Numbers 23 Introduction

Structure and Formatting

4. At the plains of Moab (22:1–36:13) * The Balaam story (22:1–24:25)In this chapter, Balaam pronounces two separate oracles that bless Israel. The first oracle focuses on how God has blessed Israel when Balak wants Balaam to curse Israel. The second oracle focuses on God has acted for the Israelites and how strong the Israelites are.

Religious and Cultural Concepts in This Chapter

Oracles

The word translated “oracle” in verses 7 and 18 is often translated “proverb” or “parable” in other places. Balaam’s speeches are too long to be considered proverbs. In this case, the word “oracle” may indicate that Balaam is speaking in paired lines (see the paragraph on “Parallelism” below) or perhaps that he has put together multiple statements that are like proverbs. Either way, it is clear that Balaam is speaking as a prophet when he delivers these oracles. Consider what word you might use to refer to poetic, prophetic speech.

Blessing and cursing

See the chapter introduction to Numbers 22 for more information on cursing. People in this culture believed that specific words, spoken by specific people, would have either good or bad effects. The words that led to good effects were blessings, and the words that led to bad effects were curses. In this chapter, Balak asks Balaam to curse the Israelites, but Balaam actually blesses them, as Yahweh commands him to do. (See: curse and bless)

Different locations

After each of Balaam’s oracles in this chapter, Balak requests that they move to a different location and try again. The author does not state why Balak thinks that a change in location will help Balaam curse the Israelites instead of bless them. He may have thought that a different perspective would change Balaam’s mind. He may have thought that God only had power to control Balaam in certain places. Or he may have thought something else. In your translation, it should be clear that Balaam thinks that a change in location will be helpful, but it is recommended that you do not make explicit why Balak thinks the change in location will help.

Translation Issues in This Chapter

Parallelism

Hebrew poetry often expresses ideas through parallelism, where two or more lines say similar things using different words. This repetition creates emphasis and helps the reader understand the meaning more fully. Balaam’s poetic oracles in this and the next chapter use parallelism frequently. When translating parallel lines, you may choose to combine them into a single statement, as the UST often does. Or, you may preserve both lines to reflect the poetic style of the original, connecting them with a word that shows repetition rather than addition. Your translation team should decide how to handle parallelism consistently throughout this chapter. (See: figs-parallelism)