Numbers 23:7

Numbers 23:7 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And he took up his parable, and said, Balak the king of Moab hath brought me from Aram, out of the mountains of the east, saying, Come, curse me Jacob, and come, defy Israel.
• New International Version (NIV)Then Balaam spoke his message: “Balak brought me from Aram, the king of Moab from the eastern mountains. ‘Come,’ he said, ‘curse Jacob for me; come, denounce Israel.’
• English Standard Version (ESV)And Balaam took up his discourse and said, "From Aram Balak has brought me, the king of Moab from the eastern mountains: 'Come, curse Jacob for me, and come, denounce Israel!'
• New King James Version (NKJV)And he took up his oracle and said: “Balak the king of Moab has brought me from Aram, From the mountains of the east. ‘Come, curse Jacob for me, And come, denounce Israel!’

Context of Numbers 23:7

5Adonai put a message into Balaam’s mouth and said, “Return to Balak and speak this.” 6Balaam went back to him. Behold, he was standing beside his offering with all the princes of Moab. Then he uttered his oracle and said, “From Aram, Balak brought me, Moab’s king from the mountains of the east: ‘Come! Curse Jacob for me! ‘Come! Denounce Israel!’ 8How can I curse one whom God has not cursed? How can I denounce one whom Adonai has not denounced? 9From the rocky peaks I see him. From the heights I behold him. Look, he lives as a nation apart, and does not consider himself as being like the other nations.

Numbers 23:7 word by word

וַיִּשָּׂ֥א מְשָׁל֖וֹ וַיֹּאמַ֑ר מִן־אֲ֠רָם יַנְחֵ֨נִי בָלָ֤ק מֶֽלֶךְ־מוֹאָב֙ מֵֽהַרְרֵי־קֶ֔דֶם לְכָה֙ אָֽרָה־לִּ֣י יַעֲקֹ֔ב וּלְכָ֖ה זֹעֲמָ֥ה יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And he took upנָשָׂאnâώâ' nâsâh · to lift: loudH5375
• his parableמָשָׁלmâshâl · proverbH4912
• and saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• Balakבָּלָקbâlâq · BalakH1111
• the kingמֶ֫לֶךְmelek · kingH4428
• of Moabמוֹאָבmô'âb · MoabH4124
• hath broughtנָחָהnâchâh · to leadH5148
• me from Aramאֲרָם'ărâm · (Paddan)-aramH758
• out of the mountainsהָרָרhârâr · mountainH2042
• of the eastקֶ֫דֶםqedem qêdmâh · front: eastH6924
• Comeיָלַךְyâlak · to walkH3212
• curseאָרַר'ârar · to curseH779
• me Jacobיַעֲקֹבya‛ăqôb · JacobH3290
• defyזָעַםzâ‛am · be indignantH2194
• Israelיִשְׂרָאֵלyiώrâ'êl · IsraelH3478

Cross-references for Numbers 23:7

• Numbers 23:18So he uttered his oracle and said: “Rise, Balak! Hear me, son of Zippor!
• Numbers 24:3He uttered his oracle and said: “This is the oracle of Balaam son of Beor, and the oracle of a strong man whose eye has been opened,
• Job 27:1And Job took up his discourse again, saying:
• Job 29:1Again Job took up his discourse saying:
• Psalms 78:2I will open my mouth with a parable. I will utter perplexing sayings from of old,
• Ezekiel 17:2“Son of man, propose a riddle and tell a parable to the house of Israel.”
• Micah 2:4In that day He will lift up a parable for you, and there will be wailing lamentation, saying: “We have been utterly ruined! He changes the portion of my people. How He removes it from me! To the faithless He apportions our fields!”
• Habakkuk 2:6Will not all take up a proverb against him or a scornful riddle about him? “Oy to one expanding what isn’t his! How long? Oy to one burdening himself with heavy debts!”
• Matthew 13:33He told them another parable, “The kingdom of heaven is like hametz, which a woman took and hid in three measures of flour, until it was all leavened.”
• Mark 12:12They were trying to seize Yeshua, because they realized that He spoke the parable against them. But they feared the crowd, so they left Him and went away.
• Numbers 24:2Lifting up his eyes, Balaam saw Israel dwelling by tribes. The Ruach Elohim came over him.
• Numbers 22:5He sent messengers to summon Balaam son of Beor, at Pethor near the River in his native land, saying to him, “Look now, a people has come out of Egypt. See now, they cover the surface of the earth and are settling beside me.
• Genesis 10:22Shem’s sons were Elam, Asshur, Arpachshad, Lud and Aram.
• Genesis 28:2Get up, go to Paddan-aram, to the house of Bethuel, your mother’s father, and take for yourself a wife from there, from the daughters of Laban, your mother’s brother.
• Deuteronomy 23:4No Ammonite or Moabite is to enter the community of Adonai—even to the tenth generation none belonging to them is to enter the community of Adonai forever—

Commentaries on Numbers 23:7

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 7And he took up his parable - משלו meshalo, see on Numbers 21:27; (note). All these oracular speeches of Balaam are in hemistich metre in the original. They are highly dignified, and may be considered as immediate poetic productions of the Spirit of God; for it is expressly said, Numbers 23:5, that God put the word in Balaam's mouth, and that the Spirit of God came upon him, Numbers 24:2.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 7Aram - Or, “highland.” This term denotes the whole elevated region, from the northeastern frontier of Palestine to the Euphrates and the Tigris. The country between these streams was especially designated “Aram-naharaim,” or “Aram of the two rivers:” the Greeks called it Mesopotamia; and here, according to Deuteronomy 23:4, was Balaam‘s home. Compare Numbers 22:5 note.Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 7-8Instead of cursing Israel, Balaam spoke about their special status (compare Exodus 19:5–6; Deuteronomy 7:6–9). He recognized that God's blessing had transformed a humble people into a great nation (compare Genesis 12:2–3; 13:16; 28:14). Balaam hoped for similar good fortune for himself (Numbers 23:10).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 77. took up his parable--that is, spoke under the influence of inspiration, and in the highly poetical, figurative, and oracular style of a prophet. brought me from Aram--This word joined with "the mountains of the East," denotes the upper portion of Mesopotamia, lying on the east of Moab. The East enjoyed an infamous notoriety for magicians and soothsayers (Is 2:6).Read the comment

Topics related to Numbers 23:7

• Aram
• Prayer
• Syria

In the dictionaries

• Aram
• Israel
• Jacob
• Moab
• Moab; Moabites
• Aram, Aramean, Aramaic, Aram of Damascus
• Israel, Israelites
• Jacob, Israel
• Moab, Moabite
• Balaam

Commentaries on Numbers 23

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings