Numbers 23:7

7 he made his pronouncement: "Balak, the king of Mo'av, brings me from Aram, from the eastern hills, saying, 'Come, curse Ya'akov for me; come and denounce Isra'el.'

Numbers 23:7 Meaning and Commentary

Numbers 23:7

And he took up his parable, and said
Pronounced the word, the prophetic word, which God had put into his mouth; so the Targums of Jonathan and Jerusalem call it, the parable of his prophecy; so called, because, in prophecies, often figurative and enigmatical expressions are used, and also sententious and weighty ones, either of which are sometimes called parables; see ( Psalms 78:2 ) ( Job 27:1 ) ( 29:1 ) ( Proverbs 1:6 ) ,

Balak the king of Moab hath brought me from Aram;
or Syria, that is, from Mesopotamia, as the Septuagint translate it; and so the Targum of Jonathan, from Aram or Syria, which is by Euphrates:

out of the mountains of the east:
it being the mountainous part of Mesopotamia or Chaldea, where Balaam dwelt, which lay to the east of the land of Moab:

saying, come, curse me Jacob, and come, defy Israel;
he owns that this was Balak's view in sending for him; nor does he deny that be himself came with such an intention, could he be able to execute it; even curse the people of Israel, with the utmost abhorrence and detestation of them, and in the most furious and wrathful manner, as the last word used signifies.

Numbers 23:7 In-Context

5 Then ADONAI put a word in Bil'am's mouth and said, "Go on back to Balak, and speak as I tell you."

6 He went back to him, and there, standing by his burnt offering, he with all the princes of Mo'av,

7 he made his pronouncement: "Balak, the king of Mo'av, brings me from Aram, from the eastern hills, saying, 'Come, curse Ya'akov for me; come and denounce Isra'el.'

8 "How am I to curse those whom God has not cursed? How am I to denounce those whom ADONAI has not denounced?

9 "From the top of the rocks I see them, from the hills I behold them yes, a people that will dwell alone and not think itself one of the nations.