Numbers 22:24
in Numbers 22Then the angel of the LORD stood in a narrow passage between two vineyards, with walls on either side.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Then the angel of Jehovah stood in a narrow path between the vineyards, a wall being on this side, and a wall on that side.
KJV
But the angel of the Lord stood in a path of the vineyards, a wall being on this side, and a wall on that side.
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This verse in Numbers 22
Commentary
5 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
In a path of the vineyards - i. e., in a path shut in by vineyard-walls on each side. The progress from the road through the open field Num 22:23 to that walled in, and thence to the strait place, where there was no room to turn Num 22:26, shows that Balaam was approaching a city, no doubt that which was the goal of his journey.
This site's exposition
the ass turned aside out of the way
on Numbers 22:23-25
The obstruction repeats and the space tightens with each repetition, first open field, then a path between two vineyard walls where a foot gets crushed. Every time the animal moves to save his life she is beaten for the thing that saved it. A man hired for his sight is riding a beast that sees what he cannot.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
But the angel of the Lord stood in a path of the vineyard,.....
The crushing of Balaam's foot, though it was the saving of his life, provoked him so much that he smote his ass the second time, so angry are we apt to be at that which, though a present uneasiness, yet is a real kindness.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
the angel of the Lord stood in a path of the vineyards--The roads which lead through fields and vineyards are so narrow that in most parts a man could not pass a beast without care and caution.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
The words behind it
9 Hebrew wordsEvery 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.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַֽיַּעֲמֹד֙ | vaiyaamod | and he stood | H5975 → | 521 times |
| מַלְאַ֣ךְ | malakh | [the] angel of | H4397 → | 213 times |
| יְהוָ֔ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| בְּמִשְׁע֖וֹל | bemishol | in [the] narrow way of | H4934 → | |
| הַכְּרָמִ֑ים | hakeramim | the vineyards | H3754 → | 92 times |
| גָּדֵ֥ר | gader | a wall | H1447 → | |
| מִזֶּ֖ה | mizeh | from this | H2088 → | 1180 times |
| וְגָדֵ֥ר | vegader | and a wall | H1447 → | |
| מִזֶּֽה׃ | mizeh | from this | H2088 → | 1180 times |
וַֽיַּעֲמֹד֙and he stood
vaiyaamodH5975 →521 times
מַלְאַ֣ךְ[the] angel of
malakhH4397 →213 times
יְהוָ֔הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
בְּמִשְׁע֖וֹלin [the] narrow way of
bemisholH4934 →
הַכְּרָמִ֑יםthe vineyards
hakeramimH3754 →92 times
גָּדֵ֥רa wall
gaderH1447 →
מִזֶּ֖הfrom this
mizehH2088 →1180 times
וְגָדֵ֥רand a wall
vegaderH1447 →
מִזֶּֽה׃from this
mizehH2088 →1180 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Numbers
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.