Numbers 22:8
in Numbers 22“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.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And he said unto them, Lodge here this night, and I will bring you word again, as Jehovah shall speak unto me: and the princes of Moab abode with Balaam.
KJV
And he said unto them, Lodge here this night, and I will bring you word again, as the Lord shall speak unto me: and the princes of Moab abode with Balaam.
⋯
This verse in Numbers 22
Commentary
6 notes on this verseA commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
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 a fear of God, but who had not acquired power over his passions [HENGSTENBERG].
This site's exposition
as the Lord shall speak unto me
on Numbers 22:8-9
Balaam answers a Moabite delegation using the covenant name, and God does come to him that night. What he was has divided readers for centuries: Calvin treats him as a diviner whom God overruled for his own ends, others allow him a real gift turned to hire, and the book lets him say true things from beginning to end while never calling him a prophet of Israel. The question put to him, what men are these with thee, is the kind God asked Adam among the trees and Cain in the field, put to a man who knows the answer perfectly well.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
And he said unto them, lodge here this night,....
When we enter into a parley with temptations we are in great danger of being overcome by them. In the night God comes to him, probably in a dream, and enquires what business those strangers had with him.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
I will bring you word again, as the Lord shall speak - So it appears he knew the true God, and had been in the habit of consulting him, and receiving oracles from his mouth.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Balaam must surely have known that God’s blessing was on the people with whose marvelous march forth from Egypt he was acquainted Exo 15:14; Exo 18:1; Jos 2:9, and from whom he had himself probably learned much (compare the language of Num 23:12 with Gen 13:6, and that of Num 24:9 with Gen 49:9). But his reply to the messengers next morning Num 22:13, betrays the desire to venture to the utmost of that which God would not forbid rather than to carry out God’s will in hearty sincerity.
The words behind it
17 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֹּ֣אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| אֲלֵיהֶ֗ם | ʾaleihem | to them | H413 → | 5510 times |
| לִ֤ינוּ | linu | lodge | H3885 → | 84 times |
| פֹה֙ | foh | here | H6311 → | 82 times |
| הַלַּ֔יְלָה | halaylah | this night | H3915 → | 233 times |
| וַהֲשִׁבֹתִ֤י | vahashivoti | and I will bring back | H7725 → | 1056 times |
| אֶתְכֶם֙ | ʾetkhem | <obj.> you | H853 → | 10935 times |
| דָּבָ֔ר | davar | word | H1697 → | 1440 times |
| כַּאֲשֶׁ֛ר | kaasher | just as | H834 → | 5497 times |
| יְדַבֵּ֥ר | yedaber | he will speak | H1696 → | 1141 times |
| יְהוָ֖ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| אֵלָ֑י | ʾelai | to me | H413 → | 5510 times |
| וַיֵּשְׁב֥וּ | vaiyeshevu | and they remained | H3427 → | 1079 times |
| שָׂרֵֽי־ | sarei- | [the] leaders of | H8269 → | 421 times |
| מוֹאָ֖ב | moav | Moab | H4124 → | 181 times |
| עִם־ | ʾim- | with | H5973 → | 1050 times |
| בִּלְעָֽם׃ | bilam | Balaam | H1109 → | 61 times |
וַיֹּ֣אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
אֲלֵיהֶ֗םto them
ʾaleihemH413 →5510 times
לִ֤ינוּlodge
linuH3885 →84 times
פֹה֙here
fohH6311 →82 times
הַלַּ֔יְלָהthis night
halaylahH3915 →233 times
וַהֲשִׁבֹתִ֤יand I will bring back
vahashivotiH7725 →1056 times
אֶתְכֶם֙<obj.> you
ʾetkhemH853 →10935 times
דָּבָ֔רword
davarH1697 →1440 times
כַּאֲשֶׁ֛רjust as
kaasherH834 →5497 times
יְדַבֵּ֥רhe will speak
yedaberH1696 →1141 times
יְהוָ֖הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
אֵלָ֑יto me
ʾelaiH413 →5510 times
וַיֵּשְׁב֥וּand they remained
vaiyeshevuH3427 →1079 times
שָׂרֵֽי־[the] leaders of
sarei-H8269 →421 times
מוֹאָ֖בMoab
moavH4124 →181 times
עִם־with
ʾim-H5973 →1050 times
בִּלְעָֽם׃Balaam
bilamH1109 →61 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
Ezekiel 33:31So My people come to you as usual, sit before you, and hear your words; but they do not put them into practice. Although they express love with their mouths, their hearts pursue dishonest…
it leads to
- Isaiah 29:13
Therefore the Lord said: “These people draw near to Me with their mouths and honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me. Their worship of Me is but rules taught…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Matthew 13:22
The seed sown among the thorns is the one who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.
- Psalms 78:36–37
But they deceived Him with their mouths, and lied to Him with their tongues.
- James 1:22–24
Be doers of the word, and not hearers only. Otherwise, you are deceiving yourselves.
- Luke 11:28
But He replied, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it.”
- Isaiah 29:13
Through
Numbers 12:6He said, “Hear now My words: If there is a prophet among you, I, the LORD, will reveal Myself to him in a vision; I will speak to him in a dream.
it leads to
- 1 Kings 3:5
One night at Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream, and God said, “Ask, and I will give it to you!”
- Genesis 46:2
And that night God spoke to Israel in a vision: “Jacob, Jacob!” He said. “Here I am,” replied Jacob.
- Genesis 31:10–11
When the flocks were breeding, I saw in a dream that the streaked, spotted, and speckled males were mating with the females.
- 1 Kings 3:5
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Numbers
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; 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 Calvin, Commentary on the Four Last Books of Moses Arranged in the Form of a Harmony; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.