Numbers 23:4
in Numbers 23and God met with him. “I have set up seven altars,” Balaam said, “and on each altar I have offered a bull and a ram.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And God met Balaam: and he said unto him, I have prepared the seven altars, and I have offered up a bullock and a ram on every altar.
KJV
And God met Balaam: and he said unto him, I have prepared seven altars, and I have offered upon every altar a bullock and a ram.
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This verse in Numbers 23
Commentary
4 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
God met Balaam - God served His own purposes through the arts of Balaam, and manifested His will through the agencies employed to seek it, dealing thus with Balaam in an exceptional manner. To God’s own people auguries were forbidden Lev 19:26. I have prepared seven altars - And therefore Balaam expected that God on His part would do what was desired by the donor; compare Num 22:15 note.
This site's exposition
I have prepared seven altars
on Numbers 23:4-6
God meets him, and the first thing Balaam says is an inventory of what he has spent, seven altars with a bullock and a ram on each. Matthew Henry reads that as a man presenting a bill and expecting the gift to buy the answer. Verse 5 gives the sentence the whole chapter runs on, the Lord put a word in Balaam's mouth, which repeats at 23:16 and which Balaam himself had promised Balak at 22:38. The prophet for hire becomes a channel for words he did not choose.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
And God met Balaam,....
(2.) He insists upon it as a reason why God should gratify him in his desire to curse Israel, as if now he had made God his debtor, and might draw upon him for what he pleased. He thinks God is so much beholden to him for these sacrifices that the least he can do in recompense for them is to sacrifice his Israel to the malice of the king of Moab.
The words behind it
14 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיִּקָּ֥ר | vaiyikar | and he met | H7136 → | 27 times |
| אֱלֹהִ֖ים | ʾelohim | God | H430 → | 2601 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | <to> | H413 → | 5510 times |
| בִּלְעָ֑ם | bilam | Balaam | H1109 → | 61 times |
| וַיֹּ֣אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| אֵלָ֗יו | ʾelav | to him | H413 → | 5510 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| שִׁבְעַ֤ת | shivat | [the] seven | H7651 → | 394 times |
| הַֽמִּזְבְּחֹת֙ | hamizbechot | the altars | H4196 → | 401 times |
| עָרַ֔כְתִּי | ʾarakhti | I have arranged | H6186 → | |
| וָאַ֛עַל | vaaal | and I have offered up | H5927 → | 890 times |
| פָּ֥ר | par | a young bull | H6499 → | 132 times |
| וָאַ֖יִל | vaayil | and a ram | H352 → | 187 times |
| בַּמִּזְבֵּֽחַ׃ | bamizbeach | on the altar | H4196 → | 401 times |
וַיִּקָּ֥רand he met
vaiyikarH7136 →27 times
אֱלֹהִ֖יםGod
ʾelohimH430 →2601 times
אֶל־<to>
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
בִּלְעָ֑םBalaam
bilamH1109 →61 times
וַיֹּ֣אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
אֵלָ֗יוto him
ʾelavH413 →5510 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
שִׁבְעַ֤ת[the] seven
shivatH7651 →394 times
הַֽמִּזְבְּחֹת֙the altars
hamizbechotH4196 →401 times
עָרַ֔כְתִּיI have arranged
ʾarakhtiH6186 →
וָאַ֛עַלand I have offered up
vaaalH5927 →890 times
פָּ֥רa young bull
parH6499 →132 times
וָאַ֖יִלand a ram
vaayilH352 →187 times
בַּמִּזְבֵּֽחַ׃on the altar
bamizbeachH4196 →401 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
Ephesians 2:9not by works, so that no one can boast.
it leads to
- 2 Timothy 1:9
He has saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works, but by His own purpose and by the grace He granted us in Christ Jesus before time began.
- Romans 11:6
And if it is by grace, then it is no longer by works. Otherwise, grace would no longer be grace.
- Titus 3:3–5
For at one time we too were foolish, disobedient, misled, and enslaved to all sorts of desires and pleasures—living in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another.
- Romans 9:16
So then, it does not depend on man’s desire or effort, but on God’s mercy.
- 1 Corinthians 1:29–31
so that no one may boast in His presence.
- 2 Timothy 1:9
Through
Luke 18:12I fast twice a week and pay tithes of all that I acquire.’
it leads to
- Luke 11:42
Woe to you Pharisees! You pay tithes of mint, rue, and every herb, but you disregard justice and the love of God. You should have practiced the latter without neglecting the former.
- Matthew 23:23–24
Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You pay tithes of mint, dill, and cumin. But you have disregarded the weightier matters of the law: justice, mercy, and faithfulness. You should have practiced…
- Luke 11:42
Through
Matthew 20:12‘These men who were hired last worked only one hour,’ they said, ‘and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden and the scorching heat of the day.’
it leads to
- Romans 11:5–6
In the same way, at the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace.
- Romans 11:5–6
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Numbers
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); 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.