Numbers 24:2

2 Balaam looked up and saw Israel camping by tribes. Then God's spirit came 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 Balaam saw that it pleased the LORD to bless the Israelites, so he didn't go as the other times to seek omens. Instead, he turned toward the desert.

2 Balaam looked up and saw Israel camping by tribes. Then God's spirit came on him.

3 He raised his voice and made his address: "The oracle of Balaam, Beor's son; the oracle of a man whose eye is open.

4 The oracle of one who hears God's speech, who perceives the Almighty's visions, who falls down with eyes uncovered.

5 How beautiful are your tents, Jacob, your camps, Israel!