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<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" /><meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width; initial-scale=1.0; maximum-scale=1.0; user-scalable=0;"/><title>Numbers 22:5 Commentaries: So he sent messengers to Balaam the son of Beor, at Pethor, which is near the River, in the land of the sons of his people, to call him, saying, "Behold, a people came out of Egypt; behold, they cover the surface of the land, and they are living opposite me.</title><link rel="stylesheet" href="/newcom.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="/print.css" type="text/css" media="Print" /><script type="application/javascript" src="https://scripts.webcontentassessor.com/scripts/8a2459b64f9cac8122fc7f2eac4409c8555fac9383016db59c4c26e3d5b8b157"></script><script 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frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div></div></td></tr></table><div id="movebox2"><table border="0" align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr><td><div id="topheading"><a href="../numbers/22-4.htm" title="Numbers 22:4">◄</a> Numbers 22:5 <a href="../numbers/22-6.htm" title="Numbers 22:6">►</a></div></td></tr></table></div><div align="center" class="maintable2"><table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr><td><div id="topverse">He sent messengers therefore unto Balaam the son of Beor to Pethor, which <i>is</i> by the river of the land of the children of his people, to call him, saying, Behold, there is a people come out from Egypt: behold, they cover the face of the earth, and they abide over against me:</div><div id="jump">Jump to: <a href="/commentaries/barnes/numbers/22.htm" title="Barnes' Notes">Barnes</a> • <a href="/commentaries/benson/numbers/22.htm" title="Benson Commentary">Benson</a> • <a href="/commentaries/illustrator/numbers/22.htm" title="Biblical Illustrator">BI</a> • <a href="/commentaries/calvin/numbers/22.htm" title="Calvin's Commentaries">Calvin</a> • <a href="/commentaries/cambridge/numbers/22.htm" title="Cambridge Bible">Cambridge</a> • <a href="/commentaries/clarke/numbers/22.htm" title="Clarke's Commentary">Clarke</a> • <a href="/commentaries/darby/numbers/22.htm" title="Darby's Bible Synopsis">Darby</a> • <a href="/commentaries/ellicott/numbers/22.htm" title="Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers">Ellicott</a> • <a href="/commentaries/expositors/numbers/22.htm" title="Expositor's Bible">Expositor's</a> • <a href="/commentaries/edt/numbers/22.htm" title="Expositor's Dictionary">Exp Dct</a> • <a href="/commentaries/gaebelein/numbers/22.htm" title="Gaebelein's Annotated Bible">Gaebelein</a> • <a href="/commentaries/gsb/numbers/22.htm" title="Geneva Study Bible">GSB</a> • <a href="/commentaries/gill/numbers/22.htm" title="Gill's Bible Exposition">Gill</a> • <a href="/commentaries/gray/numbers/22.htm" title="Gray's Concise">Gray</a> • <a href="/commentaries/guzik/numbers/22.htm" title="Guzik Bible Commentary">Guzik</a> • <a href="/commentaries/haydock/numbers/22.htm" title="Haydock Catholic Bible Commentary">Haydock</a> • <a href="/commentaries/hastings/numbers/21-8.htm" title="Hastings Great Texts">Hastings</a> • <a href="/commentaries/homiletics/numbers/22.htm" title="Pulpit Homiletics">Homiletics</a> • <a href="/commentaries/jfb/numbers/22.htm" title="Jamieson-Fausset-Brown">JFB</a> • <a href="/commentaries/kad/numbers/22.htm" title="Keil and Delitzsch OT">KD</a> • <a href="/commentaries/king-en/numbers/22.htm" title="Kingcomments Bible Studies">King</a> • <a href="/commentaries/lange/numbers/22.htm" title="Lange Commentary">Lange</a> • <a href="/commentaries/maclaren/numbers/22.htm" title="MacLaren Expositions">MacLaren</a> • <a href="/commentaries/mhc/numbers/22.htm" title="Matthew Henry Concise">MHC</a> • <a href="/commentaries/mhcw/numbers/22.htm" title="Matthew Henry Full">MHCW</a> • <a href="/commentaries/parker/numbers/22.htm" title="The People's Bible by Joseph Parker">Parker</a> • <a href="/commentaries/poole/numbers/22.htm" title="Matthew Poole">Poole</a> • <a href="/commentaries/pulpit/numbers/22.htm" title="Pulpit Commentary">Pulpit</a> • <a href="/commentaries/sermon/numbers/22.htm" title="Sermon Bible">Sermon</a> • <a href="/commentaries/sco/numbers/22.htm" title="Scofield Reference Notes">SCO</a> • <a href="/commentaries/ttb/numbers/22.htm" title="Through The Bible">TTB</a> • <a href="/commentaries/wes/numbers/22.htm" title="Wesley's Notes">WES</a> • <a href="#tsk" title="Treasury of Scripture Knowledge">TSK</a></div><div id="leftbox"><div class="padleft"><div class="comtype">EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)</div><div class="vheading2"><a href="/commentaries/ellicott/numbers/22.htm">Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers</a></div>(5) <span class= "bld">Balaam the son of Beor.—</span>The name of Balaam is probably derived from <span class= "ital">bala </span>(to devour), with the terminal syllable <span class= "ital">am, </span>or from the two words <span class= "ital">bala </span>(<span class= "ital">he </span>devoured), and <span class= "ital">am </span>(people). His father’s name (<span class= "ital">Beor</span>)<span class= "ital">, </span>from <span class= "ital">baar </span>(to consume), has been thought to denote that Balaam belonged to a family in which the magical art was hereditary. He is described in <a href="/joshua/13-22.htm" title="Balaam also the son of Beor, the soothsayer, did the children of Israel slay with the sword among them that were slain by them.">Joshua 13:22</a> as “the soothsayer” (Hebrew, <span class= "ital">kosem</span>)—i.e., one of that class of persons who were not to be tolerated amongst the Israelites, and who are spoken of as “an abomination unto the Lord” (<a href="/context/deuteronomy/18-10.htm" title="There shall not be found among you any one that makes his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that uses divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch.">Deuteronomy 18:10-12</a>). The form <span class= "ital">Bosor </span>(<a href="/2_peter/2-15.htm" title="Which have forsaken the right way, and are gone astray, following the way of Balaam the son of Bosor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness;">2Peter 2:15</a>) probably arose from a peculiar mode of pronouncing the guttural letter <span class= "ital">Ain </span>in <span class= "ital">baar. </span>(See Keil, <span class= "ital">On the Pentateuch, </span>3 p. 159, and Note.) On the character and history of Balaam, reference may be made to Bishop Butler (Serm. vii.); Waterland (Works, 9:397); Keil, <span class= "ital">On the Pentateuch, </span>in loc.; Hengstenberg (<span class= "ital">Dissertation on the Histories and Prophecies of Balaam, </span>p. 747, Clark, 1848); and to the Article in Smith’s <span class= "ital">Dictionary of the Bible, </span>by Professor Stanley Leathes.<p><span class= "bld">To Pethor, which is <span class= "ital">by </span>the river of the land . . . —</span>Better, <span class= "ital">To Pethor, which is by the river, </span>(even to) <span class= "ital">the land of the children of his people. </span>Pethcr was in Mesopotamia (<a href="/numbers/23-7.htm" title="And he took up his parable, and said, Balak the king of Moab has brought me from Aram, out of the mountains of the east, saying, Come, curse me Jacob, and come, defy Israel.">Numbers 23:7</a>), where Lot, from whom the Moabites were descended, had dwelt (<a href="/genesis/12-5.htm" title="And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother's son, and all their substance that they had gathered, and the souls that they had gotten in Haran; and they went forth to go into the land of Canaan; and into the land of Canaan they came.">Genesis 12:5</a>). “The river” is the Euphrates here, as elsewhere. (See, <span class= "ital">e.g., </span><a href="/genesis/15-18.htm" title="In the same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, To your seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates:">Genesis 15:18</a>; <a href="/genesis/31-21.htm" title="So he fled with all that he had; and he rose up, and passed over the river, and set his face toward the mount Gilead.">Genesis 31:21</a>; <a href="/exodus/23-31.htm" title="And I will set your bounds from the Red sea even to the sea of the Philistines, and from the desert to the river: for I will deliver the inhabitants of the land into your hand; and you shall drive them out before you.">Exodus 23:31</a>; <a href="/2_chronicles/9-26.htm" title="And he reigned over all the kings from the river even to the land of the Philistines, and to the border of Egypt.">2Chronicles 9:26</a>.)<p><span class= "bld">They cover the face of the earth.—</span>Literally, <span class= "ital">the eye of the earth </span>(or, <span class= "ital">the land</span>)<span class= "ital">. </span>(Comp. <a href="/exodus/10-5.htm" title="And they shall cover the face of the earth, that one cannot be able to see the earth: and they shall eat the residue of that which is escaped, which remains to you from the hail, and shall eat every tree which grows for you out of the field:">Exodus 10:5</a>.)<p><div class="vheading2"><a href="/commentaries/benson/numbers/22.htm">Benson Commentary</a></div><span class="bld"><a href="/numbers/22-5.htm" title="He sent messengers therefore to Balaam the son of Beor to Pethor, which is by the river of the land of the children of his people, to call him, saying, Behold, there is a people come out from Egypt: behold, they cover the face of the earth, and they abide over against me:">Numbers 22:5</a></span>. <span class="ital">He sent messengers — </span>Ancient history informs us that it was a general custom among most of the heathen nations, before they took up arms, to consult their gods by oracles and other methods of divination, about the event of the war. Thus the king of Moab is desirous, before he engaged in this war, to know the event, to interest the gods in his cause, and turn their power against his enemies. <span class="ital">Unto Balaam — </span>He is called a <span class="ital">soothsayer, </span>or <span class="ital">diviner, </span><a href="/joshua/13-22.htm" title="Balaam also the son of Beor, the soothsayer, did the children of Israel slay with the sword among them that were slain by them.">Joshua 13:22</a>; and is thought by some to have used enchantments; see on chap. <a href="/numbers/24-1.htm" title="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.">Numbers 24:1</a>. And it was the opinion of the generality of the fathers, as it is of numbers of commentators, that he was a mere magician, a false prophet, and idolater. But that he was a true prophet, or one who had revelations from the true God, is evident from <a href="/2_peter/2-16.htm" title="But was rebuked for his iniquity: the dumb ass speaking with man's voice forbade the madness of the prophet.">2 Peter 2:16</a>, compared with <a href="/context/numbers/22-8.htm" title="And he said to them, Lodge here this night, and I will bring you word again, as the LORD shall speak to me: and the princes of Moab stayed with Balaam....">Numbers 22:8-13</a>; <a href="/numbers/24-1.htm" title="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.">Numbers 24:1</a>. And indeed no prophet in Israel could speak of God more reverently, and yet in more familiar terms, than he does, <a href="/numbers/22-18.htm" title="And Balaam answered and said to the servants of Balak, If Balak would give me his house full of silver and gold, I cannot go beyond the word of the LORD my God, to do less or more.">Numbers 22:18</a>. The Jewish writers say that he had been a great prophet, who, for the accomplishment of his predictions, and the answers of his prayers, had been justly looked upon as a man having great interest with God. But the history shows that afterward his covetousness and ambition got the better of his piety, and that God departed from him. <span class="ital">Beor — </span>Or <span class="ital">Bosor, </span>(<a href="/2_peter/2-15.htm" title="Which have forsaken the right way, and are gone astray, following the way of Balaam the son of Bosor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness;">2 Peter 2:15</a>,) for he had two names, like many others. <span class="ital">Pethor — </span>A city of Mesopotamia. <span class="ital">By the river — </span>Euphrates, called <span class="ital">the river, </span>by way of eminence, and here <span class="ital">the river </span>of Balaam’s land, or country, namely, of Mesopotamia.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a name="mhc" id="mhc"></a><div class="vheading2"><a href="/commentaries/mhc/numbers/22.htm">Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary</a></div>22:1-14 The king of Moab formed a plan to get the people of Israel cursed; that is, to set God against them, who had hitherto fought for them. He had a false notion, that if he could get some prophet to pray for evil upon them, and to pronounce a blessing upon himself and his forces, that then he should be able to deal with them. None had so great a reputation as Balaam; and Balak will employ him, though he send a great way for him. It is not known whether the Lord had ever spoken to Balaam, or by him, before this; though it is probable he had, and it is certain he did afterwards. Yet we have abundant proof that he lived and died a wicked man, an enemy to God and his people. And the curse shall not come upon us if there is not a cause, even though men utter it. To prevail with Balaam, they took the wages of unrighteousness, but God laid restraint upon Balaam, forbidding him to curse Israel. Balaam was no stranger to Israel's cause; so that he ought to have answered the messengers at once, that he would never curse a people whom God had blessed; but he takes a night's time to consider what he should do. When we parley with temptations, we are in great danger of being overcome. Balaam was not faithful in returning God's answer to the messengers. Those are a fair mark for Satan's temptation, who lessen Divine restraints; as if to go against God's law were only to go without his leave. The messengers also are not faithful in returning Balaam's answer to Balak. Thus many are abused by the flatteries of those about them, and are prevented from seeing their own faults and follies.<a name="bar" id="bar"></a><div class="vheading2"><a href="/commentaries/barnes/numbers/22.htm">Barnes' Notes on the Bible</a></div>Balaam the son of Beor was from the first a worshipper in some sort of the true God; and had learned some elements of pure and true religion in his home in the far East, the cradle of the ancestors of Israel. But though prophesying, doubtless even before the ambassadors of Balak came to him, in the name of the true God, yet prophecy was still to him as before a mere business, not a religion. The summons of Balak proved to be a crisis in his career: and he failed under the trial. When the gold and honors of Balak seemed to be finally lost, he became reckless and desperate; and, as if in defiance, counseled the evil stratagem by which he hoped to compass indirectly that ruin of God's people which he had been withheld from working otherwise. He thus, like Judas and Ahithophel, set in motion a train of events which involved his own destruction.<p>The name Balaam signifies "destroyer," or "glutton," and is in part identical with "Bela, son of Beor," the first king of Edom <a href="/genesis/36-32.htm">Genesis 36:32</a>. The name "Beor" ("to burn up") is that of the father, or possibly ancestor, of the prophet.<p>Pethor, which is by the river of the land of the children of his people - Rather, Pethor which was ... land. Pethor (Pitru, Assyrian) was on the river Sagura (modern: Sajur) near its junction with the Euphrates. <a name="jfb" id="jfb"></a><div class="vheading2"><a href="/commentaries/jfb/numbers/22.htm">Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary</a></div>5. He sent messengers therefore unto Balaam—that is, "lord" or "devourer" of people, a famous soothsayer (Jos 13:22).<p>son of Beor—or, in the Chaldee form, Bosor—that is, "destruction."<p>Pethor—a city of Mesopotamia, situated on the Euphrates.<div class="vheading2"><a href="/commentaries/poole/numbers/22.htm">Matthew Poole's Commentary</a></div> <span class="bld">Balaam</span> is called a <span class="ital">prophet</span>, <span class="bldvs"> <a href="/2_peter/2-16.htm" title="But was rebuked for his iniquity: the dumb ass speaking with man's voice forbade the madness of the prophet.">2 Peter 2:16</a></span>, because God was pleased to inspire and direct him to speak the following prophecy, as he did inspire Caiaphas to speak those words, <span class="bldvs"> <a href="/john/11-51.htm" title="And this spoke he not of himself: but being high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus should die for that nation;">John 11:51</a>,52</span>, and as sometimes he did for a time inspire other wicked men; but in truth he was a <span class="ital">soothsayer</span>, as he is called, <span class="bldvs"> <a href="/joshua/13-22.htm" title="Balaam also the son of Beor, the soothsayer, did the children of Israel slay with the sword among them that were slain by them.">Joshua 13:22</a></span>. See <span class="bldvs"> <a href="/numbers/24-1.htm" title="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.">Numbers 24:1</a></span>. <span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="bld">Beor, </span> or <span class="ital">Bosor</span>, <span class="bldvs"> <a href="/2_peter/2-15.htm" title="Which have forsaken the right way, and are gone astray, following the way of Balaam the son of Bosor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness;">2 Peter 2:15</a></span>; for he had two names, as many others had. <span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="bld">Pethor; </span> a city in Mesopotamia or Aram: see <span class="bldvs"> <a href="/numbers/23-7.htm" title="And he took up his parable, and said, Balak the king of Moab has brought me from Aram, out of the mountains of the east, saying, Come, curse me Jacob, and come, defy Israel.">Numbers 23:7</a> <a href="/deuteronomy/23-4.htm" title="Because they met you not with bread and with water in the way, when you came forth out of Egypt; and because they hired against you Balaam the son of Beor of Pethor of Mesopotamia, to curse you.">Deu 23:4</a></span>. <span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="bld">By the river, </span> i.e. by Euphrates, which is oft called <span class="ital">the river</span>, by way of eminency, as <span class="bldvs"> <a href="/genesis/15-18.htm" title="In the same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, To your seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates:">Genesis 15:18</a> <a href="/joshua/24-2.htm" title="And Joshua said to all the people, Thus said the LORD God of Israel, Your fathers dwelled on the other side of the flood in old time, even Terah, the father of Abraham, and the father of Nachor: and they served other gods.">Joshua 24:2</a>,15</span>, and here the <span class="ital">river of</span> Balaam’s <span class="ital">land or country</span>, to wit, of Mesopotamia or Aram, <span class="bldvs"> <a href="/numbers/21-7.htm" title="Therefore the people came to Moses, and said, We have sinned, for we have spoken against the LORD, and against you; pray to the LORD, that he take away the serpents from us. And Moses prayed for the people.">Numbers 21:7</a></span>. <span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="bld">They abide over against me; </span> they are encamped in my neighbourhood, ready to invade my kingdom. <span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a name="gil" id="gil"></a><div class="vheading2"><a href="/commentaries/gill/numbers/22.htm">Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible</a></div>He sent messengers therefore unto Balaam the son of Beor,.... In consequence of the consultation held by the king of Moab with the elders of Midian; and very probably through a motion of theirs, and by advice they gave, Balak dispatched messengers of both people to the person here described by his name and parentage; but who he was is not easy to say: the Jews sometimes make him to be a magician in Pharaoh's court, at the time when Moses was born (z), which is not probable; and it is still more improbable that he should be Laban the Syrian, as the Targum of Jonathan here, and the Targum on <a href="/1_chronicles/1-44.htm">1 Chronicles 1:44</a> though others say (a) he was the son of Beor, the son of Laban, and so was the grandson of Laban; and with as little probability is he said to be Elihu, that answered Job according to a tradition of the Jews, mentioned by Jerom (b); nor is there any reason to believe that he was ever a good man, and a true prophet of the Lord; he is expressly said to be a diviner or a soothsayer, <a href="http://biblehub.com/joshua/13-22.htm">Joshua 13:22</a>, a sort of men abhorred of God, and not to be suffered to be among his people, <a href="/deuteronomy/18-10.htm">Deuteronomy 18:10</a> but were of great credit and esteem among the Heathens, for their pretensions to foretell things to come, or to discover lost goods, and the like; and by their enchantments to drive away evils, or bring on curses, for which Balaam was famous: and therefore, by the advice of the Midianites, Balak sent for him <p>to Pethor, which is by the river of the land of the children of his people; the land of his people, of his birth or habitation, was Aram or Syria, <a href="/numbers/23-7.htm">Numbers 23:7</a> that is, Aram Naharaim, which lay between the two rivers Tigris and Euphrates, or what is sometimes called Mesopotamia, as is clear from <a href="http://biblehub.com/deuteronomy/23-4.htm">Deuteronomy 23:4</a>, and the river of that land, which was eminently so called, is the river Euphrates, as the Targum of Jonathan expresses it here, and by that river was Pethor, where Balaam now lived; and is by some thought to be the same with the Pacoria of Ptolemy (c), which was by that river: the messengers were sent <p>to call him: to invite him to Balak's court: <p>saying, behold, there is a people come out from Egypt; Balak speaks of them, as if he knew not who they were, only that they were come from Egypt, and were seeking a new habitation to settle in, and so were in danger from them, lest they should invade his country, and settle there: <p>behold, they cover the face of the earth; not the face of the whole earth, unless an hyperbolical expression is supposed, to set forth the greatness of their numbers; but a large part of the earth, all within sight almost, even the plains of Moab: <p>and they abide over against me; were very near him, lay encamped before his country, and his metropolis, and so he thought himself in great danger, and threatened with an invasion, as the pitching of their tents so near made him surmise. <p>(z) Dibre Hayamim Shekmoaseh, fol. 3. 2. (a) Shalshalet Hakabala, fol. 7. 2.((b) Quaest. "see Traditiones" in Gen. fol. 69. D. (c) Geograph. l. 5. c. 18. <a name="gsb" id="gsb"></a><div class="vheading2"><a href="/commentaries/gsb/numbers/22.htm">Geneva Study Bible</a></div><span class="cverse2">He sent messengers therefore unto Balaam the son of Beor to Pethor, which <i>is</i> by the <span class="cverse3">{c}</span> river of the land of the children of his people, to call him, saying, Behold, there is a people come out from Egypt: behold, they cover the face of the earth, and they abide over against me:</span><p>(c) That is, Euphrates, upon which stood this city Pethor.</div></div><div id="centbox"><div class="padcent"><div class="comtype">EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)</div><div class="vheading2"><a href="/commentaries/cambridge/numbers/22.htm">Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges</a></div><span class="bld">5</span>. <span class="ital">Balaam the son of Beor</span>] It is interesting that the name Bela the son of Beor occurs of a king of <span class="ital">Edom</span> (<a href="/genesis/36-32.htm" title="And Bela the son of Beor reigned in Edom: and the name of his city was Dinhabah.">Genesis 36:32</a>). Balaam (Heb. <span class="ital">Bil‘âm</span>) and Bela‘ are practically identical words; and some have thought that the two men are the same, and that different conceptions of them were handed down in the Israelite and Edomite traditions. But there is no other evidence for the conjecture (see art. ‘Bela’ in <span class="ital">Enc. Bibl. [Note: nc. Bibl. Encyclopaedia Biblica.] </span>).<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="ital">Pethor, which is by the River</span>] i.e. by the Euphrates. Cf. <a href="/deuteronomy/23-4.htm" title="Because they met you not with bread and with water in the way, when you came forth out of Egypt; and because they hired against you Balaam the son of Beor of Pethor of Mesopotamia, to curse you.">Deuteronomy 23:4</a> ‘Pethor of Aram-naharaim (Mesopotamia).’ It is probably to be identified with Pitru (mentioned in an Assyr. and an Egypt, inscription), which was situated a few miles from the Euphrates, a little to the south of Carchemish. This sentence, which is probably from E , represents Balaam as living some 400 miles from Moab.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="ital">the land of the children of his people</span>] This must mean ‘his native land’; but it is a very awkward periphrasis. The Sam. , Syr., Lucianic LXX. , Vulg. and some Heb. MSS. read <span class="bld">‘Ammon</span>, for <span class="ital">‘ammô</span> ‘his people.’ If this is correct, J and E contained different traditions as to the country from which Balaam came. This reading is supported by the narrative of J (<span class="ital"><a href="/context/numbers/22-22.htm" title="And God's anger was kindled because he went: and the angel of the LORD stood in the way for an adversary against him. Now he was riding on his ass, and his two servants were with him....">Numbers 22:22-34</a></span>) which relates that Balaam rode upon an ass, with two servants, suggesting a short journey through cultivated country rather than a long desert journey for which camels and a tent caravan would be required.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a name="pul" id="pul"></a><div class="vheading2"><a href="/commentaries/pulpit/numbers/22.htm">Pulpit Commentary</a></div><span class="cmt_sub_title">Verse 5.</span> - <span class="cmt_word">He sent messengers therefore.</span> It appears from verse 7 that Balak acted for Midian as well as for Moab; as the Midianites were but a weak people, they may have placed themselves more or less under the protection of Balak. <span class="cmt_word">Unto Balaam</span> <span class="cmt_word">the son of Beer.</span> <span class="hebrew">בִּלְעָם</span> (Bileam: our common form is from the Septuagint and New Testament, <span class="greek">Βαλαάμ</span>) is derived either from <span class="hebrew">בָּלַע</span>, to destroy or devour, and <span class="hebrew">עָם</span>, the people; or simply from <span class="hebrew">בָּלַע</span>, with the terminal syllable <span class="hebrew">אָּם</span>, "the destroyer." The former derivation receives some support from <a href="/revelation/2-14.htm">Revelation 2:14, 15</a>, where "Nicolaitans" are thought by many to be only a Greek form of" Balaamites" <span class="greek">Νικόλαος</span>, from <span class="greek">νικάω</span> and <span class="greek">λαός</span>). Beor (<span class="hebrew">בְּעוּר</span>) has a similar signification, from <span class="hebrew">בָּעָר</span>, to burn, or consume. Both names have probable reference to the supposed effect of their maledictions, for successful cursing was an hereditary profession in many. lands, as it still is in some. Beer appears in <a href="/2_peter/2-15.htm">2 Peter 2:15</a> as Bosor, which is called a Chaldeeism, but the origin of the change is really unknown. A "Bela son of Beer" is named in <a href="/genesis/36-32.htm">Genesis 36:32</a> as reigning in Edom, but the coincidence is of no importance: kings and magicians have always loved to give themselves names of fear, and their vocabulary was not extensive. <span class="cmt_word">To Pother, which</span> is by <span class="cmt_word">the river of the land of the children of his people.</span> Rather, "which is on the river," <span class="accented">i.e.</span>, the great river Euphrates, "in the land of the children of his people," <span class="accented">i.e.</span>, in his native land. The situation of Pethor (Septuagint, <span class="greek">Φαθουρά</span>) is unknown. <span class="cmt_word">Here is a people come out of Egypt.</span> Forty years had passed since their fathers had left Egypt. Yet Balak's words expressed a great truth, for this people was no wandering desert tribe, but for all intents the same great organized nation which had spoiled Egypt, and left Pharaoh's host dead behind them. <span class="cmt_word">They abide over against me</span> <span class="hebrew">מִמֻּלִי</span>. Septuagint, <span class="greek">ἐχόμενός μου</span>. This would hardly have been said when Israel was encamped thirty miles north of Arnon, opposite to Jericho. The two embassies to Balaam must have occupied some time, and in the mean while Israel would have gone further on his way. We may naturally conclude that the first message was sent immediately after the defeat of Sihon, at a time when Israel was encamped very near the border of Moab. Numbers 22:5<a name="kad" id="kad"></a><div class="vheading2"><a href="/commentaries/kad/numbers/22.htm">Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament</a></div>Balak sent messengers to Balaam to Pethor in Mesopotamia. The town of Pethor, or Pethora (Φαθοῦρα, lxx), is unknown. There is something very uncertain in Knobel's supposition, that it is connected with Φαθοῦσαι, a place to the south of Circessium (Zozim. iii. 14), and with the Βέθαννα mentioned by Ptolemy, v. 18, 6, and that these are the same as Anah, Ἀναθώ, "Anatha (Ammian. Marcell. xxiv. 1, 6). And the conjecture that the name is derived from פּתר, to interpret dreams (<a href="/genesis/41-8.htm">Genesis 41:8</a>), and marks the place as a seat of the possessors of secret arts, is also more than doubtful, since פּשׁר corresponds to פּתר in Aramaean; although there can be no doubt that Pethor may have been a noted seat of Babylonian magi, since these wise men were accustomed to congregate in particular localities (cf. Strabo, xvi. 1, 6, and Mnter Relig. der Babyl. p. 86). Balak desired Balaam to come and curse the people of Israel, who had come out of Egypt, and were so numerous that they covered the eye of the earth (see <a href="/exodus/10-5.htm">Exodus 10:5</a>), i.e., the whole face of the land, and sat down (were encamped) opposite to him; that he might then perhaps be able to smite them and drive them out of the land. On ארה for אר, the imperative of ארר, see Ewald, 228, b. - "For I know that he whom thou blessest is blessed, and he whom thou cursest is cursed." Balak believed, in common with the whole of the ancient world, in the real power and operation of the curses, anathemas, and incantations pronounced by priests, soothsayers, and goetae. And there was a truth at the foundation of this belief, however it may have been perverted by heathenism into phantasy and superstition. When God endows a man with supernatural powers of His word and Spirit, he also confers upon him the power of working upon others in a supernatural way. Man, in fact, by virtue of the real connection between his spirit and the higher spiritual world, is able to appropriate to himself supernatural powers, and make them subservient to the purpose of sin and wickedness, so as to practise magic and witchcraft with them, arts which we cannot pronounce either mere delusion or pure superstition, since the scriptures of both the Old and New Testaments speak of witchcraft, and condemn it as a real power of evil and of the kingdom of darkness. Even in the narrative itself, the power of Balaam to bless and to curse is admitted; and, in addition to this, it is frequently celebrated as a great favour displayed towards Israel, that the Lord did not hearken to Balaam, but turned the curse into a blessing (<a href="/deuteronomy/23-5.htm">Deuteronomy 23:5</a>; <a href="/joshua/24-10.htm">Joshua 24:10</a>; <a href="/micah/6-3.htm">Micah 6:3</a>; <a href="/nehemiah/13-2.htm">Nehemiah 13:2</a>). This power of Balaam is not therefore traced, it is true, to the might of heathen deities, but to the might of Jehovah, whose name Balaam confessed; but yet the possibility is assumed of his curse doing actual, and not merely imaginary, harm to the Israelites. Moreover, the course of the history shows that in his heart Balaam was very much inclined to fulfil the desire of the king of the Moabites, and that this subjective inclination of his was overpowered by the objective might of the Spirit of Jehovah.<div class="vheading2">Links</div><a href="/interlinear/numbers/22-5.htm">Numbers 22:5 Interlinear</a><br /><a href="/texts/numbers/22-5.htm">Numbers 22:5 Parallel Texts</a><br /><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a href="/niv/numbers/22-5.htm">Numbers 22:5 NIV</a><br /><a href="/nlt/numbers/22-5.htm">Numbers 22:5 NLT</a><br /><a href="/esv/numbers/22-5.htm">Numbers 22:5 ESV</a><br /><a href="/nasb/numbers/22-5.htm">Numbers 22:5 NASB</a><br /><a href="/kjv/numbers/22-5.htm">Numbers 22:5 KJV</a><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a href="http://bibleapps.com/numbers/22-5.htm">Numbers 22:5 Bible Apps</a><br /><a href="/numbers/22-5.htm">Numbers 22:5 Parallel</a><br /><a href="http://bibliaparalela.com/numbers/22-5.htm">Numbers 22:5 Biblia Paralela</a><br /><a href="http://holybible.com.cn/numbers/22-5.htm">Numbers 22:5 Chinese Bible</a><br /><a href="http://saintebible.com/numbers/22-5.htm">Numbers 22:5 French Bible</a><br /><a href="http://bibeltext.com/numbers/22-5.htm">Numbers 22:5 German Bible</a><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a href="/">Bible Hub</a><br /></div></div></td></tr></table></div><div id="mdd"><div align="center"><div class="bot2"><table align="center" width="100%"><tr><td align="center"><div align="center"> <script id="3d27ed63fc4348d5b062c4527ae09445"> (new Image()).src = 'https://capi.connatix.com/tr/si?token=51ce25d5-1a8c-424a-8695-4bd48c750f35&cid=3a9f82d0-4344-4f8d-ac0c-e1a0eb43a405'; </script> <script id="b817b7107f1d4a7997da1b3c33457e03"> (new Image()).src = 'https://capi.connatix.com/tr/si?token=cb0edd8b-b416-47eb-8c6d-3cc96561f7e8&cid=3a9f82d0-4344-4f8d-ac0c-e1a0eb43a405'; </script><br /><br />  <div id='div-gpt-ad-1529103594582-2'> </div><br /><br />  <div id='div-gpt-ad-1529103594582-0' style='max-width: 300px;'> </div><br /><br />  <div id='div-gpt-ad-1529103594582-3'> </div><br /><br />  <div id='div-gpt-ad-1529103594582-1' style='max-width: 300px;'> </div><br /><br />  <div align="center" id='div-gpt-ad-1531425649696-0'> </div><br /><br /> <ins class="adsbygoogle" style="display:inline-block;width:200px;height:200px" data-ad-client="ca-pub-3753401421161123" data-ad-slot="3592799687"></ins> <script> (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); </script><br /><br /> </div> <div id="left"><a href="../numbers/22-4.htm" onmouseover='lft.src="/leftgif.png"' onmouseout='lft.src="/left.png"' title="Numbers 22:4"><img src="/left.png" name="lft" border="0" alt="Numbers 22:4" /></a></div><div id="right"><a href="../numbers/22-6.htm" onmouseover='rght.src="/rightgif.png"' onmouseout='rght.src="/right.png"' title="Numbers 22:6"><img src="/right.png" name="rght" border="0" alt="Numbers 22:6" /></a></div><div id="botleft"><a href="#" onmouseover='botleft.src="/botleftgif.png"' onmouseout='botleft.src="/botleft.png"' title="Top of Page"><img src="/botleft.png" name="botleft" border="0" alt="Top of Page" /></a></div><div id="botright"><a href="#" onmouseover='botright.src="/botrightgif.png"' onmouseout='botright.src="/botright.png"' title="Top of Page"><img src="/botright.png" name="botright" border="0" alt="Top of Page" /></a></div> <div id="bot"><iframe width="100%" height="1500" scrolling="no" src="/botmenubhnew2.htm" frameborder="0"></iframe></div></td></tr></table></div></body></html>