As valleys they are spread out, as gardens by the riverside, as aloes which Yahweh has planted, as cedar trees beside the waters.
Parallel Translations
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As valleys they are spread out, as gardens by the riverside, as aloes which Yahweh has planted, as cedar trees beside the waters.
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As the valleys are they spread forth, as gardens by the river’s side, as the trees of lign aloes which the LORD hath planted, and as cedar trees beside the waters.
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As valleys stretched out, as gardens by the river-side; as aloes planted of the LORD, as cedars beside the waters;
Cross-references (15)
Passages linked to Numbers 24:6 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Psalms 1:3 He will be like a tree planted by the streams of water, that produces its fruit in its season, whose leaf also does not wither. Whatever he does shall prosper.
- Isaiah 58:11 and Yahweh will guide you continually, satisfy your soul in dry places, and make your bones strong. You will be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water whose waters don’t fail.
- Psalms 104:16 Yahweh’s trees are well watered, the cedars of Lebanon, which he has planted;
- Genesis 2:8-10 Yahweh God planted a garden eastward, in Eden, and there he put the man whom he had formed. Out of the ground Yahweh God made every tree to grow that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food, including the tree of life in the middle of the garden and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. A river went out of Eden to water the garden; and from there it was parted, and became the source of four rivers.
- Genesis 13:10 Lot lifted up his eyes, and saw all the plain of the Jordan, that it was well-watered everywhere, before Yahweh destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, like the garden of Yahweh, like the land of Egypt, as you go to Zoar.
- Psalms 45:8 All your garments smell like myrrh, aloes, and cassia. Out of ivory palaces stringed instruments have made you glad.
- Psalms 92:12-14 The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree. He will grow like a cedar in Lebanon. They are planted in Yahweh’s house. They will flourish in our God’s courts. They will still produce fruit in old age. They will be full of sap and green,
- Song of Solomon 4:12-15 My sister, my bride, is a locked up garden; a locked up spring, a sealed fountain. Your shoots are an orchard of pomegranates, with precious fruits, henna with spikenard plants, spikenard and saffron, calamus and cinnamon, with every kind of incense tree; myrrh and aloes, with all the best spices, a fountain of gardens, a well of living waters, flowing streams from Lebanon.
- Song of Solomon 6:11 I went down into the nut tree grove, to see the green plants of the valley, to see whether the vine budded, and the pomegranates were in flower.
- Isaiah 41:19 I will put cedar, acacia, myrtle, and oil trees in the wilderness. I will set cypress trees, pine, and box trees together in the desert;
- Jeremiah 17:18 Let them be disappointed who persecute me, but let not me be disappointed. Let them be dismayed, but don’t let me be dismayed. Bring on them the day of evil, and destroy them with double destruction.
- Jeremiah 31:12 They will come and sing in the height of Zion, and will flow to the goodness of Yahweh, to the grain, to the new wine, to the oil, and to the young of the flock and of the herd. Their soul will be as a watered garden. They will not sorrow any more at all.
- Ezekiel 31:3-4 Behold, the Assyrian was a cedar in Lebanon with beautiful branches, and with a forest-like shade, of high stature; and its top was among the thick boughs. The waters nourished it. The deep made it to grow. Its rivers ran all around its plantation; and it sent out its channels to all the trees of the field.
- Ezekiel 47:12 By the river on its bank, on this side and on that side, will grow every tree for food, whose leaf won’t wither, neither will its fruit fail. It will produce new fruit every month, because its waters issue out of the sanctuary. Its fruit will be for food, and its leaf for healing.”
- Joel 3:18 It will happen in that day, that the mountains will drop down sweet wine, the hills will flow with milk, all the brooks of Judah will flow with waters, and a fountain will flow out from Yahweh’s house, and will water the valley of Shittim.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (15 sources)
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain Or, tents.
Or, tents.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Num 24:6 As the valleys are they spread forth,…
Num 24:6 As the valleys are they spread forth, as gardens by the river’s side, as the trees of lign aloes which the LORD hath planted, [and] as cedar trees beside the waters.
Ver. 6. As the trees of lign aloes.] An odoriferous sweet smelling tree, growing in Arabia, which is said to be a country so sweet that swine cannot live in it.
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 Valleys ofttimes from a small beginning are spread forth…
Valleys ofttimes from a small beginning are spread forth fir and wide. Others, as the brooks, or rivers, as the word signifies, which stretch out and disperse their waters into several channels, and sometimes farther. Are they spread forth, i.e. the Israelites last mentioned. As gardens by the river’s side; pleasant and fruitful, and secured by a fence.
Trees of lign-aloes; an Arabian and Indian tree, of a sweet smell, yielding good shade and shelter both to man and beast; such is Israel, famous among the nations, and not only save themselves, but yielding shelter to all that join themselves to them.
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Which the Lord hath planted; which are the best of the kind; such as not man, but God, might seem to have planted, as the best of all sorts are ascribed to God, as the trees, hills, cities, of God, &c. Compare Psa 104:16.
As cedar trees, which are famous for growth, and height, and strength, and durableness, whence Solomon’s temple was built of this wood, 1Ki 6:9,10.
Beside the waters, where trees thrive best.
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 As the valleys are they spread forth,.... Long and…
As the valleys are they spread forth,.... Long and broad, lying between several mountains, and reaching from hill to hill; so the armies of Israel lay encamped in the plains and villages of Moab, making a very considerable length and breadth; the camp of Israel is said to be twelve miles long, and twelve miles broad; so the Targum on Num 2:3 and this may denote the lowness of the saints and people of God in their own eyes, and their largeness in themselves; and especially when the place of their tents shall be enlarged, and the curtains of their habitations be stretched forth in the latter day; and also their fruitfulness, meads, and valleys abounding with herbs and flowers, as the churches of God do with the fruits of the Spirit, grace, and righteousness, and with plants of the Lord's right hand planting. Some render it as brooks and torrents of water, so the Targum of Jonathan; which diffuse and spread themselves, and on the banks of which stand beautiful trees in goodly order:
as gardens by the river's side: laid out in a delightful manner, full of flowers, plants, and trees, and well watered; like to these, in several spots, were the people of Israel formed into several camps; and to these may the churches of God be compared, who are distinguished and enclosed by sovereign grace, full of trees of righteousness of the Lord's planting, watered by the river of divine love, and from Christ the fountain of gardens; see Sol 4:12,
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as the trees of lign aloes, which the Lord hath planted: which are not planted and raised by the art and industry of man, but grow up without culture, as the mere produce of nature, under a divine providence; these are called lign wood or tree aloes, to distinguish them from another sort of aloes, which are no other than plants; but these are what the Indians call Calambra or Calembac, and, physicians Xyloaloes and Agallochium, and are of a very aromatic and fragrant scent. This tree is said to be about eight or ten feet high; at the head of it is a large bunch of leaves, which are thick and indented, broad at bottom, but growing narrower towards the point, and about four feet in length; the blossom of it is red, intermixed with yellow, and double like a pink; from this blossom comes fruit, round like a large pea, white and red; the juice of these leaves is drawn out by cutting them with a knife, and received into bottles; the smell of the wood is exquisite (w). P. Martyr (x) speaks of a trunk of lign aloes, which being cut, a sweet savour proceeds from it. It may be observed what Isidore (y) remarks, that it grows in Arabia, as well as in India, and so might be well known to Balaam. And to these the Israel of God may be compared for their fragrancy, being clothed with the righteousness of Christ, all whose garments smell of or like these aloes, Psa 45:8 and having the graces of the Spirit of God in them, the smell of which is preferable to all spices, and they themselves are signified by the same, Sol 4:10,
and as cedar trees beside the waters; which are tall and high, large and spreading, durable lasting, to which the righteous are compared; see Gill on Psa 92:12.
(w) See Calmet's Dictionary, and the Supplement to Chamber's Dictionary, in the word "Aloes". (x) Decad. 1. l. 2. (y) Origin. l. 17. c. 8.
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 As the valleys - Which often from a small…
As the valleys - Which often from a small beginning are spread forth far and wide. As gardens - Pleasant and fruitful and secured by a fence. As lign-aloes - An Arabian and Indian tree of a sweet smell, yielding shade and shelter both to man and beast; such is Israel, not only safe themselves, but yielding shelter to all that join themselves to them. Which the Lord hath planted - Nature, not art.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 6. Lign aloes which the Lord hath planted]…
Verse 6. Lign aloes which the Lord hath planted] Or, as the tents which the Lord hath pitched; for it is the same word, אהלים ohalim, which is used in the 5th verse. But from other parts of Scripture we find that the word also signifies a species of tree, called by some the sandal tree, and by others the lignum or wood aloes. This tree is described as being eight or ten feet high, with very large leaves growing at the top; and it is supposed that a forest of those at some distance must bear some resemblance to a numerous encampment. As the word comes from the root אהל ahal, which signifies to spread or branch out, and therefore is applied to tents, because of their being extended or spread out on the ground; so when it is applied to trees it must necessarily mean such as were remarkable for their widely-extended branches; but what the particular species is, cannot be satisfactorily ascertained. By the Lord's planting are probably meant such trees as grow independently of the cultivation of man. - Nullis hominum cogentibus; or, as Virgil expresses it,
Sponte sua quae se tollunt in luminis oras.
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VIRG., Geor. ii., 47.
"Such as sprung up, spontaneously into the regions of light.
As cedar trees] Gabriel Sionita, a very learned Syrian Maronite, who assisted in editing the Paris Polyglot, a man worthy of all credit, thus describes the cedars of Mount Lebanon, which he had examined on the spot: -
"The cedar grows on the most elevated part of the mountain, is taller than the pine, and so thick that five men together could scarcely fathom one. It shoots out its branches at ten or twelve feet from the ground; they are large, and distant from each other, and are perpetually green. The cedar distils a kind of gum, to which different effects are attributed. The wood of it is of a brown colour, very solid, and incorruptible if preserved from wet. It bears a small apple, like to that of the pine."
De la Roque relates some curious particulars concerning this tree, which he learned from the Maronites of Mount Libanus: "The branches grow in parallel rows round the tree, but lessen gradually from the bottom to the top, shooting out parallel to the horizon, so that the tree is, in appearance, similar to a cone. As the snows, which fall in vast quantities on this mountain, must necessarily, by their weight on such a vast surface, break down these branches, nature, or rather the God of nature, has so ordered it, that at the approach of winter, and during the snowy season, the branches erect themselves, and cling close to the body of the tree, and thus prevent any quantity of snow from lodging on them."
Mr. Maundrell, who visited Mount Libanus in 1697, gives the following description of the cedars still growing there: -
"These noble trees grow among the snow, near the highest part of Lebanon, and are remarkable, as well for their own age and largeness as for those frequent allusions to them in the word of God. Some of them are very old, and of a prodigious bulk; others younger, and of a smaller size. Of the former I could reckon only sixteen, but the latter are very numerous. I measured one of the largest, and found it twelve yards and six inches in girt, and yet sound, and thirty-seven yards in the spread of its branches. At about five or six yards from the ground it was divided into five limbs, each of which was equal to a great tree." - Journey from Aleppo to Jerusalem, p. 142.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain As gardens by the river’s side - Balaam’s language…
As gardens by the river’s side - Balaam’s language reflects the famous artificial gardens along the banks of his own river, the Euphrates.
As the trees of lign aloes which the Lord hath planted - The latter words contain an apparent reference to Paradise (compare Gen 2:8). The aloe, imported from China and the far distant east, furnished to the ancients one of the most fragrant and precious of spices; compare Psa 45:8; Pro 7:17,
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As cedar trees beside the waters - i. e., as the noblest of trees branching forth in the fairest of situations: an image of majestic beauty, as that of the last verse was of rare fecundity.
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 Woody. Hebrew also "extensive torrents." --- Tabernacles. Hebrew ahalim,…
Woody. Hebrew also "extensive torrents." --- Tabernacles. Hebrew ahalim, which some render lign-aloes, or stacte, as St. Jerome does, Psalm xliv. 9.; Proverbs vii. 17.; Canticle of Canticles iv. 14. The aloe-tree, however, was brought from India, and was not common in Arabia. The Syrian aloe was only a shrub; and this tree, of which Balaam speaks, must have been tall and beautiful. --- Pitched. Hebrew, "planted." (Calmet) --- The Septuagint agree however with the Vulgate. (Haydock) --- Side. Cedars grow very large on the top of Libanus, and are always green; the fruit resembles the pine-apple; the wood is incorruptible. (Sionita 6.) By humility we must rise to the summit of perfection. (Du Hamel)
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 As the valleys--Hebrew, "brooks," the watercourses of the mountains.
As the valleys--Hebrew, "brooks," the watercourses of the mountains.
lign aloes--an aromatic shrub on the banks of his native Euphrates, the conical form of which suggested an apt resemblance to a tent. The redundant imagery of these verses depicts the humble origin, rapid progress, and prosperity of Israel.
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 6. As the valleys — Well watered by brooks.
6. As the valleys — Well watered by brooks.
As gardens — Still more lovely than the verdant and flowery valleys.
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Lignaloes — Aloe-trees abound in Eastern Asia. On account of their fragrance they are highly prized for the preparation of incense and unguents. See Joh_19:39. Although this tree is rare in Chaldea or Syria, it is reasonable to suppose it was known to Balaam or he would scarcely have mentioned it as he does.
The Lord hath planted — Extraordinary trees are described as “the trees of Jehovah.” See Psa_104:16.
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 6. As valleys are they spread forth] As wadies…
6. As valleys are they spread forth] As wadies that stretch themselves out; beautifully watered glens stretching away into the distance. Like the three following, it is a simile of luxuriant prosperity.
As lign-aloes &c.] Heb. ’ahâlîm. But this word elsewhere denotes a fragrant perfume brought from the far east (Psa_45:8, Pro_7:17); the tree or plant which yielded it was not indigenous in Palestine or the neighbourhood. See next note.
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As cedar trees beside the waters] But cedars do not grow beside water; see art. ‘Cedars’ in Hastings’ DB. i. On the other hand cedars (not aloes) are spoken of as planted by Jehovah (Psa_104:16). It is therefore possible that the words ‘which Jehovah hath planted’ and ‘beside the waters’ have been accidentally transposed. If so, Dillmann’s conjecture ’êlîm ‘palms’ for ’ahâlîm would be very suitable, since palms grow beside water (cf. Exo_15:27).
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 (6) As gardens by the river’s side.—It is probable…
(6) As gardens by the river’s side.—It is probable that the allusion may be to the Euphrates, although the definite article is not prefixed to the word nahar (river) in the Hebrew. (Comp. Isa_7:20.)
As cedar trees beside the waters.-The difference between cedars which grow beside running water which their roots can reach, and the ordinary type of cedars which throw out their strength in lateral branches is illustrated in Eze_31:3-4, where the proud Assyrian is compared to a cedar having “his top among the thick boughs” (or, the clouds), which “the waters made great.” (Comp. Psa_1:3; Psa_92:12.)
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 As the valleys, or, "as the torrents" ( which…
As the valleys, or, "as the torrents" ( which pour down in parallel courses from the upper slopes. As gardens by the river"s side. The river (rhn), as in Num_22:5 means the Euphrates. Balaam combines the pleasant imagery of his own cultivated land with that of the wilder scene amidst which he now stood. As the trees of lign aloes. Aloe trees, such as grew in the further east, where Balaam had perhaps seen them. Which the Lord hath planted, or, "the Lord"s planting," a poetical,way of describing their beauty and rarity. (cf. Psa_1:3 Psa_104:16)
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 General Information:
General Information:
Balaam continues to prophesy under the control of the Spirit of God.
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Like valleys they spread out
Balaam speaks of the Israelies as if they were numerous enough to cover entire valleys. (See: Simile)
like gardens by the riverside
Balaam speaks of the Israelies as if they were well-watered gardens that produce an abundant harvest. (See: Simile)
aloes planted by Yahweh
Aloes are plants with a pleasant smell that grow well even in dry conditions. Balaam speaks of the Israelies as if they would thrive and be pleasant like aloe plants. This can be stated in active form. AT: "aloes which Yahweh has planted" (See: Translate Unknowns and Simile and Active or Passive)
like cedars beside the waters
Cedar trees were the largest trees in Israel. Balaam speaks of the Israelies as if they grew as large as well-watered cedar trees. (See: Simile)
translationWords
cedar
water
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 24:6-7 The Lord’s favor is emphasized by the comparison…
24:6-7 The Lord’s favor is emphasized by the comparison of Israel’s situation with groves and gardens that have access to abundant water. Their growing population already reflected God’s blessing (24:7), as mentioned in 23:10. This would also become clear in the second registration (ch 26).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.