Numbers 23:10 BSB — MannaFest

Numbers 23:10

Who can count the dust of Jacob or number even a fourth of Israel? Let me die the death of the righteous; let my end be like theirs!”

BSB

Parallel translations (2) ▾

ASV

Who can count the dust of Jacob, Or number the fourth part of Israel? Let me die the death of the righteous, And let my last end be like his!

KJV

Who can count the dust of Jacob, and the number of the fourth part of Israel? Let me die the death of the righteous, and let my last end be like his!

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Commentary

3 voices

Ambrose of Milan

On the Death of Satyrus 2.43 (397)

You have caused me, my brother, not to fear death, and I only would that my life might die with yours! This Balaam wished for as the greatest good for himself, when, inspired by the spirit of prophecy, he said, "Let my soul die in the souls of the righteous, and let my seed be like the seed of them."

The record, by era

The Nineteenth Century2 voices

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible (1832)

Let me die the death of the righteous - Probably Balaam had some presentiment that he should be taken off by a premature death, and therefore he lodges this petition against it. The death of the righteous in those times implied being gathered to one’s fathers in a good old age, having seen his children, and children’s children; and to this, probably, the latter part of this petition applies: And let my last end be like his, (ותהי אחריתי כמהו uthehi acharithi chamohu, And let my Posterity be like his).

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

Who can count the dust of Jacob?--an Oriental hyperbole for a very populous nation, as Jacob's posterity was promised to be (Ge 13:16; 28:14). the number of the fourth part of Israel--that is, the camp consisted of four divisions; every one of these parts was formidable in numbers. Let me die the death of the righteous--Hebrew, "of Jeshurun"; or, the Israelites.

Voices on this verse

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Original language & word study

15 tagged words

Original	Transliteration	Meaning	Word study
מִ֤י	mi	who?	H4310 →
מָנָה֙	ma.Nah	has he counted	H4487 →
עֲפַ֣ר	'a.Far	[the] dust of	H6083 →
יַעֲקֹ֔ב	ya.'a.Ko	Jacob	H3290 →
וּמִסְפָּ֖ר	u.mis.Par	and a number	H4557 →
אֶת־	'et-	<obj.>	H853 →
רֹ֣בַע	Roa'	[the] fourth part of	H7255 →
יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל	Yis.ra.'El	Israel	H3478 →
תָּמֹ֤ת	ta.Mot	let it die	H4191 →
נַפְשִׁי֙	naf.Shi	self my	H5315 →
מ֣וֹת	Mot	[the] death of	H4194 →
יְשָׁרִ֔ים	ye.sha.Rim	upright [people]	H3477 →
וּתְהִ֥י	u.te.Hi	and let it be	H1961 →
אַחֲרִיתִ֖י	'a.cha.ri.Ti	end my	H319 →
כָּמֹֽהוּ׃	ka.Mo.hu	like his	H3644 →

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
Psalms 116:15
Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of His saints.
leads to
- Psalms 72:14
  He will redeem them from oppression and violence, for their blood is precious in his sight.
Through
2 Corinthians 5:1
Now we know that if the earthly tent we live in is dismantled, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands.
leads to
- Job 19:25–26
  But I know that my Redeemer lives, and in the end He will stand upon the earth.
- 1 John 3:2
  Beloved, we are now children of God, and what we will be has not yet been revealed. We know that when Christ appears, we will be like Him, for we will see Him as…
- 2 Peter 1:13–14
  I think it is right to refresh your memory as long as I live in the tent of my body,
Through
Psalms 37:37
Consider the blameless and observe the upright, for posterity awaits the man of peace.
leads to
- Isaiah 32:17
  The work of righteousness will be peace; the service of righteousness will be quiet confidence forever.
Through
Revelation 14:13
And I heard a voice from heaven telling me to write, “Blessed are the dead—those who die in the Lord from this moment on.” “Yes,” says the Spirit, “they will rest from their labors,…
leads to
- Revelation 20:6
  Blessed and holy are those who share in the first resurrection! The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and will reign with Him…
- 1 Thessalonians 5:10
  He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with Him.
- 2 Timothy 4:7–8
  I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.

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PersonPatriarchsJacobThe heel-grasping supplanter reshaped at Peniel into 'Israel, he who strives with God' — father of the twelve tribes.

Continue: Numbers 23 →

01Commentary

The record, by era

Voices on this verse

02Original language & word study

03The walk

Where the connections lead

04Related verses

05Featured studies on this passage

06About Numbers

The record, by era

Where the connections lead

Commentary

Original language & word study

The walk

Related verses

Featured studies on this passage

About Numbers