balaam and balak summary

The doctrine of Balaam is a belief that "a little sin" doesn't hurt ( Galatians 5:9 ), especially if there's some financial or personal benefit involved ( 1 Timothy 6:5 ). And he was riding on his donkey, and his two servants were with him. Balaam ordered that seven altars be built, and a bull and a ram were sacrificed on each of them. The following cookies are also needed - You can choose if you want to allow them: You can read about our cookies and privacy settings in detail on our Privacy Policy Page. The God of the Hebrews, adds Balaam, according to the Rabbis, hates lewdness; and severe chastisement must follow (San. This being done, they went out from him in the form of a white dove. a. Balak - Parshah - Weekly Torah Portion - Chabad.org All Rights Reserved, Embark on a Jewish Journey of Transformation, are part of the regular prayer liturgy and adorn synagogue sanctuaries around the world. a. The present generation also had the blessing of victory, God preparing them to fight the mighty Canaanites by a series of battles against the southern Canaanites (Numbers 21:1-3), the Amorites (Numbers 21:23-24), and the Bashanites (Numbers 21:33-35). Balaam the Prophet | My Jewish Learning The Baghdadi historian Al Masudi said in his book Meadows of Gold and Mines of Gems that Balaam ben Beor was in a village in the lands of Shem (Canaan), and he is the son of Baura(Beor) ben Sanur ben Waseem ben Moab ben Lot ben Haran (PUT), and his prayers were answered, so his folks asked him to pray against Joshua ben Nun but he could not do it, so he advised some of the kings of the giants to show the pretty women and release them toward the camp of Joshua ben Nun, and so they did, and they (the Israelites) hurried up to the women and the plague spread among them and seventy thousand of them were dead. 22:26 And the angel of the LORD went further, and stood in a narrow place, where was no way to turn either to the right hand or to the left. In rabbinical literature the epithet rasha, translating as the wicked one, is often attached to the name of Balaam (Talmud Berachot l.c. The only explanation is that satisfactory is that, while attempting to maintain an external obedience to this supreme will of God, his heart was lusting after the riches offered to him by Balak. (Morgan). Balak seemed to know the strength of Israel was spiritually rooted, and they had to cut off from their source of power if they were to be conquered. belongs to the composite document JE, Moses Wrote His Book and the Portion of Balaam: On the Mention of parashat Bilam in Bava Batra 14b, Jewish Studies Internet Journal 18 (2020), pp. Then his tongue came out and hung down on his breast. b. I could not go beyond the word of the LORD my God, to do less or more: Even so, Balaam knew the character of true prophecy. There are no easy answers to these questions, and the interception of the talking ass is perhaps merely yet another miraculous event in the story (as if the appearance of the angel of the Lord werent enough). This is just one example of God's graciousness. a. Gods anger was aroused because he went: Some think this was unfair, because God told Balaam to go (verse 20) and then was angry because he went. Balaam thus also symbolizes the extent of Gods power and influence. What did Balaam's ass see as they rode along the way? Start your free trial today! Note that blocking some types of cookies may impact your experience on our websites and the services we are able to offer. The only other creature gifted with the power of speech is the serpent from the Garden of Eden story, which we have analysed here. And Balaam said to the Angel of the LORD, I have sinned, for I did not know You stood in the way against me. The infamous story of the prophet with the talking donkey demonstrates the Bible's awareness that powers of divination were not limited to Israelite seers. So, Balaam agrees to Gods plan. Some people write off this Torah portion as biblical fantasy. Summary. Numbers Chapter 24 Summary, Audio & Text (KJV) - Totally History The oracles praise Israel and its people, prophesies of a heroic ruler and the destruction of Israel's enemies. For other uses, see, Balaam in the New Testament, Josephus, and Philo, See Critical View Nearly all modern expositors agree that the section xxii.xxiv. Balak wouldnt take no for an answer though, so he sent another embassy to try to persuade the wise man: 22:14 And the princes of Moab rose up, and they went unto Balak, and said, Balaam refuseth to come with us. i. Watson on Balaams confession of sin: It is the sullen acquiescence of a foiled adventurer, who at the very outset is made to understand the terms and narrow limits of his power.. Because these cookies are strictly necessary to deliver the website, refusing them will have impact how our site functions. On the other hand, Balaam is portrayed negatively in Deuteronomy 23:3-6. i. The next day, Balak went up with Balaam to a high mountain from where they could see the camp of the people of Israel. He was first forbidden, and afterwards commanded to go. The drugs, &c., used on such occasions were often very expensive. God becomes angry that he went, implying that he only used Balaam as a tool to further his will, and sends the Angel of the Lord (Numbers 22:22) to prevent him. That is, Balaam did hear from God, and God did give him some true prophecies to speak. Balaam finally gets taken by a now very frustrated Balak to Peor, and, after the seven sacrifices there, decides not to "seek enchantments" but instead looks upon the Israelites from the peak. The Angel of the LORD took His stand in the way as an adversary against him: To give an additional warning to stubborn Balaam, the Angel of the LORD blocked the path of Balaam as he rode on his donkey. We may request cookies to be set on your device. Balaam's ass speaks to him as he makes the journey, after the animal refuses to move when the angel of the Lord stands in its way. Conversely, in the Jahwist source, Balaam arrives, the spirit of God comes upon him, and he simply delivers a blessing and a prophecy, in succession. The seventh, Numbers 24:2324, concerns "ships of Kittim" coming from the west to attack Assyria and Eber. Parashat Balak: Summary. behold, I went out to withstand thee, because thy way is perverse before me: 22:33 And the ass saw me, and turned from me these three times: unless she had turned from me, surely now also I had slain thee, and saved her alive. However, only the ass can initially see the angel. Its style is like a slapstick comedy, deliberately funny in its depiction of talking donkeys, angels unaware and the inevitable humor of mere mortals trying to subvert the will of the divine. The high places of Baal: Bamoth-baal, literally the high places of Baal, is presumably identical with Bamoth (Numbers 21:19-20) and was in the vicinity of Heshbon and Dibon, according to Joshua 13:17 (cf. Now therefore, please, you also stay here tonight, that I may know what more the LORD will say to me.. "[5], The story of Balaam and Balak is also made reference to in chapter 10 of 2 Meqabyan, a book considered canonical in the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church.[6]. The plot of Balaams story is simple enough: Balak sends Moabite emissaries to hire him, but it takes some convincing because God has told Balaam not to agree to curse Israel. Balak, angry and disappointed, told Balaam to flee back to his own land. i. The book devotes a special section to the history of the prophet discussing why God has taken away the power of prophecy from the Gentiles (Tan., Balak, 1). Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). i. He was in for the surprise of his life. (Allen). Which Balaam saw not; his eyes were put out with the dust of covetousness, or dazzled at least with the glittering of the promised promotions. (Trapp). Was I ever disposed to do this to you? And he said, No.. 22 Then the people of Israel went to the plains of Moab. But Balaam refuses again, because it doesnt matter what riches or honour Balak promises him, he cannot go against what God commands him. Am I not able to honor you?. A person following the doctrine of Balaam is willing to compromise his beliefs for the sake of economics. A dialogue of this nature seems more appropriate for an animated film . He whom you bless is blessed indeed, and he whom you curse is cursed, Balak tells him in Numbers 22:6. Truly, Moab was terrified by them. Parashat Balak - Quick Summary - Hebrew for Christians i. Balaam was definitely not an Israelite; he came from Pethor which was near the River. i. Romans 1:24, 26, 28 explains how sometimes Gods judgment is expressed in giving people over to the sin they desire. The fourth, Numbers 24:1419, prophesies the coming of a king who will conquer Edom and Moab. Consider the reason and nature of the contract. The Talmud also recounts a more positive view of Balaam, stating that when the Law was given to Israel, a mighty voice shook the foundations of the earth, so much so that all kings trembled, and in their consternation turned to Balaam, inquiring whether this upheaval of nature portended a second deluge; the prophet assured them that what they heard was the voice of God, giving the sacred law to the Israelites (Talmud, Zeb. Yet Balaam probably took it all as being attack from a spiritual adversary and used the circumstances to strengthen his hope that God wanted him to work as a prophet for hire. xxii.). [11][12][13][14] Balaam's father Beor was a son of Laban. In the process of killing Balaam (Num. All Rights Reserved, Embark on a Jewish Journey of Transformation. Please be aware that this might heavily reduce the functionality and appearance of our site. The donkey saw Me and turned aside from Me these three times. He sent for a wise man or soothsayer, Balaam, to curse the Israelites and warn them that evil would befall them if they invaded Moabite lands: 22:5 He sent messengers therefore unto Balaam the son of Beor to Pethor, which is by the river of the land of the children of his people, to call him, saying, Behold, there is a people come out from Egypt: behold, they cover the face of the earth, and they abide over against me: 22:6 Come now therefore, I pray thee, curse me this people; for they are too mighty for me. Immediately, the heart of Balaam was revealed. 7. Balaam, Part III (Numbers 25:1-18) | Bible.org Then he could say that it was Gods fault, and not his. gain access to 50+ premium resources to enhance your study of Scripture. 2 Balak son of Zippor saw everything the Israelites had done to the Amorites. c. The word that God puts in my mouth, that I must speak: Balaam again warned Balak that the ability to curse Israel was not in his control. i. 22:28 And the LORD opened the mouth of the ass, and she said unto Balaam, What have I done unto thee, that thou hast smitten me these three times? 'i'a' al-Anbiyya, pp. i. Balaam was known as a mighty man in spiritual things. b. For a specific Divine purpose, Jesus was temporarily present in the appearance of a human or an angel. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors. Balaam is blamed for teaching Balak how to remove Yahweh's covering from the Israelites through forbidden sexual relationships (Revelation 2:14). Meindert Dijkstra suggests that "the reticence of OT scholarship to take account of the text may be attributable to its damaged state, the difficulty of reconstructing and reading it, and the many questions it raises of script, language, literary form and religious content."[31]. Comment:The story of Balaam and Balak takes up three chapters of the Book of Numbers (22-24). Even though he wanted to do what they asked, he could not. It appears that Balaam was very covetous, and that he loved the wages of unrighteousness, and probably lived by it; see 2 Peter 2:15. (Clarke). Balaam hits his donkey when the donkey stops moving forward. The donkey, granted by God the power to speak, complained to Balaam against his ill treatment. In a sense, the donkey rescued the prophet from judgment. And Moab was exceedingly afraid of the people because they were many, and Moab was sick with dread because of the children of Israel. My Jewish Learning is a not-for-profit and relies on your help. After all, if God wanted Balaam to do as he was bid, why not just have the angel of the Lord appear to him straight away? What is the doctrine of Balaam? | GotQuestions.org And when the donkey saw the Angel of the LORD, she lay down under Balaam; so Balaams anger was aroused, and he struck the donkey with his staff. We fully respect if you want to refuse cookies but to avoid asking you again and again kindly allow us to store a cookie for that. [2] King Balak of Moab offered him money to curse Israel (Numbers 2224), but Balaam blessed the Israelites instead, as dictated by God. ii. This weird mixture of positive and negative press is mirrored in the rabbinic literature, which both praises or at least respects Balaam as a recipient of the prophetic spirit, and condemns him as evil and, following the brief biblical allusions, as being responsible for Israelite apostasy. 22:23 And the ass saw the angel of the LORD standing in the way, and his sword drawn in his hand: and the ass turned aside out of the way, and went into the field: and Balaam smote the ass, to turn her into the way. 22:29 And Balaam said unto the ass, Because thou hast mocked me: I would there were a sword in mine hand, for now would I kill thee. Click to enable/disable essential site cookies. ", "A Pronouncing and Phonetic Dictionary of Biblical Names", "Torah of Yeshuah: Book of Meqabyan I - III", https://jewish-faculty.biu.ac.il/files/jewish-faculty/shared/JSIJ18/viezel.pdf, http://jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=993&letter=A&search=Ahitophel, Who's Who of the Bible: Everything you need to know about everyone named in the Bible, The Proper Names of the Bible; Their Orthography, Pronunciation, and Signification, Etc, A Dictionary of the Bible, Comprising Its Antiquities, Biography, Geography, and Natural History, Jude and 2 Peter (Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament), https://www.sacred-texts.com/isl/pro/grp00.htm, "Problems of Genre and Historicity with Palestine's Descriptions", The Coherence of the Biblical Story of Balaam., Biblical Hebrew Poetry Reconstructing the Original Oral, Aural and Visual Experience, The Oracles of Balaam (poetic portions of Numbers 23:724:24) Reconstructed, Prophets in the Hebrew Bible / Old Testament, Current Ummah of Islam (Ummah of Muhammad), ibn Abdullah ibn Abdul-Muttalib ibn Hashim, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Balaam&oldid=1157114859, Short description is different from Wikidata, Wikipedia articles incorporating a citation from the 1906 Jewish Encyclopedia, Wikipedia articles incorporating a citation from the 1906 Jewish Encyclopedia without a Wikisource reference, Wikipedia articles incorporating text from the 1906 Jewish Encyclopedia, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 4.0. But when Balaam opened his mouth, God changed Balaam's evil prophecy into one of strength and dignity. In the view of some schools of textual criticism[7] the narrative, excepting the episode involving the donkey, is simply a framework invented in order to be able to insert much older poems. Finally, he advised his people to adorn and beautify their women and to send them out to ensnare the Israelites. They took this standard fee in hand and approached Balaam. Gods word to Balaam, rise and go with them was no more evidence of Gods approval of Balaams greed than the words of Jesus to Judas in John 13:27 (What you do, do quickly) were an approval of the actions of Judas. Balak's Message to Balaam . 36 And when Balak heard that Balaam was come, he went out to meet him unto a city of Moab, which is in the border of Arnon, which is in the utmost coast. Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. Therefore please come at once, curse this people for me, for they are too mighty for me. 22:15 And Balak sent yet again princes, more, and more honourable than they. x. And they came to Balaam and said to him, Thus says Balak the son of Zippor: Please let nothing hinder you from coming to me; for I will certainly honor you greatly, and I will do whatever you say to me. Check to enable permanent hiding of message bar and refuse all cookies if you do not opt in. ii. After fleeing the area, they took shelter in a cave, when the two daughters got their father drunk, had sexual relations with him, and became pregnant. Bala'am is not specifically mentioned as a prophet of Yahweh in the Bible, but is called upon by Balak, a Moabite ruler, to curse the Israelites (Numbers Chapter 22). d. Balak took Balaam and brought him up to the high places of Baal: After a bit of sacrifice (oxen and sheep), Balak then called upon Balaam to do what he hired him to do to curse Israel, to rob them of their spiritual strength, so they could be defeated in battle. Later Jewish tradition similarly played with Balaam's name to call him corrupt and imply bestiality. Balak, the king of Moab, is afraid of the Israelites' growing power and invites Balaam, a gentile prophet, to travel with his men and curse the Israelites - for Balak knows that Balaam's power is unique: whom he curses is cursed, and whom he blesses is blessed. i. Balaam cannot see the angel, however, and grows angry that his ass has stopped. Nevertheless, he is reviled as a "wicked man" in both the Torah and the New Testament (2 Peter 2:15, Jude 1:11, Revelation 2:14). Another step would have brought you to the edge of the precipice; but you were suddenly arrested by that which for- bade advance. Balak has scored a propaganda coup in persuading Balaam to come and speak out against the invading Israelites, then or so he thinks. Its all very confusing. Joshua, in his farewell speech, also makes reference to it. a. We use cookies to let us know when you visit our websites, how you interact with us, to enrich your user experience, and to customize your relationship with our website. His wordsHow fair are your tents, O Jacob, your dwellings, O Israel (Num 24:4)are part of the regular prayer liturgy and adorn synagogue sanctuaries around the world. Otherwise you will be prompted again when opening a new browser window or new a tab. If the ass had opened her own mouth, and reproved the rash prophet, we might well be astonished; but when God opens the mouth, an ass can speak as well as a man. (Clarke). The ass tried to get the message to Balaam three different ways before she finally spoke. In this literature, Balaam gradually acquired a position among the non-Jews, which was exalted as much as that of Moses among the Jews (Midrash Numbers Rabbah 20); at first being a mere interpreter of dreams, but later becoming a magician, until finally the spirit of prophecy descended upon him (ib. As the Israelites traveled through the wilderness on their way to the promised land, Balak, the king of Moab, began to get anxious: Too many foreign people, too close to his territory, spelled trouble. Who was Balaam, and why did his animal speak to him? I wish there were a sword in my hand, for now I would kill you!, So the donkey said to Balaam, Am I not your donkey on which you have ridden, ever since I became yours, to this day? 8), all four legal methods of executionstoning, burning, decapitating, and stranglingwere employed (Sanh. God knew the answer to this question, and He asked it because Balaam did not know. Whatever he reveals to me I will tell you." The Israelites fell into transgression due to these traps and God unleashed a deadly plague upon them as a result (Numbers 31:16). Now Balak the son of Zippor saw all that Israel had done to the Amorites. However, Balaam blesses the Children of Israel instead and prophesies that Israel's enemies will be defeated. ii. What a powerful lesson. d. And he said, No: Balaam admitted that the donkey got the best of him in this conversation. What were the three ways? The donkey does not rebel, then, but simply reacts to a clear obstacle in her way, an obstacle with Balaam is unable to see. Balaam began on a dangerous course entertaining, planning, setting his heart on something he knew to be sin, and looking for a spiritual excuse to pursue the sin. Balaam and Balak - Then the people of - Bible Gateway Balaam answered that he could utter only the words that God put in his mouth. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. Agag, mentioned in the third poem, is described as a great king, which does not correspond to the king of the Amalekites who was named Agag, and described in I Samuel 15, since that description considers Amalek to be small and obscure. Balaam is pictured as blind in one eye and lame in one foot (Talmud Sanhedrin 105a); and his disciples (followers) are distinguished by three morally corrupt qualities: Due to his behavior with the Midianites, the Rabbis interpret Balaam as responsible for the behavior during the Heresy of Peor, which they consider to have been unchastity, and consequently the death of 24,000 victims of the plague which God sent as punishment. The second, Numbers 23:1824, celebrates the moral virtue of Israel, its monarchy, and its military conquests. Now come and put a curse on them for me. The Story of Balaam and Balak - Unity.org Balaam and Balak D. C. Hughes, M. A. We see the prophet Balaam as a blind seer, seeing less than the dumb animal. (Allen), iii. "Do not curse the people, for they are blessed." No one can contradict Hashem, the creator of the universe and everything in it. This would eventually be Balaams fate. His similitude is that of a dog: if you attack him, he lolls out his tongue, or if you leave him alone, he (still) lolls out his tongue. Now Balak the son of Zippor saw all that Israel had done to the Amorites. 37 And Balak said unto Balaam, Did I not earnestly send unto thee to call thee? Is God worried that free will might lead Balaam to be tempted by the promise of honour and riches into cursing the Israelites after all? b. The donkey had no spiritual gifts, but at least acknowledged his Creator. In other words, he is to speak from a prepared script: 22:35 And the angel of the LORD said unto Balaam, Go with the men: but only the word that I shall speak unto thee, that thou shalt speak. We need 2 cookies to store this setting. (Its a somewhat different story in the New Testament, where hes described as wicked: see, for instance, Revelation 2:14.) The third group of three poems also start immediately, but are much shorter. It is thus of considerable interest because of its unexpectedness. [19][20][21][22] Some authors claim that Bezer was the Aramaic pronunciation of Beor,[21] while others hold that the author was attempting to play off the Hebrew word basar or "flesh" to insult Balaam. He cared far more about the diviners fee than about Gods will. As the account continues, it will be clear that Balaam had some knowledge of the true God, the God of Israel, that went beyond a vague, demonic spiritual connection (such as the specific mention of the LORD in Numbers 22:8).
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