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Numbers Chapter
Twenty-four
New King James Version (NKJV)
INTRODUCTION TO NUMBERS 24
In
this chapter we are told, that Balaam leaving his enchantments, the Spirit of
God came on him, and he spake of the happiness of Israel, and prophesied of
their future greatness and glory, Numbers 24:1 which
so exasperated Balak, that he ordered him at once to depart from him, Numbers 24:10.
Balaam justified himself in what he said and did, and suggested that before
they parted, he had something to say in a prophetic manner, concerning what
Israel should do to Moab in "future" times, Numbers 24:12 and
then prophesies concerning the Messiah, and the destruction of Moab, and of
some neighbouring nations, and even of some at a greater distance, as the
Assyrians and Romans, Numbers 24:15.
Numbers 24:1 Now when Balaam saw that it pleased the Lord to bless Israel, he did not go as at other times, to seek to use
sorcery, but he set his face toward the wilderness.
YLT
1And Balaam seeth that [it
is] good in the eyes of Jehovah to bless Israel, and he hath not gone as time
by time to meet enchantments, and he setteth towards the wilderness his face;
And when Balsam saw that it pleased the Lord to bless Israel,.... That it
was good in his sight, what he approved of, and was well-pleasing to him, and
that it was his determined mind that Israel should be blessed, and not cursed,
from which there was no turning him, by offering sacrifices to him, and much
less by his sorceries and divinations:
he went not as at other times; or, "as at a time
in a time"F17כפעם בפעם
"sicut vice in vice", Montanus, Vatablus. , at two times, of which
see Numbers 23:3, he
abode in the place where the sacrifices were offered, and did not depart to
another at some distance, as he had twice before done:
to seek for enchantments; which it seems he used
before, for he not only offered sacrifices to the true God, which yet were
attended with superstitious rites, but he made use of his divining art also;
and not only went to meet with God, and hear what he would say to him, but
consulted the devil also, being willing to have two strings to his bow, and
that, if possible, he might carry his point, and get what his covetous and
ambitious mind was desirous of: the words may be literally rendered, "to
meet enchantments"F18לקראת נחשים "in occursum auguriorum", Pagninus,
Montanus, Vatablus. ; but what should be meant by the phrase is not easy to
say; I should rather choose to render them, "to meet serpents", and
make use of them in his divinations, make observations on them, and predictions
from them: one sort of divination is called "ophiomancy", or divining
by serpents; so Calchas, on seeing a serpent devour eight sparrows with their
dam, foretold the duration of the siege of TroyF19Homer. Iliad. 2.
see more instances in Bochart. Hierozoic. par. 1. l. 1. c. 3. col. 21, 22. :
but he set his face towards the wilderness: where the
people of Israel lay encamped, not with an intention to bless them, though he
saw it pleased the Lord, but to take an opportunity, if he could, without his
leave, to curse them; and therefore he did not go out as he did before, to know
his will, but stood by the sacrifice, with his face to the wilderness, where
the people were, to take any advantage that offered.
Numbers 24:2 2 And Balaam raised his eyes, and saw Israel encamped
according to their tribes; and the Spirit of God came upon him.
YLT
2and Balaam lifteth up his
eyes, and seeth Israel tabernacling, by its tribes, and the Spirit of God is
upon him,
And Balaam lifted up his eyes,.... Being on Mount Peor:
and he saw Israel abiding in his tents according to their tribes; in that exact
order in which they were directed to encamp under four standards, and so many
tribes under each standard, Numbers 2:1.
and the Spirit of God came upon him; not in his grace but in
his gifts; not as a spirit of sanctification, but as a spirit of prophecy, as
the Targums of Onkelos and Jonathan paraphrase it; and so sometimes the Spirit
of God in this sense has come upon wicked men, as on Caiaphas and others, John 11:51.
Numbers 24:3 3 Then he took up his oracle and said: “The utterance of
Balaam the son of Beor, The utterance of the man whose eyes are opened,
YLT
3and he taketh up his
simile, and saith: `An affirmation of Balaam son of Beor -- And an affirmation
of the man whose eyes are shut –
And he took up his parable,.... His parable of
prophecy, as the Targums, his prophetic speech, which, with a loud voice, he
expressed in the hearing of Balak and his nobles:
and said, Balaam the son of Beor hath said; the preface
to his prophecy is pompous, and seems to be full of pride and vanity, and so
the Targums of Jonathan and Jerusalem represent him;"the man who is more
excellent than his father hath said, to whom hidden secrets, even what was
hidden from the prophets is revealed to him;'and the Jews have a sayingF20Pirke
Abot, c. 5. sect. 19. that he that has an evil eye, a haughty spirit, and a
large soul, or is covetous, is one of the disciples of Balaam the wicked:
and the man whose eyes are open hath said; or, as someF21So
V. L. Montanus, Tigurine version, &c. render it, whose eyes were shut, but
now open; either the eyes of his body, which were shut when the angel met him,
and the ass saw him and not he, but afterwards were open, and he saw him also;
or the eyes of his understanding blinded with ambition and covetousness, but
were open to see his mistake, at least so far as to be sensible that he could
never prevail upon God to allow him to curse Israel; or rather open, by the
spirit of prophecy coming on him, whereby he saw and foretold things to come.
Numbers 24:4 4 The utterance of him who hears the words of God, Who
sees the vision of the Almighty, Who falls down, with eyes wide open:
YLT
4An affirmation of him who
is hearing sayings of God -- Who a vision of the Almighty seeth, Falling -- and
eyes uncovered:
He hath said, which heard the words of God,.... God
speaking to him, which he did several times, and with which he was greatly
elated, see Numbers 22:9,
which saw the vision of the Almighty; not that he
had a sight of any similitude of God, though the angel that appeared to him,
which was Christ the uncreated angel, might appear in an human form, for some
visible form was seen both by the ass and him; but rather this respects the
visions of God to him in the night; it may be in a dream, as has been already
observed, and which the following words seem to confirm:
falling into a trance, but having his eyes open: or falling
into a deep sleep, and yet the eyes of his body open, which sometimes is the
case with persons asleep; or the eyes of his mind open, to receive the
instructions given him in a dream or vision of the night; unless this is to be
understood of his falling on his face, when he had his vision, as sometimes the
prophets did, see Ezekiel 1:28, so
the Targums of Jonathan and Jerusalem paraphrase it; and the latter says, he
prophesied of himself, that he should fall by the sword; which is better than
to interpret it of his falling when his ass lay down with him, as some do: so
men may have a great deal of light and knowledge in their heads, and yet not
have true grace in their hearts; great gifts, which puff up with pride and
vanity, but not sanctifying grace, which is of an humbling nature, 1 Corinthians 8:1,
what he said under a spirit of prophecy follows.
Numbers 24:5 5 “How lovely are your tents, O Jacob! Your dwellings, O
Israel!
YLT
5How good have been thy
tents, O Jacob, Thy tabernacles, O Israel;
How goodly are thy tents, O Jacob,.... Not that the matter
of which they were made was so rich, or their structure so admirable, but the
order in which they were placed was so beautiful and agreeable:
and thy tabernacles, O Israel; which is the same thing
in other words, and which may be applied figuratively to the church of God,
which often goes by the names of Jacob and Israel; and agrees with particular
congregations and assemblies of saints, where they dwell as in tents in a
movable state, like pilgrims and sojourners; and which are the dwelling places
of Father, Son, and Spirit, and of the people of God with one another; and are
goodly, pleasant, and delightful, because of the presence of God with them, and
on account of the provisions there made for them, and the company they there
enjoy; see Psalm 84:1.
Numbers 24:6 6 Like valleys that stretch out, Like gardens by the
riverside, Like aloes planted by the Lord, Like
cedars beside the waters.
YLT
6As valleys they have been
stretched out, As gardens by a river; As aloes Jehovah hath planted, As cedars
by waters;
As the valleys are they spread forth,.... Long and
broad, lying between several mountains, and reaching from hill to hill; so the
armies of Israel lay encamped in the plains and villages of Moab, making a very
considerable length and breadth; the camp of Israel is said to be twelve miles
long, and twelve miles broad; so the Targum on Numbers 2:3 and
this may denote the lowness of the saints and people of God in their own eyes,
and their largeness in themselves; and especially when the place of their tents
shall be enlarged, and the curtains of their habitations be stretched forth in
the latter day; and also their fruitfulness, meads, and valleys abounding with
herbs and flowers, as the churches of God do with the fruits of the Spirit,
grace, and righteousness, and with plants of the Lord's right hand planting.
Some render it as brooks and torrents of water, so the Targum of Jonathan;
which diffuse and spread themselves, and on the banks of which stand beautiful
trees in goodly order:
as gardens by the river's side: laid out in a delightful
manner, full of flowers, plants, and trees, and well watered; like to these, in
several spots, were the people of Israel formed into several camps; and to
these may the churches of God be compared, who are distinguished and enclosed
by sovereign grace, full of trees of righteousness of the Lord's planting,
watered by the river of divine love, and from Christ the fountain of gardens;
see Song of Solomon 4:12,
as the trees of lign aloes, which the Lord hath planted: which are not
planted and raised by the art and industry of man, but grow up without culture,
as the mere produce of nature, under a divine providence; these are called lign
wood or tree aloes, to distinguish them from another sort of aloes, which are
no other than plants; but these are what the Indians call Calambra or Calembac,
and, physicians Xyloaloes and Agallochium, and are of a very aromatic and
fragrant scent. This tree is said to be about eight or ten feet high; at the
head of it is a large bunch of leaves, which are thick and indented, broad at
bottom, but growing narrower towards the point, and about four feet in length;
the blossom of it is red, intermixed with yellow, and double like a pink; from
this blossom comes fruit, round like a large pea, white and red; the juice of
these leaves is drawn out by cutting them with a knife, and received into bottles;
the smell of the wood is exquisiteF23See Calmet's Dictionary, and
the Supplement to Chamber's Dictionary, in the word "Aloes". . P.
MartyrF24Decad. 1. l. 2. speaks of a trunk of lign aloes, which
being cut, a sweet savour proceeds from it. It may be observed what IsidoreF25Origin.
l. 17. c. 8. remarks, that it grows in Arabia, as well as in India, and so
might be well known to Balaam. And to these the Israel of God may be compared
for their fragrancy, being clothed with the righteousness of Christ, all whose
garments smell of or like these aloes, Psalm 45:8 and
having the graces of the Spirit of God in them, the smell of which is
preferable to all spices, and they themselves are signified by the same, Song of Solomon 4:10,
and as cedar trees beside the waters; which are
tall and high, large and spreading, durable lasting, to which the righteous are
compared; see Gill on Psalm 92:12.
Numbers 24:7 7 He shall pour water from his buckets, And his seed shall
be in many waters. “His king shall be higher than Agag, And his kingdom
shall be exalted.
YLT
7He maketh water flow from
his buckets, And his seed [is] in many waters; And higher than Agag [is] his
king, And exalted is his kingdom.
He shall pour the water out of his buckets,.... That is,
God shall plentifully send down rain out of the clouds upon these valleys,
gardens, and trees, and make them fruitful; and this may be a figure of the
grace of God, with which his churches are watered, and become fruitful by means
of the word and ordinances, which is conveyed through them out of the fulness
which is in Christ:
and his seed shall be in many waters; the seed and
offspring of Israel shall be in a place of many waters, in a land of brooks and
waters, shall dwell in a well watered land, the land of Canaan, Deuteronomy 8:7 or
shall be like seed sown near water, or in well watered places, which springs up
and brings forth much fruit, see Isaiah 32:20 or
shall become, or be over many waters, to which people, kingdoms, and nations,
are sometimes compared; and so may denote the multitude of Israel, and the
large extent of their dominions, see Revelation 17:1,
and his king shall be higher than Agag; who might be
the then present king of Amalek, reckoned one of the greatest kings on earth;
and this name, some think, was common to all the kings of Amalek, as Pharaoh to
the kings of Egypt; and according to Jarchi and Aben Ezra, this is a prophecy
of the first king of Israel, Saul, and of his conquering Agag king of Amalek,
for there was one of this name in his time, 1 Samuel 15:7,
and his kingdom shall be exalted; that is, the kingdom of
the people of Israel, as it was more especially in the days of David and
Solomon; and will be abundantly more in the days of the Messiah, when his
kingdom shall be from sea to sea, and from the river to the ends of the earth,
and the kingdoms of this world shall become his, and he shall reign over all
the earth; and so the Jerusalem Targum,"and the kingdom of the King
Messiah shall become very great;'and so other Jewish writersF26Pesikta
in Ketoreth Hassamim, fol. 27. 2. Vid. Philo. de Praemiis, p. 925. Sept. vers.
& Targum Jon. in loc. refer this prophecy to the days of the Messiah.
Numbers 24:8 8 “God brings him out of Egypt; He has strength like a
wild ox; He shall consume the nations, his enemies; He shall break their bones And
pierce them with his arrows.
YLT
8God is bringing him out of
Egypt; As the swiftness of a Reem is to him, He eateth up nations his
adversaries, And their bones he breaketh, And [with] his arrows he smiteth,
God brought him forth out of Egypt, he hath as it were the
strength of an unicorn,.... Here he repeats what he had said in a former prophecy; see
Gill on Numbers 23:22, he
shall eat up the nations his enemies: the seven nations of Canaan, which should
be subdued by Israel, and that with as much ease as a lion devours its prey;
nor would the Canaanites be able to make any more resistance to them than a
creature in the paws of a lion; and the phrase denotes the utter destruction of
them:
and shall break their bones; as the lion breaks the
bones of such creatures that fall a prey to him; signifying that all their
strength should be taken from them, their mighty men slain, and their fortified
cities taken:
and pierce them through with his arrows: slay them
utterly.
Numbers 24:9 9 ‘He bows down, he lies down as a lion; And as a lion,
who shall rouse him?’[a] “Blessed is
he who blesses you, And cursed is he who curses you.”
YLT
9He hath bent, he hath lain
down as a lion, And as a lioness: who doth raise him up? He who is blessing
thee [is] blessed, And he who is cursing thee [is] cursed.'
He couched,.... Which may respect the posture of the armies of Israel in the
plains of Moab:
he lay down as a lion, and as a great lion; as he would
do, and did in the land of Canaan, when conquered by Israel; they took up their
residence on it quietly, and dwelt in it securely, and in no more fear of their
enemies than a lion, which lays itself down and sleeps without concern
anywhere:
who shall stir him up? who dare do it? as it
would be a very rash, bold, daring, and dangerous thing to rouse up a lion
lying down; so it is suggested it would be alike to provoke Israel to war at
some certain times, in the days of David more especially:
blessed is he that blesseth thee, and cursed is he that curseth
thee; which are the very words in which Isaac blessed Jacob, the
ancestor of these people, Genesis 27:29 and
which blessing is confirmed by Balaam against his will, and whereby he cursed
himself instead of Israel; for though he could not curse him with words, he had
cursed him in his heart, and would have done it verbally if he couldF1"Qui,
quia non licuit, non facit, ille facit". Ovid. .
Numbers 24:10 10 Then Balak’s anger was aroused against Balaam, and he
struck his hands together; and Balak said to Balaam, “I called you to curse my
enemies, and look, you have bountifully blessed them these three times!
YLT
10And the anger of Balak
burneth against Balaam, and he striketh his hands; and Balak saith unto Balaam,
`To pierce mine enemies I called thee, and lo, thou hast certainly blessed --
these three times;
And Balak's anger was kindled against Balaam,.... He had
bore much and long, but he could bear no longer, he was quite impatient, his
last words more especially must exceedingly nettle him:
and he smote his hands together; as expressive of his
indignation, vexation, and disappointment:
and Balak said unto Balaam, I called thee to curse my enemies; he had sent
princes to him, one set of them after another, to invite him into his country,
and to his court, with great promises of reward to curse Israel, whom he
reckoned his enemies, and not to bless them:
and, behold, thou hast altogether blessed them these three times; done nothing
else but bless them with blessing upon blessing, time after time; even everyone
of the three times he opened his mouth, as Balak expected, to have cursed them.
Numbers 24:11 11 Now therefore, flee to your place. I said I would
greatly honor you, but in fact, the Lord has kept
you back from honor.”
YLT
11and now, flee for thyself
unto thy place; I have said, I do greatly honour thee, and lo, Jehovah hath
kept thee back from honour.'
Therefore now flee thou to thy place,.... His own
country, from whence Balak had sent for him, and he came; begone directly, make
all haste away; he speaks as one so provoked, that he could not bear him in his
presence, and as threatening him if he did not at once get out of his sight:
I thought to promote thee unto great honour; to bestow
much wealth and riches upon him, and to prefer him in his court to high offices
of honour and dignity; he had promised that he would, and he thought as he
said, he was determined upon it, had he performed as he expected:
but, lo, the Lord hath kept thee back from honour; the Lord thou
hast so much talked of, and at whose beck and command thou hast been, and by
whom thou hast been checked and controlled, he has hindered thee from riches
and honour; see what thou hast got, or rather lost, by hearkening to him, and
how he will pay thee for it.
Numbers 24:12 12 So Balaam said to Balak, “Did I not also speak to your
messengers whom you sent to me, saying,
YLT
12And Balaam saith unto
Balak, `Did I not also unto thy messengers whom thou hast sent unto me, speak,
saying,
And Balaam said unto Balak,.... In order to mitigate
his wrath, and bring him into a better temper:
spake I not also to thy messengers which thou sentest unto me: those that
came to him a second time; for to the first he said nothing of what is after
related, but to the last he did much the same as he had afterwards said to
Balak himself: saying,
Numbers 24:13 13 ‘If Balak were to give me his house full of silver and
gold, I could not go beyond the word of the Lord, to do
good or bad of my own will. What the Lord says, that
I must speak’?
YLT
13If Balak doth give to me
the fulness of his house of silver and gold, I am not able to pass over the
command of Jehovah, to do good or evil of mine own heart -- that which Jehovah
speaketh -- it I speak?
If Balak would give me his house full of silver and gold,.... Which are
the very words he said to the princes of Moab, Numbers 22:18,
I cannot go beyond the commandment of the Lord, to do either good
or bad; for though here it is the "commandment", and there the
"word" of the Lord, yet it is the same word in both places in the
original text: indeed, here he omits the relation to the Lord he there claims,
saying "my God"; and instead of "little or great", here it
is "good or bad", but the sense is the same: and he adds, for
explanation sake:
of mine own mind: or out of my heart, which was disposed well
enough to serve Balak, but was laid under a restraint by the Lord:
but what the Lord said, that will I speak; and he had
not only said this to the messengers, but to the king himself, and therefore he
thought, that as he had openly and honestly told him this at first, he had no
reason to be so angry with him; see Numbers 22:38.
Numbers 24:14 14 And now, indeed, I am going to my people. Come, I will
advise you what this people will do to your people in the latter days.”
YLT
14and, now, lo, I am going to
my people; come, I counsel thee [concerning] that which this people doth to thy
people, in the latter end of the days.'
And now, behold, I go unto my people,.... According
to thine order, I shall not stay to make thee uneasy with my company, only I
crave thy patience to hear me a little before we part:
come therefore, and I will advertise thee; about some
things that shall come to pass in future time, respecting this people, and
thine, and other nations, both near and remote; and he hoped by this to bring
him into a better temper, and part good friends: or "I will counsel
thee"; what thou shall do, as the Targum of Onkelos, and so makes a
sentence of this of itself, independent of, and distinct from what follows,
beginning the next clause thus:
and I will show them what this people, &c.
referring the former to the counsel Balaam gave to Balak, how to seduce the
people into idolatry; and the Targum of Jonathan expresses it at
large;"come, I will counsel thee, go and prepare victualling houses, and
place lewd women there to sell food and drink at a low price, and bring this
people to eat, and drink, and be drunken; and let them lie with them, and deny
their God, and they will be delivered into thine hands in a little time, and
many of them will fall;'which advice was followed, Numbers 25:1 and is
referred to, Numbers 31:16 but
though Balaam did give him such advice before he left him, which is highly
probable, yet it is not what is intended here, since what follows is closely
connected with the above clause, and contains the thing he advertised or
advised him of:
what this people shall do to thy people in the latter days; not what the
Moabites should do to the Israelites now, as the Vulgate Latin version, quite
contrary to the original text, but what the Israelites should do to the
Moabites in future times; not only in the times of David, by whom they were
subdued, 2 Samuel 8:2 but in
much later times, even in the times of Alexander, or King Jannaeus, who
overcame them, as JosephusF2Antiqu. l. 13. c. 13. sect. 5. relates.
Now this might be said to Balak to make him easy, that it would not be until
the latter days, many hundreds of years hence, ere the people of Israel would
fight with Moab, and subdue it; and therefore he need be under no concern about
them, since he would meet with no trouble from them in his time, nor his people
for years to come.
Numbers 24:15 15 So he took up his oracle and said: “The utterance of
Balaam the son of Beor, And the utterance of the man whose eyes are opened;
YLT
15And he taketh up his
simile, and saith: `An affirmation of Balaam son of Beor -- And an affirmation
of the man whose eyes [are] shut –
Verse 15-16
And he took up his parable, and said,.... In this
and the following verse; the same preface, in the same words, is made to his
prophecy as before; see Gill on Numbers 24:3, Numbers 24:4; only
one clause is added, "and knew the knowledge of the Most High"; that
Balaam had some knowledge of God is certain from the names by which he calls
him, being such that he made himself known by to the patriarchs, and by which
he is frequently called in the sacred writings; but then this knowledge of his
was merely notional and speculative, and not spiritual and supernatural, and
was such as men may have who are destitute of the grace of God: he was one that
professed to know him in words, but in works denied him, see 1 Corinthians 13:2
and he also was admitted to much nearness to God, and converse with him, of which
he boasted; but then this was not for his own sake, or as a mark of friendship
to him, but for the sake of the people of Israel, and to prevent his doing them
mischief. His prophecy follows.
Numbers 24:16 16 The utterance of him who hears the words of God, And
has the knowledge of the Most High, Who sees the vision of the Almighty,
Who falls down, with eyes wide open:
YLT
16An affirmation of him who
is hearing sayings of God -- And knowing knowledge of the Most High; A vision
of the Almighty he seeth, Falling -- and eyes uncovered:
Numbers 24:17 17 “I see Him, but not now; I behold Him, but not near; A
Star shall come out of Jacob; A Scepter shall rise out of Israel, And batter
the brow of Moab, And destroy all the sons of tumult.[b]
YLT
17I see it, but not now; I
behold it, but not near; A star hath proceeded from Jacob, And a sceptre hath
risen from Israel, And hath smitten corners of Moab, And hath destroyed all
sons of Sheth.
I shall see him, but not now,.... Meaning not Israel,
for he now saw him encamped, and at no great distance; but one that should
descend from him, a famous and excellent person, and who is no other than the
Messiah, as appears by what follows; him he should see, not spiritually with an
eye of faith, nor corporeally with his bodily eyes in his state of incarnation,
but at the day of judgment; and now, indeed, he saw him by a spirit of
prophecy:
I shall behold him, but not nigh; signifying, that the
coming of this illustrious Person, who should smite the borders of Moab, was
not near, and therefore Balak had no reason to indulge any present fears; and
that when he was come either into the world to save men, or to judgment, Balaam
would have no nearness to him, nor interest in him; he would see him at the
last day, but not for himself, as Job says he should, Job 19:25.
there shall come a star out of Jacob, and a sceptre shall rise out
of Israel; which Aben Ezra interprets of David, though he says many
interpret it of the Messiah; and there are some writers, both Jewish and
Christian, that understand it partly of David, and partly of Christ, and
chiefly of him, and of David as a type of him; the fulfilment of which was only
in part in David, but principally and completely in Christ. MaimonidesF3Hilchot
Melachim, c. 11. sect. 1. parts the prophecy between them: the whole
undoubtedly agrees with Christ, and belongs unto him: the "star" and
"sceptre" may be considered as names and titles of the Messiah; he is
called the "morning star", Revelation 22:16
for his glory, brightness, and splendour, and for the light that comes by him,
and the influence of his grace, and the blessings of it on the sons of men; and
hence a false Messiah took the name of Bar Cochab, the son of a star, to answer
to this prophecy; and he may be called a "sceptre", that is, a
sceptre bearer, because of his royalty; he not only has the name of a king, but
has a kingdom, both of nature, providence, and grace, and rules with a sceptre
of grace, mercy, and righteousness; and as he was to spring from Jacob or
Israel, so he did, being a son of Abraham, a descendant of Jacob, of the tribe
of Judah, and family of David, Matthew 1:1, but I
rather think that the star is to be considered as a sign and circumstance of
his coming, and that the words may be rendered, "when a star steers its
course from Jacob", or "unto Jacob, then a sceptre", or
"sceptre bearer":
shall rise out of Israel, or "rise up unto
Israel"; for the particle מ sometimes signifies
"unto"F4Vid. Nold. Concord. Ebr. part. p. 545. ; and that
the appearance of a star in Israel was a sign of the Messiah's coming is
certain from Matthew 2:1 of
which the Magi were informed by ZoroastresF5Abulpharag. Hist.
Dynast. p. 54. their founder, who, being of Jewish extract, had got it from
this prophecy of Balaam; and it is as evident that the Jews expected the
appearance of an extraordinary star at the time of the Messiah's coming; for so
they say more than once, in an ancient book of theirsF6Zohar in
Exod. fol. 3. 3, 4. & in Numb fol. 85. 4. & 86. 1. , that when
the"Messiah shall be revealed, a bright and shining star shall arise in
the east;'which expectation must be founded on this prophecy:
and shall smite the corners of Moab; not only the corners of
their houses and cities, but the extreme parts and borders of the land, even
all the sides, and the whole of it; or the princes and great men of the land,
sometimes called "corners", see Zechariah 10:4 and
so the Targums of Onkelos and Jonathan:
and shall kill the princes of Moab or the mighty ones of
Moab, as the Jerusalem Targum; this was literally fulfilled in David, 2 Samuel 8:2 Psalm 60:1 and
figuratively and mystically in Christ, by subduing his enemies, signified by
Moabites, as being the enemies of Israel; either by reducing them through the
power of his grace to obedience to him, or by smiting and breaking them in
pieces with a rod of iron; and which will be more plainly and fully
accomplished when he shall destroy those Moabites, the antichristian nations, Revelation 19:15.
and destroy all the children of Sheth; some take
Sheth to be the name of some famous king among the Moabites, as Grotius;
others, the name of some city of Moab, which David utterly destroyed, as R.
NathanF7Apud Lyram in loc. ; others suppose some particular nations
are meant, as either the Edomites, so called because they put confidence in
their foundations, and fortified places, so VitringaF8Comment. in
Isa. xxii. 5. ; or the Egyptians, from Seth or Sethos, one of their kings, who
was known by the name Egyptus, as a late learned writerF9Clayton's
Chronology of the Hebrew Bible, &c. p. 445. of ours conjectures; but rather
by the children of Seth are meant all nations, as Jarchi observes, for all come
from Seth, the son of the first man; and so the words may be rendered, as they
are by Onkelos,"he shall rule over all the children of men;'which will be
fulfilled in Christ, when he shall have put down all rule and authority, and
all will be subject to him, and his kingdom be from sea to sea, and his
dominion from the river to the ends of the earth; unless rather by the children
of Seth are meant the special people of God, in distinction from others, and in
allusion to the distinction between the Sethites and Cainites, the one being
the people of God, the other not; and so it may be interpreted of Christ's
gathering them to him, by clucking as it were for them, as a hen gathers her
chickens; so the word is used in Jewish writings, and of God himself; for it is
saidF11T. Bab. Taanith, c. 4. in En Jacob, par. 1. fol. 143. 4. the
holy blessed God מקרקר, clucks over them, as hens do,
which is the simile our Lord himself uses, Matthew 23:37 the
Targums of Onkelos and Jonathan interpret this prophecy of the Messiah by name;
and so do many other Jewish writers, both ancientF12Debarim Rabba,
fol. 234. 4. Pesikta in Kettoreth Hassammim in Numb. fol. 27. 3. & 28. 1.
and modernF13Abarbinel. Mashmiah Jeshuah, fol. 4. 2, 3. Abendana in
loc. R. Isaac Chizzuk Emunah, p. 71, 72. .
Numbers 24:18 18 “And Edom shall be a possession; Seir also, his
enemies, shall be a possession, While Israel does valiantly.
YLT
18And Edom hath been a
possession, And Seir hath been a possession, [for] its enemies, And Israel is
doing valiantly;
And Edom shall be a possession,.... Of the children of
Israel, which was fulfilled in part when the Edomites became the servants of
David, 2 Samuel 8:14 and
when they were smitten and spoiled by Judas Maccabeus,them a great overthrow,
and abated their courage, and took their spoils.' (1 Maccabees 5:3)and still
more so when all the Edomites or the Idumaeans were subdued by Hyrcanus, and
they became one people with the Jews, and conformed to their religious rites;
which is not only related by JosephusF14Antiqu. l. 13. c. 9. sect.
1. , but by StraboF15Geograph. l. 16. p. 523. , an Heathen
historian, who says, that they joined themselves to the Jews, and embraced
their laws: but in a spiritual sense this has had a greater accomplishment in
the calling of the Gentiles, and introducing them into the church of God; see Amos 9:12 compared
with Acts 15:14.
Seir also shall be a possession for his enemies; which was a
mount in the land of Edom where Esau formerly dwelt, and so signifies the same
as before: and also that the most strong and fortified places of the land
should fall into the hands of their enemies; See Gill on Obadiah 1:17, Obadiah 1:18, Obadiah 1:19.
Israel shall do valiantly; in fighting with and
conquering the Edomites, or shall get much wealth and riches by the spoil of
them, see Psalm 60:9. This,
and the following verse, are in some ancient writings of the JewsF16Zohar
in Numb. fol. 85. 4. & 86. 1. interpreted of the times of the Messiah.
Numbers 24:19 19 Out of Jacob One shall have dominion, And destroy the
remains of the city.”
YLT
19And [one] doth rule out of
Jacob, And hath destroyed a remnant from Ar.'
Out of Jacob shall come he that shall have dominion,.... Meaning
either David, or rather the Messiah; and so Jarchi interprets this of another
ruler out of Jacob, even of the Messiah, of whom it is said, he shall have
dominion from sea to sea; Psalm 72:8,
and shall destroy him, that remaineth of the city; chief city of
Edom, or of any of the cities of it, signifying that there should be none left,
see Obadiah 1:18, this
is also applied to the days of the Messiah, in the ancient writings of the JewsF17Bemidbar
Rabba, fol. 179. 3. .
Numbers 24:20 20 Then he looked on Amalek, and he took up his oracle
and said: “Amalek was first among the nations, But shall be last
until he perishes.”
YLT
20And he seeth Amalek, and
taketh up his simile, and saith: `A beginning of the Goyim [is] Amalek; And his
latter end -- for ever he perisheth.'
And when he looked on Amalek,.... The country of
Amalek, which lay to the south of the land of Canaan, Numbers 13:29 and
which Balaam had a view of from the mountain of Peor, where he now was:
and he took up his parable, and said; the parable
of his prophecy, as the Targum of Jonathan, and pronounced it aloud:
Amalek was the first of the nations; not the first nation in
the world, nor the chief and principal for numbers, riches, or strength, but
the first that made war with Israel, as all the three Targums paraphrase it, as
they did, see Exodus 17:8,
but his latter end shall be that he perish for ever; this was
threatened to them by the Lord upon that battle, and is confirmed by this
prophecy of Balaam: and after this, orders were given to Israel to blot out
their remembrance, Deuteronomy 25:19,
and which, in a good measure, though not completely, was done in the times of
Saul, 1 Samuel 15:8 and
after that they were distressed by David, 1 Samuel 27:9 and
the rest of them were smitten by the sons of Simeon, in the days of Hezekiah, 1 Chronicles 4:41,
after which we hear of them no more: Amalek may be considered as a type of
antichrist, the son of perdition, who shall go into it, shall come to his end,
and there shall be none to help him; which will be true of all the
antichristian party, the enemies of Christ, who will be destroyed by him, and
perish eternally; see Daniel 11:45.
Numbers 24:21 21 Then he looked on the Kenites, and he took up his
oracle and said: “Firm is your dwelling place, And your nest is set in the
rock;
YLT
21And he seeth the Kenite,
and taketh up his simile, and saith: `Enduring [is] thy dwelling, And setting
in a rock thy nest,
And he looked on the Kenites,.... Not the family and
posterity of Jethro, as Aben Ezra, Jarchi, and Abendana; for they were not a
people by themselves, but were now encamped with Israel, and went with them
into the land of Canaan, and were not carried captive with the ten tribes,
though some might that dwelt in Naphtali, Judges 9:4, for
they after that remained with Judah under the name of Rechabites, Jeremiah 35:2 and
returned with the two tribes, being carried captive with them, 1 Chronicles 2:55
but they were a people, though of the same original and family Jethro descended
from, which dwelt near, and afterwards among the Amalekites, and therefore were
seen by Balaam, and taken notice of at the same time they were; see 1 Samuel 15:6.
Abarbinel takes them to be the same with those in Genesis 15:19.
and took up his parable; or prophecy concerning
them, and delivered it:
and said, strong is thy dwelling place, and thou puttest thy nest
in a rock, they dwelling in craggy rocky places, where they thought
themselves secure and out of danger; and this their habitation he calls
"Ken", a nest, in allusion to their name Kenites.
Numbers 24:22 22 Nevertheless Kain shall be burned. How long until
Asshur carries you away captive?”
YLT
22But the Kenite is for a
burning; Till when doth Asshur keep thee captive?'
Nevertheless the Kenite shall be wasted,.... Though
they were so strongly fortified, and closely immured and surrounded with rocks
and mountains, yet they should gradually waste away, as they were but few in
Saul's time, 1 Samuel 15:6.
until Ashur shall carry thee away captive;
Tiglathpileser, king of Assyria, when he carried captive the people of Syria,
took these with them, 2 Kings 16:9,
though Jarchi thinks they were carried captives with the ten tribes, that is,
by Shalmaneser, king of Assyria; and the Targum of Jonathan, by Sennacherib,
king of Assyria; and others think by Nebuchadnezzar, who was sometimes reckoned
a king of Assyria; taking them to be the same with the Amalekites, who were
carried captives and returned with the two tribes.
Numbers 24:23 23 Then he took up his oracle and said: “Alas! Who shall
live when God does this?
YLT
23And he taketh up his
simile, and saith: `Alas! who doth live when God doth this?
And he took up his parable, and said,.... Or
delivered another prophecy, having made some little pause:
alas, who shall live when God doeth this? referring not
to what goes before, but to what follows; though Jarchi and Aben Ezra think it
refers to the Assyria conquering and carrying captive, not only the Kenites,
but all the nations of the world, so that there was no living comfortably in it
on his account; but this is said after Balaam had taken up his parable again,
and so respects what follows, as the destruction of the Persian empire by
Alexander, in which Ashur or the Assyrians were included; and the destruction
of the Jews by the Romans more especially; which was such as had not been the
like from the beginning of the world, Matthew 24:21, and
perhaps may have a further respect to the affliction of the witnesses and
church of Christ by antichrist; see Daniel 12:1.
Numbers 24:24 24 But ships shall come from the coasts of Cyprus,[c] And they
shall afflict Asshur and afflict Eber, And so shall Amalek,[d] until he
perishes.”
YLT
24And -- ships [are] from the
side of Chittim, And they have humbled Asshur, And they have humbled Eber, And
it also for ever is perishing.'
And ships shall come from the coast of Chittim,.... Kittim
was the son of Javan, Genesis 10:4 and so
designs some part of Greece: JosephusF18Antiqu. l. 1. c. 6. sect. 1.
says that Kittim possessed the island now called Cyprus, in which was a city
now called Citium, after his name; Macedonia, a considerable part of Greece, is
called the land of Cittim,"And it happened, after that Alexander son of
Philip, the Macedonian, who came out of the land of Chettiim, had smitten
Darius king of the Persians and Medes, that he reigned in his stead, the first
over Greece,' (1 Maccabees 1:1)"Beside
this, how they had discomfited in battle Philip, and Perseus, king of the
Citims, with others that lifted up themselves against them, and had overcome
them:' (1 Maccabees 8:5)but the
Targum of Jonathan interprets it, of the country of Italy; the Jerusalem
Targum, of the Roman legions; and perhaps both Greeks and Romans are intended,
and so ships from Cittim, in Daniel 11:30,
design Romans in Grecian ships; for in such were the Roman ambassadors carried,
who distressed Antiochus, king of Syria; see Gill on Daniel 11:30; and
both may be intended here: it is affirmedF19Inghiram. Etrusc.
Antiqu. apud Dickinson. Delph. Phaenic. Append. p. 153. Vid. p. 77. that Noah
with his son Japheth, came into the country now called Italy, and built a city,
and gave it the name of Cethim, since called Volterra, and was the metropolis
of Etruria, and gave name to all Italy; and that in the year two hundred and
twenty from the building of that city, Cethim the son of Javan, and grandson of
Noah, took two colonies with him, and sailed to an island which he called after
his own name Cethim, now Cyprus:
and shall afflict Ashur; which being a part of
the Persian empire, was afflicted, conquered, and subdued by Alexander the
Macedonian, who is said to come out of the land of Cittim,"And it
happened, after that Alexander son of Philip, the Macedonian, who came out of
the land of Chettiim, had smitten Darius king of the Persians and Medes, that
he reigned in his stead, the first over Greece,' (1 Maccabees 1:1)
and shall afflict Eber; or the Hebrews, as the
Septuagint version; not that the Grecians or Macedonians should do this, for
they under Alexander did not afflict the Jews; unless this is to be understood
of the Seleucidae, the kings of Syria, the successors of Alexander, who did
distress the Jews; but rather this respects the Romans under Pompey, and
especially under Titus Vespasian, who destroyed their city, and carried them
captive, and who ever since have been dispersed among the nations:
and he also shall perish for ever: not Eber, but those that
afflicted him, even the Romans; and indeed both monarchies, Grecian and Roman,
are prophesied of as what should be destroyed, and that by a son of Eber, the
Messiah; the stone cut out of the mountain without hands, said to break in
pieces all these kingdoms, Daniel 2:44 and not
Rome Pagan only, but Rome Papal also, antichrist and all the antichristian
powers, 2 Thessalonians 2:8.
and so the Targum of Jonathan says, that the end both of the one and the other,
that is, that shall afflict Eber, shall be, to fall by the hand of the King
Messiah, and they shall perish for ever.
Numbers 24:25 25 So Balaam rose and departed and returned to his place;
Balak also went his way.
YLT
25And Balaam riseth, and
goeth, and turneth back to his place, and Balak also hath gone on his way.
And Balaam rose up, and went and returned to his place,.... The
country from whence he came, that is, he went from Balak, according to his
command, in order to return to his own land; for he seems not to have reached
it, but stayed by the way among the Moabites and Midianites, and was slain in a
battle between Israel and them, Numbers 31:8, or if
he did reach Mesopotamia, he returned again, as Chaskuni says; and either
before he left Balak, or in his journey homewards, or when he returned, he gave
that advice, to seduce the Israelites first to whoredom, and by that to
idolatry, the effects of which are observed in the following chapter; see Gill
on Numbers 24:14 and
Balak also went his way; to his royal city, court, and family, attended, very
probably, by the princes of Moab, who had been with him all this while; though
how long these things were transacting is not certain.
──《John Gill’s
Exposition of the Bible》
New King James
Version (NKJV)