Numbers 23:18
in Numbers 23Then Balaam lifted up an oracle, saying: “Arise, O Balak, and listen; give ear to me, O son of Zippor.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And he took up his parable, and said, Rise up, Balak, and hear; Hearken unto me, thou son of Zippor:
KJV
And he took up his parable, and said, Rise up, Balak, and hear; hearken unto me, thou son of Zippor:
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This verse in Numbers 23
Commentary
3 notes on this verseAnd he took up his parable,.... Pronounced the word put into his mouth: and said, rise up Balak, and hear; not from his seat, as Eglon a successor of his did, Jdg 3:20 for he was now standing by his burnt offering; but the sense is, that he would raise his attention, and stir up himself with all diligence to hear what he was about to say: hearken unto me, thou son of Zippor; or to his word, as the Targums of Onkelos and Jonathan, which follow.
This site's exposition
Rise up, Balak, and hear
on Numbers 23:18-19
The line the chapter is known for comes out of the mouth of a man being paid to reverse it, and it answers Balak's whole method. Moving a prophet to a fresh hill assumes God can be worked on the way a man is worked on, and verse 19 says the assumption fails at the root. 1 Samuel 15:29 says the same of the Strength of Israel, while 15:11 and 15:35 in that same chapter say the Lord repented that he had set up Saul, and both sentences stand in the canon with readers holding them together in different ways. Malachi 3:6, Titus 1:2 and Hebrews 6:18 carry the line forward.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
): Rise up, Balak, and hear. It was a message from God that he had to deliver, and it is required of Balak, though a king, that he attend ( hear and hearken, with a close application of mind, let not a word slip), and also that he attend with reverence: Rise up, and hear. His successor Eglon, when he was to receive a message from God, rose out of his seat, Judg. iii.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
The words behind it
10 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיִּשָּׂ֥א | vaiyisa' | and he lifted up | H5375 → | 656 times |
| מְשָׁל֖וֹ | meshalo | oracle his | H4912 → | 39 times |
| וַיֹּאמַ֑ר | vaiyomar | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| ק֤וּם | kum | arise | H6965 → | 628 times |
| בָּלָק֙ | balak | O Balak | H1111 → | 43 times |
| וּֽשֲׁמָ֔ע | ushama' | and hear | H8085 → | 1159 times |
| הַאֲזִ֥ינָה | haazinah | give ear ! | H238 → | |
| עָדַ֖י | ʾadai | to me | H5704 → | 1261 times |
| בְּנ֥וֹ | beno | [O] son his | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| צִפֹּֽר׃ | tzipor | Zippor | H6834 → | 7 times |
וַיִּשָּׂ֥אand he lifted up
vaiyisa'H5375 →656 times
מְשָׁל֖וֹoracle his
meshaloH4912 →39 times
וַיֹּאמַ֑רand he said
vaiyomarH559 →5305 times
ק֤וּםarise
kumH6965 →628 times
בָּלָק֙O Balak
balakH1111 →43 times
וּֽשֲׁמָ֔עand hear
ushama'H8085 →1159 times
הַאֲזִ֥ינָהgive ear !
haazinahH238 →
עָדַ֖יto me
ʾadaiH5704 →1261 times
בְּנ֥וֹ[O] son his
benoH1121 →4930 times
צִפֹּֽר׃Zippor
tziporH6834 →7 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
5 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
Judges 3:20Then Ehud approached him while he was sitting alone in the coolness of his upper room. “I have a word from God for you,” Ehud said, and the king rose from his seat.
it leads to
- Jeremiah 10:7
Who would not fear You, O King of nations? This is Your due. For among all the wise men of the nations, and in all their kingdoms, there is none like You.
- Amos 3:15
I will tear down the winter house along with the summer house; the houses of ivory will also perish, and the great houses will come to an end,” declares the LORD.
- 2 Samuel 24:12
“Go and tell David that this is what the LORD says: ‘I am offering you three options. Choose one of them, and I will carry it out against you.’”
- Micah 6:9
The voice of the LORD calls out to the city (and it is sound wisdom to fear Your name): “Heed the rod and the One who ordained it.
- 2 Samuel 12:1–15
Then the LORD sent Nathan to David, and when he arrived, he said, “There were two men in a certain city, one rich and the other poor.
- Jeremiah 10:7
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Numbers
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on 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); Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: The Pentateuch and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.