Difference between revisions of "Balaam"

<p> (Hebrew balam ) "not of the people" (Israel), a "foreigner"; else bilam , "the destroyer of the people," corresponding to the Greek Νicolaos , "conqueror of the people" (&nbsp;Revelation 2:14-15), namely, by having seduced them to fornication with the [[Moabite]] women (Numbers 25), just as the [[Nicolaitanes]] sanctioned the eating of things sacrificed to idols and fornication. The -am , however, may be only a formative syllable. He belonged to Pethor, a city of [[Aram]] Naharaim, i.e. [[Mesopotamia]] (&nbsp;Deuteronomy 23:4). "Balak, the king of Moab" (he says, &nbsp;Numbers 23:7), "hath brought me from Aram, out of the mountains of the E.," a region famous for soothsayers (&nbsp;Isaiah 2:6). Pethor, from pathar , "to reveal," was the head quarters of oriental magi, who used to congregate in particular spots (&nbsp;Daniel 2:2; &nbsp;Matthew 2:1), Phathusae, S. of Circesium. It is an undesigned propriety, which marks the truth of Scripture, that it represents [[Balak]] of Moab, the descendant of Lot, as having recourse to a diviner of the land from which [[Lot]] came when he accompanied [[Abraham]] to Canaan. </p> <p> It was a practice of ancient nations to devote their enemies to destruction at the beginning of their wars; the form of execration is preserved in Macrobius, Saturnalia, 3:9. The traditional knowledge of the true God lingered among the descendants of [[Laban]] and Bethuel. [[Abimelech]] of Gerar, Melchizedek, Job, Jethro, are all instances of the truth that knowledge of the one true God was not restricted to Abraham's descendants. [[Balaam]] was son of Beor. The same name (omitting the last part, ''-Am'' , of Balaam), Bela, (and he also "son of Beor," front baar , to "burn up,) occurs among the [[Edomites]] connected with [[Midian]] by a victory recorded in &nbsp;Genesis 36:32-37; also with the "river" [[Euphrates]] through Saul of [[Rehoboth]] which was on it, king of Edom. Now Balaam is mentioned in conjunction with the five kings of Midian (&nbsp;Numbers 31:8; &nbsp;Numbers 31:16). </p> <p> A dynasty of Balaam's ancestors from near the great river probably reigned once over Edom. [[Moab]] in his application to him was not alone. "Moab was sore afraid ... because of the children of Israel, and Moab said unto the elders of Midian, Now shall this company lick up all that are round about us, as the ox licketh up the grass of the field" (how natural the image in the mouth of a shepherd king, as "the king of Moab was a sheep master," &nbsp;2 Kings 3:4). So "the elders of Moab and the elders of Midian departed with the rewards of divination in their hand." It is natural that Balaam, living amidst idolaters, should, like Laban of old in the same region (&nbsp;Genesis 31:20), have been somewhat tainted. Hence, while owning [[Jehovah]] for his God and following patriarchal tradition (&nbsp;Job 42:8, who is thought by the decipherers of the [[Assyrian]] and [[Babylonian]] monuments to have lived in the region about the mouth of the Euphrates, Uz, the early seat of the first Babylonian empire) in offering victims by sevens. </p> <p> Balaam had recourse to "enchantments" also, so that he is called "the soothsayer" (&nbsp;Joshua 13:22) (ha -kosem , distinguished, from the true prophet, &nbsp;Isaiah 3:2), a practice denounced as "an abomination to the Lord" (&nbsp;Deuteronomy 18:10; &nbsp;Deuteronomy 18:12). In the portion that follows (&nbsp;Numbers 22:7-24) no further mention of Midian occurs, but only of Moab. But after Balaam's vain effort to curse, and God's constraining him to bless, Israel, "he went and returned to his place" (&nbsp;Numbers 24:14; &nbsp;Numbers 24:25). He had said: "Behold, I go unto my people." But then follows (Numbers 25) Israel's whoredom, not only with Moabite women but also with [[Midianite]] women, of whom Cozbi, daughter of [[Zur]] (slain by Phinehas. with [[Zimri]] her paramour), was principal; and in &nbsp;Numbers 31:8; &nbsp;Numbers 31:16, Israel's slaughter of the [[Midianites]] with their five kings (Zur was one), and also of Balaam, son of Beor, because of his "counsel." Beside those kings that fell in battle, [[Israel]] slew five Midianite kings and executed Balaam judicially after the battle (&nbsp;Numbers 31:8). </p> <p> So after all Balaam did not return as he had said, to his own place, Mesopotamia. [[Dismissed]] by the [[Moabites]] in dissatisfaction, He suffered his mind to dwell on the honors and riches which he had lost by blessing Israel, and so instead of going home he turned to the Midianites, who were joined with Moab in the original application to him. Availing himself of his head knowledge of divine truth, he, like Satan in Eden, used it with fiendish wisdom to break the union between God and Israel by tempting the latter to sin by lust. They fell into his trap: but staying among the Midianites, who doubtless rewarded with mammon his hellish counsel which succeeded so fatally against Israel, he in turn fell into the righteous judgment executed by Moses and Israel on his guilty patrons, Israel's seducers. The undesigned dovetailing together of these scattered incidents into such a harmonious whole is a strong confirmation of the truth of the [[Scripture]] history. </p> <p> In &nbsp;Numbers 22:12, at the first inquiry of Balaam, God said, "Thou shalt not go with them, thou shalt not curse the people." Balaam acquiesced, although in language betraying the revolt of his covetous will against God's will he told Balak's princes, "Jehovah refuseth to give me leave to go with you." Hence, instead of going back to Pethor, he begs them to tarry another night to see "what Jehovah will say unto him more." In the very moment of saying "I cannot go beyond the word of the Lord my God," he tempts the Lord as if He might change His purpose, and allow him to earn "the wages of iniquity"; yet himself, with strange inconsistency, such as marks those who "hold the truth in unrighteousness" (&nbsp;Romans 1:18), declares what condemns his perverse thought, "God is not a man that He should lie, nor the Son of man that He should repent: hath He said, and shall He not do it, or hath He spoken, and shall He not make it good?" (&nbsp;Numbers 23:19.) </p> <p> God did come that night, and seems to contradict His former command, "If the men come to call thee, rise up and go with them." But God' s unchangeable principle is, with the pure to show Himself pure (&nbsp;Psalms 18:26), with the froward to show Himself froward. He at first speaks plainly to the conscience His will; if the sinner resists the voice of His Spirit and His word He "answers the fool according to his folly," and "gives him up to his own desire" (&nbsp;Psalms 78:29-30; compare &nbsp;Romans 1:25-26; &nbsp;Romans 1:28; &nbsp;Proverbs 1:31); after long resistance by man, God's Spirit ceases to strive with him (&nbsp;Genesis 6:3). Balaam rose up in the morning, and it is not written he waited for the "men to come and call" him. Certainly, "God's anger was kindled because he went"; for his going was in spite of the former plain prohibition; and the second voice was a permission giving him up in judicial anger to his own perversity (compare &nbsp;1 Kings 22:15), a permission too resting on the condition, which Balaam did not wait for, "if the men come to call thee." &nbsp;Judges 1:11 saith the "error of Balaam" was his" running greedily for reward." </p> <p> The apostle Peter (&nbsp;2 Peter 2:15) says, "Balaam the son of Bosor" (the same as Beor; [[Bosor]] is akin to basar , "flesh," and Balaam showed himself the "son of carnality." Bosor is probably the [[Aramaic]] or [[Chaldee]] equivalent of Beor, Τsade ( צ ) being submitted for 'Αyin ( ע ). Peter residing at [[Babylon]] would naturally adopt the name usual in the Aramaic tradition) "loved the wages of unrighteousness: but was rebuked for his iniquity, the mute (voiceless) donkey, speaking with man's voice, forbad the madness of the prophet": an awful contrast, a dumb beast forbidding an inspired prophet. The donkey turned aside at the sight of the angel; but Balaam, after God had said "thou shalt not go," persevered in wishing to go for gain. Not what the donkey said, but its speaking at all, withstood his perversity. The donkey indirectly, the angel directly, rebuked his worse than asinine obstinacy. </p> <p> The miracle, the object of the infidel's scoff, has a moral fitness which stamps its truth. He who made the cursing prophet bless could make an ass, His own creature, speak (&nbsp;Nehemiah 13:2; &nbsp;Joshua 24:9-10). The "seer" lacks the spiritual eye to discern the angel of the Lord, because it was blinded by lust of riches and honor. God opens the mouth of the irrational brute to show the seer his blindness in not seeing what even the brute could see. Even a beast can discern the spiritual world better than a man blinded by lust. Balaam's worse than brutish mind must be taught by the. brute, in order to chastize his vainly. Not until after the Lord opened the donkey's mouth is it written that" his eyes were opened" (&nbsp;Numbers 24:3-4), whereas they had been "shut" (margin): "falling" refers to his falling with his donkey (not as KJV: "into a trance") and then having his eyes "opened." </p> <p> No more efficient agent than Balaam could have been chosen to testify to his friends, Israel's enemies, the hopelessness of their conflict with the people whom Jehovah marks as His own. This famed diviner, brought to curse, blesses; lured by love of gain which depended on his cursing, he contradicts his own nature by forfeiting the promised gain, to bless a people from whom he expected no gain. A master of enchantments, he confesses "there is no enchantment (which can avail) against Jacob, neither any divination against Israel" (&nbsp;Numbers 23:23). The miracle wrought on him, whereby he belied his whole nature, is greater than that wrought on the ass. This truth moreover came with more weight, from him than from any other, and this publicly before a king and a whole people, the most esteemed soothsayer in spite of himself proclaiming Israel's blessedness. </p> <p> Balak first feasted Balaam at [[Kirjath]] Huzoth, a place of reputed sanctity on the borders. [[Thence]] Balaam was taken to "the high places (bamot ) of Baal," called [[Beth]] [[Bamoth]] in the Moabite stone. Thence to Pisgah's top by the field of Zophim. Thence to Peor's top looking toward Jeshimon. Then Balaam, seeing God's determinate counsel, stopped seeking further enchantments, but looking at Israel in their beautiful order by tribes, he compares them to the rows of lign aloes and cedars by the waters, and foretells the advent of a [[Hebrew]] prince who should smite Moab and [[Edom]] (David, 2 Samuel 8, the type), and of the Messiah, the [[Star]] out of Jacob" (compare &nbsp;Revelation 22:16; Matthew 2, announced to the [[Gentile]] wise men from the E., Balaam's country, by the star in the sky) whose "scepter shall have dominion" (&nbsp;Revelation 2:27-28; &nbsp;Psalms 110:2; He shall restore "the scepter departed from Judah," &nbsp;Genesis 49:10). </p> <p> Balaam foretold also (See [[Amalek]] 'S utter ruin; the Kenites' being carried captive by Assyria; and [[Assyria]] in its turn being afflicted by the [[Greeks]] and Romans from [[Chittim]] (Cyprus, put for all western lands whence the approach to [[Palestine]] was by sea); and these, the last destroying power, in turn, "shall perish for ever" before Messiah's kingdom. "Eber," who was to be "afflicted" by Assyria, includes Eber's descendants through Peleg, and also through Joktan; the western Semites, sprung from Arphaxad, Lud, and Aram (&nbsp;Genesis 10:21). Balaam's prophecy is a comprehensive germ, which Isaiah and the prophets, especially Daniel, develop, concerning the four successive world empires which, after their successive rise and fall, shall be superseded by the universal and everlasting kingdom of [[Messiah]] (Daniel 2; 7). </p> <p> Jacob saw the dominion of the victorious Lion out of Judah attaining its perfection in Shiloh's (the Prince of peace) peaceful reign. Balaam, in the face of Israel's foes seeking to destroy her, declares that it is they who shall be destroyed. Appropriately the seer that God appoints to announce this belonged to Mesopotamia, the center of the great world powers whose doom he foretells, as rebels against Jehovah's purpose concerning Israel and Israel's Messianic king (Psalm 2). As a [[Judas]] was among the apostles, so Balaam among the prophets, a true seer but a bad man; at the transition to the [[Mosaic]] from the patriarchal age witnessing to the truth in spite of himself, as [[Caiaphas]] did at the transition from the legal to the [[Christian]] dispensation. Head knowledge without heart sanctification increases one's condemnation. Making "godliness a source of gain" is the damning sin of all such as Balaam and Simon Magus: &nbsp;1 Timothy 6:5 (Greek). </p> <p> In &nbsp;Micah 6:5 ("O My people, remember now what Balak king of Moab consulted, and what Balaam the son of Beer answered him from Shittim)," the sense is, [[Remember]] the fatal effects at [[Shittim]] of Israel's joining [[Baal]] [[Peer]] and committing whoredom with the daughters of Moab, and how but for God's sparing mercy Israel would have been given to utter destruction. Like Judas and Ahithophel, Balaam set in motion the train of events which entailed his own destruction. Balak's summons was the crisis in his history, bringing him into contact with God's people and so giving him the possibility of nearer communion with God than before. [[Trying]] to combine prophecy and soothsaying, the service of God and the wages of iniquity, he made the choice that ruined him for ever! He wanted to do opposite things at once, to curse and to bless (&nbsp;James 3:10-12), to earn at once the wages of righteousness and unrighteousness, if possible not to offend God, yet not to lose Balak's reward. </p>

<p> <strong> BALAAM </strong> is the subject of a remarkable and intricate narrative in &nbsp; Numbers 22:1-41; &nbsp; Numbers 23:1-30; &nbsp; Numbers 24:1-25 , connected with the arrival of Israel in the [[Promised]] Land, and the relationship of the chosen people to Moab and Ammon. Balaam was a soothsayer of [[Pethor]] on the Euphrates, called by Balak, king of Moab, to curse the Israelites, who were lying encamped in the [[Jordan]] valley. He had difficulty in undertaking the task, and he found, whenever he essayed to curse Israel, that the Lord had forbidden him to do so, and that his burden must be blessing instead. At the request of Balak he changed his position again and again on the heights above the [[Dead]] Sea, in the hope of obtaining a different oracle, but the message he had to deliver remained the same, and he foretold the future splendour of Israel (&nbsp; Numbers 24:2 ff.). Sent away by Balak without the reward promised to him if he would deliver an oracle adverse to Israel, he returned to his own land. According to one narrative, his end was full of shame. He was accused of having induced Israel to commit immorality in connexion with religious worship, a feature common in the Semitic nature-cults. It was through this charge that he became known to subsequent ages, and his name became a name of infamy (&nbsp; Numbers 31:8; Num 31:16 , &nbsp; 2 Peter 2:15 , &nbsp; Revelation 2:14; Jos. [Note: Josephus.] <em> Ant </em> . VI. vi, 6). The inspiration of Balaam, contrasted with his subsequent sin and disgraceful death, his knowledge of the will of God, together with his intense desire to grasp the rewards of unrighteousness, have given rise to a notable sermon literature. [[Bishop]] [[Butler]] speaks of the self-deception by which he persuades himself that the sin he commits can be justified to conscience and to God; Newman regards him as an instance of the trouble that can come on a character, otherwise noble, when the thought of material advancement is always allowed to dwell with it; [[Arnold]] adduces him as an instance of the familiar truth that the purest form of religious belief may coexist with a standard of action immeasurably below it; F. W. Robertson makes him the text for a sermon on the perversion of gifts. </p> <p> This complexity of character is, however, greatly simplified by the recognition of the various strata in the narrative. It is clear that the account of P [Note: Priestly Narrative.] connecting Balaam with Israel’s uncleanness has nothing to do with the original narrative. This original narrative is contained in &nbsp;Numbers 22:1-41; &nbsp; Numbers 23:1-30; &nbsp; Numbers 24:1-25 . According to it, Balaam was a prophet of Pethor on the river Euphrates. His fame had spread across the wilderness, and, when Balak found himself in straits through the advance of Israel, he sent for Balaam to come and curse Israel. Balaam asked God whether he should go, and was refused permission. Balak therefore sent yet greater gifts, and once again Balaam asked counsel of God. This time permission was granted. So far there had been no indication of God’s displeasure; but now follows (&nbsp; Numbers 22:22-34 ) the story of the ass, through which God’s anger at the refusal of the seer to accept His answer, given once and for all, is manifested. If, however, the reader will pass from &nbsp; Numbers 22:21 to &nbsp; Numbers 22:35 he will find that the narrative runs smoothly, and that he is still viewing Balaam’s character from the same not unfavourable standpoint (&nbsp; Numbers 22:35 [cf. &nbsp; Numbers 22:20-21 ] is the effort to join up the threads of the story after the interpolation). When Balaam is brought in sight of Israel, he breaks out into a burst of praise (&nbsp; Numbers 24:5-9 ) which rouses the wrath of Balak. Balaam justifies himself by reminding the king that he had warned him of the constraint of the Lord (&nbsp; Numbers 24:13 ). He then utters another oracle predicting the glory of Israel and the destruction of Moah and [[Ammon]] (&nbsp; Numbers 24:17-19 ). </p> <p> This analysis leaves out of account &nbsp;Numbers 22:22-34; &nbsp; Numbers 22:23 , which seem to belong to a narrative dealing with the same facts, but placing a more sinister interpretation on the conduct of Balaam. The story of the ass is plainly out of harmony with the narrative just outlined. It is a story belonging not to the wilderness, but to a land of vineyards. It ignores the embassy that has been sent to bring Balaam back across the wilderness (&nbsp; Numbers 22:15; &nbsp; Numbers 22:21 ), for it represents Balaam as travelling alone. It is also extremely unlikely that so long a journey as that from the Euphrates to Moab would be attempted upon an ass. Then ch. 23, with its elaborate building of altars and offering of sacrifices, seems to belong to a later date; while the constant shifting of position in the effort to secure a more favourable oracle presents Balaam in a much more unfavourable light than before. Although the details of this analysis are not certain, we may take it that the original story proceeds from J [Note: Jahwist.] , and that the second narrative, more complicated both in psychology and ritual, is from E [Note: Elohist.] . </p> <p> The narrative of P [Note: Priestly Narrative.] ascribing the sin of Baal-peor to Balaam is out of touch with both the other narratives. According to it, Balaam was a Midianitish seer who tried to bring about the ruin of Israel, in default of other means, by persuading them to give way to lust (&nbsp;Numbers 31:8; &nbsp; Numbers 31:16 , Jos. [Note: Josephus.] <em> Ant </em> . VI. 6. 6). ‘It has been conjectured that this story arose partly out of a difficulty on the part of the priestly narrator in conceiving of a heathen being an inspired prophet of God, partly from the need of accounting for the great sin of the Israelites’ ( <em> DB </em> <em> [Note: Dictionary of the Bible.] </em> I. 233 a ). Balaam thus seems to have fallen in the estimation of Israel from being a seer of alien race, who distinguished himself by his faithfulness to the truth he knew, to becoming synonymous with temptation of a kind that was always especially insidious for Israel. </p> <p> R. [[Bruce]] Taylor. </p>

<p> [[Balaam]] (''Bâ'Lam,'' or ''Bâ'La-Am'' ), ''Not Of The People, I.E., A Foreigner.'' The son of [[Beor]] or Bosor, and a native of Pethor, on the Euphrates. &nbsp;Numbers 22:5. [[Evidently]] he was an unrighteous man, but was selected for a special mission, as in some other cases. See &nbsp;1 Samuel 10:10; &nbsp;1 Kings 13:18-20; &nbsp;Matthew 7:22; &nbsp;John 11:51. He had the reputation of a famous diviner. When the Hebrews were journeying to Canaan, Balak king of Moab, sent for Balaam, to curse the Hebrew armies. Balaam ultimately accepted the tempting offer, and returned with the messengers to Moab. On his way he was miraculously informed that his course was wicked and perverse; and he was effectually restrained by the beast on which he rode from doing what Balak had sent for him to do. So far from cursing, he was led to pronounce a prophetic blessing on the Hebrews, in language which, for eloquence and force, is hardly surpassed in the whole range of Hebrew poetry. Balaam, however, seems to have suggested to Balak a much more certain method of destroying them. This was by causing the young women of Moab to inveigle the Hebrews into the impure and idolatrous worship of Baal-Peor. The stratagem was successful, and 24,000 Hebrews were slain. &nbsp;Numbers 31:16; &nbsp;2 Peter 2:15; &nbsp;Judges 1:11; &nbsp;Revelation 2:14. Balaam himself fell shortly afterwards in an engagement between the Hebrews and the Midianites. &nbsp;Numbers 31:8; &nbsp;Joshua 13:22. </p>

<p> The somewhat prominent place that Balaam holds in the [[Apostolic]] Age may be appraised by the three references to him in the NT (&nbsp;2 Peter 2:15, &nbsp;Judges 1:11, and &nbsp;Revelation 2:14); by the legends which grew round his name in [[Hellenistic]] and Haggadic literature, and later in Muhammadanism; and perhaps by the apparent popularity of the discussion of the ‘Blessings of Balaam’ by Hippolytus. Balaam has become the representative of false teachers and sorcerers, and we may suspect a play on his name in &nbsp;Revelation 2:14 (perhaps = ‘lord of the people’), in order to brand certain [[Gnostic]] teachers as making gain for themselves out of the simple folk by the use of magic and by the teaching of a <i> gnosis </i> which tended to laxity of practice. (It is not improbable that in the [[Nicodemus]] of John 3 is enshrined a counter-play of words-the [[Jewish]] party also, it is hinted, had a false and carnal doctrine of their own.) Balaam becomes in legend a counsellor of Pharaoh; he and his two sons [[Jannes]] and [[Jambres]] ( <i> q.v. [Note: quod vide, which see.] </i> ) were compelled to flee from Egypt to Ethiopia, where Balaam reigned as king till conquered by Moses. On this he and his sons returned to Egypt and became the master-magicians who opposed Moses. Finally, Phinehas attacked Balaam, who by his magic flew into the air, but was killed by Phinehas in the power of the Holy Name. See Nicolaitans; also <i> Jewish Encyclopedia </i> ii. 468f. </p> <p> W. F. Cobb. </p>

<p> '''''bā´lam''''' ( בּלעם , <i> '''''bil‛ām''''' </i> , "devourer"): The son of Beor, from a city in Mesopotamia called Pethor, a man possessing the gift of prophecy, whose remarkable history may be found in Nu 22:2 through 24:25; compare &nbsp;Numbers 31:8 , &nbsp;Numbers 31:16; &nbsp;Deuteronomy 23:4; &nbsp;Joshua 13:22; &nbsp;Joshua 24:9; &nbsp;Nehemiah 13:2; &nbsp;Micah 6:5; &nbsp;2 Peter 2:15; &nbsp;Judges 1:11; &nbsp;Revelation 2:14 . </p> 1. History <p> When the children of Israel pitched their tents in the plains of Moab, the Moabites entered into some sort of an alliance with the Midianites. At the instigation of Balak, at that time king of the Moabites, the elders of the two nations were sent to Balaam to induce him, by means of a bribe, to pronounce a curse on the advancing hosts of the Israelites. But, in compliance with God's command Balaam, refused to go with the elders. [[Quite]] different was the result of a second request enhanced by the higher rank of the messengers and by the more alluring promises on the part of Balak. Not only did God permit Balaam to go with the men, but he actually commanded him to do so, cautioning him, however, to act according to further instructions. While on his way to Balak, this injunction was strongly impressed on the mind of Balaam by the strange behavior of his ass and by his encounter with the Angel of the Lord. </p> <p> [[Accompanied]] by Balak who had gone out to meet the prophet, Balaam came to Kiriath-huzoth. On the next morning he was brought up "into the high places of Baal" commanding a partial view of the camp of the Israelites. But instead of a curse he pronounced a blessing. From there he was taken to the top of Peor, yet this change of places and external views did not alter the tendency of Balaam's parables; in fact, his spirit even soared to greater heights and from his lips fell glowing words of praise and admiration, of benediction and glorious prophecy. This, of course, fully convinced Balak that all further endeavors to persuade the seer to comply with his wishes would be in vain, and the two parted. </p> <p> Nothing else is said of Balaam, until we reach Nu 31. Here in &nbsp;Numbers 31:8 we are told of his violent death at the hands of the Israelites, and in &nbsp; Numbers 31:16 we learn of his shameful counsel which brought disgrace and disaster into the ranks of the chosen people. </p> 2. Problems <p> Now, there are a number of interesting problems connected with this remarkable story. We shall try to solve at least some of the more important ones. </p> <p> (1) Was Balaam a prophet of Jeh? For an answer we must look to Nu 22 through 24. Nowhere is he called a prophet. He is introduced as the son of Beor and as a man reputed to be of great personal power (compare &nbsp;Numbers 22:6 ). The cause of this is to be found in the fact that he had intercourse of some kind with God (compare &nbsp;Numbers 22:9 , &nbsp;Numbers 22:20; &nbsp;Numbers 22:22-35; &nbsp;Numbers 23:4; &nbsp;Numbers 23:16 ). Furthermore, it is interesting to note how Balaam was enabled to deliver his parables. First it is said: "And [[Yahweh]] put a word in Balaam's mouth" (&nbsp;Numbers 23:5; compare &nbsp;Numbers 23:16 ), a procedure seemingly rather mechanical, while nothing of the kind is mentioned in Nu 24. Instead we meet with the remarkable sentence: "And when Balaam saw that it pleased Yahweh to bless Israel, he went not, as at the other times, to meet with enchantments ..." (&nbsp;Numbers 24:1 ), and then: "the Spirit of God came upon him" ( <i> &nbsp;Numbers 24:2 </i> ). All this is very noteworthy and highly instructive, especially if we compare with it &nbsp;Numbers 24:3 the Revised Version, margin and &nbsp; Numbers 24:4 : "The man whose eye is opened saith; he saith, who heareth the words of God, who seeth the vision of the Almighty," etc. The inference is plain enough: Balaam knew the Lord, the Yahweh of the Israelites, but his knowledge was dimmed and corrupted by heathen conceptions. He knew enough of God to obey Him, yet for a long time he hoped to win Him over to his own selfish plan (compare &nbsp; Numbers 23:4 ). Through liberal sacrifices he expected to influence God's actions. [[Bearing]] this in mind, we see the import of &nbsp;Numbers 24:1 . After fruitless efforts to cajole God into an attitude favorable to his hidden purpose, he for a time became a prophet of the Lord, yielding to the ennobling influences of His spirit. Here was a chance for his better nature to assert itself permanently and to triumph over the dark forces of paganism. Did he improve this opportunity? He did not (compare &nbsp;Numbers 31:8 , &nbsp;Numbers 31:16 ). </p> <p> (2) Is the Balaam of Nu 22 through 24 identical with the person of the same name mentioned in Nu 31? Quite a number of scholars deny it, or, to be more accurate, there are according to their theory two accounts of Balaam: the one in Nu 22 through 24 being favorable to his character, and the other in Nu 31 being quite the reverse. It is claimed the two accounts could only be made to agree by modifying or eliminating &nbsp;Numbers 24:25 . Now, we believe that &nbsp;Numbers 31:16 actually does modify the report of Balaam's return contained in &nbsp; Numbers 24:25 . The children of Israel slew Balaam with the sword (&nbsp;Numbers 31:8 ). Why? Because of his counsel of &nbsp;Numbers 31:16 . We maintain that the author of &nbsp;Numbers 24:25 had this fact in mind when he wrote &nbsp; Numbers 25:1 : "And ... the people began to play the harlot," etc. Thus, he closely connects the report of Balaam's return with the narrative contained in &nbsp; Numbers 9:5 . Therefore, we regard &nbsp;Numbers 31:8 , &nbsp;Numbers 31:16 as supplementary to Nu 22 through 24. But here is another question: </p> <p> (3) Is the narrative in Nu 22 through 24 the result of combining different traditions? In a general way, we may answer this question in the affirmative, and only in a general way we can distinguish between two main sources of tradition. But we maintain that they are not contradictory to each other, but supplementary. </p> <p> (4) What about the talking of the ass and the marvelous prophecies of Balaam? We would suggest the following explanation. By influencing the soul of Balaam, God caused him to interpret correctly the inarticulate sounds of the animal. God's acting on the soul and through it on the intellect and on the hearts of men - this truth must be also applied to Balaam's wonderful prophetic words. They are called <i> '''''meshālı̄m''''' </i> or sayings of a prophet, a diviner. </p> <p> In the first of these "parables" (&nbsp;Numbers 23:7-10 ) he briefly states his reasons for pronouncing a blessing; in the second parable (&nbsp;Numbers 23:18-24 ) he again emphasizes the fact that he cannot do otherwise than bless the Israelites, and then he proceeds to pronounce the blessing at some greater length. In the 3rd (&nbsp;Numbers 24:3-9 ) he describes the glorious state of the people, its development and irresistible power. In the last four parables (&nbsp;Numbers 24:15-24 ) he partly reveals the future of Israel and other nations: they are all to be destroyed, Israel's fate being included in the allusion to Eber. Now, at last, Balaam is back again in his own sphere denouncing others and predicting awful disasters. (On the "star out of Jacob," &nbsp;Numbers 24:17 , see [[Astronomy]] , ii, 9; [[Star Of The Magi]] .) </p> 3. Balaam's Character <p> This may furnish us a clue to his character. It, indeed, remains "instructively composite." A soothsayer who might have become a prophet of the Lord; a man who loved the wages of unrighteousness, and yet a man who in one supreme moment of his life surrendered himself to God's holy Spirit; a person cumbered with superstition, covetousness and even wickedness, and yet capable of performing the highest service in the kingdom of God: such is the character of Balaam, the remarkable Old Testament type and, in a sense, the prototype of Judas Iscariot. </p> 4. Balaam as a Type <p> In &nbsp;2 Peter 2:15 Balaam's example is used as a means to illustrate the pernicious influence of insincere Christian teachers. The author might have alluded to Balaam in the passage immediately preceding &nbsp; 2 Peter 2:15 because of his abominable counsel. This is done in &nbsp; Revelation 2:14 . Here, of course, Balaam is the type of a teacher of the church who attempts to advance the cause of God by advocating an unholy alliance with the ungodly and worldly, and so conforming the life of the church to the spirit of the flesh. </p> Literature <p> Butler's <i> Sermons </i> , "Balaam"; <i> ICC </i> , "Numbers." </p>