Bilangan 23:1--25:18
Konteks23:1 1 Balaam said to Balak, “Build me seven altars here, and prepare for me here seven bulls and seven rams.” 23:2 So Balak did just as Balaam had said. Balak and Balaam then offered on each 2 altar a bull and a ram. 23:3 Balaam said to Balak, “Station yourself 3 by your burnt offering, and I will go off; perhaps the Lord will come to meet me, and whatever he reveals to me 4 I will tell you.” 5 Then he went to a deserted height. 6
23:4 Then God met Balaam, who 7 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 8 in Balaam’s mouth and said, “Return to Balak, and speak what I tell you.” 9
23:6 So he returned to him, and he was still 10 standing by his burnt offering, he and all the princes of Moab. 23:7 Then Balaam 11 uttered 12 his oracle, saying,
“Balak, the king of Moab, brought me 13 from Aram,
out of the mountains of the east, saying,
‘Come, pronounce a curse on Jacob for me;
come, denounce Israel.’ 14
23:8 How 15 can I curse 16 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; 17
from the hills I watch them. 18
Indeed, a nation that lives alone,
and it will not be reckoned 19 among the nations.
23:10 Who 20 can count 21 the dust 22 of Jacob,
Or number 23 the fourth part of Israel?
Let me 24 die the death of the upright, 25
and let the end of my life 26 be like theirs.” 27
23:11 Then Balak said to Balaam, “What have you done to me? I brought you to curse my enemies, but on the contrary 28 you have only blessed them!” 29 23:12 Balaam replied, 30 “Must I not be careful 31 to speak what the Lord has put in my mouth?” 32 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 33 to the field of Zophim, to the top of Pisgah, 34 where 35 he built seven altars and offered a bull and a ram on each altar. 23:15 And Balaam 36 said to Balak, “Station yourself here 37 by your burnt offering, while I meet the Lord there. 23:16 Then the Lord met Balaam and put a message 38 in his mouth and said, “Return to Balak, and speak what I tell you.” 23:17 When Balaam 39 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 40 uttered 41 his oracle, and said,
“Rise up, 42 Balak, and hear;
Listen to me, son of Zippor:
23:19 God is not a man, that he should lie,
nor a human being, 43 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? 44
23:20 Indeed, I have received a command 45 to bless;
he has blessed, 46 and I cannot reverse it. 47
23:21 He 48 has not looked on iniquity in Jacob, 49
nor has he seen trouble 50 in Israel.
The Lord their God is with them;
his acclamation 51 as king is among them.
23:22 God brought them 52 out of Egypt.
They have, as it were, the strength of a wild bull. 53
23:23 For there is no spell against 54 Jacob,
nor is there any divination against Israel.
At this time 55 it must be said 56 of Jacob
and of Israel, ‘Look at 57 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 58 prey,
and drink the blood of the slain.” 59
23:25 Balak said to Balaam, “Neither curse them at all 60 nor bless them at all!” 61 23:26 But Balaam replied 62 to Balak, “Did I not tell you, ‘All that the Lord speaks, 63 I must do’?”
23:27 Balak said to Balaam, “Come, please; I will take you to another place. Perhaps it will please God 64 to let you curse them for me from there.” 65 23:28 So Balak took Balaam to the top of Peor, that looks toward the wilderness. 66 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 67 When Balaam saw that it pleased the Lord to bless Israel, 68 he did not go as at the other times 69 to seek for omens, 70 but he set his face 71 toward the wilderness. 24:2 When Balaam lifted up his eyes, he saw Israel camped tribe by tribe; 72 and the Spirit of God came upon him. 24:3 Then he uttered this oracle: 73
“The oracle 74 of Balaam son of Beor;
the oracle of the man whose eyes are open; 75
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 76 with eyes open: 77
24:5 ‘How 78 beautiful are your tents, O Jacob,
and your dwelling places, O Israel!
24:6 They are like 79 valleys 80 stretched forth,
like gardens by the river’s side,
like aloes 81 that the Lord has planted,
and like cedar trees beside the waters.
24:7 He will pour the water out of his buckets, 82
and their descendants will be like abundant 83 water; 84
their king will be greater than Agag, 85
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 86
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, 87 who can stir him?
Blessed is the one who blesses you,
and cursed is the one who curses you!’”
24:10 Then Balak became very angry at Balaam, and he struck his hands together. 88 Balak said to Balaam, “I called you to curse my enemies, and look, you have done nothing but bless 89 them these three times! 24:11 So now, go back where you came from! 90 I said that I would greatly honor you; but now the Lord has stood in the way of your honor.”
24:12 Balaam said to Balak, “Did I not also tell your messengers whom you sent to me, 24:13 ‘If Balak would give me his palace full of silver and gold, I cannot go beyond 91 the commandment 92 of the Lord to do either good or evil of my own will, 93 but whatever the Lord tells me I must speak’? 24:14 And now, I am about to go 94 back to my own people. Come now, and I will advise you as to what this people will do to your people in the future.” 95
24:15 Then he uttered this oracle: 96
“The oracle of Balaam son of Beor;
the oracle of the man whose eyes are open;
24:16 the oracle of the one who hears the words of God,
and who knows the knowledge of the Most High,
who sees a vision from the Almighty,
although falling flat on the ground with eyes open:
24:17 ‘I see him, but not now;
I behold him, but not close at hand. 97
A star 98 will march forth 99 out of Jacob,
and a scepter 100 will rise out of Israel.
He will crush the skulls 101 of Moab,
and the heads 102 of all the sons of Sheth. 103
24:18 Edom will be a possession,
Seir, 104 his enemies, will also be a possession;
but Israel will act valiantly.
24:19 A ruler will be established from Jacob;
he will destroy the remains of the city.’” 105
24:20 Then Balaam 106 looked on Amalek and delivered this oracle: 107
“Amalek was the first 108 of the nations,
but his end will be that he will perish.”
24:21 Then he looked on the Kenites and uttered this oracle:
“Your dwelling place seems strong,
and your nest 109 is set on a rocky cliff.
24:22 Nevertheless the Kenite will be consumed. 110
How long will Asshur take you away captive?”
24:23 Then he uttered this oracle:
“O, who will survive when God does this! 111
24:24 Ships will come from the coast of Kittim, 112
and will afflict Asshur, 113 and will afflict Eber,
and he will also perish forever.” 114
24:25 Balaam got up and departed and returned to his home, 115 and Balak also went his way.
25:1 116 When 117 Israel lived in Shittim, the people began to commit sexual immorality 118 with the daughters of Moab. 25:2 These women invited 119 the people to the sacrifices of their gods; then the people ate and bowed down to their gods. 120 25:3 When Israel joined themselves to Baal-peor, 121 the anger of the Lord flared up against Israel.
25:4 The Lord said to Moses, “Arrest all the leaders 122 of the people, and hang them up 123 before the Lord in broad daylight, 124 so that the fierce anger of the Lord may be turned away from Israel.” 25:5 So Moses said to the judges of Israel, “Each of you must execute those of his men 125 who were joined to Baal-peor.”
25:6 Just then 126 one of the Israelites came and brought to his brothers 127 a Midianite woman in the plain view of Moses and of 128 the whole community of the Israelites, while they 129 were weeping at the entrance of the tent of meeting. 25:7 When Phinehas son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, saw it, 130 he got up from among the assembly, took a javelin in his hand, 25:8 and went after the Israelite man into the tent 131 and thrust through the Israelite man and into the woman’s abdomen. 132 So the plague was stopped from the Israelites. 133 25:9 Those that died in the plague were 24,000.
25:10 The Lord spoke to Moses: 25:11 “Phinehas son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, has turned my anger away from the Israelites, when he manifested such zeal 134 for my sake among them, so that I did not consume the Israelites in my zeal. 135 25:12 Therefore, announce: 136 ‘I am going to give 137 to him my covenant of peace. 138 25:13 So it will be to him and his descendants after him a covenant of a permanent priesthood, because he has been zealous for his God, 139 and has made atonement 140 for the Israelites.’”
25:14 Now the name of the Israelite who was stabbed – the one who was stabbed with the Midianite woman – was Zimri son of Salu, a leader of a clan 141 of the Simeonites. 25:15 The name of the Midianite woman who was killed was Cozbi daughter of Zur. He was a leader 142 over the people of a clan of Midian. 143
25:16 Then the Lord spoke to Moses: 25:17 “Bring trouble 144 to the Midianites, and destroy them, 25:18 because they bring trouble to you by their treachery with which they have deceived 145 you in the matter of Peor, and in the matter of Cozbi, the daughter of a prince of Midian, 146 their sister, who was killed on the day of the plague that happened as a result of Peor.”
[23:1] 1 sn The first part of Balaam’s activity ends in disaster for Balak – he blesses Israel. The chapter falls into four units: the first prophecy (vv. 1-10), the relocation (vv. 11-17), the second prophecy (vv. 18-24), and a further location (vv. 25-30).
[23:2] 2 tn The Hebrew text has “on the altar,” but since there were seven of each animal and seven altars, the implication is that this means on each altar.
[23:3] 3 tn The verb הִתְיַצֵּב (hityatsev) means “to take a stand, station oneself.” It is more intentional than simply standing by something. He was to position himself by the sacrifice as Balaam withdrew to seek the oracle.
[23:3] 4 tn Heb “and the word of what he shows me.” The noun is in construct, and so the clause that follows functions as a noun clause in the genitive. The point is that the word will consist of divine revelation.
[23:3] 5 tn The verb is the perfect tense with vav (ו) consecutive. This clause is dependent on the clause that precedes it.
[23:3] 6 sn He went up to a bald spot, to a barren height. The statement underscores the general belief that such tops were the closest things to the gods. On such heights people built their shrines and temples.
[23:4] 7 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] 9 tn Heb “and thus you shall speak.”
[23:6] 10 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] 11 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Balaam) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[23:7] 13 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] 14 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] 15 tn The figure is erotesis, a rhetorical question. He is actually saying he cannot curse them because God has not cursed them.
[23:8] 16 tn The imperfect tense should here be classified as a potential imperfect.
[23:9] 17 tn Heb “him,” but here it refers to the Israelites (Israel).
[23:9] 18 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] 19 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] 20 tn The question is again rhetorical; it means no one can count them – they are innumerable.
[23:10] 21 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] 22 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] 23 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] 24 tn The use of נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh) for the subject of the verb stresses the personal nature – me.
[23:10] 25 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] 26 tn Heb “my latter end.”
[23:11] 28 tn The Hebrew text uses הִנֵּה (hinneh) here to stress the contrast.
[23:11] 29 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] 30 tn Heb “he answered and said.” The referent (Balaam) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[23:12] 31 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] 32 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] 33 tn Heb “he brought him”; the referents (Balak and Balaam) have been specified in the translation for clarity.
[23:14] 34 tn Some scholars do not translate this word as “Pisgah,” but rather as a “lookout post” or an “elevated place.”
[23:14] 35 tn Heb “and he built.”
[23:15] 36 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Balaam) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[23:15] 37 tn The verse uses כֹּה (koh) twice: “Station yourself here…I will meet [the
[23:17] 39 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Balaam) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[23:18] 40 tn Heb “he.” The antecedent has been supplied in the translation for clarity.
[23:18] 42 tn The verb probably means “pay attention” in this verse.
[23:19] 43 tn Heb “son of man.”
[23:19] 44 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] 45 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] 46 sn The reference is probably to the first speech, where the
[23:20] 47 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] 48 tn These could be understood as impersonal and so rendered “no one has discovered.”
[23:21] 49 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] 50 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] 51 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] 52 tn The form is the Hiphil participle from יָצַא (yatsa’) with the object suffix. He is the one who brought them out.
[23:22] 53 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] 54 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] 55 tn The form is the preposition “like, as” and the word for “time” – according to the time, about this time, now.
[23:23] 56 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] 57 tn The words “look at” are not in the Hebrew text but have been added in the translation for clarity.
[23:24] 58 tn The pronoun “their” has been supplied for clarity; it is not present in the Hebrew text.
[23:24] 59 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] 60 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] 61 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] 62 tn Heb “answered and said.”
[23:26] 63 tn This first clause, “all that the
[23:27] 64 tn Heb “be pleasing in the eyes of God.”
[23:27] 65 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] 66 tn Or perhaps as a place name, “Jeshimon” (cf. 21:20).
[24:1] 67 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] 68 tn Heb “it was good in the eyes of the
[24:1] 69 tn Heb “as time after time.”
[24:1] 70 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] 71 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] 72 tn Heb “living according to their tribes.”
[24:3] 73 tn Heb “and he took up his oracle and said.”
[24:3] 74 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] 75 tn The Greek version reads “the one who sees truly.” The word has been interpreted in both ways, “shut” or “open.”
[24:4] 76 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] 77 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] 78 tn Here מָה (mah) has an exclamatory sense: “How!” (see Gen 28:17).
[24:6] 79 tn Heb “as valleys they spread forth.”
[24:6] 80 tn Or “rows of palms.”
[24:6] 81 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] 82 tc For this colon the LXX has “a man shall come out of his seed.” Cf. the Syriac Peshitta and Targum.
[24:7] 84 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] 85 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] 86 tn Heb “they will devour nations,” their adversaries.
[24:9] 87 tn On the usage of this word see HALOT 517 s.v. לָבִיא.
[24:10] 88 sn This is apparently a sign of contempt or derision (see Job 27:23; and Lam 2:15).
[24:10] 89 tn The construction is emphatic, using the infinitive absolute with the perfect tense for “bless.”
[24:11] 90 tn Heb “flee to your place.”
[24:13] 91 tn Heb “I am not able to go beyond.”
[24:13] 93 tn Heb “from my heart.”
[24:14] 94 tn The construction is the particle הִנֵּה (hinneh) suffixed followed by the active participle. This is the futur instans use of the participle, to express something that is about to happen: “I am about to go.”
[24:14] 95 tn Heb “in the latter days.” For more on this expression, see E. Lipinski, “באחרית הימים dans les textes préexiliques,” VT 20 (1970): 445-50.
[24:15] 96 tn Heb “and he took up his oracle and said.”
[24:17] 98 sn This is a figure for a king (see also Isa 14:12) not only in the Bible but in the ancient Near Eastern literature as a whole. The immediate reference of the prophecy seems to be to David, but the eschatological theme goes beyond him. There is to be a connection made between this passage and the sighting of a star in its ascendancy by the magi, who then traveled to Bethlehem to see the one born King of the Jews (Matt 2:2). The expression “son of a star” (Aram Bar Kochba) became a title for a later claimant to kingship, but he was doomed by the Romans in
[24:17] 99 tn The verb is the perfect tense with vav (ו) consecutive; it is equal to the imperfect expressing the future. The verb דָּרַךְ (darakh), related to the noun “way, road,” seems to mean something like tread on, walk, march.”
[24:17] 100 sn The “scepter” is metonymical for a king who will rise to power. NEB strangely rendered this as “comet” to make a parallel with “star.”
[24:17] 101 tn The word is literally “corners,” but may refer to the corners of the head, and so “skull.”
[24:17] 102 tc The MT reads “shatter, devastate.” Smr reads קֹדְקֹד (qodqod, “head; crown; pate”). Smr follows Jer 48:45 which appears to reflect Num 24:17.
[24:17] 103 sn The prophecy begins to be fulfilled when David defeated Moab and Edom and established an empire including them. But the Messianic promise extends far beyond that to the end of the age and the inclusion of these defeated people in the program of the coming King.
[24:18] 104 sn Seir is the chief mountain range of Edom (Deut 33:2), and so the reference here is to the general area of Edom.
[24:19] 105 tn Or, understanding the Hebrew word for “city” as a place name, “of Ir” (cf. NRSV, NLT).
[24:20] 106 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Balaam) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[24:20] 107 tn Heb “and he lifted up his oracle and said.” So also in vv. 21, 23.
[24:20] 108 sn This probably means that it held first place, or it thought that it was “the first of the nations.” It was not the first, either in order or greatness.
[24:21] 109 sn A pun is made on the name Kenite by using the word “your nest” (קִנֶּךָ, qinnekha); the location may be the rocky cliffs overlooking Petra.
[24:22] 110 tc Heb “Nevertheless Cain will be wasted; how long will Asshur take you captive?” Cain was believed to be the ancestor of the Kenites. The NAB has “yet destined for burning, even as I watch, are your inhabitants.” Asshur may refer to a north Arabian group of people of Abrahamic stock (Gen 25:3), and not the Assyrian empire.
[24:23] 111 tc Because there is no parallel line, some have thought that it dropped out (see de Vaulx, Les Nombres, 296).
[24:24] 112 tc The MT is difficult. The Kittim refers normally to Cyprus, or any maritime people to the west. W. F. Albright proposed emending the line to “islands will gather in the north, ships from the distant sea” (“The Oracles of Balaam,” JBL 63 [1944]: 222-23). Some commentators accept that reading as the original state of the text, since the present MT makes little sense.
[24:24] 113 tn Or perhaps “Assyria” (so NCV, TEV, CEV, NLT).
[24:24] 114 tn Or “it will end in utter destruction.”
[25:1] 116 sn Chapter 25 tells of Israel’s sins on the steppes of Moab, and God’s punishment. In the overall plan of the book, here we have another possible threat to God’s program, although here it comes from within the camp (Balaam was the threat from without). If the Moabites could not defeat them one way, they would try another. The chapter has three parts: fornication (vv. 1-3), God’s punishment (vv. 4-9), and aftermath (vv. 10-18). See further G. E. Mendenhall, The Tenth Generation, 105-21; and S. C. Reif, “What Enraged Phinehas? A Study of Numbers 25:8,” JBL 90 (1971): 200-206.
[25:1] 117 tn This first preterite is subordinated to the next as a temporal clause; it is not giving a parallel action, but the setting for the event.
[25:1] 118 sn The account apparently means that the men were having sex with the Moabite women. Why the men submitted to such a temptation at this point is hard to say. It may be that as military heroes the men took liberties with the women of occupied territories.
[25:2] 119 tn The verb simply says “they called,” but it is a feminine plural. And so the women who engaged in immoral acts with Hebrew men invited them to their temple ritual.
[25:2] 120 sn What Israel experienced here was some of the debased ritual practices of the Canaanite people. The act of prostrating themselves before the pagan deities was probably participation in a fertility ritual, nothing short of cultic prostitution. This was a blatant disregard of the covenant and the Law. If something were not done, the nation would have destroyed itself.
[25:3] 121 tn The verb is “yoked” to Baal-peor. The word is unusual, and may suggest the physical, ritual participation described below. It certainly shows that they acknowledge the reality of the local god.
[25:3] sn The evidence indicates that Moab was part of the very corrupt Canaanite world, a world that was given over to the fertility ritual of the times.
[25:4] 122 sn The meaning must be the leaders behind the apostasy, for they would now be arrested. They were responsible for the tribes’ conformity to the Law, but here they had not only failed in their duty, but had participated. The leaders were executed; the rest of the guilty died by the plague.
[25:4] 123 sn The leaders who were guilty were commanded by God to be publicly exposed by hanging, probably a reference to impaling, but possibly some other form of harsh punishment. The point was that the swaying of their executed bodies would be a startling warning for any who so blatantly set the Law aside and indulged in apostasy through pagan sexual orgies.
[25:4] 124 tn Heb “in the sun.” This means in broad daylight.
[25:5] 125 tn Heb “slay – a man his men.” The imperative is plural, and so “man” is to be taken collectively as “each of you men.”
[25:6] 126 tn The verse begins with the deictic particle וְהִנֵּה (vÿhinneh), pointing out the action that was taking place. It stresses the immediacy of the action to the reader.
[25:6] 127 tn Or “to his family”; or “to his clan.”
[25:6] 128 tn Heb “before the eyes of Moses and before the eyes of.”
[25:6] 129 tn The vav (ו) at the beginning of the clause is a disjunctive because it is prefixed to the nonverbal form. In this context it is best interpreted as a circumstantial clause, stressing that this happened “while” people were weeping over the sin.
[25:7] 130 tn The first clause is subordinated to the second because both begin with the preterite verbal form, and there is clearly a logical and/or chronological sequence involved.
[25:8] 131 tn The word קֻבָּה (qubbah) seems to refer to the innermost part of the family tent. Some suggest it was in the tabernacle area, but that is unlikely. S. C. Reif argues for a private tent shrine (“What Enraged Phinehas? A Study of Numbers 25:8,” JBL 90 [1971]: 200-206).
[25:8] 132 tn Heb “and he thrust the two of them the Israelite man and the woman to her belly [lower abdomen].” Reif notes the similarity of the word with the previous “inner tent,” and suggests that it means Phinehas stabbed her in her shrine tent, where she was being set up as some sort of priestess or cult leader. Phinehas put a quick end to their sexual immorality while they were in the act.
[25:8] 133 sn Phinehas saw all this as part of the pagan sexual ritual that was defiling the camp. He had seen that the
[25:11] 134 tn Heb “he was zealous with my zeal.” The repetition of forms for “zeal” in the line stresses the passion of Phinehas. The word “zeal” means a passionate intensity to protect or preserve divine or social institutions.
[25:11] 135 tn The word for “zeal” now occurs a third time. While some English versions translate this word here as “jealousy” (KJV, ASV, NASB, NRSV), it carries the force of God’s passionate determination to defend his rights and what is right about the covenant and the community and parallels the “zeal” that Phinehas had just demonstrated.
[25:12] 137 tn Here too the grammar expresses an imminent future by using the particle הִנְנִי (hinni) before the participle נֹתֵן (noten) – “here I am giving,” or “I am about to give.”
[25:12] 138 tn Or “my pledge of friendship” (NAB), or “my pact of friendship” (NJPS). This is the designation of the leadership of the priestly ministry. The terminology is used again in the rebuke of the priests in Mal 2.
[25:13] 139 tn The motif is reiterated here. Phinehas was passionately determined to maintain the rights of his God by stopping the gross sinful perversions.
[25:13] 140 sn The atonement that he made in this passage refers to the killing of the two obviously blatant sinners. By doing this he dispensed with any animal sacrifice, for the sinners themselves died. In Leviticus it was the life of the substitutionary animal that was taken in place of the sinners that made atonement. The point is that sin was punished by death, and so God was free to end the plague and pardon the people. God’s holiness and righteousness have always been every bit as important as God’s mercy and compassion, for without righteousness and holiness mercy and compassion mean nothing.
[25:14] 141 tn Heb “a father’s house.” So also in v. 15.
[25:15] 143 sn The passage makes it clear that this individual was a leader, one who was supposed to be preventing this thing from happening. The judgment was swift and severe, because the crime was so great, and the danger of it spreading was certain. Paul refers to this horrible incident when he reminds Christians not to do similar things (1 Cor 10:6-8).
[25:17] 144 tn The form is the infinitive absolute used in place of a verb here; it clearly is meant to be an instruction for Israel. The idea is that of causing trouble, harassing, vexing Midian. The verb is repeated as the active participle in the line, and so the punishment is talionic.
[25:18] 145 tn This is the same word as that translated “treachery.”
[25:18] 146 sn Cozbi’s father, Zur, was one of five Midianite kings who eventually succumbed to Israel (Num 31:8). When the text gives the name and family of a woman, it is asserting that she is important, at least for social reasons, among her people.
