2 And Balaam lifted up his eyes and saw Israel dwelling [in tents] according to his tribes; and the Spirit of God came upon him.
Then Saul sent messengers to take David; and they saw a company of prophets prophesying, and Samuel standing as president over them; and the Spirit of God came upon the messengers of Saul, and they also prophesied.
And the Spirit of God came upon Azariah the son of Oded.
And he went thither to Naioth by Ramah; and the Spirit of God came upon him also, and he went on, and prophesied, until he came to Naioth by Ramah.
The children of Israel shall encamp every one by his standard, with the ensign of their father's house; round about the tent of meeting, afar off, opposite to it shall they encamp. And [for] those encamping eastward toward the sun-rising [there shall be] the standard of the camp of Judah according to their hosts; and the prince of the sons of Judah shall be Nahshon the son of Amminadab; and his host, even those that were numbered of them, were seventy-four thousand six hundred. And those that encamp next unto him shall be the tribe of Issachar; and the prince of the sons of Issachar shall be Nethaneel the son of Zuar; and his host, even those that were numbered thereof, fifty-four thousand four hundred. [With them shall be] the tribe of Zebulun; and the prince of the sons of Zebulun shall be Eliab the son of Helon; and his host, even those that were numbered thereof, fifty-seven thousand four hundred. All that were numbered of the camp of Judah were a hundred and eighty-six thousand four hundred, according to their hosts. They shall set forth first. The standard of the camp of Reuben shall be southward according to their hosts; and the prince of the sons of Reuben shall be Elizur the son of Shedeur; and his host, even those that were numbered thereof, forty-six thousand five hundred. And those that encamp by him shall be the tribe of Simeon; and the prince of the sons of Simeon shall be Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai; and his host, even those that were numbered of them, fifty-nine thousand three hundred. And [with them shall be] the tribe of Gad; and the prince of the sons of Gad shall be Eliasaph the son of Reuel; and his host, even those that were numbered of them, forty-five thousand six hundred and fifty. All that were numbered of the camp of Reuben were a hundred and fifty-one thousand four hundred and fifty, according to their hosts. And they shall set forth second. And the tent of meeting shall set forth, the camp of the Levites in the midst of the camps; as they encamp, so shall they set forth, every man in his place, according to their standards. The standard of the camp of Ephraim according to their hosts shall be westward; and the prince of the sons of Ephraim shall be Elishama the son of Ammihud; and his host, even those that were numbered of them, forty thousand five hundred. And by him shall be the tribe of Manasseh; and the prince of the sons of Manasseh shall be Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur; and his host, even those that were numbered of them, thirty-two thousand two hundred. And [with them shall be] the tribe of Benjamin; and the prince of the sons of Benjamin shall be Abidan the son of Gideoni; and his host, even those that were numbered of them, thirty-five thousand four hundred. All that were numbered of the camp of Ephraim were a hundred and eight thousand one hundred, according to their hosts. And they shall set forth third. The standard of the camp of Dan shall be northward according to their hosts; and the prince of the sons of Dan shall be Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai; and his host, even those that were numbered of them, sixty-two thousand seven hundred. And those that encamp by him shall be the tribe of Asher; and the prince of the sons of Asher shall be Pagiel the son of Ocran; and his host, even those that were numbered of them, forty-one thousand five hundred. And [with them shall be] the tribe of Naphtali; and the prince of the sons of Naphtali shall be Ahira the son of Enan; and his host, even those that were numbered of them, fifty-three thousand four hundred. All that were numbered of the camp of Dan were a hundred and fifty-seven thousand six hundred. They shall set forth last according to their standards. These are those that were numbered of the children of Israel, according to their fathers' houses: all those that were numbered of the camps, according to their hosts, were six hundred and three thousand five hundred and fifty. But the Levites were not numbered among the children of Israel; as Jehovah had commanded Moses. And the children of Israel did according to all that Jehovah had commanded Moses: so they encamped according to their standards, and so they journeyed, every one according to their families, according to their fathers' houses.
And Jehovah came down in a cloud, and spoke to him, and took of the Spirit that was upon him, and put it upon the seventy men, the elders; and it came to pass, that when the Spirit rested on them, they prophesied, but they did not repeat [it]. And two men remained in the camp, the name of the one, Eldad, and the name of the other, Medad; and the Spirit rested upon them (and they were among them that were written, but they had not gone out to the tent); and they prophesied in the camp. And there ran a youth, and told Moses, and said, Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp. And Joshua the son of Nun, the attendant of Moses, one of his young men, answered and said, My lord Moses, forbid them! But Moses said to him, Enviest thou for my sake? would that all Jehovah's people were prophets, [and] that Jehovah would put his Spirit upon them!
For from the top of the rocks I see him, and from the hills I behold him: Lo, [it is] a people that shall dwell alone and shall not be reckoned among the nations. Who can count the dust of Jacob, and the number of the fourth part of Israel? Let my soul die the death of the righteous, and let my end be like his!
How goodly are thy tents, Jacob, and thy tabernacles, Israel!
Who is she that looketh forth as the dawn, Fair as the moon, clear as the sun, Terrible as troops with banners?
Many shall say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied through *thy* name, and through *thy* name cast out demons, and through *thy* name done many works of power?
Heal [the] infirm, [raise the dead], cleanse lepers, cast out demons: ye have received gratuitously, give gratuitously.
Yet in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subjected to you, but rejoice that your names are written in the heavens.
But a certain one of them, Caiaphas, being high priest that year, said to them, Ye know nothing nor consider that it is profitable for you that one man die for the people, and not that the whole nation perish. But this he did not say of himself; but, being high priest that year, prophesied that Jesus was going to die 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).