Numbers 22:2
in Numbers 22Now Balak son of Zippor saw all that Israel had done to the Amorites,
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And Balak the son of Zippor saw all that Israel had done to the Amorites.
KJV
And Balak the son of Zippor saw all that Israel had done to the Amorites.
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This verse in Numbers 22
Commentary
6 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Balak the son of Zippor - The comparison of Num 22:4 with Num 21:26 suggests that Balak was not the hereditary king but a Midianite, and that a change of dynasty had taken place. His father’s name, Zippor, “Bird,” reminds us of those of other Midianites, e. g., Oreb, “Crow,” Zeeb, “Wolf.” Possibly the Midianite chieftains had taken advantage of the weakness of the Moabites after the Amorite victories to establish themselves as princes in the land.
This site's exposition
camped in the plains of Moab
on Numbers 22:1-3
The plains of Moab are the camp for the rest of the book, where every remaining law, census and ruling is given. Israel sits there under Deuteronomy 2:9, Do not harass the Moabites or provoke them to war. Moab was terrified anyway, and that fear starts the next three chapters.
This site's exposition
Balak son of Zippor saw all
Albert Barnes reads verse 4 beside 21:26 and suggests that Balak was a Midianite who took the throne after the Amorite victories weakened Moab. He notes that Zippor means bird, a name like those of the Midianite princes Oreb and Zeeb.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
And Balak the son of Zippor saw all that Israel had done to the Amorites.
They needed not to fear any harm from them if they knew (and it is probable that Moses let them know) the orders God had given to Israel not to contend with the Moabites, nor to use any hostility against them, Deut. ii. But, if they had any notice of this, they were jealous that it was but a sham, to make them secure, that they might be the more easily conquered.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
Balak--that is, "empty." Terrified (De 2:25; Ex 15:15) at the approach of so vast a multitude and not daring to encounter them in the field, he resolved to secure their destruction by other means.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
Bnei Yisroel traveled and camped in the western plains of Moav, across the Yardein from Yereicho.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 5 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
10 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיַּ֥רְא | vaiyar' | and he saw | H7200 → | 1300 times |
| בָּלָ֖ק | balak | Balak | H1111 → | 43 times |
| בֶּן־ | ben- | [the] son of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| צִפּ֑וֹר | tzipor | Zippor | H6834 → | 7 times |
| אֵ֛ת | ʾet | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| כָּל־ | kol- | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| אֲשֶׁר־ | ʾasher- | that | H834 → | 5497 times |
| עָשָׂ֥ה | ʾasah | it had done | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
| לָֽאֱמֹרִֽי׃ | laemori | to the Amorite[s] | H567 → | 87 times |
וַיַּ֥רְאand he saw
vaiyar'H7200 →1300 times
בָּלָ֖קBalak
balakH1111 →43 times
בֶּן־[the] son of
ben-H1121 →4930 times
צִפּ֑וֹרZippor
tziporH6834 →7 times
אֵ֛ת<obj.>
ʾetH853 →10935 times
כָּל־all
kol-H3605 →5413 times
אֲשֶׁר־that
ʾasher-H834 →5497 times
עָשָׂ֥הit had done
ʾasahH6213 →2628 times
יִשְׂרָאֵ֖לIsrael
yisraelH3478 →2507 times
לָֽאֱמֹרִֽי׃to the Amorite[s]
laemoriH567 →87 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
Judges 11:25Are you now so much better than Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab? Did he ever contend with Israel or fight against them?
it leads to
- Micah 6:5
My people, remember what Balak king of Moab counseled and what Balaam son of Beor answered. Remember your journey from Shittim to Gilgal, so that you may acknowledge the righteousness of the LORD.’”
- Joshua 24:9–10
Then Balak son of Zippor, the king of Moab, set out to fight against Israel. He sent for Balaam son of Beor to curse you,
- Deuteronomy 23:3–4
No Ammonite or Moabite or any of their descendants may enter the assembly of the LORD, even to the tenth generation.
- Micah 6:5
Through
Numbers 21:3And the LORD heard Israel’s plea and delivered up the Canaanites. Israel devoted them and their cities to destruction; so they named the place Hormah.
it leads to
- Numbers 14:45
Then the Amalekites and Canaanites who lived in that part of the hill country came down, attacked them, and routed them all the way to Hormah.
- Deuteronomy 1:44
Then the Amorites who lived in the hills came out against you and chased you like a swarm of bees. They routed you from Seir all the way to Hormah.
- Psalms 91:15
When he calls out to Me, I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble. I will deliver him and honor him.
- Psalms 102:17
He will turn toward the prayer of the destitute; He will not despise their prayer.
- 1 Samuel 30:30
to those in Hormah, Bor-ashan, and Athach;
- Numbers 14:45
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 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 Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: The Pentateuch; Matthew Henry, Complete Commentary and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.