Numbers 24:3
in Numbers 24and he lifted up an oracle, saying: “This is the prophecy of Balaam son of Beor, the prophecy of a man whose eyes are open,
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And he took up his parable, and said, Balaam the son of Beor saith, And the man whose eye was closed saith;
KJV
And he took up his parable, and said, Balaam the son of Beor hath said, and the man whose eyes are open hath said:
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This verse in Numbers 24
Commentary
9 notes on this verseHe took up his parable - His prophetic declaration couched in highly poetic terms, and in regular metre, as the preceding were. The man whose eyes are open - I believe the original שתם shethum, should be translated shut, not open; for in the next verse, where the opening of his eyes is mentioned, a widely different word is used, גלה galah, which signifies to open or reveal.
This site's exposition
the man whose eyes are open hath said
on Numbers 24:3-4
The oracle opens with a formula Balaam uses twice, here and again word for word at verse 15, naming himself and calling himself the man whose eyes are open. Two things sit together in verse 4, that he heard the words of God and saw the vision of the Almighty, and that he fell down. The King James prints into a trance as a supplied phrase, since the Hebrew says only that he fell and leaves the state unnamed, and Adam Clarke and Keil and Delitzsch differ over how much weight to put on it. The man reporting God accurately in these two verses is the man 2 Peter 2:15 describes as one who loved the wages of unrighteousness.
The record, by era
The Reformation1 voice
And the man whose eyes are open, hath said. This preface has no other object than to prove that he is a true prophet of God, and that he has received the blessing, which he pronounces, from divine revelation; and indeed his boast was true as regarded this special act, though it might be the case that pride and ambition impelled him thus to vaunt.
The Puritans and the Awakening4 voices
Whose eyes are open - Hebrew. Who had his eyes shut, but now open. The eyes of his mind, which God had opened in a peculiar and prophetical manner, whence prophets are called Seers, 1 Sam. ix, 9.
), much like that of David ( 2 Sam. xxiii. 1-3 ), yet savouring very much (as some think) of pride and vain-glory, taking all the praise of this prophecy to himself, and magnifying himself as one of the cabinet-council of heaven.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
And he took up his parable,....
He personates a true prophet admirably well, God permitting and directing him to do so, because, whatever he was, the prophecy itself was a true prophecy.
2 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
the man whose eyes are open--that is, a seer (1Sa 9:9), a prophet, to whom the visioned future was disclosed--sometimes when falling into a sleep (Ge 15:12-15), frequently into "a trance."
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Whose eyes are open - i. e., opened in inward vision, to discern things that were hidden from ordinary beholders.
The words behind it
11 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 |
| נְאֻ֤ם | neum | [the] utterance of | H5002 → | 376 times |
| בִּלְעָם֙ | bilam | Balaam | H1109 → | 61 times |
| בְּנ֣וֹ | beno | son his | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| בְעֹ֔ר | veor | Beor | H1160 → | 10 times |
| וּנְאֻ֥ם | uneum | and [the] utterance of | H5002 → | 376 times |
| הַגֶּ֖בֶר | hagever | the man | H1397 → | |
| שְׁתֻ֥ם | shetum | <the> opened of | H8365 → | |
| הָעָֽיִן׃ | haayin | the eye | H5869 → | 887 times |
וַיִּשָּׂ֥אand he lifted up
vaiyisa'H5375 →656 times
מְשָׁל֖וֹoracle his
meshaloH4912 →39 times
וַיֹּאמַ֑רand he said
vaiyomarH559 →5305 times
נְאֻ֤ם[the] utterance of
neumH5002 →376 times
בִּלְעָם֙Balaam
bilamH1109 →61 times
בְּנ֣וֹson his
benoH1121 →4930 times
בְעֹ֔רBeor
veorH1160 →10 times
וּנְאֻ֥םand [the] utterance of
uneumH5002 →376 times
הַגֶּ֖בֶרthe man
hageverH1397 →
שְׁתֻ֥ם<the> opened of
shetumH8365 →
הָעָֽיִן׃the eye
haayinH5869 →887 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
Numbers 22:31Then the LORD opened Balaam’s eyes, and he saw the angel of the LORD standing in the road with a drawn sword in his hand. And Balaam bowed low and fell facedown.
it leads to
- Numbers 24:4
the prophecy of one who hears the words of God, who sees a vision from the Almighty, who bows down with eyes wide open:
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Genesis 21:19
Then God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water. So she went and filled the skin with water and gave the boy a drink.
- Luke 24:31
Then their eyes were opened and they recognized Jesus—and He disappeared from their sight.
- Luke 24:16
But their eyes were kept from recognizing Him.
- Numbers 24:4
Through
Numbers 24:4the prophecy of one who hears the words of God, who sees a vision from the Almighty, who bows down with eyes wide open:
it leads to
- Revelation 1:17
When I saw Him, I fell at His feet like a dead man. But He placed His right hand on me and said, “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last,
- Revelation 1:17
Through
Numbers 23:7And Balaam lifted up an oracle, saying: “Balak brought me from Aram, the king of Moab from the mountains of the east. ‘Come,’ he said, ‘put a curse on Jacob for me; come and…
it leads to
- Numbers 23:18
Then Balaam lifted up an oracle, saying: “Arise, O Balak, and listen; give ear to me, O son of Zippor.
- Numbers 22:5–6
he sent messengers to Balaam son of Beor at Pethor, which is by the Euphrates in the land of his people. “Behold, a people has come out of Egypt,” said Balak. “They cover the…
- Deuteronomy 23:4
For they did not meet you with food and water on your way out of Egypt, and they hired Balaam son of Beor from Pethor in Aram-naharaim to curse you.
- Numbers 23:18
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies4
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About Numbers
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, Commentaries; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: The Pentateuch and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.