Study Desk

He took up his [third] discourse (oracle) and said: "The oracle of Balaam the son of Beor, And the oracle of the man whose eye is opened [at last, to see clearly the purpose and will of God],

The oracle of one who hears the words of God, Who sees the vision of the Almighty, Falling down, but having his eyes open and uncovered,

"Water [that is, great blessings] will flow from his buckets, And his offspring will live by many waters, And his king will be higher than Agag, And his kingdom shall be exalted.

"God brought Israel out of Egypt; Israel has strength like the wild ox; He will devour [Gentile] nations, his adversaries (enemies), And will crush their bones in pieces, And shatter them with his arrows.

Then Balak's anger was kindled against Balaam, and he struck his hands together; and Balak said to Balaam, "I called you to curse my enemies, but behold, you have done nothing but bless them these three times.

'Even if Balak would give me his house full of silver and gold, I could not go beyond the command of the LORD, to do either good or bad of my own accord. What the LORD speaks, that I will speak?'

He took up his [fourth] discourse (oracle) and said: "The oracle of Balaam the son of Beor, The oracle of the man whose eye is opened,

The oracle of him who hears the words of God And knows the knowledge of the Most High, Who sees the vision of the Almighty, Falling down, but having his eyes open and uncovered:

Balaam looked at Amalek and took up his [fifth] discourse (oracle) and said: "Amalek was the first of the [neighboring] nations [to oppose the Israelites after they left Egypt], But his end shall be destruction."

And Balaam looked at the Kenites and took up his [sixth] discourse (oracle) and said: "Strong is your dwelling place, And you set your nest in the cliff.

Then he took up his [seventh] discourse (oracle) and said: "Alas, who can live unless God has ordained it?

Then Balaam arose and departed and returned to his place, and Balak also went on his way.

So Moses said to the judges of Israel, "Each one of you must kill his men who have joined themselves to Baal of Peor [in worship]."

Then one of the Israelites came and presented to his relatives a Midianite woman, in the sight of Moses and the whole congregation of the Israelites, while they were weeping [over God's judgment] at the doorway of the Tent of Meeting (tabernacle).

When Phinehas the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, saw this, he left the congregation and took a spear in his hand,

'And it shall be for him and his descendants after him, a covenant of an everlasting priesthood, because he was jealous (impassioned) for [the unique honor and respect owed to] his God and made atonement for the sons of Israel.'"

Then the [five] daughters of Zelophehad the son of Hepher, the son of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, from the tribes of Manasseh [who was] the son of Joseph, approached [with a request]. These are the names of his daughters: Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah.

"Our father died in the wilderness. He was not among those who assembled together against the LORD in the company of Korah, but he died for his own sin [as did all those who rebelled at Kadesh], and he had no sons.

"Why should the name of our father be removed from his family because he had no son? Give to us a possession (land) among our father's brothers."

"Further, you shall say to the Israelites, 'If a man dies and has no son, you shall transfer his inheritance to his daughter.