Num 22:1-20 | JFB | STEP | 1. Israel ... pitched in the plains of Moab-- so called from having formerly belonged to that people, though wrested from them by Sihon. It was a dry, sunken, desert region on the east of the Jordan valley, opposite Jericho.

‏ Numbers 22:1-20

CHAPTER 22 Nu 22:1-20. Balak's First Message for Balaam Refused.

1. Israel ... pitched in the plains of Moab--so called from having formerly belonged to that people, though wrested from them by Sihon. It was a dry, sunken, desert region on the east of the Jordan valley, opposite Jericho.

2. Balak--that is, "empty." Terrified (De 2:25; Ex 15:15) at the approach of so vast a multitude and not daring to encounter them in the field, he resolved to secure their destruction by other means.

4. elders of Midian--called kings (Nu 31:8) and princes (Jos 13:21). The Midianites, a distinct people on the southern frontier of Moab, united with them as confederates against Israel, their common enemy.

5. He sent messengers therefore unto Balaam--that is, "lord" or "devourer" of people, a famous soothsayer (Jos 13:22).

son of Beor--or, in the Chaldee form, Bosor--that is, "destruction."

Pethor--a city of Mesopotamia, situated on the Euphrates.

6. Come ... curse me this people--Among the heathen an opinion prevailed that prayers for evil or curses would be heard by the unseen powers as well as prayers for good, when offered by a prophet or priest and accompanied by the use of certain rites. Many examples are found in the histories of the Greeks and Romans of whole armies being devoted to destruction, and they occur among the natives of India and other heathen countries still. In the Burmese war, magicians were employed to curse the British troops.

7. the elders of Moab and ... of Midian departed with the rewards of divination--like the fee of a fortune teller, and being a royal present, it would be something handsome.

8-14. Lodge here this night, and I will bring you word again, as the Lord shall speak unto me, &c.--God usually revealed His will in visions and dreams; and Balaam's birth and residence in Mesopotamia, where the remains of patriarchal religion still lingered, account for his knowledge of the true God. His real character has long been a subject of discussion. Some, judging from his language, have thought him a saint; others, looking to his conduct, have described him as an irreligious charlatan; and a third class consider him a novice in the faith, who had a fear of God, but who had not acquired power over his passions [Hengstenberg].

19-20. tarry ye also here this night, that I may know what the Lord will say unto me more--The divine will, as formerly declared, not being according to his desires, he hoped by a second request to bend it, as he had already bent his own conscience, to his ruling passions of pride and covetousness. The permission granted to Balaam is in accordance with the ordinary procedure of Providence. God often gives up men to follow the impulse of their own lusts; but there is no approval in thus leaving them to act at the prompting of their own wicked hearts (Jos 13:27).