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The BibleTexts.com Bible Commentary Copyright 1996-2005 Robert Nguyen Cramer THE BOOK OF NUMBERS |
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Harper’s Bible Commentary (edited by James Luther Mays, New York: Harper and Row, 1988) comments
22:1-24:25, A Crescendo of Hope: Balak and Balaam and the Blessing of Israel. Two main characters stand out in this enigmatic story. The first character is Balaam, a professional prophet or seer who travels about and curses military enemies for money. He is, in a sense, a hired gun, and his only weapons are words that have the power to curse. The second figure is Balak. He is the king of Moab, a country that borders the promised land of Canaan on the east side, just across the Jordan River. Balak fears that the large number of Israelites moving through his nation will attack and devastate his kingdom. He has no faith in his own army and so decides to turn elsewhere for help.
The story tells how King Balak decides to send his messengers to hire the professional curser, Balaam, to curse the millions of Israelites who are camped on the plains of Moab. Throughout the story, the Israelites remain oblivious to the drama taking place outside their camp. They rest in peace, totally unaware of the curse that threatens them and of God’s persistent efforts to block the curse and, instead, to bless Israel.
When Balaam is asked by Balak’s messengers to curse Israel, God first tells Balaam not to go. Balaam complies with God’s command and refuses to go with the messengers to Balak. Finally, however, Balaam does go with his ass. They find some roadblocks along the way but eventually reach King Balak. Balak carefully makes the necessary preparations for Balaam to curse Israel. In three successive attempts, however, Balaam can only speak words of blessing and not of curse upon Israel. Balaam’s last blessing upon Israel is the most extravagant of all, as he promises a glorious future for Israel.
The Balaam story has been a source of intense fascination and great diversity in the history of biblical interpretation... Archaeologists have discovered writings on plaster panels in a temple at Deir ’Allah near the Jordan River that refer to a famous professional prophet named Balaam. These inscriptions are evidence that different traditions and stories about Balaam were well known and circulated widely. This variety of traditions has been incorporated into the biblical record.
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Copyright
1996-2005 Robert Nguyen Cramer
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