NUMBERS 22-24. ( JE). THE EPISODE OF BALAK AND BALAAM. It may reasonably be assumed that the Moabites at first regarded with some satisfaction the defeat of their former conquerors, the Amorites, by their own kinsmen the Israelites. But the latter's occupation of the Amorites-' land aroused their je... [ Continue Reading ]
NUMBERS 22:41 TO NUMBERS 23:6. BALAK'S SACRIFICES PRELIMINARY TO BALAAM'S FIRST ORACLE. This section proceeds from E. Balak brought Balaam to Bamoth-baal (Numbers 22:41 _mg._), the site of a sanctuary placed where Balaam could have the objects of his expected curse before him. The sacrifices offered... [ Continue Reading ]
BALAAM'S FIRST ORACLE. Its purport is that the secure independence, the imposing numbers, and the undisturbed prosperity of Israel are proof that the people have not been cursed by God and therefore cannot be cursed by Balaam. The poem, which may have been incorporated, rather than composed, by the... [ Continue Reading ]
BALAK'S SACRIFICES PRELIMINARY TO BALAAM'S SECOND ORACLE. Balak's disappointment at Balaam's first utterance leads him to take Balaam to the field of Zophim (or the watchmen) in the hope that the different locality might dispose God to accept his renewed sacrifices and to grant his wishes. Some plac... [ Continue Reading ]
BALAAM'S SECOND ORACLE. This goes beyond the preceding in frustrating the hopes of Balak, for it declares that God has not only not cursed Israel, but has positively blessed it, and describes Israel's freedom from adversity and its formidable strength. NUMBERS 23:19. _Cf._ 1 Samuel 15:29 Numbers... [ Continue Reading ]
NUMBERS 23:25 TO NUMBERS 24:2. BALAK'S SACRIFICES PRELIMINARY TO BALAAM'S THIRD ORACLE. The scene of these was Peor, some mountain overlooking the desert bordering the Dead Sea on the W. The inconsistency between Balak's indignant dismissal of Balaam in Numbers 23:25 and his renewed attempt in Numbe... [ Continue Reading ]