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Números 22

BLIVRE · Chapter 22/36

1Depois os filhos de Israel partiram, e se assentaram nos campos de Moabe, desta parte do Jordão de Jericó.

2E viu Balaque, filho de Zipor, tudo o que Israel havia feito aos amorreus.

3E Moabe temeu muito por causa do povo que era muito; e angustiou-se Moabe por causa dos filhos de Israel.

4E disse Moabe aos anciãos de Midiã: Agora lamberá esta gente todos nossos entornos, como lambe o boi a grama do campo. E Balaque, filho de Zipor, era então rei de Moabe.

5Portanto enviou mensageiros a Balaão filho de Beor, a Petor, que está junto ao rio na terra dos filhos de seu povo, para que o chamassem, dizendo: Um povo saiu do Egito, e eis que cobre a face da terra, e habita diante de mim:

6Vem pois agora, te rogo, amaldiçoa para mim este povo, porque é mais forte que eu: talvez poderei eu feri-lo, e lançá-lo da terra: que eu sei que o que tu abençoares, será bendito, e o que tu amaldiçoares, será maldito.

7E foram os anciãos de Moabe e os anciãos de Midiã, com o [pagamento pela] adivinhação em sua mão, e chegaram a Balaão, e lhe disseram as palavras de Balaque.

8E ele lhes disse: Repousai aqui esta noite, e eu vos referirei as palavras, como o SENHOR me falar. Assim os príncipes de Moabe se restaram com Balaão.

9E veio Deus a Balaão, e disse-lhe: Que homens são estes que estão contigo?

10E Balaão respondeu a Deus: Balaque filho de Zipor, rei de Moabe, enviou a mim dizendo:

11Eis que este povo que saiu do Egito, cobre a face da terra: vem pois agora, e amaldiçoa-o para mim; talvez poderei lutar com ele, e expulsá-lo.

12Então disse Deus a Balaão: Não vás com eles, nem amaldiçoes ao povo; porque é bendito.

13Assim Balaão se levantou pela manhã, e disse aos príncipes de Balaque: Voltai-vos à vossa terra, porque o SENHOR não me quer deixar ir convosco.

14E os príncipes de Moabe se levantaram, e vieram a Balaque, e disseram: Balaão não quis vir conosco.

15E voltou Balaque a enviar outra vez mais príncipes, e mais nobres que os outros.

16Os quais vieram a Balaão, e disseram-lhe: Assim diz Balaque, filho de Zipor: Rogo-te que não deixes de vir a mim:

17Porque sem dúvida te honrarei muito, e farei tudo o que me disseres: vem pois agora, almaldiçoa para mim a este povo.

18E Balaão respondeu, e disse aos servos de Balaque: Ainda que Balaque me desse sua casa cheia de prata e ouro, não posso transgredir a palavra do SENHOR meu Deus, para fazer coisa pequena nem grande.

19Rogo-vos, portanto, agora, que repouseis aqui esta noite, para que eu saiba que me volta a dizer o SENHOR.

20E veio Deus a Balaão de noite, e disse-lhe: Se homens vierem a te chamar, levanta-te e vai com eles: porém farás o que eu te disser.

21Assim Balaão se levantou pela manhã, e preparou sua jumenta, e foi com os príncipes de Moabe.

22E o furor de Deus se acendeu porque ele ia; e o anjo do SENHOR se pôs no caminho por adversário seu. Ia, pois, ele montado sobre sua jumenta, e com ele dois servos seus.

23E a jumenta viu o anjo do SENHOR, que estava no caminho com sua espada exposta em sua mão; então a jumenta desviou-se do caminho, e foi pelo campo. Em seguida, Balaão espancou a jumenta para fazê-la voltar ao caminho.

24Mas o anjo do SENHOR se pôs em uma vereda de vinhas que tinha parede de uma parte e parede de outra.

25E quando a jumenta viu o anjo do SENHOR, apegou-se à parede, e apertou contra a parede o pé de Balaão: e ele voltou a espancá-la.

26E o anjo do SENHOR passou mais ali, e pôs-se em um lugar estreito, onde não havia caminho para desviar-se nem à direita nem à esquerda.

27E vendo a jumenta ao anjo do SENHOR, lançou-se debaixo de Balaão: e irou-se Balaão, e feriu à jumenta com um bordão.

28Então o SENHOR abriu a boca da jumenta, a qual disse a Balaão: Que te fiz, que me feriste estas três vezes?

29E Balaão respondeu à jumenta: Porque te zombaste de mim: bom seria se eu tivesse espada em minha mão, que agora te mataria!

30E a jumenta disse a Balaão: Não sou eu tua jumenta? Sobre mim montaste desde que tu me tens até hoje; costumei a fazê-lo assim contigo? E ele respondeu: Não.

31Então o SENHOR abriu os olhos a Balaão, e viu ao anjo do SENHOR que estava no caminho, e tinha sua espada nua em sua mão. E Balaão fez reverência, e inclinou-se sobre seu rosto.

32E o anjo do SENHOR lhe disse: Por que feriste tua jumenta estas três vezes? eis que eu saí para me opor a ti, porque teu caminho é perverso diante de mim:

33A jumenta me viu, e afastou-se logo de diante de mim estas três vezes: e se de mim não se houvesse afastado, eu também agora mataria a ti, e a ela deixaria viva.

34Então Balaão disse ao anjo do SENHOR: Pequei, que não sabia que tu te punhas diante de mim no caminho: mas agora, se te parece mal, eu me voltarei.

35E o anjo do SENHOR disse a Balaão: Vai com esses homens: porém a palavra que eu te disser, essa falarás. Assim Balaão foi com os príncipes de Balaque.

36E ouvindo Balaque que Balaão vinha, saiu a recebê-lo à cidade de Moabe, que está junto ao termo de Arnom, que é a extremidade das fronteiras.

37E Balaque disse a Balaão: Não enviei eu a ti a chamar-te? por que não vieste a mim? não posso eu te honrar?

38E Balaão respondeu a Balaque: Eis que eu vim a ti: mas poderei agora falar alguma coisa? A palavra que Deus puser em minha boca, essa falarei.

39E foi Balaão com Balaque, e vieram à Quiriate-Huzote.

40E Balaque fez matar bois e ovelhas, e enviou a Balaão, e aos príncipes que estavam com ele.

41E no dia seguinte Balaque tomou a Balaão, e o fez subir aos lugares altos de Baal, e desde ali viu a extremidade do povo.

📖 Chapter study

Summary

Balak, king of Moab, terrified of Israel, hires the pagan prophet Balaam to curse the people. God at first prevents Balaam from going, then allows it under condition, but on the way an angel with a sword blocks Balaam's donkey, which speaks to him before he sees the angel.

Explanation

The story of Balaam is unique in the Bible: a non-Israelite prophet who genuinely hears and recognizes the voice of the true God, but whose inner motivation (the desire for the money and honor offered by Balak) puts him on a collision course with God's will even while appearing outwardly obedient. The episode of the talking donkey, both comic and serious at once, illustrates that God can use even the most unlikely means to get the attention of someone who has strayed — if an animal can see the angel before the 'seer' prophet can, this ironically exposes Balaam's momentary spiritual blindness. The central lesson: it is possible to have correct religious knowledge and still be spiritually compromised by greed or ambition disguised as obedience.

Fun facts

  • Balaam is mentioned outside the Bible: an archaeological inscription found at Deir Alla (Jordan), dated to around 800 BC, mentions a seer named 'Balaam, son of Beor,' confirming that he was a figure known in the region independently of the biblical account.
  • This is one of only two cases in the Bible of an animal speaking with understandable human speech (the other being the serpent in Eden), and the New Testament (2 Peter 2:16) cites this episode specifically as an example of divine rebuke against greed disguised as prophecy.

Verse-by-verse explanation

  1. Números 22:1The people arrive at the plains of Moab, on the other side of the Jordan, facing Jericho — this will be the camp where Israel stays until the end of the book of Numbers.
  2. Números 22:2Balak, king of Moab, closely follows everything Israel had done against the Amorites in the previous battles.
  3. Números 22:3The sheer size of Israel’s people leaves Moab terrified, gripped by widespread dread at having such a large presence nearby.
  4. Números 22:4Balak compares Israel’s people to an ox licking up all the grass around it, and because of this decides to seek help from the elders of Midian to deal with the threat.
  5. Números 22:5Balak sends messengers to Balaam, a foreign seer living far away, asking him to come, since that people covered the land and was very close to him.
  6. Números 22:6Balak, king of Moab, afraid of the size of Israel’s people, sends for Balaam, a foreign prophet or seer known for his blessings and curses, to curse Israel before it was too late. This is the start of a story in which Balaam appears as an ambiguous figure: he wants to fulfill the paid request, but also seems to genuinely try to follow what God allows.
  7. Números 22:7The elders of Moab and Midian set out with payment in hand for the services of divination and arrive at Balaam’s, passing along Balak’s message.
  8. Números 22:8Balaam asks them to spend the night there, promising to give an answer according to what the LORD would tell him.
  9. Números 22:9God appears to Balaam that night and asks him who these men with him were.
  10. Números 22:10Balaam explains to God that Balak, king of Moab, had sent for him.
  11. Números 22:11He repeats Balak’s request: curse the people that covers the land, so that Moab could face them and drive them out.
  12. Números 22:12God responds directly: Balaam should not go with them nor curse that people, because they were already blessed.
  13. Números 22:13The next morning, Balaam tells Balak’s messengers to go home, since the LORD had refused to let him go with them.
  14. Números 22:14The messengers return to Balak and report that Balaam refused to go with them.
  15. Números 22:15Balak does not give up: he sends a second group of messengers, this time even more numerous and important than the first.
  16. Números 22:16This new group arrives repeating Balak’s request, urging Balaam not to delay in answering.
  17. Números 22:17Balak promises an even greater reward and full willingness to do whatever Balaam asked, as long as he came to curse the people.
  18. Números 22:18Balaam replies that not even a house full of silver and gold would make him disobey the command of the LORD his God in any way.
  19. Números 22:19Even so, Balaam asks these new messengers to also stay the night, to see whether the LORD would say something different this time.
  20. Números 22:20This time God allows Balaam to go with the messengers, but makes it clear he could only speak exactly what he was instructed to say.
  21. Números 22:21Balaam gets up in the morning, saddles his donkey, and sets out with the princes of Moab.
  22. Números 22:22Even though God had approved Balaam’s trip, an angel appears in the middle of the road to block him, sword in hand — except only the donkey can see the angel, not Balaam. This tension between what was permitted and the danger that still exists is typical of Balaam’s ambiguous role in the story.
  23. Números 22:23The donkey sees the angel of the LORD standing in the road with his sword drawn and leaves the road, going into the field; Balaam, seeing nothing, beats her to bring her back.
  24. Números 22:24The angel appears again, now in a narrow path between vineyards, with a wall on each side, leaving little room to move aside.
  25. Números 22:25The donkey presses against the wall to avoid the angel, crushing Balaam’s foot against it, and he beats her again.
  26. Números 22:26The angel appears a third time, now in a place so narrow there was no room to turn aside in either direction.
  27. Números 22:27With no way out, the donkey simply lies down under Balaam, who loses his patience and beats her with his staff.
  28. Números 22:28After being beaten three times for turning off the road, Balaam’s donkey speaks, asking what she had done wrong. It is one of the strangest moments in the Hebrew Bible, used to show that even an animal saw God’s will more clearly than the human prophet did at that moment.
  29. Números 22:29Furious, Balaam tells the donkey that if he had a sword in hand, he would kill her right there for making a fool of him like that.
  30. Números 22:30The donkey replies by asking whether, in all the years she had served Balaam, she had ever acted like this before — and he has to admit she had not.
  31. Números 22:31Only then does the LORD open Balaam’s eyes, and he finally sees the angel standing in the road with sword in hand, and immediately falls facedown.
  32. Números 22:32The angel asks why Balaam struck the donkey three times, revealing that he had come specifically to oppose him, because his way was wrong.
  33. Números 22:33The angel explains that if the donkey had not turned aside all three times, he would have already killed Balaam, sparing the animal instead.
  34. Números 22:34After seeing the angel, Balaam admits he sinned and offers to turn back, but the angel tells him to continue the journey, only speaking what God commands. This back-and-forth shows the character’s ambiguity well: he has real contact with God and ultimately obeys, but spends the whole time being pulled between what he wants to do and what he is allowed to do.
  35. Números 22:35The angel allows Balaam to continue the journey but repeats the condition: he could only say exactly what God told him to say.
  36. Números 22:36Learning that Balaam was arriving, Balak personally goes out to meet him, all the way to a city on the border of the Arnon.
  37. Números 22:37Balak complains, asking why Balaam took so long to come, since he had insisted so much and promised to honor him.
  38. Números 22:38Balaam replies that he has arrived, but warns from the start that he can only speak exactly what God puts in his mouth.
  39. Números 22:39Balaam continues with Balak until they reach the city of Kirjath-huzoth.
  40. Números 22:40There Balak sacrifices oxen and sheep, and sends part of the meat to Balaam and the leaders who were with him.
  41. Números 22:41The next morning, Balak takes Balaam up to a high place dedicated to Baal, from where he could see part of Israel’s camp.

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