Numbers 22:31

Num 22:31-32. The Lord opened the eyes of Balaam — He presented the angel to his view, who had hitherto been invisible to him. He fell flat on his face — In token of reverence and submission. Thy way is perverse — Springing from covetousness.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

For whose eyes the Lord doth not open, they can neither see his anger, nor his love.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

And Balaam said unto the angel of the Lord, I have sinned,.... That is, in beating the ass; not that he was sensible of his sin of covetousness, and of the evil disposition of his mind, and of his wicked intention in going along with the princes to curse Israel, if possible, and get Balak's presents and preferments:

for I knew not that thou stoodest in the way against me; signifying, that if he had known it, he should not have smitten the ass, but submitted himself to the will of the angel:

now therefore, if it displease thee, I will get me back again; which he spoke very coldly and faintly, not caring heartily to go back, unless forced to it; for seeing a drawn sword in his hand, he might be afraid of his life should he persist in his journey, and therefore feigns a readiness to go back, quitting it on condition that his going forwards was displeasing; whereas he knew it was, especially his going with an evil mind to hurt Israel if possible.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Ground, with religious worship; not as God, but as an angel. See Exodus xx. (Worthington)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

In token of reverence and submission.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

31. Opened the eyes — His natural eyes, which up to this time had been unable to see the angel. Luk_24:16, note. Says Hengstenberg, “This is a statement which cannot possibly be understood of any thing but the inward eye.” Query: Did the ass also see the angel with his inward eye? Was the beast in an ecstatic state? The literal exegesis is far more rational than that which reduces this whole affair to a phantasm supernaturally wrought in the mind of the man and the beast.

Fell flat on his face — Hebrew, he bowed himself to his face, that is, either upon his own face, or to the face of the angel, in adoration. “Adored him, [falling,] prone to the ground.” — Vulgate. “He bowed, and worshipped upon his face.” — Targum of Onkelos.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

The Lord opened the eyes of Balaam, and he saw the angel. As on other occasions, the angel was not perceptible to ordinary sight, but only to eyes in some way quickened and purged by the Divine operation. This explains the fact that Balaam"s companions would appear to have seen nothing. (cf. Act_9:7)

Vers. 31-35. Balaam the arrest.

The secret willingness of Balaam to yield to the solicitations of Balak, seen at first in the tone of his answer, "The Lord refuseth," &c., was still more manifest in his parleying with the second appeal. Though he felt the resistless force of the Divine restraint, yet he delayed the return of the messengers for the night in hope of getting a reversal of the sentence (verses 18, 19). No wonder God"s anger was kindled against him, and that, though permission was at last given him to go, he was made in this startling way to feel that he was in the hands of a Power that would not be mocked. Whatever view we take of the strange incidents of this narrative, whether as objective realities, or as the visions of a trance, the moral lessons remain substantially the same. Three features of Balaam"s conduct are specially prominent. ;

I His CRUEL ANGER. His rough treatment of the dumb ass is marked with reprobation. It was both itself evil and the symptom of a hidden evil.

1. We may believe that the secret unrest of his conscience had a great dealto do with this outburst of anger. Note the subtle connection that often exists between certain unusual phases of conduct and the hidden workings of the heart. Jonah"s anger at the withering of the gourd was but one of the signs of his general want of sympathy with the Divine procedure. Balaam, perhaps, was not a cruel man, but the sense of wrong within and the feeling that he was doing wrong betrayed itself even in this form of behaviour. Conscience made him a coward, and cowardice is always cruel. If it had not been for the "madness" of his passion, he might have judged, as a diviner, that the unwillingness of the beast to pursue her journey counseled him to return; but when a man"s heart is not right with God, resentment is often roused against that which is meant to turn him into a better way. "Am I become your enemy because I tell you the truth?". (Gal_4:16)

2. It illustrates the sad subjection of the inferior creatures to the curse of moral evil. "The creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly." "The whole creation groaneth," &c. We think it strange that the dumb ass should "speak with man"s voice and rebuke the prophet"s madness," but, to the ear that can hear it, such a voice is continually going forth from all the innocent creatures that suffer the cruel consequences of man"s abuse. Well may St. Paul represent them as "waiting with earnest expectation for the manifestation of the sons of God". ; (Rom_8:19, Rom_8:22)

II HIS BLIND INFATUATION. It is deeply significant that he should not have seen the angel. Even the poor dumb creature that he rode saw more than he did. It was his moral perversity, the frenzy of his carnal ambition, that was the true cause of the dullness of his spiritual vision. Note

1. Sin blinds men to the things that it is most needful for them to apprehend and know. Mental blindness often, not always, has a moral cause. "This people"s heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing," &c. ; (Mat_13:15) The highest spiritual truths, realities of the spirit world, tokens of the Divine presence and working, eternal moral laws, sacred responsibilities of life, &c. all these are darkly hidden from him whose heart is "thoroughly set in him to do evil. ;

2. Even animal instinct is a safer guide than the moral sense of a bad man.It effectually warns of danger, and prompts to the pursuit of the good nature requires. It is to the animal a sufficient law. But when the "spirit in man, the inspiration of the Almighty that giveth him understanding," the sovereignty of reason and conscience, is overborne by base fleshly lust, man sinks lower than the brutes that perish. Their obedience to the law of their being puts him to shame. Though they "speak not with man"s voice," their silent wisdom "rebukes him for his iniquity." "If the light that is in thee be darkness," &c. ; (Mat_6:23)

III HIS HELPLESSNESS. This is seen

1. In his abject submission. "He bowed down his head, and fell fiat on hisface," saying, "I have sinned;" "now, therefore, if it displease thee, I will get me back again." He must have known from the beginning that his obstinate self-will was displeasing to God, but now that the consequences of it stare him in the face he is filled with alarm. There are those who grieve over their sin only when it is found out. It is not the evil itself they dread, but only its discovery and punishment. Fear often makes men repent and reform when there is no genuine abhorrence of wrong-doing.

2. In the Divine compulsion under which he is placed to pursue his Journey."go with the men," &c. He would fain draw back, but it is too late now; he must do the work and bear the testimony that God has determined for him.

When men are bent upon that which is evil, God often allows them to become entangled in circumstances of danger from which there is no escape, that "they may eat of the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own devices". W. (Pro_1:31)

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

On his face - In token of reverence and submission.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

Then Yahweh opened Balaam's eyes, and he saw the angel of Yahweh

To "open one's eyes" is associated with being able to see. AT: "Then Yahweh gave Balaam the ability to see the angel of Yahweh" (See: Metonymy)

with his drawn sword

A sword is drawn from its sheath in order to be ready to use. See how you translated this in Numbers 22:23. AT: "with his sword ready to attack" (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)

Balaam lowered his head and lay facedown

This indicates that Balaam is humbling himself before the angel. (See: Symbolic Action)

Why have you struck your donkey these three times?

This rhetorical question is used to accuse Balaam of doing wrong. This can be translated as a statement. AT: "You should not have struck your donkey these three times." (See: Rhetorical Question)

as someone hostile to you

"as an enemy to you" or "to oppose you"

If she had not turned ... killed you and spared her life

This hypothetical statement indicated what could have happened, but it did not because the donkey's actions saved Balaam. (See: Hypothetical Situations)

translationWords

Yahweh

angel

sword

donkey

evil

turn

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

AND THE ETERNAL OPENED THE EYES OF BALAAM. From this verse we learn that Balaam was not a prophet [who habitually received Divine messages], because had he been a prophet, how could it be that he required “opening of the eyes” to see the angel, which is the term used by Scripture about someone who has not reached the degree of prophecy, such as Elisha’s young man,. or Hagar the Egyptian,. and Scripture does not speak in this manner about the prophets! And indeed Scripture calls him, Balaam the son of Beor, the soothsayer. And when Balaam said, as the Eternal may speak unto me, he called his [ability] to know future events by means of his soothsaying “the word of G-d,” [and it does not refer to the gift of prophecy]. But for the sake of the honor of Israel G-d [indeed] came to him that night, Verse 9. [in a prophet-like vision], and afterwards he was favored with “opening of the eyes” in seeing the angel, and speaking to him, and finally he attained the degree of [seeing] the vision of the Almighty — all this being for the sake of Israel and in their honor. But after he returned to his land, however, he [reverted to the status of a mere] soothsayer, for that is how Scripture describes him at [the time of] his death, [saying]: And Balaam the son of Beor, the soothsayer, did the children of Israel slay with the sword, and G-d forbid that they should stretch forth a hand against a prophet of G-d! And so did the Rabbis say in the Midrash Bamidbar Sinai Rabbah: “Balaam partook of the Ruach Hakodesh, Note 71 and Ramban ibid. but after he associated himself with Balak, the Ruach Hakodesh departed from him and he became again a [mere] soothsayer, as he had been originally. Therefore he complained: ‘I was elevated [in prophecy], but Balak brought about my descent.’”

Ramban (Nachmanides) on the Tanakh — English translation: “Commentary on the Torah by Ramban (Nachmanides). Translated and annotated by Charles B. Chavel. New York, Shilo Pub. House, 1971-1976” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.