1Israel stayed in Shittim; and the people began to play the prostitute with the daughters of Moab; 2for they called the people to the sacrifices of their gods. The people ate and bowed down to their gods. 3Israel joined himself to Baal Peor, and Yahweh’s anger burned against Israel. 4Yahweh said to Moses, “Take all the chiefs of the people, and hang them up to Yahweh before the sun, that the fierce anger of Yahweh may turn away from Israel.”
5Moses said to the judges of Israel, “Everyone kill his men who have joined themselves to Baal Peor.”
6Behold, one of the children of Israel came and brought to his brothers a Midianite woman in the sight of Moses, and in the sight of all the congregation of the children of Israel, while they were weeping at the door of the Tent of Meeting. 7When Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, saw it, he rose up from the middle of the congregation, and took a spear in his hand. 8He went after the man of Israel into the pavilion, and thrust both of them through, the man of Israel, and the woman through her body. So the plague was stopped among the children of Israel. 9Those who died by the plague were twenty-four thousand.
10Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, 11“Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, has turned my wrath away from the children of Israel, in that he was jealous with my jealousy among them, so that I didn’t consume the children of Israel in my jealousy. 12Therefore say, ‘Behold, I give to him my covenant of peace. 13It shall be to him, and to his offspring after him, the covenant of an everlasting priesthood, because he was jealous for his God, and made atonement for the children of Israel.’”
14Now the name of the man of Israel that was slain, who was slain with the Midianite woman, was Zimri, the son of Salu, a prince of a fathers’ house among the Simeonites. 15The name of the Midianite woman who was slain was Cozbi, the daughter of Zur. He was head of the people of a fathers’ house in Midian.
16Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, 17“Harass the Midianites, and strike them; 18for they harassed you with their wiles, wherein they have deceived you in the matter of Peor, and in the incident regarding Cozbi, the daughter of the prince of Midian, their sister, who was slain on the day of the plague in the matter of Peor.”
The story of Balaam in the Book of Numbers (chs. 22-24) is breathtaking. Who was this individual and what are we to make of his unusual account in Torah?
Here are some particulars:
- Numbers 22-24 describe the only narrative in Torah (excluding Genesis, of course) in which Moses is neither a participant nor even an observer.
- Names are so very important in narratives in Hebrew Scripture, Balaam’s name is one of a handful that does not have a positive meaning; “Balaam” (בִּלְעָם bil‘am) means “devourer of the people.” It is likely that his original name meant “The divine uncle brought forth” (W.F. Albright).
- Balaam is also one of a few Bible characters whose name is found in texts outside of the Bible; An inscription dated 880-770 b.c was discovered in 1967 at Deir ‘Alla, Jordan, that is attributed to “Balaam, son of Beor”—showing that he still had followers many hundreds of years following his death. Balaam was the true counter to Moses; God used this famous pagan to attest to His wonder and to validate Moses.
- One wonders if Balaam is a good prophet who went bad, or a bad prophet who went good. His seven oracles, each beginning with the words, “And he took up his oracle and said, . . .” (Num 23, 24), present some of the most beautiful poetry in praise of Yahweh and Israel in all of Torah; yet actually he did all he could to destroy Israel (Num 25; 31:16); observe his evaluation in the New Testament (2 Pet 2:15; Jude 1:11; Rev 2:14).
- In point of fact, Balaam should not be thought of in these terms. He was not a true prophet nor a false prophet in Israel; Balaam was a pagan mantic, completely outside the concepts of prophets in Israel. He was a baru prophet who used the liver of a newly slaughtered sheep to discover the will of the gods. Liver divination (hepatoscopy) was a practice of some diviners in the ancient Near East.
- Balaam was a pagan mantic whom Yahweh used to present His blessings on Israel. Balak the King of Moab hired this famous person to bring a curse on Israel. In a riveting account, this poser was given God’s words of blessing, to the chagrin of Balak and to his own shame. At one point he even expresses a bit of regret, “Oh that my latter end might be his” (Num 23:10).
- Thus the story of Balaam presents the height of divine inspiration. When one speaks truly for God, we would expect he speaks from deep, personal faith. But God can cause even an enemy to give voice to His praise!
See Ronald B. Allen, “The Theology of the Balaam Oracles,” in John S. and Paul D. Feinberg, Tradition and Testament: Essays in Honor of Charles Lee Feinberg (Chicago: Moody Press, 1981), 79-119.
Dr. Ronald Allen is Senior Professor of Bible Exposition at Dallas Theological Seminary. Dr. Allen wrote his massive study on Numbers 22-24 on the Balaam Oracles under Dr. Bruce Waltke at Dallas Seminary.