Numbers 22:8

22:8 He replied to them, “Stay 1  here tonight, and I will bring back to you whatever word the Lord may speak to me.” So the princes of Moab stayed with Balaam.

Numbers 22:13

22:13 So Balaam got up in the morning, and said to the princes of Balak, “Go to your land, 2  for the Lord has refused to permit me to go 3  with you.”

Numbers 22:35

22:35 But the angel of the Lord said to Balaam, “Go with the men, but you may only speak 4  the word that I will speak to you.” 5  So Balaam went with the princes of Balak.

Numbers 23:17

23:17 When Balaam 6  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?”

1 tn The verb לִין (lin) means “to lodge, spend the night.” The related noun is “a lodge” – a hotel of sorts. Balaam needed to consider the offer. And after darkness was considered the best time for diviners to consult with their deities. Balaam apparently knows of the Lord; he testifies to this effect in 22:18.

2 tc The LXX adds “to your lord.”

3 tn The main verb is the Piel perfect, “he has refused.” This is followed by two infinitives. The first (לְתִתִּי, lÿtitti) serves as a complement or direct object of the verb, answering the question of what he refused to do – “to give me.” The second infinitive (לַהֲלֹךְ, lahalokh) provides the object for the preceding infinitive: “to grant me to go.”

4 tn The imperfect tense here can be given the nuance of permission.

5 tn The Hebrew word order is a little more emphatic than this: “but only the word which I speak to you, it you shall speak.”

6 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Balaam) has been specified in the translation for clarity.