24:1 VA YAR BIL'AM KI TOV BE EYNEY YHVY LEVARECH ET YISRA-EL VE LO HALACH KE PA'AM BE PA'AM LIKRAT NECHASHIM VA YASET EL HA MIDBAR PANAV
וַיַּרְא בִּלְעָם כִּי טוֹב בְּעֵינֵי יְהוָה לְבָרֵךְ אֶת יִשְׂרָאֵל וְלֹא הָלַךְ כְּפַעַם בְּפַעַם לִקְרַאת נְחָשִׁים וַיָּשֶׁת אֶל הַמִּדְבָּר פָּנָיו
KJ (King James translation): And when Balaam saw that it pleased the LORD to bless Israel, he went not, as at other times, to seek for enchantments, but he set his face toward the wilderness.
BN (BibleNet translation): And when Bil'am saw that it pleased YHVH to bless Yisra-El, he did not go, as at the other times, to learn the oracle through the voice in the serpent-mask, but he turned and gazed into the wilderness.
LIKRAT NECHASHIM: "Towards the serpents" should be the literal translation; and I wonder how far it is a coincidence that this tale of Bil'am with his serpentine "oracles" should follow so immediately after Mosheh has been instructed to create his own serpentine banner, Nechushtan - see my notes at Numbers 23:23.
NECHASHIM were not "enchantments", they were the mediums and soothsayers who pronounced the oracles, usually wearing the mask of a serpent, and usually speaking through a defleshed skull. This is important for our understanding of oracles throughout the Tanach, and quite probably for Mosheh's "meetings" with the deity for the giving of the Law as well. Whether by a well or at an oasis,on a mountain slope or in a cave, each of these locations is in fact a holy shri ne, with its resident priesthood, and its resident medium or soothsayer to deliver the word of the deity. No different really from your village church or local stibl or psychiatrist's clinic today.
24:2 VA YISA VIL'AM ET EYNAV VA YAR ET YISRA-EL SHOCHEN LISHVATAV VA TEHI ALAV RU'ACH ELOHIM
וַיִּשָּׂא בִלְעָם אֶת עֵינָיו וַיַּרְא אֶת יִשְׂרָאֵל שֹׁכֵן לִשְׁבָטָיו וַתְּהִי עָלָיו רוּחַ אֱלֹהִים
KJ: And Balaam lifted up his eyes, and he saw Israel abiding in his tents according to their tribes; and the spirit of God came upon him.
BN: And Bil'am lifted up his eyes, and he saw Yisra-El dwelling tribe by tribe; and the spirit of Elohim came upon him.
24:3 VA YISA MESHALO VA YOMER NE'UM BIL'AM BENO BE'OR U NE'UM HA GEVER SHETUM HA AYIN
וַיִּשָּׂא מְשָׁלוֹ וַיֹּאמַר נְאֻם בִּלְעָם בְּנוֹ בְעֹר וּנְאֻם הַגֶּבֶר שְׁתֻם הָעָיִן
BN: And he delivered his oracle, saying: "The vision of Bil'am ben Be'or, the vision of this man whose eye has been opened...
MESHALO...NE'UM: A MASHAL is really a didactic poem, a parable, a proverb, some piece of wording whose specific goal is to teach, at a human level; a NE'UM is an oracle, a pronouncement by the deity through the medium of the medium. Here, Bil'am is being said to be doing both, simultaneously.
BE'OR: See my note on the meaning of this at Numbers 22:5.
In all likelihood these opening words, and those in the next verse, are simply the formal liturgical opening of any oracular pronouncement, the equivalent of "grace before meals" or the "apologia" at the start of a dissertation. The oracle itself begins in verse 5.
24:4 NE'UM SHOME'A IMREY EL ASHER MACHAZEH SHADAI YECHEZEH NOPHEL U GELU'I EYNAYIM
KJ: He hath said, which heard the words of God, which saw the vision of the Almighty, falling into a trance, but having his eyes open:
In all likelihood these opening words, and those in the next verse, are simply the formal liturgical opening of any oracular pronouncement, the equivalent of "grace before meals" or the "apologia" at the start of a dissertation. The oracle itself begins in verse 5.
24:4 NE'UM SHOME'A IMREY EL ASHER MACHAZEH SHADAI YECHEZEH NOPHEL U GELU'I EYNAYIM
נְאֻם שֹׁמֵעַ אִמְרֵיאֵל אֲשֶׁר מַחֲזֵה שַׁדַּי יֶחֱזֶה נֹפֵל וּגְלוּי עֵינָיִם
KJ: He hath said, which heard the words of God, which saw the vision of the Almighty, falling into a trance, but having his eyes open:
BN: "The oracle of he who has heard the words of El, and seen the vision of Shadai, who has been lain prostrate, but yet with opened eyes...
EL... SHADAI: And yet again the translators cheat us of the occasional deeper parts of this text by translating both as though they were the same deity. They are not. El is the father of the Kena'ani pantheon, El Shadai was the mountain-god of the Ararat range in Padan Aram, who Av-Ram worshipped.
EL... SHADAI: And yet again the translators cheat us of the occasional deeper parts of this text by translating both as though they were the same deity. They are not. El is the father of the Kena'ani pantheon, El Shadai was the mountain-god of the Ararat range in Padan Aram, who Av-Ram worshipped.
24:5 MAH TOVU OHALEYCHA YA'AKOV MISHKENOTECHA YISRA-EL
KJ: How goodly are thy tents, O Jacob, and thy tabernacles, O Israel!
BN: "How splendid are your tents, Ya'akov, your dwellings, Yisra-El!..
MAH TOVU: And now the real reason why this stupid, awful story was included by the Redactor. Who could possibly leave out this glorious poetry, which exalts Yisra-El quite literally to the heavens; so much so that daily synagogue services for the last two thousand years have all opened with the recitation of the verse above; though, curiously, not the equally gorgeous verses that follow (perhaps only because they are magnificent as blank verse, but blank verse does not easily compose itself as song). A full account of this prayer can be found here.
מַה טֹּבוּ אֹהָלֶיךָ יַעֲקֹב מִשְׁכְּנֹתֶיךָ יִשְׂרָאֵל
KJ: How goodly are thy tents, O Jacob, and thy tabernacles, O Israel!
BN: "How splendid are your tents, Ya'akov, your dwellings, Yisra-El!..
MAH TOVU: And now the real reason why this stupid, awful story was included by the Redactor. Who could possibly leave out this glorious poetry, which exalts Yisra-El quite literally to the heavens; so much so that daily synagogue services for the last two thousand years have all opened with the recitation of the verse above; though, curiously, not the equally gorgeous verses that follow (perhaps only because they are magnificent as blank verse, but blank verse does not easily compose itself as song). A full account of this prayer can be found here.
MISHKENOTECHA: The MISHKAN was indeed a "tabernacle", the central place of worship for the Mosaic Yisra-Elim in the wilderness, but it is erroneous to translate the word here as "tabernacles", because there was only one Mishkan. The root means "dwelling", and this is what Bil'am intends here - though it is entirely possible that he does mean the Mishkan when he says OHALEYCHA, because the Mishkan included the very significant Ohel Mo'ed, the Tent of Meeting.
24:6 KINCHALIM NITAYU KE GANOT ALEY NAHAR KA AHALIM NAT'A YHVH KA ARAZIM ALEY MAYIM
KJ: As the valleys are they spread forth, as gardens by the river's side, as the trees of lign aloes which the LORD hath planted, and as cedar trees beside the waters.
BN: "Like valleys stretched out, like gardens by the river-side; like aloes planted by YHVH; like cedars beside the waters...
The tone and style of language in this "oracle" is strongly reminiscent of the Psalms, and may indeed have been a Psalm originally, or at least someody's liturgical hymn, attached to this story for whatever reason at whatever stage of history.
24:6 KINCHALIM NITAYU KE GANOT ALEY NAHAR KA AHALIM NAT'A YHVH KA ARAZIM ALEY MAYIM
כִּנְחָלִים נִטָּיוּ כְּגַנֹּת עֲלֵי נָהָר כַּאֲהָלִים נָטַע יְהוָה כַּאֲרָזִים עֲלֵי מָיִם
BN: "Like valleys stretched out, like gardens by the river-side; like aloes planted by YHVH; like cedars beside the waters...
The tone and style of language in this "oracle" is strongly reminiscent of the Psalms, and may indeed have been a Psalm originally, or at least someody's liturgical hymn, attached to this story for whatever reason at whatever stage of history.
KINCHALIM: is really KE NACHALIM, but elided.
24:7 YIZAL MAYIM MI DALAV VE ZARO BE MAYIM RABIM VE YAROM ME AGAG MALKO VE TINASEH MALCHUTO
KJ: He shall pour the water out of his buckets, and his seed shall be in many waters, and his king shall be higher than Agag, and his kingdom shall be exalted.
BN: "Water shall flow from his buckets, and his seed shall be in many waters; his king shall be more revered than Agag, and his kingdom shall be exalted....
AGAG may be useful for dating this piece, unless we regard it as a dynastic or regal title; the one AGAG of whom we know was the king of the Amalekites in the days of Shemu-El (Samuel) and King Sha'ul (Saul), in which case we may indeed have the text of an additional Psalm.
24:7 YIZAL MAYIM MI DALAV VE ZARO BE MAYIM RABIM VE YAROM ME AGAG MALKO VE TINASEH MALCHUTO
זַּל מַיִם מִדָּלְיָו וְזַרְעוֹ בְּמַיִם רַבִּים וְיָרֹם מֵאֲגַג מַלְכּוֹ וְתִנַּשֵּׂא מַלְכֻתוֹ
KJ: He shall pour the water out of his buckets, and his seed shall be in many waters, and his king shall be higher than Agag, and his kingdom shall be exalted.
BN: "Water shall flow from his buckets, and his seed shall be in many waters; his king shall be more revered than Agag, and his kingdom shall be exalted....
AGAG may be useful for dating this piece, unless we regard it as a dynastic or regal title; the one AGAG of whom we know was the king of the Amalekites in the days of Shemu-El (Samuel) and King Sha'ul (Saul), in which case we may indeed have the text of an additional Psalm.
Though it is also worth pointing out that we have had references or allusions to both Og, Gog and Magog during these latter chapters, and now to Agag, so there may be a confusion of names going on here, or some other idea behind those multiple similarities that still needs an explanation (I am unable to offer one).
I am unable to offer one... but I am able to observe that the Aramaic-Arabic root that gives the name AGAG means "to burn", exactly the same as Be'or, which is Bil'am's patronymic (if it is his patronymic, and not the name of his Guild). Perhaps this is where the explanation lies.
24:8 EL MOTSIY'O MI MITSRAYIM KE TO'APHOT RE'EM LO YOCHAL GOYIM TSARAV VE ATSMOTEYHEM YEGAREM VE CHITSAV YIMCHATS
KJ: God brought him forth out of Egypt; he hath as it were the strength of an unicorn: he shall eat up the nations his enemies, and shall break their bones, and pierce them through with his arrows.
BN: "El who brought him out of Mitsrayim is for him like the lofty horns of the wild-ox; he shall eat up the nations that are his adversaries, and break their bones in pieces, and pierce them through with his arrows...
EL: And yet again the god is EL, not YHVH.
TO'APHOT RE'EM: See Numbers 23:22.
24:9 KARA SHACHAV KA ARI U CHE LAVI MI YEKIYMENU MEVARCHEYCHA VARUCH VE OREREYCHA ARUR
KJ: And Balak's anger was kindled against Balaam, and he smote his hands together: and Balak said unto Balaam, I called thee to curse mine enemies, and, behold, thou hast altogether blessed them these three times.
BN: And Balak's anger was kindled against Bil'am, and he slapped his hands against each other. Then Balak said to Bil'am: "I called you to curse my enemies, but all you have done is pour blessings on them, and not once but now three times...
VA YICHAR APH: "His nostrils were inflated" is the literal translation, though given all the Be'or and Agag puns, and all the volcanic stuff of the recent chapters, "he was fuming" might be a more apposite translation.
24:11 VE ATAH BERACH LECHA EL MEKOMECHA AMARTI KABED ACHABEDCHA VE HINEH MENA'ACHAH YHVH MI KAVOD
KJ: Therefore now flee thou to thy place: I thought to promote thee unto great honour; but, lo, the LORD hath kept thee back from honour.
BN: "Therefore now flee to your own place. I thought to promote you to great honour, but, lo, YHVH has kept you back from honour."
BERACH LECHA: Yet another of the many very awful puns that run through this piece - and thereby provide further evidence that it was written for children, or as pantomime, or at most satire. Shakespeare would have given lines like these to Feste in Twelfth Night or the Fool in Lear: "You bite like a flea...now flee before I bite you back"... that sort of equivalent.
24:12 VA YOMER BIL'AM EL BALAK HA LO GAM EL MAL'ACHECHA ASHER SHALACHTA ELAI DIBARTI LEMOR
KJ: And Balaam said unto Balak, Spake I not also to thy messengers which thou sentest unto me, saying,
BN: Then Bil'am said to Balak: "Did I not also tell your messengers who you sent to me, saying...
Note again the play on the two kinds of MAL'ACH, Balak's "messengers" and YHVH's "angels".
24:13 IM YITEN LI VALAK MELO VEITO KESEPH VE ZAHAV LO UCHAL LA'AVOR ET PI YHVH LA'ASOT TOVAH O RA'AH MI LIBI ASHER YEDABER YHVH OTO ADABER
24:8 EL MOTSIY'O MI MITSRAYIM KE TO'APHOT RE'EM LO YOCHAL GOYIM TSARAV VE ATSMOTEYHEM YEGAREM VE CHITSAV YIMCHATS
אֵל מוֹצִיאוֹ מִמִּצְרַיִם כְּתוֹעֲפֹת רְאֵם לוֹ יֹאכַל גּוֹיִם צָרָיו וְעַצְמֹתֵיהֶם יְגָרֵם וְחִצָּיו יִמְחָץ
BN: "El who brought him out of Mitsrayim is for him like the lofty horns of the wild-ox; he shall eat up the nations that are his adversaries, and break their bones in pieces, and pierce them through with his arrows...
EL: And yet again the god is EL, not YHVH.
TO'APHOT RE'EM: See Numbers 23:22.
24:9 KARA SHACHAV KA ARI U CHE LAVI MI YEKIYMENU MEVARCHEYCHA VARUCH VE OREREYCHA ARUR
כָּרַע שָׁכַב כַּאֲרִי וּכְלָבִיא מִי יְקִימֶנּוּ מְבָרְכֶיךָ בָרוּךְ וְאֹרְרֶיךָ אָרוּר
KJ: He couched, he lay down as a lion, and as a great lion: who shall stir him up? Blessed is he that blesseth thee, and cursed is he that curseth thee.
BN: "He bent his knee, he lay down like a lion, and like a lioness: who shall rouse him up? Blessed be every one that blesses you, and cursed be every one that curses you."
Again he re-uses the same phrases; see Numbers 23:24. But see my notes to this at Numbers 23:8.
24:10 VA YICHAR APH BALAK EL BIL'AM VA YISPOK ET KAPAV VA YOMER BALAK EL BIL'AM LAKOV OYEVAI KERATICHA VE HINEH BERACHTA VARECH ZEH SHALOSH PE'AMIM
BN: "He bent his knee, he lay down like a lion, and like a lioness: who shall rouse him up? Blessed be every one that blesses you, and cursed be every one that curses you."
Again he re-uses the same phrases; see Numbers 23:24. But see my notes to this at Numbers 23:8.
24:10 VA YICHAR APH BALAK EL BIL'AM VA YISPOK ET KAPAV VA YOMER BALAK EL BIL'AM LAKOV OYEVAI KERATICHA VE HINEH BERACHTA VARECH ZEH SHALOSH PE'AMIM
וַיִּחַר אַף בָּלָק אֶל בִּלְעָם וַיִּסְפֹּק אֶת כַּפָּיו וַיֹּאמֶר בָּלָק אֶל בִּלְעָם לָקֹב אֹיְבַי קְרָאתִיךָ וְהִנֵּה בֵּרַכְתָּ בָרֵךְ זֶה שָׁלֹשׁ פְּעָמִים
BN: And Balak's anger was kindled against Bil'am, and he slapped his hands against each other. Then Balak said to Bil'am: "I called you to curse my enemies, but all you have done is pour blessings on them, and not once but now three times...
VA YICHAR APH: "His nostrils were inflated" is the literal translation, though given all the Be'or and Agag puns, and all the volcanic stuff of the recent chapters, "he was fuming" might be a more apposite translation.
24:11 VE ATAH BERACH LECHA EL MEKOMECHA AMARTI KABED ACHABEDCHA VE HINEH MENA'ACHAH YHVH MI KAVOD
וְעַתָּה בְּרַח לְךָ אֶל מְקוֹמֶךָ אָמַרְתִּי כַּבֵּד אֲכַבֶּדְךָ וְהִנֵּה מְנָעֲךָ יְהוָה מִכָּבוֹד
KJ: Therefore now flee thou to thy place: I thought to promote thee unto great honour; but, lo, the LORD hath kept thee back from honour.
BN: "Therefore now flee to your own place. I thought to promote you to great honour, but, lo, YHVH has kept you back from honour."
BERACH LECHA: Yet another of the many very awful puns that run through this piece - and thereby provide further evidence that it was written for children, or as pantomime, or at most satire. Shakespeare would have given lines like these to Feste in Twelfth Night or the Fool in Lear: "You bite like a flea...now flee before I bite you back"... that sort of equivalent.
24:12 VA YOMER BIL'AM EL BALAK HA LO GAM EL MAL'ACHECHA ASHER SHALACHTA ELAI DIBARTI LEMOR
וַיֹּאמֶר בִּלְעָם אֶל בָּלָק הֲלֹא גַּם אֶל מַלְאָכֶיךָ אֲשֶׁר שָׁלַחְתָּ אֵלַי דִּבַּרְתִּי לֵאמֹר
KJ: And Balaam said unto Balak, Spake I not also to thy messengers which thou sentest unto me, saying,
BN: Then Bil'am said to Balak: "Did I not also tell your messengers who you sent to me, saying...
Note again the play on the two kinds of MAL'ACH, Balak's "messengers" and YHVH's "angels".
24:13 IM YITEN LI VALAK MELO VEITO KESEPH VE ZAHAV LO UCHAL LA'AVOR ET PI YHVH LA'ASOT TOVAH O RA'AH MI LIBI ASHER YEDABER YHVH OTO ADABER
אִם יִתֶּן לִי בָלָק מְלֹא בֵיתוֹ כֶּסֶף וְזָהָב לֹא אוּכַל לַעֲבֹר אֶת פִּי יְהוָה לַעֲשׂוֹת טוֹבָה אוֹ רָעָה מִלִּבִּי אֲשֶׁר יְדַבֵּר יְהוָה אֹתוֹ אֲדַבֵּר
KJ: If Balak would give me his house full of silver and gold, I cannot go beyond the commandment of the LORD, to do either good or bad of mine own mind; but what the LORD saith, that will I speak?
BN: "Even if Balak gave me his house, filled with silver and gold, I could not go beyond the word of YHVH, to decide either good or bad with my own mind. What YHVH speaks, that will I speak...
I commented at the very start of this tale (Numbers 22:35) that it was in many ways reminiscent of the contest between Eli-Yahu (Elijah) and the priests of Ba'al, in 1 Kings 18; the need on both sides to demonstrate that theirs was the true god, the almight one. So, here, YHVH, or it might be EL, has again defeated the deity of Mo-Av.
24:14 VE ATAH HINENI HOLECH LE AMI LECHAH IY'ATSCHA ASHER YA'ASEH HA AM HA ZEH LE AMCHA BE ACHARIT HA YAMIM
וְעַתָּה הִנְנִי הוֹלֵךְ לְעַמִּי לְכָה אִיעָצְךָ אֲשֶׁר יַעֲשֶׂה הָעָם הַזֶּה לְעַמְּךָ בְּאַחֲרִית הַיָּמִים
KJ: And now, behold, I go unto my people: come therefore, and I will advertise thee what this people shall do to thy people in the latter days.
BN: "And now, behold, I go to my people. Come, and I will announce to you what this people shall do to your people at the end of days."
BE ACHARIT HA YAMIM: Probably not an apocalyptic day of judgement, but a way of saying "at some time in the future".
24:15 VA YISA MESHALO VA YOMER NE'UM BIL'AM BENO BE'OR U NE'UM HA GEVER SHETUM HA AYIN
BE ACHARIT HA YAMIM: Probably not an apocalyptic day of judgement, but a way of saying "at some time in the future".
24:15 VA YISA MESHALO VA YOMER NE'UM BIL'AM BENO BE'OR U NE'UM HA GEVER SHETUM HA AYIN
וַיִּשָּׂא מְשָׁלוֹ וַיֹּאמַר נְאֻם בִּלְעָם בְּנוֹ בְעֹר וּנְאֻם הַגֶּבֶר שְׁתֻם הָעָיִן
BN: And he delivered his oracle, saying: "The vision of Bil'am ben Be'or, the vision of this man whose eye has been opened...
The identical opening words that he used in verses 3 and 4 - see my note there.
24:16 NE'UM SHOME'A IMREY EL VE YODE'A DA'AT ELYON MACHAZEH SHADAI YECHEZEH NOPHEL U GELU'I EYNAYIM
נְאֻם שֹׁמֵעַ אִמְרֵי אֵל וְיֹדֵעַ דַּעַת עֶלְיוֹן מַחֲזֵה שַׁדַּי יֶחֱזֶה נֹפֵל וּגְלוּי עֵינָיִם
KJ: He hath said, which heard the words of God, and knew the knowledge of the most High, which saw the vision of the Almighty, falling into a trance, but having his eyes open:
BN: "The saying of he who hears the words of El, and knows the knowledge of Elyon, who sees the vision of Shadai, fallen down, yet with opened eyes:
Confirmation that he is a polytheist, but the gods he evokes do not include either YHVH or Elohim; El is Kena'ani (Canaanite), Elyon is Yevusi (Jebusite), Shadai, as noted above, was Av-Ram's god in Padan Aram before he began to follow YHVH. (Am I right in saying that he adds another god each time he delivers an oracle?).
24:17 ER'ENU VE LO ATAH ASHURENU VE LO KAROV DARACH KOCHAV MI YA'AKOV VE KAM SHEVET MI YISRA-EL U MACHATS PA'ATEY MO-AV VE KARKAR KOL BENEY SHET
אֶרְאֶנּוּ וְלֹא עַתָּה אֲשׁוּרֶנּוּ וְלֹא קָרוֹב דָּרַךְ כּוֹכָב מִיַּעֲקֹב וְקָם שֵׁבֶט מִיִּשְׂרָאֵל וּמָחַץ פַּאֲתֵי מוֹאָב וְקַרְקַר כָּל בְּנֵי שֵׁת
BN: "I will see him, but not now. I will look around, but he is far away. A star shall emerge out of Ya'akov, and a scepter shall rise out of Yisra-El, and they shall smite through the corners of Mo-Av, and break down all the sons of Shet...
ER'ENU: Is this the pantomime oracle self-mocking? Is he looking in his crystal ball, but the silica is hazy? Or is he so high up the mountain that his myopia is affecting him? He won't have the same difficulty seeing Amalek two verses on.
ASHURENU: Not the most common of verbs, but ... you can find all its Biblical usages by clicking here, and it may (so many usages in Job suggest this possibility) have been an Aramaic verb absorbed into Yehudit at some very post-Mosaic date (but that is no reason why Ezra would not have used it).
However, to add one more totemic animal to the list already accumulated in this tale, the root is SHUR, and a SHUR is an ox (Exodus 21:37, Leviticus 22:23, Numbers 18:17, a dozen others), and we have seen the oxen being slaughtered, at each of the sets of altars set up in the tale (always in the plural, which is BAKAR, but oxen nonetheless). How is this connected to the verb in use here? Pure coincidence actually (the root of SHOR as ox is SHAVAR, meaning "to be strong"), but that doesn't preclude the word-play.
SHET: Aha! This is why the ass, or should it have been a donkey, had such an important role at the start of the story. The Beney Mo-Av are Shet worshippers (and now go back to my notes in chapter 22, especially verse 22). Sha'ul, too was a Shet-worshipper, and the "star" that "will emerge" is, presumably, the Magen David (Vega in Lyra if you want to find it in the heavens) - so once again, as with the AGAG reference in verse 7, we have a connection that might help date this piece as Davidic. Is there anything else in the three chapters to add weight to that possibility?
24:18 VE HAYAH EDOM YERESHAH VE HAYAH YERESHAH SE'IR OYEVAV VE YISRA-EL OSEH CHAYIL
וְהָיָה אֱדוֹם יְרֵשָׁה וְהָיָה יְרֵשָׁה שֵׂעִיר אֹיְבָיו וְיִשְׂרָאֵל עֹשֶׂה חָיִל
KJ: And Edom shall be a possession, Seir also shall be a possession for his enemies; and Israel shall do valiantly.
BN: "And Edom shall be a possession; Se'ir also, his enemy, shall be a possession. Yisra-El will prove the strongest...
OSEH CHAYIL: a description of its military strength rather than its moral fortitude.
24:19 VA YERED MI YA'AKOV VE HE'EVID SARID MEY IR
וְיֵרְדְּ מִיַּעֲקֹב וְהֶאֱבִיד שָׂרִיד מֵעִיר
KJ: Out of Jacob shall come he that shall have dominion, and shall destroy him that remaineth of the city.
BN (borrowing a standard translation): "And out of Ya'akov shall one have dominion, and shall destroy the remnant from the city."
The verse actually makes no sense; something is missing, and it is probably a subject noun. Literally "and he will emege out of Ya'akov and destroy whatever remains of the city"; but who is this "he"? David again? Most likely, but not if it is a Mosaic tale.
24:20 VA YAR ET AMALEK VA YISA MESHALO VA YOMAR REYSHIT GOYIM AMALEK VE ACHARIYTO ADEY OVED
וַיַּרְא אֶת עֲמָלֵק וַיִּשָּׂא מְשָׁלוֹ וַיֹּאמַר רֵאשִׁית גּוֹיִם עֲמָלֵק וְאַחֲרִיתוֹ עֲדֵי אֹבֵד
KJ: And when he looked on Amalek, he took up his parable, and said, Amalek was the first of the nations; but his latter end shall be that he perish for ever.
BN: And he looked down at Amalek, and delivered his oracle, saying: "Amalek was the first of the nations; but his end shall be destruction."
At what point did Balak invite Bil'am to pronounce oracles on the entirety of the regional map? Was he not brought here specifically to curse Yisra-El? Or is this, and what follows, in fact part of the Yisra-Eli oracle - his blessing, and then its consequences for the rest of the region?
The reference to Agag earlier brought the Amalekites into the tale, but they are not Mo-Avi, and their territory is some way distant.
YHVH's instruction to Mosheh to wipe out the Amalekites can be found at Exodus 17:14. Sha'ul's failure to complete the unfinished job is in 1 Samuel 15, which incident led directly to the "emergence" of that young "star" David as the "one" of verse 19.
24:21 VA YAR ET HA KEYNI VA YISA MESHALO VA YOMAR EYTAN MOSHAVECHA VE SIM BA SELA KINECHA
KJ: And he looked on the Kenites, and took up his parable, and said, Strong is thy dwelling place, and thou puttest thy nest in a rock.
BN: And he looked down at the Keynim, and delivered his oracle, saying: "Though your dwelling-place is firm now, and though your nest is set in the rock...
KINECHA: punning on the meaning of Keynim = "nest".
24:22 KI IM YIHEYEH LEVA'ER KAYIN AD MAH ASHUR TISHBECHA
KJ: Nevertheless the Kenite shall be wasted, until Asshur shall carry thee away captive.
BN: "For Kayin shall be destroyed, when Ashur carries you away captive."
LEVA'ER: From the same root that gives BE'OR, Balak's patronymic - see my note on the meaning of this at Numbers 22:5.
KAYIN: And what a surprise to find that name here - though it is usually avoided, by rendering it as KAIN or KENITE in the standard translations" To avoid the connection between the Kenites and the murderous son of Adam and Chavah? The Yehudit text could not be clearer: the word is KAYIN, which is Cain.
TISHBECHA: But that won't happen until Sennacherib's time, circa 720 BCE (click here for ASHUR). So is this Bil'am being a competent Nostradamus, or a retroactive text written much later?
24:23 VA YISA MESHALO VA YOMAR OY MI YIHEYEH MISUMO EL
KJ: And he took up his parable, and said, Alas, who shall live when God doeth this!
BN: And he delivered his oracle, saying: "Alas, who shall live after El has appointed him?..
Yet again, the text says El, not YHVH, not God.
24:24 VE TSIM MI YAD KITIM VE INU ASHUR VE INU EVER VE GAM HU ADEY OVED
KJ: And ships shall come from the coast of Chittim, and shall afflict Asshur, and shall afflict Eber, and he also shall perish for ever.
BN: "But ships shall come from the coast of Kitim, and they shall afflict Ashur, and shall afflict Ever, and he also shall come to destruction."
First we need to ask: who were the Kitim, and when did their ships come? The answer to the first question is at the link to their name: broadly, Cyprus. The answer to the second is rather interesting: they came in the period between Zeru-Bavel bringing the first Yehudim back from exile in Babylon, around 536 BCE, and the arrival of Ezra and Nechem-Yah about seventy-five years later; both returns were supported by the Persians, who had conquered the Babylonians in the meanwhile, but the Persians then engaged in war with the Greeks, culminating in the disastrous Battle of Marathon, and the re-destruction of the walls of Yeru-Shala'im - for a fuller picture, go to the section of this blog entitled "The Book of the Return from Exile". But the overall point is straightforward: this is Ezra's need for an oracle, at the time of writing down the Torah, and not one that can be attributed to the time Mosheh.
YHVH's instruction to Mosheh to wipe out the Amalekites can be found at Exodus 17:14. Sha'ul's failure to complete the unfinished job is in 1 Samuel 15, which incident led directly to the "emergence" of that young "star" David as the "one" of verse 19.
24:21 VA YAR ET HA KEYNI VA YISA MESHALO VA YOMAR EYTAN MOSHAVECHA VE SIM BA SELA KINECHA
וַיַּרְא אֶת הַקֵּינִי וַיִּשָּׂא מְשָׁלוֹ וַיֹּאמַר אֵיתָן מוֹשָׁבֶךָ וְשִׂים בַּסֶּלַע קִנֶּךָ
KJ: And he looked on the Kenites, and took up his parable, and said, Strong is thy dwelling place, and thou puttest thy nest in a rock.
BN: And he looked down at the Keynim, and delivered his oracle, saying: "Though your dwelling-place is firm now, and though your nest is set in the rock...
KINECHA: punning on the meaning of Keynim = "nest".
24:22 KI IM YIHEYEH LEVA'ER KAYIN AD MAH ASHUR TISHBECHA
כִּי אִם יִהְיֶה לְבָעֵר קָיִן עַד מָה אַשּׁוּר תִּשְׁבֶּךָּ
KJ: Nevertheless the Kenite shall be wasted, until Asshur shall carry thee away captive.
BN: "For Kayin shall be destroyed, when Ashur carries you away captive."
LEVA'ER: From the same root that gives BE'OR, Balak's patronymic - see my note on the meaning of this at Numbers 22:5.
KAYIN: And what a surprise to find that name here - though it is usually avoided, by rendering it as KAIN or KENITE in the standard translations" To avoid the connection between the Kenites and the murderous son of Adam and Chavah? The Yehudit text could not be clearer: the word is KAYIN, which is Cain.
TISHBECHA: But that won't happen until Sennacherib's time, circa 720 BCE (click here for ASHUR). So is this Bil'am being a competent Nostradamus, or a retroactive text written much later?
24:23 VA YISA MESHALO VA YOMAR OY MI YIHEYEH MISUMO EL
וַיִּשָּׂא מְשָׁלוֹ וַיֹּאמַר אוֹי מִי יִחְיֶה מִשֻּׂמוֹ אֵל
KJ: And he took up his parable, and said, Alas, who shall live when God doeth this!
BN: And he delivered his oracle, saying: "Alas, who shall live after El has appointed him?..
Yet again, the text says El, not YHVH, not God.
24:24 VE TSIM MI YAD KITIM VE INU ASHUR VE INU EVER VE GAM HU ADEY OVED
וְצִים מִיַּד כִּתִּים וְעִנּוּ אַשּׁוּר וְעִנּוּ עֵבֶר וְגַם הוּא עֲדֵי אֹבֵד
KJ: And ships shall come from the coast of Chittim, and shall afflict Asshur, and shall afflict Eber, and he also shall perish for ever.
BN: "But ships shall come from the coast of Kitim, and they shall afflict Ashur, and shall afflict Ever, and he also shall come to destruction."
First we need to ask: who were the Kitim, and when did their ships come? The answer to the first question is at the link to their name: broadly, Cyprus. The answer to the second is rather interesting: they came in the period between Zeru-Bavel bringing the first Yehudim back from exile in Babylon, around 536 BCE, and the arrival of Ezra and Nechem-Yah about seventy-five years later; both returns were supported by the Persians, who had conquered the Babylonians in the meanwhile, but the Persians then engaged in war with the Greeks, culminating in the disastrous Battle of Marathon, and the re-destruction of the walls of Yeru-Shala'im - for a fuller picture, go to the section of this blog entitled "The Book of the Return from Exile". But the overall point is straightforward: this is Ezra's need for an oracle, at the time of writing down the Torah, and not one that can be attributed to the time Mosheh.
KITIM: The phrase is echoed by Mosheh in his closing oracle: ""In due time he will make his way southwards again, but this time the outcome will not be as before. The ships of Kittim will oppose him, and he will be worsted." (Deuteronomy 11:29-30).
And then - of course! - why did we not make this full connection earlier? It was hinted, after all, when Bil'am went up to "Pisgah" for the second oracle (Numbers 23:14). This looking down on Yisra-El from the summit of the mountain, right here where Mosheh went to die, and "YHVH showed him all the land, even Gil'ad, and as far as Dan" (Deuteronomy 34:1), and where he delivered his oracles before he died, his vision of the future, his list of curses and blessings. Bil'am is Mosheh, satirised and pantomimed, transformed into a performing donkey! Now we need to go back to the text of Deuteronomy and see just how many more quotes and allusions and references there are.
EVER: As in Hebrews!?
24:25 VA YAKAM BIL'AM VA YELECH VA YASHAV LIMKOMO VE GAM BALAK HALACH LE DARCHO
וַיָּקָם בִּלְעָם וַיֵּלֶךְ וַיָּשָׁב לִמְקֹמוֹ וְגַם בָּלָק הָלַךְ לְדַרְכּוֹ
KJ: And Balaam rose up, and went and returned to his place: and Balak also went his way.
BN: Then Bil'am rose up, and went back to his own place; and Balak also went his way.
And what a terribly disappointing ending to our tale. If this were genuinely history, and not a pantomime script, Balak would surely express his fury one more time, and Bil'am would not just leave, but would run away in haste, with hundreds if not thousands hurling stones at him - the way Yirme-Yah would leave Yeru-Shala'im centuries later.
But what matters, in the end, beyond the satire, beyond the mockery, even more worth-keeping than the beauriful Mah Tovu; what matters is the pronouncement of a great future for Yisra-El, whether in the wake of Mosheh's journey, or the arrival of Nechem-Yah as Persian governor of a recovered Yehudan state.
pey break
pey break
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