Bilangan 22:12

22:12 But God said to Balaam, “You must not go with them; you must not curse the people, ¹  for they are blessed.” ² 

Bilangan 23:8

23:8 How ³  can I curse ⁴  one whom God has not cursed,

or how can I denounce one whom the Lord has not denounced?

Bilangan 23:20

23:20 Indeed, I have received a command ⁵  to bless;

he has blessed, ⁶  and I cannot reverse it. ⁷ 

Bilangan 24:9

24:9 They crouch and lie down like a lion,

and as a lioness, ⁸  who can stir him?

Blessed is the one who blesses you,

and cursed is the one who curses you!’”

[22:12]  ¹ tn The two verbs are negated imperfects; they have the nuance of prohibition: You must not go and you must not curse.

[22:12]  ² tn The word בָּרוּךְ (barukh) is the Qal passive participle, serving here as the predicate adjective after the supplied verb “to be.” The verb means “enrich,” in any way, materially, spiritually, physically. But the indication here is that the blessing includes the promised blessing of the patriarchs, a blessing that gave Israel the land. See further, C. Westermann, Blessing in the Bible and the Life of the Church (OBT).

[23:8]  ³ tn The figure is erotesis, a rhetorical question. He is actually saying he cannot curse them because God has not cursed them.

[23:8]  ⁴ tn The imperfect tense should here be classified as a potential imperfect.

[23:20]  ⁵ 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]  ⁶ sn The reference is probably to the first speech, where the Lord blessed Israel. Balaam knows that there is nothing he can do to reverse what God has said.

[23:20]  ⁷ 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.

[24:9]  ⁸ tn On the usage of this word see HALOT 517 s.v. לָבִיא.