Bible Strands
Numbers 22:36
When Balak heard that Balaam was coming, he went out to meet him at the Moabite city on the Arnon border, at the edge of his territory.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Balak departs to meet Balaam at a Moabite city on the Arnon border, positioned at the edge of his own territory, immediately upon learning of the prophet's approach. This movement follows Balaam's compliance with the angel's directive and precedes Balak's complaint about the prophet's delayed arrival.
The words — The Hebrew וַיִּשְׁמַע (va/yishmaʿ, "he heard") and וַיֵּצֵא (va/yetseʾ, "he went out") bookend the narrative action, while לִקְרָאתוֹ (liqeraṯô, "to meet him") specifies Balak's deliberate response to the report.
The thread — The Arnon border functions as a territorial boundary in Isaiah 16:2 and Jeremiah 48:20, while the pattern of traveling to meet an arriving figure appears in Acts 28:15.
Why it lands — The verse records a monarch's immediate diplomatic movement to a frontier city, requiring readers to observe the precise geography and timing that frame the ensuing prophetic encounter. It calls attention to the political maneuvering that precedes the divine instruction Balaam is authorized to deliver.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
And when Balak heard that Balaam was come, he went out to meet him unto a city of Moab, which is in the border of Arnon, which is in the utmost coast.
Cross-references
- Isaiah 16:2 Like fluttering birds pushed out of the nest, so are the daughters of Moab at the fords of the Arnon:
- Jeremiah 48:20 Moab is put to shame, for it has been shattered. Wail and cry out! Declare by the Arnon that Moab is destroyed.
- Acts 28:15 The brothers there had heard about us and traveled as far as the Forum of Appius and the Three Taverns to meet us. When Paul saw them, he was encouraged and gave thanks to God.
- Genesis 14:17 After Abram returned from defeating Chedorlaomer and the kings allied with him, the king of Sodom went out to meet him in the Valley of Shaveh (that is, the King’s Valley).
- Genesis 18:2 And Abraham looked up and saw three men standing nearby. When he saw them, he ran from the entrance of his tent to meet them and bowed low to the ground.
- Genesis 46:29 Joseph prepared his chariot and went there to meet his father Israel. Joseph presented himself to him, embraced him, and wept profusely.
- Exodus 18:7 So Moses went out to meet his father-in-law and bowed down and kissed him. They greeted each other and went into the tent.
- Numbers 21:13 From there they moved on and camped on the other side of the Arnon, in the wilderness that extends into the Amorite territory. Now the Arnon is the border between the Moabites and the Amorites.
- Deuteronomy 2:24 “Arise, set out, and cross the Arnon Valley. See, I have delivered into your hand Sihon the Amorite, king of Heshbon, and his land. Begin to take possession of it and engage him in battle.
- Deuteronomy 3:8 At that time we took from the two kings of the Amorites the land across the Jordan, from the Arnon Valley as far as Mount Hermon—