Thursday, February 29, 2024

Numbers 22:2

 Numbers 22:2

And Balak the son of Zippor saw all that Israel had done to the Amorites.


a. ASV: And Balak the son of Zippor saw all that Israel had done to the Amorites. [Thomas Nelson & Sons first published the American Standard Version in 1901. This translation of the Bible is in the public domain.]


b. YLT:  And Balak son of Zippor seeth all that Israel hath done to the Amorite, [The Young's Literal Translation was translated by Robert Young, who believed in a strictly literal translation of God's word. This version of the Bible is in the public domain.]


c. Classic Amplified: And Balak [the king of Moab] son of Zippor saw all that Israel had done to the Amorites.  [Amplified Bible, Classic Edition (AMPC) Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation]


d. NLT: Balak son of Zippor, the Moabite king, had seen everything the Israelites did to the Amorites.  [Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.]


e. Stone Edition THE CHUMASH, Rabbinic Commentary: Balak son of Zippor saw all that Israel had done to the Amorite.   [The Artscroll Series/Stone Edition, THE CHUMASH Copyright 1998, 2000 by MESORAH PUBLICATIONS, Ldt.]


f. Peshitta Eastern Text: And Balak the son of Zippor saw all that Israel had done to the Amorites.  [HOLY BIBLE FROM THE ANCIENT EASTERN TEXT.Copyright  Ⓒ 1933 by A.J. Holmon Co.; copyright  Ⓒ renewed 1968 by A.J. Holmon Co.; All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. HarperCollins Publishers, 195 Broadway, New York, NY 10007.]


g. ESV: And Balak the son of Zippor saw all that Israel had done to the Amorites. [Scripture quotations are from the Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright © 2001, 2007, 2011, 2016 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.]


1. “And Balak the son of Zippor saw all that Israel had done to the Amorites.”


a. [And] Balak [Strong: 1111  Bâlâq, baw-lawk'; from H1110; waster; Balak, a Moabitish king:—Balak.]


b. [the] son [Strong: 1121 bên, bane; from H1129; a son (as a builder of the family name), in the widest sense (of literal and figurative relationship, including grandson, subject, nation, quality or condition, etc., (like father or brother), etc.):—afflicted, age, (Ahoh-) (Ammon-) (Hachmon-) (Lev-) ite, (anoint-) ed one, appointed to, (+) arrow, (Assyr-) (Babylon-) (Egypt-) (Grec-) ian, one born, bough, branch, breed, + (young) bullock, + (young) calf, × came up in, child, colt, × common, × corn, daughter, × of first, firstborn, foal, + very fruitful, + postage, × in, + kid, + lamb, (+) man, meet, + mighty, + nephew, old, (+) people, rebel, + robber, × servant born, × soldier, son, + spark, steward, + stranger, × surely, them of, + tumultuous one, valiant(-est), whelp, worthy, young (one), youth.]


c. [of] Zippor [Strong: 6834 Tsippôwr, tsip-pore'; the same as H6833; Tsippor, a Moabite:—Zippor.]


d. Strong: 853 853 'eth ayth apparent contracted from 226 in the demonstrative sense of entity; properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely):--(as such unrepresented in English).]


e. saw [Strong: 7200 râʼâh, raw-aw'; a primitive root; to see, literally or figuratively (in numerous applications, direct and implied, transitive, intransitive and causative):—advise self, appear, approve, behold, × certainly, consider, discern, (make to) enjoy, have experience, gaze, take heed, × indeed, × joyfully, lo, look (on, one another, one on another, one upon another, out, up, upon), mark, meet, × be near, perceive, present, provide, regard, (have) respect, (fore-, cause to, let) see(-r, -m, one another), shew (self), × sight of others, (e-) spy, stare, × surely, × think, view, visions.]


e. all [Strong: 3605 kôl, kole; or (Jeremiah 33:8) כּוֹל kôwl; from H3634; properly, the whole; hence, all, any or every (in the singular only, but often in a plural sense):—(in) all (manner, (ye)), altogether, any (manner), enough, every (one, place, thing), howsoever, as many as, (no-) thing, ought, whatsoever, (the) whole, whoso(-ever).]


f. that [Strong: 834 ʼăsher, ash-er'; a primitive relative pronoun (of every gender and number); who, which, what, that; also (as an adverb and a conjunction) when, where, how, because, in order that, etc.:—× after, × alike, as (soon as), because, × every, for, + forasmuch, + from whence, + how(-soever), × if, (so) that ((thing) which, wherein), × though, + until, + whatsoever, when, where (+ -as, -in, -of, -on, -soever, -with), which, whilst, + whither(-soever), who(-m, -soever, -se). As it is indeclinable, it is often accompanied by the personal pronoun expletively, used to show the connection.]


g. Israel [Strong: 3478 Yisrâʼêl, yis-raw-ale'; from H8280 and H410; he will rule as God; Jisraël, a symbolical name of Jacob; also (typically) of his posterity:—Israel.]


h. [had] done [Strong: 6213 ʻâsâh, aw-saw'; a primitive root; to do or make, in the broadest sense and widest application:—accomplish, advance, appoint, apt, be at, become, bear, bestow, bring forth, bruise, be busy, × certainly, have the charge of, commit, deal (with), deck, displease, do, (ready) dress(-ed), (put in) execute(-ion), exercise, fashion, feast, (fight-) ing man, finish, fit, fly, follow, fulfill, furnish, gather, get, go about, govern, grant, great, hinder, hold (a feast), × indeed, be industrious, journey, keep, labour, maintain, make, be meet, observe, be occupied, offer, officer, pare, bring (come) to pass, perform, pracise, prepare, procure, provide, put, requite, × sacrifice, serve, set, shew, × sin, spend, × surely, take, × thoroughly, trim, × very, vex, be (warr-) ior, work(-man), yield, use.]

i. [to the] Amorite [Strong: 567 ʼĔmôrîy, em-o-ree'; probably a patronymic from an unused name derived from H559 in the sense of publicity, i.e. prominence; thus, a mountaineer; an Emorite, one of the Canaanitish tribes:—Amorite.]


1). Balak saw what Israel did to the Amorite. The Amorite in question was Sihon (Numbers 21:21-32). But it was not just Sihon that Balak had heard about, he had heard about them coming out of Egypt (Numbers 22:11). The knowledge of Israel’s deliverance from Egypt and the parting of the Red Sea was known all through the Middle Eastern nations and sung in a song of Moses.


a). Exodus 15:14-16 The people shall hear, and be afraid: sorrow shall take hold on the inhabitants of Palestina.

15:15 Then the dukes of Edom shall be amazed; the mighty men of Moab, trembling shall take hold upon them; all the inhabitants of Canaan shall melt away.

15:16 Fear and dread shall fall upon them; by the greatness of thine arm they shall be as still as a stone; till thy people pass over, O Lord, till the people pass over, which thou hast purchased.


2). Forty years later this is exactly what Rahab said to Joshua’s spies.


a). Joshua 2:8-11 And before they were laid down, she came up unto them upon the roof;

2:9 And she said unto the men, I know that the Lord hath given you the land, and that your terror is fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land faint because of you.

2:10 For we have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red sea for you, when ye came out of Egypt; and what ye did unto the two kings of the Amorites, that were on the other side Jordan, Sihon and Og, whom ye utterly destroyed.

2:11 And as soon as we had heard these things, our hearts did melt, neither did there remain any more courage in any man, because of you: for the Lord your God, he is God in heaven above, and in earth beneath.


3). The use of the phrase “that their heart melted, neither was there spirit in them any more”, is similar to the phrase used in 1 Kings 10:5 in referring to the effect of Solomon’s godly administration upon the Queen of Sheba.


a). 1 Kings 10:1-5 And when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the LORD, she came to prove him with hard questions.

10:2 And she came to Jerusalem with a very great train, with camels that bare spices, and very much gold, and precious stones: and when she was come to Solomon, she communed with him of all that was in her heart.

10:3 And Solomon told her all her questions: there was not any thing hid from the king, which he told her not.

10:4 And when the queen of Sheba had seen all Solomon's wisdom, and the house that he had built,

10:5 And the meat of his table, and the sitting of his servants, and the attendance of his ministers, and their apparel, and his cupbearers, and his ascent by which he went up unto the house of the LORD; there was no more spirit in her.


b). Most of the other translations read, “there was no more spirit in her”. The NIV says “she was overwhelmed”, while the Amplified Bible says, “she was breathless and overcome.” The similar aspect of these two passages is the use of the phrase “there was no more spirit”. There was no more spirit in the Canaanite and Amorite kings and there was no more spirit in the Queen of Sheba, and there was no more spirit in Rahab. All of these examples use the same Hebrew words. They were all hopeless at what was facing them. The most important aspect of these similarities is the fact of how each responded to their situation. The Queen of Sheba and Rahab got right with the one true God, while the Canaanite and Amorite kings went to war against Israel.


(1). Jesus said in Matthew 12:42 the queen of the south (Sheba) would rise in judgment against the generation that rejects Jesus and as the Apostle Paul relates in 1 Corinthians 6:2, that only the saints shall judge the world.


c). I conclude that God’s desired effect was the nations to hear of His great power and accept Him as the one true God.


(1). Romans 9:17  For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, Even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might shew my power in thee, and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth. 


(2). Romans 10:12-14 For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. 

For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?

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