Numbers 24:19

Num 24:19 Out of Jacob shall come he that shall have dominion, and shall destroy him that remaineth of the city.

Ver. 19. And shall destroy him.] David in the history, {1Ki 11:15-16} Christ in the mystery, {Oba 1:18} even all the antichristian rout and rabble. {Rev 19:21}

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.

Num 24:19. Out of Jacob — Out of his loins. He that shall have dominion — David, and especially Christ. Shall destroy him that remaineth of the city — Not only defeat them in the field, but destroy them even in their strongest cities. “We see,” Bishop Newton further observes, “how exactly this prophecy hath been fulfilled in the person and actions of David; but most Jewish as well as Christian writers apply it, primarily, perhaps, to David, but ultimately to the Messiah, as the person chiefly intended, in whom it was to receive its full and entire completion. Onkelos interprets it of the Messiah. Maimonides understands it partly of David, and partly of the Messiah, and with him agree other rabbis. It appears to have been generally understood by the Jews as a prophecy of the Messiah, because the false Christ, who appeared in the reign of the Roman emperor Adrian, assumed the title of Barchochebas, or Son of the Star, in allusion to this prophecy, and in order to have it believed that he was the star that Balaam had seen afar off. The Christian fathers, I think, are unanimous in applying this prophecy to our Saviour, and to the star which appeared at his nativity. Origen, in particular, produces it as one of the plainest and clearest prophecies of the Messiah; and both he and Eusebius affirm, that it was in consequence of Balaam’s prophecies, which were known and believed in the East, that the magi, upon the appearance of a new star, came to Jerusalem to worship him who was born king of the Jews. The stream of modern divines and commentators apply the prophecy principally to our Saviour; and by Moab and Edom they understand the enemies and persecutors of the church.”

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

Of the Edomites.

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

Out of Jacob shall come he that shall have dominion--David, and particularly Christ.

that remaineth of the city--those who flee from the field to fortified places (Psa 60:9).

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

Verse 19. Out of Jacob shall come, c.] This is supposed to refer to Christ, because of what is said Ge 49:10.

It is exceedingly difficult to fix the true sense of this prophecy in all its particulars. Probably the star, Nu 24:17, is only an emblem of kingly power. Among the Egyptians a star is said to have been the symbol of the Divine Being. The sceptre refers to the kingly power in exercise. The corners or outskirts may mean the petty Moabitish governments, as the Chaldee has understood the term. If karkar, which we translate utterly destroy, be not the name of a place here, as it is in Jdg 8:10, (which is not very likely), it may be taken in one of those senses assigned to it, (See Clarke on Nu 24:17,) and signify the blending together the children of Sheth, that is, all the inhabitants of the earth for so the children of Sheth must necessarily be understood, unless we consider it here as meaning some king of the Moabites, according to Grotius, or a city on the borders of Moab, according to Rabbi Nathan. As neither Israel nor the Messiah ever destroyed all the children of men, we must (in order to leave the children of Sheth what they are generally understood to be, all the inhabitants of the world) understand the whole as a prophecy of the final universal sway of the sceptre of Christ, when the middle wall of partition shall be broken down, and the Jews and Gentiles become one united, blended fold, under one shepherd and bishop of their souls.

I cannot think that the meteoric star which guided the wise men of the east to Bethlehem can be intended here; nor do I think that Peter refers to this prophecy when he calls Christ the day star, 2Pe 1:19; nor that Re 2:28, where Christ is called the morning star, nor Re 22:16, where he is called the bright and morning star, refers at all to this prophecy of Balaam. Nor do I think that the false Christ who rose in the time of Adrian, and who called himself Barcochab, which literally signifies the son of a star, did refer to this prophecy. If he had, he must have defeated his own intention, because the SON of the star is not THE STAR that should arise, but at the utmost a descendant; and then, to vindicate his right to the Jewish throne, he must show that the person who was called the star, and of whom he pretended to be the son or descendant, had actually reigned before him. As the sun, moon, stars, planets, light, splendours, effulgence, day, c., were always considered among the Asiatics as emblems of royalty, government, c., therefore many, both men and women, had these names given to them as titles, surnames, &c. So the queen of Alexander the Great, called Roxana by the Greeks, was a Persian princess, and in her native tongue her name was [Persian] Roushen, splendour. Hadassah, who became queen to Ahasuerus, in place of the repudiated Vashti, and is called Esther by Europeans in general, was called in the language of Persia [Persian] Sitareh from whence by corruption came both Esther, the Persian queen, and our word star. And to waive all farther examples, a Mohammedan prince, at first named Eesouf or Joseph, was called [Arabic] Roushen Akhter when he was raised to the throne, which signifies a splendid or luminous star. This prince, by a joyful reverse of fortune, was brought from a gloomy prison and exalted to the throne of Hindostan on which account the following couplet was made, in which there is a paronomasia or play on the name Roushen Akhter; and the last line alludes to the history of the patriarch Joseph, who was brought out of prison and exalted to the highest honours in Egypt.

[Arabic]

[Arabic]

Roushen Akhter bood, aknoon mah shud:

Yousef az zendan ber amd shah shud.

"He was a bright star, but is now become a moon.

Joseph is brought out of prison, and is become a

glorious king."

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

(19) He that shall have dominion.—The reference is explained in Psa_72:8, “He shall have dominion also from sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth,” where the same verb occurs which is in both places rendered in the Authorised Version “shall have dominion.”

And shall destroy him that remaineth of the city.—Or, and He shall destroy the remnant from the cities. The city, which is in the singular number here as in Psa_72:16, may be used collectively to denote cities generally, though some have understood the reference to be to the city of Jerusalem. But the reference seems to be rather to the chief city, or the cities generally, of Edom. (Comp. Obad., Num_24:18, where the same word occurs which is here rendered “him that remaineth,” and which is there rendered “any remaining.”)

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

19. An obscure verse, which is perhaps a later addition to the song. It appears to look forward to a Messianic prospect of universal dominion. Some think that Num_24:18-19 are both entirely corrupt beyond restoration.

shall one have dominion] This and the following verb are impersonal. ‘And dominion will be exercised out of Jacob, and the remnant (of Israel’s enemies) will be destroyed out of the city.’ If the text is right, ‘out of the city’ is parallel with ‘out of Jacob.’ It is therefore the city of the conquerors, i.e. Zion.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And when he looked on Amalek,.... The country of Amalek, which lay to the south of the land of Canaan, Num 13:29 and which Balaam had a view of from the mountain of Peor, where he now was:

and he took up his parable, and said; the parable of his prophecy, as the Targum of Jonathan, and pronounced it aloud:

Amalek was the first of the nations; not the first nation in the world, nor the chief and principal for numbers, riches, or strength, but the first that made war with Israel, as all the three Targums paraphrase it, as they did, see Exo 17:8,

but his latter end shall be that he perish for ever; this was threatened to them by the Lord upon that battle, and is confirmed by this prophecy of Balaam: and after this, orders were given to Israel to blot out their remembrance, Deu 25:19, and which, in a good measure, though not completely, was done in the times of Saul, Sa1 15:8 and after that they were distressed by David, Sa1 27:9 and the rest of them were smitten by the sons of Simeon, in the days of Hezekiah, Ch1 4:41, after which we hear of them no more: Amalek may be considered as a type of antichrist, the son of perdition, who shall go into it, shall come to his end, and there shall be none to help him; which will be true of all the antichristian party, the enemies of Christ, who will be destroyed by him, and perish eternally; see Dan 11:45.

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

Destroy him that remaineth of the city - i. e., shall destroy those of every city that had previously escaped. The phrase tersely describes a conqueror who first defeats his enemies in battle, and then hunts out the fugitives until he has cut off all of every place (compare 1Ki 11:16).

The victories of David were a partial accomplishment of the predictions Num 24:14, Num 24:18, but did not exhaust them.

It is apparent that Edom and Moab are named by Balaam, as they are also by the prophets (compare e. g., Isa 11:14), as representatives of the pagan nations Num 24:8 who were hostile to the theocracy. As Jacob therefore figures as a constant type of the kingdom of Messiah in the prophets, so do Edom and Joab of the enemies of that kingdom; and in the threatened ruin of Edom and Moab is indicated the eventual destruction of all that resist the kingdom of God in its power.

The “Star” and “Sceptre” of the prophecy, like the “Sceptre” and “Lawgiver” of Gen 49:10, point also naturally to a line of princes rather than to an individual; or rather are emblems of the kingdom of Israel generally. Thus, the victories of David and his successors, generation after generation, over Edom and Moab, are unquestionably recurring and progressive accomplishments of what Balaam foretold; but in addition the prophecy reaches forward to some further and culminating accomplishment; and that too in “the latter days” Num 24:14, the ordinary prophetic designation for the time of the Messiah (compare the marginal references).

To a Christian the connection between the Star and Seeptre of Balaam and the Star of the king of the Jews, which the wise men saw Mat 2:2, is self-evident.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

City of this world. Jesus will destroy their evil habits, (Origen, hom. 18,) and will select some whose lives had been hitherto scandalous, to be his intimate friends. (Haydock) --- He will save those who abandoned paganism, which had fixed its seat at the great city of Rome, (Calmet) and he will raise up Constantine (Menochius; Tirinus) to rule over Jacob, his people. At his second coming, he will exterminate all who shall have refused to acknowledge his sovereignty, and who have remained out of the city of the Church. (Haydock) --- Those who have fled out of the cities for safety, shall be sought out by David, and destroyed. He slew all the male children of Edom, 3 Kings xv. 15. (Calmet) --- In this prophecy, some particulars relate to him, as that he hall subject Moab and Idumea by the valour of his troops, while other things can belong only to Christ, the star, who shall destroy the remains of the city. (Menochius) --- By changing one letter, Calmet would translate, "Princes shall spring from Jacob: but Seir shall perish from his cities." A long train of princes in Jacob prefigured the Messias, while the Idumeans have been unknown for many ages. (Calmet)

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).

Out of Jacob; out of Jacob’s loins.

He that shall have dominion; David, and especially Christ.

Of the city, or, from or out of this city, i.e. the cities, the singular number for the plural, which hath been oft noted before. The sense is, He shall not only subdue those Moabites and Edomites which meet him in the field, but he shall pursue them even to their strongest holds and cities, and shall pull them out thence. Possibly he may note some eminent city in which they confided most, their metropolis or royal city, as may be guessed from Psa 60:9.

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

19. He that shall have dominion — The same ruler as is symbolized by the Star and Sceptre. Num_24:17, note.

Him that remaineth — Thus producing the utter destruction of the people.

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

Shall come he that shall have dominion. Dryiw Literally, "one shall rule," the subject being indefinite. Of the city ryime; not apparently out of any city in particular, but "out of any hostile city." The expression implies not only conquest, but total destruction of the foe.

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

Out of Jacob - Out of Jacob's loins. He that shall have dominion - David, and especially Christ. Of the city - Or from or out of this city, that is, the cities, the singular number for the plural. He shall not subdue those Moabites and Edomites which meet him in the field, but he shall pursue them even to their strongest holds and cities.

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

"And a ruler shall come out of Jacob, and destroy what is left out of cities." The subject to ירדּ is indefinite, and to be supplied from the verb itself. We have to think of the ruler foretold as star and sceptre. The abbreviated form וירדּ is not used for the future ירדּה, but is jussive in its force. One out of Jacob shall rule. מעיר is employed in a collected and general sense, as in Psa 72:16. Out of every city in which there is a remnant of Edom, it shall be destroyed. שׁריד is equivalent to אדום שׁארית (Amo 9:12). The explanation, "destroy the remnant out of the city, namely, out of the holy city of Jerusalem" (Ewald and Baur), is forced, and cannot be sustained from the parallelism.

Keil & Delitzsch — Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament (1861–1891) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API. (Old Testament only.)

וירד מיעקב AND OUT OF JACOB ONE SHALL RULE — and there will be yet another ruler from Jacob,

והאביד שריד מעיר AND HE WILL DESTROY THE REMNANT OF THE CITY — the most important city of Edom, and that is Rome. It is of King Messiah that he is thus speaking, of whom it is said, (Psalms 72:8) “And he shall have dominion (וירד) from sea to sea”; (Obadiah v. 18) “And there shall be no remnant (שריד) of the house of Esau".

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.

And the meaning of the verse, and he shall destroy the remnant from ‘the’ city, is “from ‘every’ city,” for there will not be left a remnant of any city in the world [i.e. of those belonging to the Roman Empire, here referred to by the names Edom and Seir]. Thus at first [in Verse 17] Balaam said that [the Messiah] will break down all the sons of Seth, and now he is saying that he will not leave any remnant or survivor [of them]. Thus was completed Balaam’s counsel to Balak.

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.