Numbers 22:4
in Numbers 22So the Moabites said to the elders of Midian, “This horde will devour everything around us, as an ox licks up the grass of the field.” Since Balak son of Zippor was king of Moab at that time,
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And Moab said unto the elders of Midian, Now will this multitude lick up all that is round about us, as the ox licketh up the grass of the field. And Balak the son of Zippor was king of Moab at that time.
KJV
And Moab said unto the elders of Midian, Now shall this company lick up all that are round about us, as the ox licketh up the grass of the field. And Balak the son of Zippor was king of the Moabites at that time.
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This verse in Numbers 22
Commentary
5 notes on this verseWe read of Midianites near Mount Sinai, Exod. ii, and iii, which seem to have been a colony of this people, that went out to seek new quarters, as the manner of those times was, but the body of that people were seated in those parts. Lick up - That is, consume and utterly destroy, in which sense the fire is said to lick up the water and sacrifices, 1 Kings xviii, 38.
This site's exposition
Now shall this company lick up
on Numbers 22:4-5
Moab takes counsel with the elders of Midian, and Moab came of Lot while Midian came of Abraham by Keturah at Genesis 25:1-2, so the two peoples hiring a curse are relations of the nation they fear. Balaam is fetched from Pethor by the river, which Deuteronomy 23:4 places in Mesopotamia, hundreds of miles up the Euphrates from the Jordan. A plaster inscription uncovered at Tell Deir Alla in Jordan in 1967, written centuries after this in an Aramaic dialect, opens with the words of Balaam son of Beor, a seer of the gods, so the name was carried in that country outside Israel's books.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
And Moab said unto the elders of Midian,....
Out of the ruins of the true religion; for if the Midianites and Moabites had not wretchedly degenerated from the faith and worship of their pious ancestors, Abraham and Lot, they could not have imagined it possible to do any mischief with their curses to a people who alone adhered to the service of the true God, from whose service they had themselves revolted.
They needed not to fear any harm from them if they knew (and it is probable that Moses let them know) the orders God had given to Israel not to contend with the Moabites, nor to use any hostility against them, Deut. ii. But, if they had any notice of this, they were jealous that it was but a sham, to make them secure, that they might be the more easily conquered.
The words behind it
23 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֹּ֨אמֶר | vaiyomer | and it said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| מוֹאָ֜ב | moav | Moab | H4124 → | 181 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| זִקְנֵ֣י | ziknei | [the] elders of | H2205 → | 178 times |
| מִדְיָ֗ן | midyan | Midian | H4080 → | 59 times |
| עַתָּ֞ה | ʾatah | now | H6258 → | 433 times |
| יְלַחֲכ֤וּ | yelachakhu | they will lick up | H3897 → | |
| הַקָּהָל֙ | hakahal | the company | H6951 → | 123 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| כָּל־ | kol- | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| סְבִ֣יבֹתֵ֔ינוּ | sevivoteinu | around us | H5439 → | 336 times |
| כִּלְחֹ֣ךְ | kilchokh | as licks up | H3897 → | |
| הַשּׁ֔וֹר | hashor | the ox | H7794 → | 79 times |
| אֵ֖ת | ʾet | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| יֶ֣רֶק | yerek | [the] greenery of | H3418 → | |
| הַשָּׂדֶ֑ה | hasadeh | the field | H7704 → | 334 times |
| וּבָלָ֧ק | uvalak | and Balak | H1111 → | 43 times |
| בֶּן־ | ben- | [the] son of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| צִפּ֛וֹר | tzipor | Zippor | H6834 → | 7 times |
| מֶ֥לֶךְ | melekh | [was] king | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| לְמוֹאָ֖ב | lemoav | of Moab | H4124 → | 181 times |
| בָּעֵ֥ת | baet | at the time | H6256 → | |
| הַהִֽוא׃ | hahiv' | <the> that | H1931 → | 1879 times |
וַיֹּ֨אמֶרand it said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
מוֹאָ֜בMoab
moavH4124 →181 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
זִקְנֵ֣י[the] elders of
zikneiH2205 →178 times
מִדְיָ֗ןMidian
midyanH4080 →59 times
עַתָּ֞הnow
ʾatahH6258 →433 times
יְלַחֲכ֤וּthey will lick up
yelachakhuH3897 →
הַקָּהָל֙the company
hakahalH6951 →123 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
כָּל־all
kol-H3605 →5413 times
סְבִ֣יבֹתֵ֔ינוּaround us
sevivoteinuH5439 →336 times
כִּלְחֹ֣ךְas licks up
kilchokhH3897 →
הַשּׁ֔וֹרthe ox
hashorH7794 →79 times
אֵ֖ת<obj.>
ʾetH853 →10935 times
יֶ֣רֶק[the] greenery of
yerekH3418 →
הַשָּׂדֶ֑הthe field
hasadehH7704 →334 times
וּבָלָ֧קand Balak
uvalakH1111 →43 times
בֶּן־[the] son of
ben-H1121 →4930 times
צִפּ֛וֹרZippor
tziporH6834 →7 times
מֶ֥לֶךְ[was] king
melekhH4428 →2525 times
לְמוֹאָ֖בof Moab
lemoavH4124 →181 times
בָּעֵ֥תat the time
baetH6256 →
הַהִֽוא׃<the> that
hahiv'H1931 →1879 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
Numbers 31:8Among the slain were Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba—the five kings of Midian. They also killed Balaam son of Beor with the sword.
it leads to
- Jude 1:11
Woe to them! They have traveled the path of Cain; they have rushed headlong into the error of Balaam; they have perished in Korah’s rebellion.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Joshua 13:21–22
all the cities of the plateau and all the kingdom of Sihon king of the Amorites, who reigned in Heshbon until Moses killed him and the chiefs of Midian (Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and…
- Numbers 25:15
And the name of the slain Midianite woman was Cozbi, the daughter of Zur, a tribal chief of a Midianite family.
- Revelation 2:14
But 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…
- Jude 1:11
Through
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?
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,
- Deuteronomy 23:3–4
No Ammonite or Moabite or any of their descendants may enter the assembly of the LORD, even to the tenth generation.
- Micah 6:5
Through
Numbers 22:7The elders of Moab and Midian departed with the fees for divination in hand. They came to Balaam and relayed to him the words of Balak.
it leads to
- Micah 3:11
Her leaders judge for a bribe, her priests teach for a price, and her prophets practice divination for money. Yet they lean upon the LORD, saying, “Is not the LORD among us? No disaster…
- Micah 3:11
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Numbers
Who and where
2 names in this verse with a page on the site.
- PersonWildernessBalakKing of Moab who hired Balaam against the camp on his border and got four blessings and a prophecy of his own destroyer for his fe…
- PlaceTransjordanMoabThe high country east of the Dead Sea, home of Lot's descendants, where Balak hired Balaam, where Ruth was born, and where Moses l…
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.