Numbers 23:8

Hebrew (Westminster Leningrad Codex)

English Translation

How shall I curse, whom God has not cursed? How shall I defy, whom Yahweh has not defied?

World English Bible · Public Domain

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Word by word

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קַבֹּ֖ה

qâbab

H6895

“to curse · him”

Verb, Qal, Perfect, 3rd Person, Masculine, Singular + Suffix, Personal, 3rd Person, Masculine, Singular

Appears 9× in the Hebrew Bible
First appears at Numbers 22:11

Full BDB Definition

Origin: a primitive root

TWOT: 1978

to curse, utter a curse against - (Qal) to curse

About this verse

These counts appear in no published source. They are computed here, from the morphology-tagged text and Lemma’s own curated glosses. What Lemma adds →

10: words
7: distinct lemmas
Pentateuch: section

Notable vocabulary

The rarest word here is קַבֹּ֖ה to curse H6895 — appearing just 9 times in the whole Hebrew Bible.

Shared distinctive vocabulary

קַבֹּ֖ה to curse H6895 occurs in 9 verses of the Hebrew Bible. Also found in:

Grammatical profile

4 verbs
2 nouns
4 particles

Verb forms

אֶקֹּ֔ב Qal · Imperfect
קַבֹּ֖ה Qal · Perfect
אֶזְעֹ֔ם Qal · Imperfect
זָעַ֖ם Qal · Perfect

Repetition

Words recur within this verse — often emphatic in Hebrew:

אֶזְעֹ֔ם to be indignant H2194 ×2
מָ֣ה what H4100 ×2
לֹ֥א not H3808 ×2

Hebrew & Septuagint length

In English translation the verse runs 18 words from the Hebrew and 18 from the Septuagint (LXX English) — the same length.

A rough comparison of the two English renderings, which tokenize alike — not a word-level alignment.

Word counts can differ between the Hebrew and the Greek without any difference in meaning — e.g. the Hebrew direct-object marker אֵת has no separate Greek word, and Greek often adds the article ὁ.

In the original languages it is 10 Hebrew tokens and 14 Greek tokens — but the two are counted differently (Hebrew bundles its prefixes and suffixes into one token; the Greek is in lemma form), so that isn’t a like-for-like length.

Cross-references

Topical passages linked to Numbers 23:8 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge — connected by theme and wording, ordered by reader-vote popularity; previews shown in the World English Bible.

Numbers 23:23 Surely there is no enchantment with Jacob; Neither is there any divination with Israel: Now shall it be said of Jacob and of Israel, What has God done!
Numbers 23:20 Behold, I have received [commandment] to bless: He has blessed, and I can't reverse it.
Isaiah 44:25 who frustrates the signs of the liars, and makes diviners mad; who turns wise men backward, and makes their knowledge foolish;
Numbers 22:12 God said to Balaam, You shall not go with them; you shall not curse the people; for they are blessed.
Isaiah 47:12–13 Stand now with your enchantments, and with the multitude of your sorceries, in which you have labored from your youth; if so be you shall be able to profit, if so be you may prevail.

Cross-references courtesy of OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0).

Hebrew and Greek witnesses Masoretic Hebrew ↔ Greek Septuagint

The same verse in the two great witnesses to the Old Testament, shown verse-for-verse.

These are two independent witnesses, not word-aligned to each other, and the Septuagint is shown in lemma (dictionary) form.

Hebrew Numbers 23:8 Masoretic · Westminster Leningrad Codex

מָ֣ה אֶקֹּ֔ב לֹ֥א קַבֹּ֖ה אֵ֑ל וּמָ֣ה אֶזְעֹ֔ם לֹ֥א זָעַ֖ם יְהוָֽה

How shall I curse, whom God has not cursed? How shall I defy, whom Yahweh has not defied?

World English Bible · Public Domain

Greek LXX Numbers 23:8 Septuagint · lemma form

τίς ἀράομαι ὅς μή κατααράομαι κύριος ἤ τίς καταἀράομαι ὅς μή κατααράομαι ὁ θεός

How can I curse whom the Lord curses not? or how can I devote whom God devotes not?

LXX2012 (modern English Septuagint) · Public Domain

Hebrew: Westminster Leningrad Codex (CC BY 4.0). Greek: Septuagint (public domain); English from LXX2012 (modern English Septuagint) (Public Domain). How the Septuagint differs from the Hebrew →

Targum (Aramaic paraphrase)

The Targum is the ancient Jewish Aramaic paraphrase of the Hebrew Scriptures — an interpretive translation, not the Hebrew text itself. Onkelos (literal) and Pseudo-Jonathan (expansive) render the Torah, and Jonathan the Prophets. Coverage is partial: where no permissively-licensed English translation exists for a verse, only the Aramaic is shown. This is verse-level text, not a word-by-word alignment to the Hebrew.

Targum Onkelos Torah (Genesis–Deuteronomy)

מָה אֲלוֹטֵיהּ דְלָא לַטְיֵהּ אֵל וּמָה אֲתָרְכֵיהּ דְלָא תָרְכֵיהּ יְיָ

(no public-domain English translation for this verse)

Targum Onkelos — Aramaic: “Onkelos Genesis” (public domain); “Onkelos Exodus” (public domain); “Onkelos Leviticus” (public domain); “Onkelos Numbers” (public domain); “Onkelos Deuteronomy” (public domain). English: “Sefaria Community Translation” (CC0 1.0 (public-domain dedication)); “J.W. Etheridge. The Targums of Onkelos and Jonathan Ben Uzziel on the Pentateuch. London: Longmans, Green, 1862” (public domain). Text via Sefaria.
Targum Pseudo-Jonathan Torah (Genesis–Deuteronomy)

מָה אֲנָא לָאִיט וּמֵימְרָא דַיְיָ מְבָרֵךְ יַתְהוֹן וּמִן אֲנָא מַזְעֵיר וּמֵימְרָא דַיְיָ מַסְגֵי יַתְהוֹן

How shall I curse, (while) the Word of the Lord blesseth them? and whom shall I diminish, when the Word of the Lord increaseth them?

Targum Pseudo-Jonathan — Aramaic: “Targum Jonathan on Genesis” (public domain); “Targum Jonathan on Exodus” (public domain); “Targum Jonathan on Leviticus” (public domain); “Targum Jonathan on Numbers” (public domain); “Targum Jonathan on Deuteronomy” (public domain). English: “The Targum of Jonathan ben Uzziel, trans. J. W. Etheridge, London, 1862” (public domain). Text via Sefaria.

Commentary

Notes on Numbers 23:8 from classic Christian and Jewish commentators (each source and its license shown beneath its notes). The classic Christian expositions comment on the surrounding passage and are grouped to its opening verse, so a note may address several verses; the Jewish commentaries on the Tanakh (Rashi and others) are per-verse, so they appear only where the commentator wrote on this verse.

Lemma curates 59 commentaries, every one of them public domain or Creative Commons licensed, each selected and text-cleaned for this edition rather than reprinted as found. About our sources →

Trapp's Complete Commentary

John Trapp

Num 23:8 How shall I curse, whom God hath not cursed? or how shall I defy, [whom] the LORD hath not defied?

Ver. 8. How shall I curse?] He had a good mind to it, but did not, because he durst not: God stood over him with a whip, as it were; the angel with a sword in his hand could not be forgotten by him. Virtus nolentium nulla est.

How shall I defy?] How easy a thing is it to wag a wicked tongue? to find good words in mouth of hell?

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown

How shall I curse, whom God hath not cursed?--A divine blessing has been pronounced over the posterity of Jacob; and therefore, whatever prodigies can be achieved by my charms, all magical skill, all human power, is utterly impotent to counteract the decree of God.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Adam Clarke's Commentary

Verse 8. How shall I curse, whom God hath not cursed?] It was granted on all hands that no incantations nor imprecations could avail, unless God concurred and ratified them. From God's communication to Balaam he saw that God was determined to bless and defend Israel, and therefore all endeavours to injure them must be in vain.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

John Gill's Exposition

How shall I curse whom God hath not cursed?.... The sense is, that it was impossible for him to curse those that God did not curse himself, or would not have cursed by others; not but that he had a good will to it, to get Balak's money and honour, but he knew not how to accomplish it; yea, he saw it was in vain to attempt it, it was a thing that could not possibly be done: God does not, nor will he curse his spiritual Israel; they are blessed by him in Christ, and they shall be blessed; nor is it in the power of their enemies to curse them, or do them any harm: the Targums of Jonathan and Jerusalem, instead of God and the Lord in this and the following clause, use the phase,"the Word of the Lord;''the essential Word, the Son of God, who is so far from cursing his people, that he has delivered them from the curses of the law, being made a curse for them, that the blessings of the everlasting covenant of grace might come upon them; and they are blessed of God in him, and for his sake, with all spiritual blessings:

or how shall I defy whom the Lord hath not defied? which is the same thing in other words, only this last word is expressive of more contempt and indignation.

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

Matthew Poole's English Annotations

God hath not cursed, but blessed Israel, and therefore it is a vain and ridiculous attempt for me to curse them in spite of God.

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

Whedon's Commentary on the Bible

Daniel D. Whedon

8. Whom God hath not cursed — Balaam could not curse Israel, because God withheld him from so doing. Thus this master magician confesses that he is neither to help nor to hurt without leave from God. In language strikingly similar is the Babylonian exposed to shame by the prophet. See Isa_47:12-14.

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

The Pulpit Commentary

HOMILIES BY E.S. PROUT Ver. 8. The safety of all who enjoy the blessing of God.

God"s "defiance" the signal of destruction; God"s "curse," fatal. But if protected from these we are safe, for "the curse causeless cannot come." We are safe from

1. Malicious designs. E.g., Balaam"s wish to curse; the plot of the Jews to stone Paul at Iconium, (Act_14:5) and to assassinate him at Jerusalem. (Ac 23)

2. Words of execration. E.g., Shimei; (2Sa 16) the blasphemies spoken against Christ, and the libels uttered against his people. (Mat_10:24-26)

3. Witchcraft and divination. In reply to all such foolish fears let it sufficeto say, "I believe in God". (Isa_8:13, 14 1Pe_3:13)

4. Assaults and all violence. E.g., the various attempts to seize or kill Jesus Christ when "his hour was not yet come." When the hour for suffering "as a Christian is come, let him glorify God". (1Pe_4:12-16) Such calamities are not "curses" from God, and God can change all other curses into blessings, as in the case of Balaam. (Deu_23:5)

5. Every kind of persecution. (Rom_8:35-39) The devil"s curse is a telum imbelle; his defiance an empty threat. The objects of God"s care are invincible, if not invulnerable. P. (Isa_54:17)

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

Rashi

Rabbi Shlomo Yitzchaki (Rashi)

מה אקב ולא קבה אל HOW SHALL I CURSE WHOM GOD HATH NOT CURSED — Even when they deserved to be cursed, they were not cursed. When their ancestor, Jacob, made mention of their sin — (Genesis 49:6) “For in their anger they slew a man” — he cursed their anger only, as it is said, (Genesis 49:7) “Cursed be their anger”. When their ancestor, Jacob, went to his father with deceit he deserved to be cursed, but what is stated there (Genesis 27:33)? “Yea, he shall be blessed”. In the case of those tribes who had to recite the blessings it is said, (Deuteronomy 27:12) “These shall stand to bless the people”, but in the case of those who had to pronounce the curses it does not state, “And these shall stand to curse the people”, but, “And these shall stand for the curse”, — it does not wish to mention the term “cursing” in direct reference to them (the people) (Midrash Tanchuma, Vayechi 1; Midrash Tanchuma, Balak 12).

לא זעם ה׳” GOD IS NOT ANGRY — As for me, my power lies only in that I know to determine the exact moment when the Holy One, blessed be He, is angry, and He has not been angry all these days that I have been coming to you. And this is the meaning of what is said (Micah 6:5): “O my people, remember now what [Balak, king of Moab] devised and what Balaam [the son of Beor] answered him … that ye may know the righteous acts of the Lord” (Sanhedrin 105b).

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.

Lesson kit

Teaching starters — assembled from the data on this page, not authored interpretation. Every prompt links to the verse data it draws on. Edit before teaching.

Numbers, in the Pentateuch, opens this verse with 10 words (7 distinct Hebrew lemmas). Its most distinctive word is qâbab (“to curse”). A historical commentator’s framing appears above. Read the whole chapter for the surrounding context.

Discussion questions

The word qâbab carries the sense “to curse.” How does it shape the verse?
How does Numbers 22:11, which shares the word «to curse», read alongside this verse?
What does the repetition of “to be indignant” (2× in this one verse) do in this verse?
The translations on this page render this verse differently — a whole-verse word diff, not a word-by-word alignment. What might account for the different wordings?
«אֶקֹּ֔ב» is a Qal Imperfect verb. How does that grammatical form shape the action described?
Compare how Trapp's Complete Commentary and Jamieson, Fausset & Brown read this verse. Where do they agree or differ?

Things to notice

This verse counts 10 Hebrew ↔ 14 Greek words.
These translations choose different wording for 10 words in this verse.
“to be indignant” occurs 2× in this single verse.
7 distinct Hebrew lemmas span 10 words in this verse.