Discovery BoxNumbers 21:1 
Context21:1 1 When the Canaanite king of Arad 2 who lived in the Negev 3 heard that Israel was approaching along the road to Atharim, he fought against Israel and took some of them prisoner.
Numbers 21:33
Context21:33 Then they turned and went up by the road to Bashan. And King Og of Bashan and all his forces 4 marched out against them to do battle at Edrei.
Numbers 23:7
Context23:7 Then Balaam 5 uttered 6 his oracle, saying,
“Balak, the king of Moab, brought me 7 from Aram,
out of the mountains of the east, saying,
‘Come, pronounce a curse on Jacob for me;
come, denounce Israel.’ 8
Numbers 23:21
Context23:21 He 9 has not looked on iniquity in Jacob, 10
nor has he seen trouble 11 in Israel.
The Lord their God is with them;
his acclamation 12 as king is among them.
Numbers 24:7
Context24:7 He will pour the water out of his buckets, 13
and their descendants will be like abundant 14 water; 15
their king will be greater than Agag, 16
and their kingdom will be exalted.
1 sn This chapter has several events in it: the victory over Arad (vv. 1-3), the plague of serpents (vv. 4-9), the approach to Moab (vv. 10-20), and the victory over Sihon and Og (vv. 21-35). For information, see D. M. Gunn, “The ‘Battle Report’: Oral or Scribal Convention.” JBL 93 (1974): 513-18; and of the extensive literature on the archaeological site, see EAEHL 1:74-89.
2 sn The name Arad probably refers to a place a number of miles away from Tel Arad in southern Israel. The name could also refer to the whole region (like Edom).
3 tn Or “the south”; “Negev” has become a technical name for the southern desert region and is still in use in modern times.
4 tn Heb “people.”
5 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Balaam) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
6 tn Heb “took up.”
7 tn The passage calls for a past tense translation; since the verb form is a prefixed conjugation, this tense should be classified as a preterite without the vav (ו). Such forms do occur, especially in the ancient poetic passages.
8 sn The opening lines seem to be a formula for the seer to identify himself and the occasion for the oracle. The tension is laid out early; Balaam knows that God has intended to bless Israel, but he has been paid to curse them.
9 tn These could be understood as impersonal and so rendered “no one has discovered.”
10 sn The line could mean that God has regarded Israel as the ideal congregation without any blemish or flaw. But it could also mean that God has not looked on their iniquity, meaning, held it against them.
11 tn The word means “wrong, misery, trouble.” It can mean the idea of “disaster” as well, for that too is trouble. Here it is parallel to “iniquity” and so has the connotation of something that would give God reason to curse them.
12 tn The people are blessed because God is their king. In fact, the shout of acclamation is among them – they are proclaiming the
13 tc For this colon the LXX has “a man shall come out of his seed.” Cf. the Syriac Peshitta and Targum.
14 tn Heb “many.”
15 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.
16 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.
