Numbers 24:2

2 et elevans oculos vidit Israhel in tentoriis commorantem per tribus suas et inruente in se spiritu Dei

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 cumque vidisset Balaam quod placeret Domino ut benediceret Israheli nequaquam abiit ut ante perrexerat ut augurium quaereret sed dirigens contra desertum vultum suum

2 et elevans oculos vidit Israhel in tentoriis commorantem per tribus suas et inruente in se spiritu Dei

3 adsumpta parabola ait dixit Balaam filius Beor dixit homo cuius obturatus est oculus

4 dixit auditor sermonum Dei qui visionem Omnipotentis intuitus est qui cadit et sic aperiuntur oculi eius

5 quam pulchra tabernacula tua Iacob et tentoria tua Israhel