Numbers 24:7
in Numbers 24Water will flow from his buckets, and his seed will have abundant water. His king will be greater than Agag, and his kingdom will be exalted.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Water shall flow from his buckets, And his seed shall be in many waters, And his king shall be higher than Agag, And his kingdom shall be exalted.
KJV
He shall pour the water out of his buckets, and his seed shall be in many waters, and his king shall be higher than Agag, and his kingdom shall be exalted.
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This verse in Numbers 24
Commentary
8 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Balaam’s native soil was ordinarily irrigated by water fetched from the neighboring Euphrates, and carried in buckets suspended from the two ends of a pole. Thus the metaphor would import that Israel should have his own exuberant and unfailing channels of blessing and plenty. Some take the word to be predictive of the future benefits which, through the means of Israel, were to accrue to the rest of the world.
This site's exposition
his king shall be higher than Agag
Israel has no king anywhere in Numbers and this line gives him one, set higher than Agag, a name that returns at 1 Samuel 15:8 when Saul spares the king of Amalek and Samuel does not. Whether Agag is one man's name or a standing title carried by Amalek's kings is disputed, and Adam Clarke sets out both readings. The Septuagint has Gog in this verse where the Hebrew has Agag, and the older commentators divide over which stands behind the other. Water poured out of his buckets and seed in many waters is a figure of numerous offspring, which is what 23:10 had already said in asking who can count the dust of Jacob.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening4 voices
Than Agag - Than the King of the Amalekites, which King and people were famous and potent in that age, as may be guessed by their bold attempt upon so numerous a people as Israel. And it is probable, that Agag was the common name of the Amalekitish Kings, as Abimelech was of the Philistines, and Pharaoh of the Egyptians, and Caesar of the Romans.
14, 16 ), where God had sworn that he would have perpetual war with Amalek. Note, Those whom God is at war with will certainly perish for ever; for when God judges he will overcome. The Kenites were now the securest of the nations; their situation was such as that nature was their engineer, and had strongly fortified them: " Thou puttest thy nest (like the eagle) in a rock,
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-citation-number+unbalanced-parens+odd-straight-quotes
He shall pour the water out of his buckets,....
Agag, it is probable, was the most potent monarch in those parts; Balaam knew of none more considerable than he was; he rose above the rest of his neighbours. But Balaam foretells that Israel's chief commander, who, after Moses, was Joshua, should be more great and honourable than ever Agag was, and make a far better figure in history.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
How goodly are thy tents, . . . O Israel!--a fine burst of admiration, expressed in highly poetical strains. All travellers describe the beauty which the circular area of Bedouin tents impart to the desert.
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
He shall pour the water out of his buckets, etc. - Here is a very plain allusion to their method of raising water in different parts of the East. By the well a tall pole is erected, which serves as a fulcrum to a very long lever, to the smaller end of which a bucket is appended. On the opposite end, which is much larger, are many notches cut in the wood, which serve as steps for a man, whose business it is to climb up to the fulcrum, in order to lower the bucket into the well, which, when filled, he raises by walking back on the opposite arm, till his weight brings the bucket above the well’s mouth: a person standing by the well empties the bucket into a trench, which communicates with the ground intended to be watered. His seed shall be in many waters - Another simple allusion to the sowing of rice. The ground must not only be well watered, but flooded, in order to serve for the proper growth of this grain. The rice that was sown in many waters must be the most fruitful. By an elegant and chaste metaphor all this is applied to the procreation of a numerous posterity. His king shall be higher than Agag - This name is supposed to have been as common to all the Amalekitish kings as Pharaoh was to those of Egypt. But several critics, with the Septuagint, suppose that a small change has taken place here in the original word, and that instead of מאגג meagag, than Agag, we should read מגוג miggog, than Gog. As Gog in Scripture seems to mean the enemies of God’s people, then the promise here may imply that the true worshippers of the Most High shall ultimately have dominion over all their enemies.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| יִֽזַּל־ | yizal- | it will flow | H5140 → | |
| מַ֙יִם֙ | mayim | water | H4325 → | 581 times |
| מִדָּ֣לְיָ֔ו | midalyav | from buckets its | H1805 → | |
| וְזַרְע֖וֹ | vezaro | and offspring its | H2233 → | 229 times |
| בְּמַ֣יִם | bemayim | [will be] in waters | H4325 → | 581 times |
| רַבִּ֑ים | rabim | many | H7227 → | 454 times |
| וְיָרֹ֤ם | veyarom | and he may be high | H7311 → | 190 times |
| מֵֽאֲגַג֙ | meagag | more than Agag | H90 → | |
| מַלְכּ֔וֹ | malko | king its | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| וְתִנַּשֵּׂ֖א | vetinnase' | so it may be exalted | H5375 → | 656 times |
| מַלְכֻתֽוֹ׃ | malkhuto | kingdom its | H4438 → |
יִֽזַּל־it will flow
yizal-H5140 →
מַ֙יִם֙water
mayimH4325 →581 times
מִדָּ֣לְיָ֔וfrom buckets its
midalyavH1805 →
וְזַרְע֖וֹand offspring its
vezaroH2233 →229 times
בְּמַ֣יִם[will be] in waters
bemayimH4325 →581 times
רַבִּ֑יםmany
rabimH7227 →454 times
וְיָרֹ֤םand he may be high
veyaromH7311 →190 times
מֵֽאֲגַג֙more than Agag
meagagH90 →
מַלְכּ֔וֹking its
malkoH4428 →2525 times
וְתִנַּשֵּׂ֖אso it may be exalted
vetinnase'H5375 →656 times
מַלְכֻתֽוֹ׃kingdom its
malkhutoH4438 →
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 19:16And He has a name written on His robe and on His thigh: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.
it leads to
- Revelation 17:14
They will make war against the Lamb, and the Lamb will triumph over them, because He is Lord of lords and King of kings; and He will be accompanied by His called and chosen…
- 1 Timothy 6:15
which the blessed and only Sovereign One—the King of kings and Lord of lords—will bring about in His own time.
- Daniel 2:47
The king said to Daniel, “Your God is truly the God of gods and Lord of kings, the Revealer of Mysteries, since you were able to reveal this mystery.”
- Philippians 2:9–11
Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the name above all names,
- Revelation 17:14
Through
2 Samuel 5:12And David realized that the LORD had established him as king over Israel and had exalted his kingdom for the sake of His people Israel.
it leads to
- 2 Samuel 7:16
Your house and kingdom will endure forever before Me, and your throne will be established forever.”
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 2 Samuel 7:16
Through
Revelation 17:1Then one of the seven angels with the seven bowls came and said to me, “Come, I will show you the punishment of the great prostitute, who sits on many waters.
it leads to
- Revelation 19:2
For His judgments are true and just. He has judged the great prostitute who corrupted the earth with her immorality. He has avenged the blood of His servants that was poured out by her…
- Revelation 17:1–17
Then one of the seven angels with the seven bowls came and said to me, “Come, I will show you the punishment of the great prostitute, who sits on many waters.
- Jeremiah 51:13
You who dwell by many waters, rich in treasures, your end has come; the thread of your life is cut.
- Revelation 19:2
Where this verse is studied
On this page
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); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; 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.