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The Pulpit Commentary
The Pulpit Commentary on Numbers 24:7-10
BALAAM-THE FIRST PARABLE The word "parable" is used here in a somewhat peculiar sense. It is not, as in the New Testament, a fictitious narrative embodying and enforcing some moral truth, but a "dark saying," a mystic p…
The Pulpit Commentary on Numbers 24:7
He shall pour the water, or, "the water shall overflow." Out of his buckets. דָּלְיָו is the dual, "his two buckets." The image, familiar enough to one who lived in an irrigated land, is of one carrying two buckets on t…
The Pulpit Commentary on Numbers 24:8
And shall break their bones. יְגָרֵם (cf. Ezekiel 23:34) seems to mean "crush" or "smash." The Septuagint has ἐκμυελιεῖ, "shall suck out," i.e; the marrow, but the word does not seem to bear this meaning. Pierce them…
The Pulpit Commentary on Numbers 24:8
THE SAFETY OF ALL WHO ENJOY THE BLESSING OF GOD God's "defiance" the signal of destruction; God's "curse," fatal. But if protected from these we are safe, for "the curse causeless cannot come." We are safe from— 1. Mali…
The Pulpit Commentary on Numbers 24:9
A lion. אַרִי. A great lion. לָבִיא. See on Numbers 23:24, and Genesis 49:9. Blessed is he that blesseth thee, &c. In these words Balaam seems to refer to the terms of Balak's first message (Numbers 22:6). Far from bein…
The Pulpit Commentary on Numbers 24:10
LET ME DIE THE DEATH OF THE RIGHTEOUS, AND LET MY LAST END, BE LIKE HIS! THE SECRET OF ISRAEL'S PROSPERITY This certainly appears an extraordinary wish when we bear in mind the position and character of the man who utte…
The Pulpit Commentary on Numbers 24:10-14
BALAK RELINQUISHES HIS PROJECT He sees now clearly that there is no chance of prevailing over Israel by means of a curse, and that any further appeal to the prophet would only bring words more galling to his pride and m…
The Pulpit Commentary on Numbers 24:12
Spake I not also. This was altogether true. Balaam had enough of the true prophet about him not only to act with strict fidelity, as far as the letter of the command went, but also to behave with great dignity towards B…
The Pulpit Commentary on Numbers 24:13-26
THE SECOND PROPHECY. BALAK'S STATE OF MIND Balaam has cursed where he was expected to bless, he has said things very hard to listen to and keep presence of mind, but Balak has not by any means lost faith in Balaam and h…
The Pulpit Commentary on Numbers 24:14
I will advertise thee. אִיעָצְךָ has properly the meaning "advise", but it seems to have here the same subordinate sense of giving information which "advise" has with us. The Vulgate here has followed the surmise of the…
The Pulpit Commentary on Numbers 24:15-25
THE STAR OUT OF JACOB AND THE SCEPTER OUT OF ISRAEL The final prophecy, unsolicited by Balak, which indeed he would have been glad to stop, goes far beyond the concerns of his kingdom and his reign. It stretches over an…
The Pulpit Commentary on Numbers 24:16
Knew the knowledge of the Most High. Septuagint, ἐπιστάμενος ἐπιστήμην παρὰ υψίστου. This expression alone distinguishes this introduction of Balaam's mashal from the former one (Numbers 24:3, Numbers 24:4), but i…
The Pulpit Commentary on Numbers 24:17
BALAAM-THE FOURTH PARABLE Balaam appears before us here as one who "seeing, sees not. His "eyes are open," but he has no real vision of the eternal truth of things. He has a "knowledge of the Most High," but not that wh…
The Pulpit Commentary on Numbers 24:17
I shall see him, but not now: I shall behold him, but not nigh. Rather, "I see him, but not now: I behold him, but not near" ( אַשׁוּרֶנּוּ … אֶראֶנוּ exactly as in Numbers 23:9). Balaam does not mean to say that he exp…
The Pulpit Commentary on Numbers 24:18
Seir also shall be a possession for his enemies. Seir (Genesis 32:3), or Mount Seir (Genesis 36:8), was the old name, still retained as an alternative, of Edom. It is uncertain whether the rendering "for his (i.e; Edom'…
The Pulpit Commentary on Numbers 24:19
THE UNCHANGEABLE FAITHFULNESS OF GOD Two truths are suggested in contrast. I. IT IS NATURAL TO MEN TO CHANGE THEIR MINI) AND BREAK THEIR WORD. 1. They repent, i.e; they change their mind, frequently, hastily, because of…
The Pulpit Commentary on Numbers 24:19
Shall come he that shall have dominion. וֱיִרְדְּ Literally, "one shall rule," the subject being indefinite. Of the city. מֵעִיר; not apparently out of any city in particular, but "out of any hostile city." The expressi…
The Pulpit Commentary on Numbers 24:20
He looked on Amalek. This looking must have been an inward vision, because the haunts of the Amalekites were far away (see on Genesis 36:12; Exodus 17:8; Numbers 14:25, Numbers 14:45). The first of the nations. Amalek w…
The Pulpit Commentary on Numbers 24:21
He looked on the Kenites. This mashal is excessively obscure, for both the subject of it and the drift of it are disputed. On the one hand, the Kenites are mentioned among the Canaanitish tribes that were to be disposse…
The Pulpit Commentary on Numbers 24:22
Nevertheless the Kenite shall be wasted. כִּי אִם־יִהְיֶה לְבָעֵר קָיִן. Rather, "Kain shall surely not be wasted." כִּי־אִם is of doubtful meaning, but it seems here to have the force of a negative question equivalent…
The Pulpit Commentary on Numbers 24:23
BALAAM-THE SECOND PARABLE We may look upon Balaam here as representing the Satanic powers that have ever been plotting and working against the kingdom of God among men, and as the unwilling prophet of their ultimate def…
The Pulpit Commentary on Numbers 24:23
When God doeth this. Literally, "from the settling of it by God." מִשֻּׂמוֹ אֵל, i.e; when God shall bring these terrible things to pass. Septuagint, ὅταν θῇ ταῦτα ὁ θεός. This exclamation refers to the woe which…
The Pulpit Commentary on Numbers 24:24
Chittim. Cyprus (see on Genesis 10:4). The "isles of Chittim are mentioned by Jeremiah (Jeremiah 2:10) and by Ezekiel (Ezekiel 27:6) in the sense apparently of the western islands generally while in Daniel 11:30 "the sh…
The Pulpit Commentary on Numbers 24:25
And returned to his place. יָשֹׁב לִמְקֹ וֹ. It is doubtful whether this expression, which is used in Genesis 18:33 and in other places, implies that Balaam returned to his home on the Euphrates. If he did he must have…