Numbers 24:4
in Numbers 24the prophecy of one who hears the words of God, who sees a vision from the Almighty, who bows down with eyes wide open:
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
He saith, who heareth the words of God, Who seeth the vision of the Almighty, Falling down, and having his eyes open:
KJV
He hath said, which heard the words of God, which saw the vision of the Almighty, falling into a trance, but having his eyes open:
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This verse in Numbers 24
Commentary
8 notes on this verseFalling into a trance - There is no indication in the Hebrew that he fell into a trance; these words are added by our translators, but they are not in the original. נפל nophel is the only word used, and simply signifies falling, or falling down, perhaps in this instance by way of religious prostration.
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 Puritans and the Awakening5 voices
The vision - So called properly, because he was awake when this was revealed to him: A trance - Or, extasy, fainting and falling upon the ground, as the prophets used to do.
), 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
He hath said, which heard the words of God,....
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.
Note, [1.] Those that oppose God and his people will sooner or later be made to see themselves wretchedly deceived. [2.] Many have their eyes open that have not their hearts open, are enlightened, but not sanctified; and that knowledge which puffs men up with pride will but serve to light them to hell, whither many go with their eyes open.
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
The “falling” of which Balaam speaks was the condition under which the inward opening of his eyes took place. It indicates the force of the divine inspiration overpowering the seer. The faithful prophets of the Lord do not appear to have been subject to these violent illapses Dan 8:17; Rev 1:17. In Balaam and in Saul 1Sa 19:24 the word of God could only prevail by first subduing the alien will, and overpowering the bodily energies which the will ordinarily directs.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| נְאֻ֕ם | neum | [the] utterance of | H5002 → | 376 times |
| שֹׁמֵ֖עַ | shomea' | [the] [one who] hears | H8085 → | 1159 times |
| אִמְרֵי־ | ʾimrei- | <of> [the] words of | H561 → | |
| אֵ֑ל | ʾel | God | H410 → | 241 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֨ר | ʾasher | who | H834 → | 5497 times |
| מַחֲזֵ֤ה | machazeh | <the> vision of | H4236 → | |
| שַׁדַּי֙ | shadai | [the] Almighty | H7706 → | |
| יֶֽחֱזֶ֔ה | yechezeh | he sees | H2372 → | |
| נֹפֵ֖ל | nofel | [who] falls down | H5307 → | 435 times |
| וּגְל֥וּי | ugelui | and [who] is uncovered of | H1540 → | 186 times |
| עֵינָֽיִם׃ | ʾeinayim | eyes | H5869 → | 887 times |
נְאֻ֕ם[the] utterance of
neumH5002 →376 times
שֹׁמֵ֖עַ[the] [one who] hears
shomea'H8085 →1159 times
אִמְרֵי־<of> [the] words of
ʾimrei-H561 →
אֵ֑לGod
ʾelH410 →241 times
אֲשֶׁ֨רwho
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
מַחֲזֵ֤ה<the> vision of
machazehH4236 →
שַׁדַּי֙[the] Almighty
shadaiH7706 →
יֶֽחֱזֶ֔הhe sees
yechezehH2372 →
נֹפֵ֖ל[who] falls down
nofelH5307 →435 times
וּגְל֥וּיand [who] is uncovered of
ugeluiH1540 →186 times
עֵינָֽיִם׃eyes
ʾeinayimH5869 →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
Revelation 1:17When 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,
it leads to
- Isaiah 44:6
Thus says the LORD, the King and Redeemer of Israel, the LORD of Hosts: “I am the first and I am the last, and there is no God but Me.
- Revelation 22:13
I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.”
- Daniel 10:8–10
So I was left alone, gazing at this great vision. No strength remained in me; my face grew deathly pale, and I was powerless.
- Daniel 8:17–18
As he came near to where I stood, I was terrified and fell facedown. “Son of man,” he said to me, “understand that the vision concerns the time of the end.”
- Isaiah 44:6
Through
Numbers 12:6He said, “Hear now My words: If there is a prophet among you, I, the LORD, will reveal Myself to him in a vision; I will speak to him in a dream.
it leads to
- 1 Kings 3:5
One night at Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream, and God said, “Ask, and I will give it to you!”
- Genesis 46:2
And that night God spoke to Israel in a vision: “Jacob, Jacob!” He said. “Here I am,” replied Jacob.
- Genesis 31:10–11
When the flocks were breeding, I saw in a dream that the streaked, spotted, and speckled males were mating with the females.
- 1 Kings 3:5
Through
Revelation 1:10On the Lord’s day I was in the Spirit, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet,
it leads to
- Revelation 21:10
And he carried me away in the Spirit to a mountain great and high, and showed me the holy city of Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God,
- Revelation 21:10
Where this verse is studied
On this page
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); 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.