Numbers 22:9
in Numbers 22Then God came to Balaam and asked, “Who are these men with you?”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And God came unto Balaam, and said, What men are these with thee?
KJV
And God came unto Balaam, and said, What men are these with thee?
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This verse in Numbers 22
Commentary
3 notes on this verseAnd God came unto Balaam,.... In a dream very probably, as he did to Abimelech and Laban, Gen 20:3, and said, what men are these with thee? who lodged with him that night. This he said, not as ignorant who they were, or from whence they came, or what they came about; but in order to lead on to a discourse with Balaam, and to have from him the account of the men, and their business, and to try his fidelity in relating the affair.
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 Nineteenth Century1 voice
A 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].
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיָּבֹ֥א | vaiyavo' | and he came | H935 → | 2568 times |
| אֱלֹהִ֖ים | ʾelohim | God | H430 → | 2601 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| בִּלְעָ֑ם | bilam | Balaam | H1109 → | 61 times |
| וַיֹּ֕אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| מִ֛י | mi | who? | H4310 → | 423 times |
| הָאֲנָשִׁ֥ים | haanashim | [are] the men | H582 → | 566 times |
| הָאֵ֖לֶּה | haeleh | <the> these | H428 → | 746 times |
| עִמָּֽךְ׃ | ʾimakh | with you | H5973 → | 1050 times |
וַיָּבֹ֥אand he came
vaiyavo'H935 →2568 times
אֱלֹהִ֖יםGod
ʾelohimH430 →2601 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
בִּלְעָ֑םBalaam
bilamH1109 →61 times
וַיֹּ֕אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
מִ֛יwho?
miH4310 →423 times
הָאֲנָשִׁ֥ים[are] the men
haanashimH582 →566 times
הָאֵ֖לֶּה<the> these
haelehH428 →746 times
עִמָּֽךְ׃with you
ʾimakhH5973 →1050 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
Genesis 4:9And the LORD said to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?” “I do not know!” he answered. “Am I my brother’s keeper?”
it leads to
- Proverbs 28:13
He who conceals his sins will not prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them will find mercy.
- John 8:44
You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out his desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, refusing to uphold the truth, because there is no truth in him.…
- Proverbs 28:13
Through
Exodus 4:2And the LORD asked him, “What is that in your hand?” “A staff,” he replied.
it leads to
- Exodus 4:17
But take this staff in your hand so you can perform signs with it.”
- Exodus 4:20
So Moses took his wife and sons, put them on a donkey, and headed back to Egypt. And he took the staff of God in his hand.
- Exodus 4:17
Through
Numbers 22:20That night God came to Balaam and said, “Since these men have come to summon you, get up and go with them, but you must only do what I tell you.”
it leads to
- Numbers 23:26
But Balaam replied, “Did I not tell you that whatever the LORD says, I must do?”
- Numbers 23:12
But Balaam replied, “Should I not speak exactly what the LORD puts in my mouth?”
- Numbers 23:26
Through
Genesis 20:3One night, however, God came to Abimelech in a dream and told him, “You are as good as dead because of the woman you have taken, for she is a married woman.”
it leads to
- Genesis 20:7
Now return the man’s wife, for he is a prophet; he will pray for you and you will live. But if you do not restore her, be aware that you will surely die—you and…
- Matthew 27:19
While Pilate was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent him this message: “Have nothing to do with that innocent man, for I have suffered terribly in a dream today because of Him.”
- Genesis 20:7
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Numbers
This page draws on 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.