Numbers 22:28
in Numbers 22Then the LORD opened the donkey’s mouth, and she said to Balaam, “What have I done to you that you have beaten me these three times?”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And Jehovah opened the mouth of the ass, and she said unto Balaam, What have I done unto thee, that thou hast smitten me these three times?
KJV
And the Lord opened the mouth of the ass, and she said unto Balaam, What have I done unto thee, that thou hast smitten me these three times?
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This verse in Numbers 22
Commentary
7 notes on this verseThe Lord opened the mouth of the ass - And where is the wonder of all this? If the ass had opened her own mouth, and reproved the rash prophet, we might well be astonished; but when God opens the mouth, an ass can speak as well as a man. It is worthy of remark here, that Balaam testifies no surprise at this miracle, because he saw it was the Lord’s doing.
This site's exposition
Then the LORD opened the donkey’s mouth
on Numbers 22:28-30
The LORD opened the donkey’s mouth, and she asks a question: What have I done to you that you have beaten me these three times? Balaam wishes for a sword to kill her, and the sword he wants is drawn in a hand he cannot see. In 2 Peter 2:16 the donkey spoke with a man’s voice and restrained the prophet’s madness.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
I marvel at Balaam's ass and heap blessings on it, because it was worthy not only to see the angel of God but even to have its mouth opened and break into human speech.
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
): What have I done unto thee, that thou hast smitten me? Note, The righteous God will not see the meanest and weakest abused; but either they shall be enabled to speak in their own defence or he will some way or other speak for them. If God would not suffer a beast to be wronged, much less a man, a Christian, a child of his own.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
And the Lord opened the mouth of the ass, and she said unto Balaam,....
This was a great miracle, quite above the power of nature, and wrought by the power of the God of nature, who made man's mouth, and taught him to speak, for otherwise (since we learn to speak purely by imitation, and therefore those that are born deaf are consequently dumb) the first man would never have spoken, nor any of his seed.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
And the Lord opened the mouth of the ass - The account was perhaps given by Balaam to the Israelites after his capture in the war against Midian. Compare Num 31:8. That which is here recorded was apparently perceived by him alone among human witnesses. God may have brought it about that sounds uttered by the creature after its kind became to the prophet’s intelligence as though it addressed him in rational speech. Indeed to an augur, priding himself on his skill in interpreting the cries and movements of animals, no more startling warning could be given than one so real as this, yet conveyed through the medium of his own art.
The words behind it
15 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיִּפְתַּ֥ח | vaiyiftach | and he opened | H6605 → | 144 times |
| יְהוָ֖ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| פִּ֣י | pi | [the] mouth of | H6310 → | 498 times |
| הָאָת֑וֹן | haaton | the donkey | H860 → | 34 times |
| וַתֹּ֤אמֶר | vatomer | and it said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| לְבִלְעָם֙ | levilam | to Balaam | H1109 → | 61 times |
| מֶה־ | meh- | what? | H4100 → | 752 times |
| עָשִׂ֣יתִֽי | ʾasiti | have I done | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| לְךָ֔ | lekha | to <the> you | ||
| כִּ֣י | ki | that | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| הִכִּיתַ֔נִי | hikitani | you have struck me | H5221 → | 499 times |
| זֶ֖ה | zeh | this | H2088 → | 1180 times |
| שָׁלֹ֥שׁ | shalosh | three | H7969 → | 432 times |
| רְגָלִֽים׃ | regalim | feet | H7272 → | 247 times |
וַיִּפְתַּ֥חand he opened
vaiyiftachH6605 →144 times
יְהוָ֖הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
פִּ֣י[the] mouth of
piH6310 →498 times
הָאָת֑וֹןthe donkey
haatonH860 →34 times
וַתֹּ֤אמֶרand it said
vatomerH559 →5305 times
לְבִלְעָם֙to Balaam
levilamH1109 →61 times
מֶה־what?
meh-H4100 →752 times
עָשִׂ֣יתִֽיhave I done
ʾasitiH6213 →2628 times
לְךָ֔to <the> you
lekha
כִּ֣יthat
kiH3588 →4482 times
הִכִּיתַ֔נִיyou have struck me
hikitaniH5221 →499 times
זֶ֖הthis
zehH2088 →1180 times
שָׁלֹ֥שׁthree
shaloshH7969 →432 times
רְגָלִֽים׃feet
regalimH7272 →247 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach 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
Luke 1:37For no word from God will ever fail.”
it leads to
- Matthew 19:26
Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”
- Jeremiah 32:27
“Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh. Is anything too difficult for Me?
- Mark 10:27
Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God.”
- Jeremiah 32:17
“Oh, Lord GOD! You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too difficult for You!
- Luke 18:27
But Jesus said, “What is impossible with man is possible with God.”
- Matthew 19:26
Through
1 Corinthians 1:19For it is written: “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate.”
it leads to
- Isaiah 29:14
Therefore I will again confound these people with wonder upon wonder. The wisdom of the wise will vanish, and the intelligence of the intelligent will be hidden.”
- Jeremiah 8:9
The wise will be put to shame; they will be dismayed and trapped. Since they have rejected the word of the LORD, what wisdom do they really have?
- 1 Corinthians 3:19
For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God’s sight. As it is written: “He catches the wise in their craftiness.”
- Isaiah 29:14
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Numbers
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Origen of Alexandria, HOMILIES ON THE GOSPEL OF LUKE 14:9.