King Balak of Moab Sends Emissaries to Balaam

(Book of Numbers 22:1 - 22:20)
The Israelites journeyed on and came to camp on the plains of Moab on the eastern bank of the River Jordan across from the city of Jericho.  Balak son of Zippor, the Moabite king, was aware of how the Israelites had dealt with the Amorites.  Indeed the people of Moab were alarmed when they realized how vast were the numbers of the Israelites.  The Moabites warned the elders of Midian about them, "This horde will devour everything it in its path, as cattle devours the grass of the field." 

And so Balak, the Moabite king at that time, sent emissaries to summon one Balaam son of Beor, who was living in Pethor, his native land, near the Euphrates River.  The message stated, "Be advised that a vast horde has come here from Egypt.  They have spread across the face of the land and are a threat to me.  Please come here and put a curse upon these people, for they are more powerful than I am.  If you do so, I might then be able to defeat them in battle and drive them out of the country.  For I know well that those you bless are blessed, and those you curse are cursed."

The emissaries, elders of Moab and Midian, departed and carried with them payment for the casting of the malediction.  They saw Balaam and gave him Balak's message.  He invited them, "Please stay the night here, and I will reply to you in the morning after Jehovah has instructed me."  And so the Moabite delegation enjoyed Balaam’s hospitality.

Jehovah came to Balaam and asked, "Who are these men visiting you?"

Balaam answered Jehovah, "King Balak son of Zippor of Moab has sent me this message: ‘A vast horde has come out of Egypt and spread across the land.  Please come and put a curse upon them for me so that I might be more able to defeat them in battle and drive them out of my land.'"

But Jehovah warned him, "Do not go with these people.  You must not curse these people, for they have already been blessed."

And so when Balaam rose the following morning, he told the emissaries, “You should go back to your own country, for Jehovah has refused to let me go with you."

The delegation returned home and reported to Balak, "Balaam refused to come with us."

Balak, though, sent another, larger delegation composed of emissaries even more distinguished than those of the first.  They appeared before Balaam and delivered this message to him: "I, Balak son of Zippor, implore you not to let anything stop you from coming to my aid.  I will compensate you handsomely and will abide by any conditions you may put upon me.  But, please, come and put a curse upon these people!"

But Balaam responded to the emissaries, "If Balak bestowed upon me all the gold and silver in his palace, I would not do more or less than what Jehovah, my god, commands me to do.  But spend the night here so that I can learn what more Jehovah may tell me."

That night Jehovah came to Balaam and said, “Since these men have come for you, you may as well leave with them, but take care to do only what I tell you to."

Notes
1. The Israelites are described as a vast horde coming out of Egypt.  If the numbers claimed by the biblical text were accurate, they would indeed by a vast horde, but it has already been shown that such a population level for the Exodus is preposterous, at best, the numbers grossly inflated.  It's odd that the Israelites should be described as coming out of Egypt, for at this point it has been nearly 40 years since they had left there.  They had already been knocking about the Sinai and the Negev for decades, at which time they were never seen as much of a military force.  Now, the Israelites are regarded with terror, as would the barbarians threatening the later Roman Empire. 

2. Pethor, the home of Balaam in Mesopotamia is thought by some to be the Assyrian Pitru, but it is unlikely that Pitru had been established by the time of Moses.  Others place Balaam's country as Ammon, to the north of Moab, although it's not all that close to the Euphrates River.

3. Balaam, a non-Israelite, although technically not, if an Ammonite, a non-Hebrew, is a prophet of Jehovah, one who communes with the god, performs divination, and foretells the future.  He seems to be primarily esteemed for his success at blessing and cursing; under certain circumstances he will hire himself out to do the latter.

4. We might have assumed that Jehovah spent all his time with his Chosen People, flying above them in his airship, dropping daily supplies of manna, appearing in the Inner Sanctum to pass down laws and commandments and to chat with Moses (chewing him out when necessary), enjoying the aroma of the animal sacrifices dedicated to him, and taking every opportunity to kill both his own people and their enemies.  Now we learn he has been moonlighting, visiting this chap Balaam evenings.  It is unspecified how Jehovah visits and speaks to Balaam, but their communions seem to be nocturnal.  A dream is a strong possibility, for that is how Jehovah communicates with those less close to him than a Moses, but a two-way conversation seems to be involved.

5.  In his initial conversation with Balaam, Jehovah asks Balaam who these men are visiting with him.  Doesn't the god already know?  Is he not only not omniscient, but entirely out of the loop as well?

6. With the Israelites now a powerful force, the aggressors and no longer the underdog, the narrators risk the reader transferring his sympathies to Israel's enemies, whose only fault is their desire to hold on to their own land.

7. The king of Moab seems to be acting in the interests of the Midian people as well as his own.  This is probably due to the fact that the weaker Midian was at that time a client state of Moab.  Also, it seems to be forgotten that Moses was married to a Midianite woman.