He took him into the field of Zophim, to the top of Pisgah, and built seven altars, and offered up a bull and a ram on every altar. He said to Balak, “Stand here by your burnt offering, while I meet God over there.”
Yahweh met Balaam, and put a word in his mouth, and said, “Return to Balak, and say this.”
He came to him, and behold, he was standing by his burnt offering, and the princes of Moab with him. Balak said to him, “What has Yahweh spoken?”
He took up his parable, and said, “Rise up, Balak, and hear! Listen to me, you son of Zippor.
God is not a man, that he should lie, nor a son of man, that he should repent. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not make it good?
Behold, I have received a command to bless. He has blessed, and I can’t reverse it.
He has not seen iniquity in Jacob. Neither has he seen perverseness in Israel. Yahweh his God is with him. The shout of a king is among them.
God brings them out of Egypt. He has as it were the strength of the wild ox.
Surely there is no enchantment with Jacob; Neither is there any divination with Israel. Now it shall be said of Jacob and of Israel, ‘What has God done!’
Behold, a people rises up as a lioness. As a lion he lifts himself up. He shall not lie down until he eats of the prey, and drinks the blood of the slain.”
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv14, 19, 21, 23 Or, into the field of them that spied: to…
Or, into the field of them that spied: to wit, lest the enemy should approach.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv16, 18, 19, 20, 21, 23, 24 Num 23:16 And the LORD met Balaam, and put…
Num 23:16 And the LORD met Balaam, and put a word in his mouth, and said, Go again unto Balak, and say thus.
Ver. 16. Put a word.] {See Trapp on "Num 23:5"}
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv14, 15, 16, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24 Zophim, a place so called from the spies and…
Zophim, a place so called from the spies and watches which were kept there. Pisgah, a high hill in the land of Moab, so called Deu 3:27; 34:1.
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 On vv14–24 And he brought him into the field of Zophim,....…
And he brought him into the field of Zophim,.... Or Sede Tzophim, as Hillerus (i) reads it, so called from the watch tower, and watchmen in it: Jarchi says, it was a high place, where a watchman stood to observe if an army came against a city, and so a very proper place to take a view of the armies of Israel from:
to the top of Pisgah; a high hill in this place, where perhaps the watch tower was, or, however, the watchman stood: this looked towards Jeshimon or Bethjesimoth, in the plain of Moab, where Israel lay encamped, see Num 21:20, and built seven altars, and offered a bullock and a ram on every altar: as he had done before, Num 23:2.
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(i) Onomastic Sacr. p. 935.
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 vv15, 18, 19, 21, 22, 23, 24 While I meet the Lord - To consult him,…
While I meet the Lord - To consult him, and to receive an answer from him.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv17, 19, 21, 22, 23, 24 Verse 17. What hath the Lord spoken?] Balak himself…
Verse 17. What hath the Lord spoken?] Balak himself now understood that Balaam was wholly under the influence of Jehovah, and would say nothing but what God commanded him; but not knowing Jehovah as Balaam did, he hoped that he might be induced to change his mind, and curse a people whom he had hitherto determined to bless.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv15, 18, 19, 21, 22, 23, 24 Num 23:15. While I meet the Lord — To…
Num 23:15. While I meet the Lord — To consult him and receive an answer from him, if peradventure these renewed sacrifices will prevail with him to comply with our desires.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv14, 20, 21, 22, 23 The field of Zophim - Or, “of watchers.” It…
The field of Zophim - Or, “of watchers.” It lay upon the top of Pisgah, north of the former station, and nearer to the Israelite camp; the greater part of which was, however, probably concealed from it by an intervening spur of the hill. Beyond the camp Balaam’s eye would pass on to the bed of the Jordan. It was perhaps a lion coming up in his strength from the swelling of that stream (compare Jer 49:19) that furnished him with the augury he awaited, and so dictated the final similitude of his next parable.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv14, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24 Place. Hebrew sede tsohpim, or "the field of the…
Place. Hebrew sede tsohpim, or "the field of the sentinels." (Chaldean) Such were commonly stationed on the top of high hills, to give notice, by kindling a fire, &c., of the approach of an enemy, Isaias xxi. 11., and Jeremias vi. 1. (Calmet)
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).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv14, 18, 21, 22, 23 he brought him into the field of Zophim .…
he brought him into the field of Zophim . . . top of Pisgah--a flat surface on the summit of the mountain range, which was cultivated land. Others render it "the field of sentinels," an eminence where some of Balak's guards were posted to give signals [CALMET].
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 21, 22, 24 14. The field of Zophim was the cultivated field…
14. The field of Zophim was the cultivated field of the watchmen on the slope or top of the range of Pisgah. Mr. Porter identifies it with the ruins of Main, at the foot of Attarus, which he calls Pisgah. The watchers may have been sentinels in war or augurs in peace observing the heavens and the birds.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv14, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 24 14. to the field of Zophim] The site is…
14. to the field of Zophim] The site is unknown. Ẓôphim means ‘watchers,’ and it was evidently high ground which afforded an extensive outlook.
the top of the Pisgah] See on Num_21:20. There were probably many places in the mountains of Moab which would be useful as posts for sentinels. This one is defined as lying somewhere among the western headlands.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv14, 17, 19, 21, 22, 23, 24 (14) The field of Zophim.—i.e., of watchers. Tne spot…
(14) The field of Zophim.—i.e., of watchers. Tne spot seems to be identified with that from which Moses afterwards surveyed the promised land (Deu_3:27), and which is described in Deu_34:1 as “the mountain of Nebo,” or Mount Nebo. It is possible, however, that Pisgah may have had more than one of such summits.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv14, 15, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24 The field of Zophim, i.e., of the watchers. Probably…
The field of Zophim, i.e., of the watchers. Probably a well-known outlook. To the top of Pisgah. They followed apparently on the track of their enemies. (see on Num_21:20)
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain On vv19–21 God is not a man, that He should lie.
Num_23:19
God is not a man, that He should lie.
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The unchangeable God
I. God is unchangeable. God cannot change; to suppose that He could change would be to suppose Him not Divine. A finite being may refuse to change, adhering rigidly to some purpose; but all the while that being is capable of change, there is n thing in his nature which makes it absolutely impossible that he should change. But it is so with God. We here speak of unchangeableness in regard of Gods dealings with His creatures, though of course it is also in Himself, in His essence, in His own property, that God is unchangeable; and it is an amazing and overwhelming contemplation, that of our Creator as in no respect capable of change, immutable because infinitely perfect.
II. The contrast between God and man. This unchangeableness is indispensable to the Creator, but incommunicable to the creature. It is indispensable to the Creator, forasmuch as the Creator must he in every respect infinite. But all change ends in addition or diminution: if anything be added, He was not infinite before; if anything be diminished, He is not infinite after. But if indispensable in the Creator, it is incommunicable to the creature. We say nothing against the powers of God, when we say that God could not have made an unchangeable creature. Must not that which is unchangeable be self-existent, and therefore eternal? That which has already had beginning, has already undergone change--the change from nothing to something, so that a creature, because not eternal, cannot be unchangeable. God alone is unchangeable, because God alone is eternal. It is self-evident that He cannot make an eternal creature, and therefore certain that He cannot make an unchangeable creature. The creature, then, is changing, the sun as well as the atom, the archangel no less than the worm (Psa_102:25-27). Was it only of the material fabric of the earth, with its many productions-of the firmament, with its majestic troop of stars, that the Psalmist asserted this? Nay, it is true of the intelligent creation as well as of the material. And spirits are immortal: sparks from the eternal fire, they shall never be quenched; but though immortal, they shall not be the same; indestructible, they shall be always on the march. Angel and man, they shall not, as we have already said, be ever at a stand. Stand! when there are new heights to be scaled, new depths to be fathomed? Nay, it were imperfection, it were wretchedness. It is the glory of the Creator that He never changes; it is the glory of the creature to be always changing. Eternity shall be one mighty progress to all except the Eternal. I am Jehovah, I change not, the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. (H. Melvill, B. D.)
The word of God unchangeable
1. God is not a man, that He should lie. Balaam knew how capable he himself was of deceit and falsehood, how liable to be changed by bribery from one course to another; and it is possible that he might have entertained such unworthy notions of the Almighty as to imagine Him also movable and uncertain. But God has no admixture of evil, no imperfection; nor can He be tempted with evil. Men have their own corrupt interests to serve; their own gain to study, their own gratification to seek: and when these things cannot be so readily compassed by integrity, recourse is often had to deceitful dealing. It may not always be that a mans word is actually broken; but there is very commonly, in the children of this world, some kind of double dealing to suit a carnal purpose. From all this, and from all approach to this, the Lord is purely free: He can neither deceive nor be deceived.
2. Neither the son of man, that He should repent, or change His purpose. Man is ignorant and short-sighted; often knows not what will be for the best: and the plan, which he bad contrived with his utmost skill, is not seldom injurious; and thus he is compelled to alter and relinquish. But God is all-wise: O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God!
3. We may infer--
(1) That all the Divine judgments against sin and sinners will be infallibly executed. And--
(2) That every promise of God to His people will, in due season, be abundantly accomplished.
1. The imminent danger of sin, and the certain ruin from it, if persisted in, are by no means believed and perceived, as they ought to be. The Almighty has declared, throughout His word of truth, that He is a God of holiness; and that in unholiness, in disobedience, in unrepented guilt, no man can be accepted, no man can approach Him.
2. And, blessed be the holy name of God, the gracious promises of mercy to His faithful and obedient servants are not less frequent than the threatenings of wrath upon the impenitent and forgetful. (J. Slade, M. A.)
The unchangeableness of Jehovah
I. Some men think that God will lie. God has told us, with strong and repeated asseverations, that we must be born again (Joh_3:7); but this is totally disbelieved by--
1. The profane. They persuade themselves that such strictness in religion, as is implied in the new birth, is not necessary; and that they shall go to heaven in their own way.
2. The self-righteous. These consider regeneration as a dream of weak enthusiasts, and are satisfied with the form of godliness, without ever experiencing the power of it.
3. The hypocritical professors of religion. These, having changed their creed, together with their outward conduct, fancy themselves Christians, notwithstanding their faith n either overcomes the world, nor works by love, nor purifies their hearts. That all these persons think God will lie, is evident beyond a doubt; for if they really believed that old things must pass away and all things become new (2Co_5:17), before they can enter into the kingdom of heaven, they would feel concerned to know whether any such change had taken place in them; nor would they be satisfied till they had a Scriptural evidence that they were indeed new creatures in Christ Jesus.
II. Others fear he may lie. This is common with persons--
1. Under conviction of sin. When men are deeply convinced of sin, they find it exceedingly difficult to rest simply on the promises of the Gospel; such as Joh_6:37; Isa_1:18; Isa_55:1.
2. Under temptation or desertion. God has declared that He will not suffer His people to be tempted above what they are able to bear (1Co_10:13). But when they come into temptation, they are apt to say, as David, I shall one day perish, &c. (1Sa_27:1).
III. But God neither will nor can lie.
1. He will not lie.
(1) Let us hear the testimonies of those who have tried Him. Moses (Deu_32:4); Joshua (Jos_23:14); Samuel (1Sa_15:29).
(2) Let us attend to Gods own assertions and appeals (Isa_5:4; Isa_49:19). Would He ever venture to speak thus strongly on His own behalf if His creatures could make good their accusations against Him?
(3) Let us look to matter of fact. Are not His past actions so many types and pledges of what He will hereafter perform? (2Pe_2:4-9; Jud_1:7).
2. He cannot lie. Truth is as essential to the Divine nature as goodness, wisdom, power, or any other attribute; so that He can as easily cease to be good, or wise, or powerful, as He can suffer one jot or tittle of His word to fail. (C. Simeon, M. A.)
The Lord is unchangeably true in all His ways, words, and works
His decrees are immutable and irrevocable, and without shadow of turning (Psa_105:7-8; Psa_105:10). To this purpose the apostle saith, The gifts and calling of God are without repentance (Rom_11:29). By all these places we see that God is unchangeable in His mercy and goodness toward His Church and children. The reasons follow to be considered.
1. First, He is not like unto man, His ways are not like mans ways, nor His thoughts like unto mans thoughts; but as far as heaven is distant from the earth, so far are the works of God from ours. We know by experience the changeable nature of man. He is constant to-day, he changeth to-morrow. He loveth one day, and hateth another.
2. Secondly, His love and mercy to His people is not changeable as the moon, unconstant as the wind, floating as the sea, uncertain as the weather, but stable as the earth that cannot be moved out of his place, and steadfast as Mount Sion that remaineth for ever. This will plainly appear unto us if we consider the similitudes whereby it is expressed. His love is like to the covenant of waters, and as sure as the promise that He made to Noah, that the waters should no more overflow the whole earth, as the prophet Isaiah teacheth, Isa_54:7-9.
3. Again, His goodness is as the ordinance of God, that hath set an order for summer and winter, for day and night, for seed-time and harvest, for cold and heat, which shall not be changed, therefore the Lord saith (Jer_31:35; Jer_33:20). Nay, His mercy is said to be more stable than the mountains (Isa_54:10).
Now let us come to the uses of this doctrine.
1. First, hereby we learn that God is to be preferred before all creatures.
2. Secondly, we may from hence assure ourselves that God will make us unchangeable like Himself, and we may rejoice in the comfort of thin His favour. For seeing His nature is unchangeable, He will make us in our men, sure partakers of immortality. This is a great comfort unto us in these days of sorrow, to consider that the time will come, when our state shall be changed, and we continue for ever without change. Here we are subject to many turnings and returnings, but after this life shall be no more place for changing; our happiness shall be unchangeable, and firmly established with God. This the prophet sets down (Psa_16:12).
3. Thirdly, it teacheth that it is time for us to repent and turn unto God. An unchangeable God, an unchangeable word. Let us be transformed into the obedience of it. It is not a leaden rule to bend every way to us. All our ways must be framed unto it. And when once we are turned to God, let us not return back again to our old ways, but persevere constant unto the end. The unchangeable God requireth an unchangeable servant.
4. Lastly, herein is great comfort offered to the servants of God, as on the other side horror to the wicked and disobedient. For seeing God is immutable, we may from hence take strong consolation by former examples of Gods dealing toward His children, and in all temptations build ourselves upon that blessed experience, as upon a sure foundation that can never fail us. (W. Attersoll.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
C. I. Scofield 1917 · Public Domain On vv19, 22 Scofield "Zec 8:14".
repent
Scofield "Zec 8:14".
The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain On v14 The Second Sacrifice and Prophetic Utterance. —
The Second Sacrifice and Prophetic Utterance. —
v. 14. And he brought him into the field of Zophim, to the top of Pisgah, to a high plateau of the mountain range which overlooks the Plains of Moab, and built seven altars, as before, and offered a bullock and a ram on every altar.
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v. 15. And he said unto Balak, Stand here by thy burnt offering, maintaining the position of the devout worshiper praying for the fulfillment of his desire, while I meet the Lord yonder, for the purpose of receiving omens concerning the success of their venture, the same mixture of proper religious rites with the ceremonies of heathenism as before.
v. 16. And the Lord met Balaam, as after the first sacrifice, and put a word in his mouth and said, Go again unto Balak and say thus; the exact form of the prophetic utterance was prescribed to him.
v. 17. And when he came to him (Balak), behold, he stood by his burnt offering, and the princes of Moab with him. And Balak said unto him, What hath the Lord spoken?
v. 18. And he took up his parable and said, Rise up, Balak, and hear; hearken unto me, thou son of Zippor. The king was to lift up heart and mind to the elevated plane which agreed with the message that was about to be delivered to him.
v. 19. God is not a man that He should lie, neither the son of man that He should repent, a statement which reproved the thought of Balak that God might take back His word concerning the blessing upon Israel. Hath He said, and shall He not do it? Or hath He spoken, and shall He not make it good?
v. 20. Behold, I have received commandment to bless, and He hath blessed; and I cannot reverse it. The unchangeability of the divine counsels is a necessary consequence of the divine faithfulness, as an expression of the essence of the Lord. The blessing which He had put into the mouth of Balaam after the first sacrifice could not be canceled, and the soothsayer was not in a position to cancel it, much as he personally might be inclined to do so.
v. 21. He hath not beheld iniquity in Jacob, neither hath He seen perverseness in Israel, no trouble or affliction. Since the Lord found no criminal wickedness, no moral and spiritual rottenness of a kind that would be followed by a curse, this being true of the people in their covenant relation to God, therefore His blessing was still with them. The Lord, his God, is with him, and the shout of a king is among them; they are full of happiness and rejoicing because Jehovah is living in their midst as king, Exo 15:18; Deu 33:5.
v. 22. God brought them out of Egypt, that occasion being the chief instance when He proved Himself their King, and this mighty work was still going on; he (Israel) hath, as it were, the strength of an unicorn, of the wild ox, which was considered the embodiment of fierceness and indomitable strength.
v. 23. Surely there is no enchantment against Jacob, neither is there any divination against Israel; the Israelites were not obliged to resort to any questionable methods of witchcraft, because they had the immediate Revelation of the true God in their midst, who personally led the host and equipped the army with power. According to this time it shall be said of Jacob and Israel, What hath God wrought! that is, whenever it was needed, at the right time, God took care to reveal to His people His counsel and will in His Word.
v. 24. Behold, the people shall rise up as a great lion, like a lioness setting out to seek food, and lift up himself as a young lion; he shall not lie down until he eat of the prey and drink the blood of the slain. In short, Israel, with the true God on his side, was invincible, for the blessing of Jehovah rested upon him. The words of blessing given Judah, Gen 49:9, were hereby transferred to the whole people.
v. 25. And Balak said unto Balaam, Neither curse them at all, nor bless them at all; since Balaam would apparently not curse the people, as Balak sees with indignation, therefore he also should not bless them, that is, he should discontinue his prophetic utterances entirely.
v. 26. But Balaam answered and said unto Balak, Told not I thee, saying, All that the Lord speaketh, that I must do? He was still under the influence of the terror of the Lord and must set aside all personal preferences.
v. 27. And Balak said unto Balaam, Come, I pray thee, I will bring thee unto another place; he still believed that the location and the conditions had something to do with the soothsayer’s power; peradventure it will please God that thou mayest curse me them from thence.
v. 28. And Balak brought Balaam unto the top of Peor, a peak in the mountain range which ran parallel to the Jordan and the Dead Sea, that looketh toward Jeshimon, with an unobstructed view over the entire country, also the wilderness.
v. 29. And Balaam said unto Balak, Build me here seven altars, and prepare me here seven bullocks and seven rams.
v. 30. And Balak did as Balaam had said, and offered a bullock and a ram on every altar, still with the idea that his object could be gained, which was, of course, rank foolishness. As the Lord held His sheltering hand over the people of the covenant at that time, so He now lives and reigns in the midst of His congregation, the people of the New Testament. In and with Him the Church is invincible and will conquer all her enemies.
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv16, 19, 21, 23, 24 put a message in his mouth
put a message in his mouth
The message is spoken of as if it is something that God put into his mouth. See how you translated a similar phrase in Numbers 22:38. AT: "told him what to say" (See: Metaphor)
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He said
"Then Yahweh said"
Balak, and hear ... Listen to me, you son of Zippor
These two phrases mean the same thing and are repeated to emphasize how important it was for Balak to pay attention. (See: Parallelism)
son of Zippor
This refers to Balak. See how you translated this in Numbers 22:2.
translationWords
Yahweh
Moab
prophet
raise
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv18, 19, 20, 23 23:18-24 This oracle emphasizes God’s faithfulness to his people—he…
23:18-24 This oracle emphasizes God’s faithfulness to his people—he would stay with them and keep all of his promises.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.