Numbers 23:9
in Numbers 23For I see them from atop the rocky cliffs, and I watch them from the hills. Behold, a people dwelling apart, not reckoning themselves among the nations.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
For from the top of the rocks I see him, And from the hills I behold him: Lo, it is a people that dwelleth alone, And shall not be reckoned among the nations.
KJV
For from the top of the rocks I see him, and from the hills I behold him: lo, the people shall dwell alone, and shall not be reckoned among the nations.
⋯
This verse in Numbers 23
Commentary
8 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
For from the top of the rocks ... - The “for” indicates the constraint under which Balaam felt himself. He had been met by God in his own way; from the cliff he had watched for the expected augury; and by the light of this he here interprets, according to the rules of his art, the destiny of Israel. Dwell alone - i. e., apart from others, undisturbed by their tumults, and therefore in safety and just security. Compare the same idea in marginal reference; Jer 49:31; and Mic 7:
This site's exposition
For I see them from atop the rocky cliffs
The vantage chosen for cursing yields a description: a people dwelling apart, not reckoning themselves among the nations. It states from outside what Leviticus 20:24 states from within. Matthew Henry adds that Israel held that standing until they mingled with the nations, as Psalm 106:35 says and Numbers 25:1 records.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening4 voices
The people shall dwell alone - This people are of a distinct kind from others, God's peculiar people, separated from all other nations, as in religion and laws, so also in divine protection; and therefore enchantments cannot have that power against them which they have against other persons and people.
For from the top of the rocks I see him, and from the hills I behold him,....
They never lost their reputation till they mingled among the heathen, Ps. cvi. Note, It is the duty and honour of those that are dedicated to God to be separated from the world, and not to walk according to the course and custom of it. Those who make conscience of peculiar duties may take the comfort of peculiar privileges, which it is probable Balaam has an eye to here.
O that we were as full of contrivance and resolution in prosecuting good designs for the glory of God! The sacrifices are repeated, new altars are built, a bullock and a ram offered on every altar, and Balak attends his sacrifice as closely as ever,
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
from the top--literally, "a bare place" on the rocks, to which Balak had taken him, for it was deemed necessary to see the people who were to be devoted to destruction.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
From the top of the rocks I see him - That is, from the high places of Baal where he went, Num 22:41, that he might the more advantageously see the whole camp of Israel. The people shall dwell alone - They shall ever be preserved as a distinct nation. This prophecy has been literally fulfilled through a period of 3300 years to the present day. This is truly astonishing.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
WHO HATH COUNTED THE DUST OF JACOB? Balaam is saying: “I see them from the top of the rocks dwelling alone, and I cannot count them for they alone are like the dust of the earth, and no man can number the dust of the earth; 134 See Genesis:16.
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. 6 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
13 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| כִּֽי־ | ki- | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| מֵרֹ֤אשׁ | merosh | from [the] top of | H7218 → | 599 times |
| צֻרִים֙ | tzurim | [the] rocks | H6697 → | |
| אֶרְאֶ֔נּוּ | ʾerenu | I see him | H7200 → | 1300 times |
| וּמִגְּבָע֖וֹת | umigevaot | and from [the] hills | H1389 → | |
| אֲשׁוּרֶ֑נּוּ | ʾashurenu | I observe him | H7789 → | |
| הֶן־ | hen- | there! | H2005 → | 316 times |
| עָם֙ | ʾam | a people | H5971 → | 1873 times |
| לְבָדָ֣ד | levadad | [which] <to> alone | H910 → | |
| יִשְׁכֹּ֔ן | yishkon | it dwells | H7931 → | 129 times |
| וּבַגּוֹיִ֖ם | uvagoyim | and among the nations | H1471 → | 561 times |
| לֹ֥א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יִתְחַשָּֽׁב׃ | yitchashav | it reckons itself | H2803 → | 124 times |
כִּֽי־for
ki-H3588 →4482 times
מֵרֹ֤אשׁfrom [the] top of
meroshH7218 →599 times
צֻרִים֙[the] rocks
tzurimH6697 →
אֶרְאֶ֔נּוּI see him
ʾerenuH7200 →1300 times
וּמִגְּבָע֖וֹתand from [the] hills
umigevaotH1389 →
אֲשׁוּרֶ֑נּוּI observe him
ʾashurenuH7789 →
הֶן־there!
hen-H2005 →316 times
עָם֙a people
ʾamH5971 →1873 times
לְבָדָ֣ד[which] <to> alone
levadadH910 →
יִשְׁכֹּ֔ןit dwells
yishkonH7931 →129 times
וּבַגּוֹיִ֖םand among the nations
uvagoyimH1471 →561 times
לֹ֥אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
יִתְחַשָּֽׁב׃it reckons itself
yitchashavH2803 →124 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
Deuteronomy 32:8When the Most High gave the nations their inheritance, when He divided the sons of man, He set the boundaries of the peoples according to the number of the sons of God.
it leads to
- Acts 17:26
From one man He made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and He determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their lands.
- Genesis 11:8–9
So the LORD scattered them from there over the face of all the earth, and they stopped building the city.
- Acts 17:26
Through
Exodus 33:16For how then can it be known that Your people and I have found favor in Your sight, unless You go with us? How else will we be distinguished from all the other people…
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 4:7
For what nation is great enough to have a god as near to them as the LORD our God is to us whenever we call on Him?
- Numbers 14:14
And they will tell it to the inhabitants of this land. They have already heard that You, O LORD, are in the midst of this people, that You, O LORD, have been seen face…
- Matthew 1:23
“Behold, the virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call Him Immanuel” (which means, “God with us”).
- Deuteronomy 4:7
Through
Ezra 9:2Indeed, the Israelites have taken some of their daughters as wives for themselves and their sons, so that the holy seed has been mixed with the people of the land. And the leaders and…
it leads to
- Nehemiah 13:23–24
In those days I also saw Jews who had married women from Ashdod, Ammon, and Moab.
- Ezra 10:18–44
Among the descendants of the priests who had married foreign women were found these descendants of Jeshua son of Jozadak and his brothers:
- Nehemiah 13:23–24
Through
Esther 3:8Then Haman informed King Xerxes, “There is a certain people scattered and dispersed among the peoples of every province of your kingdom. Their laws are different from everyone else’s, and they do not obey…
it leads to
- Ezra 4:12–15
Let it be known to the king that the Jews who came from you to us have returned to Jerusalem. And they are rebuilding that rebellious and wicked city, restoring its walls, and repairing…
- Ezra 4:12–15
Where this verse is studied
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); 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.