Bible Strands
Numbers 22:5
he sent messengers to summon Balaam son of Beor at Pethor, which is by the Euphrates in the land of his people. “Behold, a people has come out of Egypt,” said Balak. “They cover the face of the land and have settled next to me.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Balak speaks to the messengers he dispatched at the moment Israel arrives and camps adjacent to Moab, following the elders' warning that the migrating horde will consume the region.
The words — וַיִּשְׁלַח (va.yishlach) = and he sent, and מַלְאָכִים (mal'achim) = messengers. These terms record the active commissioning of agents to travel to Pethor, a location by the Euphrates in Balaam’s homeland.
The thread — The summons to Balaam recurs in Deuteronomy 23:4, Joshua 24:9, and Micah 6:5, though only the former two explicitly note the geographic origin of the prophet.
Why it lands — It requires the reader to note that human political fear drives the attempt to counter divine movement, and that the text records the exact mechanism of that countermeasure without endorsing it.
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
He sent messengers therefore unto Balaam the son of Beor to Pethor, which is by the river of the land of the children of his people, to call him, saying, Behold, there is a people come out from Egypt: behold, they cover the face of the earth, and they abide over against me:
Cross-references
- Deuteronomy 23:4 For they did not meet you with food and water on your way out of Egypt, and they hired Balaam son of Beor from Pethor in Aram-naharaim to curse you.
- Joshua 24:9 Then Balak son of Zippor, the king of Moab, set out to fight against Israel. He sent for Balaam son of Beor to curse you,
- Micah 6:5 My people, remember what Balak king of Moab counseled and what Balaam son of Beor answered. Remember your journey from Shittim to Gilgal, so that you may acknowledge the righteousness of the LORD.’”
- Jude 1:11 Woe to them! They have traveled the path of Cain; they have rushed for profit into the error of Balaam; they have perished in Korah’s rebellion.
- Numbers 23:7 And Balaam lifted up an oracle, saying: “Balak brought me from Aram, the king of Moab from the mountains of the east. ‘Come,’ he said, ‘put a curse on Jacob for me; come and denounce Israel!’
- Joshua 13:22 The Israelites also killed the diviner Balaam son of Beor along with the others they put to the sword.
- Genesis 13:16 I will make your offspring like the dust of the earth, so that if one could count the dust of the earth, then your offspring could be counted.
- Exodus 1:7 but the Israelites were fruitful and increased rapidly; they multiplied and became exceedingly numerous, so that the land was filled with them.
- Nehemiah 13:1 At that time the Book of Moses was read aloud in the hearing of the people, and in it they found the passage stating that no Ammonite or Moabite should ever enter the assembly of God,
- Psalms 105:24 And the LORD made His people very fruitful, more numerous than their foes,