18 Balaam 34 uttered 35 his oracle, and said,
“Rise up, 36 Balak, and hear;
Listen to me, son of Zippor:
23:19 God is not a man, that he should lie,
nor a human being, 37 that he should change his mind.
Has he said, and will he not do it?
Or has he spoken, and will he not make it happen? 38
23:20 Indeed, I have received a command 39 to bless;
he has blessed, 40 and I cannot reverse it. 41
23:21 He 42 has not looked on iniquity in Jacob, 43
nor has he seen trouble 44 in Israel.
The Lord their God is with them;
his acclamation 45 as king is among them.
23:22 God brought them 46 out of Egypt.
They have, as it were, the strength of a wild bull. 47
23:23 For there is no spell against 48 Jacob,
nor is there any divination against Israel.
At this time 49 it must be said 50 of Jacob
and of Israel, ‘Look at 51 what God has done!’
23:24 Indeed, the people will rise up like a lioness,
and like a lion raises himself up;
they will not lie down until they eat their 52 prey,
and drink the blood of the slain.” 53
23:25 Balak said to Balaam, “Neither curse them at all 54 nor bless them at all!” 55 23:26 But Balaam replied 56 to Balak, “Did I not tell you, ‘All that the Lord speaks, 57 I must do’?”
23:27 Balak said to Balaam, “Come, please; I will take you to another place. Perhaps it will please God 58 to let you curse them for me from there.” 59 23:28 So Balak took Balaam to the top of Peor, that looks toward the wilderness. 60 23:29 Then Balaam said to Balak, “Build seven altars here for me, and prepare seven bulls and seven rams.” 23:30 So Balak did as Balaam had said, and offered a bull and a ram on each altar.
24:1 61 When Balaam saw that it pleased the Lord to bless Israel, 62 he did not go as at the other times 63 to seek for omens, 64 but he set his face 65 toward the wilderness. 24:2 When Balaam lifted up his eyes, he saw Israel camped tribe by tribe; 66 and the Spirit of God came upon him. 24:3 Then he uttered this oracle: 67
“The oracle 68 of Balaam son of Beor;
the oracle of the man whose eyes are open; 69
24:4 the oracle of the one who hears the words of God,
who sees a vision from the Almighty,
although falling flat on the ground 70 with eyes open: 71
24:5 ‘How 72 beautiful are your tents, O Jacob,
and your dwelling places, O Israel!
24:6 They are like 73 valleys 74 stretched forth,
like gardens by the river’s side,
like aloes 75 that the Lord has planted,
and like cedar trees beside the waters.
24:7 He will pour the water out of his buckets, 76
and their descendants will be like abundant 77 water; 78
their king will be greater than Agag, 79
and their kingdom will be exalted.
24:8 God brought them out of Egypt.
They have, as it were, the strength of a young bull;
they will devour hostile people 80
and will break their bones
and will pierce them through with arrows.
24:9 They crouch and lie down like a lion,
and as a lioness, 81 who can stir him?
Blessed is the one who blesses you,
and cursed is the one who curses you!’”
[23:4] 1 tn The relative pronoun is added here in place of the conjunction to clarify that Balaam is speaking to God and not vice versa.
[23:5] 3 tn Heb “and thus you shall speak.”
[23:6] 4 tn The Hebrew text draws the vividness of the scene with the deictic particle הִנֵּה (hinneh) – Balaam returned, and there he was, standing there.
[23:7] 5 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Balaam) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[23:7] 7 tn The passage calls for a past tense translation; since the verb form is a prefixed conjugation, this tense should be classified as a preterite without the vav (ו). Such forms do occur, especially in the ancient poetic passages.
[23:7] 8 sn The opening lines seem to be a formula for the seer to identify himself and the occasion for the oracle. The tension is laid out early; Balaam knows that God has intended to bless Israel, but he has been paid to curse them.
[23:8] 9 tn The figure is erotesis, a rhetorical question. He is actually saying he cannot curse them because God has not cursed them.
[23:8] 10 tn The imperfect tense should here be classified as a potential imperfect.
[23:9] 11 tn Heb “him,” but here it refers to the Israelites (Israel).
[23:9] 12 sn Balaam reports his observation of the nation of Israel spread out below him in the valley. Based on that vision, and the
[23:9] 13 tn The verb could also be taken as a reflexive – Israel does not consider itself as among the nations, meaning, they consider themselves to be unique.
[23:10] 14 tn The question is again rhetorical; it means no one can count them – they are innumerable.
[23:10] 15 tn The perfect tense can also be classified as a potential nuance. It does not occur very often, but does occur several times.
[23:10] 16 sn The reference in the oracle is back to Gen 13:16, which would not be clear to Balaam. But God had described their growth like the dust of the earth. Here it is part of the description of the vast numbers.
[23:10] 17 tn Heb “and as a number, the fourth part of Israel.” The noun in the MT is not in the construct state, and so it should be taken as an adverbial accusative, forming a parallel with the verb “count.” The second object of the verse then follows, “the fourth part of Israel.” Smr and the LXX have “and who has numbered” (וּמִסְפָּר, umispar), making this colon more parallel to the preceding one. The editor of BHS prefers this reading.
[23:10] 18 tn The use of נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh) for the subject of the verb stresses the personal nature – me.
[23:10] 19 sn Here the seer’s words link with the promise of Gen 12:3, that whoever blesses Israel will be blessed. Since the blessing belongs to them, the upright (and not Balak), Balaam would like his lot to be with them.
[23:10] 20 tn Heb “my latter end.”
[23:11] 22 tn The Hebrew text uses הִנֵּה (hinneh) here to stress the contrast.
[23:11] 23 tn The construction is emphatic, using the perfect tense and the infinitive absolute to give it the emphasis. It would have the force of “you have done nothing but bless,” or “you have indeed blessed.” The construction is reminiscent of the call of Abram and the promise of the blessing in such elaborate terms.
[23:12] 24 tn Heb “he answered and said.” The referent (Balaam) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[23:12] 25 tn The verb שָׁמַר (shamar) means “to guard, watch, observe” and so here with a sense of “be careful” or even “take heed” (so KJV, ASV). The nuance of the imperfect tense would be obligatory: “I must be careful” – to do what? to speak what the
[23:12] 26 tn The clause is a noun clause serving as the direct object of “to speak.” It begins with the sign of the accusative, and then the relative pronoun that indicates the whole clause is the accusative.
[23:14] 27 tn Heb “he brought him”; the referents (Balak and Balaam) have been specified in the translation for clarity.
[23:14] 28 tn Some scholars do not translate this word as “Pisgah,” but rather as a “lookout post” or an “elevated place.”
[23:14] 29 tn Heb “and he built.”
[23:15] 30 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Balaam) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[23:15] 31 tn The verse uses כֹּה (koh) twice: “Station yourself here…I will meet [the
[23:17] 33 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Balaam) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[23:18] 34 tn Heb “he.” The antecedent has been supplied in the translation for clarity.
[23:18] 36 tn The verb probably means “pay attention” in this verse.
[23:19] 37 tn Heb “son of man.”
[23:19] 38 tn The verb is the Hiphil of קוּם (qum, “to cause to rise; to make stand”). The meaning here is more of the sense of fulfilling the promises made.
[23:20] 39 tn The Hebrew text simply has “I have received [to] bless.” The infinitive is the object of the verb, telling what he received. Balaam was not actually commanded to bless, but was given the word of blessing so that he was given a divine decree that would bless Israel.
[23:20] 40 sn The reference is probably to the first speech, where the
[23:20] 41 tn The verb is the Hiphil of שׁוּב (shuv), meaning “to cause to return.” He cannot return God’s word to him, for it has been given, and it will be fulfilled.
[23:21] 42 tn These could be understood as impersonal and so rendered “no one has discovered.”
[23:21] 43 sn The line could mean that God has regarded Israel as the ideal congregation without any blemish or flaw. But it could also mean that God has not looked on their iniquity, meaning, held it against them.
[23:21] 44 tn The word means “wrong, misery, trouble.” It can mean the idea of “disaster” as well, for that too is trouble. Here it is parallel to “iniquity” and so has the connotation of something that would give God reason to curse them.
[23:21] 45 tn The people are blessed because God is their king. In fact, the shout of acclamation is among them – they are proclaiming the
[23:22] 46 tn The form is the Hiphil participle from יָצַא (yatsa’) with the object suffix. He is the one who brought them out.
[23:22] 47 sn The expression is “the horns of the wild ox” (KJV “unicorn”). The point of the image is strength or power. Horns are also used in the Bible to represent kingship (see Pss 89 and 132).
[23:23] 48 tn Or “in Jacob.” But given the context the meaning “against” is preferable. The words describe two techniques of consulting God; the first has to do with observing omens in general (“enchantments”), and the second with casting lots or arrows of the like (“divinations” [Ezek 21:26]). See N. H. Snaith, Leviticus and Numbers (NCB), 295-96.
[23:23] 49 tn The form is the preposition “like, as” and the word for “time” – according to the time, about this time, now.
[23:23] 50 tn The Niphal imperfect here carries the nuance of obligation – one has to say in amazement that God has done something marvelous or “it must be said.”
[23:23] 51 tn The words “look at” are not in the Hebrew text but have been added in the translation for clarity.
[23:24] 52 tn The pronoun “their” has been supplied for clarity; it is not present in the Hebrew text.
[23:24] 53 sn The oracle compares Israel first to a lion, or better, lioness, because she does the tracking and hunting of food while the lion moves up and down roaring and distracting the prey. But the lion is also the traditional emblem of Judah, Dan and Gad, as well as the symbol of royalty. So this also supports the motif of royalty as well as power for Israel.
[23:25] 54 tn The verb is preceded by the infinitive absolute: “you shall by no means curse” or “do not curse them at all.” He brought him to curse, and when he tried to curse there was a blessing. Balak can only say it would be better not to bother.
[23:25] 55 tn The same construction now works with “nor bless them at all.” The two together form a merism – “don’t say anything.” He does not want them blessed, so Balaam is not to do that, but the curse isn’t working either.
[23:26] 56 tn Heb “answered and said.”
[23:26] 57 tn This first clause, “all that the
[23:27] 58 tn Heb “be pleasing in the eyes of God.”
[23:27] 59 sn Balak is stubborn, as indeed Balaam is persistent. But Balak still thinks that if another location were used it just might work. Balaam had actually told Balak in the prophecy that other attempts would fail. But Balak refuses to give up so easily. So he insists they perform the ritual and try again. This time, however, Balaam will change his approach, and this will result in a dramatic outpouring of power on him.
[23:28] 60 tn Or perhaps as a place name, “Jeshimon” (cf. 21:20).
[24:1] 61 sn For a thorough study of the arrangement of this passage, see E. B. Smick, “A Study of the Structure of the Third Balaam Oracle,” The Law and the Prophets, 242-52. He sees the oracle as having an introductory strophe (vv. 3, 4), followed by two stanzas (vv. 5, 6) that introduce the body (vv. 7b-9b) before the final benediction (v. 9b).
[24:1] 62 tn Heb “it was good in the eyes of the
[24:1] 63 tn Heb “as time after time.”
[24:1] 64 tn The word נְחָשִׁים (nÿkhashim) means “omens,” or possibly “auguries.” Balaam is not even making a pretense now of looking for such things, because they are not going to work. God has overruled them.
[24:1] 65 tn The idiom signifies that he had a determination and resolution to look out over where the Israelites were, so that he could appreciate more their presence and use that as the basis for his expressing of the oracle.
[24:2] 66 tn Heb “living according to their tribes.”
[24:3] 67 tn Heb “and he took up his oracle and said.”
[24:3] 68 tn The word נְאֻם (nÿ’um) is an “oracle.” It is usually followed by a subjective genitive, indicating the doer of the action. The word could be rendered “says,” but this translations is more specific.
[24:3] 69 tn The Greek version reads “the one who sees truly.” The word has been interpreted in both ways, “shut” or “open.”
[24:4] 70 tn The phrase “flat on the ground” is supplied in the translation for clarity. The Greek version interprets the line to mean “falling asleep.” It may mean falling into a trance.
[24:4] 71 tn The last colon simply has “falling, but opened eyes.” The falling may simply refer to lying prone; and the opened eyes may refer to his receiving a vision. See H. E. Freeman, An Introduction to the Old Testament Prophets, 37-41.
[24:5] 72 tn Here מָה (mah) has an exclamatory sense: “How!” (see Gen 28:17).
[24:6] 73 tn Heb “as valleys they spread forth.”
[24:6] 74 tn Or “rows of palms.”
[24:6] 75 sn The language seems to be more poetic than precise. N. H. Snaith notes that cedars do not grow beside water; he also connects “aloes” to the eaglewood that is more exotic, and capable of giving off an aroma (Leviticus and Numbers [NCB], 298).
[24:7] 76 tc For this colon the LXX has “a man shall come out of his seed.” Cf. the Syriac Peshitta and Targum.
[24:7] 78 sn These two lines are difficult, but the general sense is that of irrigation buckets and a well-watered land. The point is that Israel will be prosperous and fruitful.
[24:7] 79 sn Many commentators see this as a reference to Agag of 1 Sam 15:32-33, the Amalekite king slain by Samuel, for that is the one we know. But that is by no means clear, for this text does not identify this Agag. If it is that king, then this poem, or this line in this poem, would have to be later, unless one were to try to argue for a specific prophecy. Whoever this Agag is, he is a symbol of power.
[24:8] 80 tn Heb “they will devour nations,” their adversaries.
[24:9] 81 tn On the usage of this word see HALOT 517 s.v. לָבִיא.
