Bemiḏbar (Numbers)

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Written by: Dr. Correo Andrew Hofstad

Category: Bemiḏbar (Numbers)

Num 22:1 And the children of Yisra’ĕl set out and camped in the desert
plains of Mo’aḇ beyond the Yardĕn of Yeriḥo.
Num 22:2 And Balaq son of Tsippor saw all that Yisra’ĕl had done to the
Amorites.
Num 22:3 And Mo’aḇ was exceedingly afraid of the people because they
were many, and Mo’aḇ was in dread because of the children of Yisra’ĕl.
Num 22:4 And Mo’aḇ said to the elders of Miḏyan, “Now this company is
licking up all that is around us, as an ox licks up the grass of the field.” Now
Balaq son of Tsippor was sovereign of the Mo’aḇites at that time,
Num 22:5 and he sent messengers to Bil‛am son of Be‛or at Pethor, which is
near the River in the land of the sons of his people, to call him, saying, “See,
a people has come from Mitsrayim. See, they have covered the surface of the
land, and are settling next to me!
Num 22:6 “And now, please come at once, curse this people for me, for they
are too strong for me. It might be that I smite them and drive them out of the
land, for I know that he whom you bless is blessed, and he whom you curse
is cursed.”
Num 22:7 And the elders of Mo’aḇ and the elders of Miḏyan left with the
fees for divination in their hand, and they came to Bil‛am and spoke the
words of Balaq to him.
Num 22:8 And he said to them, “Spend the night here, and I shall bring back
word to you, as יהוה speaks to me.” So the heads of Mo’aḇ stayed with
Bil‛am.
Num 22:9 And Elohim came to Bil‛am and said, “Who are these men with
you?”
Num 22:10 And Bil‛am said to Elohim, “Balaq, son of Tsippor, sovereign of
Mo’aḇ, has sent to me, saying,
Num 22:11 ‘See, a people has come out of Mitsrayim and cover the surface
of the land. Come now, curse them for me. It might be that I am able to fight
against them and drive them out.’ ”
Num 22:12 And Elohim said to Bil‛am, “Do not go with them. You do not
curse the people, for they are blessed.”
Num 22:13 And Bil‛am rose in the morning and said to the heads of Balaq,
“Go back to your land, for יהוה has refused to allow me to go with you.”
Num 22:14 And the heads of Mo’aḇ arose and went to Balaq, and said,
“Bil‛am refuses to come with us.”
Num 22:15 Then Balaq again sent heads, more numerous and more esteemed
than they.
Num 22:16 And they came to Bil‛am and said to him, “This is what Balaq
son of Tsippor said: ‘Do not be withheld from coming to me, please,
Num 22:17 for I esteem you very greatly, and whatever you say to me, I do.
Therefore please come, curse this people for me.’ ”
Num 22:18 And Bil‛am answered and said to the servants of Balaq,
“Though Balaq were to give me his house filled with silver and gold, I am
unable to go beyond the word of יהוה my Elohim, to do less or more.
Num 22:19 “And now, please, you also stay here tonight, and let me find out
what more יהוה says to me.”
Num 22:20 And Elohim came to Bil‛am at night and said to him, “If the men
come to call you, rise and go with them, but only the word which I speak to
you that you do.”
Num 22:21 And Bil‛am rose in the morning and saddled his donkey, and
went with the heads of Mo’aḇ.
Num 22:22 But the displeasure of Elohim burned because he went, and the
Messenger of יהוה stationed Himself in the way as an adversary against him.
And he was riding on his donkey, and his two servants were with him.
Num 22:23 And the donkey saw the Messenger of יהוה standing in the way
with His drawn sword in His hand, and the donkey turned aside out of the
way and went into the field. So Bil‛am beat the donkey to turn her back onto
the way.
Num 22:24 Then the Messenger of יהוה stood in a narrow passage between
the vineyards, with a wall on this side and a wall on that side.
Num 22:25 And when the donkey saw the Messenger of יהוה, she pushed
herself against the wall and crushed Bil‛am’s foot against the wall, so he beat
her again.
Num 22:26 And the Messenger of יהוה went further, and stood in a narrow
place where there was no way to turn aside, right or left.
Num 22:27 And when the donkey saw the Messenger of יהוה, she lay down
under Bil‛am. So Bil‛am’s displeasure burned, and he beat the donkey with
his staff.
Num 22:28 Then יהוה opened the mouth of the donkey, and she said to
Bil‛am, “What have I done to you, that you have beaten me these three
times?”
Num 22:29 And Bil‛am said to the donkey, “Because you have mocked me. I
wish there were a sword in my hand, for I would have killed you by now!”
Num 22:30 And the donkey said to Bil‛am, “Am I not your donkey on which
you have ridden, ever since I became yours, to this day? Was I ever known to
do so to you?” And he said, “No.”
Num 22:31 Then יהוה opened Bil‛am’s eyes, and he saw the Messenger of
יהוה standing in the way with His drawn sword in His hand. And he bowed
his head and fell on his face.
Num 22:32 And the Messenger of יהוה said to him, “Why have you beaten
your donkey these three times? See, I have come out to stand against you,
because your way is reckless before Me.
Num 22:33 “And the donkey saw Me and turned aside from Me these three
times. If she had not turned aside from Me, I certainly would have killed you
by now, and let her live.”
Num 22:34 And Bil‛am said to the Messenger of יהוה, “I have sinned, for I
did not know You stood in the way against me. And now, if evil is in Your
eyes, let me turn back.”
Num 22:35 And the Messenger of יהוה said to Bil‛am, “Go with the men, but
only the word that I speak to you, that you speak.” Bil‛am then went with the
heads of Balaq.
Num 22:36 And when Balaq heard that Bil‛am was coming, he went out to
meet him at the city of Mo’aḇ, which is on the border at the Arnon, which
was in the extremity of the border.
Num 22:37 And Balaq said to Bil‛am, “Did I not urgently send to you,
calling for you? Why did you not come to me? Am I not able to esteem you?”
Num 22:38 And Bil‛am said to Balaq, “See, I have come to you! Now, am I
at all able to say somewhat? The word that Elohim puts in my mouth, that I
speak.”
Num 22:39 And Bil‛am went with Balaq, and they came to Qiryath Ḥutsoth.
Num 22:40 And Balaq slaughtered cattle and sheep, and he sent some to
Bil‛am and to the heads who were with him.
Num 22:41 And it came to be the next day, that Balaq took Bil‛am and
brought him up to the high places of Ba‛al, and from there he saw the
extremity of the camp.

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Written by: Dr. Correo Andrew Hofstad

Category: Bemiḏbar (Numbers)

Num 23:1 And Bil‛am said to Balaq, “Build seven altars for me here, and
prepare seven bulls and seven rams for me here.”
Num 23:2 And Balaq did as Bil‛am had spoken, and Balaq and Bil‛am
offered a bull and a ram on each altar.
Num 23:3 Bil‛am then said to Balaq, “Stand by your burnt offering, and let
me go on. It might be that יהוה does come to meet me, and whatever He shows
me I shall declare to you.” And he went to a bare height.
Num 23:4 And Elohim came to Bil‛am, and he said to Him, “I have prepared
the seven altars, and I have offered on each altar a bull and a ram.”
Num 23:5 And יהוה put a word in the mouth of Bil‛am, and said, “Return to
Balaq, and this is what you say.”
Num 23:6 And he returned to him and saw him standing by his burnt
offering, he and all the heads of Mo’aḇ.
Num 23:7 And he took up his proverb and said, “Balaq the sovereign of
Mo’aḇ has brought me from Aram, from the mountains of the east. ‘Come,
curse Ya‛aqoḇ for me, and come, rage at Yisra’ĕl!’
Num 23:8 “How do I curse whom Ĕl has not cursed? And how do I rage at
whom יהוה has not raged?
Num 23:9 “For from the top of the rocks I see him, and from the hills I
observe him. Look, a people dwelling alone, not reckoning itself among the
nations.
Num 23:10 “Who shall count the dust of Ya‛aqoḇ, and the number of one-
fourth of Yisra’ĕl? Let me die the death of the upright, and let my end be like
his!”
Num 23:11 And Balaq said to Bil‛am, “What have you done to me? I took
you to curse my enemies, and look, you have kept on blessing!”
Num 23:12 And he answered and said, “Should I not take heed to speak
what יהוה has put in my mouth?”
Num 23:13 And Balaq said to him, “Please come with me to another place
from where you see them. You only see the extremity but not all of them.
Curse them for me from there.”
Num 23:14 And he took him to the field of Tsophim, to the top of Pisgah, and
built seven altars, and offered a bull and a ram on each altar.
Num 23:15 And he said to Balaq, “Stand here by your burnt offering while I
meet over there.”
Num 23:16 And יהוה came to Bil‛am, and put a word in his mouth, and said,
“Go back to Balaq, and say this.”
Num 23:17 So he went to him and saw him standing by his burnt offering,
and the heads of Mo’aḇ with him. And Balaq asked him, “What did יהוה
say?”
Num 23:18 And he took up his proverb and said, “Rise up, Balaq, and hear!
Listen to me, son of Tsippor!
Num 23:19 “Ĕl is not a man, to lie; nor a son of man, to repent! Has He said,
and would He not do it; or spoken, and would not confirm it?
Num 23:20 “See, I have received, to bless. And He has blessed, and I do not
reverse it.
Num 23:21 “He has not looked upon wickedness in Ya‛aqoḇ, nor has He
seen trouble in Yisra’ĕl. יהוה his Elohim is with him, and the shout of a
Sovereign is in him.
Num 23:22 “Ĕl who brought them out of Mitsrayim, is for them like the
horns of a wild ox.
Num 23:23 “For there is no sorcery against Ya‛aqoḇ, nor is there any
divination against Yisra’ĕl. Now it is said to Ya‛aqoḇ and to Yisra’ĕl, ‘What
has Ĕl done!’
Num 23:24 “Look, a people rises like a lioness, and lifts itself up like a
lion; it lies not down until it devours the prey, and drinks the blood of the
slain.”
Num 23:25 And Balaq said to Bil‛am, “Do not curse them at all, nor bless
them at all!”
Num 23:26 And Bil‛am answered and said to Balaq, “Have I not spoken to
you, saying, ‘All that יהוה speaks, that I do’?”
Num 23:27 And Balaq said to Bil‛am, “Please come, let me take you to
another place. It might be right in the eyes of Elohim that you curse them for
me from there.”
Num 23:28 And Balaq took Bil‛am to the top of Pe‛or, that overlooks the
wasteland.
Num 23:29 And Bil‛am said to Balaq, “Build seven alters for me here, and
prepare seven bulls and seven rams for me here.”
Num 23:30 And Balaq did as Bil‛am had said, and offered a bull and a ram
on each altar.

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Written by: Dr. Correo Andrew Hofstad

Category: Bemiḏbar (Numbers)

Num 24:1 And when Bil‛am saw that it pleased יהוה to bless Yisra’ĕl, he did
not go as at other times, to seek to use sorcery, but he set his face toward the
wilderness.
Num 24:2 And Bil‛am lifted up his eyes and saw Yisra’ĕl encamped
according to their tribes. And the Spirit of Elohim came upon him.
Num 24:3 And he took up his proverb and said, “The saying of Bil‛am, son
of Be‛or, and the saying of the man whose eyes are opened,
Num 24:4 the saying of him who hears the words of Ĕl, who sees the vision
of the Almighty, who falls down, with eyes opened wide:
Num 24:5 “How good are your tents, O Ya‛aqoḇ, your dwellings, O
Yisra’ĕl!
Num 24:6 “Like wadis that stretch out, like gardens by a river, like aloes
planted by יהוה, like cedars beside waters.
Num 24:7 “He makes water flow from his buckets, and his seed is in many
waters. His sovereign is higher than Aḡaḡ, and his reign is exalted.
Num 24:8 “Ĕl who brought him out of Mitsrayim is for them like the horns of
a wild ox; he devours nations, his enemies; and he breaks their bones, and
with his arrows he smites.
Num 24:9 “He bowed down, he lay down like a lion. And, like a lion, who
would rouse him? Blessed is he who blesses you, and cursed is he who
curses you.”
Num 24:10 Then the displeasure of Balaq burned against Bil‛am, and he
struck his hands together. Balaq then said to Bil‛am, “I summoned you to
curse my enemies, and see, you have kept on blessing, these three times!
Num 24:11 “And now flee to your place. I said I would greatly esteem you,
and see, יהוה has kept you back from esteem.”
Num 24:12 And Bil‛am said to Balaq, “Did I not also speak to your
messengers whom you sent to me, saying,
Num 24:13 ‘If Balaq should give me his house filled with silver and gold, I
am unable to go beyond the word of יהוה, to do either good or evil of my own
heart. What יהוה speaks, that I speak’?
Num 24:14 “And now, see, I am going to my people. Come, let me advise
you what this people is going to do to your people in the latter days.”
Num 24:15 And he took up his proverb and said, “The saying of Bil‛am, son
of Be‛or, and the saying of the man whose eyes are opened,
Num 24:16 the saying of him who hears the words of Ĕl, and knows the
knowledge of the Most High, who sees the vision of the Almighty, who falls
down, with eyes opened wide:
Num 24:17 “I see Him, but not now; I observe Him, but not near. A Star
shall come out of Ya‛aqoḇ, and a Sceptre shall rise out of Yisra’ĕl, and shall
smite the corners of Mo’aḇ, and shall destroy all the sons of Shĕth.
Num 24:18 “And Eḏom shall be a possession; and Sĕ‛ir shall be a
possession – enemies – and Yisra’ĕl is doing mightily.
Num 24:19 “And out of Ya‛aqoḇ One shall rule and destroy the remnant
from Ar.”
Num 24:20 He then looked on Amalĕq, and he took up his proverb and said,
“Amalĕq was first among the nations, but his latter end is to perish forever.”
Num 24:21 He then looked on the Qĕynites, and he took up his proverb and
said, “Firm is your dwelling place, and your nest is set in the rock,
Num 24:22 but Qayin is to be burned. Till when does Asshur keep you
captive?”
Num 24:23 And he took up his proverb and said, “Oh, who does live when
Ĕl does this?
Num 24:24 And ships shall come from the coast of Kittim, and they shall
afflict Asshur and afflict Ĕḇer, and so shall Amalĕq, and he also perishes.”
Num 24:25 And Bil‛am arose and left, and returned to his place. And Balaq
also went his way.

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Written by: Dr. Correo Andrew Hofstad

Category: Bemiḏbar (Numbers)

Num 25:1 And Yisra’ĕl dwelt in Shittim, and the people began to whore
with the daughters of Mo’aḇ,
Num 25:2 and they invited the people to the slaughterings of their mighty
ones, and the people ate and bowed down to their mighty ones.
Num 25:3 Thus Yisra’ĕl was joined to Ba‛al Pe‛or, and the displeasure of
יהוה burned against Yisra’ĕl.
Num 25:4 And יהוה said to Mosheh, “Take all the leaders of the people and
hang them up before יהוה, before the sun, so that the burning displeasure of
יהוה turns away from Yisra’ĕl.”
Num 25:5 And Mosheh said to the judges of Yisra’ĕl, “Each one of you slay
his men who were joined to Ba‛al Pe‛or.”
Num 25:6 And see, one of the children of Yisra’ĕl came and brought to his
brothers a Miḏyanite woman before the eyes of Mosheh and before the eyes
of all the congregation of the children of Yisra’ĕl, who were weeping at the
door of the Tent of Meeting.
Num 25:7 And when Pineḥas, son of El‛azar, son of Aharon the priest, saw
it, he rose up from among the congregation and took a spear in his hand,
Num 25:8 and he went after the man of Yisra’ĕl into the tent and thrust both
of them through, the man of Yisra’ĕl, and the woman through her belly. Thus
the plague among the children of Yisra’ĕl came to a stop.
Num 25:9 And those who died in the plague were twenty-four thousand.
Num 25:10 And יהוה spoke to Mosheh, saying,
Num 25:11 “Pineḥas, son of El‛azar, son of Aharon the priest, has turned
back My wrath from the children of Yisra’ĕl, because he was ardent with My
ardour in their midst, so that I did not consume the children of Yisra’ĕl in My
ardour.
Num 25:12 “Therefore say, ‘See, I am giving him My covenant of peace,
Num 25:13 and it shall be to him and to his seed after him a covenant of an
everlasting priesthood, because he was ardent for his Elohim, and made
atonement for the children of Yisra’ĕl.’ ”
Num 25:14 And the name of the Yisra’ĕlite who was killed, who was killed
with the Miḏyanite woman, was Zimri, son of Salu, a leader of a father’s
house among the Shim‛onites.
Num 25:15 And the name of the Miḏyanite woman who was killed was
Kozbi the daughter of Tsur. He was head of the people of a father’s house in
Miḏyan.
Num 25:16 And יהוה spoke to Mosheh, saying,
Num 25:17 “Distress the Miḏyanites! And you shall smite them,
Num 25:18 for they distressed you with their tricks with which they
deceived you in the matter of Pe‛or and in the matter of Kozbi, the daughter
of a leader of Miḏyan, their sister, who was killed in the day of the plague
because of Pe‛or.”