Numbers 24:2

2 And Balaam lifted up his eyes, and saw Israel encamping tribe by tribe. And the Spirit of God came upon 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 When Balaam saw that it pleased the LORD to bless Israel, he did not go, as at other times, to look for omens, but set his face toward the wilderness.

2 And Balaam lifted up his eyes, and saw Israel encamping tribe by tribe. And the Spirit of God came upon him,

3 and he took up his discourse, and said, "The oracle of Balaam the son of Be'or, the oracle of the man whose eye is opened,

4 the oracle of him who hears the words of God, who sees the vision of the Almighty, falling down, but having his eyes uncovered:

5 how fair are your tents, O Jacob, your encampments, O Israel!