Números 22:30

30 La burra le contestó a Balán:—¿Acaso no soy la burra sobre la que siempre has montado, hasta el día de hoy? ¿Alguna vez te hice algo así?—No —respondió Balán.

Números 22:30 Meaning and Commentary

Numbers 22:30

And the ass said unto Balaam
Made a reply to him, as if it understood what he said, and had the faculty of reasoning and discoursing, as well as of speaking, which is very amazing:

am not I thine ass, upon which thou hast ridden ever since I was thine
unto this day?
or rather, "ever since thou wast"; not ever since he was in being, but ever since he could ride, so Aben Ezra; according to which, it seems that this was the first he rode upon, and which he had always been used to; hence the Targums of Jonathan and Jerusalem paraphrase it,

``upon which thou hast rode from thy youth unto this day;''

and be it that Balaam was a man pretty well advanced in years, an ass is a creature that lives a long time: Pliny says F18 it lives thirty years; and an Arabic writer F19 makes mention of an ass that the owner of it rode on forty years:

was I ever wont to do so unto thee?
to start out of the way, or lie down with him, could anyone instance be given of it? suggesting that she was a sure footed creature, and had always carefully and safely carried him, for which it appeals to him:

and he said, nay;
she had never been used to serve him in such a manner as she had now, and therefore he might have concluded that something more than ordinary was the matter; and it is much his conscience had not accused him that he was wrong in coming with the princes, taking the alarm from these circumstances, had he not been an hardened creature, or, at least, had he not been so eagerly bent on riches and honour.


FOOTNOTES:

F18 Nat. Hist. l. 8. c. 43.
F19 Algiahid in Damir. apud Bochart, ut supra, (Hierozoic. par. 1. l. 2. c. 14.) col. 195.

Números 22:30 In-Context

28 Pero el SEÑOR hizo hablar a la burra, y ella le dijo a Balán:—¿Se puede saber qué te he hecho, para que me hayas pegado tres veces?
29 Balán le respondió:—¡Te has venido burlando de mí! Si hubiera tenido una espada en la mano, te habría matado de inmediato.
30 La burra le contestó a Balán:—¿Acaso no soy la burra sobre la que siempre has montado, hasta el día de hoy? ¿Alguna vez te hice algo así?—No —respondió Balán.
31 El SEÑOR abrió los ojos de Balán, y este pudo ver al ángel del SEÑOR en el camino y empuñando la espada. Balán se inclinó entonces y se postró rostro en tierra.
32 El ángel del SEÑOR le preguntó:—¿Por qué golpeaste tres veces a tu burra? ¿No te das cuenta de que vengo dispuesto a no dejarte pasar porque he visto que tus caminos son malos?
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