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Joshua 24:9

in Joshua 24

Then Balak son of Zippor, the king of Moab, set out to fight against Israel. He sent for Balaam son of Beor to curse you,

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

Then Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, arose and fought against Israel: and he sent and called Balaam the son of Beor to curse you;

KJV

Then Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, arose and warred against Israel, and sent and called Balaam the son of Beor to curse you:

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This verse in Joshua 24

Commentary

4 notes on this verse

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

Then Balak - arose and warred against Israel - This circumstance is not related in Numbers 22:1-41, nor does it appear in that history that the Moabites attacked the Israelites; and probably the warring here mentioned means no more than his attempts to destroy them by the curses of Balaam, and the wiles of the Midianitish women.

This site's exposition

I brought you to the land of the Amorites

on Joshua 24:8-10

The Amorites beyond the Jordan are Sihon and Og of Numbers 21:21-35, and Balak's hire of Balaam runs through Numbers 22 to 24. God says "I would not listen to Balaam", putting the blessing down to his own refusal rather than any restraint in the prophet, as Deuteronomy 23:5 does. Israel heard none of it at the time, so this verse tells them what passed over their heads.

This site's exposition

set out to fight against Israel

Numbers records no battle with Balak, and Jephthah asks at Judges 11:25 whether Balak ever fought against Israel. Balak himself told Balaam at Numbers 22:6 that a curse might let him defeat Israel and drive them out. The curse was the war he waged.

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice

Then Balak the son of Zippor, the king of Moab, arose,....

The words behind it

15 Hebrew words

Every Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.

  • וַיָּ֨קָםand he arose

    vaiyakomH6965 →628 times

  • בָּלָ֤קBalak

    balakH1111 →

  • בֶּן־[the] son of

    ben-H1121 →4930 times

  • צִפּוֹר֙Zippor

    tziporH6834 →

  • מֶ֣לֶךְ[the] king of

    melekhH4428 →2525 times

  • מוֹאָ֔בMoab

    moavH4124 →

  • וַיִּלָּ֖חֶםand he fought

    vaiyilachemH3898 →177 times

  • בְּיִשְׂרָאֵ֑לagainst Israel

    beyisraelH3478 →2507 times

  • וַיִּשְׁלַ֗חand he sent

    vaiyishlachH7971 →845 times

  • וַיִּקְרָ֛אand he summoned

    vaiyikra'H7121 →733 times

  • לְבִלְעָ֥ם<to> Balaam

    levilamH1109 →61 times

  • בֶּן־[the] son of

    ben-H1121 →4930 times

  • בְּע֖וֹרBeor

    beorH1160 →

  • לְקַלֵּ֥לto curse

    lekalelH7043 →

  • אֶתְכֶֽם׃<obj.> you

    ʾetkhemH853 →10935 times

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

Related verses

9 in all, six open

The number beside each verse is how many compiled reference works tie it to this one. The strongest six stand open.

Judges 11:25Are you now so much better than Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab? Did he ever contend with Israel or fight against them?7 worksMicah 6:5My people, remember what Balak king of Moab counseled and what Balaam son of Beor answered. Remember your journey from Shittim to Gilgal, so that you may acknowledge the righteousness of the LORD.’”6 worksRevelation 2:14But I have a few things against you, because some of you hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to place a stumbling block before the Israelites so they would eat food sacrificed to idols and commit sexual immorality.6 worksNumbers 22:2Now Balak son of Zippor saw all that Israel had done to the Amorites,5 worksNumbers 22:5he sent messengers to Balaam son of Beor at Pethor, which is by the Euphrates in the land of his people. “Behold, a people has come out of Egypt,” said Balak. “They cover the face of the land and have settled next to me.5 worksDeuteronomy 23:4–5For they did not meet you with food and water on your way out of Egypt, and they hired Balaam son of Beor from Pethor in Aram-naharaim to curse you.3 works
The other 3 cross-references, with their words ▾
Judges 11:17Then Israel sent messengers to the king of Edom, saying, ‘Please let us pass through your land,’ but the king of Edom would not listen. They also sent messengers to the king of Moab, but he would not consent. So Israel stayed in Kadesh.2 worksNumbers 23:13Then Balak said to him, “Please come with me to another place where you can see them. You will only see the outskirts of their camp—not all of them. And from there, curse them for me.”2 worksNumbers 22:6So please come now and put a curse on this people, because they are too mighty for me. Perhaps I may be able to defeat them and drive them out of the land; for I know that those you bless are blessed, and those you curse are cursed.”1 works

The walk

8 stops

Each card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.

  • Through

    Micah 6:5

    My people, remember what Balak king of Moab counseled and what Balaam son of Beor answered. Remember your journey from Shittim to Gilgal, so that you may acknowledge the righteousness of the LORD.’”

    it leads to

    • Joshua 5:9–10

      Then the LORD said to Joshua, “Today I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from you.” So that place has been called Gilgal to this day.

    • Numbers 25:1

      While Israel was staying in Shittim, the men began to indulge in sexual immorality with the daughters of Moab,

    • Judges 5:11

      the voices of the singers at the watering places. There they shall recount the righteous acts of the LORD, the righteous deeds of His villagers in Israel. Then the people of the LORD went…

    • 2 Peter 2:15

      They have left the straight way and wandered off to follow the way of Balaam son of Beor, who loved the wages of wickedness.

    • Joshua 4:19

      On the tenth day of the first month the people went up from the Jordan and camped at Gilgal on the eastern border of Jericho.

  • Through

    Judges 11:25

    Are you now so much better than Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab? Did he ever contend with Israel or fight against them?

    it leads to

    • Micah 6:5

      My people, remember what Balak king of Moab counseled and what Balaam son of Beor answered. Remember your journey from Shittim to Gilgal, so that you may acknowledge the righteousness of the LORD.’”

    • Joshua 24:9–10

      Then Balak son of Zippor, the king of Moab, set out to fight against Israel. He sent for Balaam son of Beor to curse you,

  • Through

    Numbers 22:2

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

    it leads to

    • Judges 11:25

      Are you now so much better than Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab? Did he ever contend with Israel or fight against them?

Where this verse is studied

On this page

Studies1

About Joshua

Joshua Commanding the Sun to Stand Still upon Gibeon, John Martin, 1816, National Gallery of Art. Public domain.
Joshua Commanding the Sun to Stand Still upon Gibeon, John Martin, 1816, National Gallery of Art. Public domain.
Joshua: the study guide →Read Joshua 24 →

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: Joshua, Judges, Ruth.

Read on in Joshua 24 →