Bamidbar 23:11

11 And Balak said unto Balaam, What hast thou done unto me? I brought thee to curse mine enemies, and, hinei, thou hast altogether put a brocha on them.

Bamidbar 23:11 Meaning and Commentary

Numbers 23:11

And Balak said unto Balaam, what hast thou done unto me?
&c.] Or "for me" F6; nothing at all, to answer his purpose, or his end in sending for him;

I took thee to curse mine enemies:
so he calls the Israelites, though they had never done him any wrong; nor committed any acts of hostility against him, nor showed any intention to commit any; nay, were forbidden by the Lord their God to contend in battle with him and his people;

and, behold, thou hast blessed them altogether;
or, "in blessing blessed" F7, done nothing but bless them, and that with many blessings, or pronounced them blessed, and prophesied of their blessedness, for their number, their safety, and of their happiness, not only in life, but at and after death.


FOOTNOTES:

F6 (yl) "pro me".
F7 (Krb tkrb) "benedixisti benedicendo", Pagninus, Montanus, Piscator.

Bamidbar 23:11 In-Context

9 For from the top of the rocks I see him, and from the heights I behold him; see, the people shall live apart, and shall not be reckoned among the Goyim.
10 Who can count the dust of Ya’akov, and the number of the fourth part of Yisroel? Let my nefesh die the death of the yesharim (righteous ones), and let my latter end be like his!
11 And Balak said unto Balaam, What hast thou done unto me? I brought thee to curse mine enemies, and, hinei, thou hast altogether put a brocha on them.
12 And he answered and said, Must I not take heed to speak that which Hashem hath put in my mouth?
13 And Balak said unto him, Come with me unto another place, from where thou mayest see them; thou shalt see part but not all of them, and curse them for me from there.
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