8<\/strong>. The first two lines are identical (with the exception of ‘him’ for ‘them’) with Num 23:22<\/span> (E ); and in both traditions the words follow a reference to Israel’s king, and precede the metaphor of the lion and lioness.<\/p>\n And smite<\/em> them through with his arrows<\/em> ] lit. ‘and (as for) his arrows he shall smite.’ ‘His arrows’ ( ) should perhaps be either ‘his oppressors’ ( ) or ‘his loins’ ( ). For the latter cf. Deu 33:11<\/span>.<\/p>\n Verse 8<\/span>. God brought him forth out of Egypt<\/B><\/I>] They were neither expelled<\/I> thence, nor came voluntarily<\/I> away. God alone, with a high hand and uplifted arm, brought them forth. Concerning the unicorn<\/I>, See Clarke on <\/span>Nu 23:22<\/span><\/span>.<\/P> <\/p>\n Shall break their bones, <\/B>or, unbone<\/I>, or, take out<\/I>, i.e. shall eat the flesh to the very bones, and then break them also. <\/P> <\/p>\n God brought him forth out of Egypt, he hath as it were the strength of an unicorn<\/strong>,…. Here he repeats what he had said in a former prophecy, [See comments on Nu 23:22]<\/span>: he shall eat up the nations his enemies: the seven nations of Canaan, which should be subdued by Israel, and that with as much ease as a lion devours its prey; nor would the Canaanites be able to make any more resistance to them than a creature in the paws of a lion; and the phrase denotes the utter destruction of them:<\/p>\n and shall break their bones<\/strong>; as the lion breaks the bones of such creatures that fall a prey to him; signifying that all their strength should be taken from them, their mighty men slain, and their fortified cities taken:<\/p>\n and pierce [them] through with his arrows<\/strong>: slay them utterly.<\/p>\n In Num 24:8<\/span> and Num 24:9<\/span>, Balaam proclaims still further: “ God leads him out of Egypt; his strength is as that of a buffalo: he will devour nations his enemies, and crush their bones, and dash them in pieces with his arrows. He has encamped, he lies down like a lion, and like a lioness: who can drive him up? Blessed be they who bless thee, and cursed they who curse thee!<\/em> ” The fulness of power that dwelt in the people of Israel was apparent in the force and prowess with which their God brought them out of Egypt. This fact Balaam repeats from the previous saying (Num 23:22<\/span>), for the purpose of linking on to it the still further announcement of the manner in which the power of the nation would show itself upon its foes in time to come. The words, “he will devour nations,” call up the image of a lion, which is employed in Num 24:9<\/span> to depict the indomitable heroic power of Israel, in words taken from Jacob’s blessing in Gen 49:9<\/span>. The Piel<\/em> is a denom<\/em>. verb from , with the meaning to destroy, crush the bones, like , to root out (cf. Ges.<\/em> 52, 2; Ewald<\/em>, 120, e<\/em>.). is not the object to ; for , to dash to pieces, does not apply to arrows, which may be broken in pieces, but not dashed to pieces; and the singular suffix in can only apply to the singular idea in the verse, i.e., to Israel, and not to its enemies, who are spoken of in the plural. Arrows<\/em> are singled out as representing weapons in general.<\/p>\n (Note: The difficulty which many feel in connection with the word cannot be removed by alterations of the text. The only possible conjecture (his loins) is wrecked upon the singular suffix, for the dashing to pieces of the loins of Israel is not for a moment to be thought of. Knobel’s<\/em> proposal, viz., to read , has no support in Deu 33:11<\/span>, and is much too violent to reckon upon any approval.)<\/p>\n Balaam closes this utterance, as he had done the previous one, with a quotation from Jacob’s blessing, which he introduces to show to Balak, that, according to words addressed by Jehovah to the Israelites through their own tribe-father, they were to overcome their foes so thoroughly, that none of them should venture to rise up against them again. To this he also links on the words with which Isaac had transferred to Jacob in Gen 27:29<\/span> the blessing of Abraham in Gen 12:3<\/span>, for the purpose of warning Balak to desist from his enmity against the chosen people of God.<\/p>\n (8) God brought him forth out of Egypt.<\/strong>(Comp. Num. 23:22<\/span>, and Note.)<\/p>\n 8<\/strong>. <\/strong> Unicorn <\/strong> This comparison is only an amplification of that in chap. xxiii, 22. See note. <\/p>\n Eat up the nations <\/strong> Destroy them. As an illustration take the seven nations of Canaan. Num 14:9<\/span>; Deu 7:1<\/span>. So all nations shall be utterly wasted or conquered by spiritual Israel. Isa 60:12<\/span>. <\/p>\n Break their bones <\/strong> Literally, unmarrow their fat bones <\/em> weakening them beyond recovery. <\/p>\n Arrows <\/strong> The chief missiles of ancient war. They are figurative of the piercing words of inspiration. Psa 45:5<\/span>; Psa 64:4<\/span>.<\/p>\n Num 24:8<\/span><\/em><\/strong>. <\/strong>God brought him forth out of Egypt<\/em><\/strong><\/strong> The meaning of which both here and in chap. Num 23:22<\/span> is, That as it was God, their guide and king, who with a strong arm brought them forth out of Egypt; so that same God will make them victorious over all their enemies; and, consequently, all opposition is in vain. As a proof of which, the prophet adds, he, i.e.<\/em> Israel, hath, i.e.<\/em> from God, as it were, the strength of an unicorn. <\/em>That there is no such animal as the unicorn, vulgarly understood, is on all hands agreed. The question therefore is, what animal is meant by the original word reem? <\/em>There are two opinions, 1st, that of Bochart, who thinks that an eastern animal, of the stag <\/em>or deer <\/em>kind, is meant, remarkable for his height, <\/em>[see Psa 92:10<\/span>.] strength, and fierceness; see Bochart, vol. 2: p. 949. 2nd, Others, of which number particularly is the learned Scheuchzer, suppose the rhinoceros <\/em>to be meant. See Scheuch. Phys. Sacr. vol. 4. Bochart’s opinion seems the most probable, (as we may collect from Deu 33:17<\/span>.) that no one-horned <\/em>animal can be meant; for it is there said of Joseph, his horns are the horns of a reem; with them he shall push the people to the ends of the earth; and they <\/em>(that is, these two horns<\/em>) are the ten thousands of Ephraim and the thousands of Manasseh, i.e.<\/em> the two tribes which sprung from Joseph. See Parkhurst’s Lexicon: who says that rim, <\/em>which occurs, Job 39:9-10<\/span> and plural ramim, <\/em>Psa 22:21<\/span> in his opinion, denote the same kind of animal as reem, <\/em>or are only other names for the Oryx. So that, according to this interpretation, Balaam foretels that, as the reem <\/em>or oryx, exceeds other goats in eminence and size, so Israel should surpass in glory the other neighbouring nations, and rule over them by his strength and power. The word which we may render strength <\/em> toapat, <\/em>rendered by the interlineary version indefatigationes, <\/em>and by Le Clerc altitudines, <\/em>the heights, <\/em>may, perhaps, more properly signify quick <\/em>and indefatigable motions; <\/em>and if so, it is with great propriety applied to the oryx, as well as to the quick and sudden conquest of the children of Israel. We should, however, just observe, that there is a species of the rhinoceros with two horns, <\/em>which is a native of Africa, and is very frequently found at the Cape of Good Hope. <\/p>\n He shall eat up the nations his enemies<\/em><\/strong><\/strong> If this refers to the animal just mentioned, it will be a strong argument for interpreting it of the rhinoceros, <\/em>since the particulars here expressed can by no means be applied to any thing of the goat <\/em>or deer <\/em>kind. If, however, reem <\/em>be understood to mean the oryx, we must understand Balaam as referring to the lion, whereof he speaks in the next verse, and pierce them with his arrows, <\/em>which entirely destroys the metaphor. The Hebrew literally is, and his transfixings shall transfix, vechitzaiv yimchatz; <\/em>by which, I apprehend, no more is meant, than that he shall deeply pierce <\/em>and wound <\/em>his enemies; and, if we understand it of the rhinoceros, <\/em>we may very properly translate it, and deeply wound them with his horns; <\/em>for every naturalist informs us what terrible havock the rhinoceros makes with his horn, or horns, in combat with other beasts. <\/p>\n Num 24:8 God brought him forth out of Egypt; he hath as it were the strength of an unicorn: he shall eat up the nations his enemies, and shall break their bones, and pierce [them] through with his arrows.<\/p>\n Ver. 8. God brought him forth out of Egypt.<\/strong> ] This he tells Balak, in answer to that complaint of his. Num 20:5 Behold, there is a people come out of Egypt, q.d., <\/em> Come they are indeed, but not of themselves, but by God, who said, “Out of Egypt have I called my son.”<\/p>\n him. Some codices, with Targum of Onkelos, The Targum of Jonathan ben Uzziel and Syriac, read “them”. Compare Num 23:22. <\/p>\n unicorn. See note on Num 23:22. <\/p>\n God: Num 21:5, Num 23:22 <\/p>\n shall eat: Num 14:9, Num 23:24, Deu 7:1 <\/p>\n break: Psa 2:9, Isa 38:13, Jer 50:17, Dan 6:24 <\/p>\n pierce: Deu 32:23, Deu 32:42, Psa 21:12, Psa 45:5, Jer 50:9 <\/p>\n Reciprocal: Deu 33:17 – his horns 2Sa 17:10 – heart Psa 18:14 – Yea Psa 92:10 – an unicorn Isa 31:4 – Like as Isa 34:7 – unicorns Mat 2:15 – Out Act 5:13 – of<\/p>\n Num 24:8-9. He shall eat up the nations, &c. The expressions in these verses are intended to signify the victories which the Israelites should gain over their enemies, and particularly the Canaanites, and the secure and quiet possession they should have of the land afterward, all which was fulfilled especially in the days of David and Solomon. He couched, he lay down as a lion It is remarkable that God here put into the mouth of Balaam nearly the same expressions which Jacob had used concerning Judah, (Gen 49:9,) and Isaac concerning Jacob, Gen 27:29. And what wonder, considering that all these prophecies proceeded from one and the same spirit?<\/p>\n God brought him forth out of Egypt; he hath as it were the strength of a unicorn: he shall eat up the nations his enemies, and shall break their bones, and pierce [them] through with his arrows. 8. The first two lines are identical (with the exception of ‘him’ for ‘them’) with Num 23:22 (E … Continue reading “Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Numbers 24:8”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4463","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-commentary"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4463","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4463"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4463\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4463"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4463"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4463"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"