Numbers 22:40

40 Then Balak offered oxen and sheep, and he sent some to Balaam and to the princes who were with him.

Numbers 22:40 Meaning and Commentary

Numbers 22:40

And Balak offered oxen and sheep
Or "slew" F23 them, either for sacrifice; and if so Balak was the sacrificer, as it was common for kings to be priests; and then Balaam, who was sent for, was the prophet, that was to observe and explain any omen at the time of sacrificing, as Calchas did, when the chiefs of Greece sacrificed F24: or rather for a feast, as the following words seem to show; though it might be for both, it being usual, when sacrifices were offered to idols, to eat part of them in a festival way, in imitation of the peace offerings of the Jews, see ( Numbers 25:2 ) :

and sent to Balaam, and to the princes that were with him;
either part of it to them, or he sent for them to come, and partake of the feast, he and the princes of Moab and Midian, that had been to fetch him, and still attended him; and this the king did in a way of rejoicing, being glad that Balaam was come, and as expressing his well pleasedness with the conduct of the princes, and their success, as well as to keep Balaam in high spirits, hoping to have his end answered by him.


FOOTNOTES:

F23 (xbzyw) "cuinque occidisset", V. L.
F24 Homer. Iliad. 1.

Numbers 22:40 In-Context

38 And Balaam said to Balak, "Look, I have come to you! Now, have I any power at all to say anything? The word that God puts in my mouth, that I must speak."
39 So Balaam went with Balak, and they came to Kirjath Huzoth.
40 Then Balak offered oxen and sheep, and he sent some to Balaam and to the princes who were with him.
41 So it was the next day, that Balak took Balaam and brought him up to the high places of Baal, that from there he might observe the extent of the people.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.