Yisrael’s
exploits and adventures (including the surprise attack of the Canaanite King of
Arad, who defeated Yisrael) in the last Parasha, terminated with victory over
the Amorites, which caused Balak, King of Mo’av (Moab) quite a concern. He
therefore solicited the services of Bil’am (Balaam) son of Be’or the Midianite
sorcerer, who was commissioned to put a curse on the people that constituted so
great of a threat to the Moabite monarch. "Now this company will lick up
everything around us, as an ox licks up the grass of the field …a people has come from Egypt
Since
the central theme of the Parasha is Bil’am’s visions, it is not surprising that
sight and eyes are mentioned frequently. Thus, in the beginning of chapter 24
we read that Bil’am “lifted his eyes…” and said about himself: “The utterances
of Balaam the son of Beor, the man whose eyes are open [and] who has heard the
words of Elohim, who saw with uncovered eyes the vision of the Almighty…”
(literal translation, vs.3, 4 and 15, 16). Interestingly, the term for, “whose
eyes are open” is “sh’tum ey’na’yim.” With a slight modification “shatum”
becomes “satum,” making it “that which is covered, or not revealed” (e.g. Ez.
28:3). Truly, Bil’am’s assurance about his inherent ability to ‘see’ is more
than questionable. This is demonstrated very graphically in the episode with
the mare of the donkey. Thus, it was only after YHVH “opened the eyes of Balaam”
(22:31) that he was able to see what his animal had seen much earlier on.
The
meaning of the name Bil’am, just like Par’oh’s (see Hebrew Insights into Parashat
Miketz, Gen. 41 – 44:17), happens to be appropriate and relevant to its bearer,
as it contains the letters that make up “bela” (b.l.a, bet, lamed,
ayin), which is to “swallow or swallow down” (used also in
Parashat Korach, Numbers 16:30,32,33). “Frequently this word is used as a
symbol of destruction and ruin: Lam. 2:2; Isa. 28:7; 49:19 etc.” [1] In Psalms
52:4 “devouring words” are “divery bela.” Balak’s intention was just that. He aimed
for Bil’am’s words to become a source of destruction for Yisrael. Thus, “Bela”
and “am” [making up the name “Bil’am”] mean “destruction of a people,” befitting
the sorcerer’s reputation as a charmer and a conjurer. Another meaning of the
name is offered by Albright, who believes that its origin is from the Amorite “yabil’ammu,”
meaning, “the (divine) uncle brings.” [2]
“Therefore
please come at once, curse [“ara”] this people for me… for I know that
he whom you bless is blessed and he whom you curse is cursed” (22:6), is the
essence of Balak’s assignment for Bil’am. When the latter quotes the former (in
22:11), he uses “kava” for “curse.” Hebrew is replete with verbs for
cursing. The most common is “kalel” (k.l.l, kof, lamed, lamed) which stems from
“kal” meaning “lightweight” and “easy,” that is “of no esteem” and therefore,
by default, “no blessing,” or “making light of another’s honor.” However, a.r.r
(alef, resh, resh) and k.v.v (kof, vet, vet), which are used in this narrative,
are more ‘dynamic.’ “On the basis of the Akkadian ‘araru,’ the Hebrew arar
is to snare or bind, with the Akadian noun “irritu” being a noose
or a sling. Brichto, following Speiser, advances the interpretation that the
Hebrew “arar” means to bind (with a spell), hem in with
obstacles, and render powerless to resist. Thus the original curse
in B’resheet (Genesis 3:14, 17: “cursed
are you above all cattle” and “cursed is the ground for your sake”( means that the serpent was doomed to being banned/anathematized
from all the other animals, while the soil was condemned as a result of man’s
sin. “Kavav” connotes the act of uttering a formula designed to undo its
object. The most frequent use of this root relates to the incident involving Bil’am
and Balak. Certainly the ‘magical’ belief and intent of Balak are prominent
here.” [3]
Both
a.r.r and k.v.v are used throughout the Parasha, denoting that the issue at
stake is steeped in witchcraft. Several other terms found here verify this
fact. In 22:7, the elders of Mo’av and Midian come with “divinations – “k’samim”
- in their hands.” Again, in 23:23 we read the words that YHVH put in Bil’am’s
mouth: “There is no enchantment – “nachash” - in Jacob and no divination –
“kesem” – in Israel Israel
In this Parasha YHVH’s supremacy over all
powers, and the control He exerts in order to achieve His purposes, much like
using the mouth of a pagan diviner to bless, and the mouth of a donkey to talk,
is clearly evident.
Bil’am, the would-be prophet, unlike his mare,
is unaware of YHVH’s messenger who was sent to him as an “adversary” (ref.
22:22). When the animal is forced to divert from the path and to put its master
in what appears to him as a compromising situation, Bil’am loses his temper and
strikes the mare with his staff (22:27). What ensues is the most improbable discussion
- between a man and a donkey. Thus, Bil’am not only finds himself mishandled
physically, he also has to deal with his (unjustified) anger and express regret
to a vindicated beast. And as if this is not enough, when his eyes are opened,
he is the one who is seen as the blind fool who incurs a rebuke from the angel:
“The donkey saw Me and turned aside from Me these three times. If she had not
turned aside from Me, surely I would also have killed you by now, and let her
live” (22:33). In the dialogue between Bil’am and
his mare, the latter justifies her conduct by asking (rhetorically) if she had ever
caused her master any trouble “as a rule.” “A’has’ken his’kanti?”
(v. 30) is the question, using the root s.ch.n (samech, chaf, noon) twice, in
two different conjugations. “Sachen” in this context is “customarily
or habitually.” In other words,
“has it been my custom (to so treat you)?” The root s.ch.n, however, also means to “be of
use, benefit or service,” as indeed she had been in the past, and even more so
in this particular case, acting as a tool in the hand of YHVH. Bil’am forthwith
admits to being in the wrong, and only then is given permission to “go with the
men,” having been warned to utter only that which YHVH will speak to him (ref.
v. 35).
Three times in this text we encounter the
phrase, “three times” (22:28, 32, 33). The word for “times” here is “r’galim”
(“regel” singular) - an “occurrence, event, or occasion.” The much more common term
is “pa’am” (a word we briefly looked at in Parashat Tetzaveh, in Ex. 28:33
where we examined the noun “bell,” stemming from the same root which is also at
the core of “pulse” or “beat”). “Regel” on the other hand, is the word for
“foot.” It is evident that both “pa’am” and “regel” connote movement, which of
course is an indication of the passing of time, but also, and especially in the
case of the latter (“regel”), point to a purposeful progress such as walking.
Since walking assumes an arrival, and arrival points to a specific destination
(a place), we are led once more to the conclusion that in the Hebrew mind there
exists an interrelation between time and place (as we have already observed
when we examined “mo’ed” – “appointed time,” in Leviticus 23, Parashat Emor).
It was Bil’am’s crushed “regel” (“foot” in 22:25) which prevented him from
arriving at his destination, thus perhaps prompting the usage of “r’galim” for
“times,” rather than “p’amim” (both in the plural). Note that at the end of last
week’s Parashat Chu’kat we met Moshe’s dispatched spies (21:32), whose commission
was “le’ra’gel” (“to spy”), again of the root r.g.l, not to mention “ragal,” meaning
“to slander” (found in Psalm 15:3) – an action congruent with the agenda of our
Parasha’s namesake.
The extraordinary episode just experienced
by Bil’am proves to be part of his preparation for speaking YHVH’s words,
couched in four powerful prophetic oracles describing Elohim’s intended destiny
for His people. “The three blessings are… differentiated in their relation to
the time factor; the first one refers to the immediate present, to the
generation of the wilderness facing him, the second to the immediate future, to
the generation which would conquer the land, whilst the third concerns the
distant future, to an era when wars and conquests will be no more and when the
lion will lie down to rest after it has finished its task.” [4] However, there
is also a fourth blessing, one which has not been solicited (as a curse) by
Balak (24:14-24).
Bil’am’s encounters with the Elohim of
Yisrael are qualified by two different verbs. Twice “Elohim came to
Balaam” (22:9, 20 italics added), in the two instances which preceded the
confrontation with the mare. However, the blessings that Bil’am uttered later
on all followed Elohim’s meeting with him and putting a word in his
mouth (ref. 23:3, 4, 15, 16). The Hebrew verb used here for “meet” is rooted in
k.r.h (kof, resh, hey), literally meaning “to happen,” or “to occur.”
The usage of this term gives the impression that these meetings had a coincidental
characteristic about them, rather than being preordained and appointed.
After Bil’am uttered the curses-turned-blessings,
the angry king commanded his appointee to flee, adding the following: “I said I
would greatly honor you, but in fact, YHVH has kept you back from honor”
(24:11). Stubborn and blind, Balak dares to make the statement, “YHVH has kept
you back from honor” (“kept you back” being “mah’nah”,
m.n.a, mem, noon, ayin, meaning “withheld”)! It is at this point that Bil’am,
now as a persona-non-grata, offers to speak out what “this people [Yisrael]
will do to your [Balak’s] people in the latter days” (24:14). What comes next
does not please the Moabite monarch, but at the same time (surprisingly) does
not incur his protest. At the end of a very significant prophecy pertaining to
Yisrael and to some of its neighbors, the two men depart silently; one “to his
place,” while the other is said to be “on his way” (v. 25). All the pomp and
ceremony planned by Balak has just been deflated without as much as another
word.
The story of a pagan enchanter and magician, who is commissioned
by an equally pagan king to lay a debilitating curse on YHVH’s people, and
whose mouth utters some of the most profound words regarding the very people
whom he is called to curse, is rather curious and stands out in the Torah
narrative. The addition, the talking donkey episode makes for an even more intriguing
text. “The dialog between the man and the ass, [as interpreted by some of the
commentators] is the Torah’s scornful commentary on the imaginary powers
ascribed to sorcerers, its mockery of human gullibility, in believing in the
power of the magician to curse and subject the supernatural to his will.” [5]
Thus, the story of the mare of a donkey echoes that of Bil’am’s and his so
called wonder-working abilities. But, if an ass can talk, so can a con man be
made to speak out YHVH’s words, calling to mind what 1Corinthians 1 has to say
about those who are wise in their own eyes: “I will
destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of
the prudent. … Elohim has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to
shame the wise… [and] the things which are mighty … and things which are despised…
to bring to nothing things that are: that no flesh should glory in his presence
“ (vs. 19, 27-29). In the end, it is YHVH’s sovereignty that prevails
far above any and all of man’s feeble attempts at controlling life.
The last
section of the Parasha is part of next week’s episode, related in Parashat
Pinchas. That which was not achieved by war or by sorcery is now being
accomplished by seduction. [6] In 25:3 we read: “And Israel
1 Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament, ed. R. Laird Harris, Moody
Press,
2 Ibid.
3
Ibid.
4 New Studies in Devarim, Nechama
Leibowitz, trans. Aryeh Newman. Eliner
Library, Department for Torah Education and Culture in the Diaspora.
Hemed
Books Inc., Brooklyn , N.Y
5
Ibid.
6
Gill Commentary, Online Bible
Hebrew Tools for Everyday Use
This
week our Hebrew Tools will go a different direction. Some of the most amazing
words regarding Israel
A
people dwelling alone (23:9)
(Hen)
am le’vadad yishkon
To
listen to this verse being read in Hebrew:
from
1:17 to 1:25
The
entire verse (v. 9) is sung by Yaacov Shwekey
An
even more popular idiom is found in 24:5:
How
lovely are your tents O Jacob! Your dwellings O Israel!
Ma
to’vu oha’le’cha Ya’acov, mishke’no’techa Yisrael
To
listen to this verse being read in Hebrew:
from
0.39 to 0.44
Ma
Tovu Oha’le’cha as sung by Miki Rosenbaum
And
again, another rendition, Yaacov Shwekey sings “Ma, Ma, Ma” (a repetition of
the first word “ma” for “Ma tovu”)
In
both of the above songs the idiom forms ONLY the refrain.
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