2 And lifting up his eyes, he saw Israel there, with their tents in the order of their tribes: and the spirit of God came on him.
And Saul sent men to take David; and when they saw the band of prophets at work, with Samuel in his place at their head, the spirit of God came on Saul's men, and they became like prophets.
And the spirit of God came on Azariah, the son of Oded;
And he went on from there to Naioth in Ramah: and the spirit of God came on him, and he went on, acting like a prophet, till he came to Naioth in Ramah.
The children of Israel are to put up their tents in the order of their families, by the flags of their fathers' houses, facing the Tent of meeting on every side. Those whose tents are on the east side, looking to the dawn, will be round the flag of the children of Judah, with Nahshon, the son of Amminadab, as their chief. The number of his army was seventy-four thousand, six hundred. And nearest to him will be the tribe of Issachar, with Nethanel, the son of Zuar, as their chief. The number of his army was fifty-four thousand, four hundred. After him, the tribe of Zebulun, with Eliab, the son of Helon, as their chief. The number of his army was fifty-seven thousand, four hundred. The number of all the armies of Judah was a hundred and eighty-six thousand, four hundred. They go forward first. On the south side is the flag of the children of Reuben, in the order of their armies, with Elizur, the son of Shedeur, as their chief. The number of his army was forty-six thousand, five hundred. And nearest to him, the tribe of Simeon, with Shelumiel, the son of Zurishaddai, as their chief. The number of his army was fifty-nine thousand, three hundred. Then the tribe of Gad, with Eliasaph, son of Reuel, as their chief. The number of his army was forty-five thousand, six hundred and fifty. The number of all the armies of Reuben together came to a hundred and fifty-one thousand, four hundred and fifty. They go forward second. Then the Tent of meeting is to go forward, with the tents of the Levites, in the middle of the armies; in the same order as their tents are placed, they are to go forward, every man under his flag. On the west side will be the flag of the children of Ephraim, with Elishama, the son of Ammihud, as their chief. The number of his army was forty thousand, five hundred. And by him the tribe of Manasseh with Gamaliel, the son of Pedahzur, as their chief. The number of his army was thirty-two thousand, two hundred. Then the tribe of Benjamin, with Abidan, the son of Gideoni, as their chief. The number of his army was thirty-five thousand, four hundred. The number of all the armies of Ephraim was a hundred and eight thousand, one hundred. They go forward third. On the north side will be the flag of the children of Dan, with Ahiezer, the son of Ammishaddai, as their chief. The number of his army was sixty-two thousand, seven hundred. Nearest to him will be the tribe of Asher, with Pagiel, the son of Ochran, as their chief. The number of his army was forty-one thousand, five hundred; Then the tribe of Naphtali, with Ahira, the son of Enan, as their chief. The number of his army was fifty-three thousand, four hundred. The number of all the armies in the tents of Dan was a hundred and fifty-seven thousand, six hundred. They will go forward last, by their flags. These are all who were numbered of the children of Israel, in the order of their fathers' families: all the armies in their tents together came to six hundred and three thousand, five hundred and fifty. But the Levites were not numbered among the children of Israel, as the Lord said to Moses. So the children of Israel did as the Lord said to Moses, so they put up their tents by their flags, and they went forward in the same order, by their families, and by their fathers' houses.
Then the Lord came down in the cloud and had talk with him, and put on the seventy men some of the spirit which was on him: now when the spirit came to rest on them, they were like prophets, but only at that time. But two men were still in the tent-circle one of them named Eldad and the other Medad: and the spirit came to rest on them; they were among those who had been sent for, but they had not gone out to the Tent: and the prophet's power came on them in the tent-circle. And a young man went running to Moses and said, Eldad and Medad are acting as prophets in the tent-circle. Then Joshua, the son of Nun, who had been Moses' servant from the time when he was a child, said, My lord Moses, let them be stopped. And Moses said to him, Are you moved by envy on my account? If only all the Lord's people were prophets, and the Lord might put his spirit on them!
From the top of the rocks I see him, looking down on him from the hills: it is a people made separate, not to be numbered among the nations. Who is able to take the measure of the dust of Jacob or the number of the thousands of Israel? May my death be the death of the upright and my last end like his!
How fair are your tents, O Jacob, your houses, O Israel!
Who is she, looking down as the morning light, fair as the moon, clear as the sun, who is to be feared like an army with flags?
A great number will say to me on that day, Lord, Lord, were we not prophets in your name, and did we not by your name send out evil spirits, and by your name do works of power?
Make well those who are ill, give life to the dead, make lepers clean, send evil spirits out of men; freely it has been given to you, freely give.
Do not be glad, however, because you have power over spirits, but because your names are recorded in heaven.
But one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, You have no knowledge of anything; You do not see that it is in your interest for one man to be put to death for the people, so that all the nation may not come to destruction. He did not say this of himself, but being the high priest that year he said, as a prophet, that Jesus would be put to death for the nation;
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on Numbers 24
Commentary on Numbers 24 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 24
Nu 24:1-25. Balaam Foretells Israel's Happiness.
1. to seek for—that is, to use enchantments. His experience on the two former occasions [Nu 23:3, 15] had taught him that these superstitious accompaniments of his worship were useless, and therefore he now simply looked towards the camp of Israel, either with a secret design to curse them, or to await the divine afflatus.
2. he saw Israel abiding in his tents according to their tribes—that is, in the orderly distribution of the camp (Nu 2:1-34).
the spirit of God came upon him—Before the regular ministry of the prophets was instituted, God made use of various persons as the instruments through whom He revealed His will, and Balaam was one of these (De 23:5).
3. the man whose eyes are open—that is, a seer (1Sa 9:9), a prophet, to whom the visioned future was disclosed—sometimes when falling into a sleep (Ge 15:12-15), frequently into "a trance."
5-7. How goodly are thy tents, … O Israel!—a fine burst of admiration, expressed in highly poetical strains. All travellers describe the beauty which the circular area of Bedouin tents impart to the desert. How impressive, then, must have been the view, as seen from the heights of Abarim, of the immense camp of Israel extended over the subjacent plains.
6. 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.
7. his king shall be higher than Agag—The Amalekites were then the most powerful of all the desert tribes, and "Agag" a title common to their kings.
10-14. Balak's anger was kindled against Balaam, and he smote his hands together—The "smiting of the hands together" is, among Oriental people, an indication of the most violent rage (see Eze 21:17; 22:13) and ignominious dismissal.
15. he took his parable—or prophecy, uttered in a poetical style.
17. 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.
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 Ge 49:10).
corners—border, often used for a whole country (Ex 8:2; Ps 74:17).
children of Sheth—some prince of Moab; or, according to some, "the children of the East."
18. Edom shall be a possession—This prophecy was accomplished by David (2Sa 8:14).
Seir—seen in the south, and poetically used for Edom. The double conquest of Moab and Edom is alluded to (Ps 60:8; 108:9).
19. Out of Jacob shall come he that shall have dominion—David, and particularly Christ.
that remaineth of the city—those who flee from the field to fortified places (Ps 60:9).
20. Amalek … his latter end shall be that he perish for ever—Their territory was seen at the remote extremity of the desert. (See on Ex 17:13; also 1Sa 15:1-35).
21. Kenites … nest in a rock—Though securely established among the clefts in the high rocks of En-gedi towards the west, they should be gradually reduced by a succession of enemies till the Assyrian invader carried them into captivity (Jud 1:16; 4:11, 16, 17; also 2Ki 15:29; 17:6).
23. who shall live when God doeth this!—Few shall escape the desolation that shall send a Nebuchadnezzar to scourge all those regions.
24. Chittim—the countries lying on the Mediterranean, particularly Greece and Italy (Da 11:29, 30). The Assyrians were themselves to be overthrown—first, by the Greeks under Alexander the Great and his successors; secondly, by the Romans.
Eber—the posterity of the Hebrews (Ge 10:24).
he also shall perish—that is, the conqueror of Asher and Eber, namely, the Greek and Roman empires.
25. Balaam rose up, and went … to his place—Mesopotamia, to which, however, he did not return. (See on Nu 31:8).