solitary.

went

(5) The Lord put a word in Balaam's mouth. God, who had opened the mouth of the ass," says Bishop Wordsworth, in loc., "in a manner contrary to her nature, now opens Balaam's mouth in a manner contrary to his own will."

(9) For from the top of the rocks I see him -From the summit of the rocky mountain on which Balak had erected his seven altars, Balaam, according to one interpretation (see chap. xxii. 41, and Note), had a full view of the outstretched camps of Israel.

Lo, the people shall dwell alone Better, Lo, it is a people that dwelleth alone, and that is not numbered, &c. In the fact that the host of Israel dwelt by itself in a separate encampment, Balaam discerned a type of the essential separation of Israel from the surrounding nations. When Israel adopted the ways of the heathen nations it speedily lost its external independence. Hengstenberg observes upon the last clause of this verse as follows: -"How truly Balaam said that Israel 'did not reckon itself with the heathen' appears from the fact that while all the powerful empires of the ancient worldthe Egyptian, Assyrian, Babylonian, and others-have utterly perished, Israel (which even under the Old Covenant was rescued from so many dangers that threatened its entire destruction, particularly in being brought back from exile) flourishes anew in the Church of the New Covenant, and continues also to exist in that part of it which, though at present rejected, is destined to restoration at a future period." (History of Balaam, &c., p. 409.)

(10) Who can count the dust of Jacob ?These words point back to the promise made to Abraham: And I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth," &c. (Gen. xiii. 16).

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And the number of the fourth part of Israel. -The Israelites were divided into four great encampments (chap. ii). It is probable that Balaam could only see one of these encampments from Bamoth-Baal (chap. xxii. 41); but see below on verse 13.

He Refuseth to Curse Israel.

top of the rocks I see him, and from the hills I behold him: lo, the people shall dwell alone, and shall not be reckoned among the nations. (10) Who can count the dust of Jacob, and the number of the fourth part of Israel? Let me die the death of the righteous, and let my last end be like his!

(11) And Balak said unto Balaam, What hast thou done unto me? I took thee to curse mine enemies, and, behold, thou hast blessed them altogether. (12) And he answered and said, Must I not take heed to speak that which the LORD hath put in my mouth?

(13) And Balak said unto him, Come, I pray thee, with me unto another place, from whence thou mayest see them: thou shalt see but the utmost part of them, and shalt not see them all and curse me them from thence. (14) And he brought him into the field of Zophim,

:

The death of the righteous.-The Hebrew word yesharim (upright, or righteous) is applied to Israel because God, who is just and right (Deut. xxxii. 4), had chosen His people to be a Jeshurun (Deut. xxxii. 15, xxxiii. 5, 26)-a holy and peculiar people, following after righteousness and judgment. The end of Balaam (chap. xxxi. 8) presented a strange contrast to his prayer, and showed that even the prayer of the wicked is abomination in the sight of the Lord. (See Prov. xxviii. 9.)

(11) Thou hast blessed them altogether.Hebrew, Thou hast blessed, to bless: an emphatic mode of stating that Balaam had continued to give utterance to nothing but blessings.

(13) Thou shalt see but the utmost part of them...If this rendering be correct, it strongly confirms that interpretation of chap. xxii. 41 according to which Balaam saw the whole host of Israel from Bamoth-Baal. The words may, however, be rendered thus: Thou seest (i.e., here) but the utmost part of them, and thou dost not see them all. If the interpretation of chap. xxii. 41 is adopted, which restricts the view from Bamoth-Baal to the extremity of the host of Israel, the meaning of this verse would seem to be that if Balaam could obtain a full view of the entire army he would not only perceive the ground which existed for Balak's alarm, but would be induced to put forth more strenuous efforts to deliver him from so formidable an invasion. On the other hand, if that interpretation of chap. xxii. 41 be adopted, which implies that from Bamoth-Baal Balaam had a view of the whole of the host of lsrael from one extremity of their camps to the other, the meaning of this verse would be that although the sight of so vast and orderly a mass produced so powerful an effect upon Balaam that he was unable to utter the curses which he had desired to pronounce upon Israel, such an effect would not be equally likely to be produced if only a portion of the camps was visible at the same time.

(14) The field of Zophim.-i.e., of watchers. The spot seems to be identified with that from which Moses afterwards surveyed the promised land (Deut. iii. 27),

Balaam Prophecieth again.

to the top of 1Pisgah, and built seven altars, and offered a bullock and a ram on every altar. (15) And he said unto Balak, Stand here by thy burnt offering, while I meet the LORD yonder.

(16) And the LORD met Balaam, and 1 or, The hill. "put a word in his mouth, and said, Go again unto Balak, and say thus. (17) And when he came to him, behold, he stood by his burnt offering, and the princes of Moab with him. And Balak said unto him, What hath the LORD a ch. 22. 35. spoken ? (18) And he took up his parable, and said,

Rise up, Balak, and hear; hearken unto me, thou son of Zippor: (19) God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good? (20) Behold, I have received

b ch. 24. 8.

commandment to bless: and he hath blessed; and I cannot reverse it. (21) He hath not beheld iniquity in 2 Or, in. Jacob, neither hath he seen perverseness in Israel: the LORD his God is with him, and the shout of a king is among them. (22) God brought them

and which is described in Deut. xxxiv. 1 as "the mountain of Nebo," or Mount Nebo. It is possible, however, that Pisgah may have had more than one of such summits.

(17) What hath the Lord spoken ?-Balak here speaks of God under the name Jehovah.

(19) Neither the son of man, that he should repent. The adoption of these words, with slight variation, by Samuel (1 Sam. xv. 29) affords evidence of his familiarity with this portion of the Pentateuch.

(21) He hath not beheld iniquity . . .-The same combination of the words aven (iniquity, or injustice) and amal (perverseness, or, rather, suffering or grievance) occurs in Hab. i. 3.

The shout of a king.-The word which is rendered shout (teruah) is the same which occurs in Lev. xxiii. 24, and which is there rendered blowing of trumpets. (Comp. Josh. vi. 5, 20, where the same word is rendered shout as here.)

(22) God brought them out of Egypt.-Literally, is bringing them. The use of the participle denotes the continuance of the action. He who brought them forth out of Egypt was still conducting them on their march. There is an obvious allusion in these words to those of Balak in chap. xxii. 5: "Behold, there is a people come out from Egypt." Seeing that the people did not come out of Egypt in obedience to their own caprice, but under Divine guidance, it was vain for Balak to resist them on their course, seeing that to contend with them was to contend against God.

The strength of an unicorn.-Better, of a buffalo. (Comp. Deut. xxxiii. 17-a passage closely resembling the present-from which it appears that the reem had more than one horn.)

out of Egypt; he hath as it were the strength of an unicorn. (23)Surely there is no enchantment against Jacob, neither is there any divination against Israel: according to this time it shall be said of Jacob and of Israel, What hath God wrought! (24) Behold, the people shall rise up as a great lion, and lift up himself as a young lion: he shall not lie down until he eat of the prey, and drink the blood of the slain.

(25) And Balak said unto Balaam, Neither curse them at all, nor bless them at all. (26) But Balaam answered and said unto Balak, Told not I thee, saying, All that the LORD speaketh, that I must do ?

(27) And Balak said unto Balaam, Come, I pray thee, I will bring thee unto another place; peradventure it will please God that thou mayest curse me them from thence. (28) And Balak brought Balaam unto the top of Peor, that looketh toward Jeshimon. (29) And Balaam said unto Balak, Build me here seven altars, and prepare me here seven bullocks and seven rams. (30) And Balak

66

He

Heb.,

Prophecieth the Happiness of Israel.

up his parable, and said,

b

Israelites. It looked toward, or over the face of Jeshimon, i.e., the waste (or, desert). See chap. xxi. 20. XXIV.

(1) He set his face toward the wilderness. i.e., towards the place where the Israelites were encamped on the steppes of Moab.

(2) Abiding in his tents .-i.e., encamped according to the order prescribed for the respective tribes. The cognate noun is rendered tabernacles in verse 5.

And the spirit of God came upon him.— In regard to the two former utterances, it is said that Jehovah put a word in the mouth of Balaam (chap. xxiii. 5, 15). In the present case the Spirit of God came upon (or, over) him. The same expression is used of the messengers of Saul (1 Sam. xix. 20), and of Saul himself (Ibid, ver. 23). The prophecy of Caiaphas (John xi. 15) affords another instance of the sovereign power of the Spirit as displayed through the medium of wicked men.

(3) Balaam the son of Beor hath said.-The Hebrew word (neum) is imperfectly rendered by hath said. It is the word which is commonly used in the prophetical books of Scripture to denote a Divine saying, and is rarely used when a human author is named. It occurs in the Pentateuch only in Gen. xxii. 16, Num. xiv. 28, and in this chapter, where it is found in verses 3, 4, 15, and 16.

The man whose eyes are open.-There is great diversity of opinion respecting the meaning of the word which is here rendered open, and which, as it is here written, occurs in no other place. If shatham is identified with satham, it means to close, not to open. The meaning, however, of this verse is sufficiently explained by that which follows, whichever rendering of the word shethum is adopted. Balaam appears to have been thrown into an ecstatic state, as was Saul, and as were many of the ancient prophets; and whilst the eye of the outer senses was closed, the eye of the inner senses was preternaturally opened.

(4) Falling into a trance, but having his eyes open.-Better, falling (upon his face), and having his eyes opened. The physical effect produced upon Balaam appears to have been the same as that which was produced upon Saul (1 Sam. xix. 24), upon Ezekiel (chap. i. 28), upon Daniel (chap. viii. 17, 18), and upon St.

(8) God brought him forth out of Egypt; he hath as it were the strength of an unicorn: he shall eat up the nations his enemies, and shall break their bones, and pierce them through with his arrows. (9) He couched, he lay down as a lion, and as a great lion :

John (Rev. i. 17). The word which is here rendered "open" (gelui) is a different word from that which is so rendered in verse 2, and is frequently used in reference to Divine communications and spiritual intuition. There may be a reference to the events which befel Balaam on his journey (chap. xxii. 31).

(6) As gardens by the river's side.-It is probable that the allusion may be to the Euphrates, although the definite article is not prefixed to the word nahar (river) in the Hebrew. (Comp. Isa. vii. 20.)

As cedar trees beside the waters.-The difference between cedars which grow beside running water which their roots can reach, and the ordinary type of cedars which throw out their strength in lateral branches is illustrated in Ezek. xxxi. 3, 4, where the proud Assyrian is compared to a cedar having "his top among the thick boughs" (or, the clouds), which "the waters made great." (Comp. Pss. i. 3, xcii. 12.)

(7) He shall pour the water out of his buckets.-Better, Water shall flow from his buckets; or, he shall flow with water from his buckets. The nation is personified as a man carrying two buckets full of water, which was the type and leading source of blessing and prosperity in the East. This is a beautiful image, as Bishop Wordsworth has observed, of the true Israel "pouring out the living waters of salvation, the pure streams of the Spirit, and making the wilderness of the world to rejoice and be glad."

His seed shall be in many waters.-This may mean that Israel should inhabit Canaan-" a land of brooks of water" (Deut. viii. 7, xi. 11); or it may mean that, like seed sown and trees planted by the waters (Isa. xxxii. 20, xliv. 4, lxv. 22, 23), they should inherit the richest blessings.

His king shall be higher than Agag Agag appears to have been the title (nomen dignitatis) of the Amalekite kings, as Pharaoh of the Egyptian and Abimelech of the Philistine kings. The reference does not seem to be to any particular king, but to the kingdom which should hereafter be established in Israelto the kings, generally, which should come out of the loins of Abraham (Gen. xvii. 6, xxxv. 11).

(8) God brought him forth out of Egypt.— (Comp. chap. xxiii. 22, and Note.)

(9) He couched, he lay down as a lion, and as a great lion.-The Hebrew labi (great lion) should

who shall stir him up? Blessed is he that blesseth thee, and cursed is he that curseth thee.

(10) And Balak's anger was kindled against Balaam, and he smote his hands together: and Balak said unto Balaam, I called thee to curse mine enemies, and, behold, thou hast altogether blessed them these three times. (11) Therefore now flee thou to thy place: I thought to promote thee unto great honour; but, lo, the LORD hath kept thee back from honour.

(12) And Balaam said unto Balak, Spake I not also to thy messengers which thou sentest unto me, saying, (13) If Balak would give me his house full of silver and gold, I cannot go

be rendered "a lioness," as in chap. xxiii. 24. The image of a lion connects this verse with the preceding verse: "he shall eat up the nations." (See Note on chap. xxiii. 24.)

Blessed is he that blesseth thee .-Compare the original blessing which was pronounced upon Abraham by the Lord (Gen. xii. 3), and which was afterwards adopted by Isaac in the blessing which he pronounced upon Jacob (Gen. xxvii. 29).

(10) And he smote his hands together.-The smiting the hands was a token of strong feeling, whether of scorn, of indignation, or of despair. (Comp. Job xxvii. 23; Lam. ii. 15.)

(11) The Lord hath kept thee back from honour. These words may have been spoken ironically, or Balak may have been convinced of the supernatural influence under which the words of Balaam were uttered. (See chap. xxiii. 27, and Note.)

(13) I cannot go beyond the commandment of the Lord.-Hebrew, the mouth of the Lord: the same expression which is used in chap. xxii. 18, where the Authorised Version has the word of the Lord."

(14) I go unto my people.-Such was, probably, the intention of Balaam when he spoke these words. The account of the death of Balaam, however, shows that he still lingered amongst the Moabites. I will advertise thee -The word which is here employed generally means to advise. The announcement which Balaam made to Balak virtually included advice, inasmuch as it foretold the supremacy of Israel over all their foes, and, consequently, implied the folly of opposition to their progress. It does not appear whether it was or was not at this time that Balaam "taught Balac to cast a stumbling block before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit fornication" (Rev. ii. 14). In any case, there does not appear to be any reference to such advice in this verse, although it is inserted in the Targum of Palestine in this place.

In the latter days.-Literally, in the end of the days. (See Gen. xlix. 1, where the same expression occurs, and Note.) The prophecy which follows refers exclusively to the future; and it is divided into four parts by the recurrence of the words "He took up his parable" at verses 15, 20, 21, 23.

Balaam's Prophecy.

beyond the commandment of the LORD, to do either good or bad of mine own mind; but what the LORD saith, that will I speak? (14) And now, behold, I go unto my people: come therefore, and I will advertise thee what this people shall do to thy people in the latter days. (15) And he took up his parable, and said,

Balaam the son of Beor hath said, and the man whose eyes are open hath said: (16) He hath said, which heard the words of God, and knew the knowledge of the most High, which saw the vision of the Almighty, falling into a trance, but having his eyes open: (17) I shall see him, but not now: I shall behold him, but not nigh: there shall come a Star out of Jacob, and a Sceptre shall rise

it), but not now; I behold him (or, it), but not nigh. The reference cannot be to Israel, whose armies were encamped before the eyes of Balaam. His words must be understood as having reference to One whom he beheld with the eyes of his mind, not with his bodily sight. This is obvious from the words which follow. Balaam beholds in vision a Star and a Sceptre, not as having already appeared, but as about to appear in the future.

There shall come a Star out of Jacob -Literally, There hath come forth a Star out of Jacob, &c. The verb is in the prophetic past or historic tense of prophecy, denoting the certainty of the event predicted. (Comp. Jude, verse 14: "Behold the Lord cometh"-literally, came.) If there is any ambiguity in the first symbol it is removed in the second. A star is a fitting image of an illustrious king or ruler, and the mention of the sceptre in the words which follow (comp. Gen. xlix. 10) shows that it is so employed in the present instance. The Targum of Onkelos is as follows:

"When the King shall arise out of Jacob, and the Messiah shall be anointed from Israel." The Targum of Palestine reads thus:-"A King is to arise from the house of Jacob, and a Redeemer and Ruler from the house of Israel." Ibn Ezra interprets these words of David, but he says that many interpret them of the Messiah. It seems to have been with reference to this prophecy that the pretender to the title of the Messiah in the days of the Emperor Adrian took the name of Bar-cochab, or Bar-cochba (the son of a star). The words of the Magi, "We have seen his star in the East" (Matt. ii. 2), appear to have reference to this prophecy.

And shall smite the corners of Moab.-Or, the two sides of Moab. The prophecy was partially, or typically, fulfilled in the time of David (2 Sam. viii. 2). Moab and Edom represented symbolically the enemies of Christ and of His Church, and as such will eventually be subdued by the King of kings. (Comp. Ps. lx. 8.)

And destroy all the children of Sheth.Better, and destroy (or, break down; comp. Isa. xxii. 5)