Numbers 24:18

18 Edom will be conquered, and Seir, his enemy, will be conquered. So Israel will become wealthy.

Numbers 24:18 Meaning and Commentary

Numbers 24:18

And Edom shall be a possession
Of the children of Israel, which was fulfilled in part when the Edomites became the servants of David, ( 2 Samuel 8:14 ) and when they were smitten and spoiled by Judas Maccabeus,

them a great overthrow, and abated their courage, and took their spoils.'' (1 Maccabees 5:3)

and still more so when all the Edomites or the Idumaeans were subdued by Hyrcanus, and they became one people with the Jews, and conformed to their religious rites; which is not only related by Josephus F14, but by Strabo F15, an Heathen historian, who says, that they joined themselves to the Jews, and embraced their laws: but in a spiritual sense this has had a greater accomplishment in the calling of the Gentiles, and introducing them into the church of God; see ( Amos 9:12 ) compared with ( Acts 15:14-17 ) .

Seir also shall be a possession for his enemies;
which was a mount in the land of Edom where Esau formerly dwelt, and so signifies the same as before: and also that the most strong and fortified places of the land should fall into the hands of their enemies; (See Gill on Obadiah 1:17) (See Gill on Obadiah 1:18) (See Gill on Obadiah 1:19)

Israel shall do valiantly;
in fighting with and conquering the Edomites, or shall get much wealth and riches by the spoil of them, see ( Psalms 60:9 Psalms 60:12 ) . This, and the following verse, are in some ancient writings of the Jews F16 interpreted of the times of the Messiah.


FOOTNOTES:

F14 Antiqu. l. 13. c. 9. sect. 1.
F15 Geograph. l. 16. p. 523.
F16 Zohar in Numb. fol. 85. 4. & 86. 1.

Numbers 24:18 In-Context

16 This is the message of the one who hears the words of God, receives knowledge from the Most High, has a vision from the Almighty, and falls [into a trance] with his eyes open:
17 I see someone who is not here now. I look at someone who is not nearby. A star will come from Jacob. A scepter will rise from Israel. He will crush the heads of the Moabites and destroy all the people of Sheth.
18 Edom will be conquered, and Seir, his enemy, will be conquered. So Israel will become wealthy.
19 He will rule from Jacob and destroy whoever is left in their cities."
20 Then Balaam saw the Amalekites and delivered this message: "Amalek was first among the nations, but in the end it will be destroyed."
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