Verses 15-19

Before Balaam departed he gave Balak four more revelations from God. They dealt with the future of Israel, Moab, and Israel"s other neighbors. They were entirely futuristic in their prophecies. Each one began with the phrase "took up his discourse and said." In all, Balaam made seven discourses that Moses recorded in the text.

The fourth oracle dealt with Israel, Moab, and Edom. Balaam seemed to sense that what he predicted would take place in the distant future: "I see him, but not now, ..." ( Numbers 24:17). Saul and David partially fulfilled these prophecies. However Jewish and Christian interpreters have seen them as looking beyond the early monarchy to Messiah at His first and second advents.

The "star" ( Numbers 24:17) was a common symbol for a king in biblical and non-biblical ancient Near Eastern literature (cf. Isaiah 14:12; Ezekiel 32:7; Revelation 22:16). [Note: See Riggans, p186; and Merrill, " Numbers," in The Bible . . ., p244.] This identification finds support in the reference to the "scepter" in the next line (cf. Genesis 49:10; Amos 1:5; Amos 1:8; Psalm 45:6). One wonders if it might have been this prophecy that was in the minds of the three wise men who came from Balaam"s country to Bethlehem to look for the promised King of the Jews ( Matthew 2:1-2).

"If ... we compare Balaam"s prophesy of the star ... and the sceptre ... with the prediction of the patriarch Jacob, of the sceptre that should not depart from Judah, till the Shiloh came whom the nations would obey (Gen. xlix10), it is easy to observe that Balaam not only foretold more clearly the attitude of Israel to the nations of the world, and the victory of the kingdom of God over every hostile kingdom of the world; but that he also proclaimed the Bringer of Peace expected by Jacob at the end of the days to be a mighty ruler, whose sceptre would break in pieces and destroy all the enemies of the nation of God." [Note: Keil and Delitzsch, 3:201.]

"An interesting implication of the parallels presented here between the account of the birth of Moses in Exodus 2and the announcement of the "star" to arise from the family of Jacob in Numbers 24is that Moses thus appears to be portrayed in these narratives as a prototype of the "star of Jacob." Such a view of Moses is consistent with the fact that elsewhere in the Pentateuch Moses is cast as a figure of the coming king ( Deuteronomy 33:5) and prophet ( Deuteronomy 18, 34). This is also consistent with the fact that later biblical writers often saw in Moses a picture of the future Messiah (e.g, Hosea 2:2[?])." [Note: Sailhamer, The Pentateuch . . ., pp406-7.]

"Seir" ( Numbers 24:18) is another name for Edom. Mt. Seir was the principle geographical feature of Edom. God at first commanded Israel not to wage war with Edom because the Edomites were her kinsmen. As time passed, the Edomites became bitter antagonists of the Israelites. God punished them for this enmity beginning in David"s reign and after that ( 2 Samuel 8:14; 1 Kings 11:15-16; 1 Chronicles 18:12-13). In the years following David"s reign Edom was alternately subject to Israel"s kings and free. Edom attacked Israel several times, but John Hyrcanus eventually conquered her in129 B.C. Thereafter Edom ceased to exist as a nation. Edomites lived among the Jews until Titus the Roman destroyed the Jewish nation in A.D70. The Greeks called the Edomites Idumeans. Herod the Great was an Idumean. He tried to kill the infant Messiah as Pharaoh had tried to slay baby Moses ( Matthew 2:1-12). [Note: See The New Bible Dictionary, 1962ed, s.v. "Edom, Edomites," by J. A. Thompson.]

Verse 20

This oracle deals with the Amalekites who lived in southern Canaan and the Sinai peninsula and were implacable foes of Israel (cf. Exodus 17:8-16; Numbers 14:43-45; Judges 6:3; Judges 6:33; et al.). Saul and David both defeated the Amalekites ( 1 Samuel 15:20; 1 Samuel 30:17), but this nation finally suffered complete destruction in King Hezekiah"s time in fulfillment of this prophecy ( 1 Chronicles 4:43).

Verse 21-22

The Kenites, who were identical to or part of the Midianites, were Israel"s neighbors to the southwest of the Dead Sea (cf. Numbers 10:29; Judges 1:16; 1 Samuel 15:6; 1 Samuel 27:10; 1 Samuel 30:29). The Asshurites who lived in the northern Sinai ( Genesis 25:3; Genesis 25:18; 2 Samuel 2:9) and the Assyrians eventually defeated them. "Asshur" may refer to either or both of these nations. Probably Balaam prophesied concerning the future great Assyrian Empire.

"Why the Kenites come under attack here is not sure, except that it is possible that they became associated with the Midianites who come under the scourge of Israel ( Numbers 31). The mention of Assyria is also a surprise, as its ascendancy to power in the ancient Near East was centuries away from Balaam"s day; yet Assyria was known as a powerful city-state even in Abraham"s day." [Note: Allen, p912.]

Verses 23-25

The final prophetic oracle deals with the overthrow of other powers of the ancient world. "Kittim" refers to Cyprus as representative of western powers (the Philistines, Greeks, Romans, and others at various times). "Asshur" here probably refers to the eastern Semites including the Assyrians. "Eber" includes the western Semites descended from Eber ( Genesis 10:21) who settled in Canaan, excluding the Israelites. Thus Numbers 24:24 is a very broad prophecy ranging over thousands of years foretelling the ultimate destruction of these Semites by western powers. Final fulfillment awaits the Tribulation period and the second advent of Messiah.

Balaam returned to "his place," perhaps in Ammon or Mesopotamia ( Numbers 31:8; Numbers 31:16; Deuteronomy 23:4). [Note: See idem, "The Theology of the Balaam Oracles," in Tradition and Testament, pp79-119. For a sermon on Balaam, see John Marshall, "The Prophet Balaam," The Banner of Truth275-76 (August-September1986):41-54.]

In summary, the first three oracles were a reconfirmation of the Abrahamic promises to Israel and a testimony to their partial fulfillment thus far in Israel"s history.

Oracle1: seed promise ( Numbers 23:10)

Oracle2: land promise ( Numbers 23:24)

Oracle3: blessing promise ( Numbers 24:9)

In each case the allusion to the promise concludes these oracles. The writer showed that God"s promise to bless those nations that blessed Abraham"s descendants and curse those who cursed them was reliable. The key to the future prosperity of Israel"s neighbor nations was their treatment of God"s chosen people.

The fourth through seventh oracles differ from the others in that they looked farther down the corridors of time. They prophesied the success of Israel in the years ahead culminating in Israel"s ultimate glory under her great Messiah"s reign.

"Not only do the Balaam narratives play an important role in developing the themes of the Abrahamic covenant, but they also serve as an inclusio to the Exodus -wilderness narratives. That Isaiah, the Balaam narratives restate the central themes of these narratives at their conclusion in a way that parallels the statement of these themes at their beginning.

"The Balaam story, which lies at the close of Israel"s sojourn in the wilderness, parallels many of the events and ideas of the story of Pharaoh at the beginning of the book of Exodus." [Note: Sailhamer, The Pentateuch . . ., p43.]