Numbers 23:3
in Numbers 23“Stay here by your burnt offering while I am gone,” Balaam said to Balak. “Perhaps the LORD will meet with me. And whatever He reveals to me, I will tell you.” So Balaam went off to a barren height,
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And Balaam said unto Balak, Stand by thy burnt-offering, and I will go: peradventure Jehovah will come to meet me; and whatsoever he showeth me I will tell thee. And he went to a bare height.
KJV
And Balaam said unto Balak, Stand by thy burnt offering, and I will go: peradventure the Lord will come to meet me: and whatsoever he sheweth me I will tell thee. And he went to an high place.
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This verse in Numbers 23
Commentary
8 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Balaam apparently expected to mark some phenomenon in the sky or in nature, which he would be able, according to the rules of his art, to interpret as a portent. It was for such “auguries” (not as the King James Version “enchantments” Num 23:23) that he now departed to watch; contrast Num 24:1. An high place - Or, “A bare place on the hill,” as opposed to the high place with its grove of trees.
This site's exposition
Build me here seven altars
on Numbers 23:1-3
Balaam opens with sevens, seven altars and seven oxen and seven rams, raised on a high place of Baal where Balak had taken him at 22:41. John Gill observes that Israel had one altar and that the patriarchs raised one at a time, so the multiplied altars belong to Balaam's own trade rather than to the worship of the God he is about to meet. Albert Barnes reads his going aside to a bare height as watching for an omen he could interpret by the rules of his art, and 24:1 later says he stopped seeking enchantments.
The record, by era
The Reformation1 voice
You would say that he was another Moses, when he exhorts the king to persevering prayer, and, in order that he may be more earnest in supplication, bids him remain perfectly still by the altars.
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
And Balaam said unto Balak, stand by thy burnt offering,....
Nay, it should seem, though he pretended to go and meet with God, he really designed to use enchantments; see ch. xxiv. But, whatever he intended. God designed to serve his own glory by him, and therefore met Balaam,
Thus much he knew, that solitude gives a good opportunity for communion with God; those that would meet with him must retire from the world, and the business and conversation of it, and love to be private, reckoning themselves never less alone than when alone, because the Father is with them.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
Stand by thy burnt offering--as one in expectation of an important favor. peradventure the Lord will come to meet me: and whatsoever he showeth me--that is, makes known to me by word or sign. he went to an high place--apart by himself, where he might practise rites and ceremonies, with a view to obtain a response of the oracle.
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
Stand by thy burnt-offering - We have already seen that blessing and cursing in this way were considered as religious rites, and therefore must be always preceded by sacrifice. See this exemplified in the case of Isaac, before he blessed Jacob and Esau, Genesis 27 (note), and the notes there. The venison that was brought to Isaac, of which he did eat, was properly the preparatory sacrifice.
The words behind it
18 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 he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| בִּלְעָ֜ם | bilam | Balaam | H1109 → | 61 times |
| לְבָלָ֗ק | levalak | to Balak | H1111 → | 43 times |
| הִתְיַצֵּב֮ | hityatzev | take your stand | H3320 → | 48 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | with | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| עֹלָתֶךָ֒ | ʾolatekha | burnt offering your | H5930 → | 287 times |
| וְאֵֽלְכָ֗ה | veelekhah | so let me go | H1980 → | 1546 times |
| אוּלַ֞י | ʾulai | perhaps | H194 → | 45 times |
| יִקָּרֵ֤ה | yikareh | he will meet | H7136 → | 27 times |
| יְהוָה֙ | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| לִקְרָאתִ֔י | likrati | to meet me | H7122 → | 139 times |
| וּדְבַ֥ר | udevar | and [the] word of | H1697 → | 1440 times |
| מַה־ | mah- | whatever | H4100 → | 752 times |
| יַּרְאֵ֖נִי | yareni | he will show me | H7200 → | 1300 times |
| וְהִגַּ֣דְתִּי | vehigadti | and I will tell | H5046 → | |
| לָ֑ךְ | lakh | to <the> you | ||
| וַיֵּ֖לֶךְ | vaiyelekh | and he went | H1980 → | 1546 times |
| שֶֽׁפִי׃ | shefi | a bare height | H8205 → |
וַיֹּ֨אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
בִּלְעָ֜םBalaam
bilamH1109 →61 times
לְבָלָ֗קto Balak
levalakH1111 →43 times
הִתְיַצֵּב֮take your stand
hityatzevH3320 →48 times
עַל־with
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
עֹלָתֶךָ֒burnt offering your
ʾolatekhaH5930 →287 times
וְאֵֽלְכָ֗הso let me go
veelekhahH1980 →1546 times
אוּלַ֞יperhaps
ʾulaiH194 →45 times
יִקָּרֵ֤הhe will meet
yikarehH7136 →27 times
יְהוָה֙Yahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
לִקְרָאתִ֔יto meet me
likratiH7122 →139 times
וּדְבַ֥רand [the] word of
udevarH1697 →1440 times
מַה־whatever
mah-H4100 →752 times
יַּרְאֵ֖נִיhe will show me
yareniH7200 →1300 times
וְהִגַּ֣דְתִּיand I will tell
vehigadtiH5046 →
לָ֑ךְto <the> you
lakh
וַיֵּ֖לֶךְand he went
vaiyelekhH1980 →1546 times
שֶֽׁפִי׃a bare height
shefiH8205 →
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 8:20Then Noah built an altar to the LORD. And taking from every kind of clean animal and clean bird, he offered burnt offerings on the altar.
it leads to
- Hebrews 13:15–16
Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise, the fruit of lips that confess His name.
- Romans 12:1
Therefore I urge you, brothers, on account of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.
- Genesis 22:9
When they arrived at the place God had designated, Abraham built the altar there and arranged the wood. He bound his son Isaac and placed him on the altar, atop the wood.
- Genesis 12:7–8
Then the LORD appeared to Abram and said, “I will give this land to your offspring.” So Abram built an altar there to the LORD, who had appeared to him.
- Leviticus 11:1–47
The LORD spoke again to Moses and Aaron, telling them,
- Hebrews 13:15–16
Through
Leviticus 1:1Then the LORD called to Moses and spoke to him from the Tent of Meeting, saying,
it leads to
- Exodus 19:3
Then Moses went up to God, and the LORD called to him from the mountain, “This is what you are to tell the house of Jacob and explain to the sons of Israel:
- Exodus 25:22
And I will meet with you there above the mercy seat, between the two cherubim that are over the ark of the Testimony; I will speak with you about all that I command you…
- Exodus 40:34–35
Then the cloud covered the Tent of Meeting, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle.
- Exodus 19:3
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 Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Calvin, Commentaries; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.