Numbers 24:12
in Numbers 24Balaam answered Balak, “Did I not already tell the messengers you sent me
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And Balaam said unto Balak, Spake I not also to thy messengers that thou sentest unto me, saying,
KJV
And Balaam said unto Balak, Spake I not also to thy messengers which thou sentest unto me, saying,
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This verse in Numbers 24
Commentary
4 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
Did I not already tell the messengers you sent me
on Numbers 24:12-14
Balaam quotes himself from 22:18 closely but not exactly, now saying the command of the LORD and adding of my own accord. He kept that word, and 2 Peter 2:15 still says he loved the wages of wickedness.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
And Balaam said unto Balak,.... In order to mitigate his wrath, and bring him into a better temper: spake I not also to thy messengers which thou sentest unto me: those that came to him a second time; for to the first he said nothing of what is after related, but to the last he did much the same as he had afterwards said to Balak himself: saying,
Balak could not say that he had cheated him, since he had given him fair notice of the check he found himself under. (2.) He endeavours to atone for it,
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
Balak's anger was kindled against Balaam, and he smote his hands together--The "smiting of the hands together" is, among Oriental people, an indication of the most violent rage (see Eze 21:17;
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
[AND BALAAM SAID UNTO BALAK]: ‘SPOKE I NOT ALSO TO THY MESSENGERS ETC.?’ Balaam was now defending himself on the basis of what he had told Balak’s messengers when they came back to him, before he knew what the Eternal would speak unto him more; 225 Above,:19.
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
ברח לך, the use of the word ברח does not refer to escape from a pursuer, but refers to abandoning a certain place because of fear of what might happen there in the future.
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
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֹּ֥אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| בִּלְעָ֖ם | bilam | Balaam | H1109 → | 61 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| בָּלָ֑ק | balak | Balak | H1111 → | 43 times |
| הֲלֹ֗א | halo' | ¿ not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| גַּ֧ם | gam | also | H1571 → | 769 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| מַלְאָכֶ֛יךָ | malakheikha | messengers your | H4397 → | 213 times |
| אֲשֶׁר־ | ʾasher- | whom | H834 → | 5497 times |
| שָׁלַ֥חְתָּ | shalachta | you sent | H7971 → | 845 times |
| אֵלַ֖י | ʾelai | to me | H413 → | 5510 times |
| דִּבַּ֥רְתִּי | dibarti | did I speak | H1696 → | 1141 times |
| לֵאמֹֽר׃ | lemor | <to> saying | H559 → | 5305 times |
וַיֹּ֥אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
בִּלְעָ֖םBalaam
bilamH1109 →61 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
בָּלָ֑קBalak
balakH1111 →43 times
הֲלֹ֗א¿ not
halo'H3808 →5168 times
גַּ֧םalso
gamH1571 →769 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
מַלְאָכֶ֛יךָmessengers your
malakheikhaH4397 →213 times
אֲשֶׁר־whom
ʾasher-H834 →5497 times
שָׁלַ֥חְתָּyou sent
shalachtaH7971 →845 times
אֵלַ֖יto me
ʾelaiH413 →5510 times
דִּבַּ֥רְתִּיdid I speak
dibartiH1696 →1141 times
לֵאמֹֽר׃<to> saying
lemorH559 →5305 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
Numbers 22:18But Balaam replied to the servants of Balak, “If Balak were to give me his house full of silver and gold, I could not do anything small or great to go beyond the command…
it leads to
- Numbers 23:26
But Balaam replied, “Did I not tell you that whatever the LORD says, I must do?”
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Numbers 24:13
that even if Balak were to give me his house full of silver and gold, I could not do anything of my own accord, good or bad, to go beyond the command of the…
- 2 Chronicles 18:13
But Micaiah said, “As surely as the LORD lives, I will speak whatever my God tells me.”
- 1 Kings 22:14
But Micaiah said, “As surely as the LORD lives, I will speak whatever the LORD tells me.”
- Numbers 22:38
“See, I have come to you,” Balaam replied, “but can I say just anything? I must speak only the word that God puts in my mouth.”
- Numbers 23:26
Through
Numbers 22:38“See, I have come to you,” Balaam replied, “but can I say just anything? I must speak only the word that God puts in my mouth.”
it leads to
- Proverbs 19:21
Many plans are in a man’s heart, but the purpose of the LORD will prevail.
- Numbers 22:18
But Balaam replied to the servants of Balak, “If Balak were to give me his house full of silver and gold, I could not do anything small or great to go beyond the command…
- Numbers 23:16
And the LORD met with Balaam and put a message in his mouth, saying, “Return to Balak and speak what I tell you.”
- Proverbs 19:21
Where this verse is studied
About Numbers
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.