Numbers 24:1-10

The Prophecy from Peor

1 When Balaam saw that it pleased * the LORD to bless Israel, he did not go as at other times to seek ¹omens but he set his face toward the ²wilderness.

2 And Balaam lifted up his eyes and saw Israel camping tribe by tribe; and ³the Spirit of God came upon him.

3 He took up his discourse and said, "⁴The oracle of Balaam the son of Beor, And the oracle of the man whose eye is opened;

4 The oracle of him who ⁵hears the words of God, Who sees the ⁶vision of the Almighty, Falling down, yet having his eyes uncovered,

5 How fair are your tents, O Jacob, Your dwellings, O Israel!

6 "Like valleys that stretch out, Like gardens beside the river, Like ⁷aloes planted by the LORD, Like ⁸cedars beside the waters.

7 "Water will flow from his buckets, And his seed will be by many waters, And his king shall be higher than ⁹Agag, ¹⁰And his kingdom shall be exalted.

8 "¹¹God brings him out of Egypt, He is for him like the horns of the wild ox. ¹²He will devour the nations who are his adversaries, And will crush their bones in pieces, And shatter them with his ¹³arrows.

9 "¹⁴He couches, he lies down as a lion, And as a lion, who dares rouse him? ¹⁵Blessed is everyone who blesses you, And cursed is everyone who curses you."

10 Then Balak's anger burned against Balaam, and he struck his hands together; and Balak said to Balaam, "I called you to curse my enemies, but behold, you have persisted in blessing them these three times!

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Numbers 24:1-10 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO NUMBERS 24

In this chapter we are told, that Balaam leaving his enchantments, the Spirit of God came on him, and he spake of the happiness of Israel, and prophesied of their future greatness and glory, Nu 24:1-9 which so exasperated Balak, that he ordered him at once to depart from him, Nu 24:10,11. Balaam justified himself in what he said and did, and suggested that before they parted, he had something to say in a prophetic manner, concerning what Israel should do to Moab in "future" times, Nu 24:12-14 and then prophesies concerning the Messiah, and the destruction of Moab, and of some neighbouring nations, and even of some at a greater distance, as the Assyrians and Romans, Nu 24:15-25.

Taken from John Gill's Exposition of the Bible

Cross References 15

1. Numbers 22:7; Numbers 23:23
2. Numbers 23:28
3. Numbers 11:26; 1 Samuel 19:20; Revelation 1:10
4. Numbers 24:15, 16
5. Numbers 22:20
6. Genesis 15:1; Numbers 12:6
7. Psalms 45:8
8. Psalms 1:3
9. Numbers 24:20; 1 Samuel 15:8
10. Psalms 145:11-13
11. Numbers 23:22
12. Numbers 23:24; Psalms 2:9
13. Psalms 45:5
14. Genesis 49:9; Numbers 23:24
15. Genesis 12:3; Genesis 27:29

Footnotes 11

[a]. Lit "was good in the eyes of"
[b]. Lit "encounter"
[c]. Lit "dwelling"
[d]. Lit "parable," and so throughout the ch
[e]. Lit "sayings"
[f]. Heb "Shaddai"
[g]. Or possibly "palm trees"
[h]. Lit "bows down"
[i]. Or "lioness"
[j]. Lit "shall"
[k]. Lit "palms"