Bible Strands
Numbers 22:9
Then God came to Balaam and asked, “Who are these men with you?”
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — God addresses Balaam during the night after the Moabite princes have stayed with him to await divine instruction.
The words — The Hebrew verb וַיָּבֹא (va-yāḇōʾ, "and he came") explicitly records God's arrival, followed by אֱלֹהִים אֶל־בִּלְעָם (ʾĕlōhîm ʾel-Bilʿām, "God to Balaam") to mark the recipient.
The thread — This pattern of divine visitation mirrors God's approach to Abimelech in Genesis 20:3 and recurs in Numbers 22:20 when God returns to Balaam that same night.
Why it lands — The text demands that a reader recognize divine initiative precedes prophetic inquiry, requiring immediate accountability for the company accompanying a prophet.
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 God came unto Balaam, and said, What men are these with thee?
Cross-references
- Genesis 20:3 One night, however, God came to Abimelech in a dream and told him, “You are as good as dead because of the woman you have taken, for she is a married woman.”
- Numbers 22:20 That night God came to Balaam and said, “Since these men have come to summon you, get up and go with them, but you must only do what I tell you.”
- Genesis 3:9 But the LORD God called out to the man, “Where are you?”
- Genesis 4:9 And the LORD said to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?” “I do not know!” he answered. “Am I my brother’s keeper?”
- Genesis 16:8 “Hagar, servant of Sarai,” he said, “where have you come from, and where are you going?” “I am running away from my mistress Sarai,” she replied.
- Exodus 4:2 And the LORD asked him, “What is that in your hand?” “A staff,” he replied.
- 2 Kings 20:14 Then the prophet Isaiah went to King Hezekiah and asked, “Where did those men come from, and what did they say to you?” “They came from a distant land,” Hezekiah replied, “from Babylon.”
- Daniel 4:31 While the words were still in the king’s mouth, a voice came from heaven: “It is decreed to you, King Nebuchadnezzar, that the kingdom has departed from you.
- Genesis 31:24 But that night God came to Laban the Aramean in a dream and warned him, “Be careful not to say anything to Jacob, either good or bad.”
- Genesis 41:25 At this, Joseph said to Pharaoh, “The dreams of Pharaoh are one and the same. God has revealed to Pharaoh what He is about to do.