Discovery BoxNumbers 22:12 
Context22:12 But God said to Balaam, “You must not go with them; you must not curse the people, 1 for they are blessed.” 2
Numbers 22:16
Context22:16 And they came to Balaam and said to him, “Thus says Balak son of Zippor: ‘Please do not let anything hinder you from coming 3 to me.
Numbers 22:28-29
Context22:28 Then the Lord opened the mouth of the donkey, and she said to Balaam, “What have I done to you that you have beaten me these three times?” 22:29 And Balaam said to the donkey, “You have made me look stupid; I wish 4 there were a sword in my hand, for I would kill you right now.”
Numbers 22:41
Context22:41 Then on the next morning Balak took Balaam, and brought him up to Bamoth Baal. 5 From there he saw the extent of the nation.
Numbers 23:4-5
Context23:4 Then God met Balaam, who 6 said to him, “I have prepared seven altars, and I have offered on each altar a bull and a ram.” 23:5 Then the Lord put a message 7 in Balaam’s mouth and said, “Return to Balak, and speak what I tell you.” 8
Numbers 23:11
Context23:11 Then Balak said to Balaam, “What have you done to me? I brought you to curse my enemies, but on the contrary 9 you have only blessed them!” 10
Numbers 23:16
Context23:16 Then the Lord met Balaam and put a message 11 in his mouth and said, “Return to Balak, and speak what I tell you.”
Numbers 23:27
Context23:27 Balak said to Balaam, “Come, please; I will take you to another place. Perhaps it will please God 12 to let you curse them for me from there.” 13
Numbers 24:2-3
Context24:2 When Balaam lifted up his eyes, he saw Israel camped tribe by tribe; 14 and the Spirit of God came upon him. 24:3 Then he uttered this oracle: 15
“The oracle 16 of Balaam son of Beor;
the oracle of the man whose eyes are open; 17
Numbers 24:15
Context24:15 Then he uttered this oracle: 18
“The oracle of Balaam son of Beor;
the oracle of the man whose eyes are open;
Numbers 24:20
Context24:20 Then Balaam 19 looked on Amalek and delivered this oracle: 20
“Amalek was the first 21 of the nations,
but his end will be that he will perish.”
1 tn The two verbs are negated imperfects; they have the nuance of prohibition: You must not go and you must not curse.
2 tn The word בָּרוּךְ (barukh) is the Qal passive participle, serving here as the predicate adjective after the supplied verb “to be.” The verb means “enrich,” in any way, materially, spiritually, physically. But the indication here is that the blessing includes the promised blessing of the patriarchs, a blessing that gave Israel the land. See further, C. Westermann, Blessing in the Bible and the Life of the Church (OBT).
3 tn The infinitive construct is the object of the preposition.
4 tn The optative clause is introduced with the particle לוּ (lu).
5 sn The name Bamoth Baal means “the high places of Baal.”
6 tn The relative pronoun is added here in place of the conjunction to clarify that Balaam is speaking to God and not vice versa.
7 tn Heb “word.”
8 tn Heb “and thus you shall speak.”
9 tn The Hebrew text uses הִנֵּה (hinneh) here to stress the contrast.
10 tn The construction is emphatic, using the perfect tense and the infinitive absolute to give it the emphasis. It would have the force of “you have done nothing but bless,” or “you have indeed blessed.” The construction is reminiscent of the call of Abram and the promise of the blessing in such elaborate terms.
11 tn Heb “word.”
12 tn Heb “be pleasing in the eyes of God.”
13 sn Balak is stubborn, as indeed Balaam is persistent. But Balak still thinks that if another location were used it just might work. Balaam had actually told Balak in the prophecy that other attempts would fail. But Balak refuses to give up so easily. So he insists they perform the ritual and try again. This time, however, Balaam will change his approach, and this will result in a dramatic outpouring of power on him.
14 tn Heb “living according to their tribes.”
15 tn Heb “and he took up his oracle and said.”
16 tn The word נְאֻם (nÿ’um) is an “oracle.” It is usually followed by a subjective genitive, indicating the doer of the action. The word could be rendered “says,” but this translations is more specific.
17 tn The Greek version reads “the one who sees truly.” The word has been interpreted in both ways, “shut” or “open.”
18 tn Heb “and he took up his oracle and said.”
19 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Balaam) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
20 tn Heb “and he lifted up his oracle and said.” So also in vv. 21, 23.
21 sn This probably means that it held first place, or it thought that it was “the first of the nations.” It was not the first, either in order or greatness.
