17I see him, but not now. I see him, but not near. A star will come out of Jacob. A scepter will rise out of Israel, and shall strike through the corners of Moab, and crush all the sons of Sheth.
18Edom shall be a possession. Seir, his enemies, also shall be a possession, while Israel does valiantly.
17 I see him, but not now. I see him, but not near. A star will come out of Jacob. A scepter will rise out of Israel, and shall strike through the corners of Moab, and crush all the sons of Sheth.
18 Edom shall be a possession. Seir, his enemies, also shall be a possession, while Israel does valiantly.
KJVKing James Version
17 I shall see him, but not now: I shall behold him, but not nigh: there shall come a Star out of Jacob, and a Sceptre shall rise out of Israel, and shall smite the corners of Moab, and destroy all the children of Sheth.
18 And Edom shall be a possession, Seir also shall be a possession for his enemies; and Israel shall do valiantly.
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JPSJPS Tanakh (1917)
17 I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not nigh; there shall step forth a star out of Jacob, and a scepter shall rise out of Israel, and shall smite through the corners of Moab, and break down all the sons of Seth.
18 And Edom shall be a possession, Seir also, even his enemies, shall be a possession; while Israel doeth valiantly.
Revelation 22:16(v17)I, Jesus, have sent my angel to testify these things to you for the assemblies. I am the root and the offspring of David, the Bright and…
Luke 1:32-33(v17)He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign…
Genesis 49:10(v17)The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until he comes to whom it belongs. To him will the…
Revelation 1:7(v17)Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, including those who pierced him. All the tribes of the earth will mourn…
Revelation 11:15(v17)The seventh angel sounded, and great voices in heaven followed, saying, “The kingdom of the world has become the Kingdom of our Lord, and…
Show all 34 cross-references
Psalms 45:6(v17)Your throne, God, is forever and ever. A scepter of equity is the scepter of your kingdom.
Zechariah 10:4(v17)From him will come the cornerstone, from him the nail, from him the battle bow, from him every ruler together.
2 Peter 1:19(v17)We have the more sure word of prophecy; and you do well that you heed it, as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns, and…
Matthew 2:2-9(v17)“Where is he who is born King of the Jews? For we saw his star in the east, and have come to worship him.” When King Herod heard it, he was…
Luke 1:78(v17)because of the tender mercy of our God, by which the dawn from on high will visit us,
1 Chronicles 18:2(v17)He defeated Moab; and the Moabites became servants to David, and brought tribute.
Hebrews 1:8(v17)But of the Son he says, “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever. The scepter of uprightness is the scepter of your Kingdom.
2 Samuel 8:2(v17)He struck Moab, and measured them with the line, making them to lie down on the ground; and he measured two lines to put to death, and one…
Job 19:25-27(v17)But as for me, I know that my Redeemer lives. In the end, he will stand upon the earth. After my skin is destroyed, then I will see God in…
Jude 1:11(v17)Woe to them! For they went in the way of Cain, and ran riotously in the error of Balaam for hire, and perished in Korah’s rebellion.
Jeremiah 48:45(v17)“Those who fled stand without strength under the shadow of Heshbon; for a fire has gone out of Heshbon, and a flame from the middle of…
Amos 9:12(v18)that they may possess the remnant of Edom, and all the nations who are called by my name,” says Yahweh who does this.
Zechariah 12:10(v17)I will pour on David’s house, and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplication; and they will look to me whom…
Jude 1:14-15(v17)About these also Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied, saying, “Behold, the Lord came with ten thousands of his holy ones, to execute…
Isaiah 9:7(v17)Of the increase of his government and of peace there shall be no end, on David’s throne, and on his kingdom, to establish it, and to uphold…
Genesis 27:29(v18)Let peoples serve you, and nations bow down to you. Be lord over your brothers. Let your mother’s sons bow down to you. Cursed be everyone…
2 Samuel 8:14(v18)He put garrisons in Edom. Throughout all Edom, he put garrisons, and all the Edomites became servants to David. Yahweh gave victory to…
Genesis 27:40(v18)You will live by your sword, and you will serve your brother. It will happen, when you will break loose, that you will shake his yoke from…
Genesis 32:3(v18)Jacob sent messengers in front of him to Esau, his brother, to the land of Seir, the field of Edom.
Psalms 60:1(v18)God, you have rejected us. You have broken us down. You have been angry. Restore us, again.
Psalms 60:8-12(v18)Moab is my wash basin. I will throw my sandal on Edom. I shout in triumph over Philistia.” Who will bring me into the strong city? Who has…
Isaiah 34:5(v18)For my sword has drunk its fill in the sky. Behold, it will come down on Edom, and on the people of my curse, for judgment.
Isaiah 63:1(v18)Who is this who comes from Edom, with dyed garments from Bozrah? Who is this who is glorious in his clothing, marching in the greatness of…
2 Kings 3:5(v17)But when Ahab was dead, the king of Moab rebelled against the king of Israel.
2 Kings 3:26-27(v17)When the king of Moab saw that the battle was too severe for him, he took with him seven hundred men who drew a sword, to break through to…
Psalms 72:8-11(v17)He shall have dominion also from sea to sea, from the River to the ends of the earth. Those who dwell in the wilderness shall bow before…
Psalms 78:70-72(v17)He also chose David his servant, and took him from the sheepfolds; from following the ewes that have their young, he brought him to be the…
Psalms 110:2(v17)Yahweh will send out the rod of your strength out of Zion. Rule among your enemies.
Isaiah 15:1–16:14(v17)The burden of Moab. For in a night, Ar of Moab is laid waste, and brought to nothing. For in a night Kir of Moab is laid waste, and brought…
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this passage (18 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
Geneva Bible translators1599 · Public DomainOn v17Meaning, Christ.
Meaning, Christ.
That is, the princes.
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He shall subdue all that resist: for of Sheth came Noah, and of Noah all the world.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp1656 · Public DomainOn vv17–18Num 24:17 I shall see him, but not now:…
Num 24:17 I shall see him, but not now: I shall behold him, but not nigh: there shall come a Star out of Jacob, and a Sceptre shall rise out of Israel, and shall smite the corners of Moab, and destroy all the children of Sheth.
Ver. 17. I shall see him.] So shall "every eye, and those also that pierced him," {Rev 1:7} but not as "Abraham saw him, and rejoiced"; nor as Job. {Job 19:25; Job 19:27} "The pure in heart" only "shall see him" to their comfort, as pure glass or crystal lets in the light of the sun. Some wicked men have greater common gifts than the godly; as many metals are brighter and more orient than the heavens. Yet as those metals are not so fit, either to receive or convey the light of the sun, so neither are the wicked so fit, either to take or give to others, "the knowledge of salvation by the remission of their sins."
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A Star out of Jacob.] Jesus Christ the true Morning Star. {Rev 22:16 Joh 1:9} That those wise men {Mat 2:1} had heard of, probably, either from the Chaldean sybils, or from the Jews in the Babylonish captivity, or from this prophecy of Balaam; for he was an east countryman, and uttereth here a very clear and comfortable prophecy of the Messiah, by whom himself received no benefit. Thus the Church, Christ’s "garden enclosed," {Son 4:12} may be watered through a wooden gutter; the sun give comfortable light through a sluttish window; the field may be well sowed with a dirty hand; the bell calls us to the church, though it never enter itself but by the sound; the well may yield excellent water, though it have much mud, &c.
And destroy all the children of Seth.] Heb., Unwall; that is, conquer and subdue. Christ by those ram’s horns, by the foolishness of preaching, pulls down strongholds. {2Co 10:4-5}
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 Poole1685 · Public DomainOn vv17–18I shall see, or, I have seen, or do…
I shall see, or, I have seen, or do see, for the future is oft put for other times or tenses: he speaks of a prophetical sight, like that of Abraham’s, who saw Christ’s day, Joh 8:56.
Him, to wit, the Star and Sceptre, as it here follows, i.e. a great and eminent prince, which was to come out of Israel’s loins; either,
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1. David, who first did the things here spoken of, 2Sa 8:2; Psa 60:8; 108:9, and some of the kings of Judah and Israel after him, for it is not necessarily understood of one particular person; or,
2. The Messias, as both Jewish and Christian interpreters expound it, who most eminently and fully performed what is here said, in destroying the enemies of Israel, or of God’s church, who are here described under the names of the nearest and fiercest enemies of Israel; which he doth partly by himself, by his word and Spirit, and spiritual plagues; and partly by his ministers, those princes whom he makes nursing fathers to his church, and scourges to his enemies. And to him alone agrees the foregoing verb properly,
I shall see him, to wit, in my own person, or with the eyes of my own body, as every eye shall see him, Rev 1:7, when he comes to judgment. Nor can it seem strange that Balaam should speak of such high and remote things, seeing he foresaw and foretold these things by the revelation of the Spirit of God, by which also he foresaw the great felicity of good men, and the miserable state of bad men, after death and judgment, Num 23:10.
But not now; not yet, but after many ages.
A Star; a title oft given to princes and eminent and illustrious persons, and particularly to the Messias, Rev 2:28; 22:16.
A Sceptre, i.e. a sceptre-bearer, a king or ruler, even that sceptre mentioned Gen 49:10.
The corners; either,
1. Literally, the borders, which by a synecdoche are oft used in Scripture for the whole country to which they belong, as Exo 8:2; Psa 74:7; 147:14; Jer 15:13; 17:3. Or,
2. Metaphorically, to wit, princes and rulers, who are sometimes compared to corners, as Zec 10:4, and Christ himself is called a corner-stone, because he unites and supports the building. But I prefer the former sense. Sheth seems to be the name of some then eminent, though now unknown, place or prince in Moab, where there were many princes, as appears from Num 23:6; Amo 2:3; there being innumerable instances of such places or persons sometimes famous, but now utterly lost as to all monuments and remembrances of them.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill1763 · Public DomainOn vv17–18And Edom shall be a possession,.... Of the children…
And Edom shall be a possession,.... Of the children of Israel, which was fulfilled in part when the Edomites became the servants of David, Sa2 8:14 and when they were smitten and spoiled by Judas Maccabeus,them a great overthrow, and abated their courage, and took their spoils.'' (1 Maccabees 5:3)and still more so when all the Edomites or the Idumaeans were subdued by Hyrcanus, and they became one people with the Jews, and conformed to their religious rites; which is not only related by Josephus (n), but by Strabo (o), an Heathen historian, who says, that they joined themselves to the Jews, and embraced their laws: but in a spiritual sense this has had a greater accomplishment in the calling of the Gentiles, and introducing them into the church of God; see Amo 9:12 compared with Act 15:14.
Seir also shall be a possession for his enemies; which was a mount in the land of Edom where Esau formerly dwelt, and so signifies the same as before: and also that the most strong and fortified places of the land should fall into the hands of their enemies; See Gill on Oba 1:17, Oba 1:18, Oba 1:19.
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Israel shall do valiantly; in fighting with and conquering the Edomites, or shall get much wealth and riches by the spoil of them, see Psa 60:9. This, and the following verse, are in some ancient writings of the Jews (p) interpreted of the times of the Messiah.
(n) Antiqu. l. 13. c. 9. sect. 1. (o) Geograph. l. 16. p. 523. (p) Zohar in Numb. fol. 85. 4. & 86. 1.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley1765 · Public DomainOn vv17–18I shall see him - Or, I have seen,…
I shall see him - Or, I have seen, or do see the star, and scepter as it here follows, that is, a great and eminent prince, which was to come out of Israel's loins, the Messiah, as both Jewish and Christian interpreters expound it, who most eminently and fully performed what is here said, in destroying the enemies of Israel or of God's church, here described under the names of the nearest and fiercest enemies of Israel: And to him alone agrees the foregoing verb properly, I shall see him, in my own person, as every eye shall see him, when he comes to judgment. Not now - Not yet, but after many ages. A star - A title often given to, princes and eminent persons, and particularly to the Messiah, Rev. ii, 28; xxii, 16. A scepter - That is, a scepter-bearer, a king or ruler, even that scepter mentioned Gen. xlix, 10. The corners - The borders, which are often used in scripture for the whole country to which they belong. Of Sheth - This seems to be the name of some then eminent, though now unknown place or prince in Moab; there being innumerable instances of such places or persons sometime famous, but now utterly lost as to all monuments and remembrances of them.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke1810 · Public DomainOn vv17–18Verse 17. I shall see him, but not now]…
Verse 17. I shall see him, but not now] Or, I shall see him, but he is not now. I shall behold him, but not nigh - I shall have a full view of him, but the time is yet distant. That is, The person of whom I am now prophesying does not at present exist among these Israelites, nor shall he appear in this generation. There shall come a Star out of Jacob, and a Sceptre shall rise out of Israel - a person eminent for wisdom, and formidable for strength and power, shall arise as king among this people. He shall smite the corners of Moab - he shall bring the Moabites perfectly under subjection; (See 2Sa 8:2); and destroy all the children of Sheth. The original word קרקר karkar, from קרה karah, to meet, associate, join, blend, and the like, is variously translated;
-vastabit, he shall waste, VULGATE.
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-προνομευσει, shall prey on, SEPT.
-'ישלוט yishlot, shall rule over, TARGUM.
-Shall shake, ARABIC.
-[Persian] barbend, shall put a yoke on, PERS.
-Shall unwall, AINSWORTH, c., &c.
The Targum of Onkelos translates the whole passage thus: "I shall see him, but not now: I shall behold him, but he is not near. When a king shall arise from the house of Jacob, and the Messiah be anointed from the house of Israel, he shall slay the princes of Moab, and rule over all the children of men."
The Jerusalem Targum is a little different: "A king shall arise from the house of Jacob, a redeemer and governor from the house of Israel, who shall slay the chiefs of the Moabites, and empty out and destroy all the children of the East."
Rabbi Moses ben Maimon has, in my opinion, perfectly hit the meaning of the prophecy in the following paraphrase of the text: "I shall see him, but not now. This is DAVID. - I shall behold him, but not nigh. This is the king MESSIAH. - A Star shall come out of Jacob. This is DAVID. - And a Sceptre shall rise out of Israel. This is the king MESSIAH. - And shall smite the corners of Moab. This is DAVID, (as it is written, 2Sa 8:2: And he smote Moab, casting them down to the ground.) - And shall destroy all the children of Sheth. This is the king MESSIAH, of whom it is written, (Ps 72:8), He shall have dominion from sea to sea."
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson1811 · Public DomainOn vv17–18Num 24:17. I shall see him, &c. — “Rather,”…
Num 24:17. I shall see him, &c. — “Rather,” says Bishop Newton, from whose exposition of the prophecies of Balaam many of the following explanatory observations are extracted, “I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not nigh; the future tense in Hebrew being often used for the present. He saw with the eyes of prophecy, and prophets are emphatically styled seers. There shall come a star out of Jacob, and a sceptre shall rise out of Israel — The star and the sceptre are probably metaphors borrowed from the ancient hieroglyphics, which much influenced the language of the East; and they evidently denote some eminent and illustrious king or ruler, whom he particularizes in the following words: And shall smite the corners of Moab — Or the princes of Moab, according to other versions. This was executed by David; for he smote Moab, and measured them with a line, casting them down to the ground; even with two lines measured he to put to death, and with one full line to keep alive; that is, he destroyed two- thirds, and saved one-third alive. And the Moabites became David’s servants, and brought gifts.” See 2Sa 8:2.
And destroy all the children of Sheth — “If by Sheth was meant the son of Adam, then all the children of Sheth are all mankind; the posterity of Cain and Adam’s other sons having all perished in the deluge. But it is very harsh to say that any king of Israel would destroy all mankind; and therefore the Syriac and Chaldee soften it, that he shall subdue all the sons of Sheth, and rule over all the sons of men. But the Jerusalem Targum translates it, the sons of the east, namely, the Moabites, lying east of Judea. Rabbi Nathan says that Sheth is the name of a city in the border of Moab. Grotius imagines Sheth to be the name of some famous king among the Moabites. Our Poole says, Sheth seems to be the name of some then eminent, though now unknown, place or prince in Moab, there being innumerable instances of such places or persons, some time famous, but now utterly lost, as to all monuments and remembrances of them.”
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes1834 · Public DomainOn vv17–18Render, I see him, though he be not now:…
Render, I see him, though he be not now: I behold him, though he be not near. Balaam here describes what is actually before him in inward vision.
Him - i. e., the prince, represented in the succeeding words by the Star and Scepter. The star has among all nations served as a symbol of regal power and splendour: and the birth and future glory of great monarchs were believed by the ancients to be heralded by the appearance of stars or comets: compare also Isa 14:12; Dan 8:10; Rev 1:16, Rev 1:20; Rev 2:1; Rev 9:1.
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The corners of Moab - literally, “the two sides of Moab,” i. e., the length and breadth of the land: compare Jer 48:45.
Destroy all the children of Sheth - Rather, “overthrow the sons of tumult,” i. e., the warriors of Moab, whose valour and fierceness is frequently referred to elsewhere (compare Exo 15:15; Isa 15:4; Isa 16:6, etc.) Compare Jer 48:45.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary1859 · Public DomainOn vv17–18Him. The great personage whom I have in view,…
Him. The great personage whom I have in view, whose coming is deferred yet for many ages. (Haydock) --- The whole prediction refers to the Messias, whom Balaam beheld by the eyes of his posterity, the wise men, (Calmet) or in the prophetic vision. (Menochius) --- Some modern Rabbins pretend that he speaks of David, who was indeed a figure of Christ, (Calmet) and defeated the Moabites, 2 Kings v. 8. But the prophecy was perfectly fulfilled only in our Saviour’s person, who is called the bright and morning star, (Apocalypse xxii. 16,) to whom all nations were given for an inheritance, Psalm ii., and Acts i. 8. (Worthington) --- Hebrew also, "I see this thy ruin, but," &c. Septuagint, "I will shew to him, yet not now; I will make him happy, (Calmet); but (makarizo, I bless) it, or he does not approach." God executed what he ever promised in favour of all Israel, when he sent them his beloved Son. --- A star. Christ, the light of the world, the splendour of his Father’s glory, whose birth was made known in the East, by a star, or meteor of unusual brightness. (Haydock) --- This material star is not the primary object of the prediction, since it did not rise out of Jacob, but it pointed out the orient from on high, and then disappeared. The ancient Jews understood this passage of the Messias. (Onkelos, &c.) Hence the impostor, Ben. Cusiba, took advantage of this general opinion, to draw the people after him, as the person designated; when he assumed the title of Bar-chocheba, "the son of the star," in the second age [century] of the church. --- Of Seth. Though David, as the figure of the Messias, conquered the Moabites, he cannot be said to have subdued all nations, the descendants of Seth, by Noe, nor all the just of whom Seth was the father, in opposition to the children of Cain. But Christ will subject all the just to his empire, and will judge all mankind. Some, nevertheless, take the children of Seth to be the Moabites, who had been already mentioned; and Junius translates the Hebrew with allusion to the shameful origin of that people. The Samaritan may also signify, if we substitute d for r in korkor, as Jeremias also reads (chap. xlviii. 45,) kodod. "He shall penetrate the ends of Moab, and shall overturn the walls of the children of elevation, or of pride." There were many hills in the country of the Moabites, and the people were noted for haughtiness, Jeremias xlviii. 28, 29, 45. (Calmet) --- Some also assert, that Seth was the name of a king, (Grotius) and of a town of Moab. (Rabbi Nathan) --- But of this there is no proof. (Haydock)
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 Brown1871 · Public DomainOn vv17–18I shall see him--rather, "I do see" or "I…
I shall see him--rather, "I do see" or "I have seen him"--a prophetic sight, like that of Abraham (Joh 8:56).
him--that is, Israel.
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there shall come a Star out of Jacob, and a Sceptre shall rise out of Israel--This imagery, in the hieroglyphic language of the East, denotes some eminent ruler--primarily David; but secondarily and pre-eminently, the Messiah (see on Gen 49:10).
corners--border, often used for a whole country (Exo 8:2; Psa 74:17).
children of Sheth--some prince of Moab; or, according to some, "the children of the East."
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. Whedon1874 · Public DomainOn vv17–1817. I shall see him — Rather, I see,…
17. I shall see him — Rather, I see, the Hebrew future tense being used for the present. The star and sceptre are designated by the pronoun him, which is often written before its noun. Maimonides interprets this of the Messiah, whose victory all the ancient victories foreshadow.
But not now — Not as a present object, but in spirit in the last days. Num_24:14, note.
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A star… a sceptre — This passage was understood by the ancient Jews to refer to the Messiah either exclusively or with a secondary reference to David. Hence the Chaldee and both the Targums — Onkelos and Jonathan-“When a king shall arise out of Jacob, and Messiah shall be anointed out of Israel.” The pseudo-Messiahs of the time of Adrian took from this prophecy the surname Bar Chochab, “son of the star;” and on this account received the homage of the Jews. Most of the church fathers and early interpreters referred it to Messiah, who came signalized by a star. See Gen_49:10; Mat_2:2, notes.
The corners of Moab — Or, on every side — from end to end. It is said that this cannot refer to the Messiah because Moab had disappeared when Christ came. But this objection rests on a misconception of the spirit of the whole passage. Its object is to announce what Israel shall do in the last days. The specific nations mentioned in this prophecy are typical of all the enemies of God and of his people. As long as there are foes to the Church of God there will be Moabites. But their power is broken, and they are doomed to destruction.
All the children of Sheth — Sons of tumult, (Jer_48:45,) a fitting designation of all wicked men, of whom the wild and warlike Edomites, Moabites, and Amalekites are types. Jewish authorities render this all the sons of Seth, that is, all mankind. But the human race is always called after Adam, and not after Seth.
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 Colleges1878 · Public DomainOn vv17–1817. In accordance with Num_24:14 Balaam treats of the…
17. In accordance with Num_24:14 Balaam treats of the future of Israel. ‘I see him (Israel), but not (as he is) now; I behold him, but not (encamped as he is) nigh.’
There shall come forth] lit. ‘there hath trodden’ (דָּרַךְ). Read probably יִזְרַח there shall rise.
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a star] A metaphor for a glorious king; cf. Isa_14:12, Rev_22:16. According to an early Jewish interpretation, found in the Targum, this verse was a prediction of the Messiah. The famous pretender in the reign of Hadrian was called Barcochba (‘son of the star’).
the corners] better ‘the two sides [of the head],’ the ‘temples.’ In Jer_48:45, where the passage is quoted, the word ‘corner’ is in the singular, and is in parallelism with ‘the crown of the head.’
And break down all the sons of tumult] In accordance with Jer_48:45 קַרְקַר (‘break down’) must be read קָדְקֹד (‘crown of the head’); cf. Psa_7:16; Psa_68:21.
sons of tumult] Heb. ‘sons of shçth.’ R.V. (‘tumult’) adopts a necessary emendation (שְׁאֵת for שֵׁת) suggested by Jer_48:45.
The two lines will therefore run:
And shall smite the temples [of the head] of Moab,
And the crown [of the head] of all the sons of tumult1 [Note: Others would read ‘sons of lifting up,’ i.e. pride (שְׂאֵת)] .
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 Readers1878 · Public DomainOn vv17–18(17) I shall see him . . . —Better,…
(17) I shall see him . . . —Better, I see him (or, it), but not now; I behold him (or, it), but not nigh. The reference cannot be to Israel, whose armies were encamped before the eyes of Balaam. His words must be understood as having reference to One whom he beheld with the eyes of his mind, not with his bodily sight. This is obvious from the words which follow. Balaam beholds in vision a Star and a Sceptre, not as having already appeared, but as about to appear in the future.
There shall come a Star out of Jacob . . . —Literally, There hath come forth a Star out of Jacob, &c. The verb is in the prophetic past or historic tense of prophecy, denoting the certainty of the event predicted. (Comp. Jud_1:14 : “Behold the Lord cometh”—literally, came.) If there is any ambiguity in the first symbol it is removed in the second. A star is a fitting image of an illustrious king or ruler, and the mention of the sceptre in the words which follow (comp. Gen_49:10) shows that it is so employed in the present instance. The Targum of Onkelos is as follows:—“When the King shall arise out of Jacob, and the Messiah shall be anointed from Israel.” The Targum of Palestine reads thus:—“A King is to arise from the house of Jacob, and a Redeemer and Ruler from the house of Israel.” Ibn Ezra interprets these words of David, but he says that many interpret them of the Messiah. It seems to have been with reference to this prophecy that the pretender to the title of the Messiah in the days of the Emperor Adrian took the name of Bar-cochab, or Bar-cochba (the son of a star). The words of the Magi, “We have seen his star in the East” (Mat_2:2), appear to have reference to this prophecy.
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And shall smite the corners of Moab.—Or, the two sides of Moab. The prophecy was partially, or typically, fulfilled in the time of David (2Sa_8:2). Moab and Edom represented symbolically the enemies of Christ and of His Church, and as such will eventually be subdued by the King of kings. (Comp. Psa_60:8.)
And destroy all the children of Sheth.—Better, and destroy (or, break down; comp, Isa_22:5) all the sons of tumult. Such appears to be the most probable rendering of these words according to the present Hebrew text. It has been conjectured, however, that the word which is rendered “destroy” (karkar) should be read kodkod (crown of the head), as in the parallel passage of Jer_48:45, in which case the clause may be rendered, And the crown of the head of all the sons of tumult.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary1880 · Public DomainOn vv17–18I shall see him, but not now: I shall…
I shall see him, but not now: I shall behold him, but not nigh. Rather, "I see him, but not now: I behold him, but not near". (WNrWva...Wnara exactly as in Num_23:9) Balaam does not mean to say that he expected himself to see at any future time the mysterious Being of whom he speaks, who is identical with the "Star" and the "Scepter" of the following clauses; he speaks wholly as a prophet, and means that his inner gaze is fixed upon such a one, with full assurance that he exists in the counsels of God, but with clear recognition of the fact that his actual coming is yet in the far future. There shall come a Star out of Jacob. Septuagint, anatelei astron . It may quite as well be rendered by the present; Balaam simply utters what passes before his inward vision. The star is a natural and common poetic symbol of an illustrious, or, as we say, "brilliant," personage, and as such recurs many times in Scripture. (cf. Job_38:7 Isa_14:12 Dan_8:10 Mat_24:29 Php_2:15 Rev_1:20 Rev_2:28) The celebrated Jewish fanatic called himself Barcochab, "son of the Star," in allusion to this prophecy. A Scepter shall rise out of Israel. This further defines the "star" as a ruler of men, for the scepter is Used in that sense in the dying prophecy of Jacob, (Gen_49:10) with which Balaam was evidently acquainted. Accordingly the Septuagint has here anasthsetai . Shall smite the corners of Moab. Rather, "the two corners" (dual), or "the two sides of Moab," i.e., shall crush Moab on either side. And destroy all the children of Sheth. In Jer_48:45, where this prophecy is in a manner quoted, the word rqrq (qarqar, destroy) is altered into rqodq (quadqod, crown of the head). This raises a very curious and interesting question as to the use made by the prophets of the earlier Scriptures, but it gives no authority for an alteration of the text. The expression tveAyneB has been variously rendered. The Jewish commentators, followed by the Septuagint (pantav uiouy ) and the older versions, understand it to mean the sons of Seth, the son of Adam, i.e., all mankind. Many modern commentators, however, take tve as a contraction of tave, (Lam_3:47 and read "sons of confusion," as equivalent to the unruly neighbours and relations of Israel. This, however, is extremely dubious in itself, for tve nowhere occurs in this sense, and derives no sup. port from Jer_48:45. It is true that tve yneB is there replaced by wOav yneB, "sons of tumult," but then this very verse affords the clearest evidence that the prophet felt no hesitation in altering the text of Scripture to suit his own inspired purpose. If it be true that rqrq will not bear the meaning given to it in the Targums of "reign over," still there is no insuperable difficulty in the common rendering. Jewish prophecy, from beginning to end, contemplated the Messiah as the Conqueror, the Subduer, and even the Destroyer of all the heathen, i.e., of all who were not Jews. It is only in the New Testament that the iron scepter with which he was to dash in pieces the heathen (Psa_2:9) becomes the pastoral staff wherewith he shepherds them. (Rev_2:27 poimanei after the Septuagint, which has here misread the text) The prophecy was that Messiah should destroy the heathen; the fulfillment that he destroyed not them, but their heathenism. (cf. e.g., Psa_149:6-9 with Jam_5:20)
Balaam the fourth parable.
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Balaam appears before us here as one who "seeing, sees not. His "eyes are open," but he has no real vision of the eternal truth of things. He has a "knowledge of the Most High," but not that which consists in living sympathy with his character and will and law. He recognizes the blessedness of the ransomed people, but has no personal share in that blessedness. He discerns the bright visions of the future, the rising of Jacob"s Star, the gleam of the royal Scepter that shall rule the world, the coming of the world"s redeeming Lord, but he sees him only from afar. Not "now," not "nigh," does he behold him; not with a vivid, quickening, self-appropriating consciousness; not as the light, the hope, the life, the eternal joy of his own soul. It is a moral portraiture, a type of spiritual condition and personal character, with which we are only too familiar. The faith of many is thus destitute of efficient saving power. "It is dead, being alone." Their religious perceptions are thus divorced from religious life. They have just such a formal, ideal acquaintance with God, without any of that immediate personal fellowship with hint which renews their moral nature after his likeness. They walk in the embrace of his presence, but their "eyes are holden that they should not know him." So near is He, and yet so far; so clearly revealed, and yet so darkly hidden; so familiar, and yet so strange.
I This is seen in THE INSENSIBILITY OF MEN TO THE DIVINER MEANING OF NATURE. The material universe exists for spiritual ends. God has surrounded his intelligent creatures with all the affluence and glory of it in order to reveal himself to them and attract their thought and affection to himself. "The invisible things of him from the beginning of the world are clearly seen," &c. ; (Rom_1:20) But how dead are men often to Divine impressions! They hear no voice and feel no influence from God coming to them through his works. They know none but the lower uses of nature, and never dream of entering through it into communion with Him who inspires it with the energy of his presence. Tribes whose life is nursed and cradled in the fairest regions of the earth are often mentally the darkest and morally the most depraved. The worst forms of heathenism have been found in those parts of the world where the Creator has most lavished the tokens of his glorious beneficence. The sweet associations of rural and pastoral life in a Christian land like ours are connected less than we should expect them to be with quickness of spiritual perception and tenderness of spiritual sensibility. Stranger still that men whose souls are most keenly alive to all the beauty of the world, and with whom it is an all-absorbing passion to search out its wonders and drink in its poetic inspirations, should fail, as they so often do, to discern in it a living God. Physical science is to many as a gorgeous veil that darkly hides him. rather than the glass through which the beams of his glory fall upon them, the radiant pathway by which they climb up to his throne. Their eyes are wondrously "open;" they have a "knowledge of the Most High" in the forms and modes of his working such as few attain to; "visions of the Almighty" in the glorious heavens above and the teeming earth beneath pass continually before them, and yet they see and feel and know him not. How different such a case from that of Job: "O that I knew where I might find him!" &c. ; (Job_23:1-10) There you have the passionate outbreathing of a soul that is hungering and thirsting after a God that "hideth himself." Here you have God urging, pressing upon men the signals and proofs of his presence without effect. There is no blindness darker and sadder than that of those who boast that their "eyes are open," and yet, in a glorious world like this, can find no living God.
II It is seen in THE INDISPOSITION OF MEN TO RECOGNISE THE VOICE OF GOD IN HOLY SCRIPTURE. To know that the Bible is a revelation of truth from God, and to know God as he reveals himself in the Bible, are two widely different things. There are those to whom revelation is as a Divine voice uttered long ago, but "not now;" a voice coming down to them through the ages as in distant echo, but not instant and near. To them these old records may be sacred, venerable, worthy to be preserved and defended, but in no sense are they a channel of direct personal communication between the living God and our living souls; "inspired" once, but not instinct with the spirit of inspiration now. No wonder the word is powerless and fruitless under such conditions. It is of no use to tell men that the Scriptures are "inspired" if they don"t feel God to be in them. dealing as a personal Spirit with their spirits to draw them into fellowship with himself. A new kind of consciousness is awakened, a new order of effects produced, when once a man begins to feel that the written word is the living voice of God to his own soul. He cannot despise it then. It carries with it an authority that needs no extraneous authority to support it the true "demonstration of the Spirit." Apart from this, the soul in presence of all these Divine revelations is like one under the influence of some powerful anaesthetic, receiving impressions on the outward sense of all that is going on around him, but conscious of nothing. The "eyes are open," but there is no living, spiritual realization. "They seeing, see not, and hearing, hear not, neither do they understand". (Mat_13:13Jo Mat_12:40 2Co_4:3, 2Co_4:4)
III It is seen in THE PURELY IDEAL RELATION IN WHICH MEN TOO OFTEN STAND TOWARDS CHRIST. By multitudes Christ is seen, as it were, "afar off." He is to them but as the vision of a dream, a vague, distant abstraction, a mere historic figure, the central actor in a tragical historic drama. They have never entered into any kind of personal relation with him, have never bowed before him in heart-broken penitence, adoring wonder, childlike trustfulness, grateful, self-surrendering love. "Virtue" has never gone forth out of him to heal the disease of their souls, because they have not yet "touched him." There is a wide distinction between the knowledge that comes by mere hearsay and that which comes by personal converse, between a distant vision and the living "touch." Though faith be in great part blind and unintelligent, yet if there is the quick sensibility of life in it, it is better than all the clear, unclouded vision of an eye that is no real inlet to the soul. There is a future manifestation of Christ. "Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him". (Rev_1:7) What shall be the relation in which we stand towards him then? There are those whose eyes will then be opened as they never were before. Shall it be only to have them closed again in everlasting night, "consumed with the brightness of his appearing"? You must be in living fellowship with Christ now if you would look with joy upon him when he comes in his "power and great glory. W.
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 Illustrator1887 · Public DomainOn v17I shall see Him, but not now: I shall…
Num_24:17-19
I shall see Him, but not now: I shall behold Him, but not nigh.
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Balaams vision
As I read these words I seem to look on the scene described. What do I see? I see the top of a wild mountain range, and I see altars smoking with sacrifices. Hard by stands Balak, with many slaves bearing costly gifts, gold, and precious stones, and spices, and garments. A little apart is Balaam, that strange mixture of a man. And now, as he gazes from the high places of Baal, and the altars of idolatry, he sees far below Israel abiding in their tents. There are the banners of the different tribes waving in the wind; the eyes of Balaam are opened, and he recalls the past of Israels history, and he foresees the future. And now, as we turn aside from this unwilling prophet who utters a blessing, in every word of which there was breathed a curse, what lessons are there for us of to-day.
1. First, we learn the awful danger of trifling with conscience, the whisper of the Holy Spirit within us. Balaam knew what was right, yet desired to do wrong.
2. We learn, too, the sin of trying to make a bargain, or compromise, with God. Hundreds of people are trying to do this, endeavouring to serve God a little, and the world a good deal. They profess to obey God, but only in the matters which they choose.
3. We learn, also, from the story of Balaams sin, never to neglect a plain duty for the sake of earthly gain. (H. J. Wilmot-Buxton, M. A.)
Two ways of seeing Christ
Commentators have differed as to the way of explaining the pronoun him, some referring it to Israel. We need scarcely say that we agree with those who refer to Him who is Jacobs star and sceptre. False as his heart was, the seer saw Him in the spirit of prophecy, and felt that a time would come when he would actually see Him. But the time when Jacobs Star would arise was not come, it was distant, and so he adds, but not now; I shall behold Him, but not nigh. This seems to be the obvious meaning of the words. But if you look at them in connection with Balaams state of mind, do they not contain a deeper and more awful meaning? Are they not prophetic of himself, as well as of Christ?--of his own awful end, as well as of Israels great destiny? I shall see Him! Yes, when He comes again; but does he express hope that he will share in the Redeemers glory and Israels blessedness? No, there is no word of hope, no expression of desire, as in the words of Job, For I know that my Redeemer liveth, &c. My Redeemer! says the afflicted saint, with an appropriating faith; whom I shall see for myself, he adds, in hallowed longing; but all that the unrighteous prophet could say was, I shall behold Him, but not nigh. In what spirit do we think of that day of which these men speak? All of us, without any exception, will see Christ. Every eye shall see Him. But how shall we see Him--nigh, or afar off? Like Job, or like Balaam? Has it been given us to say with the first, My Redeemer--mine, for He died for me? Or do we feel--must we feel, that we have no part in His salvation; and that when we see Him, it may be afar off. (G. Wagner.)
A Star out of Jacob.
Balaams prophecy of Christ as Star and Sceptre
Balaam, moved by the Spirit, sets forth Jesus in this prophecy in a twofold character--as the Giver of light, and as exercising kingly power.
I. First, as the giver of light: There shall come a Star out of Jacob. We all know that the Redeemer is more than once compared in Scripture to the sun (Mal_4:2; Luk_1:78). It is not, perhaps, quite so easy to see why Christ is compared to a star; for as the stars shine with a borrowed light, they seem more suited to be illustrations of the followers of Jesus than of the Saviour Himself. And so they are used in Rev_1:20 of ministers: The seven stars are the angels of the seven Churches; and by St. Paul of all Christians (Php_2:14). Applied to Christ, it may be to teach us how Jesus shines through all the long night of the Churchs sorrows. The sun dissipates darkness; where it shines, darkness ceases. It is so with the rule of sin. Into whatever heart Christ shines, there the power of sin is broken. The star gives light without dissipating darkness. It guides the wanderers feet. So Jesus gives light in the night of affliction. He does not altogether remove it, nor exempt His people from suffering. But they are not left in utter darkness. There is a star in the heavens above, so bright that it can penetrate the darkest cloud, and gladden with its light the loneliness of sorrow. But St. John teaches us something more about this star when he records the words of the glorified Redeemer, I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning Star (Rev_22:16). And why the morning star? The morning star is the last to disappear. It still continues to shine when the rays of the sun have overwhelmed every other light; and thus it is a beautiful emblem of Christ. Is Christ Jesus your Star, your morning Star? Is it to His light that you look? And if any earthborn cloud interrupts His light from your soul, do you look through the cloud, and wait, not impatiently, but earnestly, for its removal? Those false lights with which we encompass ourselves, the sparks of our own kindling, will certainly all go out, and great will be the consternation of those who will then be left in darkness. But if you are looking to Jesus, guided by His light, then your path will get brighter and brighter, until it ends in the perfect light of His presence, a height to which no cloud can rise. But there is one thing more that we must notice with regard to this Star. Balaam tells us the point from whence he saw it arise. There shall come, he says, a Star out of Jacob. This points us to the humanity of Jesus. All the brightness of the Godhead came to us through the humanity of Jesus.
II. But let us pass on to the second part, the kingly office of our Redeemer: And a Sceptre shall rise out of Israel. It may be thought, perhaps, in consequence of the words that follow, and shall smite the corners of Moab, and destroy all the children of Sheth, that this prophecy was fulfilled in the time of David, when the boundaries of Israel were so much enlarged, and their enemies overcome. But we ought to remember that just as the prophets and priests of Israel were types of Jesus as Prophet and Priest, so were its kings types of Him who was and is a King of kings. Jesus was a King in the days of His suffering on earth. It was under the direction of Gods providence that Pilate, though he meant it not so, wrote the title, Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews. The sceptre was in His hand; but He did not then put forth His great power and reign. His kingly office was held for a time in abeyance. True it is that Christ does reign. He reigns in the hearts of His willing people, and over a reluctant world. But this is the time of His patience and long-suffering. The hour is not yet come for the full manifestation of His kingly office and power. Does He reign in our hearts, destroying and keeping under our spiritual enemies?
III. But there is one point more in our text which we must not leave unnoticed, and that is, the consequence of the coming of the Star, and rising of the Sceptre--a power given to Israel to overcome his enemies. Those enemies are described, not generally, but very minutely. Moab is mentioned first, because, headed by Balak, the Moabites were then endeavouring to destroy Israel. The expression, Smite the corners (or sides) of Moab, signifies an entire destruction, perpetrated along the whole compass of its dominions. The next expression, The children of Sheth, has puzzled commentators. Some have taken it as a proper name, to designate one of Adams sons; but it is impossible to extract any good meaning from it if so understood. The Hebrew word has, however, lately been shown to be the contracted form of another word which signifies tumult; and this is strongly confirmed by a reference to a remarkable prophecy of Jeremiah concerning Moab, in which we can scarcely fail to observe an allusion to this prophecy of Balaam (Jer_48:42). The enemies of Israel were called the children of tumult, because they were ever restless; restless in themselves, because they knew not Israels God, and restless as neighbours, because they would give Israel no peace. Next to Moab, Edom is mentioned. Then follow predictions of judgments on Amalek, Israels first enemy, on the Kenites, strong as they seemed to be in their mountain-passes, on Asshur and Eber; and so terrible did these judgments appear to the seer, that he could not help exclaiming, Alas I who shall live when God doeth this? But all these are but typical of the greater enemies with which we have to contend. The sons of tumult encompass us about. Satan, knowing that his time is short, is ever busy. The world, so restless because it knows not Christ, pours in its influences upon us. The old man within us, though crucified, is ever struggling for victory. And Under these influences our very relatives and friends may hinder us on our way, just as Edom did Israel. What must we do to overcome? We must fix our eye upon Jacobs Star, the bright morning Star. We must cling to the sceptre of Jesus. Remember that the enemies of Gods people are already doomed to destruction. Yet a little while, and if you are Christs, Satan will be bruised under your feet. The world will not attract or frighten you. The old man will not struggle and weary you. (G. Wagner.)
The Star of Jacob
Our Lord, then, is compared to a star, and we shall have seven reasons to assign for this.
I. He is called a star as the symbol of government. You will observe how evidently it is connected with a sceptre and with a conqueror. Jacob was to be blessed with a valiant leader who should become a triumphant sovereign. Very frequently in oriental literature their great men, and especially their great deliverers, are called stars. Behold, then, our Lord Jesus Christ as the Star of Jacob. He is the Captain of His people, the Leader of the Lords hosts, the King in Jeshurun, God over all, glorious and blessed for ever!
1. We may say of Jesus in this respect that He has an authority which He has inherited by right. He made all things, and by Him all things consist. It is but just that He should rule over all things.
2. Our Lord as a star has an authority which He has valiantly won. Wherever Christ is King He has had a great and a stern fight for it.
3. This kingdom of Christ, wherever it is, is most beneficent. Wherever this star of government shines, its rays scatter blessing. Jesus is no tyrant. He rules not by oppression. The force He uses is the force of love.
II. The star is the image of brightness. Our Lord Jesus Christ is brightness itself. The star is but a poor setting forth of Ills ineffable splendour. As Mediator, exalted on high, enjoying the reward of His pains, He is bright indeed.
1. Observe, that our Lord as a star is a bright particular star in the matter of holiness. In Him was no sin.
2. As a star, He shines also with the light of knowledge. Moses was, as it were, but a mist, but Christ is the Prophet of light. The law was given by Moses--a thing of types, and shadows--but grace and truth come by Jesus Christ. If any man be taught in the things of God, he must derive his light from the Star of Bethlehem.
III. Thirdly, our Lord is compared to a star to bring out the fact that He is the pattern of constancy. Ten thousand changes have been wrought since the world began, but the stars have not changed. There they remain. So with our Lord Jesus. He is the same yesterday, to-day, and for ever. What the prophets and apostles saw in Him, we can see in Him, and what He was to them, that He is to us, and shall be to generations yet unborn. Hundreds of us may be looking at the same star at the same time without knowing it. There is a meeting-place for many eyes. We may be drifted, some of us, to Australia, or to Canada, or to the United States, or we may be sailing across the great deep, but we shall see the stars there. It is true that on the other side of the world we shall see another set of stars, but the stars themselves are always still the same. As far as we in this atmosphere are concerned, we shall look upon some star. So, wherever we may be, we look to the same Christ. Jesus Christ is still the same, the same to all His people, the same in all places, the same for ever and ever. Well, therefore, may He be compared to those bright stars that shine now as they did of old and change not.
IV. In the fourth place, we may trace this comparison of our Lord to a star as the fountain of influence. The old astrologers used to believe very strongly in the influence of the stars upon mens minds. But whether there be an influence in the stars or not, as touching this world, I know there is great influence in Christ Jesus. He is the fountain of all holy influences among the sons of men. Where this star shines upon the graves of men who are dead in sin they begin to live. Where the beam of this star shines upon poor imprisoned spirits, their chains drop off, the captive leaps to lose his chains. When this star shines upon the backslider, he begins to mend his ways, and to follow, like the eastern sages, its light till he finds his Saviour once more.
V. In the fifth place, the Lord Jesus Christ may be compared to a star as a source of guidance. There are some of the stars that are extremely useful to sailors. I scarcely know how else the great wide sea would be navigated, especially if it were not for the Polar Star. Jesus is the Polar Star to us.
VI. Our Lord is compared to a star, safely, as the object of wonder. We used to think when we were little ones that the stars were holes pricked in the skies, through which the light of heaven shone, or that they were little pieces of gold-dust that God had strewn about. We do not think so now; we understand that they are much greater than they look to be. So, when we were carnal, and did not know King Jesus, we esteemed Him to be very much like anybody else, but now we begin to know Him, we find out that He is much greater, infinitely greater than we thought He was. And as we grow in grace, we find Him to be more glorious still.
VII. Our Lord is compared to a star, as lie is the herald of glory. The bright and morning star foretells that the sun is on its way to gladden the earth with its light. Wherever Jesus comes lie is a great prophet of good. Let Him come into a heart, and, as soon as He appears, you may rest assured that there is a life of eternity and joy to come. Let Jesus Christ come into a family, and what changes He makes there. Let Him be preached with power in any town or city, and what a herald of good things He is there. To the whole world Christ has proclaimed glad tidings. His coming has been fraught with benedictions to the sons of men. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
Balaams prophecy
I. Christs predicted human ancestry. Out of Jacob, &c. He was the Lord from heaven; but He came through the lowly door of human birth.
1. His ancestry was chosen by God. That there was a fitness we cannot doubt; what it consisted in we do not know.
2. Its destinies were guided by God with a view to this great consummation. This explains many a dark passage in Israels history. So when we can view Gods leading of us from the result, all will be clear.
3. It was a lowly ancestry. Contrast with the great ancient powers.
4. It was by no means a pure and worthy ancestry. The clean came out of an unclean. Endless hope for man in that.
II. The twofold representation of Christs reign.
1. A Star. In its guidance.
(1) Universal and impartial. For all under the heavens.
(2) Abiding. No earthly power or malice can quench its light.
(3) Leads in the darkness. Burns the brighter the greater the darkness.
(4) Unobtrusive. You must watch and follow.
2. A Sceptre.
(1) Strong to protect His friends.
(2) Powerful to crush His foes. (Clerical World.)
The Star of Jacob and the Sceptre of Israel
I. The Star of Jacob or Israel.
1. Christ is a Star to give Divine light and guidance to the soul.
2. Christ is a Star of glory for His Church, and of conquest over all His foes.
II. Christ is the Sceptre of Israel, or of the Church of God. The sceptre is the emblem in all realms and ages of royal authority. Now Christ holds the sceptre of royal power in two ways.
1. As the Divine Lawgiver and Ruler of His Church for government.
2. For victory and eternal glory. (J. G. Angley, M. A.)
Balaam and the Star of Jacob
I. The deliverer of this prophecy.
II. The person foretold in this prophecy.
1. A star may be conceived an apt emblem of Jesus, from the loftiness and dignity of its position. Lofty as is the sphere of the common star, infinitely loftier is the mediatorial range of the circuit of Christ, the Star of Bethlehem. In His course as a Saviour, He completely overtops with His excellency all length, and breadth, and depth, and height--all time--all eternity.
2. A star, also, is an apt emblem of Jesus, inasmuch as it helps to relieve the monotonous aspect of the gloom of night with its brilliant presence. How undefined would be the face of night without the stars! It is the constant twinklings that are emitted from the various groups of stars above our heads which convert the dulness of night into positive cheerfulness. And is not Jesus the Star that gilds the dark night of affliction with the blessings of His spiritual presence?
3. How wonderful is it that He generally reserves the disclosure of His unsearchable ways to His chosen until the darkest hour of the night of tribulation! But Jesus, also, is aptly represented under the figure of a star, as being set forth to the world at large as a sign from heaven. To some He shines far off, as the star of better days to come; to more as the star of ill omen and wrath from on high to them that are disobedient and care not for the truth.
III. The purport of this prophecy. (R. Jones, B. A.)
Balaams vision
It is evident that the star and the sceptre are to be taken as emblems or types of some prince or warrior; for it is a living form which Balaam first represents himself as beholding, though he immediately proceeds to describe the being under images drawn from the inanimate creation. And that the star and sceptre did but figure some illustrious person is yet more clear from what instantly follows, seeing that the deeds of a conqueror are ascribed to him by the prophet--and shall smite the corners of Moab, and destroy all the children of Sheth. The successes of this potentate are then more fully stated - And Edom shall be a possession, Seir also shall be a possession for his enemies. And the prophecy, so far as we are now to consider it, is shut up in the declaration, that the warrior figured by the star and the sceptre should not be alone in his conflict, but should be associated with the people from whom he was to arise, Israel shall do valiantly. And who, think ye, is this leader or prince to represent? The first opinion is, that it was David whom Balaam foresaw and foretold; the second, that it was Christ. And these opinions may both be correct. It is very common for prophecies to have a double fulfilment. The first when they are taken in a somewhat restricted sense; the second when they are taken in their largest sense. And this is peculiarly the case when an individual is himself the type of a more illustrious; and when therefore it may naturally be expected that his actions serve also as predictions of those of his antitype. Now it is not necessary that we Should show you that a king such as David might be fitly represented under the emblem of a star and a sceptre. This at least will be immediately admitted in regard of the sceptre; for the sceptre being that which a king holds and sways, suggests necessarily the idea of a royal ruler or potentate. And if we cannot affirm quite the same of the star, we know that, in the imagery of Scripture, stars are put for the leading men of a country--those most conspicuous in the political firmament: so that when great convulsions are to be delineated--those agitations of society which confound all orders and ranks--it is by such emblems as that of the stars falling from the heavens that the overthrow of princes and grandees was commonly represented. We turn then to the things said to be done by the being thus figuratively described; and in these we may certainly recognise the actions of David. It is affirmed of the predicted king that he shall smite the corners of Moab, and destroy all the children of Sheth; Sheth (according to the best interpreters) having been the name of a great Moabitish prince. This affirmation (if Moab be literally understood) requires that the ruler of Israel should lay waste the country in which Balaam then stood; and so far the prediction was undoubtedly accomplished by David. For you read in the Second Book of Samuel--David smote Moab, and he measured them with a line, casting them down to the ground; even with two lines measured he to put to death, and with one full line to keep alive: and so the Moabites became Davids servants, and brought gifts. It is next said Edom shall be a possession; and you find it stated of David in the very chapter from which we have just quoted, David put garrisons in Syria of Damascus; and the Syrians became servants. As to what follows--Seir also shall be a possession for his enemies--it seems to be only a repetition of the former clause; for Seir was the name given to some parts of the country of the Edomites. So that the prophecy--a prophecy verified by the historical facts already adduced, is that Davids occupation of the land would be so complete that he should have possession of its fastnesses and heights. We need scarcely add that the remaining words of the text, Israel shall do valiantly, apply thoroughly to the people over whom David ruled; for the nation became eminently warlike under so illustrious a leader, and distinguished itself by courage in the field. And thus we may fairly say that if David were represented by the star and the sceptre, his registered actions and achievements correspond with sufficient accuracy to the prophetic delineation. But we doubt whether this accomplishment of the prophecy can seem to any of you commensurate with the grandeur of the diction with which it is conveyed. We thus bring you to the most important part of our subject. We are to apply the prophecy to Christ, and examine whether there be not a special fitness in the emblems of the star and the sceptre, when considered as designating the Redeemer; and whether the smiting of Moab and Edom do not aptly represent His victories and His triumphs. Indeed, so usual was it to associate the promised Christ with a star, or to take the star as His emblem, that we read of an impostor in the days of the emperor Adrian, wishing to pass himself off for the Messiah, assumed a title which signifies The Son of the Star; meaning thereby to announce himself as the star which Balaam had seen afar off. But admitting that the emblem of the star is employed in designating Christ, is there any special appropriateness in such an emblem? We reply at once that everything which has to do with light may fitly be taken as an image of Christ. There is nothing which so fitly represents the moral condition of the world when Christ appeared on earth as darkness. His office cannot be better represented than when He is exhibited under figures derived from the nature and the agency of light. But yet, why describe Him as a star, which does little towards irradiating a benighted creation? Why not rather take the sun as His emblem? He will be a sun to His Church throughout the heavenly states: but He is only as a star during the existing dispensation. And may not this, indeed, be most truly affirmed of a state in which at best we see through a glass darkly, and can know but in part? The night is yet upon us, though that night may be far spent; but it is no longer the starless night which it was ere the Redeemer brought life and immortality to light by His gospel. A star--a morning star has occupied our horizon, and the tempest-tossed barque, in danger of everlasting shipwreck, may steer itself by the light of that star to the haven where it would be, and where there is to be no more night, though no more sun. Christianity, as set up in the world, is but in its twilight. The night is still unbroken over a vast portion of our globe; and even where revelation has been received, we must rather speak of streaks like those on the eastern sky, whose gold and purple prophesy of morning, than those rich full lustres which flood creation when the sun has reached the zenith. On every account, therefore, is our Redeemer fitly emblemed by the figure which He applied to Himself--the emblem of the bright and morning star. And surely we need not say much to prove to you that the emblem of the sceptre is equally appropriate. You know that in Christ are combined the offices of Prophet, Priest, and King. But admitting the appropriateness of the emblems thus given to Christ, we have yet to examine whether the predicted actions were such as to be ascribed to the Redeemer. We have already shown you that if Moab and Edom are to be literally taken--that if they designate countries anciently so called--there are recorded events in the annals of the Jews which may be fairly considered as having accomplished the prediction. Now this is, of course, upon the supposition that the star and the sceptre represent David or some other Jewish prince, and will not hold when Christ is regarded as the subject of the prophecy. We need not say that Christ never ]aid waste the literal Moab and Edom; and we may add that there is nothing in Scripture to lead us to suppose that the countries formerly so called are hereafter to be specially visited by His vengeance. But you cannot be ignorant that it is common in the Bible to take a name which has belonged to some great foe of God, and to use it of others whose wickedness is their only connection with the parties originally so called. Edom and Moab are the names which prophecy gives to the enemies of the Church, who are to perish beneath the judgments with which that sun shall be saturated, when every baser light is to be lost in the star, and every other empire in that of the sceptre. And, therefore: in predicting the desolation of Moab and Edom, Balaam may be regarded as predicting the final overthrow of all the power of anti-christ, that a clear scene may be swept for the erection of the kingdom of Christ and His saints. The sign of the Son of Man is yet to be seen in the heavens, where it was beheld by Balaam, from the summit of Peor. I know not what that sign shall be; perhaps again the star--fearful meteor!--like that which hung over the fated Jerusalem, boding its destruction; perhaps again the sceptre--brilliant constellation!--burning with majesty and betokening the extinction of all meaner royalty; perhaps the Cross, as it appeared to the Roman--aye, when he was taught to know the God of battles, and to place Christianity upon the throne of the Caesars. But whatever the sign, the Being whose emblazonry it exhibits, shall come to deal out a long-delayed vengeance on tribes that have refused to walk in His light and submit to His rule. Now it is to be observed that though we have thus referred the close of the prediction to the close of the existing dispensation, there has been from the first and there still is a partial accomplishment of all that Balaam announced. There is evidently a great mixture in the prophecy. It is a prophecy of illumination, of dominion, of destruction, and all these are to be traced ever since Christ revealed Himself to man. There have been always those in whose hearts the day star has risen--always those who have yielded themselves as willing subjects to the Mediator--always the Moabite and the Edomite who have defied His authority, or sunk beneath His vengeance. So that however the grand fulfilment is yet to be expected in the complete triumph of Christianity and the overthrow of all the foes of the Church, enough is continually occurring to prove that the prediction sketched the whole period of the present dispensation. Throughout this whole period the words have been fulfilled, Israel shall do valiantly. Israel has borne up bravely against incessant assault, and supported from on high has been successful in withstanding the armies of the aliens. (H. Melvill, B. D.)
A new star
Professor Henry, of Washington, discovered a new star, and the tidings sped by submarine telegraph, and all the observatories of Europe are watching for that new star. Oh, hearer, looking out through the darkness of thy soul to-night, canst thou see a bright light beaming on thee? Where? you say, where? how can I find it? Look along by the line of the Cross of the Son of God. Do you not see it trembling with all tenderness and beaming with all hope? It is the Star of Bethlehem. (T. de Witt Talmage.)
Variety of representation of God
The Bible sets us an example of fashioning for ourselves a personal God to suit our need. When I find Paul using figures to represent to himself God, as his wants required Him, I know that I may do the same thing. When I want love, I may make God my tender and loving father or sister, or mother. When I want pity, I may make Him a Being of unfailing and boundless pity. When I want courage, He is my lion; when I want light and cheer, He is my bright and morning star--my God alert, my sun, my bread, my wine. We may imagine Him everything that is to us good and beautiful, tender and true, and know that we are not cheating ourselves by vain fancies, but have only touched the extreme outer edge of the ever-blessed reality. There may be dangers in this freedom and variety of our representation of our God; but there are dangers in all forms of our thought of Him, and in none half so much as in having no realisation of Him at all, in considering Him an abstraction of all the omnis. Thinking of Him thus, none can ever love Him, or walk with Him. (H. W. Beecher.)
Seeing the star
This one thing I have noticed in everybody--the moment they come to a clear apprehension of the love of Christ, they turn right about upon the minister, or upon the Christians who have been labouring, perhaps for years, to bring them to that very point, and say, Why didnt you tell us this before? Why, its what weve been always telling them. I think that trying to point a man to the love of Jesus is like trying to show one a star that has just come out, the only star in the whole cloudy sky. I can see no star, says the man. Where is it? Why, there; dont you see? But the man shakes his head; he can see nothing. But by and by, after long looking, he catches sight of the star; and now he can see nothing else for gazing at it. He wonders that he had not seen it before. Just so it is with the soul that is gazing after the Star of Bethlehem. Nothing in the world seems so hidden, so complex, so perplexing, as this thing, until it is once seen by the heart, and then, oh, there never was anything that ever was thought of that is so clear, so simple, so transcendently glorious! And men marvel that the whole world does not see and feel as they do. (H. W. Beecher.)
Death the crown of life
Our text may be considered either as a plaint, a sigh, or a song--a dirge winding to a march. There are, in reality, three questions interlinked in this passage. It is a question of studious curiosity. What kind of a race will then inhabit the earth? Men are naturally inquisitive to know who are to be their successors. Why not? They are to be the heirs in turn of our heritage; the tenants who are to move in as we move out; to enjoy our repairs, and to do, in turn, their own repairing for those who shall follow them. Who are they? The question deepens into a sigh. Here we go! just as we begin to take on the meaning of things about us ; scarce sooner found than lost. But what of that which is to transpire long after all these are past? Some one will tread the path that I am treading! Some one will saunter in the grove where I now linger! Some one will loiter to enjoy the landscape which now feeds me with its soft beauty! Some one will scent the fragrance of these laughing flowers! Some one will be soothed and hushed by the melody of the rippling stream! Some one will look beseechingly up into the face of the twinkling stars! Some one will cry out with unutterable longing, as we now cry, Alas! who shall live when God doeth this? We are baffled at the grave. We put our eyes close to the bars, but we cannot see. Death is the crown of life; and yet it is not the triumph of man over time, but of time over man. We leave the world behind us. Do lasting slumbers hold us? Is there no more of us when we are gone? When the reduplicated forces of the earth shall be put under command; when man shall sit in plumed victory over the opposing energies of nature; when the sword shall be beaten into a ploughshare, and the spear into a pruning-hook; when old hoary tyrannies and rusty wrongs shall be entombed for ever; when health shall mantle the cheek, and happiness shall festoon the fireside; when man shall keep faith with his fellow-man, and worship and adore his Maker--shall I live then? The thought gladdens, but it maddens as well. The scepticism that would console me with the thought that death is but a momentary pang; that I shall sleep in deaths dateless night; that all these struggles shall have come to their rest; ah! this scepticism is but a miserable comforter after all. Shall I be shut out from my share in history? shut out from my right to know? It is voiced in another shape: If a man die, shall he live again? God has provided a way by which His people may be released, and yet view this earth in all its perfected beauty and glory. Only the wisdom of God could compass this. The resurrection solves this mighty problem. All who labour shall see the reward of their labour. The sower shall be partaker of the fruit. Every journeyman who worked wearily upon the temple, shall be present when the topstone is lifted to its place. Fall in, and catch up the anthem to the King of kings! Fall in, and live for ever. Follow Christ, and shout victory. Presently time shall have halted from its confused scramble, and Gods finished workmanship shall have been taken from the loom, and the tapestry shall be revealed in all its beauty and perfection--the pattern will be complete. Then shall we learn that when we die we do not die out; that death is not death ; that to die is not to die, but to blossom into life. (H. S. Carpenter, D. D.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
C. I. Scofield1917 · Public DomainOn v17See "Kingdom" (See Scofield "Gen 1:26"), See Scofield "Zec…
Sceptre
See "Kingdom" (See Scofield "Gen 1:26"), See Scofield "Zec 12:8".
The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0On vv17–18General Information:
General Information:
Balaam continues the first of his four prophecies.
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I see him, but he is not here now. I look at him, but he is not near
Both of these statements mean the same thing. Balaam is having a vision of a future event. The word "him" refers to a future leader of Israel. (See: Parallelism)
A star will come out of Jacob
Here "star" refers to an Israelite king that will rise in power. (See: Symbolic Language)
out of Jacob
Here "Jacob" refers to the descendants of Jacob. AT: "from among the descendants of Jacob" (See: Metonymy)
a scepter will rise out of Israel
This means the same thing as the first part of the sentence. Here "scepter" refers to a powerful king. (See: Parallelism)
out of Israel
Here "Israel" refers to future Israelites. AT: "from among the Israelites in the future" (See: Metonymy)
shatter Moab's leaders
Possible meanings are 1) he will break the heads of the leaders of Moab or 2) he will destroy the leaders of Moab.
all the descendants of Seth
This also refers to the Moabites, who were descendants of Seth.
Tyndale Open Study Notes2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0On v1724:17 A star was a symbol for a king…
24:17 A star was a symbol for a king (cp. Isa 14:12; Matt 2:1-10), and a scepter was an image of power and majesty (cp. Gen 49:10; Ps 45:6). King David fits the description historically. The Moabites, whose defeat is mentioned in Num 24:17, were among the many peoples conquered during his reign (2 Sam 8:2), though Moab remained a dangerous enemy of Israel after David’s time (cp. 2 Kgs 3:1-27; Isa 15–16; Jer 48). Many interpreters have extended the image beyond David. Christians identify Jesus of Nazareth with a star (cp. Matt 2:2; 2 Pet 1:19; Rev 2:28; 22:16) and a scepter (cp. Heb 1:8). • The people of Sheth were probably the ancient Sutu, though it might refer to Edom/Seir (also conquered by David; Num 24:18), Ir (or Ar) of Moab (24:19; cp. 21:28), or Amalek, one of Israel’s earliest and most persistent enemies (24:20).
GEBible — Godless Engineer's Bible App
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On v17 Meaning, Christ.
Meaning, Christ.
That is, the princes.
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He shall subdue all that resist: for of Sheth came Noah, and of Noah all the world.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv17–18 Num 24:17 I shall see him, but not now:…
Num 24:17 I shall see him, but not now: I shall behold him, but not nigh: there shall come a Star out of Jacob, and a Sceptre shall rise out of Israel, and shall smite the corners of Moab, and destroy all the children of Sheth.
Ver. 17. I shall see him.] So shall "every eye, and those also that pierced him," {Rev 1:7} but not as "Abraham saw him, and rejoiced"; nor as Job. {Job 19:25; Job 19:27} "The pure in heart" only "shall see him" to their comfort, as pure glass or crystal lets in the light of the sun. Some wicked men have greater common gifts than the godly; as many metals are brighter and more orient than the heavens. Yet as those metals are not so fit, either to receive or convey the light of the sun, so neither are the wicked so fit, either to take or give to others, "the knowledge of salvation by the remission of their sins."
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A Star out of Jacob.] Jesus Christ the true Morning Star. {Rev 22:16 Joh 1:9} That those wise men {Mat 2:1} had heard of, probably, either from the Chaldean sybils, or from the Jews in the Babylonish captivity, or from this prophecy of Balaam; for he was an east countryman, and uttereth here a very clear and comfortable prophecy of the Messiah, by whom himself received no benefit. Thus the Church, Christ’s "garden enclosed," {Son 4:12} may be watered through a wooden gutter; the sun give comfortable light through a sluttish window; the field may be well sowed with a dirty hand; the bell calls us to the church, though it never enter itself but by the sound; the well may yield excellent water, though it have much mud, &c.
And destroy all the children of Seth.] Heb., Unwall; that is, conquer and subdue. Christ by those ram’s horns, by the foolishness of preaching, pulls down strongholds. {2Co 10:4-5}
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 vv17–18 I shall see, or, I have seen, or do…
I shall see, or, I have seen, or do see, for the future is oft put for other times or tenses: he speaks of a prophetical sight, like that of Abraham’s, who saw Christ’s day, Joh 8:56.
Him, to wit, the Star and Sceptre, as it here follows, i.e. a great and eminent prince, which was to come out of Israel’s loins; either,
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1. David, who first did the things here spoken of, 2Sa 8:2; Psa 60:8; 108:9, and some of the kings of Judah and Israel after him, for it is not necessarily understood of one particular person; or,
2. The Messias, as both Jewish and Christian interpreters expound it, who most eminently and fully performed what is here said, in destroying the enemies of Israel, or of God’s church, who are here described under the names of the nearest and fiercest enemies of Israel; which he doth partly by himself, by his word and Spirit, and spiritual plagues; and partly by his ministers, those princes whom he makes nursing fathers to his church, and scourges to his enemies. And to him alone agrees the foregoing verb properly,
I shall see him, to wit, in my own person, or with the eyes of my own body, as every eye shall see him, Rev 1:7, when he comes to judgment. Nor can it seem strange that Balaam should speak of such high and remote things, seeing he foresaw and foretold these things by the revelation of the Spirit of God, by which also he foresaw the great felicity of good men, and the miserable state of bad men, after death and judgment, Num 23:10.
But not now; not yet, but after many ages.
A Star; a title oft given to princes and eminent and illustrious persons, and particularly to the Messias, Rev 2:28; 22:16.
A Sceptre, i.e. a sceptre-bearer, a king or ruler, even that sceptre mentioned Gen 49:10.
The corners; either,
1. Literally, the borders, which by a synecdoche are oft used in Scripture for the whole country to which they belong, as Exo 8:2; Psa 74:7; 147:14; Jer 15:13; 17:3. Or,
2. Metaphorically, to wit, princes and rulers, who are sometimes compared to corners, as Zec 10:4, and Christ himself is called a corner-stone, because he unites and supports the building. But I prefer the former sense. Sheth seems to be the name of some then eminent, though now unknown, place or prince in Moab, where there were many princes, as appears from Num 23:6; Amo 2:3; there being innumerable instances of such places or persons sometimes famous, but now utterly lost as to all monuments and remembrances of them.
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 vv17–18 And Edom shall be a possession,.... Of the children…
And Edom shall be a possession,.... Of the children of Israel, which was fulfilled in part when the Edomites became the servants of David, Sa2 8:14 and when they were smitten and spoiled by Judas Maccabeus,them a great overthrow, and abated their courage, and took their spoils.'' (1 Maccabees 5:3)and still more so when all the Edomites or the Idumaeans were subdued by Hyrcanus, and they became one people with the Jews, and conformed to their religious rites; which is not only related by Josephus (n), but by Strabo (o), an Heathen historian, who says, that they joined themselves to the Jews, and embraced their laws: but in a spiritual sense this has had a greater accomplishment in the calling of the Gentiles, and introducing them into the church of God; see Amo 9:12 compared with Act 15:14.
Seir also shall be a possession for his enemies; which was a mount in the land of Edom where Esau formerly dwelt, and so signifies the same as before: and also that the most strong and fortified places of the land should fall into the hands of their enemies; See Gill on Oba 1:17, Oba 1:18, Oba 1:19.
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Israel shall do valiantly; in fighting with and conquering the Edomites, or shall get much wealth and riches by the spoil of them, see Psa 60:9. This, and the following verse, are in some ancient writings of the Jews (p) interpreted of the times of the Messiah.
(n) Antiqu. l. 13. c. 9. sect. 1. (o) Geograph. l. 16. p. 523. (p) Zohar in Numb. fol. 85. 4. & 86. 1.
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 vv17–18 I shall see him - Or, I have seen,…
I shall see him - Or, I have seen, or do see the star, and scepter as it here follows, that is, a great and eminent prince, which was to come out of Israel's loins, the Messiah, as both Jewish and Christian interpreters expound it, who most eminently and fully performed what is here said, in destroying the enemies of Israel or of God's church, here described under the names of the nearest and fiercest enemies of Israel: And to him alone agrees the foregoing verb properly, I shall see him, in my own person, as every eye shall see him, when he comes to judgment. Not now - Not yet, but after many ages. A star - A title often given to, princes and eminent persons, and particularly to the Messiah, Rev. ii, 28; xxii, 16. A scepter - That is, a scepter-bearer, a king or ruler, even that scepter mentioned Gen. xlix, 10. The corners - The borders, which are often used in scripture for the whole country to which they belong. Of Sheth - This seems to be the name of some then eminent, though now unknown place or prince in Moab; there being innumerable instances of such places or persons sometime famous, but now utterly lost as to all monuments and remembrances of them.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv17–18 Verse 17. I shall see him, but not now]…
Verse 17. I shall see him, but not now] Or, I shall see him, but he is not now. I shall behold him, but not nigh - I shall have a full view of him, but the time is yet distant. That is, The person of whom I am now prophesying does not at present exist among these Israelites, nor shall he appear in this generation. There shall come a Star out of Jacob, and a Sceptre shall rise out of Israel - a person eminent for wisdom, and formidable for strength and power, shall arise as king among this people. He shall smite the corners of Moab - he shall bring the Moabites perfectly under subjection; (See 2Sa 8:2); and destroy all the children of Sheth. The original word קרקר karkar, from קרה karah, to meet, associate, join, blend, and the like, is variously translated;
-vastabit, he shall waste, VULGATE.
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-προνομευσει, shall prey on, SEPT.
-'ישלוט yishlot, shall rule over, TARGUM.
-Shall shake, ARABIC.
-[Persian] barbend, shall put a yoke on, PERS.
-Shall unwall, AINSWORTH, c., &c.
The Targum of Onkelos translates the whole passage thus: "I shall see him, but not now: I shall behold him, but he is not near. When a king shall arise from the house of Jacob, and the Messiah be anointed from the house of Israel, he shall slay the princes of Moab, and rule over all the children of men."
The Jerusalem Targum is a little different: "A king shall arise from the house of Jacob, a redeemer and governor from the house of Israel, who shall slay the chiefs of the Moabites, and empty out and destroy all the children of the East."
Rabbi Moses ben Maimon has, in my opinion, perfectly hit the meaning of the prophecy in the following paraphrase of the text: "I shall see him, but not now. This is DAVID. - I shall behold him, but not nigh. This is the king MESSIAH. - A Star shall come out of Jacob. This is DAVID. - And a Sceptre shall rise out of Israel. This is the king MESSIAH. - And shall smite the corners of Moab. This is DAVID, (as it is written, 2Sa 8:2: And he smote Moab, casting them down to the ground.) - And shall destroy all the children of Sheth. This is the king MESSIAH, of whom it is written, (Ps 72:8), He shall have dominion from sea to sea."
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 vv17–18 Num 24:17. I shall see him, &c. — “Rather,”…
Num 24:17. I shall see him, &c. — “Rather,” says Bishop Newton, from whose exposition of the prophecies of Balaam many of the following explanatory observations are extracted, “I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not nigh; the future tense in Hebrew being often used for the present. He saw with the eyes of prophecy, and prophets are emphatically styled seers. There shall come a star out of Jacob, and a sceptre shall rise out of Israel — The star and the sceptre are probably metaphors borrowed from the ancient hieroglyphics, which much influenced the language of the East; and they evidently denote some eminent and illustrious king or ruler, whom he particularizes in the following words: And shall smite the corners of Moab — Or the princes of Moab, according to other versions. This was executed by David; for he smote Moab, and measured them with a line, casting them down to the ground; even with two lines measured he to put to death, and with one full line to keep alive; that is, he destroyed two- thirds, and saved one-third alive. And the Moabites became David’s servants, and brought gifts.” See 2Sa 8:2.
And destroy all the children of Sheth — “If by Sheth was meant the son of Adam, then all the children of Sheth are all mankind; the posterity of Cain and Adam’s other sons having all perished in the deluge. But it is very harsh to say that any king of Israel would destroy all mankind; and therefore the Syriac and Chaldee soften it, that he shall subdue all the sons of Sheth, and rule over all the sons of men. But the Jerusalem Targum translates it, the sons of the east, namely, the Moabites, lying east of Judea. Rabbi Nathan says that Sheth is the name of a city in the border of Moab. Grotius imagines Sheth to be the name of some famous king among the Moabites. Our Poole says, Sheth seems to be the name of some then eminent, though now unknown, place or prince in Moab, there being innumerable instances of such places or persons, some time famous, but now utterly lost, as to all monuments and remembrances of them.”
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 vv17–18 Render, I see him, though he be not now:…
Render, I see him, though he be not now: I behold him, though he be not near. Balaam here describes what is actually before him in inward vision.
Him - i. e., the prince, represented in the succeeding words by the Star and Scepter. The star has among all nations served as a symbol of regal power and splendour: and the birth and future glory of great monarchs were believed by the ancients to be heralded by the appearance of stars or comets: compare also Isa 14:12; Dan 8:10; Rev 1:16, Rev 1:20; Rev 2:1; Rev 9:1.
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The corners of Moab - literally, “the two sides of Moab,” i. e., the length and breadth of the land: compare Jer 48:45.
Destroy all the children of Sheth - Rather, “overthrow the sons of tumult,” i. e., the warriors of Moab, whose valour and fierceness is frequently referred to elsewhere (compare Exo 15:15; Isa 15:4; Isa 16:6, etc.) Compare Jer 48:45.
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 vv17–18 Him. The great personage whom I have in view,…
Him. The great personage whom I have in view, whose coming is deferred yet for many ages. (Haydock) --- The whole prediction refers to the Messias, whom Balaam beheld by the eyes of his posterity, the wise men, (Calmet) or in the prophetic vision. (Menochius) --- Some modern Rabbins pretend that he speaks of David, who was indeed a figure of Christ, (Calmet) and defeated the Moabites, 2 Kings v. 8. But the prophecy was perfectly fulfilled only in our Saviour’s person, who is called the bright and morning star, (Apocalypse xxii. 16,) to whom all nations were given for an inheritance, Psalm ii., and Acts i. 8. (Worthington) --- Hebrew also, "I see this thy ruin, but," &c. Septuagint, "I will shew to him, yet not now; I will make him happy, (Calmet); but (makarizo, I bless) it, or he does not approach." God executed what he ever promised in favour of all Israel, when he sent them his beloved Son. --- A star. Christ, the light of the world, the splendour of his Father’s glory, whose birth was made known in the East, by a star, or meteor of unusual brightness. (Haydock) --- This material star is not the primary object of the prediction, since it did not rise out of Jacob, but it pointed out the orient from on high, and then disappeared. The ancient Jews understood this passage of the Messias. (Onkelos, &c.) Hence the impostor, Ben. Cusiba, took advantage of this general opinion, to draw the people after him, as the person designated; when he assumed the title of Bar-chocheba, "the son of the star," in the second age [century] of the church. --- Of Seth. Though David, as the figure of the Messias, conquered the Moabites, he cannot be said to have subdued all nations, the descendants of Seth, by Noe, nor all the just of whom Seth was the father, in opposition to the children of Cain. But Christ will subject all the just to his empire, and will judge all mankind. Some, nevertheless, take the children of Seth to be the Moabites, who had been already mentioned; and Junius translates the Hebrew with allusion to the shameful origin of that people. The Samaritan may also signify, if we substitute d for r in korkor, as Jeremias also reads (chap. xlviii. 45,) kodod. "He shall penetrate the ends of Moab, and shall overturn the walls of the children of elevation, or of pride." There were many hills in the country of the Moabites, and the people were noted for haughtiness, Jeremias xlviii. 28, 29, 45. (Calmet) --- Some also assert, that Seth was the name of a king, (Grotius) and of a town of Moab. (Rabbi Nathan) --- But of this there is no proof. (Haydock)
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 vv17–18 I shall see him--rather, "I do see" or "I…
I shall see him--rather, "I do see" or "I have seen him"--a prophetic sight, like that of Abraham (Joh 8:56).
him--that is, Israel.
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there shall come a Star out of Jacob, and a Sceptre shall rise out of Israel--This imagery, in the hieroglyphic language of the East, denotes some eminent ruler--primarily David; but secondarily and pre-eminently, the Messiah (see on Gen 49:10).
corners--border, often used for a whole country (Exo 8:2; Psa 74:17).
children of Sheth--some prince of Moab; or, according to some, "the children of the East."
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 vv17–18 17. I shall see him — Rather, I see,…
17. I shall see him — Rather, I see, the Hebrew future tense being used for the present. The star and sceptre are designated by the pronoun him, which is often written before its noun. Maimonides interprets this of the Messiah, whose victory all the ancient victories foreshadow.
But not now — Not as a present object, but in spirit in the last days. Num_24:14, note.
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A star… a sceptre — This passage was understood by the ancient Jews to refer to the Messiah either exclusively or with a secondary reference to David. Hence the Chaldee and both the Targums — Onkelos and Jonathan-“When a king shall arise out of Jacob, and Messiah shall be anointed out of Israel.” The pseudo-Messiahs of the time of Adrian took from this prophecy the surname Bar Chochab, “son of the star;” and on this account received the homage of the Jews. Most of the church fathers and early interpreters referred it to Messiah, who came signalized by a star. See Gen_49:10; Mat_2:2, notes.
The corners of Moab — Or, on every side — from end to end. It is said that this cannot refer to the Messiah because Moab had disappeared when Christ came. But this objection rests on a misconception of the spirit of the whole passage. Its object is to announce what Israel shall do in the last days. The specific nations mentioned in this prophecy are typical of all the enemies of God and of his people. As long as there are foes to the Church of God there will be Moabites. But their power is broken, and they are doomed to destruction.
All the children of Sheth — Sons of tumult, (Jer_48:45,) a fitting designation of all wicked men, of whom the wild and warlike Edomites, Moabites, and Amalekites are types. Jewish authorities render this all the sons of Seth, that is, all mankind. But the human race is always called after Adam, and not after Seth.
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 vv17–18 17. In accordance with Num_24:14 Balaam treats of the…
17. In accordance with Num_24:14 Balaam treats of the future of Israel. ‘I see him (Israel), but not (as he is) now; I behold him, but not (encamped as he is) nigh.’
There shall come forth] lit. ‘there hath trodden’ (דָּרַךְ). Read probably יִזְרַח there shall rise.
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a star] A metaphor for a glorious king; cf. Isa_14:12, Rev_22:16. According to an early Jewish interpretation, found in the Targum, this verse was a prediction of the Messiah. The famous pretender in the reign of Hadrian was called Barcochba (‘son of the star’).
the corners] better ‘the two sides [of the head],’ the ‘temples.’ In Jer_48:45, where the passage is quoted, the word ‘corner’ is in the singular, and is in parallelism with ‘the crown of the head.’
And break down all the sons of tumult] In accordance with Jer_48:45 קַרְקַר (‘break down’) must be read קָדְקֹד (‘crown of the head’); cf. Psa_7:16; Psa_68:21.
sons of tumult] Heb. ‘sons of shçth.’ R.V. (‘tumult’) adopts a necessary emendation (שְׁאֵת for שֵׁת) suggested by Jer_48:45.
The two lines will therefore run:
And shall smite the temples [of the head] of Moab,
And the crown [of the head] of all the sons of tumult1 [Note: Others would read ‘sons of lifting up,’ i.e. pride (שְׂאֵת)] .
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 vv17–18 (17) I shall see him . . . —Better,…
(17) I shall see him . . . —Better, I see him (or, it), but not now; I behold him (or, it), but not nigh. The reference cannot be to Israel, whose armies were encamped before the eyes of Balaam. His words must be understood as having reference to One whom he beheld with the eyes of his mind, not with his bodily sight. This is obvious from the words which follow. Balaam beholds in vision a Star and a Sceptre, not as having already appeared, but as about to appear in the future.
There shall come a Star out of Jacob . . . —Literally, There hath come forth a Star out of Jacob, &c. The verb is in the prophetic past or historic tense of prophecy, denoting the certainty of the event predicted. (Comp. Jud_1:14 : “Behold the Lord cometh”—literally, came.) If there is any ambiguity in the first symbol it is removed in the second. A star is a fitting image of an illustrious king or ruler, and the mention of the sceptre in the words which follow (comp. Gen_49:10) shows that it is so employed in the present instance. The Targum of Onkelos is as follows:—“When the King shall arise out of Jacob, and the Messiah shall be anointed from Israel.” The Targum of Palestine reads thus:—“A King is to arise from the house of Jacob, and a Redeemer and Ruler from the house of Israel.” Ibn Ezra interprets these words of David, but he says that many interpret them of the Messiah. It seems to have been with reference to this prophecy that the pretender to the title of the Messiah in the days of the Emperor Adrian took the name of Bar-cochab, or Bar-cochba (the son of a star). The words of the Magi, “We have seen his star in the East” (Mat_2:2), appear to have reference to this prophecy.
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And shall smite the corners of Moab.—Or, the two sides of Moab. The prophecy was partially, or typically, fulfilled in the time of David (2Sa_8:2). Moab and Edom represented symbolically the enemies of Christ and of His Church, and as such will eventually be subdued by the King of kings. (Comp. Psa_60:8.)
And destroy all the children of Sheth.—Better, and destroy (or, break down; comp, Isa_22:5) all the sons of tumult. Such appears to be the most probable rendering of these words according to the present Hebrew text. It has been conjectured, however, that the word which is rendered “destroy” (karkar) should be read kodkod (crown of the head), as in the parallel passage of Jer_48:45, in which case the clause may be rendered, And the crown of the head of all the sons of tumult.
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 vv17–18 I shall see him, but not now: I shall…
I shall see him, but not now: I shall behold him, but not nigh. Rather, "I see him, but not now: I behold him, but not near". (WNrWva...Wnara exactly as in Num_23:9) Balaam does not mean to say that he expected himself to see at any future time the mysterious Being of whom he speaks, who is identical with the "Star" and the "Scepter" of the following clauses; he speaks wholly as a prophet, and means that his inner gaze is fixed upon such a one, with full assurance that he exists in the counsels of God, but with clear recognition of the fact that his actual coming is yet in the far future. There shall come a Star out of Jacob. Septuagint, anatelei astron . It may quite as well be rendered by the present; Balaam simply utters what passes before his inward vision. The star is a natural and common poetic symbol of an illustrious, or, as we say, "brilliant," personage, and as such recurs many times in Scripture. (cf. Job_38:7 Isa_14:12 Dan_8:10 Mat_24:29 Php_2:15 Rev_1:20 Rev_2:28) The celebrated Jewish fanatic called himself Barcochab, "son of the Star," in allusion to this prophecy. A Scepter shall rise out of Israel. This further defines the "star" as a ruler of men, for the scepter is Used in that sense in the dying prophecy of Jacob, (Gen_49:10) with which Balaam was evidently acquainted. Accordingly the Septuagint has here anasthsetai . Shall smite the corners of Moab. Rather, "the two corners" (dual), or "the two sides of Moab," i.e., shall crush Moab on either side. And destroy all the children of Sheth. In Jer_48:45, where this prophecy is in a manner quoted, the word rqrq (qarqar, destroy) is altered into rqodq (quadqod, crown of the head). This raises a very curious and interesting question as to the use made by the prophets of the earlier Scriptures, but it gives no authority for an alteration of the text. The expression tveAyneB has been variously rendered. The Jewish commentators, followed by the Septuagint (pantav uiouy ) and the older versions, understand it to mean the sons of Seth, the son of Adam, i.e., all mankind. Many modern commentators, however, take tve as a contraction of tave, (Lam_3:47 and read "sons of confusion," as equivalent to the unruly neighbours and relations of Israel. This, however, is extremely dubious in itself, for tve nowhere occurs in this sense, and derives no sup. port from Jer_48:45. It is true that tve yneB is there replaced by wOav yneB, "sons of tumult," but then this very verse affords the clearest evidence that the prophet felt no hesitation in altering the text of Scripture to suit his own inspired purpose. If it be true that rqrq will not bear the meaning given to it in the Targums of "reign over," still there is no insuperable difficulty in the common rendering. Jewish prophecy, from beginning to end, contemplated the Messiah as the Conqueror, the Subduer, and even the Destroyer of all the heathen, i.e., of all who were not Jews. It is only in the New Testament that the iron scepter with which he was to dash in pieces the heathen (Psa_2:9) becomes the pastoral staff wherewith he shepherds them. (Rev_2:27 poimanei after the Septuagint, which has here misread the text) The prophecy was that Messiah should destroy the heathen; the fulfillment that he destroyed not them, but their heathenism. (cf. e.g., Psa_149:6-9 with Jam_5:20)
Balaam the fourth parable.
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Balaam appears before us here as one who "seeing, sees not. His "eyes are open," but he has no real vision of the eternal truth of things. He has a "knowledge of the Most High," but not that which consists in living sympathy with his character and will and law. He recognizes the blessedness of the ransomed people, but has no personal share in that blessedness. He discerns the bright visions of the future, the rising of Jacob"s Star, the gleam of the royal Scepter that shall rule the world, the coming of the world"s redeeming Lord, but he sees him only from afar. Not "now," not "nigh," does he behold him; not with a vivid, quickening, self-appropriating consciousness; not as the light, the hope, the life, the eternal joy of his own soul. It is a moral portraiture, a type of spiritual condition and personal character, with which we are only too familiar. The faith of many is thus destitute of efficient saving power. "It is dead, being alone." Their religious perceptions are thus divorced from religious life. They have just such a formal, ideal acquaintance with God, without any of that immediate personal fellowship with hint which renews their moral nature after his likeness. They walk in the embrace of his presence, but their "eyes are holden that they should not know him." So near is He, and yet so far; so clearly revealed, and yet so darkly hidden; so familiar, and yet so strange.
I This is seen in THE INSENSIBILITY OF MEN TO THE DIVINER MEANING OF NATURE. The material universe exists for spiritual ends. God has surrounded his intelligent creatures with all the affluence and glory of it in order to reveal himself to them and attract their thought and affection to himself. "The invisible things of him from the beginning of the world are clearly seen," &c. ; (Rom_1:20) But how dead are men often to Divine impressions! They hear no voice and feel no influence from God coming to them through his works. They know none but the lower uses of nature, and never dream of entering through it into communion with Him who inspires it with the energy of his presence. Tribes whose life is nursed and cradled in the fairest regions of the earth are often mentally the darkest and morally the most depraved. The worst forms of heathenism have been found in those parts of the world where the Creator has most lavished the tokens of his glorious beneficence. The sweet associations of rural and pastoral life in a Christian land like ours are connected less than we should expect them to be with quickness of spiritual perception and tenderness of spiritual sensibility. Stranger still that men whose souls are most keenly alive to all the beauty of the world, and with whom it is an all-absorbing passion to search out its wonders and drink in its poetic inspirations, should fail, as they so often do, to discern in it a living God. Physical science is to many as a gorgeous veil that darkly hides him. rather than the glass through which the beams of his glory fall upon them, the radiant pathway by which they climb up to his throne. Their eyes are wondrously "open;" they have a "knowledge of the Most High" in the forms and modes of his working such as few attain to; "visions of the Almighty" in the glorious heavens above and the teeming earth beneath pass continually before them, and yet they see and feel and know him not. How different such a case from that of Job: "O that I knew where I might find him!" &c. ; (Job_23:1-10) There you have the passionate outbreathing of a soul that is hungering and thirsting after a God that "hideth himself." Here you have God urging, pressing upon men the signals and proofs of his presence without effect. There is no blindness darker and sadder than that of those who boast that their "eyes are open," and yet, in a glorious world like this, can find no living God.
II It is seen in THE INDISPOSITION OF MEN TO RECOGNISE THE VOICE OF GOD IN HOLY SCRIPTURE. To know that the Bible is a revelation of truth from God, and to know God as he reveals himself in the Bible, are two widely different things. There are those to whom revelation is as a Divine voice uttered long ago, but "not now;" a voice coming down to them through the ages as in distant echo, but not instant and near. To them these old records may be sacred, venerable, worthy to be preserved and defended, but in no sense are they a channel of direct personal communication between the living God and our living souls; "inspired" once, but not instinct with the spirit of inspiration now. No wonder the word is powerless and fruitless under such conditions. It is of no use to tell men that the Scriptures are "inspired" if they don"t feel God to be in them. dealing as a personal Spirit with their spirits to draw them into fellowship with himself. A new kind of consciousness is awakened, a new order of effects produced, when once a man begins to feel that the written word is the living voice of God to his own soul. He cannot despise it then. It carries with it an authority that needs no extraneous authority to support it the true "demonstration of the Spirit." Apart from this, the soul in presence of all these Divine revelations is like one under the influence of some powerful anaesthetic, receiving impressions on the outward sense of all that is going on around him, but conscious of nothing. The "eyes are open," but there is no living, spiritual realization. "They seeing, see not, and hearing, hear not, neither do they understand". (Mat_13:13Jo Mat_12:40 2Co_4:3, 2Co_4:4)
III It is seen in THE PURELY IDEAL RELATION IN WHICH MEN TOO OFTEN STAND TOWARDS CHRIST. By multitudes Christ is seen, as it were, "afar off." He is to them but as the vision of a dream, a vague, distant abstraction, a mere historic figure, the central actor in a tragical historic drama. They have never entered into any kind of personal relation with him, have never bowed before him in heart-broken penitence, adoring wonder, childlike trustfulness, grateful, self-surrendering love. "Virtue" has never gone forth out of him to heal the disease of their souls, because they have not yet "touched him." There is a wide distinction between the knowledge that comes by mere hearsay and that which comes by personal converse, between a distant vision and the living "touch." Though faith be in great part blind and unintelligent, yet if there is the quick sensibility of life in it, it is better than all the clear, unclouded vision of an eye that is no real inlet to the soul. There is a future manifestation of Christ. "Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him". (Rev_1:7) What shall be the relation in which we stand towards him then? There are those whose eyes will then be opened as they never were before. Shall it be only to have them closed again in everlasting night, "consumed with the brightness of his appearing"? You must be in living fellowship with Christ now if you would look with joy upon him when he comes in his "power and great glory. W.
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 v17 I shall see Him, but not now: I shall…
Num_24:17-19
I shall see Him, but not now: I shall behold Him, but not nigh.
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Balaams vision
As I read these words I seem to look on the scene described. What do I see? I see the top of a wild mountain range, and I see altars smoking with sacrifices. Hard by stands Balak, with many slaves bearing costly gifts, gold, and precious stones, and spices, and garments. A little apart is Balaam, that strange mixture of a man. And now, as he gazes from the high places of Baal, and the altars of idolatry, he sees far below Israel abiding in their tents. There are the banners of the different tribes waving in the wind; the eyes of Balaam are opened, and he recalls the past of Israels history, and he foresees the future. And now, as we turn aside from this unwilling prophet who utters a blessing, in every word of which there was breathed a curse, what lessons are there for us of to-day.
1. First, we learn the awful danger of trifling with conscience, the whisper of the Holy Spirit within us. Balaam knew what was right, yet desired to do wrong.
2. We learn, too, the sin of trying to make a bargain, or compromise, with God. Hundreds of people are trying to do this, endeavouring to serve God a little, and the world a good deal. They profess to obey God, but only in the matters which they choose.
3. We learn, also, from the story of Balaams sin, never to neglect a plain duty for the sake of earthly gain. (H. J. Wilmot-Buxton, M. A.)
Two ways of seeing Christ
Commentators have differed as to the way of explaining the pronoun him, some referring it to Israel. We need scarcely say that we agree with those who refer to Him who is Jacobs star and sceptre. False as his heart was, the seer saw Him in the spirit of prophecy, and felt that a time would come when he would actually see Him. But the time when Jacobs Star would arise was not come, it was distant, and so he adds, but not now; I shall behold Him, but not nigh. This seems to be the obvious meaning of the words. But if you look at them in connection with Balaams state of mind, do they not contain a deeper and more awful meaning? Are they not prophetic of himself, as well as of Christ?--of his own awful end, as well as of Israels great destiny? I shall see Him! Yes, when He comes again; but does he express hope that he will share in the Redeemers glory and Israels blessedness? No, there is no word of hope, no expression of desire, as in the words of Job, For I know that my Redeemer liveth, &c. My Redeemer! says the afflicted saint, with an appropriating faith; whom I shall see for myself, he adds, in hallowed longing; but all that the unrighteous prophet could say was, I shall behold Him, but not nigh. In what spirit do we think of that day of which these men speak? All of us, without any exception, will see Christ. Every eye shall see Him. But how shall we see Him--nigh, or afar off? Like Job, or like Balaam? Has it been given us to say with the first, My Redeemer--mine, for He died for me? Or do we feel--must we feel, that we have no part in His salvation; and that when we see Him, it may be afar off. (G. Wagner.)
A Star out of Jacob.
Balaams prophecy of Christ as Star and Sceptre
Balaam, moved by the Spirit, sets forth Jesus in this prophecy in a twofold character--as the Giver of light, and as exercising kingly power.
I. First, as the giver of light: There shall come a Star out of Jacob. We all know that the Redeemer is more than once compared in Scripture to the sun (Mal_4:2; Luk_1:78). It is not, perhaps, quite so easy to see why Christ is compared to a star; for as the stars shine with a borrowed light, they seem more suited to be illustrations of the followers of Jesus than of the Saviour Himself. And so they are used in Rev_1:20 of ministers: The seven stars are the angels of the seven Churches; and by St. Paul of all Christians (Php_2:14). Applied to Christ, it may be to teach us how Jesus shines through all the long night of the Churchs sorrows. The sun dissipates darkness; where it shines, darkness ceases. It is so with the rule of sin. Into whatever heart Christ shines, there the power of sin is broken. The star gives light without dissipating darkness. It guides the wanderers feet. So Jesus gives light in the night of affliction. He does not altogether remove it, nor exempt His people from suffering. But they are not left in utter darkness. There is a star in the heavens above, so bright that it can penetrate the darkest cloud, and gladden with its light the loneliness of sorrow. But St. John teaches us something more about this star when he records the words of the glorified Redeemer, I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning Star (Rev_22:16). And why the morning star? The morning star is the last to disappear. It still continues to shine when the rays of the sun have overwhelmed every other light; and thus it is a beautiful emblem of Christ. Is Christ Jesus your Star, your morning Star? Is it to His light that you look? And if any earthborn cloud interrupts His light from your soul, do you look through the cloud, and wait, not impatiently, but earnestly, for its removal? Those false lights with which we encompass ourselves, the sparks of our own kindling, will certainly all go out, and great will be the consternation of those who will then be left in darkness. But if you are looking to Jesus, guided by His light, then your path will get brighter and brighter, until it ends in the perfect light of His presence, a height to which no cloud can rise. But there is one thing more that we must notice with regard to this Star. Balaam tells us the point from whence he saw it arise. There shall come, he says, a Star out of Jacob. This points us to the humanity of Jesus. All the brightness of the Godhead came to us through the humanity of Jesus.
II. But let us pass on to the second part, the kingly office of our Redeemer: And a Sceptre shall rise out of Israel. It may be thought, perhaps, in consequence of the words that follow, and shall smite the corners of Moab, and destroy all the children of Sheth, that this prophecy was fulfilled in the time of David, when the boundaries of Israel were so much enlarged, and their enemies overcome. But we ought to remember that just as the prophets and priests of Israel were types of Jesus as Prophet and Priest, so were its kings types of Him who was and is a King of kings. Jesus was a King in the days of His suffering on earth. It was under the direction of Gods providence that Pilate, though he meant it not so, wrote the title, Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews. The sceptre was in His hand; but He did not then put forth His great power and reign. His kingly office was held for a time in abeyance. True it is that Christ does reign. He reigns in the hearts of His willing people, and over a reluctant world. But this is the time of His patience and long-suffering. The hour is not yet come for the full manifestation of His kingly office and power. Does He reign in our hearts, destroying and keeping under our spiritual enemies?
III. But there is one point more in our text which we must not leave unnoticed, and that is, the consequence of the coming of the Star, and rising of the Sceptre--a power given to Israel to overcome his enemies. Those enemies are described, not generally, but very minutely. Moab is mentioned first, because, headed by Balak, the Moabites were then endeavouring to destroy Israel. The expression, Smite the corners (or sides) of Moab, signifies an entire destruction, perpetrated along the whole compass of its dominions. The next expression, The children of Sheth, has puzzled commentators. Some have taken it as a proper name, to designate one of Adams sons; but it is impossible to extract any good meaning from it if so understood. The Hebrew word has, however, lately been shown to be the contracted form of another word which signifies tumult; and this is strongly confirmed by a reference to a remarkable prophecy of Jeremiah concerning Moab, in which we can scarcely fail to observe an allusion to this prophecy of Balaam (Jer_48:42). The enemies of Israel were called the children of tumult, because they were ever restless; restless in themselves, because they knew not Israels God, and restless as neighbours, because they would give Israel no peace. Next to Moab, Edom is mentioned. Then follow predictions of judgments on Amalek, Israels first enemy, on the Kenites, strong as they seemed to be in their mountain-passes, on Asshur and Eber; and so terrible did these judgments appear to the seer, that he could not help exclaiming, Alas I who shall live when God doeth this? But all these are but typical of the greater enemies with which we have to contend. The sons of tumult encompass us about. Satan, knowing that his time is short, is ever busy. The world, so restless because it knows not Christ, pours in its influences upon us. The old man within us, though crucified, is ever struggling for victory. And Under these influences our very relatives and friends may hinder us on our way, just as Edom did Israel. What must we do to overcome? We must fix our eye upon Jacobs Star, the bright morning Star. We must cling to the sceptre of Jesus. Remember that the enemies of Gods people are already doomed to destruction. Yet a little while, and if you are Christs, Satan will be bruised under your feet. The world will not attract or frighten you. The old man will not struggle and weary you. (G. Wagner.)
The Star of Jacob
Our Lord, then, is compared to a star, and we shall have seven reasons to assign for this.
I. He is called a star as the symbol of government. You will observe how evidently it is connected with a sceptre and with a conqueror. Jacob was to be blessed with a valiant leader who should become a triumphant sovereign. Very frequently in oriental literature their great men, and especially their great deliverers, are called stars. Behold, then, our Lord Jesus Christ as the Star of Jacob. He is the Captain of His people, the Leader of the Lords hosts, the King in Jeshurun, God over all, glorious and blessed for ever!
1. We may say of Jesus in this respect that He has an authority which He has inherited by right. He made all things, and by Him all things consist. It is but just that He should rule over all things.
2. Our Lord as a star has an authority which He has valiantly won. Wherever Christ is King He has had a great and a stern fight for it.
3. This kingdom of Christ, wherever it is, is most beneficent. Wherever this star of government shines, its rays scatter blessing. Jesus is no tyrant. He rules not by oppression. The force He uses is the force of love.
II. The star is the image of brightness. Our Lord Jesus Christ is brightness itself. The star is but a poor setting forth of Ills ineffable splendour. As Mediator, exalted on high, enjoying the reward of His pains, He is bright indeed.
1. Observe, that our Lord as a star is a bright particular star in the matter of holiness. In Him was no sin.
2. As a star, He shines also with the light of knowledge. Moses was, as it were, but a mist, but Christ is the Prophet of light. The law was given by Moses--a thing of types, and shadows--but grace and truth come by Jesus Christ. If any man be taught in the things of God, he must derive his light from the Star of Bethlehem.
III. Thirdly, our Lord is compared to a star to bring out the fact that He is the pattern of constancy. Ten thousand changes have been wrought since the world began, but the stars have not changed. There they remain. So with our Lord Jesus. He is the same yesterday, to-day, and for ever. What the prophets and apostles saw in Him, we can see in Him, and what He was to them, that He is to us, and shall be to generations yet unborn. Hundreds of us may be looking at the same star at the same time without knowing it. There is a meeting-place for many eyes. We may be drifted, some of us, to Australia, or to Canada, or to the United States, or we may be sailing across the great deep, but we shall see the stars there. It is true that on the other side of the world we shall see another set of stars, but the stars themselves are always still the same. As far as we in this atmosphere are concerned, we shall look upon some star. So, wherever we may be, we look to the same Christ. Jesus Christ is still the same, the same to all His people, the same in all places, the same for ever and ever. Well, therefore, may He be compared to those bright stars that shine now as they did of old and change not.
IV. In the fourth place, we may trace this comparison of our Lord to a star as the fountain of influence. The old astrologers used to believe very strongly in the influence of the stars upon mens minds. But whether there be an influence in the stars or not, as touching this world, I know there is great influence in Christ Jesus. He is the fountain of all holy influences among the sons of men. Where this star shines upon the graves of men who are dead in sin they begin to live. Where the beam of this star shines upon poor imprisoned spirits, their chains drop off, the captive leaps to lose his chains. When this star shines upon the backslider, he begins to mend his ways, and to follow, like the eastern sages, its light till he finds his Saviour once more.
V. In the fifth place, the Lord Jesus Christ may be compared to a star as a source of guidance. There are some of the stars that are extremely useful to sailors. I scarcely know how else the great wide sea would be navigated, especially if it were not for the Polar Star. Jesus is the Polar Star to us.
VI. Our Lord is compared to a star, safely, as the object of wonder. We used to think when we were little ones that the stars were holes pricked in the skies, through which the light of heaven shone, or that they were little pieces of gold-dust that God had strewn about. We do not think so now; we understand that they are much greater than they look to be. So, when we were carnal, and did not know King Jesus, we esteemed Him to be very much like anybody else, but now we begin to know Him, we find out that He is much greater, infinitely greater than we thought He was. And as we grow in grace, we find Him to be more glorious still.
VII. Our Lord is compared to a star, as lie is the herald of glory. The bright and morning star foretells that the sun is on its way to gladden the earth with its light. Wherever Jesus comes lie is a great prophet of good. Let Him come into a heart, and, as soon as He appears, you may rest assured that there is a life of eternity and joy to come. Let Jesus Christ come into a family, and what changes He makes there. Let Him be preached with power in any town or city, and what a herald of good things He is there. To the whole world Christ has proclaimed glad tidings. His coming has been fraught with benedictions to the sons of men. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
Balaams prophecy
I. Christs predicted human ancestry. Out of Jacob, &c. He was the Lord from heaven; but He came through the lowly door of human birth.
1. His ancestry was chosen by God. That there was a fitness we cannot doubt; what it consisted in we do not know.
2. Its destinies were guided by God with a view to this great consummation. This explains many a dark passage in Israels history. So when we can view Gods leading of us from the result, all will be clear.
3. It was a lowly ancestry. Contrast with the great ancient powers.
4. It was by no means a pure and worthy ancestry. The clean came out of an unclean. Endless hope for man in that.
II. The twofold representation of Christs reign.
1. A Star. In its guidance.
(1) Universal and impartial. For all under the heavens.
(2) Abiding. No earthly power or malice can quench its light.
(3) Leads in the darkness. Burns the brighter the greater the darkness.
(4) Unobtrusive. You must watch and follow.
2. A Sceptre.
(1) Strong to protect His friends.
(2) Powerful to crush His foes. (Clerical World.)
The Star of Jacob and the Sceptre of Israel
I. The Star of Jacob or Israel.
1. Christ is a Star to give Divine light and guidance to the soul.
2. Christ is a Star of glory for His Church, and of conquest over all His foes.
II. Christ is the Sceptre of Israel, or of the Church of God. The sceptre is the emblem in all realms and ages of royal authority. Now Christ holds the sceptre of royal power in two ways.
1. As the Divine Lawgiver and Ruler of His Church for government.
2. For victory and eternal glory. (J. G. Angley, M. A.)
Balaam and the Star of Jacob
I. The deliverer of this prophecy.
II. The person foretold in this prophecy.
1. A star may be conceived an apt emblem of Jesus, from the loftiness and dignity of its position. Lofty as is the sphere of the common star, infinitely loftier is the mediatorial range of the circuit of Christ, the Star of Bethlehem. In His course as a Saviour, He completely overtops with His excellency all length, and breadth, and depth, and height--all time--all eternity.
2. A star, also, is an apt emblem of Jesus, inasmuch as it helps to relieve the monotonous aspect of the gloom of night with its brilliant presence. How undefined would be the face of night without the stars! It is the constant twinklings that are emitted from the various groups of stars above our heads which convert the dulness of night into positive cheerfulness. And is not Jesus the Star that gilds the dark night of affliction with the blessings of His spiritual presence?
3. How wonderful is it that He generally reserves the disclosure of His unsearchable ways to His chosen until the darkest hour of the night of tribulation! But Jesus, also, is aptly represented under the figure of a star, as being set forth to the world at large as a sign from heaven. To some He shines far off, as the star of better days to come; to more as the star of ill omen and wrath from on high to them that are disobedient and care not for the truth.
III. The purport of this prophecy. (R. Jones, B. A.)
Balaams vision
It is evident that the star and the sceptre are to be taken as emblems or types of some prince or warrior; for it is a living form which Balaam first represents himself as beholding, though he immediately proceeds to describe the being under images drawn from the inanimate creation. And that the star and sceptre did but figure some illustrious person is yet more clear from what instantly follows, seeing that the deeds of a conqueror are ascribed to him by the prophet--and shall smite the corners of Moab, and destroy all the children of Sheth. The successes of this potentate are then more fully stated - And Edom shall be a possession, Seir also shall be a possession for his enemies. And the prophecy, so far as we are now to consider it, is shut up in the declaration, that the warrior figured by the star and the sceptre should not be alone in his conflict, but should be associated with the people from whom he was to arise, Israel shall do valiantly. And who, think ye, is this leader or prince to represent? The first opinion is, that it was David whom Balaam foresaw and foretold; the second, that it was Christ. And these opinions may both be correct. It is very common for prophecies to have a double fulfilment. The first when they are taken in a somewhat restricted sense; the second when they are taken in their largest sense. And this is peculiarly the case when an individual is himself the type of a more illustrious; and when therefore it may naturally be expected that his actions serve also as predictions of those of his antitype. Now it is not necessary that we Should show you that a king such as David might be fitly represented under the emblem of a star and a sceptre. This at least will be immediately admitted in regard of the sceptre; for the sceptre being that which a king holds and sways, suggests necessarily the idea of a royal ruler or potentate. And if we cannot affirm quite the same of the star, we know that, in the imagery of Scripture, stars are put for the leading men of a country--those most conspicuous in the political firmament: so that when great convulsions are to be delineated--those agitations of society which confound all orders and ranks--it is by such emblems as that of the stars falling from the heavens that the overthrow of princes and grandees was commonly represented. We turn then to the things said to be done by the being thus figuratively described; and in these we may certainly recognise the actions of David. It is affirmed of the predicted king that he shall smite the corners of Moab, and destroy all the children of Sheth; Sheth (according to the best interpreters) having been the name of a great Moabitish prince. This affirmation (if Moab be literally understood) requires that the ruler of Israel should lay waste the country in which Balaam then stood; and so far the prediction was undoubtedly accomplished by David. For you read in the Second Book of Samuel--David smote Moab, and he measured them with a line, casting them down to the ground; even with two lines measured he to put to death, and with one full line to keep alive: and so the Moabites became Davids servants, and brought gifts. It is next said Edom shall be a possession; and you find it stated of David in the very chapter from which we have just quoted, David put garrisons in Syria of Damascus; and the Syrians became servants. As to what follows--Seir also shall be a possession for his enemies--it seems to be only a repetition of the former clause; for Seir was the name given to some parts of the country of the Edomites. So that the prophecy--a prophecy verified by the historical facts already adduced, is that Davids occupation of the land would be so complete that he should have possession of its fastnesses and heights. We need scarcely add that the remaining words of the text, Israel shall do valiantly, apply thoroughly to the people over whom David ruled; for the nation became eminently warlike under so illustrious a leader, and distinguished itself by courage in the field. And thus we may fairly say that if David were represented by the star and the sceptre, his registered actions and achievements correspond with sufficient accuracy to the prophetic delineation. But we doubt whether this accomplishment of the prophecy can seem to any of you commensurate with the grandeur of the diction with which it is conveyed. We thus bring you to the most important part of our subject. We are to apply the prophecy to Christ, and examine whether there be not a special fitness in the emblems of the star and the sceptre, when considered as designating the Redeemer; and whether the smiting of Moab and Edom do not aptly represent His victories and His triumphs. Indeed, so usual was it to associate the promised Christ with a star, or to take the star as His emblem, that we read of an impostor in the days of the emperor Adrian, wishing to pass himself off for the Messiah, assumed a title which signifies The Son of the Star; meaning thereby to announce himself as the star which Balaam had seen afar off. But admitting that the emblem of the star is employed in designating Christ, is there any special appropriateness in such an emblem? We reply at once that everything which has to do with light may fitly be taken as an image of Christ. There is nothing which so fitly represents the moral condition of the world when Christ appeared on earth as darkness. His office cannot be better represented than when He is exhibited under figures derived from the nature and the agency of light. But yet, why describe Him as a star, which does little towards irradiating a benighted creation? Why not rather take the sun as His emblem? He will be a sun to His Church throughout the heavenly states: but He is only as a star during the existing dispensation. And may not this, indeed, be most truly affirmed of a state in which at best we see through a glass darkly, and can know but in part? The night is yet upon us, though that night may be far spent; but it is no longer the starless night which it was ere the Redeemer brought life and immortality to light by His gospel. A star--a morning star has occupied our horizon, and the tempest-tossed barque, in danger of everlasting shipwreck, may steer itself by the light of that star to the haven where it would be, and where there is to be no more night, though no more sun. Christianity, as set up in the world, is but in its twilight. The night is still unbroken over a vast portion of our globe; and even where revelation has been received, we must rather speak of streaks like those on the eastern sky, whose gold and purple prophesy of morning, than those rich full lustres which flood creation when the sun has reached the zenith. On every account, therefore, is our Redeemer fitly emblemed by the figure which He applied to Himself--the emblem of the bright and morning star. And surely we need not say much to prove to you that the emblem of the sceptre is equally appropriate. You know that in Christ are combined the offices of Prophet, Priest, and King. But admitting the appropriateness of the emblems thus given to Christ, we have yet to examine whether the predicted actions were such as to be ascribed to the Redeemer. We have already shown you that if Moab and Edom are to be literally taken--that if they designate countries anciently so called--there are recorded events in the annals of the Jews which may be fairly considered as having accomplished the prediction. Now this is, of course, upon the supposition that the star and the sceptre represent David or some other Jewish prince, and will not hold when Christ is regarded as the subject of the prophecy. We need not say that Christ never ]aid waste the literal Moab and Edom; and we may add that there is nothing in Scripture to lead us to suppose that the countries formerly so called are hereafter to be specially visited by His vengeance. But you cannot be ignorant that it is common in the Bible to take a name which has belonged to some great foe of God, and to use it of others whose wickedness is their only connection with the parties originally so called. Edom and Moab are the names which prophecy gives to the enemies of the Church, who are to perish beneath the judgments with which that sun shall be saturated, when every baser light is to be lost in the star, and every other empire in that of the sceptre. And, therefore: in predicting the desolation of Moab and Edom, Balaam may be regarded as predicting the final overthrow of all the power of anti-christ, that a clear scene may be swept for the erection of the kingdom of Christ and His saints. The sign of the Son of Man is yet to be seen in the heavens, where it was beheld by Balaam, from the summit of Peor. I know not what that sign shall be; perhaps again the star--fearful meteor!--like that which hung over the fated Jerusalem, boding its destruction; perhaps again the sceptre--brilliant constellation!--burning with majesty and betokening the extinction of all meaner royalty; perhaps the Cross, as it appeared to the Roman--aye, when he was taught to know the God of battles, and to place Christianity upon the throne of the Caesars. But whatever the sign, the Being whose emblazonry it exhibits, shall come to deal out a long-delayed vengeance on tribes that have refused to walk in His light and submit to His rule. Now it is to be observed that though we have thus referred the close of the prediction to the close of the existing dispensation, there has been from the first and there still is a partial accomplishment of all that Balaam announced. There is evidently a great mixture in the prophecy. It is a prophecy of illumination, of dominion, of destruction, and all these are to be traced ever since Christ revealed Himself to man. There have been always those in whose hearts the day star has risen--always those who have yielded themselves as willing subjects to the Mediator--always the Moabite and the Edomite who have defied His authority, or sunk beneath His vengeance. So that however the grand fulfilment is yet to be expected in the complete triumph of Christianity and the overthrow of all the foes of the Church, enough is continually occurring to prove that the prediction sketched the whole period of the present dispensation. Throughout this whole period the words have been fulfilled, Israel shall do valiantly. Israel has borne up bravely against incessant assault, and supported from on high has been successful in withstanding the armies of the aliens. (H. Melvill, B. D.)
A new star
Professor Henry, of Washington, discovered a new star, and the tidings sped by submarine telegraph, and all the observatories of Europe are watching for that new star. Oh, hearer, looking out through the darkness of thy soul to-night, canst thou see a bright light beaming on thee? Where? you say, where? how can I find it? Look along by the line of the Cross of the Son of God. Do you not see it trembling with all tenderness and beaming with all hope? It is the Star of Bethlehem. (T. de Witt Talmage.)
Variety of representation of God
The Bible sets us an example of fashioning for ourselves a personal God to suit our need. When I find Paul using figures to represent to himself God, as his wants required Him, I know that I may do the same thing. When I want love, I may make God my tender and loving father or sister, or mother. When I want pity, I may make Him a Being of unfailing and boundless pity. When I want courage, He is my lion; when I want light and cheer, He is my bright and morning star--my God alert, my sun, my bread, my wine. We may imagine Him everything that is to us good and beautiful, tender and true, and know that we are not cheating ourselves by vain fancies, but have only touched the extreme outer edge of the ever-blessed reality. There may be dangers in this freedom and variety of our representation of our God; but there are dangers in all forms of our thought of Him, and in none half so much as in having no realisation of Him at all, in considering Him an abstraction of all the omnis. Thinking of Him thus, none can ever love Him, or walk with Him. (H. W. Beecher.)
Seeing the star
This one thing I have noticed in everybody--the moment they come to a clear apprehension of the love of Christ, they turn right about upon the minister, or upon the Christians who have been labouring, perhaps for years, to bring them to that very point, and say, Why didnt you tell us this before? Why, its what weve been always telling them. I think that trying to point a man to the love of Jesus is like trying to show one a star that has just come out, the only star in the whole cloudy sky. I can see no star, says the man. Where is it? Why, there; dont you see? But the man shakes his head; he can see nothing. But by and by, after long looking, he catches sight of the star; and now he can see nothing else for gazing at it. He wonders that he had not seen it before. Just so it is with the soul that is gazing after the Star of Bethlehem. Nothing in the world seems so hidden, so complex, so perplexing, as this thing, until it is once seen by the heart, and then, oh, there never was anything that ever was thought of that is so clear, so simple, so transcendently glorious! And men marvel that the whole world does not see and feel as they do. (H. W. Beecher.)
Death the crown of life
Our text may be considered either as a plaint, a sigh, or a song--a dirge winding to a march. There are, in reality, three questions interlinked in this passage. It is a question of studious curiosity. What kind of a race will then inhabit the earth? Men are naturally inquisitive to know who are to be their successors. Why not? They are to be the heirs in turn of our heritage; the tenants who are to move in as we move out; to enjoy our repairs, and to do, in turn, their own repairing for those who shall follow them. Who are they? The question deepens into a sigh. Here we go! just as we begin to take on the meaning of things about us ; scarce sooner found than lost. But what of that which is to transpire long after all these are past? Some one will tread the path that I am treading! Some one will saunter in the grove where I now linger! Some one will loiter to enjoy the landscape which now feeds me with its soft beauty! Some one will scent the fragrance of these laughing flowers! Some one will be soothed and hushed by the melody of the rippling stream! Some one will look beseechingly up into the face of the twinkling stars! Some one will cry out with unutterable longing, as we now cry, Alas! who shall live when God doeth this? We are baffled at the grave. We put our eyes close to the bars, but we cannot see. Death is the crown of life; and yet it is not the triumph of man over time, but of time over man. We leave the world behind us. Do lasting slumbers hold us? Is there no more of us when we are gone? When the reduplicated forces of the earth shall be put under command; when man shall sit in plumed victory over the opposing energies of nature; when the sword shall be beaten into a ploughshare, and the spear into a pruning-hook; when old hoary tyrannies and rusty wrongs shall be entombed for ever; when health shall mantle the cheek, and happiness shall festoon the fireside; when man shall keep faith with his fellow-man, and worship and adore his Maker--shall I live then? The thought gladdens, but it maddens as well. The scepticism that would console me with the thought that death is but a momentary pang; that I shall sleep in deaths dateless night; that all these struggles shall have come to their rest; ah! this scepticism is but a miserable comforter after all. Shall I be shut out from my share in history? shut out from my right to know? It is voiced in another shape: If a man die, shall he live again? God has provided a way by which His people may be released, and yet view this earth in all its perfected beauty and glory. Only the wisdom of God could compass this. The resurrection solves this mighty problem. All who labour shall see the reward of their labour. The sower shall be partaker of the fruit. Every journeyman who worked wearily upon the temple, shall be present when the topstone is lifted to its place. Fall in, and catch up the anthem to the King of kings! Fall in, and live for ever. Follow Christ, and shout victory. Presently time shall have halted from its confused scramble, and Gods finished workmanship shall have been taken from the loom, and the tapestry shall be revealed in all its beauty and perfection--the pattern will be complete. Then shall we learn that when we die we do not die out; that death is not death ; that to die is not to die, but to blossom into life. (H. S. Carpenter, D. D.)
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 v17 See "Kingdom" (See Scofield "Gen 1:26"), See Scofield "Zec…
Sceptre
See "Kingdom" (See Scofield "Gen 1:26"), See Scofield "Zec 12:8".
The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv17–18 General Information:
General Information:
Balaam continues the first of his four prophecies.
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I see him, but he is not here now. I look at him, but he is not near
Both of these statements mean the same thing. Balaam is having a vision of a future event. The word "him" refers to a future leader of Israel. (See: Parallelism)
A star will come out of Jacob
Here "star" refers to an Israelite king that will rise in power. (See: Symbolic Language)
out of Jacob
Here "Jacob" refers to the descendants of Jacob. AT: "from among the descendants of Jacob" (See: Metonymy)
a scepter will rise out of Israel
This means the same thing as the first part of the sentence. Here "scepter" refers to a powerful king. (See: Parallelism)
out of Israel
Here "Israel" refers to future Israelites. AT: "from among the Israelites in the future" (See: Metonymy)
shatter Moab's leaders
Possible meanings are 1) he will break the heads of the leaders of Moab or 2) he will destroy the leaders of Moab.
all the descendants of Seth
This also refers to the Moabites, who were descendants of Seth.
translationWords
Jacob
scepter
Moab
descend
Seth
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 v17 24:17 A star was a symbol for a king…
24:17 A star was a symbol for a king (cp. Isa 14:12; Matt 2:1-10), and a scepter was an image of power and majesty (cp. Gen 49:10; Ps 45:6). King David fits the description historically. The Moabites, whose defeat is mentioned in Num 24:17, were among the many peoples conquered during his reign (2 Sam 8:2), though Moab remained a dangerous enemy of Israel after David’s time (cp. 2 Kgs 3:1-27; Isa 15–16; Jer 48). Many interpreters have extended the image beyond David. Christians identify Jesus of Nazareth with a star (cp. Matt 2:2; 2 Pet 1:19; Rev 2:28; 22:16) and a scepter (cp. Heb 1:8). • The people of Sheth were probably the ancient Sutu, though it might refer to Edom/Seir (also conquered by David; Num 24:18), Ir (or Ar) of Moab (24:19; cp. 21:28), or Amalek, one of Israel’s earliest and most persistent enemies (24:20).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.