Numbers 24 - Introduction

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 jealousy and their fears, and accordingly Balak the king of Moab sent for Balaam, a foreigner, whose blessings and curses were believed to be exceptionally effectual for good and for ill, to curse Israel. Balaam so far acceded to Balak's appeal as to come to him, but refused to utter anything but what Yahweh inspired him to say; and by Yahweh the Moabite king's wish to injure Israel was made conducive to his own undoing, Balaam being inspired to bless Israel. The narrative is designed to display the providential care for Israel manifested by Yahweh, who overruled to their advantage the devices of their enemies; and illustrates alike (a) the belief that the God of Israel did not entirely confine His revelations to His own people, (b) the belief in the potency of the spoken word, and (c) the belief that the lower animals have occasionally been endowed with the gift of speech. The story is derived from JE; and the composite character of this source is disclosed by the presence of certain repetitions and discrepancies which are pointed out below. A reference to Balaam also occurs in P, which connects him with Midian (Numbers 31:8; Numbers 31:16); and by a combination of the passages taken from all three sources Balaam has been regarded in the sinister light in which he appears in 2 Peter 2:15 f., Jude 1:1; Revelation 2:14. But the worst feature of the conduct attributed to him his advice to Israel's enemies to seduce them by means of their women is found only in P, the latest and least trustworthy of the Pentateuchal sources. In J, though he is represented as going to Balak without the Divine permission, yet he is depicted as steadfast in communicating faithfully Yahweh's revelation; whilst in E there is nothing at all in his behaviour to afford a handle to censure.