Note: This view shows ‘verses’ which are not natural language units and hence sometimes only part of a sentence will be visible—click on any Bible version abbreviation down the left-hand side to see the verse in more of its context. Normally the OET discourages the reading of individual ‘verses’, but this view is only designed as a tool for Bible-translators and others doing comparisons of different translations—the older translations are further down the page (so you can read up from the bottom to trace the English translation history). The OET segments on this page are still early looks into the drafted texts of the Open English Translation of the Bible—please double-check these texts in advance before using in public.

UTN uW Translation Notes:

Numbers 24 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 more oracles that bless Israel. The first oracle focuses on how prosperous and powerful Israel will be. The second oracle focuses on a future leader of the Israelites. Finally, Balaam gives three short oracles about other nearby nations.

Religious and Cultural Concepts in This Chapter

Oracles

The word translated “oracle” in verses 3, 15, 20, 21, and 23 is often translated “proverb” or “parable” in other places. Balaam’s speeches are usually 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 21 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 wants Balaam to curse the Israelites, but Balaam actually blesses them, as Yahweh commands him to do. (See: curse and bless)

A prophecy about the Messiah?

Balaam’s final oracle (24:15–19) seems to refer to a specific person who will be a special ruler of Israel. Scholars debate whether this specific person is David, a future Messiah, or both. The oracle itself is not totally clear about who this person will be and what this person will do. It is recommended that your translation does not make explicit whether some earlier ruler, the Messiah, or both are the subject of the oracle.

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 previous 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)

Quotes in quotes

In [24:11](../24/11.md), [13](../24/13.md), there are quotes inside quotes. Consider how your language indicates that a quote contains a quote. The UST models how to express the idea with only one level of quotations. (See: figs-quotesinquotes)

Parallel NUM 24:0