Numbers 24:2

2 When Balaam looked up and saw Israel encamped tribe by tribe, the Spirit of God^[a] descended on him,

Numbers 24:2 Meaning and Commentary

Numbers 24:2

And Balaam lifted up his eyes
Being on Mount Peor:

and he saw Israel abiding in his tents according to their tribes;
in that exact order in which they were directed to encamp under four standards, and so many tribes under each standard, ( Numbers 2:1-34 )

and the Spirit of God came upon him;
not in his grace but in his gifts; not as a spirit of sanctification, but as a spirit of prophecy, as the Targums of Onkelos and Jonathan paraphrase it; and so sometimes the Spirit of God in this sense has come upon wicked men, as on Caiaphas and others, ( John 11:51 ) ( Matthew 7:22 Matthew 7:23 ) .

Numbers 24:2 In-Context

1 Since Balaam saw that it pleased the Lord to bless Israel, he did not go to seek omens as on previous occasions, but turned toward the wilderness.

2 When Balaam looked up and saw Israel encamped tribe by tribe, the Spirit of God descended on him,

3 and he proclaimed his poem: The oracle of Balaam son of Beor, the oracle of the man whose eyes are opened,

4 the oracle of one who hears the sayings of God, who sees a vision from the Almighty, who falls [into a trance] with [his] eyes uncovered:

5 How beautiful are your tents, Jacob, your dwellings, Israel.

Footnotes

• [a]. Nm 11:17,25-26,29; Ex 35:31; 1 Sm 10:10