Bilangan 24:7

24:7 He will pour the water out of his buckets, ¹ 

and their descendants will be like abundant ²  water; ³ 

their king will be greater than Agag, ⁴ 

and their kingdom will be exalted.

Bilangan 24:2

24:2 When Balaam lifted up his eyes, he saw Israel camped tribe by tribe; ⁵  and the Spirit of God came upon him.

1 Samuel 8:2

8:2 The name of his firstborn son was Joel, and the name of his second son was Abijah. They were judges in Beer Sheba.

1 Samuel 8:1

Israel Seeks a King

8:1 In his old age Samuel appointed his sons as judges over Israel.

1 Samuel 18:2

18:2 Saul retained David ⁶  on that day and did not allow him to return to his father’s house.

Mazmur 60:8

60:8 Moab is my washbasin. ⁷ 

I will make Edom serve me. ⁸ 

I will shout in triumph over Philistia.” ⁹ 

[24:7]  ¹ tc For this colon the LXX has “a man shall come out of his seed.” Cf. the Syriac Peshitta and Targum.

[24:7]  ² tn Heb “many.”

[24:7]  ³ 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]  ⁴ 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.

[24:2]  ⁵ tn Heb “living according to their tribes.”

[18:2]  ⁶ tn Heb “him”; the referent (David) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[60:8]  ⁷ sn The metaphor of the washbasin, used to rinse one’s hands and feet, suggests that Moab, in contrast to Israel’s elevated position (vv. 6-7), would be reduced to the status of a servant.

[60:8]  ⁸ tn Heb “over Edom I will throw my sandal.” The point of the metaphor is not entirely clear. Some interpret this as idiomatic for “taking possession of,” i.e., “I will take possession of Edom.” Others translate עַל (’al) as “to” and understand this as referring to a master throwing his dirty sandal to a servant so that the latter might dust it off.

[60:8]  ⁹ tc Heb “over me, O Philistia, shout in triumph.” The translation follows the text of Ps 108:9. When the initial עֲלֵיוֹ (’aleyo, “over”) was misread as עָלַי (’alay, “over me”), the first person verb form was probably altered to an imperative to provide better sense to the line.