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

Testament understood him.²

An important observation to be made concerning the references

to Balaam in these three New Testament passages is that in each case, the

story of Balaam is used with utter seriousness and sobriety. On substructural

grounds, one may insist upon the historical reality of the Balaam story in the

minds of the New Testament writers. In the writings of Peter, Jude and John

there is no question but that the narrative with which we are concerned is a

part of the (genuine) history of the nation. Moreover, it is ironic that the

mentioned above, pp. 168-70.

'error of Balaam' must be distinguished from the 'way of Balaam' (see 2 Pet.

2:15, note) and the 'doctrine of Balaam' (see Rev. 2:14, note). The 'error

of Balaam' was the reasoning from natural morality and seeing the evil in

Israel, he supposed a righteous God must curse them. He was blind to the

higher morality of the cross, through which God maintains and enforces the

authority and awful sanctions of His law, so that He can be just and the

Justifier of a believing sinner. The reward of v. 11 is not necessarily money;

it may be popularity, fame, or applause, " N. S. R. B., p. 1350. Perhaps the

three terms, "error, " "way, " and "doctrine" are to be distinguished; but the

explanation of the "error" in this note is lacking in credibility.

224

donkey, is singled out by Peter: "for a dumb donkey, speaking with a voice

restrained the madness of the prophet" (II Peter 2:16, N. A. S. B.).¹

There seems to be but one reference to the oracles of Balaam,

against his person, in the New Testament, This is the quotation by our

Lord in Revelation 22:16:

I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these things

for the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David,

the bright morning star. [N. A. S. B.]

In these last words of our Lord there appears to be at least a tacit reference

to Numbers 24:17, "the Star out of Jacob."

Citation in the New Testament of Old Testament events or

personalities is not necessary to "make them credible"--at least not for the

biblicist. But the confirmatory nature of these New Testament citations appar-

ently is lost on many moderns. Witness, for example, the hermeneutical,

theological, and philosophical gymnastics engaged in by D. M, Stanley as

he attempts to "explain" Peter's rather sober acceptance of the account of the

donkey’s speech.²

Hermeneutics, " CBQ, XX (January, 1958), 50--6. It may be observed that a vast

"generation gap exists between this study and those of 1940-41 in the same

journal, written by Guyot. See Gilmore H. Guyot, "The Prophecy of Balaam,

CBQ, II (1940), 330-40; idem, "Balaam, " CBQ, III (1941), 234-42. Guyot

argued strongly for the historicity of the Numbers narrative as well as for the

Christological import of Balaam's latter prophecies.

225

There is one question attendant to the study of Balaam that

cannot be answered with certainty, but which must be asked. This is the

query. What is the source of the Balaam materials in the Book of Numbers?

For one who is committed to the literary-analytical approach to Old Testament

studies, such a question would seem irrelevant, at best. But for one who

holds too the unity of the Torah, and to the hand of Moses in its composition,

the question becomes acute. For here is the lengthiest portion of the last

four books of the Pentateuch in which neither Moses nor any other Israelite

was a participant or an observer. Whereas the conservative may say that

Moses was the author of those texts which record incidents in which he was

a participant, it becomes difficult to insist that he was the author of an

account that was beyond his participation, and perhaps beyond his know-

ledge.

which he attempts to present a positive approach to the composition of the

Pentateuch from a conservative viewpoint.1 The editor of his journal observes
¹ Kenneth A. Kitchen, "The Old Testament in Its Context," a

series which began in the spring of 1971, and is continuing at the time of

the writing of this paper. TSFB, LIX (Spring, 1971), 2-10; LK (Summer, 1971),

3-11; XLI (Autumn, 1971), 5-14; LXII (Spring, 1972), 2-10; XIII (Summer,

1972), 1-5; one last installment was due in LXIV (Autumn, 1972 [not yet

available to the writer]).

226

that conservative Old Testament scholars often seem to spend more time

than in putting forward their own positive theories about it.”¹

In the first two installments of his series,² Kitchen presents a

laced and convincing statement of what may be regarded Mosaic on mini-

and maximal grounds. He argues that "indubitable post-Mosaica (other

than Dt, 34: 5-12) are very few and hard to prove."³ However, in his treat-

of the material of the Book of Numbers, he makes no mention at all of

Balaam narrative and the questions concerning its authorship and inclusion

in the Torah.⁴

Yet the question of the source of the Balaam oracles among

those holding a "high view" of the integrity of the Torah should be asked.

Moreover, it seems to have been an issue of concern to early Judaism. This

seems to be reflected in the famous citation from the Talmud concerning the

authorship of the Pentateuch. Baba Bathra 14b-15a reads: "Moses wrote

in Its Context: 1. From the Origins to the Eve of the Exodus," TSFB, LIX

Spring, 1971), 2.

² See note 1, p. 225, above.

³ Kitchen, "The Old Testament in Its Context: 2. From Egypt

to the Jordan," TSFB, LX (Summer, 1971), 6, n. 9a.

neglect is true of two standard conservative introductions; cf. Edward J.

Young, An Introduction to the Old Testament (rev. ed.; Grand Rapids: Wm. B.

Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1960), pp. 89-98; Archer, A Survey of Old

227

the words, "the section concerning Balaam," would indicate that this was a

matter of concern among the ancients as well. The value of the statement as

a record of fact may be questioned, but the importance of the statement as an

index of concern is manifest. Even among those who hold to the Mosaic unity

and authorship of the Pentateuch, the writing of the story of Balaam poses some

difficulty.

Several suggestions have been proffered in the past. One was

advanced by Hengstenberg. He attempted to fill in the gaps in the biblical

story of Balaam, noting that omissions of material that might be of interest

to us, but which did not serve the purpose of the writer, are common in the

Torah.¹ Hengstenberg suggests that when Balaam left Balak, "his ambition

and avarice sought the satisfaction which, by God's providence, was denied

on the part of the Moabites, among the Israelites, on whose gratitude he

believed that he had just claims."² He then told Moses the details of the

narrative in hopes of a reward from Moses to replace that which he had not

gained from Balak. He continues:

That Balaam visited the Israelitish camp is indeed not expressly

asserted, yet it has not a little psychologically probability--it is

scarcely conceivable that he would allow an opportunity apparently

Rebekah's nurse, whose death is recorded in Gen. 35:8. Hengstenberg, The

228

and it is almost as strong a proof as an express assertion would be,

that the contents of Numb. xxii. -xxiv. could only be obtained from

communications which he made to the elders of Israel.¹

The scenario advanced by Hengstenberg continues by suggesting

that Moses saw through his base character and he also dismissed Balaam

without a reward. The twice-rebuffed Balaam then turned to the Midianites

in his last vain attempt for payment:

Balaam, when he could not obtain the hoped for satisfaction of

his desires among the Israelites, turned again to their enemies,

incapable of renouncing this satisfaction and of making up his mind

to return back as empty as he came. But it appears, that he did not

venture to approach again the king of the Moabites, who had dis-

missed him so angrily, but addressed his proposals to the Midianites.²

In this manner the stage was set for the events of chapter 25, and the report

of the death of Balaam in Numbers 31.³

A second approach to the problem of the source of the Balaam

materials in the Pentateuch is to posit that Balaam related the events to

Israel at the time of his death. Keil writes:

At the time when he fell into the hands of the Israelites, he no doubt

made a full communication to the Israelitish general, or to Phinehas,

who accompanied the army as priest, concerning his blessings and

prophecies, probably in the hope of saving his life; though he failed

¹ Ibid. ² Ibid., p. 513.

³ Dewey M. Beegle observes that "while this reconstruction

may be too neat, it has some basis. Moses, The Servant of Yahweh, p.

330. He also asserts that Balaam may have become a believer who later

lapsed from the faith.

229

to accomplish his end.¹

A refinement of this suggestion was made by Cox, who related'

the narration of the events to a judicial death. He takes the expression in

Numbers 31:8, "Balaam they slew with the sword," to refer to a "judicial

death."

A judicial death implies some sort of a trial. And what is more natural

received from Jehovah, and the long series of blessings he had pro-

nounced on Israel when all his interests and perhaps all his inclin-

ations, prompted him to curse them? Such defences, in the East,

were commonly autobiographical.³

Cox then imagines that Moses and his people must have had

a difficult time in putting Balaam to death. Only the crime of Numbers 25

convinced them to do so. "Even with that crime full in their memories, it

must have cost Moses and the elders much, one thinks, to condemn to death

the man who had told them such a story as this."⁴

Another variation on the theme comes from Aalders, who says,

among other things, that "the victorious Israelites might have found a written

copy on Balaam's dead body."^5
1 Keil, The Pentateuch, III, 203. On n. 1 of the same page he

suggests that Hengstenberg's proposal is a good alternative.

probable, in any case, that Balaam provided the record to save his life.

230

Harrison makes a couple of suggestions, although he does not

agency of a disciple of Balaam.¹ Another is that the story may have been

taken from Moabite sources.² He adds:

Linguistic and other considerations would suggest that the

oracles were in written form by the twelfth century B. C., and they

were probably inserted into the text of Numbers in order to comple-

ment the history at some point either in the settlement period or even

earlier, and in any event not later than the time of Samuel.³

One may note one more hypothesis. This is the proposal that

the record of the events is the result of revelation from God. Hengstenberg

was familiar with this opinion, but he rejected it as "untenable and contra-

dicting all analogy."⁴ However, a recent attempt to renew this hypothesis

was made by the late Oswald T. Allis in his last major work:

The clue to the understanding of the Balaam narrative is given

us in the words of one of the servants of the king of Syria, who sought

to account to their master for the intimate knowledge of his military

plans possessed by the king of Israel and to show that it was not due

to the disloyalty of any of his own servants: "Nay, my lord the king,

but Elisha, the prophet that is in Israel, telleth the king of Israel the

words that thou speakest in thy bedchamber" (2 Kings 6:12). This was

the explanation of a superstitous pagan. But his words were factually

correct as is indicated by the context (vss. 8-10); and they enable us

to understand that amazing story, and such an incident as the Balaam

story, and perhaps many other narratives, especially speeches, which

many critical scholars regard as largely, if not wholly, artificial and
¹ Harrison, Introduction to the Old Testament, p. 620.

² Ibid., p. 630. ³ Ibid.

⁴ Hengstenberg, History of Balaam, p. 512.

231

Such narratives as the above form an important part of that

Scripture which our Lord declared "cannot be broken," to which he

definitely appealed as a record of historical fact, and which the

Apostle had in mind when he declared that "All Scripture is given by

inspiration of God."¹

Each of these several hypotheses is but a guess in the absence

of clear scriptural data. We must conclude that although there are a number

of possible explanations to the problem of the source of the Balaam story

into the Pentateuchal record, we really do not know how in fact these

materials were communicated to Israel. Perhaps the most important issue,

however, is not the question of how we received it, but a recognition of the

fact that we do have the account. Such is the statement of Jones: "There is

no way to know how this section came to be a part of the Biblical record. No

Israelites were present at the events recorded. How could they have learned

these things from their enemies? But the fact is that the story is here, and

many of the details fit what we know of Mesopotamian life of that period."^2
1 Oswald T. Allis, The Old Testament: Its Claims and Its Critics

(Philadelphia: The Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing Company, 1972), p.

127. Quite another approach is taken by Segal. "The story may reasonably

be considered as an imaginative representation of the actual occurrence.

The details of Bileam's visit to Moab together with his sayings may soon have

been reported in the Israelite camp in the plains of Moab, and the Israelite

poet told the story in his own, artistic fashion, putting in Bileam's mouth the

prophetic poems celebrating the divine care of Israel and Israel's future

triumphs over its enemies. " M. H. Segal, The Pentateuch: Its Composition

and Its Authorship, and Other Biblical Studies (Jerusalem: At the Magnes

Press, The Hebrew University, 1967), pp. 68-69.

p. 68. Harrison concludes: "Precisely how the narratives relating to his

232

Similarly, before presenting his theory of revelation, Allis

Whether it was by natural or by supernatural means or by both that

this information reached Moses, we are not told. All that we can say

is that this amazing story is recorded in the Book of Numbers as

actual fact, and is referred to as such several times in Scripture

both in the Old Testament and in the New Testament.¹

Whatever the relationship of Balaam may have been to Moses

terms of the accounting of his story, there is a strongly implied contrast

between the two men. Moses is not mentioned by name once through the

chapters on Balaam (Numbers 22-24). Yet there is a real sense in which the

shadow of his personality constantly falls across those pages. One who

has read the Book of Numbers up to chapter 22 has had so many confrontations

with the person of Moses, that he cannot easily dismiss him merely by

turning a page or by beginning a new chapter.

The Balaam chronicle seems to bear somewhat the same relation-

ship to the Book of Numbers as chapter 38 of Genesis sustains to the totality

of that book.² That is, in both cases there are dramatic and vivid contrasts
oracles came to be in written form is unknown," Introduction to the Old

Testament, p. 620.

¹ Allis, The Old Testament: Its Claims and Its Critics, p. 1.27.

² The viewpoint that is herein expressed should be compared to

that of Segal. He writes: "The story of Balak and Bileam is not an organic

part of the Pentateuchal narrative. It has nothing to say of the covenant

and of the promise of Canaan. It is no more than an episode inserted into

the narrative " Segal, The Pentateuch, p. 69.

233

tened by the "intrusion" of the contrasting material concerning the base acts

of his elder brother Judah. Judah, who should have been the moral leader,

proved to be morally degenerate. So far did he fall from the patriarchal ideal

that he had to admit that the desperate act of his Canaanite daughter-in-law

was a greater display of righteousness and loyal love than was the case in

his own life. His acts of cupidity and immorality only serve to heighten

the picture of Joseph's selflessness and purity in Genesis 39.

So it is with the "intrusion" of the Balaam story into the Book

of Numbers. His personality serves as a foil to demonstrate the excellence

of the character of Moses. The significant contrast between Moses and

Balaam has been noted by Martin Buber:

Moses is not named or mentioned in the folk-book of Balaam.

But he, who feels himself called to tell Israel in time what work God

has in hand, is the unseen opponent of the soothsayer and interpreter

of omens. True, the Balaam story, as we have it, "reaches its peak

in the meaningful blessings predicting and indeed effecting the happy

future of Israel, and which therefore must have been genuine; that

is to say, effected, from the Israelite standpoint by YHVH."
But in addition to this the narrator is certainly very much

concerned to show that, by these blessings from the mouth of the

heathen, the unsouled nabi, YHVH confirms what has been founded

by His true emissary.¹

Harper Torchbooks, The Cloister Library (New York: Harper & Row, Pub-

lisher, 1958), p. 171. The quotation is from W. Rudolph, "Der 'Elohist'

von Exodu bis Josua, BZAW LXVIII (1938), 105.

234

Conclusion

We may conclude this lengthy study of the many historical

problems in the Balaam chapters of Numbers by reasserting that despite all

that is yet unknown about the Balaam narrative, the important thing is that

the narrative is before us and that it is the Word of God in the absolute sense.

It may be said that the shadow of Moses may be seen falling across these

pages, however the story became a part of the Torah. The several references

to Balaam in other sections of the Torah, as noted above, would indicate that

the story was known by Israel from the earliest period. We do not know how

the story reached Israel; we do know that the record was inspired by the Spirit

of God and that it forms a vital part of the Book of Numbers. Moreover, we

also know that it contributes significantly to the story of Moses, of Israel--

and of Yahweh.

CHAPTER V

THE ORACLES OF BALAAM

Hermann Schultz, very early in his theology of the Old Testament,

writes, "Die biblische Theologie hangt zunachst unmittelbar mit der Schrift-

auslegung."¹ We would agree strongly that the beginning point of biblical

theology must be found in an exegesis of the text. We have now completed

an extensive and thorough study of the Balaam story in critical literature, and

have looked also into the several historical problems from an approach that

may be termed harmonistic. Now we may turn to the oracles themselves for

an exegetical study.

In the present chapter we will concern ourselves first with the

role of the curse in the ancient Near East for perspective on the reason for

the oracles. Then we shall turn to the concept of masal, the designation of

the oracles of Balaam. Then we shall turn to the question of the literary
¹ Hermann Schultz, Alttestamentliche Theologie: Die Offen-

barungsreligion auf ihrer vorchristlichen Entwicklungsstufe (5th ed.;

Gottingen: Vandenhoeck and Ruprecht, 1896), p. 3.

236

structure and unity of the oracles, from a positive viewpoint. Finally, we

Before proceeding to the oracles of Balaam in detail, we may

first attempt to see them in the context of the concept of the curse in the

OId Testament world. The need for such an orientation is indicated by our