The theology of the balaam oracles: a pagan diviner and the word of god

Huffmon, "Prophecy in the Mari Letters, " BA, XXXI (1968), 101-24. The

word apilu is cited in CAD I "A,"--Part II, 170, where it is translated as

“an answerer," a cultic functionary.

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addressed. . . .

An example of a letter concerning an apilu may he given for

illustration.

Speak to my lord: the message of Nur-Sin, your servant,

"Once, twice, (even) five times I have written to my lord concerning

giving some livestock to Addu and concerning the nihlatu-property

that Addu, the lord of Kallassu, asks of you . . . (two lines left

untranslated and some not preserved).

'Am I not Addu, the lord of Halab, who has raised you

and who made you regain the throne of your father's house? I never

as [k] anything of you. When a man or woman who has suffered an

injustice addresses himself to you, respond to his appeal and give

him a ver[dict]. This which I ask of you, this which I have written

to you, you will do. You will pay attention to my word, and the

country, from its ge[tting up to its lying down], as well as the

country of . . . [ I will give to you ] ' This is what. the ap[ilum of

Addu, lord of Halab, said to me]."²

Another example that may have, relevance to the topic of Balaam

the woe oracle against an enemy. This oracle was written by a high official

Mari to Zimri-lim of Babylon, with Zimri-lim referred to in the third person.

may be seen to have parallels with woe oracles in the Bible.³

Speak to my lord: the message of Mukannishum (i), your ser-

vant “(When) I offered a sacrifice to the god Dage [ n ] for the life

of my lord, the aplu of Dagan of the city of Tut [ tul ] got up and spoke

as follows,' saying, 'O Babylon, what are you trying to do? I will
¹ Huffmon, "Prophecy in the Marl Letters, " p. 105.

² Ibid. , p. 109. See also ANTS, pp. 623-32, for a collection

³ Huffmon, "Prophecy in the Mari Letters, " p. 109. He suggests

comparison with Obadiah.

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gather you up in a net. Your god (?) is a wild bull (?). (Or: I will

of the Seven Allies and all their property (!) I will [pu]t in[to]

Z[im] ri-l[im]'s [h]and.

Also, the aplu of D[aga]n g[of u]p (?) [and . . . ] s[poke-

a]s follo[ws . . . ] (about five lines lost).¹

It is tempting to see a parallel between this woe oracle and the

curse that Balak expected Balaam to render on Israel. Thus far, this text

seems to be only one of a kind, but it is a text that is addressed to an

enemy king and is the result of "prophetic" announcement.

Huffmon summarizes the role of the apilu in this manner:

The texts do not tell us the means of inspiration of the apilu-

Prophet. Since in two instances the message is connected with

either a cultic ceremony (XIII. 23, where the woe oracle against the

foe might be regarded as a response) or a shrine (X 53, where the

oracle is delivered in a temple), one may conjecture that the apilu

was a part of the cultic staff and--at least on occasion--responded

with an oracle received by unstated means to a cultic act or even a

specific request for an oracle. But the texts nowhere specifically

indicate such a request. The oracle given may be critical of the

king for failing in his proper recognition of the god(s) (A. 1121, A. 2925,

A. 4260), may generally admonish the king to rule justly (A. 2925), or

may declare against a foe and in favor of the king (XIII. 23; cf. A. 4260).²

The same writer also speaks of the limitations of the oracles

from the ‘apilu, and states that technical divination was still the preferred

practice.

That these oracles were not regarded as fully acceptable

The spelling aplu seems to be a variation of apilu.

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from the way in which extispicies, or technical, professional divin-

ation results, are cited as conformation [sic] of the oracle (A. 1121)

or are advised as a means of examining the validity of the oracles and

governing the king's reaction (X. 81). As must be expected in any

center of Mesopotamian culture even if it is provincial, technical

divination was the acceptable practice.¹

Most of the attention given by scholars to these oracles from

Mari stems from an attempt to see if one can demonstrate a link in them in

the pre-history of biblical prophecy. This is still a debated issue, with

historical, linguistic, and theological (!) ramifications.² For our present

purpose, this discussion need not detain us. It is sufficient to observe that

in addition to the wide-spread use of divination of the class baru, there was

also a cultic functionary at Mari who received oracles in a more-or-less

spontaneous fashion. Whereas the relationship of this type of cultic funs-

tionary to biblical prophets may be debated for some time, the apilu may well

have some relationship to the role of Balaam, the pagan diviner. Hence,
¹ Ibid.

² Kaufmann seems to be a holdout against the prevailing enthus-

iasm for finding the origins of prophetism at Mari. He insists that the com-

parisons drawn by many scholars are grossly exaggerated, and that "in

Israel the advent of apostolic prophecy is a turning-point, a new phenomenon

of tremendous import for the future. . . . Nowhere else was the mantis

the hearer of a religious-moral ideology. Nowhere else did apostles of a

god appear in an ages-long, unbroken succession. Israel's apostle-prophets,

the first of whom was Moses, are, therefore an entirely new phenomenon.

An external, merely formal resemblance to this or that element in pagan

manticism cannot alter this fact." Yehezkel Kaufmann, The Religion of

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role of baru and apilu.¹

We may bring this study of the character and role of Balaam to

a conclusion by suggesting a comparison and a contrast. Although perhaps

not to be stressed unduly, a comparison may be made between Balaam in

Numbers 22-24 and Simon Magus in Acts 8. Hengstenberg suggests such a

comparison in his treatise on Balaam.² He speaks of Balaam seeking the

true God, but not giving his heart entirely to God. Hence, his words "my

God," turned out to be the very instrument of his destruction.

The New Testament record of Simon Magus in Acts 8 drops off

somewhat abruptly, allowing for the development of conflicting (and in some

uses, fantastic) stories concerning him in the history of the early Church.

Schaff cites Simon Magus as one of the authors of the paganizing, Gnostic

heresy.

The author, or first representative of this baptized heathenism,

Magus, who unquestionably adulterated Christianity with pagan

ideals and practices, and gave himself out, in pantheistic style,
¹ Note that such is suggested by Dewey M. Beegle, Moses,

the Servant of Yahweh (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing

Company, 1972), p. 321; cf. Harrison, Introduction to the Old Testament,

p. 630.

² Hengstenbcrg, The History of Balaam, p. 348.

204

Certainly the lines Dante wrote for Simon Magus may apply to

his spiritual prototype:

Woe to thee, Simon Magus: woe to you,

His wretched followers: who the things of God,

Which should be wedded unto goodness, them,

Rapacious as ye are, do prostitute

For gold and silver in adultery.²

In terms of contrast to the character of Balaam, one can hardly

imagine a more remarkable figure than that of Micaiah ben Imlah in I Kings ;

22. Similar words are heard from both Balaam and Micaiah respecting their

allegiance to the word of Yahweh placed in their mouths. Balaam says, "what

Yahweh speaks, that I will speak" (Num. 24:13). Micaiah says, "what Yah-

weh says to me, that I will speak (I Kings 22:14). And, indeed, it may be

observed in each case the statement was true. Balaam spoke the oracles of

Yahweh just as did Micaiah.

But in their characters, they are a study in contrast. Balaam

is avaricious, selfish, covetous; Micaiah is utterly selfless. That which

F. Walls, "Simon Magus, " NBD, 1188-89; Hans Joachim Schoeps, "Simon

Magus in der Haggada?" HUCA, XXI (1948), 257-74.

² Dante, The Divine Comedy of Dante Alighieri, trans. by

Henry F. Cary, The Harvard Classics, ed. Charles W. Eliot (New York: P.

F. Collier & Son Corporation, 1909), Canto XIX, 1-5 (p. 77).

205

within.

word of Yahweh was not more "inspired" in the mouth of the good prophet

Micaiah than in the mouth of the evil prophet Balaam. Inspiration, properly

defined, admits of no degree. But in terms of their respective characters--

Balaam and Micaiah are truly opposites:

Balaam in the Old Testament

Having surveyed the meaning of the name Balaam, the place of

his origin, as well as the nature of his character and role, we may now turn

to those Old Testament references to him that occur outside the narrative

proper.

The Sequel--Numbers 25

Next Chemos, the obscene dread of Moab's sons,

From Aroar to Nebo, and the wild

Of southmost Abarim; in Hesebon

And Horonaim, Seon's realm, beyond

The flowery dale of Sibma clad with vines,

And Eleale to the asphaltic pool.

Peor his other name, when he enticed

Israel in Sittim on their march from Nile

To do him wanton rites, which cost them woe.¹

A more dramatic shift, a more unexpected transition from the
¹ John Milton, Paradise Lost, I, 405-413. Paradise Lost and

Other Poems, ed. Maurice Kelley, “The Classics Club" (Roslyn, N.Y.

Walter J. Black, Inc., 1943).

206

preceeding chapters cannot be imagined. Numbers 24:25 ends with both of the

silence.¹ Our text indicates that both Balaam and Balak left each other's

presence with nothing more to say to each other. Yahweh had been in total

control of the events. The attempts of the enemies of Israel to destroy the

people of God have resulted in utter futility. Yahweh is the defender of His

people from the attacks from without.

Then, without warning, and in the dramatic manner characteristic

of the style of the Torah,² Numbers 25:1-3 reads:

While Israel remained at Shittim, the people began to commit

fornication with the daughters of Moab. For they invited the people

to the sacrifices of their gods, and the people ate, and prostrated

themselves before their gods. In this manner Israel yoked themselves

to the Baal of Peor, and Yahweh was angry with Israel.

Rabbi Hirsch writes, "The sword of no stranger, the curse of no stranger had

the power to damage Israel. Only it itself could bring misfortune, by seceding

from God and His Torah."³ Similarly, Keil affirms, "The Lord had defended

by the expression Omqom;li bwAy.Ava. The words may mean simply that "he turned

toward his place" (as perhaps also in Genesis 18:33). He may have returned

to Pethor and then came back, or he may have been interrupted in the course

of his journey. The text does not concern itself with this issue. It is enough

to say that he left in futility. Consult Keil, The Pentateuch, III, 202.

nique'.) in Genesis 39:1, when compared with the record of Genesis 38.

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the covenant of their God, fell into the snares of heathen seduc-

tion.”¹

Whereas the wrath of Yahweh had once been directed against the

enemy of Israel, Balaam (Num. 22:22), now it was directed against His people

themselves.² Here is irony of a bitter sort.³ Israel, whom Yahweh had

viewpoint, tending to historical agnosticism, consult Noth, Numbers, pp.

194-99.

¹ Keil, The Pentateuch, III, 203.

² One of the least palatable biblical doctrines to the modern

mind is that of the wrath of God. John L McKenzie writes: "Modern unbelief

can sometimes present a very persuasive defence of its positions when these

positions are considered in isolation. One position which it finds easy to

defend is its rejection of the biblical and primitive Christian concept of an

angry and avenging God. " "Vengeance Is Mine, " Scrip., XII (April, 1960),

33. In presenting the biblical doctrine, McKenzie notes that "the Hebrews

found the notion of divine anger intelligible because they believed the moral

will of Yahweh was a serious will, " p. 36. Compare also, van Imschoot,

Theology of the Old Testament, I, 81; S. Erlandsson, "The Wrath of God,"

TB, XXIII (1972), 111-16; Athialy Philip Saphir, "The Mysterious Wrath of God:

An Inquiry into the Old Testament Concept of the Suprarational Factor in

Divine Anger" (unpublished doctor's dissertation, Princeton Theological Sem-

linary, 1965).

Edwin M. Good, Irony in the Old Testament (Philadelphia: The Westminster

1965). He defines irony as follows: "irony is criticism, implicit or

explicit which perceives in things as they are an incongruity. The incongruity

is by no means merely mean and contemptible, though it may be willful. Nor

is it only accidental, the work of fate, a matter of the way the ball bounces

or the cookie crumbles. The incongruity may be that of ironic satire, between

what is and what ought to be. It may be an incongruity between what is actu-

ally so and what the object of ironic criticism thinks to be so, as in the

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chapter, as in many others, we see the demonstration of the patent false-

hood the claim that Israel had a "genius for religion, " as the old liberals

used to say. Israel's religious genius was rather for apostasy.¹

The wrath of God issued forth in the form of a plague in which

some 24,000 were slain.² But even in the face of the impending doom of the

nation, the audacity of the wicked practitioners of iniquity went unchecked.

So a Simeonite leader, Zimri, openly cohabited with a Midianite woman

named Cozbi. It was the zeal of Phinehas, the son of Eleazar and grandson
irony of tragedy, or in the ironies we perceive in history. But irony is dis-

tinguished from other perceptions of incongruity by two characteristics. One

Is the means of statement, which we may describe as understatement or a

method of suggestion rather than of plain statement. The other is a stance

in truth from which the perception comes," p. 31, Jay G. Williams comments

on the irony of this passage in his new book, Understanding the Old Testament

(New York: Barron's Educational Series, Inc. , 1972), p. 130.

¹ See Gleason L. Archer, Jr., A Survey of Old Testament Intro-

duction, p. 135.

² Regarding the supposed discrepancy between this number and

the number given in I Corinthians 10:8 (23,000), consult Threeton, who reasons

that the number given in the Book of Numbers is a total figure, whereas the

number given in I Corinthians is the number of people who died in one day

of the plague. Abel D. Threeton, "A Critical Analysis of the Current Evan-

gelical Debate on Inerrancy" (unpublished master's thesis, Dallas Theological

Seminary, 1969), pp. 45-46. Cf. S. Lewis Johnson for the same position,

WBC, pp. 1245-46; but contrast Archibald Robertson and Alfred Plummer,

A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the First Epistle of St. Paul to the

Corinthians, ICC (2d ed.; Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1914), pp. 204-205;

Keil, The Pentateuch, III, 206.

209

of Aaron, which finally stayed the plague. He took spear in hand and thrust

(Num. 25:8).¹

We would not have known that Balaam was the prime instigator

of this subtle attack on Israel, were it not for the notices given in Numbers

31:16 and Revelation 2:14. Balaam seems to have been the one who devised

the means of seduction to divert the men of Israel to idolatry.² Harrison

speaks of the role of Balaam in the events of this chapter:

Chapter 25:1-18 can be construed as forming an appendix to the

Balaam oracles, and it is instructive in the light of the fact that the
¹ For arguments against critical assertions of disunity of this

chapter, consult Aalders. He explains that the critical position divides the

chapter into two sources: (1) a description of idolatry in conjunction with

immorality with Moabite women, and (2) a seduction by Midianite women

(with the counsel of Balaam) by inter-marriage. [A representative of the

critical view is Gray, Numbers, p. 381.] Aalders argues that the entire

chapter is concerned with idolatry. This is demonstrated by the special

term used in verse 8 for tent [hBAQu]. He compares the translation of the

Vulgate, lupanar, "brothel." He then states, "it may be more appropriate

to think of a special tabernacle, arranged for the purpose of idolatrous

prostitution. If this be right, the entire chapter deals with idolatry."

As for the " Moabite" --"Midianite" problem, he points to Numbers 22:4,

7, where the Moabites and Midianites were closely related to each other.

"We therefore have to think of Moabitish as well as Midianitish women as

being concerned. " G. Ch. Aalders, A Short Introduction to the Pentateuch

(London: The Tyndale Press, 1949), p. 53. A different approach to the

problem of the "tent" of verse 8 is taken by Harrison. He avers that "the

qubbah referred to in Numbers 25:8 was the sacred tent, before whose door

the penitent Hebrews were weeping, and as such it has no connection what-

ever with a place reserved for prostitution, as the Vulgate rendering of

lupanar or 'brothel' would seem to indicate. " R. K. Harrison, Introduction

(Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1972), p. 76.

210

Mesopotamian seer subsequently associated himself with the Midianites

of Baal-peor (Num. 31:16). The chapter is thus placed into proper

religious and historical context, and forms a fitting conclusion to

material that is thoroughly Mesopotamian in character, as exempli-

fied by discoveries at Mari and elsewhere that have demonstrated the

role occupied by diviners in relationship to military affairs.¹

Hence, one item of major historical importance in Numbers 25

is the disaster that Balaam was able to effect on Israel. "Although Balaam

as an instrument of Satan could not turn the Lord against Israel, he could

turn Israel from the Lord."² A second element of historical importance within

the chapter is the story of the “zeal of Phinehas” which led to the covenant

of priesthood in his family (Num. 25:11-13).³

A third element of major historical and theological importance

in this chapter, often neglected by scholars, is the fact that this chapter

is a major scene in the conflict between Yahweh and Baal. This is suggested
¹ Harrison, Introduction to the Old Testament, pp. 620-21. The

reference to diviners and military affairs has parallels in our own day. Some

elements of the army of South Viet Nam are reported to have used diviners

before facing battle. See Robin Mannock, "To Ward Off Bullets: Hold Buddha

in Jaws, Says Magic Officer, " The Sunday Oregonian, August 13, 1972.

² Merrill F. Unger, Unger's Bible Handbook (Chicago: Moody

Press, 1966), p. 135; cf. Howard Edward Clark, "The Effects of Balaam's

Ministry Upon the History of Israel" (unpublished. master's thesis, Dallas

Theological Seminary, 1971), p. 53; Samuel J. Schultz, The Old Testament

ham Geike, Old Testament Characters (New York: James Pott & Co. , 1897),

p. 118.

³ Moriarty opines that the zeal of Phinehas was "a fit of mis-

placed zeal," Numbers, Part 2, p. 12. The zeal may be seen to be de-

however, in the light of the historical context. The severity of the

211

Habel observes that the harlotry of Israel in this passage "was no mere peca-