Numbers 22:5 BSB — MannaFest

Original language & word study

28 tagged words

Original	Transliteration	Meaning	Word study
וַיִּשְׁלַ֨ח	vai.yish.Lach	and he sent	H7971 →
מַלְאָכִ֜ים	mal.'a.Khim	messengers	H4397 →
אֶל־	'el-	to	H413 →
בִּלְעָ֣ם	bil.'Am	Balaam	H1109 →
בֶּן־	ben-	[the] son of	H1121 →
בְּע֗וֹר	be.'or	Beor	H1160 →
פְּ֠תוֹרָה	Pe.to.rah	Pethor towards	H6604 →
אֲשֶׁ֧ר	'a.Sher	which	H834 →
עַל־	'al-	[was] at	H5921 →
הַנָּהָ֛ר	ha.na.Har	the river	H5104 →
אֶ֥רֶץ	'E.retz	[the] land of	H776 →
בְּנֵי־	be.nei-	[the] sons of	H1121 →
עַמּ֖וֹ	a.Mo	people his	H5971 →
לִקְרֹא־	lik.ro'-	to summon	H7121 →
ל֑וֹ	lo	<to> <the> him
לֵאמֹ֗ר	le.Mor	<to> saying	H559 →
הִ֠נֵּה	Hi.neh	here!	H2009 →
עַ֣ם	'am	a people	H5971 →
יָצָ֤א	ya.Tza'	it has come out	H3318 →
מִמִּצְרַ֙יִם֙	mi.mitz.Ra.yim	from Egypt	H4714 →
הִנֵּ֤ה	hi.Neh	here!	H2009 →
כִסָּה֙	khi.Sah	it has covered	H3680 →
אֶת־	'et-	<obj.>	H853 →
עֵ֣ין	'ein	[the] eye of	H5869 →
הָאָ֔רֶץ	ha.'A.retz	the land	H776 →
וְה֥וּא	ve.Hu'	and it	H1931 →
יֹשֵׁ֖ב	yo.Shev	[is] dwelling	H3427 →
מִמֻּלִֽי׃	mi.mu.Li	from in front of me	H4136 →

Rare words are the text's own signal of a deliberate thread: the fewer the occurrences, the more the places it appears belong together.

The walk

The walk8

Where the connections lead

Follow this verse’s cross-references two steps out. Each card is a verse this one points to, and beneath it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several different paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it. Every stop shows its own words, and every stop is a page.

Through
Jude 1:11
Woe to them! They have traveled the path of Cain; they have rushed headlong into the error of Balaam; they have perished in Korah’s rebellion.
leads to
- 2 Peter 2:15
  They have left the straight way and wandered off to follow the way of Balaam son of Beor, who loved the wages of wickedness.
  Reached by 4 independent paths from here.
- Revelation 2:14
  But I have a few things against you, because some of you hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to place a stumbling block before the Israelites so they would eat food…
  Reached by 2 independent paths from here.
- 1 John 3:12
  Do not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did Cain slay him? Because his own deeds were evil, while those of his brother were righteous.
- Genesis 4:3–14
  So in the course of time, Cain brought some of the fruit of the soil as an offering to the LORD,
- Hebrews 11:4
  By faith Abel offered God a better sacrifice than Cain did. By faith he was commended as righteous when God gave approval to his gifts. And by faith he still speaks, even though he…
Through
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.’”
leads to
- Joshua 5:9–10
  Then the LORD said to Joshua, “Today I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from you.” So that place has been called Gilgal to this day.
- Numbers 25:1
  While Israel was staying in Shittim, the men began to indulge in sexual immorality with the daughters of Moab,
- Judges 5:11
  the voices of the singers at the watering places. There they shall recount the righteous acts of the LORD, the righteous deeds of His villagers in Israel. Then the people of the LORD went…

The gold bar shows how strongly the cross-reference sources tie the two verses together: a long bar means many compiled references make the connection, a short one means few.

Deuteronomy 23:4For 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.Joshua 24:9Then Balak son of Zippor, the king of Moab, set out to fight against Israel. He sent for Balaam son of Beor to curse you,Micah 6:5My 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.’”Jude 1:11Woe to them! They have traveled the path of Cain; they have rushed headlong into the error of Balaam; they have perished in Korah’s rebellion.Joshua 13:22The Israelites also killed the diviner Balaam son of Beor along with the others they put to the sword.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 denounce Israel!’Numbers 23:22God brought them out of Egypt with strength like a wild ox.Revelation 2:14But I have a few things against you, because some of you hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to place a stumbling block before the Israelites so they would eat food sacrificed to idols and commit sexual immorality.Exodus 1:7–10but the Israelites were fruitful and increased rapidly; they multiplied and became exceedingly numerous, so that the land was filled with them.Genesis 13:16I will make your offspring like the dust of the earth, so that if one could count the dust of the earth, then your offspring could be counted.Psalms 105:24And the LORD made His people very fruitful, more numerous than their foes,2 Peter 2:15–16They have left the straight way and wandered off to follow the way of Balaam son of Beor, who loved the wages of wickedness.Nehemiah 13:1–2At that time the Book of Moses was read aloud in the hearing of the people, and in it they found the passage stating that no Ammonite or Moabite should ever enter the assembly of God,Exodus 15:14The nations will hear and tremble; anguish will grip the dwellers of Philistia.

Evidence2

What the record shows

Balaam son of Beor — attested in contemporary inscriptionwell-supported
Tell Deir Alla plaster inscription ('Balaam son of Beor, seer of the gods')
Biblical figure (Non-Israelite seer, inscription ca. 800 BC) identified in extra-biblical epigraphy.
Counterpoint: The Deir Alla plaster text dates to about 800 BC, centuries after the events of Numbers, so it attests a living Transjordanian tradition about "Balaam son of Beor, seer of the gods" rather than the man himself. Its dialect is still argued over (Aramaic, Ammonite, or a local Canaanite tongue), and Jo Ann Hackett's study stresses that the religious world of the text is not the Bible's.
Deir Alla Plaster Inscription (Balaam Text)well-supported
Tell Deir Alla, Jordan Valley · Jordan Archaeological Museum, Amman
Counterpoint: The plaster text does open by naming Balaam son of Beor as a seer, but its language sits between Aramaic and Canaanite and has never been firmly classified â€” Hoftijzer and van der Kooij, Jo Ann Hackett, and others reach different conclusions. Its content is thoroughly polytheistic and shares no wording with Numbers 22-24, so it shows that a Balaam tradition circulated in Transjordan, not that this text and the Bible are connected.

Featured studies on this passage

On Numbers 22:5

Archaeology and the Bible (the Evidence Ledger), MannaFest

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On Numbers 22:5

Balaam's Donkey (Numbers 22–24) MannaFest

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Commentary

The record, by era

Voices on this verse

Original language & word study

The walk

Where the connections lead

Featured studies on this passage

About Numbers

The record, by era

What the record shows

Where the connections lead

01Commentary

The record, by era

Voices on this verse

02Original language & word study

03The walk

Where the connections lead

04Related verses

What the record shows

05Featured studies on this passage

06About Numbers

The record, by era

What the record shows

Where the connections lead

Commentary

Original language & word study

The walk

Related verses

Featured studies on this passage

About Numbers