Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

From Kadesh, Moses sent messengers to tell the king of Edom, “This is what your brother Israel says: You know all the hardship that has befallen us, how our fathers…

“Moses sent messengers . . . to the king of Edom--The encampment at Kadesh was on the confines of the Edomite territory, through which the Israelites would have had an easy passage across the Arabah by Wady-el-Ghuweir, so that they could have continued their course…”

Please let us pass through your land. We will not cut through any field or vineyard, or drink water from any well.

“The engineering necessary for carrying them over marshes or mountains, and the care requisite for protecting them from the shifting sands, led to their being under the special care of the state. Hence the expression, "the king's highway," which is of great antiquity.”

When the whole congregation saw that Aaron had died, the entire house of Israel mourned for him thirty days.

“When all the congregation saw that Aaron was dead--Moses and Eleazar were the sole witnesses of his departure (Nu 20:28).”

So the LORD sent venomous snakes among the people, and many of the Israelites were bitten and died.

“The only known remedy consists in sucking the wound, or, in the case of cattle, in the application of ammonia. The exact species of serpents that caused so great mortality among the Israelites cannot be ascertained.”

Then the people came to Moses and said, “We have sinned by speaking against the LORD and against you.

“This peculiar method of cure was designed, in the first instance, to show that it was the efficacy of God's power and grace, not the effect of nature or art, and also that it might be a type of the power of faith in Christ…”

Then they turned and went up the road to Bashan, and Og king of Bashan and his whole army came out to meet them in battle at Edrei.

“Og--a giant, an Amoritish prince, who, having opposed the progress of the Israelites, was defeated. The Lord said unto Moses, Fear him not--a necessary encouragement, for Og's gigantic stature (De 3:11) was calculated to inspire terror.”

Then the Israelites traveled on and camped in the plains of Moab near the Jordan, across from Jericho.

“Israel . . . pitched in the plains of Moab--so called from having formerly belonged to that people, though wrested from them by Sihon. It was a dry, sunken, desert region on the east of the Jordan valley, opposite Jericho.”

Now Balak son of Zippor saw all that Israel had done to the Amorites,

“Balak--that is, "empty." Terrified (De 2:25; Ex 15:15) at the approach of so vast a multitude and not daring to encounter them in the field, he resolved to secure their destruction by other means.”

he sent messengers to Balaam son of Beor at Pethor, which is by the Euphrates in the land of his people.

“He sent messengers therefore unto Balaam--that is, "lord" or "devourer" of people, a famous soothsayer (Jos 13:22). son of Beor--or, in the Chaldee form, Bosor--that is, "destruction." Pethor--a city of Mesopotamia, situated on the Euphrates.”

So please come now and put a curse on this people, because they are too mighty for me.

“Come . . . curse me this people--Among the heathen an opinion prevailed that prayers for evil or curses would be heard by the unseen powers as well as prayers for good, when offered by a prophet or priest and accompanied by the use of…”

“Spend the night here,” Balaam replied, “and I will give you the answer that the LORD speaks to me.” So the princes of Moab stayed with Balaam.

“His real character has long been a subject of discussion. Some, judging from his language, have thought him a saint; others, looking to his conduct, have described him as an irreligious charlatan; and a third class consider him a novice in the faith, who had…”

Then God’s anger was kindled because Balaam was going along, and the angel of the LORD stood in the road to oppose him.

“God's anger was kindled because he went--The displeasure arose partly from his neglecting the condition on which leave was granted him--namely, to wait till the princes of Moab "came to call him" [Nu 22:20], and because, through desire for "the wages of unrighteousness" [2Pe 2:15]…”

“I have sinned,” Balaam said to the angel of the LORD, “for I did not realize that you were standing in the road to confront me.

“I have sinned . . . if it displease thee, I will get me back again--Notwithstanding this confession, he evinced no spirit of penitence, as he speaks of desisting only from the outward act.”

Then Balaam said to Balak, “Build for me seven altars here, and prepare for me seven bulls and seven rams.”

“It is evident, from Nu 23:4 that they were prepared for the worship of the true God; although in choosing the high places of Baal as their site and rearing a number of altars (2Ki 18:22; 10:1), instead of one only, as God had appointed…”

Who can count the dust of Jacob or number even a fourth of Israel? Let me die the death of the righteous; let my end be like theirs!”

“Who can count the dust of Jacob?--an Oriental hyperbole for a very populous nation, as Jacob's posterity was promised to be (Ge 13:16; 28:14).”

He considers no disaster for Jacob; He sees no trouble for Israel. The LORD their God is with them, and the shout of the King is among them.

“He hath not beheld iniquity in Jacob--Many sins were observed and punished in this people. But no such universal and hopeless apostasy had as yet appeared, to induce God to abandon or destroy them. the Lord his God is with him--has a favor for them.”

But Balaam replied, “Did I not tell you that whatever the LORD says, I must do?”

“All that the Lord speaketh, that I must do--a remarkable confession that he was divinely constrained to give utterances different from what it was his purpose and inclination to do.”

How lovely are your tents, O Jacob, your dwellings, O Israel! They spread out like palm groves, like gardens beside a stream, like aloes the LORD has planted, like cedars…

“How goodly are thy tents, . . . O Israel!--a fine burst of admiration, expressed in highly poetical strains. All travellers describe the beauty which the circular area of Bedouin tents impart to the desert.”

They spread out like palm groves, like gardens beside a stream, like aloes the LORD has planted, like cedars beside the waters.

“As the valleys--Hebrew, "brooks," the watercourses of the mountains. lign aloes--an aromatic shrub on the banks of his native Euphrates, the conical form of which suggested an apt resemblance to a tent.”

Ships will come from the coasts of Cyprus; they will subdue Asshur and Eber, but they too will perish forever.”

“The Assyrians were themselves to be overthrown--first, by the Greeks under Alexander the Great and his successors; secondly, by the Romans. Eber--the posterity of the Hebrews (Ge 10:24). he also shall perish--that is, the conqueror of Asher and Eber, namely, the Greek and Roman empires.”

So Israel joined in worshiping Baal of Peor, and the anger of the LORD burned against them.

“Israel joined himself unto Baal-peor--Baal was a general name for "lord," and Peor for a "mount" in Moab. The real name of the idol was Chemosh, and his rites of worship were celebrated by the grossest obscenity.”

Then the LORD said to Moses, “Take all the leaders of the people and execute them in broad daylight before the LORD, so that His fierce anger may turn away…

“The persons ordered here for execution were the principal delinquents in the Baal-peor outrage--the subordinate officers, rulers of tens or hundreds. before the Lord--for vindicating the honor of the true God.”

“Phinehas son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, has turned My wrath away from the Israelites; for he was zealous for My sake among them, so that I…

“Phinehas . . . hath turned my wrath away--This assurance was a signal mark of honor that the stain of blood, instead of defiling, confirmed him in office and that his posterity should continue as long as the national existence of Israel.”

Indeed, the land must be divided by lot; they shall receive their inheritance according to the names of the tribes of their fathers.

“The manner in which the lot was taken has not been recorded. But it is evident that the lot was cast for determining the section of the country in which each tribe should be located--not the quantity of their possessions.”

Why should the name of our father disappear from his clan because he had no sons? Give us property among our father’s brothers.”

“A distribution of the promised land was about to be made; and it is interesting to know the legal provision made in these comparatively rare cases for preserving a patrimony from being alienated to another tribe.”