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

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

1958), p. 32.

273

Or who has ever counted the dust-cloud of Israel?

Let me die the death of the upright!

O that my latter end could be like his

This verse is comprised of two lines of bicola. Each line has

a 4:3 meter and has synonymous parallelism with the pattern a b c // a' b' c' .

Together, these two lines are in formal parallelism when taken together. In

the first line Balaam expresses his own futility as against the manifold

blessing of Israel. In the second line he utters a futile wish to share in

the blessing of Israel. This verse has been debated keenly by exegetes;

a suggested interpretation will be given with attention to some of the litera-

ture.

member in the word rPAs;miU. Rather than emend the word, as many have done,

it seems best to regard this form as an abbreviation for rpasA ymiU, "and

who has ever counted;" thus yielding nice parallelism with the first colon.¹

A second difficulty lies in the word fbaro. If it is taken as "one-

fourth, " as in most translations, it seems a rather poor parallel for rpafE,

"dust, " the leading term in the pair. We accept as most probable a solution

proposed by many scholars that the Hebrew word fbr may be compared to

Publishing House, 1966), p. 168; G. R. Driver, "Abbreviations in 'the

Massoretic Text," Textus, I (1960), 112-31.

274

meaning.¹ The image "dust // dust clouds seems to be an explicit reference

to the patriarchal blessing, as in Genesis 13:16:

And I will make your descendants as the dust of the earth;

so that if anyone can number the dust of the earth, then

your descendants can also be numbered.

[N. A. S. B., cf. Gen. 28:14]

There may also be an implicit reference to mantic acts in the parallel "Num-

ber // count " as is true in some Akkadian texts.² In either case, No one

has ever numbered the dust of Jacob or counted the dust-cloud of Israel!

The second line of bicola of our verse is no less problematic

then the first in the eyes of many scholars. Nevertheless, the text seems

to indicate the expression of a futile desire by Balaam to participate in the

blessing of Israel. Now, this is marvelous. He who came to curse Israel

asks to join Israel in her blessing. The irony of this verse seems to surpass

¹ Compare H. L. Ginsberg, "Lexicographical Notes. 3. fbaro

Dust," ZAW, LI (1933), 309; J. H. Hertz, "Numbers XXIII, 9b 10, " ET, XLV

(1933-34), 524; D. Winton Thomas, "The Word fbaro in Numbers XXIII. 10,"

ET, XLVI (1934-35), 285. This solution is also accepted in our newest Hebrew

lexicon; see Holladay, CHAL, p. 331. Others who support this view include

A. R. Hulst, et al., Old Testament Translation Problems, "Helps for Trans-

lators Prepared Under the Auspices of the United Bible Societies, " Vol. I

(Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1960), p. 11; and even (the cautious:) James Barr, Com-

parative Philology and the Text of the Old Testament (Oxford: At the Claren-

don Press, 1968), index. Dahood goes another direction by suggesting that

fbr be read as "stag, " as a reference to the "warriors" of Jacob. For the

literature on this position, and a critique (supporting "dust"), see D. Miller,

"Animal Names in Ugaritic," UF, II, 184.

² For the evidence, as well as a word of caution in terms of

North West Semitic uses of hnm // rps in this light, see RSP, pp. 285-86,

section II. 401.

275

The term "upright" [MyriwAy; ] may be an example of a singular

enclitic mem, and thus agreeing in number with the singular suffix

of the last word of the second colon UhmoKA.¹ The word wp,n, in our

verse clearly speaks of life rather than just "soul."² The parallel tyriHExa

appears to refer to "latter end" or "death" rather than "progeny" as some have

supposed.³ This verse may thus be seen as a statement of futility. Balaam

is unable to affect the people of Israel with a curse. Rather than curse them

he is used by God to bless them, and then he utters the futile wish to join

real in her blessing. This is a forlorn hope, however. His death was in

fact in the enemy camp (Numbers 31:8, 16).

Hence, in this introductory oracle, we have the major elements

on display. Balaam is unable to curse; Israel is unique because of her

blessing; Balak is furious--and Yahweh is sovereign.

The theme of this oracle may be stated to be: Israel's Unique

man, "Archaic Forms in Early Hebrew Poetry, ZAW, LXXII (1960), 104. Others

have taken this word as a misspelling of NUrwuy;; see Harry M. Orlinsky,

SVT, XIV, 18, n. 6; S. E. Loewenstamm, "The death of the Upright and the

World to Core " JJS, XVI (1965), 183-86.

Cf. Hulst, et al., Old Testament Translation Problems, p. 11.

276

Blessing Comes from Her Unique Relationship to God. In this oracle, what

was implicit in the first oracle become explicit. The uniqueness of Israel is

to be found in her unique relationship to her God. This is the reason that

cursing her is ineffective. This oracle may be outlined as follows:

oracle he is about to pronounce (18b).

A. Israel's unique blessing issues from her unique God (19).

1. He is totally unlike man in His person.

2. He is totally unlike man in His word.

B. Israel's unique blessing is irrevocable, as it was given to her

by her God (20).

1. Balaam is commanded to bless.

2. Balaam is powerless to curse.

C. Israel's unique blessing is explained by the presence of her

God (21-23).

1. God permits no cursing of Israel (21a).

2. God is present with Israel (21b).

3. God is the protector of Israel (22).

4. God is the power effective in Israel (23).

D. Israel's unique blessing is to be exhibited in her power in

battle (24).

1. As a lion she rises for the kill.

2. As a lion she feasts on the slain.

terized by a full use of fixed pairs of parallel words as well as the employment

of arresting figures. The Person of God as the effective force in Israel per-

meates the oracle. God is different from man; His word is different from

that of man. God is the source of blessing, not man. Yahweh is with His

people and is their king. God is the deliverer from Egypt, and is the strength

of His people. Because of God, His people become victorious. Hence, it

277

than any other subject. The introductory formula is the same throughout the

oracle corpus, as we have noted above. The exordium is quite different, how-

ever, and the difference may be explained in part by the intensification of the

thematic nature of the oracle itself. rmaxyova OlwAm; xWA.y.va

fmAwEU qlABA MUq

:rPoci OnB; ydafA hnAyzixEha

And he took up his oracle and said:

Rise, 0 Balak and hear!

Give ear to me 0 son of Zippor!

The introductory monocolon has a count of 3. The second part

of the verse is made up of one line of bicola in synonymous parallelism, with

a meter of 3:4. The introductory word MUq is used to command attention, much

dike the German "Achtung!"¹ The parallelism may be represented as a b c //

c' b' . " Balak" is parallel to "son of Zippor." The word OnB; is to be ex-

plained as the word "son" with the archaic nominative case ending, an indicator

of the antiquity of the poem, and a witness to the fact that it was not modern-

ized as greatly as other parts of the Torah.² The name of Balak's father

[rOPc.i] means "bird," or perhaps, "sparrow."³

The parallel pair for words of hearing is common in the Hebrew

(New ed.; London: Thomas Nelson and Sons, Ltd. , 1967), p. 293.

278

is the common Hebrew verb for "hear." NzaxA is a denominative verb from

the noun Nz,xo, "ear," and may be rendered, "give ear, use your ears, make

with the ears." The repetitive pair seem to be used to lend gravity and

solemnity to the announcement that is about to be given (as may be seen in

Isaiah 1:2.

section of the oracle we learn that Yahweh is totally unlike man in His

person, and He is totally unlike man in His word. Verse 19 consists of two

lines of bicola. The first line has the meter 4:2, and the parallelism is

a b c // b' c'. The second line has the meter 4:3, and the parallelism is

a b c // a' b' c' . Each line is in synonymous parallelism, and the two lines

together may be regarded as synthetic, for the second line builds on the

statement of the first.

bz.ekay.vi lxe wyxi xlo

MHAn,tyiv; MdAxA-NbeU

hW,fEya xlov; rmaxA xUhha

:hn.Am,yqiy; xlov; rB,divi

God is not a man, that He is able to lie,

Nor is He a son of man that He is able to be sorry (concerning

what he has spoken).

Has He said, and will He not do it?

Or has He spoken and will He not confirm it?

In this great verse it is seen that Israel's blessing depends

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fulfillment of His word to His own character. God is different from man in

that, unlike man, God is unable to lie. The verb bze.kayvi may be taken as

a potential imperfect that is negated. The Mighty is unable--unable to con-

tradict His character, unable to demean His excellences. "Not a man is

God.” The word order in our verse places emphasis on the negation.

God is utterly different from man. Something that comes far too easy for

many men is impossible for an Almighty God: He cannot lie.

The verb bzaKA is used of man in Proverbs 14:5 in, a significant

contrast to our verse:

A faithful witness does not lie [bze.kay; ]

But a false witness breathes out lies [MybizAK;],

A use that is complementary to our verse is found in Psalm 89:36, where

Yahweh speaks through the Psalmist:

Once I have sworn by my holiness,

I will not lie [bz.ekaxE] to David.

The word MHn is used widely in the Old Testament. In the

Niphal theme it may mean "to be sorry, moved to pity, have compassion."

In the Piel theme it may be used in the sense "to comfort, to console. " In

the Hithpael, as in this verse, this word may mean "to be sorry, to rue or

repent, to comfort oneself, to ease onself by taking vengeance."¹ It would

seem that incur verse the word bzk colors the use of the word MHn. The

280

for what one has said." The sense would then be, "to take back, to revoke,

to withdraw"--or to wish to do such. Hence Eissfeldt translates the word

with the German verb zurucknehmen.¹ Our verse is taken by some theo-

logians to be an example of anti-anthropomorphism, stressing the difference

between God and man. It should be compared with I Samuel 15:29.²

Not only is God distinct from man with respect to His person,

He is distinct with respect to His word. He must fulfill His promise, for He

has bound His character to His word. The verb "to do" [ hWf] is paired by

the term "to carry out, to confirm" [ MUq in the Hiphil ). There are several

occurrences of this verb used of Yahweh in which the covenant or a promise

are in view (Gen. 26:3; Lev. 26:9; I Kings 6:12; Deut. 8:18). What God has

spoken to Israel is His blessing. This is what He is bound to confirm. It

was not a lie, nor is it something for which God is sorry. He will do it--

He must do it. He is bound by His word.

It is on this basis that verse 20 is given in which the blessing

yTiH;qAlA j`r,bA hne.hi

:hn.AB,ywixE xlov; j`rebeU

Behold! I have received (orders) to bless;

Since He has blessed, I am unable to revoke it!
^l Otto Eissfeldt, "Sinai-Erzahlung and Bileam-Spruche, " HUCA,

XXXII (1961), p. 188. See also Snaith, Numbers, p. 294.

This verse is composed on one line of bicola, with 3:3 meter. The parallelism

appears to be synthetic, bound together by the uses of the verb "to bless."

Balaam is under orders to bless. Since Yahweh has blessed Israel, Balaam

is quite unable to revoke the blessing. The first word of the verse is the

lively introductory element hn.ehi, calling attention to the settled fact

announced in the verse: He has blessed, I cannot change it. The wording

of the verse is quite forceful, with the omission of a word for "command,"

“orders,” or the like. "Behold! To bless . . . I have received." The verb

bUw is given as a potential imperfect with negation, in the Hiphil theme.

Similar uses of this word are found in the refrain in the first two chapters

of Amos (Amos 1:3, 6, 9, 11, 13; 2:1, 4, 6) where Yahweh says, "I will not

revoke (its punishment)."

The next movement in our oracle is found in verses 21-23 in

bqofEyaB; Nv,xA FyBihi xlo

lxerAW;yiB; lmAfA hxArA-xlov;

Om.fi vyhAlox< hvhy

:OB j`l,m, tfaUrt;U

He has not seen evil in Jacob,

Nor has He observed trouble in Israel.

Yahweh his God is with Him.

And the battle cry of a King is in him!

This verse has two lines of bicola. Each has a meter of 3:3, and is synony-

282

mous. The two lines taken as a unit form antithetical parallelism: "There is

is a b c // a' b' c'. The pattern of the second is a b // a' b' . Pairs of

parallel words include the common couplings: FbanA // hxArA; Nv,xA // lmAfA;

bqofEya // lxrAW;yi. There is a unique coupling in the second bicola: vyhAlox< hvhy

// j`l,m, tfaUrT;.

The term Nv,xA is often a word for sin, more specifically for

“iniquity." The word lmAfA means "trouble, labor, toil, or sorrow." These

words form a common pair in Hebrew poetry. In the present context they may

refer to Israel's standing as against her state, as suggested by Unger and

others.¹ They may, however, refer to mantic powers and the curse. Our

narrative is surrounded with the manifest iniquity of Israel. Chapter 21 deals

with an act of iniquity so severe that a terrible punishment was effected, a

punishment which was alleviated only through the grace of God in the provision

of the bronze serpent raised on a standard. Numbers 25 concerns another act

of iniquity which was severely punished by Yahweh. Since our passage is in

the midst of the iniquity of Israel, as it seems; it may be difficult to sustain

the argument of standing as against state, as Unger does. The words in view

may be a reference to evil and trouble from without in the sense of mantic

acts and magic arts. The beth in each case, may be used in the sense of

283

used. Since God does not see iniquity and trouble in Israel, Balaam the

“seer” cannot see such either.

The reason is stated clearly: "Yahweh his God is with him,

and the battle cry of a King is among them " This is a people indwelt by

Yahweh. Hence, this is a people immune from verbal and mantic acts of

iniquity and sorrow from without The ascription of the term "king" to Yahweh

is a first in Pentateuchal theology. This is remarkable! One of the grandest

titles of God, and one which becomes the designation of the Lord Jesus Christ,

was first applied by Balaam the pagan mantic who was used as Yahweh's tool

With verse 22 we have come face-to-face with the central fact

of Israel's history--her redemption from Egypt:

MyirAc;mi.mi MxAyciOm lxe

:Ol Mxer; tpofEOtK;

God is bringing them out of Egypt,

He is for him as the horns of the aurochs.'

This verse has one line of bicola, with formal parallelism and

a meter of 3:3. God was bringing them out of Egypt. The verb is a participle,

expressive of the fact that the Exodus which began a generation ago had not

yet come to its climax. There is a sense in which the Exodus does not find

completion until Joshua assumes command and the Conquest begins. Hence,

even the Balaam story may be regarded as a part of the larger story of the

Exodus from Egypt. This is the greatest act in the history of the nation,

284

of Christ for the New Testament believer.

Israel was not wandering about on her own; she was being led

by God. Israel was immune to the attacks of the enemy; her strength was

in God. Balaam uses a vivid and arresting figure, the horns of the aurochs

(the wild ox of the ancient Near East)--a traditional image of power, but

here applied to Yahweh in dramatic fashion.¹

Verse 23 serves as the climax of the present division of the

oracle in which the presence of God is given as the explanation of Israel's

unique blessing:

Version was a mistranslation from the beginning, as may be seen from the

plural word for horns [tOpfaOT], if nothing else. The word Mxer;, is now

identified as Bos primigenius, the aurochs common to Mesopotamia, cf. WB,

I, 228; G. S. Cansdale, All the Animals of the Bible Lands (Grand Rapids:

Zondervan Publishing House, 1970), 82-84. The error concerning the "uni-

corn" seems to have begun with the LXX which rendered the Hebrew term

Mxer; as monokeros. On this subject, see "Allen Howard Godbey, "The

Unicorn in the Old Testament," AJSLL, LVI (1939), 256-96. Some scholars

prefer to identify our Hebrew word with the oryx rather than the aurochs.

See F. S. Bodenheimer, Animals and Man in the Bible Lands, "Collection de

travaux de l'Academie Internationale d'Histoire des Sciences, " No. 10

(Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1960), pp. 52-53; cf. the 5 agarot stamp in the nature

reserve series issued by the state of Israel in 1971, in which the white oryx

is identified as the Mxer;. The image of the aurochs is not to be equated

with the sexual bull motif of Canaan, cf. John Gray, The Legacy of Canaan:

rev. ed.; Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1965), pp. 158-59. See also, in this regard,

van Imschoot, Theology of the Old Testament, p. 26; contra, von Rad, The-

ology of the Old Testament, I, 24. The purpose of the image is to refer

to strength. The same image is used in this sense in Ugaritic; see below,

p. 369. Finally, reference may be made to Rembert Sorg, Habaqquk III and

Selah (Fifield, Wisc.: King of Martyrs Priory, 1968), pp. 51-64 (a section

titled, "Toward a Theology of Horns").

285

bqofEyaB; wHana-xlo yKi

bqofEyal; rmexAye tfeKA

:lxe lfaPA-hma lxerAW;yil;U

For there is no divination against Jacob,

Neither is there augury against Israel.

Now it must be said for Jacob,

And for Israel--What God has done.

Verse 23 contains two lines of bicola. The first has synony-

mous parallelism in the pattern a b c // a' b' c', with a 3: 2 meter. The

second line of bicola has what appears to be climactic parallelism. The first

colon is incomplete in itself; the words find their completion in the second

colon. The pattern is a b c // c' d e, with a 3:3 meter. Viewed as a verse,

the two lines are in antithetical parallelism. God! --not divination or sor-

cery--is effective in Israel. The position of El at the end of the verse lends

to the suspense of the whole, its climax and effectiveness. El began verse

22, it concludes verse 23.

The very important word wHana as a noun occurs only in our

pericope (here and in 24:21). The verb wHanA is used in the Piel with the