Save
Copy
Add to Collection
Export to Google Docs
Share(י) וַיֹּ֥אמֶר בִּלְעָ֖ם אֶל־הָאֱלֹהִ֑ים בָּלָ֧ק בֶּן־צִפֹּ֛ר מֶ֥לֶךְ מוֹאָ֖ב שָׁלַ֥ח אֵלָֽי׃ (יא) הִנֵּ֤ה הָעָם֙ הַיֹּצֵ֣א מִמִּצְרַ֔יִם וַיְכַ֖ס אֶת־עֵ֣ין הָאָ֑רֶץ עַתָּ֗ה לְכָ֤ה קָֽבָה־לִּי֙ אֹת֔וֹ אוּלַ֥י אוּכַ֛ל לְהִלָּ֥חֶם בּ֖וֹ וְגֵרַשְׁתִּֽיו׃ (יב) וַיֹּ֤אמֶר אֱלֹהִים֙ אֶל־בִּלְעָ֔ם לֹ֥א תֵלֵ֖ךְ עִמָּהֶ֑ם לֹ֤א תָאֹר֙ אֶת־הָעָ֔ם כִּ֥י בָר֖וּךְ הֽוּא׃
(10) Balaam said to God, “Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab, sent me this message: (11) Here is a people that came out from Egypt and hides the earth from view. Come now and curse them for me; perhaps I can engage them in battle and drive them off.” (12) But God said to Balaam, “Do not go with them. You must not curse that people, for they are blessed.”
וַיָּבֹא אֱלֹהִים וַיֹּאמֶר מִי הָאֲנָשִׁים הָאֵלֶּה (במדבר כב, ט), זֶה שֶׁאָמַר הַכָּתוּב (משלי כח, י): מַשְׁגֶּה יְשָׁרִים בְּדֶרֶךְ רָע בִּשְׁחוּתוֹ הוּא יִפּוֹל, זֶה בִּלְעָם, שֶׁבַּתְּחִלָּה הַבְּרִיּוֹת נוֹהֲגוֹת בְּכַשְׁרוּת, וּבִדְבָרָיו אֵלּוּ הָיוּ נוֹהֲגִין בַּעֲרָיוֹת, שֶׁהָרִאשׁוֹנִים (בראשית כט, ט): וְרָחֵל בָּאָה עִם הַצֹּאן, (שמות ב, טז): וּלְכֹהֵן מִדְיָן שֶׁבַע בָּנוֹת, עָמַד בִּלְעָם וְהִטְעָה אֶת הַבְּרִיוֹת בַּעֲרָיוֹת, וּכְמוֹ שֶׁהִטְעָה הֻטְעָה, בָּעֵצָה שֶׁנָּתַן בָּהּ נָפַל, וְהִטְעָהוּ הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא, שֶׁכָּךְ כְּתִיב (איוב יב, כג): מַשְֹּׂגִּיא לַגּוֹיִם וַיְאַבְּדֵם. כֵּיוָן שֶׁאָמַר לוֹ מִי הָאֲנָשִׁים הָאֵלֶּה עִמָּךְ, אָמַר אוֹתוֹ רָשָׁע אֵינוֹ יוֹדֵעַ בָּהֶן, יֵשׁ שָׁעָה שֶׁאֵינוֹ יוֹדֵעַ, וַאֲנִי אֶעֱשֶׂה בְּבָנָיו כָּל מַה שֶּׁאֲנִי רוֹצֶה, לְכָךְ אָמַר לְהַטְעוֹתוֹ. דָּבָר אַחֵר, מִי הָאֲנָשִׁים הָאֵלֶּה עִמָּךְ וַיֹּאמֶר בִּלְעָם בָּלָק בֶּן צִפֹר, הִתְחִיל מִתְגָּאֶה וְאָמַר אַף עַל פִּי שֶׁאֵין אַתָּה מְכַבְּדֵנִי וְאֵין אַתָּה מוֹצִיא לִי שֵׁם בָּעוֹלָם הַמְּלָכִים מְבַקְּשִׁים אוֹתִי. (במדבר כב, יא): הִנֵּה הָעָם הַיֹּצֵא מִמִּצְרַיִם, עַתָּה לְכָה קָבָה לִּי אֹתוֹ, לְהוֹדִיעַ שֶׁשֹּׂוֹנֵא יוֹתֵר מִבָּלָק, שֶׁבָּלָק לֹא אָמַר קָבָה, אֶלָּא אָרָה, וְזֶה קָבָה בְּפֵרוּשׁ, הוּא אָמַר (במדבר כב, ו): וַאֲגָרְשֶׁנּוּ מִן הָאָרֶץ, וְהוּא אוֹמֵר (במדבר כב, יא): וְגֵרַשְׁתִּיו, מִן הָעוֹלָם הַזֶּה וּמִן הָעוֹלָם הַבָּא.
A) “God came to Bilam, and said: Who are these men with you?” (Numbers 22:9).
“God came to Bilam, and said: Who are these men?” This is what the verse said: “He who misleads the upright on an evil path will fall into his own pit” (Proverbs 28:10) –this is Bilam. Initially the people would conduct themselves with uprightness, but through his words, they would conduct themselves with wantonness. Regarding the early generations: “Rachel came with the flock” (Genesis 29:9); “the priest of Midyan had seven daughters” (Exodus 2:16). Bilam stood and misled the people with regards to wanton behavior. Just as he misled, he was misled. With the counsel that he provided, he fell, and the Holy Blessed One misled him, as it is written: “He exalts the nations and He eliminates them” (Job 12:23). When God said to him: “Who are these men with you?” that wicked one said: ‘I do not know about them.’ [Bilam thought:] There is a moment when God does not know, and I will wreak upon God's children anything that I want. This is why God said it; in order to mislead
him. ’
B) “Behold, the people that has come out of Egypt, it has covered the face of the earth; now, come curse them for me; perhaps I will be able to wage war against them, and drive them away” (Numbers 22:11).
“Behold, the people that has come out of Egypt…now, come curse [kava] them for me” – it is to inform that he hated more than Balak, as Balak did not say kava, but rather, ara; but this one said kava explicitly. He [Balak] said: “I will drive them from the land”; but he [Bilam] said: “drive them away” – from this world and from the World to Come.
C) “God said to Bilam: You shall not go with them; you shall not curse the people, as it is blessed” (Numbers 22:12).
“God said to Bilam: You shall not go with them” – he said to God: ‘If so, I will curse them where I am.’ God said to him: “You shall not curse the people.” He said to God: 'If so, I will bless them.' God said to him: 'They do not need your blessing,' “as it is blessed.” They say to the hornet: Neither from your
honey nor from your sting.’
(דברים לד י) וְלֹא קָם נָבִיא עוֹד בְּיִשְׂרָאֵל כְּמֹשֶׁה – בְּיִשְׂרָאֵל לֹא קָם, אֲבָל בְּאֻמּוֹת הָעוֹלָם קָם. וְאֵיזֶה זֶה? זֶה בִּלְעָם בֶּן בְּעוֹר. אֶלָּא הֶפְרֵשׁ יֵשׁ בֵּין נְבוּאָתוֹ שֶׁל מֹשֶׁה לִנְבוּאָתוֹ שֶׁל בִּלְעָם: מֹשֶׁה לֹא הָיָה יוֹדֵעַ מִי מְדַבֵּר עִמּוֹ, וּבִלְעָם הָיָה יוֹדֵעַ מִי מְדַבֵּר עִמּוֹ, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (במדבר כד טז): ״נְאֻם שֹׁמֵעַ אִמְרֵי אֵל״. מֹשֶׁה לֹא הָיָה יוֹדֵעַ מָתַי מְדַבֵּר עִמּוֹ עַד שֶׁנִּדְבַּר עִמּוֹ, וּבִלְעָם הָיָה יוֹדֵעַ מָתַי מְדַבֵּר עִמּוֹ, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר ״וְיֹדֵעַ דַּעַת עֶלְיוֹן״. מֹשֶׁה לֹא הָיָה מְדַבֵּר עִמּוֹ אֶלָּא כְּשֶׁהוּא עוֹמֵד, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (דברים ה כח): ״וְאַתָּה פֹּה עֲמֹד עִמָּדִי״, וּבִלְעָם הָיָה מְדַבֵּר עִמּוֹ כְּשֶׁהוּא נוֹפֵל, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (במדבר כד ד): ״מַחֲזֵה שַׁדַּי יֶחֱזֶה נֹפֵל וּגְלוּי עֵינָיִם״. מָשָׁל לְמָה הַדָּבָר דּוֹמֶה? לְטַבָּחוֹ שֶׁל מֶלֶךְ וְיוֹדֵעַ כַּמָּה הוֹצָאוֹת יוֹצְאוֹת לַמֶּלֶךְ עַל שֻׁלְחָנוֹ.
And there hath not arisen a prophet since in Israel like unto (34:10): None has arisen in Israel, but one has arisen among the nations. And who was he? Balaam son of Beor. Yet there is a difference between the prophecy of Moses and that of Balaam: Moses did not know who was speaking to him (out of the burning bush), whereas Balaam did know who was speaking to him, as it is said, The saying of him who heareth the words of God (Num. 24:16). Moses did not know when God would speak to him, whereas Balaam did know, as it is said, And knoweth the knowledge of the Most High (Num. 24:16). Moses was spoken to by God only while he was standing, as it is said, But as for thee, stand thou here by Me, (and will speak unto thee) (5:28), whereas Balaam was spoken to when he was fallen down, as it is said, Who seeth the vision of the Almighty fallen down, yet with open eyes (Num. 24:4). To what may this be likened? To the parable of the king’s butcher who knows what the king’s expenses are for supplying his table.
2)If Bilaam can receive genuine prophecy from God, what does this midrash suggest about who has access to God? How does it complicate our understanding of prophecy, chosenness, or the relationship between Israel and the nations?
3) Does this midrash make Bilaam more admirable—or more dangerous? Why?
1. One midrash focuses on Bilaam's character; the other on his prophetic gifts. Together they raise a bigger question: Can someone speak God's truth without living by God's values? What do these texts suggest?
Everett Fox:
Recent archaeological finds have placed Balaam as a figure known to extrabiblical traditions located in the lands east of the Jordan. The Torah uses him for its own purposes, picking up a theme it has utilized earlier: the acknowledgment of God's power and Israel's glory by a wise or inspired pagan (see, for instance, the figure of Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, in Ex. 18). Just as the Pharaoh is made to acknowledge God's power and Israel's glory toward the beginning of the Exodus sequence, so the nations or tribes surrounding Israel are portrayed as coming to the same realization at its end. Balaam, as it were, provides religious legitimacy for these ideas in the non-Israelite domain.
Here is the threat at the heart of the story: the idea that a foreign holy man with no relationship to Israel was nonetheless widely known to communicate directly with the divine. It is here, where the story once again turns purposefully against itself, that we see why Balaam must be both exalted and attacked.
The story is an intentionally crafted, agenda-driven story with a theological claim: YHWH’s power means that he has sole prerogative over authentic prophecy; he cannot be manipulated through the mantic arts. The fact that this great foreign diviner must obey YHWH’s commands and is powerless to curse YHWH’s people testifies to YHWH’s divine superiority…
The story advances this claim in large part by mocking the institution of divination as reflected in both its practitioner (Balaam) and its patron (Balak), each of whom appears (at various points) powerless and obtuse.
True prophecy, according to Deuteronomy (18:13–20) is designed to continue the legacy of Moses and communicate God’s will to the people. It can only be accomplished by another Israelite מקרבך “from among you” (v. 15), מאחיך “from your brethren” (v. 15), מקרב אחיהם “from among their brethren” (v. 18). Among the other nations, prophets are merely קוסמים ומעוננים “diviners and conjurers” (v. 14), both abominations to YHWH.
While the commentators see Balaam as only wicked, I find the multi-faceted understanding of Balaam important to maintain. In the Torah text, he is not all good, nor is he all bad. He is human. He is an individual with conflicting desires who behaves differently in different situations. Perhaps this is Balaam's lesson to us.
