Bible Strands
Numbers 23:4
and God met with him. “I have set up seven altars,” Balaam said, “and on each altar I have offered a bull and a ram.”
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Balaam reports to Balak after ascending to a barren height, stating that God met with him and listing the seven altars he has prepared with bulls and rams.
The words — וַ/יִּקָּ֥ר (va/i.yi.Kar) literally means "and he met," marking a divine encounter, while שִׁבְעַ֤ת (shiv.'At) specifies the exact count of "the seven" altars constructed.
The thread — The pattern of God meeting a prophet to deliver a spoken message reappears in Numbers 23:16, and the structural contrast between ritual acts and grace is later addressed in Ephesians 2:9.
Why it lands — The text records Balaam's factual report of sacrificial preparation before revelation, requiring the reader to observe the sequence of human ritual followed by divine speech without importing external theological claims into the narrative.
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 met Balaam: and he said unto him, I have prepared seven altars, and I have offered upon every altar a bullock and a ram.
Cross-references
- Numbers 23:16 And the LORD met with Balaam and put a message in his mouth, saying, “Return to Balak and speak what I tell you.”
- Luke 18:12 I fast twice a week and pay tithes of all that I acquire.’
- Ephesians 2:9 not by works, so that no one can boast.
- Numbers 22:9 Then God came to Balaam and asked, “Who are these men with you?”
- 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.”
- Numbers 23:1 Then Balaam said to Balak, “Build for me seven altars here, and prepare for me seven bulls and seven rams.”
- Isaiah 58:3 “Why have we fasted, and You have not seen? Why have we humbled ourselves, and You have not noticed?” “Behold, on the day of your fast, you do as you please, and you oppress all your workers.
- Matthew 20:12 ‘These men who were hired last worked only one hour,’ they said, ‘and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden and the scorching heat of the day.’
- John 16:2 They will put you out of the synagogues. In fact, a time is coming when anyone who kills you will think he is offering a service to God.
- Romans 3:27 Where, then, is boasting? It is excluded. On what principle? On that of works? No, but on that of faith.