Numbers 24:18

18 Edom will be a captive; Seir, its enemies, will be a captive, and Israel [will be] acting {courageously}.

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 the declaration of the hearer of God's words, and the knower of the knowledge of the Most High, who sees the vision of Shaddai, who is falling, and [his] eyes [are] revealed.
17 I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near; a star will go out from Jacob, and a scepter will rise from Israel; it will crush the foreheads of Moab and destroy all the children of Seth.
18 Edom will be a captive; Seir, its enemies, will be a captive, and Israel [will be] acting {courageously}.
19 Someone from Jacob will rule and will destroy a remnant from the city."
20 And he looked [at] Amalek, {uttered} his oracle, and said, "Amalek [is] first of [the] nations, but his future [will be] forever ruin."

Footnotes 1

  • [a]. Literally "[with] physical strength"
Scripture quotations marked (LEB) are from the Lexham English Bible. Copyright 2012 Logos Bible Software. Lexham is a registered trademark of Logos Bible Software.