Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Numbers 22:23
And the ass saw the angel of the LORD standing in the way, and his sword drawn in his hand: and the ass turned aside out of the way, and went into the field: and Balaam smote the ass, to turn her into the way.
23. with his sword drawn in his hand ] Num 22:31. Jos 5:13.
and went into the field ] The road would run through the open country (‘the field’), without walls or fences. These would only be employed between vineyards, to keep out animals.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Verse 23. And the ass saw the angel] When God granted visions those alone who were particularly interested saw them while others in the same company saw nothing; see Da 10:7; Ac 9:7.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Balaam saw not the angel because God withheld his eyes, as he did the eyes of Daniels companions, Dan 10:7. It is a truth, which mere philosophers own, that when God withdraws his concourse or help from any of his creatures, they cannot perform their natural acts and offices; the eye cannot see, as Ge 19, nor the ear hear, nor the fire burn, as Da 3.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
And the ass saw the angel of the Lord standing in the way,…. Which Balaam did not; his eyes being held from seeing him by the power and providence of God, that he might be reproved and rebuked by his ass, to whom God gave power to see, more than to him, as Jarchi notes, so that he had little reason to boast of his visions and revelations, and that he was the man whose eyes were open: the angel stood in the very pathway on which the ass was carrying Balaam: and his sword drawn in his hand; as threatening to destroy him, and as if he was just about to push at him, and signifying hereby not only that he deserved to die, but what death he should die of, namely, by the sword, as he did, Nu 31:8
and the ass turned aside out of the way; out of the common road, to save its master and itself, from a natural principle of self-preservation: and went into the field; adjoining to, and that lay along the road side:
and Balaam smote the ass to turn her into the way; with his staff, as in Nu 22:27 to bring her into the common road again.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
23. And the ass saw the angel “To the great disgrace of the prophet, the glory of the angel was first of all apparent to the ass. He had been boasting before this of extraordinary visions, and now what was visible to the eyes of a beast was invisible to him! Whence came this blindness, but from the avarice by which he had been so stupified that he preferred filthy lucre to the holy calling of God?” Calvin. All who are versed in natural history agree that irrational animals have a much keener instinctive presentiment of many natural phenomena, such as earthquakes, storms, etc., than man has with his five senses. “The fact is equally undeniable,”
says Keil, “that many animals, as horses and cows, see the so-called second sight.”
Sword drawn A symbol of the wrath of Jehovah. 1Ch 21:16; Jos 5:13, note.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Num 22:23. The ass saw the angel of the Lord The same great angel, or messenger of the covenant, as many commentators suppose, who appeared to the patriarchs; and by whom, as it is thought, God manifested himself to Balaam. This angel stood to oppose him in the way; and, whether it was that he was struck with a temporary blindness, or that his mind was intent upon something else, so as not to prevent his attending to what was before him, Balaam saw not the angel, though he was displaced in all his terror to the ass, who accordingly fled from him, and at length, unable to pass him, sunk down beneath her master, (Num 22:27.) who continuing to strike her, God wrought a miracle to confound him, and caused the animal to pronounce articulate sounds. (Num 22:28.) The Jews have not been able to persuade themselves that so extraordinary an event really happened: Philo suppresses it in his Life of Moses; and Maimonides pretends that it came to pass only in a vision: and yet how often have the rabbis themselves fancied more marvellous events without the least necessity! What right have they, who give mystical interpretations to the most simple events, to refuse acknowledging this miracle? The most severe philosophy cannot deny but that God is able to make beings, destitute of knowledge and reflection, pronounce sounds full of sense, reason, and truth: above all, the heathens have no right to reproach us with this history, who relate so many of the like nature, but not at all supported; as Achilles’ horse, Phryxus’ ram, Europa’s bull, Porus’s elephant, &c. See Bochart’s Hieroz. p. 192. Indeed, as Bishop Newton well observes, the proper use of citing such authorities, is, not to prove that those instances and this of Balaam are upon an equal footing, and equally credible, but only to prove that the Gentiles believed such things to be true, and to lie within the power of their gods; consequently, that they could not object to the truth of Scripture history on this account. Diss. on Prophecies, vol. 1: p. 118. Mr. Wogan, in his Essays on the Proper Lessons, vol. 3: remarks, that if Satan inspired the mute serpent to speak to and beguile our first parents, why should it be thought a thing incredible, that the Divine Power should give human speech to the dumb ass, in order to shut the mouth of this other instrument of Satan who was going to curse his people? The opening of the mouth of the dumb ass could not but be a convincing proof, says Psalmanazar, both to Balaam and his company, how vain and fruitless it would be for him to attempt, or them to bribe him, to speak otherwise than God should think proper, who, if he was able to make a brute beast speak, contrary to his nature, was no less able to interdict the tongue of its rider from uttering any thing but what should be dictated to him. God might, indeed, without any further miracle, have put it wholly out of his power to have done otherwise; but if, instead of depriving him of his liberty upon this extraordinary occasion, he is rather pleased to deter him from abusing it, and his Moabitish retinue from tempting him to do so, by the miraculous speaking of a dumb ass, was not this a most striking way to convince both of his divine interposition in favour of the Israelites?
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Was not this angel the same which had gone before Israel all the way through the wilderness? Exo 23:20 compared with Mal 2:1 .
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Num 22:23 And the ass saw the angel of the LORD standing in the way, and his sword drawn in his hand: and the ass turned aside out of the way, and went into the field: and Balaam smote the ass, to turn her into the way.
Ver. 23. And the ass saw the angel. ] Which Balaam saw not; his eyes were put out with the dust of covetousness, or dazzled at least with the glittering of the promised promotions.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
His sword drawn. As in 1Ch 21:16. Balaam was going to have Israel killed with the sword.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
the ass saw: 2Ki 6:17, 1Ch 21:16, Dan 10:7, Act 22:9, 1Co 1:27-29, 2Pe 2:16, Jud 1:11
the ass turned: Jer 8:7
Reciprocal: Gen 3:24 – a flaming Exo 4:24 – the Lord Jos 5:13 – his sword 2Pe 2:15 – who