Study Desk

God answered Bil‘am, "You are not to go with them; you are not to curse the people, because they are blessed."

Bil‘am answered the servants of Balak, "Even if Balak were to give me his palace filled with silver and gold, I cannot go beyond the word of Adonai my God to do anything, great or small.

God came to Bil‘am during the night and said to him, "If the men have come to summon you, get up and go with them; but do only what I tell you."

Bil‘am replied to Balak, "Here, I've come to you! But I have no power of my own to say anything. The word that God puts in my mouth is what I will say."

God met Bil‘am, who said to him, "I prepared the seven altars and offered a bull and a ram on each altar."

"How am I to curse those whom God has not cursed? How am I to denounce those whom Adonai has not denounced?

"God is not a human who lies or a mortal who changes his mind. When he says something, he will do it; when he makes a promise, he will fulfill it.

"No one has seen guilt in Ya‘akov, or perceived perversity in Isra'el; Adonai their God is with them and acclaimed as king among them.

"God, who brought them out of Egypt, gives them the strength of a wild ox;

thus one can't put a spell on Ya‘akov, no magic will work against Isra'el. It can now be said of Ya‘akov and Isra'el, ‘What is this that God has done?!'

(RY: vii, LY: vi) Balak said to Bil‘am, "Come, I will take you now to another place; maybe it will please God for you to curse them for me from there."

Bil‘am raised his eyes and saw Isra'el encamped tribe by tribe. Then the Spirit of God came upon him,

God, who brought them out of Egypt, gives them the strength of a wild ox. They will devour the nations opposing them, break their bones, pierce them with their arrows.

Finally, he made this pronouncement: "Oh no! Who can live when God does this?

nevertheless, 24,000 died in the plague. Haftarah Balak: Mikhah (Micah) 5:6(7)– 6:8 B'rit Hadashah suggested readings for Parashah Balak: 2 Kefa (2 Peter) 2:1–22; Y'hudah (Jude) 11; Revelation 2:14–15 Adonai said to Moshe, "Pinchas the son of El‘azar, the son of Aharon the cohen, has deflected my anger from the people of Isra'el by being as zealous as I am, so that I didn't destroy them in my own zeal. Therefore say, ‘I am giving him my covenant of shalom, making a covenant with him and his descendants after him that the office of cohen will be theirs forever.' This is because he was zealous on behalf of his God and made atonement for the people of Isra'el." The name of the man from Isra'el who was killed, put to death with the woman from Midyan, was Zimri the son of Salu, leader of one of the clans from the tribe of Shim‘on. The name of the woman from Midyan who was killed was Kozbi the daughter of Tzur, and he was head of the people in one of the clans of Midyan. Adonai said to Moshe, "Treat the Midyanim as enemies and attack them; because they are treating you as enemies by the trickery they used to deceive you in the P‘or incident and in the affair of their sister Kozbi, the daughter of the leader from Midyan, the woman who was killed on the day of the plague in the P‘or incident." After the plague,

making a covenant with him and his descendants after him that the office of cohen will be theirs forever.' This is because he was zealous on behalf of his God and made atonement for the people of Isra'el."

"Let Adonai , God of the spirits of all human beings, appoint a man to be over the community,

Adonai your God has multiplied your numbers, so that there are as many of you today as there are stars in the sky.

May Adonai , the God of your ancestors, increase you yet a thousandfold and bless you, as he has promised you!

"So we left Horev and went through all that vast and fearsome desert which you saw on the way to the hill-country of the Emori, as Adonai our God ordered us; and we arrived at Kadesh-Barnea.