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Numbers 24:2

He saw the Israeli people camped there in their tents, with each tribe gathered in its own group. Then the Spirit of God took control of him,

Translation for Translators

In The King James Version

And Balaam lifted up his eyes, and he saw Israel abiding in his tents according to their tribes; and the spirit of God came upon him.

In Context

1Balaam now realized that Yahweh wanted to bless the Israeli people, not curse them. So he did not use magic/divination like a shaman would do to find out what Yahweh wanted, as he often did. Instead, he turned toward the desert.

3and enabled him to give this prophetic message to Balak: “I, Balaam, the son of Beor, am giving this prophecy; I am speaking as a man who sees what will happen in the future clearly speaks.

Read all of Numbers 24

Cross References

Numbers 11:25Then Yahweh came down in the cloud that was above the tent and spoke to Moses/me. He took some of the power of the Spirit that he had given to Moses/me and gave it to the 70 leaders. By means of the power of the Spirit within them, they ◄prophesied/spoke messages that Yahweh gave them►, but they did that only once.

Numbers 24:5You descendants of Jacob, your tents are very beautiful; they are truly lovely!

1 Samuel 19:20So Saul sent some messengers to capture David. When those messengers arrived in Ramah, they met some men who were proclaiming ecstatic messages, and Samuel was there, as their leader. When Saul’s messengers met them, the Spirit of God took control of Saul’s men, and they also spoke ecstatically.

2 Chronicles 15:1The Spirit of God came upon Azariah, the son of Obed.

Song of Solomon 6:10Who is [RHQ] this woman who is as delightful as [SIM] the dawn, as fair/delightful to look at as the light of the moon, as exciting as a group/battalion of troops holding up their banners?

Matthew 10:4Simon, a member of the party that wanted to overthrow the Roman government; and Judas Iscariot (OR, Judas, the man from Kerioth Town), who later enabled the Jewish leaders to seize Jesus.

Matthew Henry on Numbers 24:2-10

Balaam Blesses Israel a Third Time. ( b. c. 1452.) 1 And when Balaam saw that it pleased the Lord to bless Israel, he went not, as at other times, to seek for enchantments, but he set his face toward the wilderness. 2 And Balaam lifted up his eyes, and he saw Israel abiding in his tents according to their tribes; and the spirit of God came upon him. 3 And he took up his parable, and said, Balaam the son of Beor hath said, and the man whose eyes are open hath said: 4 He hath said, which heard the words of God,… Read the whole commentary →

This Verse In Other Editions

King James VersionBíblia Almeida (Português)Luther Bibel (Deutsch)Bible Louis Segond (Français)Библия (Русский)聖經 (中文)성경 (한국어)الكتاب المقدس (العربية)बाइबल (हिन्दी)Biblia (Kiswahili)Bibbia Diodati (Italiano)Alkitab (Bahasa Indonesia)Kinh Thánh (Tiếng Việt)

Study Numbers 24:2

Matthew HenryJamieson-Fausset-BrownAdam ClarkeJohn WesleyJohn CalvinKeil and DelitzschScofieldFamily Bible NotesGeneva Bible Notes (1599)
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