Then Yahweh opened the eyes of Balaam, and he saw Yahweh’s angel standing in the way, with his sword drawn in his hand; and he bowed his head, and fell on his face.
Parallel Translations
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Then Yahweh opened the eyes of Balaam, and he saw Yahweh’s angel standing in the way, with his sword drawn in his hand; and he bowed his head, and fell on his face.
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Then the LORD opened the eyes of Balaam, and he saw the angel of the LORD standing in the way, and his sword drawn in his hand: and he bowed down his head, and fell flat on his face.
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Then the LORD opened the eyes of Balaam, and he saw the angel of the LORD standing in the way, with his sword drawn in his hand; and he bowed his head, and fell on his face.
Cross-references (11)
Passages linked to Numbers 22:31 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Genesis 21:19 God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water. She went, filled the container with water, and gave the boy a drink.
- Luke 24:31 Their eyes were opened and they recognized him, then he vanished out of their sight.
- Numbers 24:4 he says, who hears the words of God, who sees the vision of the Almighty, falling down, and having his eyes open:
- Numbers 24:16 he says, who hears the words of God, knows the knowledge of the Most High, and who sees the vision of the Almighty, Falling down, and having his eyes open:
- 1 Chronicles 21:16 David lifted up his eyes, and saw Yahweh’s angel standing between earth and the sky, having a drawn sword in his hand stretched out over Jerusalem. Then David and the elders, clothed in sackcloth, fell on their faces.
- Luke 24:16 But their eyes were kept from recognizing him.
- Acts 26:18 to open their eyes, that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive remission of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’
- Exodus 34:8 Moses hurried and bowed his head toward the earth, and worshiped.
- Psalms 9:20 Put them in fear, Yahweh. Let the nations know that they are only men.
- John 18:6 When therefore he said to them, “I am he,” they went backward, and fell to the ground.
- 2 Kings 6:17-20 Elisha prayed, and said, “Yahweh, please open his eyes, that he may see.” Yahweh opened the young man’s eyes; and he saw: and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire around Elisha. When they came down to him, Elisha prayed to Yahweh, and said, “Please strike this people with blindness.” He struck them with blindness according to Elishah’s word. Elisha said to them, “This is not the way, neither is this the city. Follow me, and I will bring you to the man whom you seek.” He led them to Samaria. When they had come into Samaria, Elisha said, “Yahweh, open these men’s eyes, that they may see.” Yahweh opened their eyes, and they saw; and behold, they were in the middle of Samaria.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (9 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain For whose eyes the Lord doth not open, they…
For whose eyes the Lord doth not open, they can neither see his anger, nor his love.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain In token of reverence and submission.
In token of reverence and submission.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain And Balaam said unto the angel of the Lord,…
And Balaam said unto the angel of the Lord, I have sinned,.... That is, in beating the ass; not that he was sensible of his sin of covetousness, and of the evil disposition of his mind, and of his wicked intention in going along with the princes to curse Israel, if possible, and get Balak's presents and preferments:
for I knew not that thou stoodest in the way against me; signifying, that if he had known it, he should not have smitten the ass, but submitted himself to the will of the angel:
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now therefore, if it displease thee, I will get me back again; which he spoke very coldly and faintly, not caring heartily to go back, unless forced to it; for seeing a drawn sword in his hand, he might be afraid of his life should he persist in his journey, and therefore feigns a readiness to go back, quitting it on condition that his going forwards was displeasing; whereas he knew it was, especially his going with an evil mind to hurt Israel if possible.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On his face - In token of reverence and…
On his face - In token of reverence and submission.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain Num 22:31-32. The Lord opened the eyes of Balaam…
Num 22:31-32. The Lord opened the eyes of Balaam — He presented the angel to his view, who had hitherto been invisible to him. He fell flat on his face — In token of reverence and submission. Thy way is perverse — Springing from covetousness.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain Ground, with religious worship; not as God, but as…
Ground, with religious worship; not as God, but as an angel. See Exodus xx. (Worthington)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 31. Opened the eyes — His natural eyes, which…
31. Opened the eyes — His natural eyes, which up to this time had been unable to see the angel. Luk_24:16, note. Says Hengstenberg, “This is a statement which cannot possibly be understood of any thing but the inward eye.” Query: Did the ass also see the angel with his inward eye? Was the beast in an ecstatic state? The literal exegesis is far more rational than that which reduces this whole affair to a phantasm supernaturally wrought in the mind of the man and the beast.
Fell flat on his face — Hebrew, he bowed himself to his face, that is, either upon his own face, or to the face of the angel, in adoration. “Adored him, [falling,] prone to the ground.” — Vulgate. “He bowed, and worshipped upon his face.” — Targum of Onkelos.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain The Lord opened the eyes of Balaam, and he…
The Lord opened the eyes of Balaam, and he saw the angel. As on other occasions, the angel was not perceptible to ordinary sight, but only to eyes in some way quickened and purged by the Divine operation. This explains the fact that Balaam"s companions would appear to have seen nothing. (cf. Act_9:7)
Vers. 31-35. Balaam the arrest.
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The secret willingness of Balaam to yield to the solicitations of Balak, seen at first in the tone of his answer, "The Lord refuseth," &c., was still more manifest in his parleying with the second appeal. Though he felt the resistless force of the Divine restraint, yet he delayed the return of the messengers for the night in hope of getting a reversal of the sentence (verses 18, 19). No wonder God"s anger was kindled against him, and that, though permission was at last given him to go, he was made in this startling way to feel that he was in the hands of a Power that would not be mocked. Whatever view we take of the strange incidents of this narrative, whether as objective realities, or as the visions of a trance, the moral lessons remain substantially the same. Three features of Balaam"s conduct are specially prominent. ;
I His CRUEL ANGER. His rough treatment of the dumb ass is marked with reprobation. It was both itself evil and the symptom of a hidden evil.
1. We may believe that the secret unrest of his conscience had a great dealto do with this outburst of anger. Note the subtle connection that often exists between certain unusual phases of conduct and the hidden workings of the heart. Jonah"s anger at the withering of the gourd was but one of the signs of his general want of sympathy with the Divine procedure. Balaam, perhaps, was not a cruel man, but the sense of wrong within and the feeling that he was doing wrong betrayed itself even in this form of behaviour. Conscience made him a coward, and cowardice is always cruel. If it had not been for the "madness" of his passion, he might have judged, as a diviner, that the unwillingness of the beast to pursue her journey counseled him to return; but when a man"s heart is not right with God, resentment is often roused against that which is meant to turn him into a better way. "Am I become your enemy because I tell you the truth?". (Gal_4:16)
2. It illustrates the sad subjection of the inferior creatures to the curse of moral evil. "The creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly." "The whole creation groaneth," &c. We think it strange that the dumb ass should "speak with man"s voice and rebuke the prophet"s madness," but, to the ear that can hear it, such a voice is continually going forth from all the innocent creatures that suffer the cruel consequences of man"s abuse. Well may St. Paul represent them as "waiting with earnest expectation for the manifestation of the sons of God". ; (Rom_8:19, Rom_8:22)
II HIS BLIND INFATUATION. It is deeply significant that he should not have seen the angel. Even the poor dumb creature that he rode saw more than he did. It was his moral perversity, the frenzy of his carnal ambition, that was the true cause of the dullness of his spiritual vision. Note
1. Sin blinds men to the things that it is most needful for them to apprehend and know. Mental blindness often, not always, has a moral cause. "This people"s heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing," &c. ; (Mat_13:15) The highest spiritual truths, realities of the spirit world, tokens of the Divine presence and working, eternal moral laws, sacred responsibilities of life, &c. all these are darkly hidden from him whose heart is "thoroughly set in him to do evil. ;
2. Even animal instinct is a safer guide than the moral sense of a bad man.It effectually warns of danger, and prompts to the pursuit of the good nature requires. It is to the animal a sufficient law. But when the "spirit in man, the inspiration of the Almighty that giveth him understanding," the sovereignty of reason and conscience, is overborne by base fleshly lust, man sinks lower than the brutes that perish. Their obedience to the law of their being puts him to shame. Though they "speak not with man"s voice," their silent wisdom "rebukes him for his iniquity." "If the light that is in thee be darkness," &c. ; (Mat_6:23)
III HIS HELPLESSNESS. This is seen
1. In his abject submission. "He bowed down his head, and fell fiat on hisface," saying, "I have sinned;" "now, therefore, if it displease thee, I will get me back again." He must have known from the beginning that his obstinate self-will was displeasing to God, but now that the consequences of it stare him in the face he is filled with alarm. There are those who grieve over their sin only when it is found out. It is not the evil itself they dread, but only its discovery and punishment. Fear often makes men repent and reform when there is no genuine abhorrence of wrong-doing.
2. In the Divine compulsion under which he is placed to pursue his Journey."go with the men," &c. He would fain draw back, but it is too late now; he must do the work and bear the testimony that God has determined for him.
When men are bent upon that which is evil, God often allows them to become entangled in circumstances of danger from which there is no escape, that "they may eat of the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own devices". W. (Pro_1:31)
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 Then Yahweh opened Balaam's eyes, and he saw the…
Then Yahweh opened Balaam's eyes, and he saw the angel of Yahweh
To "open one's eyes" is associated with being able to see. AT: "Then Yahweh gave Balaam the ability to see the angel of Yahweh" (See: Metonymy)
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with his drawn sword
A sword is drawn from its sheath in order to be ready to use. See how you translated this in Numbers 22:23. AT: "with his sword ready to attack" (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)
Balaam lowered his head and lay facedown
This indicates that Balaam is humbling himself before the angel. (See: Symbolic Action)
Why have you struck your donkey these three times?
This rhetorical question is used to accuse Balaam of doing wrong. This can be translated as a statement. AT: "You should not have struck your donkey these three times." (See: Rhetorical Question)
as someone hostile to you
"as an enemy to you" or "to oppose you"
If she had not turned ... killed you and spared her life
This hypothetical statement indicated what could have happened, but it did not because the donkey's actions saved Balaam. (See: Hypothetical Situations)
translationWords
Yahweh
angel
sword
donkey
evil
turn
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.