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Numbers Chapter
Twenty-four
New King James Version (NKJV)
INTRODUCTION TO NUMBERS 24
In
this chapter we are told
that Balaam leaving his enchantments
the Spirit of
God came on him
and he spake of the happiness of Israel
and prophesied of
their future greatness and glory
Numbers 24:1 which
so exasperated Balak
that he ordered him at once to depart from him
Numbers 24:10.
Balaam justified himself in what he said and did
and suggested that before
they parted
he had something to say in a prophetic manner
concerning what
Israel should do to Moab in "future" times
Numbers 24:12 and
then prophesies concerning the Messiah
and the destruction of Moab
and of
some neighbouring nations
and even of some at a greater distance
as the
Assyrians and Romans
Numbers 24:15.
Numbers 24:1 Now when Balaam saw that it pleased the Lord to bless Israel
he did not go as at other times
to seek to use
sorcery
but he set his face toward the wilderness.
YLT
1And Balaam seeth that [it
is] good in the eyes of Jehovah to bless Israel
and he hath not gone as time
by time to meet enchantments
and he setteth towards the wilderness his face;
And when Balsam saw that it pleased the Lord to bless Israel
.... That it
was good in his sight
what he approved of
and was well-pleasing to him
and
that it was his determined mind that Israel should be blessed
and not cursed
from which there was no turning him
by offering sacrifices to him
and much
less by his sorceries and divinations:
he went not as at other times; or
"as at a time
in a time"F17כפעם בפעם
"sicut vice in vice"
Montanus
Vatablus.
at two times
of which
see Numbers 23:3
he
abode in the place where the sacrifices were offered
and did not depart to
another at some distance
as he had twice before done:
to seek for enchantments; which it seems he used
before
for he not only offered sacrifices to the true God
which yet were
attended with superstitious rites
but he made use of his divining art also;
and not only went to meet with God
and hear what he would say to him
but
consulted the devil also
being willing to have two strings to his bow
and
that
if possible
he might carry his point
and get what his covetous and
ambitious mind was desirous of: the words may be literally rendered
"to
meet enchantments"F18לקראת נחשים "in occursum auguriorum"
Pagninus
Montanus
Vatablus. ; but what should be meant by the phrase is not easy to
say; I should rather choose to render them
"to meet serpents"
and
make use of them in his divinations
make observations on them
and predictions
from them: one sort of divination is called "ophiomancy"
or divining
by serpents; so Calchas
on seeing a serpent devour eight sparrows with their
dam
foretold the duration of the siege of TroyF19Homer. Iliad. 2.
see more instances in Bochart. Hierozoic. par. 1. l. 1. c. 3. col. 21
22. :
but he set his face towards the wilderness: where the
people of Israel lay encamped
not with an intention to bless them
though he
saw it pleased the Lord
but to take an opportunity
if he could
without his
leave
to curse them; and therefore he did not go out as he did before
to know
his will
but stood by the sacrifice
with his face to the wilderness
where
the people were
to take any advantage that offered.
Numbers 24:2 2 And Balaam raised his eyes
and saw Israel encamped
according to their tribes; and the Spirit of God came upon him.
YLT
2and Balaam lifteth up his
eyes
and seeth Israel tabernacling
by its tribes
and the Spirit of God is
upon him
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.
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.
Numbers 24:3 3 Then he took up his oracle and said: “The utterance of
Balaam the son of Beor
The utterance of the man whose eyes are opened
YLT
3and he taketh up his
simile
and saith: `An affirmation of Balaam son of Beor -- And an affirmation
of the man whose eyes are shut –
And he took up his parable
.... His parable of
prophecy
as the Targums
his prophetic speech
which
with a loud voice
he
expressed in the hearing of Balak and his nobles:
and said
Balaam the son of Beor hath said; the preface
to his prophecy is pompous
and seems to be full of pride and vanity
and so
the Targums of Jonathan and Jerusalem represent him;"the man who is more
excellent than his father hath said
to whom hidden secrets
even what was
hidden from the prophets is revealed to him;'and the Jews have a sayingF20Pirke
Abot
c. 5. sect. 19. that he that has an evil eye
a haughty spirit
and a
large soul
or is covetous
is one of the disciples of Balaam the wicked:
and the man whose eyes are open hath said; or
as someF21So
V. L. Montanus
Tigurine version
&c. render it
whose eyes were shut
but
now open; either the eyes of his body
which were shut when the angel met him
and the ass saw him and not he
but afterwards were open
and he saw him also;
or the eyes of his understanding blinded with ambition and covetousness
but
were open to see his mistake
at least so far as to be sensible that he could
never prevail upon God to allow him to curse Israel; or rather open
by the
spirit of prophecy coming on him
whereby he saw and foretold things to come.
Numbers 24:4 4 The utterance of him who hears the words of God
Who
sees the vision of the Almighty
Who falls down
with eyes wide open:
YLT
4An affirmation of him who
is hearing sayings of God -- Who a vision of the Almighty seeth
Falling -- and
eyes uncovered:
He hath said
which heard the words of God
.... God
speaking to him
which he did several times
and with which he was greatly
elated
see Numbers 22:9
which saw the vision of the Almighty; not that he
had a sight of any similitude of God
though the angel that appeared to him
which was Christ the uncreated angel
might appear in an human form
for some
visible form was seen both by the ass and him; but rather this respects the
visions of God to him in the night; it may be in a dream
as has been already
observed
and which the following words seem to confirm:
falling into a trance
but having his eyes open: or falling
into a deep sleep
and yet the eyes of his body open
which sometimes is the
case with persons asleep; or the eyes of his mind open
to receive the
instructions given him in a dream or vision of the night; unless this is to be
understood of his falling on his face
when he had his vision
as sometimes the
prophets did
see Ezekiel 1:28
so
the Targums of Jonathan and Jerusalem paraphrase it; and the latter says
he
prophesied of himself
that he should fall by the sword; which is better than
to interpret it of his falling when his ass lay down with him
as some do: so
men may have a great deal of light and knowledge in their heads
and yet not
have true grace in their hearts; great gifts
which puff up with pride and
vanity
but not sanctifying grace
which is of an humbling nature
1 Corinthians 8:1
what he said under a spirit of prophecy follows.
Numbers 24:5 5 “How lovely are your tents
O Jacob! Your dwellings
O
Israel!
YLT
5How good have been thy
tents
O Jacob
Thy tabernacles
O Israel;
How goodly are thy tents
O Jacob
.... Not that the matter
of which they were made was so rich
or their structure so admirable
but the
order in which they were placed was so beautiful and agreeable:
and thy tabernacles
O Israel; which is the same thing
in other words
and which may be applied figuratively to the church of God
which often goes by the names of Jacob and Israel; and agrees with particular
congregations and assemblies of saints
where they dwell as in tents in a
movable state
like pilgrims and sojourners; and which are the dwelling places
of Father
Son
and Spirit
and of the people of God with one another; and are
goodly
pleasant
and delightful
because of the presence of God with them
and
on account of the provisions there made for them
and the company they there
enjoy; see Psalm 84:1.
Numbers 24:6 6 Like valleys that stretch out
Like gardens by the
riverside
Like aloes planted by the Lord
Like
cedars beside the waters.
YLT
6As valleys they have been
stretched out
As gardens by a river; As aloes Jehovah hath planted
As cedars
by waters;
As the valleys are they spread forth
.... Long and
broad
lying between several mountains
and reaching from hill to hill; so the
armies of Israel lay encamped in the plains and villages of Moab
making a very
considerable length and breadth; the camp of Israel is said to be twelve miles
long
and twelve miles broad; so the Targum on Numbers 2:3 and
this may denote the lowness of the saints and people of God in their own eyes
and their largeness in themselves; and especially when the place of their tents
shall be enlarged
and the curtains of their habitations be stretched forth in
the latter day; and also their fruitfulness
meads
and valleys abounding with
herbs and flowers
as the churches of God do with the fruits of the Spirit
grace
and righteousness
and with plants of the Lord's right hand planting.
Some render it as brooks and torrents of water
so the Targum of Jonathan;
which diffuse and spread themselves
and on the banks of which stand beautiful
trees in goodly order:
as gardens by the river's side: laid out in a delightful
manner
full of flowers
plants
and trees
and well watered; like to these
in
several spots
were the people of Israel formed into several camps; and to
these may the churches of God be compared
who are distinguished and enclosed
by sovereign grace
full of trees of righteousness of the Lord's planting
watered by the river of divine love
and from Christ the fountain of gardens;
see Song of Solomon 4:12
as the trees of lign aloes
which the Lord hath planted: which are not
planted and raised by the art and industry of man
but grow up without culture
as the mere produce of nature
under a divine providence; these are called lign
wood or tree aloes
to distinguish them from another sort of aloes
which are
no other than plants; but these are what the Indians call Calambra or Calembac
and
physicians Xyloaloes and Agallochium
and are of a very aromatic and
fragrant scent. This tree is said to be about eight or ten feet high; at the
head of it is a large bunch of leaves
which are thick and indented
broad at
bottom
but growing narrower towards the point
and about four feet in length;
the blossom of it is red
intermixed with yellow
and double like a pink; from
this blossom comes fruit
round like a large pea
white and red; the juice of
these leaves is drawn out by cutting them with a knife
and received into bottles;
the smell of the wood is exquisiteF23See Calmet's Dictionary
and
the Supplement to Chamber's Dictionary
in the word "Aloes". . P.
MartyrF24Decad. 1. l. 2. speaks of a trunk of lign aloes
which
being cut
a sweet savour proceeds from it. It may be observed what IsidoreF25Origin.
l. 17. c. 8. remarks
that it grows in Arabia
as well as in India
and so
might be well known to Balaam. And to these the Israel of God may be compared
for their fragrancy
being clothed with the righteousness of Christ
all whose
garments smell of or like these aloes
Psalm 45:8 and
having the graces of the Spirit of God in them
the smell of which is
preferable to all spices
and they themselves are signified by the same
Song of Solomon 4:10
and as cedar trees beside the waters; which are
tall and high
large and spreading
durable lasting
to which the righteous are
compared; see Gill on Psalm 92:12.
Numbers 24:7 7 He shall pour water from his buckets
And his seed shall
be in many waters. “His king shall be higher than Agag
And his kingdom
shall be exalted.
YLT
7He maketh water flow from
his buckets
And his seed [is] in many waters; And higher than Agag [is] his
king
And exalted is his kingdom.
He shall pour the water out of his buckets
.... That is
God shall plentifully send down rain out of the clouds upon these valleys
gardens
and trees
and make them fruitful; and this may be a figure of the
grace of God
with which his churches are watered
and become fruitful by means
of the word and ordinances
which is conveyed through them out of the fulness
which is in Christ:
and his seed shall be in many waters; the seed and
offspring of Israel shall be in a place of many waters
in a land of brooks and
waters
shall dwell in a well watered land
the land of Canaan
Deuteronomy 8:7 or
shall be like seed sown near water
or in well watered places
which springs up
and brings forth much fruit
see Isaiah 32:20 or
shall become
or be over many waters
to which people
kingdoms
and nations
are sometimes compared; and so may denote the multitude of Israel
and the
large extent of their dominions
see Revelation 17:1
and his king shall be higher than Agag; who might be
the then present king of Amalek
reckoned one of the greatest kings on earth;
and this name
some think
was common to all the kings of Amalek
as Pharaoh to
the kings of Egypt; and according to Jarchi and Aben Ezra
this is a prophecy
of the first king of Israel
Saul
and of his conquering Agag king of Amalek
for there was one of this name in his time
1 Samuel 15:7
and his kingdom shall be exalted; that is
the kingdom of
the people of Israel
as it was more especially in the days of David and
Solomon; and will be abundantly more in the days of the Messiah
when his
kingdom shall be from sea to sea
and from the river to the ends of the earth
and the kingdoms of this world shall become his
and he shall reign over all
the earth; and so the Jerusalem Targum
"and the kingdom of the King
Messiah shall become very great;'and so other Jewish writersF26Pesikta
in Ketoreth Hassamim
fol. 27. 2. Vid. Philo. de Praemiis
p. 925. Sept. vers.
& Targum Jon. in loc. refer this prophecy to the days of the Messiah.
Numbers 24:8 8 “God brings him out of Egypt; He has strength like a
wild ox; He shall consume the nations
his enemies; He shall break their bones And
pierce them with his arrows.
YLT
8God is bringing him out of
Egypt; As the swiftness of a Reem is to him
He eateth up nations his
adversaries
And their bones he breaketh
And [with] his arrows he smiteth
God brought him forth out of Egypt
he hath as it were the
strength of an unicorn
.... Here he repeats what he had said in a former prophecy; see
Gill on Numbers 23:22
he
shall eat up the nations his enemies: the seven nations of Canaan
which should
be subdued by Israel
and that with as much ease as a lion devours its prey;
nor would the Canaanites be able to make any more resistance to them than a
creature in the paws of a lion; and the phrase denotes the utter destruction of
them:
and shall break their bones; as the lion breaks the
bones of such creatures that fall a prey to him; signifying that all their
strength should be taken from them
their mighty men slain
and their fortified
cities taken:
and pierce them through with his arrows: slay them
utterly.
Numbers 24:9 9 ‘He bows down
he lies down as a lion; And as a lion
who shall rouse him?’[a] “Blessed is
he who blesses you
And cursed is he who curses you.”
YLT
9He hath bent
he hath lain
down as a lion
And as a lioness: who doth raise him up? He who is blessing
thee [is] blessed
And he who is cursing thee [is] cursed.'
He couched
.... Which may respect the posture of the armies of Israel in the
plains of Moab:
he lay down as a lion
and as a great lion; as he would
do
and did in the land of Canaan
when conquered by Israel; they took up their
residence on it quietly
and dwelt in it securely
and in no more fear of their
enemies than a lion
which lays itself down and sleeps without concern
anywhere:
who shall stir him up? who dare do it? as it
would be a very rash
bold
daring
and dangerous thing to rouse up a lion
lying down; so it is suggested it would be alike to provoke Israel to war at
some certain times
in the days of David more especially:
blessed is he that blesseth thee
and cursed is he that curseth
thee; which are the very words in which Isaac blessed Jacob
the
ancestor of these people
Genesis 27:29 and
which blessing is confirmed by Balaam against his will
and whereby he cursed
himself instead of Israel; for though he could not curse him with words
he had
cursed him in his heart
and would have done it verbally if he couldF1"Qui
quia non licuit
non facit
ille facit". Ovid. .
Numbers 24:10 10 Then Balak’s anger was aroused against Balaam
and he
struck his hands together; and Balak said to Balaam
“I called you to curse my
enemies
and look
you have bountifully blessed them these three times!
YLT
10And the anger of Balak
burneth against Balaam
and he striketh his hands; and Balak saith unto Balaam
`To pierce mine enemies I called thee
and lo
thou hast certainly blessed --
these three times;
And Balak's anger was kindled against Balaam
.... He had
bore much and long
but he could bear no longer
he was quite impatient
his
last words more especially must exceedingly nettle him:
and he smote his hands together; as expressive of his
indignation
vexation
and disappointment:
and Balak said unto Balaam
I called thee to curse my enemies; he had sent
princes to him
one set of them after another
to invite him into his country
and to his court
with great promises of reward to curse Israel
whom he
reckoned his enemies
and not to bless them:
and
behold
thou hast altogether blessed them these three times; done nothing
else but bless them with blessing upon blessing
time after time; even everyone
of the three times he opened his mouth
as Balak expected
to have cursed them.
Numbers 24:11 11 Now therefore
flee to your place. I said I would
greatly honor you
but in fact
the Lord has kept
you back from honor.”
YLT
11and now
flee for thyself
unto thy place; I have said
I do greatly honour thee
and lo
Jehovah hath
kept thee back from honour.'
Therefore now flee thou to thy place
.... His own
country
from whence Balak had sent for him
and he came; begone directly
make
all haste away; he speaks as one so provoked
that he could not bear him in his
presence
and as threatening him if he did not at once get out of his sight:
I thought to promote thee unto great honour; to bestow
much wealth and riches upon him
and to prefer him in his court to high offices
of honour and dignity; he had promised that he would
and he thought as he
said
he was determined upon it
had he performed as he expected:
but
lo
the Lord hath kept thee back from honour; the Lord thou
hast so much talked of
and at whose beck and command thou hast been
and by
whom thou hast been checked and controlled
he has hindered thee from riches
and honour; see what thou hast got
or rather lost
by hearkening to him
and
how he will pay thee for it.
Numbers 24:12 12 So Balaam said to Balak
“Did I not also speak to your
messengers whom you sent to me
saying
YLT
12And Balaam saith unto
Balak
`Did I not also unto thy messengers whom thou hast sent unto me
speak
saying
And Balaam said unto Balak
.... In order to mitigate
his wrath
and bring him into a better temper:
spake I not also to thy messengers which thou sentest unto me: those that
came to him a second time; for to the first he said nothing of what is after
related
but to the last he did much the same as he had afterwards said to
Balak himself: saying
Numbers 24:13 13 ‘If Balak were to give me his house full of silver and
gold
I could not go beyond the word of the Lord
to do
good or bad of my own will. What the Lord says
that
I must speak’?
YLT
13If Balak doth give to me
the fulness of his house of silver and gold
I am not able to pass over the
command of Jehovah
to do good or evil of mine own heart -- that which Jehovah
speaketh -- it I speak?
If Balak would give me his house full of silver and gold
.... Which are
the very words he said to the princes of Moab
Numbers 22:18
I cannot go beyond the commandment of the Lord
to do either good
or bad; for though here it is the "commandment"
and there the
"word" of the Lord
yet it is the same word in both places in the
original text: indeed
here he omits the relation to the Lord he there claims
saying "my God"; and instead of "little or great"
here it
is "good or bad"
but the sense is the same: and he adds
for
explanation sake:
of mine own mind: or out of my heart
which was disposed well
enough to serve Balak
but was laid under a restraint by the Lord:
but what the Lord said
that will I speak; and he had
not only said this to the messengers
but to the king himself
and therefore he
thought
that as he had openly and honestly told him this at first
he had no
reason to be so angry with him; see Numbers 22:38.
Numbers 24:14 14 And now
indeed
I am going to my people. Come
I will
advise you what this people will do to your people in the latter days.”
YLT
14and
now
lo
I am going to
my people; come
I counsel thee [concerning] that which this people doth to thy
people
in the latter end of the days.'
And now
behold
I go unto my people
.... According
to thine order
I shall not stay to make thee uneasy with my company
only I
crave thy patience to hear me a little before we part:
come therefore
and I will advertise thee; about some
things that shall come to pass in future time
respecting this people
and
thine
and other nations
both near and remote; and he hoped by this to bring
him into a better temper
and part good friends: or "I will counsel
thee"; what thou shall do
as the Targum of Onkelos
and so makes a
sentence of this of itself
independent of
and distinct from what follows
beginning the next clause thus:
and I will show them what this people
&c.
referring the former to the counsel Balaam gave to Balak
how to seduce the
people into idolatry; and the Targum of Jonathan expresses it at
large;"come
I will counsel thee
go and prepare victualling houses
and
place lewd women there to sell food and drink at a low price
and bring this
people to eat
and drink
and be drunken; and let them lie with them
and deny
their God
and they will be delivered into thine hands in a little time
and
many of them will fall;'which advice was followed
Numbers 25:1 and is
referred to
Numbers 31:16 but
though Balaam did give him such advice before he left him
which is highly
probable
yet it is not what is intended here
since what follows is closely
connected with the above clause
and contains the thing he advertised or
advised him of:
what this people shall do to thy people in the latter days; not what the
Moabites should do to the Israelites now
as the Vulgate Latin version
quite
contrary to the original text
but what the Israelites should do to the
Moabites in future times; not only in the times of David
by whom they were
subdued
2 Samuel 8:2 but in
much later times
even in the times of Alexander
or King Jannaeus
who
overcame them
as JosephusF2Antiqu. l. 13. c. 13. sect. 5. relates.
Now this might be said to Balak to make him easy
that it would not be until
the latter days
many hundreds of years hence
ere the people of Israel would
fight with Moab
and subdue it; and therefore he need be under no concern about
them
since he would meet with no trouble from them in his time
nor his people
for years to come.
Numbers 24:15 15 So he took up his oracle and said: “The utterance of
Balaam the son of Beor
And the utterance of the man whose eyes are opened;
YLT
15And he taketh up his
simile
and saith: `An affirmation of Balaam son of Beor -- And an affirmation
of the man whose eyes [are] shut –
Verse 15-16
And he took up his parable
and said
.... In this
and the following verse; the same preface
in the same words
is made to his
prophecy as before; see Gill on Numbers 24:3
Numbers 24:4; only
one clause is added
"and knew the knowledge of the Most High"; that
Balaam had some knowledge of God is certain from the names by which he calls
him
being such that he made himself known by to the patriarchs
and by which
he is frequently called in the sacred writings; but then this knowledge of his
was merely notional and speculative
and not spiritual and supernatural
and
was such as men may have who are destitute of the grace of God: he was one that
professed to know him in words
but in works denied him
see 1 Corinthians 13:2
and he also was admitted to much nearness to God
and converse with him
of which
he boasted; but then this was not for his own sake
or as a mark of friendship
to him
but for the sake of the people of Israel
and to prevent his doing them
mischief. His prophecy follows.
Numbers 24:16 16 The utterance of him who hears the words of God
And
has the knowledge of the Most High
Who sees the vision of the Almighty
Who falls down
with eyes wide open:
YLT
16An affirmation of him who
is hearing sayings of God -- And knowing knowledge of the Most High; A vision
of the Almighty he seeth
Falling -- and eyes uncovered:
Numbers 24:17 17 “I see Him
but not now; I behold Him
but not near; A
Star shall come out of Jacob; A Scepter shall rise out of Israel
And batter
the brow of Moab
And destroy all the sons of tumult.[b]
YLT
17I see it
but not now; I
behold it
but not near; A star hath proceeded from Jacob
And a sceptre hath
risen from Israel
And hath smitten corners of Moab
And hath destroyed all
sons of Sheth.
I shall see him
but not now
.... Meaning not Israel
for he now saw him encamped
and at no great distance; but one that should
descend from him
a famous and excellent person
and who is no other than the
Messiah
as appears by what follows; him he should see
not spiritually with an
eye of faith
nor corporeally with his bodily eyes in his state of incarnation
but at the day of judgment; and now
indeed
he saw him by a spirit of
prophecy:
I shall behold him
but not nigh; signifying
that the
coming of this illustrious Person
who should smite the borders of Moab
was
not near
and therefore Balak had no reason to indulge any present fears; and
that when he was come either into the world to save men
or to judgment
Balaam
would have no nearness to him
nor interest in him; he would see him at the
last day
but not for himself
as Job says he should
Job 19:25.
there shall come a star out of Jacob
and a sceptre shall rise out
of Israel; which Aben Ezra interprets of David
though he says many
interpret it of the Messiah; and there are some writers
both Jewish and
Christian
that understand it partly of David
and partly of Christ
and
chiefly of him
and of David as a type of him; the fulfilment of which was only
in part in David
but principally and completely in Christ. MaimonidesF3Hilchot
Melachim
c. 11. sect. 1. parts the prophecy between them: the whole
undoubtedly agrees with Christ
and belongs unto him: the "star" and
"sceptre" may be considered as names and titles of the Messiah; he is
called the "morning star"
Revelation 22:16
for his glory
brightness
and splendour
and for the light that comes by him
and the influence of his grace
and the blessings of it on the sons of men; and
hence a false Messiah took the name of Bar Cochab
the son of a star
to answer
to this prophecy; and he may be called a "sceptre"
that is
a
sceptre bearer
because of his royalty; he not only has the name of a king
but
has a kingdom
both of nature
providence
and grace
and rules with a sceptre
of grace
mercy
and righteousness; and as he was to spring from Jacob or
Israel
so he did
being a son of Abraham
a descendant of Jacob
of the tribe
of Judah
and family of David
Matthew 1:1
but I
rather think that the star is to be considered as a sign and circumstance of
his coming
and that the words may be rendered
"when a star steers its
course from Jacob"
or "unto Jacob
then a sceptre"
or
"sceptre bearer":
shall rise out of Israel
or "rise up unto
Israel"; for the particle מ sometimes signifies
"unto"F4Vid. Nold. Concord. Ebr. part. p. 545. ; and that
the appearance of a star in Israel was a sign of the Messiah's coming is
certain from Matthew 2:1 of
which the Magi were informed by ZoroastresF5Abulpharag. Hist.
Dynast. p. 54. their founder
who
being of Jewish extract
had got it from
this prophecy of Balaam; and it is as evident that the Jews expected the
appearance of an extraordinary star at the time of the Messiah's coming; for so
they say more than once
in an ancient book of theirsF6Zohar in
Exod. fol. 3. 3
4. & in Numb fol. 85. 4. & 86. 1.
that when
the"Messiah shall be revealed
a bright and shining star shall arise in
the east;'which expectation must be founded on this prophecy:
and shall smite the corners of Moab; not only the corners of
their houses and cities
but the extreme parts and borders of the land
even
all the sides
and the whole of it; or the princes and great men of the land
sometimes called "corners"
see Zechariah 10:4 and
so the Targums of Onkelos and Jonathan:
and shall kill the princes of Moab or the mighty ones of
Moab
as the Jerusalem Targum; this was literally fulfilled in David
2 Samuel 8:2 Psalm 60:1 and
figuratively and mystically in Christ
by subduing his enemies
signified by
Moabites
as being the enemies of Israel; either by reducing them through the
power of his grace to obedience to him
or by smiting and breaking them in
pieces with a rod of iron; and which will be more plainly and fully
accomplished when he shall destroy those Moabites
the antichristian nations
Revelation 19:15.
and destroy all the children of Sheth; some take
Sheth to be the name of some famous king among the Moabites
as Grotius;
others
the name of some city of Moab
which David utterly destroyed
as R.
NathanF7Apud Lyram in loc. ; others suppose some particular nations
are meant
as either the Edomites
so called because they put confidence in
their foundations
and fortified places
so VitringaF8Comment. in
Isa. xxii. 5. ; or the Egyptians
from Seth or Sethos
one of their kings
who
was known by the name Egyptus
as a late learned writerF9Clayton's
Chronology of the Hebrew Bible
&c. p. 445. of ours conjectures; but rather
by the children of Seth are meant all nations
as Jarchi observes
for all come
from Seth
the son of the first man; and so the words may be rendered
as they
are by Onkelos
"he shall rule over all the children of men;'which will be
fulfilled in Christ
when he shall have put down all rule and authority
and
all will be subject to him
and his kingdom be from sea to sea
and his
dominion from the river to the ends of the earth; unless rather by the children
of Seth are meant the special people of God
in distinction from others
and in
allusion to the distinction between the Sethites and Cainites
the one being
the people of God
the other not; and so it may be interpreted of Christ's
gathering them to him
by clucking as it were for them
as a hen gathers her
chickens; so the word is used in Jewish writings
and of God himself; for it is
saidF11T. Bab. Taanith
c. 4. in En Jacob
par. 1. fol. 143. 4. the
holy blessed God מקרקר
clucks over them
as hens do
which is the simile our Lord himself uses
Matthew 23:37 the
Targums of Onkelos and Jonathan interpret this prophecy of the Messiah by name;
and so do many other Jewish writers
both ancientF12Debarim Rabba
fol. 234. 4. Pesikta in Kettoreth Hassammim in Numb. fol. 27. 3. & 28. 1.
and modernF13Abarbinel. Mashmiah Jeshuah
fol. 4. 2
3. Abendana in
loc. R. Isaac Chizzuk Emunah
p. 71
72. .
Numbers 24:18 18 “And Edom shall be a possession; Seir also
his
enemies
shall be a possession
While Israel does valiantly.
YLT
18And Edom hath been a
possession
And Seir hath been a possession
[for] its enemies
And Israel is
doing valiantly;
And Edom shall be a possession
.... Of the children of
Israel
which was fulfilled in part when the Edomites became the servants of
David
2 Samuel 8:14 and
when they were smitten and spoiled by Judas Maccabeus
them a great overthrow
and abated their courage
and took their spoils.' (1 Maccabees 5:3)and still
more so when all the Edomites or the Idumaeans were subdued by Hyrcanus
and
they became one people with the Jews
and conformed to their religious rites;
which is not only related by JosephusF14Antiqu. l. 13. c. 9. sect.
1.
but by StraboF15Geograph. l. 16. p. 523.
an Heathen
historian
who says
that they joined themselves to the Jews
and embraced
their laws: but in a spiritual sense this has had a greater accomplishment in
the calling of the Gentiles
and introducing them into the church of God; see Amos 9:12 compared
with Acts 15:14.
Seir also shall be a possession for his enemies; which was a
mount in the land of Edom where Esau formerly dwelt
and so signifies the same
as before: and also that the most strong and fortified places of the land
should fall into the hands of their enemies; See Gill on Obadiah 1:17
Obadiah 1:18
Obadiah 1:19.
Israel shall do valiantly; in fighting with and
conquering the Edomites
or shall get much wealth and riches by the spoil of
them
see Psalm 60:9. This
and the following verse
are in some ancient writings of the JewsF16Zohar
in Numb. fol. 85. 4. & 86. 1. interpreted of the times of the Messiah.
Numbers 24:19 19 Out of Jacob One shall have dominion
And destroy the
remains of the city.”
YLT
19And [one] doth rule out of
Jacob
And hath destroyed a remnant from Ar.'
Out of Jacob shall come he that shall have dominion
.... Meaning
either David
or rather the Messiah; and so Jarchi interprets this of another
ruler out of Jacob
even of the Messiah
of whom it is said
he shall have
dominion from sea to sea; Psalm 72:8
and shall destroy him
that remaineth of the city; chief city of
Edom
or of any of the cities of it
signifying that there should be none left
see Obadiah 1:18
this
is also applied to the days of the Messiah
in the ancient writings of the JewsF17Bemidbar
Rabba
fol. 179. 3. .
Numbers 24:20 20 Then he looked on Amalek
and he took up his oracle
and said: “Amalek was first among the nations
But shall be last
until he perishes.”
YLT
20And he seeth Amalek
and
taketh up his simile
and saith: `A beginning of the Goyim [is] Amalek; And his
latter end -- for ever he perisheth.'
And when he looked on Amalek
.... The country of
Amalek
which lay to the south of the land of Canaan
Numbers 13:29 and
which Balaam had a view of from the mountain of Peor
where he now was:
and he took up his parable
and said; the parable
of his prophecy
as the Targum of Jonathan
and pronounced it aloud:
Amalek was the first of the nations; not the first nation in
the world
nor the chief and principal for numbers
riches
or strength
but
the first that made war with Israel
as all the three Targums paraphrase it
as
they did
see Exodus 17:8
but his latter end shall be that he perish for ever; this was
threatened to them by the Lord upon that battle
and is confirmed by this
prophecy of Balaam: and after this
orders were given to Israel to blot out
their remembrance
Deuteronomy 25:19
and which
in a good measure
though not completely
was done in the times of
Saul
1 Samuel 15:8 and
after that they were distressed by David
1 Samuel 27:9 and
the rest of them were smitten by the sons of Simeon
in the days of Hezekiah
1 Chronicles 4:41
after which we hear of them no more: Amalek may be considered as a type of
antichrist
the son of perdition
who shall go into it
shall come to his end
and there shall be none to help him; which will be true of all the
antichristian party
the enemies of Christ
who will be destroyed by him
and
perish eternally; see Daniel 11:45.
Numbers 24:21 21 Then he looked on the Kenites
and he took up his
oracle and said: “Firm is your dwelling place
And your nest is set in the
rock;
YLT
21And he seeth the Kenite
and taketh up his simile
and saith: `Enduring [is] thy dwelling
And setting
in a rock thy nest
And he looked on the Kenites
.... Not the family and
posterity of Jethro
as Aben Ezra
Jarchi
and Abendana; for they were not a
people by themselves
but were now encamped with Israel
and went with them
into the land of Canaan
and were not carried captive with the ten tribes
though some might that dwelt in Naphtali
Judges 9:4
for
they after that remained with Judah under the name of Rechabites
Jeremiah 35:2 and
returned with the two tribes
being carried captive with them
1 Chronicles 2:55
but they were a people
though of the same original and family Jethro descended
from
which dwelt near
and afterwards among the Amalekites
and therefore were
seen by Balaam
and taken notice of at the same time they were; see 1 Samuel 15:6.
Abarbinel takes them to be the same with those in Genesis 15:19.
and took up his parable; or prophecy concerning
them
and delivered it:
and said
strong is thy dwelling place
and thou puttest thy nest
in a rock
they dwelling in craggy rocky places
where they thought
themselves secure and out of danger; and this their habitation he calls
"Ken"
a nest
in allusion to their name Kenites.
Numbers 24:22 22 Nevertheless Kain shall be burned. How long until
Asshur carries you away captive?”
YLT
22But the Kenite is for a
burning; Till when doth Asshur keep thee captive?'
Nevertheless the Kenite shall be wasted
.... Though
they were so strongly fortified
and closely immured and surrounded with rocks
and mountains
yet they should gradually waste away
as they were but few in
Saul's time
1 Samuel 15:6.
until Ashur shall carry thee away captive;
Tiglathpileser
king of Assyria
when he carried captive the people of Syria
took these with them
2 Kings 16:9
though Jarchi thinks they were carried captives with the ten tribes
that is
by Shalmaneser
king of Assyria; and the Targum of Jonathan
by Sennacherib
king of Assyria; and others think by Nebuchadnezzar
who was sometimes reckoned
a king of Assyria; taking them to be the same with the Amalekites
who were
carried captives and returned with the two tribes.
Numbers 24:23 23 Then he took up his oracle and said: “Alas! Who shall
live when God does this?
YLT
23And he taketh up his
simile
and saith: `Alas! who doth live when God doth this?
And he took up his parable
and said
.... Or
delivered another prophecy
having made some little pause:
alas
who shall live when God doeth this? referring not
to what goes before
but to what follows; though Jarchi and Aben Ezra think it
refers to the Assyria conquering and carrying captive
not only the Kenites
but all the nations of the world
so that there was no living comfortably in it
on his account; but this is said after Balaam had taken up his parable again
and so respects what follows
as the destruction of the Persian empire by
Alexander
in which Ashur or the Assyrians were included; and the destruction
of the Jews by the Romans more especially; which was such as had not been the
like from the beginning of the world
Matthew 24:21
and
perhaps may have a further respect to the affliction of the witnesses and
church of Christ by antichrist; see Daniel 12:1.
Numbers 24:24 24 But ships shall come from the coasts of Cyprus
[c] And they
shall afflict Asshur and afflict Eber
And so shall Amalek
[d] until he
perishes.”
YLT
24And -- ships [are] from the
side of Chittim
And they have humbled Asshur
And they have humbled Eber
And
it also for ever is perishing.'
And ships shall come from the coast of Chittim
.... Kittim
was the son of Javan
Genesis 10:4 and so
designs some part of Greece: JosephusF18Antiqu. l. 1. c. 6. sect. 1.
says that Kittim possessed the island now called Cyprus
in which was a city
now called Citium
after his name; Macedonia
a considerable part of Greece
is
called the land of Cittim
"And it happened
after that Alexander son of
Philip
the Macedonian
who came out of the land of Chettiim
had smitten
Darius king of the Persians and Medes
that he reigned in his stead
the first
over Greece
' (1 Maccabees 1:1)"Beside
this
how they had discomfited in battle Philip
and Perseus
king of the
Citims
with others that lifted up themselves against them
and had overcome
them:' (1 Maccabees 8:5)but the
Targum of Jonathan interprets it
of the country of Italy; the Jerusalem
Targum
of the Roman legions; and perhaps both Greeks and Romans are intended
and so ships from Cittim
in Daniel 11:30
design Romans in Grecian ships; for in such were the Roman ambassadors carried
who distressed Antiochus
king of Syria; see Gill on Daniel 11:30; and
both may be intended here: it is affirmedF19Inghiram. Etrusc.
Antiqu. apud Dickinson. Delph. Phaenic. Append. p. 153. Vid. p. 77. that Noah
with his son Japheth
came into the country now called Italy
and built a city
and gave it the name of Cethim
since called Volterra
and was the metropolis
of Etruria
and gave name to all Italy; and that in the year two hundred and
twenty from the building of that city
Cethim the son of Javan
and grandson of
Noah
took two colonies with him
and sailed to an island which he called after
his own name Cethim
now Cyprus:
and shall afflict Ashur; which being a part of
the Persian empire
was afflicted
conquered
and subdued by Alexander the
Macedonian
who is said to come out of the land of Cittim
"And it
happened
after that Alexander son of Philip
the Macedonian
who came out of
the land of Chettiim
had smitten Darius king of the Persians and Medes
that
he reigned in his stead
the first over Greece
' (1 Maccabees 1:1)
and shall afflict Eber; or the Hebrews
as the
Septuagint version; not that the Grecians or Macedonians should do this
for
they under Alexander did not afflict the Jews; unless this is to be understood
of the Seleucidae
the kings of Syria
the successors of Alexander
who did
distress the Jews; but rather this respects the Romans under Pompey
and
especially under Titus Vespasian
who destroyed their city
and carried them
captive
and who ever since have been dispersed among the nations:
and he also shall perish for ever: not Eber
but those that
afflicted him
even the Romans; and indeed both monarchies
Grecian and Roman
are prophesied of as what should be destroyed
and that by a son of Eber
the
Messiah; the stone cut out of the mountain without hands
said to break in
pieces all these kingdoms
Daniel 2:44 and not
Rome Pagan only
but Rome Papal also
antichrist and all the antichristian
powers
2 Thessalonians 2:8.
and so the Targum of Jonathan says
that the end both of the one and the other
that is
that shall afflict Eber
shall be
to fall by the hand of the King
Messiah
and they shall perish for ever.
Numbers 24:25 25 So Balaam rose and departed and returned to his place;
Balak also went his way.
YLT
25And Balaam riseth
and
goeth
and turneth back to his place
and Balak also hath gone on his way.
And Balaam rose up
and went and returned to his place
.... The
country from whence he came
that is
he went from Balak
according to his
command
in order to return to his own land; for he seems not to have reached
it
but stayed by the way among the Moabites and Midianites
and was slain in a
battle between Israel and them
Numbers 31:8
or if
he did reach Mesopotamia
he returned again
as Chaskuni says; and either
before he left Balak
or in his journey homewards
or when he returned
he gave
that advice
to seduce the Israelites first to whoredom
and by that to
idolatry
the effects of which are observed in the following chapter; see Gill
on Numbers 24:14 and
Balak also went his way; to his royal city
court
and family
attended
very
probably
by the princes of Moab
who had been with him all this while; though
how long these things were transacting is not certain.
──《John Gill’s
Exposition of the Bible》
New King James
Version (NKJV)