Numbers 22:20-30

20 God came to Bil'am during the night and said to him, "If the men have come to summon you, get up and go with them; but do only what I tell you."

21 So Bil'am got up in the morning, saddled his donkey and went with the princes of Mo'av.

22 But God's anger flared up because he went, and the angel of ADONAI stationed himself on the path to bar his way. He was riding on his donkey, and his two servants were with him.

23 The donkey saw the angel of ADONAI standing on the road, drawn sword in hand; so the donkey turned off the road into the field; and Bil'am had to beat the donkey to get it back on the road.

24 Then the angel of ADONAI stood on the road where it became narrow as it passed among the vineyards and had stone walls on both sides.

25 The donkey saw the angel of ADONAI and pushed up against the wall, crushing Bil'am's foot against the wall. So he beat it again.

26 The angel of ADONAI moved ahead and stood in a place so tight that there was no room to turn either right or left.

27 Again the donkey saw the angel of ADONAI and lay down under Bil'am, which made him so angry that he hit the donkey with his stick.

28 But ADONAI enabled the donkey to speak, and it said to Bil'am, "What have I done to you to make you beat me these three times?"

29 Bil'am said to the donkey, "It's because you've been making a fool of me! I wish I had a sword in my hand; I would kill you on the spot!"

30 The donkey said to Bil'am, "I'm your donkey, right? You've ridden me all your life, right? Have I ever treated you like this before?""No," he admitted.

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Numbers 22:20-30 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO NUMBERS 22

The children of Israel being come into the plains of Moab, put the king of Moab into a panic, who expressed his fears to the elders of Midian, Nu 22:1-4 and sent for Balaam the soothsayer to curse the people of Israel, but he, upon consulting the Lord refused to come, Nu 22:5-14, on which the king of Moab sent to him a second time, making large promises of preferment to him, and who at this time got leave from the Lord to go with the messengers, Nu 22:15-21, but was met with in the way by an angel of the Lord, who would have slain him had it not been for his ass, of which a very wonderful revelation is given, Nu 22:22-35, and the chapter is closed with the interview between Balak king of Moab and Balaam, and an account of what passed between them, and what was done by them, Nu 22:36-41.

Taken from John Gill's Exposition of the Bible

Numbers 22:20-30

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Numbers 22:20-30 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO NUMBERS 22