Глава 22

The concentration of Israeli forces on the plains of Moab, near the Jordan, against Jericho. – The Moabites fear for the integrity of their territory. - Alliance with the Midianites. – Embassy for the Mesopotamian soothsayer Balaam. – Arrival of Valaam. Numbers 22:1. And the children of Israel departed and stopped in the plains of Moab, by the Jordan, opposite Jericho. Having completed the conquest of the Amorites and Bashan, the Jews concentrated in the lower reaches of the Jordan, opposite Jericho. Numbers 22:2. And Balak the son of Zipporah saw all that Israel had done to the Amorites; Numbers 22:3. and the Moabites were greatly afraid of this people, because they were numerous; and the Moabites were afraid of the children of Israel. Numbers 22:4. And the Moabites said to the elders of Midian, “This people is now eating up everything around us, as an ox eats up the grass of the field.” And Balak the son of Zippor was king of the Moabites at that time. An anti-Jewish coalition is formed from the Moabites and Midianites. Numbers 22:5. And he sent messengers to Balaam the son of Beor to Pephor, which is on the river Euphrates, in the land of the sons of his people, to call him and say: behold, a people has come out of Egypt and covered the face of the earth, and he dwells near me; As subsequent events show, Balaam was not an ordinary pagan sorcerer or magician. This was undoubtedly a richly gifted nature, capable of rising to the understanding of the true God and to the understanding of His voice (Numbers 24.3–4). Balaam belonged to those few among the pagans who were worshipers of the true God, who preserved the truths of faith and morality through tradition. He lived and acted where the founder of the Jewish people, Abraham, once came from, where the descendants of Shem predominantly settled, where the sciences that studied the movement of the heavenly bodies and affirmed human thought in the idea of ​​the immensity of the power and wisdom of the Creator were especially widespread. In church hymns, Balaam is called the astrologer (trop. according to canon 3, Dec. 24), and the wise men who came, at the direction of a wonderful star, to worship Christ born in Bethlehem are the disciples of the sorcerer Balaam (trop. according to canon 5, Dec. 22). Only greed for profit, which prompted Balaam to trade his gift, prevented him from being a true prophet of God (Tertullian, Blessed Jerome). The ancient custom of magical influence on the enemy has been preserved in the military practice of some peoples to the present day. Numbers 22:19. However, you too stay here overnight, and I will find out what else the Lord will tell me. The promise of generous gifts begins to noticeably weaken Balaam's previous determination (Num. 22:13, 18) to follow the commands of God. Numbers 22:20. And God came to Balaam at night and said to him: if these people have come to call you, get up and go with them; but only do what I tell you. A way out opens up for Balaam: he can accept the invitation of the elders and at the same time not act contrary to the instructions from above. Numbers 22:22. And the wrath of God was kindled because he went, and the Angel of the Lord stood on the road to hinder him. He rode on his donkey and with them two of his servants. Numbers 22:23. And the donkey saw the Angel of the Lord standing on the road with a naked sword in his hand, and the donkey turned off the road and went into the field; and Balaam began to beat the donkey to get her back on the road. Numbers 22:24. And the Angel of the Lord stood on a narrow road, between the vineyards, where there was a wall on one side and a wall on the other. Numbers 22:25. The donkey, seeing the Angel of the Lord, pressed herself against the wall and pressed Balaam’s foot against the wall; and he again began to beat her. Numbers 22:26. The Angel of the Lord crossed over again and stood in a cramped place where there was nowhere to turn, neither to the right nor to the left. Numbers 22:27. The donkey, seeing the Angel of the Lord, lay down under Valaam. And Balaam’s anger flared, and he began to beat the donkey with a stick. Numbers 22:28. And the Lord opened the mouth of the donkey, and she said to Balaam: What have I done to you, that you are beating me now for the third time? Numbers 22:29. Balaam said to the donkey: because you mocked me; if I had a sword in my hand, I would kill you now. Numbers 22:30. The donkey said to Balaam, “Am I not your donkey, on which you rode at first until this day?” did I have the habit of doing this to you? He said no. Numbers 22:31. And the Lord opened the eyes of Balaam, and he saw the Angel of the Lord standing on the road with a drawn sword in his hand, and he bowed down and fell on his face. Numbers 22:32. And the Angel of the Lord said to him: Why have you beaten your donkey these three times? I came out to hinder [you], because [your] way is not right before Me; Numbers 22:33. and the donkey, seeing Me, turned away from Me three times already; If she had not turned away from Me, I would have killed you and left her alive. Numbers 22:34. And Balaam said to the Angel of the Lord: I sinned, for I did not know that You were standing opposite me on the road; therefore, if this is displeasing in Your sight, then I will return. Numbers 22:35. And the Angel of the Lord said to Balaam: Go with these people, only say what I will tell you. And Balaam went with the princes of Balak. Divine warning to Balaam not to forget the indispensable condition of his journey (Num. 22:20). Numbers 22:41. The next day, in the morning, Balak took Balaam and led him up to the heights of Baal, so that he could see part of the people from there. “The Heights of Baal” is considered identical with Bamoth (“altar of Baal”), located on a mountain hill near Divon. You might be interested in: