1 And when Balaam saw that it pleased the Lord to bless Israel, he went not, as at other times, to seek for enchantments, but he set his face toward the wilderness.
2 And Balaam lifted up his eyes, and he saw Israel abiding in his tents according to their tribes; and the spirit of God came upon him.
3 And he took up his parable, and said, Balaam the son of Beor hath said, and the man whose eyes are open hath said:
4 He hath said, which heard the words of God, which saw the vision of the Almighty, falling into a trance, but having his eyes open:
5 How goodly are thy tents, O Jacob, and thy tabernacles, O Israel!
6 As the valleys are they spread forth, as gardens by the river's side, as the trees of lign aloes which the Lord hath planted, and as cedar trees beside the waters.
7 He shall pour the water out of his buckets, and his seed shall be in many waters, and his king shall be higher than Agag, and his kingdom shall be exalted.
8 God brought him forth out of Egypt; he hath as it were the strength of an unicorn: he shall eat up the nations his enemies, and shall break their bones, and pierce them through with his arrows.
9 He couched, he lay down as a lion, and as a great lion: who shall stir him up? Blessed is he that blesseth thee, and cursed is he that curseth thee.
10 And Balak's anger was kindled against Balaam, and he smote his hands together: and Balak said unto Balaam, I called thee to curse mine enemies, and, behold, thou hast altogether blessed them these three times.
11 Therefore now flee thou to thy place: I thought to promote thee unto great honour; but, lo, the Lord hath kept thee back from honour.
12 And Balaam said unto Balak, Spake I not also to thy messengers which thou sentest unto me, saying,
13 If Balak would give me his house full of silver and gold, I cannot go beyond the commandment of the Lord, to do either good or bad of mine own mind; but what the Lord saith, that will I speak?
14 And now, behold, I go unto my people: come therefore, and I will advertise thee what this people shall do to thy people in the latter days.
15 And he took up his parable, and said, Balaam the son of Beor hath said, and the man whose eyes are open hath said:
16 He hath said, which heard the words of God, and knew the knowledge of the most High, which saw the vision of the Almighty, falling into a trance, but having his eyes open:
17 I shall see him, but not now: I shall behold him, but not nigh: there shall come a Star out of Jacob, and a Sceptre shall rise out of Israel, and shall smite the corners of Moab, and destroy all the children of Sheth.
18 And Edom shall be a possession, Seir also shall be a possession for his enemies; and Israel shall do valiantly.
19 Out of Jacob shall come he that shall have dominion, and shall destroy him that remaineth of the city.
20 And when he looked on Amalek, he took up his parable, and said, Amalek was the first of the nations; but his latter end shall be that he perish for ever.
21 And he looked on the Kenites, and took up his parable, and said, Strong is thy dwellingplace, and thou puttest thy nest in a rock.
22 Nevertheless the Kenite shall be wasted, until Asshur shall carry thee away captive.
23 And he took up his parable, and said, Alas, who shall live when God doeth this!
24 And ships shall come from the coast of Chittim, and shall afflict Asshur, and shall afflict Eber, and he also shall perish for ever.
25 And Balaam rose up, and went and returned to his place: and Balak also went his way.
h.וירא בלעם כי טוב וגו׳ AND BALAAM SAW THAT IT WAS GOOD, etc. He said: I do not need to put the Holy One, blessed be He, to a further test for it is evident that He does not wish to curse them.
h.ולא הלך כפעם בפעם HE WENT NOT, AS AT OTHER TIMES — as he had already done twice.
h.לקראת נחשים TO SEEK SEEK FOR ENCHANTMENTS — to practise enchantments whereby the Lord might perhaps come to meet him according to his (Balaam’s) wish. He said: Whether He wishes or does not wish to curse them, I will make mention of their sins, and the curse will fall upon them at the mention of their sins, therefore —
h.וישת אל המדבר פניו HE SET HIS FACE TOWARDS THE WILDERNESS — Understand this as the Targum has it (Rashi’s Targum read, as in some editions: He directed his face towards the calf that the children of Israel had made in the wilderness).
h.וישא בלעם את עיניו AND BALAAM LIFTED UP HIS EYES — he wished to cast the evil eye upon them. Thus you have his three characteristics — an evil eye mentioned here, and pride and greed which have been mentioned above (see Rashi on Numbers 22:13 and 18).
h.שכן לשבטיו DWELLING ACCORDING TO HIS TRIBES — He saw each tribe dwelling by itself not intermingled one with another; he saw that the entrances of their tents were not exactly facing each other so that one could not peer into the other's tent (Bava Batra 60a).
h.ותהי עליו רוח אלהים AND THE SPIRIT OF GOD WAS UPON HIM — Then he made up his mind not to curse them (i.e. he decided to comply with the will of God, רוח אלהים).
h.בנו בער — The grammatical form בנו is exactly like that in (Psalms 114:8) “To a spring of (מעינו) water” (see Rashi on Numbers 23:18). But a Midrashic statement is: Both of them (Balak and Balaam) were superior to their fathers, for it states (Numbers 23:18): “Balak — his son was Zippor”, i.e. that his father (Zippor) was his son (his inferior) in respect to royalty, and Balaam was greater than his father in prophecy (because it states here, בלעם בנו בעור i.e. Balaam — his son was Beor): he was, so to speak, a Maneh, son of a Half-Maneh (Sanhedrin 105a, Midrash Tanchuma, Balak 13, cf. Taanit 28b).
h.שתום העין WITH THE PENETRATING EYE — his eye was bored out and had been extracted and its eye socket could be seen to be open. The word שתום used in the sense of “boring a hole” is a Mishnaic usage: sufficient time that we can bore a hole (ישתום) in the cask and stop it up, and it (the clay of which the stopper is made) can dry (Avodah Zarah 69a). And our Rabbis said, Because he had said, (Numbers 23:10) ומספר את רבע ישראל, meaning that the Holy One, blessed be He, occupies Himself with counting the issue of the marital life of the Israelites, awaiting the time when a righteous man will be born, he therefore said to himself, “Does He who is holy and whose ministers are holy direct his mind to matters such as these?” On this account Balaam’s eye was blinded (Niddah 31a). But some explain that שתום העין means “open-eyed”, just as Onkelos translated (“who can see well”). And since it says, שתום העין “with an open eye” and it does not say, “with open eyes”, we may learn that in one of his eyes he was blind (Sanhedrin 105a).
h.נפל וגלוי עינים FALLING BUT HAVING HIS EYES OPEN — Its plain sense is as the Targum has it (“lying down when it was revealed to him”), meaning, that God revealed Himself to him only at night when he was lying on his bed. — And a Midrashic explanation of it is: When He revealed Himself to him he had no strength to stand on his feet, and he, therefore, fell on his face — because he was uncircumcised and it was therefore a loathsome thing that He should reveal Himself to him whilst he stood in an erect posture before Him (cf. Tar. Jon. and Rashi on Genesis 17:3).
h.מה טבו אהליך HOW GOODLY ARE THY TENTS — He said this because he saw that the entrances of their tents were not exactly facing each other (Bava Batra 60a; cf. v. 2).
h.משכנתיך means thy encampments, as the Targum has it. — Another explanation — מה טבו אהליך HOW GOODLY ARE THY TENTS — How goodly are the tent of Shiloh and the Temple when these flourished, in that sacrifices were offered therein to alone for you;
h.משכנתיך How goodly are they even when they are in ruins, because then they are a pledge (משכון) for you, and the fact that they are in ruins is an atonement for your souls, as it is said. (Lamentations 4:11) “The Lord hath brought His fury to an end”. And by what means hath He brought it to an end? “He hath kindled a fire in Zion! (i.e. hath destroyed the Temple) (cf. Midrash Tanchuma, Mishpatim 11).
h.כנחלים נטיו AS THE BROOKS THAT WIND — which lengthen and draw themselves out so that they extend (נטיו) into the distance. — Our Rabbis said: From the blessings uttered by that wicked man we may learn what was in his heart as regards cursing them, when he thought to set his face towards the wilderness (cf. v. 1). When the Omnipresent turned the words of his mouth he uttered blessings corresponding to the contents of those curses which he had wished to pronounce as it is related in the chapter beginning with the word חלק Sanhedrin 105a.
h.כאהלים — Understand this as the Targum does (“as aromatic plants”), — taking it in the same meaning as in (Psalms 45:9) “Myrrh and aloes (אהלים).
h.נטע ה' (LIKE THE ALOES] WHICH THE LORD HATH PLANTED in the Garden of Eden. - Another explanation: כאהלים נטע ה׳ LIKE TENTS WHICH THE LORD HATH PLANTED — i.e., like the heavens which are stretched forth as a tent (cf. Isaiah 40:22: וימתחם כאהל לשבת).
h.נטע ה׳ [LIKE TENTS] WHICH THE LORD HAS PLANTED — We can speak of planting a tent for we find the expression “planting” in connection with tents, as it is said, (Daniel 11:45) “And he shall plant (ויטע) the tents of his palace”.
h.מדליו means OUT OF HIS SPRINGS, and its explanation is as given in the Targum (“The king appointed from amongst his sons shall be great”).
h.וזרעו במים רבים AND HIS SEED SHALL BE IN MANY WATERS — This is an expression denoting prosperity — he shall be as seed which is sown upon well-watered soil.
h.וירם מאגג מלכו AND HIS KING SHALL BE HIGHER THAN AGAG — Their first king will conquer Agag king of the Amalakites.
h.ותנשא מלכתו AND HIS KINGDOM SHALL BE EXALTED — i.e. the kingdom of Jacob (the Israelitish people) shall be exalted more and more, because the powerful monarchs David and Solomon will succeed him (their first king).
h.אל מוציאו ממצרים GOD WHO BROUGHT THEM OUT OF EGYPT — Who was the cause of all this greatness? God who brought them out from Egypt; by his strength and his sublimity HE EATS UP (יאכל) THE NATIONS (גוים) who are (צריו) HIS ADVERSARIES.
h.ועצמתיהם AND THEIR BONES — those of the adversaries.
h.יגרם — Menachem ben Seruk explained it in the sense of “breaking to pieces”, similar to, (Zephaniah 3:3) “who have not broken to pieces (גרמו) in the morning”, and similar to, (Ezekiel 23:34) “and thou shalt crunch (תגרמי) the sherds thereof”. I, however, say that it has the meaning of “bone” (גרם in Aramaic corresponds to Hebrew עצם) — it means that one pulls away the flesh with his teeth from around the bone, and the marrow from inside, and brings the bone into its original bare condition (i.e., as it was before flesh grew upon it).
h.וחציו ימחץ AND PIERCE THEM THROUGH WITH HIS ARROWS — Onkelos translated this as meaning, the חצים of the adversaries, taking it in the sense of “their postion of land”, similar to (Genesis 44:23) בעלי חצים, which he translated by מרי פלנותא “those who part (differ) from him”. So, too, according to the Targum ימחץ denotes “dividing” having the same meaning as in (Judges 5:26): “She divided (מחצה) and struck through his temples”. The meaning therefore is, that they will divide amongst themselves their (the adversaries’) land (Hence the translation of Onkelos: “they shall take possession of their land”). — But it can also be explained as meaning חצים literally (i.e., arrows): the arrows of the Holy One, blessed be He, He will ימחץ in the blood of the adversaries — i.e., he will dip and thus dye the arrows in their blood. Similar is, (Psalms 68:24) “In order that thou mayest colour thy foot (תמחץ) by the blood”. However, even in this sense it does not lose the usual meaning of “wounding”, as in (Deuteronomy 32:39): “I wound (מחצתי)”, for what is dyed by blood, looks as though it were wounded and stricken.
h.כרע שכב כארי HE CROUCHED, HE LAY DOWN AS A LION — Understand this as the Targum does (“He will have rest, he will dwell in strength like a lion”), meaning, they will be settled in their land in strength and might.
h.ויספק means he clapped one hand upon the other.
h.לעבר את פי ה׳ [I AM UNABLE] TO GO BEYOND THE WORD OF THE LORD — Here it does not say “[the Lord] my God”, as it is said at first (Numbers 22:18), because he had now become conscious that he was regarded by the Holy One, blessed be He, as something vile and banished from His presence.
h.הולך לעמי [AND NOW, BEHOLD, I] GO TO MY PEOPLE — “From now on, behold, I am like the rest of my people”. He said this because he knew that the Holy One, blessed be He, had departed from him.
h.לך איעצך COME AND I WILL COUNSEL THEE what you have to do. And what is the counsel? The God of these people hates unchastity, therefore tempt them to sin by means of thy women-folk, as is related in the chapter חלק (Sanhedrin 106a) — You can know that it was Balaam who gave this counsel, to make them fall by the sin of unchastity, for it is stated, of the women of Midian (Numbers 31:16), “Behold, these were an enticement to the children of Israel through the word of Balaam”.
h.אשר יעשה העם הזה לעמך WHAT THIS PEOPLE SHALL DO TO THY PEOPLE — This is an elliptical verse, the meaning being: I will give thee counsel how to make them fall into sin, and I also will tell thee what evil they will once do to thy people Moab in later days: viz., (v. 17) “they will pierce the corners of Moab”. — The Targum explains at length what is implied by the terseness of the Hebrew text (“Come I will give thee counsel what thou shouldst do and I will show thee what this people etc.”)
h.וידע דעת עליון WHO KNOWETH THE MIND OF THE MOST HIGH — i.e., who knoweth to determine the precise moment when He is angry. (The meaning of the text is: “who knoweth His state of mind”, not, ”who knoweth his thoughts”) (Sanhedrin 105b).
h.אראנו I SEE HIM — I see the preeminence of Jacob and his greatness, but it is not now (ולא עתה), but will be after some time.
h.דרך כוכב A STAR COMETH OUT [OF JACOB] — Understand this as the Targum does (“a king will arise from Jacob”). The word דרך has the same meaning as in (Lamentations 2:4): “He has bent (דרך lit., trodden) his bow; this expression is used because the star shoots across [the heavens] as an arrow does when the bow is trodden. In O. F. destent. It is as much as to say, “Prosperity (a good fortune) will rise”.
h.וקם שבט AND A שבט RISES [OUT OF ISRAEL] — a king, who chastises with the rod (שבט) and has sovereign power.
h.ומחץ פאתי מואב AND PIERCETH THE CORNERS OF MOAB — This is a reference to David of whom it is stated, (II Samuel 8:2) “[And he smote Moab] … making them to lie down on the ground and he measured two lines to put to death etc.”.
h.וקרקר AND UNDERMINETH — This is an expression denoting “digging”, as in (2 Kings 19:24): “I have dug (קרתי)”; (Isaiah 51:1): “The hole of the pit from which you were dug out (נקרתם); (Proverbs 30:17) “The ravens of the valley shall dig it out (יקרהו)“. In O. F. forer.
h.כל בני שת ALL THE CHILDREN OF SETH — i.e., all nations, because all of them issued from Seth, the son of Adam, the first man (cf. Onkelos).
h.והיה ירשה שעיר איביו SEIR ALSO SHALL BE A POSSESSION [FOR HIS ENEMIES] — for his enemy, Israel.
h.וירד מיעקב AND OUT OF JACOB ONE SHALL RULE — and there will be yet another ruler from Jacob,
h.והאביד שריד מעיר AND HE WILL DESTROY THE REMNANT OF THE CITY — the most important city of Edom, and that is Rome. It is of King Messiah that he is thus speaking, of whom it is said, (Psalms 72:8) “And he shall have dominion (וירד) from sea to sea”; (Obadiah v. 18) “And there shall be no remnant (שריד) of the house of Esau”.
h.וירא את עמלק AND HE SAW AMALEK — i.e. He perceived the retribution destined to befall Amalek.
h.ראשית גוים עמלק AMALEK WAS THE BEGINNING OF NATIONS — he was the first of them all to war against Israel; thus, too, does Onkelos translate it. ואחריתו BUT HIS LATTER END will be to be destroyed by their hands, as it is said, (Deuteronomy 25:19) “Thou shalt blot out the memory of Amalek”.
h.וירא את הקיני AND HE SAW THE KENITES — Because the Kenites were settled near the Amalekites — just as it is stated, (I Samuel 15:6) “And Saul said unto the Kenites, [Go, depart, get you down from among the Amalekites]’’ — he mentioned them immediately after the Amalekites. He beheld the greatness of the descendants of Jethro, of whom it is said, (I Chronicles 2:55) “The תרעתים, שמעתים, שוכתים“ — [These are the Kenites] (see Sifrei Bamidbar 78:1 on Numbers 10:29; Sanhedrin 104a, 106a, Sotah 11a).
h.איתן מושבך FIRM IS THY DWELLING PLACE — “I wonder whence you merited this; for were you not with me in the advice we gave Pharaoh (Exodus 1:10): ‘Come, let us deal wisely with them’, and now you have a seat in the strength and power of Israel, (in the Sanhedrin)’’! (Sanhedrin 106a).
h.כי אם יהיה לבער קין וגו׳ FOR IF THE KENITES WILL BE REMOVED etc. — Happy are you that you have firmly settled yourself in such strength, to which I have referred, so that thou will therefore never be driven from the world. For even if you will in the future go into exile with the Ten Tribes and be removed from the place where you had settled, what does it matter?
h.עד מה אשור תשבך HOW FAR WILL ASSYRIA CARRY YOU AWAY CAPTIVE? Possibly as far as Chaloch and Chabor — this is not being driven from the world, but only being moved from place to place, and in the end you will return with the other exiles!
h.וישא משלו וגו׳ AND HE TOOK UP HIS PARABLE etc. — Because he mentioned the captivity into Assyria he exclaimed, אוי מי יחיה משמו אל, who is able to save himself alive, so that He who decrees (God) should not place upon him (משמו) these things (אל, the equivalent of אלה) — for Sannacherib, king of Assyria, shall rise up and bring all the nations into confusion. And further, there will come —
h.צים מיד כתים SHIPS FROM THE LAND OF CHITTIM and the people of Chittim — these are the Romans — will pass over in big ships against Assyria.
h.וענו עבר AND WILL AFFLICT THEM ON THE OTHER SIDE (עבר) of the river Euphrates.
h.וגם הוא עדי אבד BUT HE ALSO SHALL PERISH EVERLASTINGLY — (“He” means the Romans). And so, too, did Daniel expressly state, (Daniel 7:11) “until the beast (Rome) was slain and its body destroyed”.
h.וצים means [AND] BIG SHIPS, as it is written (Isaiah 33:21) “A gallant ship (צי)“, the Targum translation of which is “a big ship” (Yoma 77b).