This chapter gives an account of the sacrifices offered by Balak and Balaam, and how God met Balsam, and put a word into his mouth, which he delivered in the presence of the king of Moab and his princes, Num.

And Balaam said unto Balak When upon one of the high places of Baal, and after having taken a view of the people of Israel as they lay encamped: build me here seven altars; this was purely Heathenish; for not only the Israelites after the law of Moses had but one altar, but the patriarchs before…

And Balak did as Balaam had spoken Ordered seven altars to be built, and prepared seven bullocks and rams for sacrifice: and Balak and Balsam offered on every altar a bullock and a ram; both seem to be concerned in offering the sacrifices; Balak, though a king, it being usual for kings to be…

And Balaam said unto Balak, stand by thy burnt offering By which it appears that the sacrifices offered were of this sort, and there might be one, which was more peculiarly the burnt offering of Balak; though he might be more or less with Balaam concerned in them all; at which he was directed to…

And God met Balaam Not in a kind and gracious manner; not out of any respect to him and his offerings; not to indulge him with any spiritual communion with him; nor to communicate his mind and will to him as a friend of his; not to gratify his desires, and grant the request of the king of Moab, or…

And the Lord put a word in Balaam’s mouth &c.] Not grace into his heart, nor the fear of God within him, but suggested to him what to say; impressed it strongly on him, that he could not forget it, and with such power and weight, that he was obliged to deliver it: and said, return unto Balak, and…

And he returned unto him Immediately, as soon as he was told what to say: and, lo, he stood by his burnt sacrifice; continued in his devotions, hoping for success, and waiting for Balaam’s return: he and all the princes of Moab; not only those that were sent to Balaam, but perhaps all the princes…

And he took up his parable, and said Pronounced the word, the prophetic word, which God had put into his mouth; so the Targums of Jonathan and Jerusalem call it, the parable of his prophecy; so called, because, in prophecies, often figurative and enigmatical expressions are used, and also…

How shall I curse whom God hath not cursed? &c.] The sense is, that it was impossible for him to curse those that God did not curse himself, or would not have cursed by others; not but that he had a good will to it, to get Balak’s money and honour, but he knew not how to accomplish it; yea, he saw…

For from the top of the rocks I see him, and from the hills I behold him That is, Israel in their camps; Balaam being at this time on the top of a rock, or on an high hill, from whence he had a view of Israel, encamped in the plains of Moab below him: lo, the people shall dwell alone; this…

Who can count, the dust of Jacob The people of Israel, their posterity so called, not because of their original, the dust of the earth, but because of their numbers, being as numerous as the dust of the earth, or sand of the sea, as it was promised they should be, and which is here confirmed by the…

And Balak said unto Balaam, what hast thou done unto me? &c.] Or “for me” [[5]]; nothing at all, to answer his purpose, or his end in sending for him; I took thee to curse mine enemies: so he calls the Israelites, though they had never done him any wrong; nor committed any acts of hostility against…

And he answered and said By reply to Balak: must I not take heed to speak that which the Lord hath put in my mouth? pretending a great regard to the word of God, and to great carefulness to speak it, exactly and punctually as he received it, whereas he was forced to it, and could not do otherwise.

And Balak said unto him Seemingly satisfied with his answer, however, he could not help himself, and was willing to make the best of him he could, and try what he could do with him another time and elsewhere: come, I pray thee, with me unto another place, from whence thou mayest see them; for he…

And he brought him into the field of Zophim Or Sede Tzophim, as Hillerus [[8]] reads it, so called from the watch tower, and watchmen in it: Jarchi says, it was a high place, where a watchman stood to observe if an army came against a city, and so a very proper place to take a view of the armies of…

And he said unto Balak, stand here by thy burnt offering As he had before directed him, while I meet the Lord yonder; pointing to some place at a little distance, where he expected to meet the Lord, and have some instructions from him, which he seemed confident of, having met with him once already.

And the Lord met Balaam, and put a word in his mouth As he did before, . and said, go again unto Balak, and say thus; the words which are expressed in .

And when he came to him, behold, he stood by his burnt offering As before; and the princes of Moab with him; Jarchi observes, that before it is said, all the princes of Moab, but not so here; for when they saw there was no hope of succeeding, some of them went away, and only some were left: and…

And he took up his parable Pronounced the word put into his mouth, and said, rise up Balak, and hear; not from his seat, as Eglon a successor of his did, for he was now standing by his burnt offering; but the sense is, that he would raise his attention, and stir up himself with all diligence to…

God is not a man, that he should lie Man is a creature consisting of a body of flesh and blood, and of a soul, a created and finite spirit; but God, though he has the parts of an human body ascribed to him in a figurative sense, yet is not to be conceived of in a corporeal manner; and though he is…

Behold, I have received commandment to bless The people of Israel, to pronounce a blessing upon them, to declare them a happy people: and he hath blessed, and I cannot reverse it; God has blessed them, has determined to bless them, has promised to bless them, has blessed them in the victories he…

He hath not beheld iniquity in Jacob, neither hath he seen perverseness in Israel Not that there was no sin in them, nor any observed by the Lord; yet not so as to mark it in strict justice, and punish for it; but he forgave it, hid his face from it, and did not impute it to them; all the three…

God brought them out of Egypt With a mighty hand and stretched out arm, and he will conduct them through the wilderness, and bring them safe to Canaan’s land; he that brought them from thence will not suffer them to perish by any means; it is in vain to attempt to curse a people that is in such…

Surely there is no enchantment against Jacob, neither is there any divination against Israel Balaam here owns, that all his enchantments and divinations signified nothing, and would never prevail to bring a curse upon Israel; it was a vain thing for him to use them, and as vain for Balak to expect…

Behold, the people shall rise up as a great lion Or rather, “as the lioness” [[12]], which, as Aelianus says [[13]], is the strongest and most warlike beast, the most fierce and furious, as is believed both by Greeks and Barbarians; and he mentions the heroism of Perdiccas the Macedonian, and…

And Balak said unto Balaam, neither curse them at all, nor bless them at all. ] Signifying that it would be as well or better to do nothing at all, than to do what he did; but the sense is not, that he would not have him curse them, that he could never say, since he had pressed it both before and…

But Balaam answered and said unto Balak, told not I thee He appeals to him for his honesty and faithfulness, for honest and faithful he would be thought to be, both to God and man; that when he first met him, he plainly told him what he must expect: from him: saying, all that the Lord speaketh,…

And Balak said unto Balaam, come, I pray thee Come along with me: I will bring thee unto another place: if not better for the view of the people, yet a more religious place, on which account the king hoped for success: peradventure it will please God that thou mayest curse me them from thence; it…

And Balak brought Balaam to the top of Peor The name of an high mountain in Moab, so called from a gap or opening in it; here the idol Baal was worshipped, and from hence had the name of Baalpeor, and here, very probably, was a temple built to the honour of him, called Bethpeor, the house or temple…

And Balaam said unto Balak Being willing to try again what could be done, and to gratify the king, and especially to get the wages of unrighteousness, if possible, which he dearly loved, as the apostle says, build me here seven altars, and prepare me here seven bullocks and seven rams; which had…

And Balak did as Balaam had said Though the sacrifices were expensive, he did not grudge them; he spared no cost to gain his point, though he now could have but little hope of it: and offered a bullock and a ram on every altar; as he had done before, (Num. 23:2, Num. 23:14) .