Balak king of Moab is terrified of Israel. He sends for Balaam, a non-Israelite prophet with genuine prophetic gifting, to curse Israel. God tells Balaam: do not go, for they are blessed. Balaam refuses. Balak sends again with more prestigious messengers and greater promises. God tells Balaam he may go but must speak only what God tells him.
On the way the donkey sees the angel of the LORD standing in the road with a drawn sword and stops. Three times. Balaam beats the donkey. Then the LORD opens the donkey's mouth: what have I done to you that you have struck me three times? Then the LORD opens Balaam's eyes and he sees the angel and falls on his face.
Balaam goes to Balak. Four times he opens his mouth to curse Israel and four times blessings come out instead. How can I curse whom God has not cursed? How can I denounce whom the LORD has not denounced? From the rocky peaks I see them, from the heights I view them: a people who dwell apart, not reckoned among the nations. Who can count the dust of Jacob or number the fourth part of Israel? Let me die the death of the upright.
The third oracle: God is not human that he should lie, or a son of man that he should change his mind. Has he said and will he not do it? Has he spoken and will he not fulfill it? I have received a command to bless; he has blessed, and I cannot revoke it. Thread 2 is the blessing of the corporate covenant people that cannot be reversed. Thread 7 is in the scope of the blessing.
The fourth oracle contains the star: darakh kokhav mi-Ya'akov, a star shall come out of Jacob, and a sceptre shall rise out of Israel. The magi who follow the star to Bethlehem are following a tradition that traces back to Balaam's oracle. Thread 3 is in the star and the sceptre: the royal trajectory is being announced by a pagan prophet who cannot help himself.
Balaam cannot curse what God has not cursed. The Balaam oracles are among the most remarkable prophecies in the OT, forced from the mouth of a diviner who wanted to speak otherwise, blessing Israel with language that includes the star prophecy of Numbers 24:17.
דָּרַךְ כּוֹכָב מִיַּעֲקֹב וְקָם שֵׁבֶט מִיִּשְׂרָאֵל (darakh kokhav mi-Ya'akov ve-qam shevet mi-Yisrael): there shall come a star out of Jacob and a sceptre shall rise out of Israel: kokhav (star, the star is a royal symbol throughout the ANE; Jewish tradition consistently read this as a messianic prophecy; Matthew 2 connects the magi's star to this text; the Magi are following what the star-reading tradition had preserved from Balaam's oracle); shevet (sceptre, the rod of authority, the same word as Genesis 49:10; the royal trajectory
threads t1 · t2 · t7 · see Genesis 49:10 · Matthew 2:2 · 2 Peter 2:15-16
Balak king of Moab is terrified of Israel. He sends for Balaam, a non-Israelite prophet with genuine prophetic gifting, to curse Israel. God tells Balaam: do not go, for they are blessed. Balaam refuses. Balak sends again with more prestigious messengers and greater promises. God tells Balaam he may go but must speak only what God tells him.
On the way the donkey sees the angel of the LORD standing in the road with a drawn sword and stops. Three times. Balaam beats the donkey. Then the LORD opens the donkey's mouth: what have I done to you that you have struck me three times? Then the LORD opens Balaam's eyes and he sees the angel and falls on his face.
Balaam goes to Balak. Four times he opens his mouth to curse Israel and four times blessings come out instead. How can I curse whom God has not cursed? How can I denounce whom the LORD has not denounced? From the rocky peaks I see them, from the heights I view them: a people who dwell apart, not reckoned among the nations. Who can count the dust of Jacob or number the fourth part of Israel? Let me die the death of the upright.
The third oracle: God is not human that he should lie, or a son of man that he should change his mind. Has he said and will he not do it? Has he spoken and will he not fulfill it? I have received a command to bless; he has blessed, and I cannot revoke it. Thread 2 is the blessing of the corporate covenant people that cannot be reversed. Thread 7 is in the scope of the blessing.
The fourth oracle contains the star: darakh kokhav mi-Ya'akov, a star shall come out of Jacob, and a sceptre shall rise out of Israel. The magi who follow the star to Bethlehem are following a tradition that traces back to Balaam's oracle. Thread 3 is in the star and the sceptre: the royal trajectory is being announced by a pagan prophet who cannot help himself.
Balaam cannot curse what God has not cursed. The Balaam oracles are among the most remarkable prophecies in the OT, forced from the mouth of a diviner who wanted to speak otherwise, blessing Israel with language that includes the star prophecy of Numbers 24:17.
דָּרַךְ כּוֹכָב מִיַּעֲקֹב וְקָם שֵׁבֶט מִיִּשְׂרָאֵל (darakh kokhav mi-Ya'akov ve-qam shevet mi-Yisrael): there shall come a star out of Jacob and a sceptre shall rise out of Israel: kokhav (star, the star is a royal symbol throughout the ANE; Jewish tradition consistently read this as a messianic prophecy; Matthew 2 connects the magi's star to this text; the Magi are following what the star-reading tradition had preserved from Balaam's oracle); shevet (sceptre, the rod of authority, the same word as Genesis 49:10; the royal trajectory
threads t1 · t2 · t7 · see Genesis 49:10 · Matthew 2:2 · 2 Peter 2:15-16
Balak king of Moab is terrified of Israel. He sends for Balaam, a non-Israelite prophet with genuine prophetic gifting, to curse Israel. God tells Balaam: do not go, for they are blessed. Balaam refuses. Balak sends again with more prestigious messengers and greater promises. God tells Balaam he may go but must speak only what God tells him.
On the way the donkey sees the angel of the LORD standing in the road with a drawn sword and stops. Three times. Balaam beats the donkey. Then the LORD opens the donkey's mouth: what have I done to you that you have struck me three times? Then the LORD opens Balaam's eyes and he sees the angel and falls on his face.
Balaam goes to Balak. Four times he opens his mouth to curse Israel and four times blessings come out instead. How can I curse whom God has not cursed? How can I denounce whom the LORD has not denounced? From the rocky peaks I see them, from the heights I view them: a people who dwell apart, not reckoned among the nations. Who can count the dust of Jacob or number the fourth part of Israel? Let me die the death of the upright.
The third oracle: God is not human that he should lie, or a son of man that he should change his mind. Has he said and will he not do it? Has he spoken and will he not fulfill it? I have received a command to bless; he has blessed, and I cannot revoke it. Thread 2 is the blessing of the corporate covenant people that cannot be reversed. Thread 7 is in the scope of the blessing.
The fourth oracle contains the star: darakh kokhav mi-Ya'akov, a star shall come out of Jacob, and a sceptre shall rise out of Israel. The magi who follow the star to Bethlehem are following a tradition that traces back to Balaam's oracle. Thread 3 is in the star and the sceptre: the royal trajectory is being announced by a pagan prophet who cannot help himself.
Balaam cannot curse what God has not cursed. The Balaam oracles are among the most remarkable prophecies in the OT, forced from the mouth of a diviner who wanted to speak otherwise, blessing Israel with language that includes the star prophecy of Numbers 24:17.
דָּרַךְ כּוֹכָב מִיַּעֲקֹב וְקָם שֵׁבֶט מִיִּשְׂרָאֵל (darakh kokhav mi-Ya'akov ve-qam shevet mi-Yisrael): there shall come a star out of Jacob and a sceptre shall rise out of Israel: kokhav (star, the star is a royal symbol throughout the ANE; Jewish tradition consistently read this as a messianic prophecy; Matthew 2 connects the magi's star to this text; the Magi are following what the star-reading tradition had preserved from Balaam's oracle); shevet (sceptre, the rod of authority, the same word as Genesis 49:10; the royal trajectory
threads t1 · t2 · t7 · see Genesis 49:10 · Matthew 2:2 · 2 Peter 2:15-16
Balak king of Moab is terrified of Israel. He sends for Balaam, a non-Israelite prophet with genuine prophetic gifting, to curse Israel. God tells Balaam: do not go, for they are blessed. Balaam refuses. Balak sends again with more prestigious messengers and greater promises. God tells Balaam he may go but must speak only what God tells him.
On the way the donkey sees the angel of the LORD standing in the road with a drawn sword and stops. Three times. Balaam beats the donkey. Then the LORD opens the donkey's mouth: what have I done to you that you have struck me three times? Then the LORD opens Balaam's eyes and he sees the angel and falls on his face.
Balaam goes to Balak. Four times he opens his mouth to curse Israel and four times blessings come out instead. How can I curse whom God has not cursed? How can I denounce whom the LORD has not denounced? From the rocky peaks I see them, from the heights I view them: a people who dwell apart, not reckoned among the nations. Who can count the dust of Jacob or number the fourth part of Israel? Let me die the death of the upright.
The third oracle: God is not human that he should lie, or a son of man that he should change his mind. Has he said and will he not do it? Has he spoken and will he not fulfill it? I have received a command to bless; he has blessed, and I cannot revoke it. Thread 2 is the blessing of the corporate covenant people that cannot be reversed. Thread 7 is in the scope of the blessing.
The fourth oracle contains the star: darakh kokhav mi-Ya'akov, a star shall come out of Jacob, and a sceptre shall rise out of Israel. The magi who follow the star to Bethlehem are following a tradition that traces back to Balaam's oracle. Thread 3 is in the star and the sceptre: the royal trajectory is being announced by a pagan prophet who cannot help himself.
Balaam cannot curse what God has not cursed. The Balaam oracles are among the most remarkable prophecies in the OT, forced from the mouth of a diviner who wanted to speak otherwise, blessing Israel with language that includes the star prophecy of Numbers 24:17.
דָּרַךְ כּוֹכָב מִיַּעֲקֹב וְקָם שֵׁבֶט מִיִּשְׂרָאֵל (darakh kokhav mi-Ya'akov ve-qam shevet mi-Yisrael): there shall come a star out of Jacob and a sceptre shall rise out of Israel: kokhav (star, the star is a royal symbol throughout the ANE; Jewish tradition consistently read this as a messianic prophecy; Matthew 2 connects the magi's star to this text; the Magi are following what the star-reading tradition had preserved from Balaam's oracle); shevet (sceptre, the rod of authority, the same word as Genesis 49:10; the royal trajectory
threads t1 · t2 · t7 · see Genesis 49:10 · Matthew 2:2 · 2 Peter 2:15-16
Balak king of Moab is terrified of Israel. He sends for Balaam, a non-Israelite prophet with genuine prophetic gifting, to curse Israel. God tells Balaam: do not go, for they are blessed. Balaam refuses. Balak sends again with more prestigious messengers and greater promises. God tells Balaam he may go but must speak only what God tells him.
On the way the donkey sees the angel of the LORD standing in the road with a drawn sword and stops. Three times. Balaam beats the donkey. Then the LORD opens the donkey's mouth: what have I done to you that you have struck me three times? Then the LORD opens Balaam's eyes and he sees the angel and falls on his face.
Balaam goes to Balak. Four times he opens his mouth to curse Israel and four times blessings come out instead. How can I curse whom God has not cursed? How can I denounce whom the LORD has not denounced? From the rocky peaks I see them, from the heights I view them: a people who dwell apart, not reckoned among the nations. Who can count the dust of Jacob or number the fourth part of Israel? Let me die the death of the upright.
The third oracle: God is not human that he should lie, or a son of man that he should change his mind. Has he said and will he not do it? Has he spoken and will he not fulfill it? I have received a command to bless; he has blessed, and I cannot revoke it. Thread 2 is the blessing of the corporate covenant people that cannot be reversed. Thread 7 is in the scope of the blessing.
The fourth oracle contains the star: darakh kokhav mi-Ya'akov, a star shall come out of Jacob, and a sceptre shall rise out of Israel. The magi who follow the star to Bethlehem are following a tradition that traces back to Balaam's oracle. Thread 3 is in the star and the sceptre: the royal trajectory is being announced by a pagan prophet who cannot help himself.
Balaam cannot curse what God has not cursed. The Balaam oracles are among the most remarkable prophecies in the OT, forced from the mouth of a diviner who wanted to speak otherwise, blessing Israel with language that includes the star prophecy of Numbers 24:17.
דָּרַךְ כּוֹכָב מִיַּעֲקֹב וְקָם שֵׁבֶט מִיִּשְׂרָאֵל (darakh kokhav mi-Ya'akov ve-qam shevet mi-Yisrael): there shall come a star out of Jacob and a sceptre shall rise out of Israel: kokhav (star, the star is a royal symbol throughout the ANE; Jewish tradition consistently read this as a messianic prophecy; Matthew 2 connects the magi's star to this text; the Magi are following what the star-reading tradition had preserved from Balaam's oracle); shevet (sceptre, the rod of authority, the same word as Genesis 49:10; the royal trajectory
threads t1 · t2 · t7 · see Genesis 49:10 · Matthew 2:2 · 2 Peter 2:15-16
Balak king of Moab is terrified of Israel. He sends for Balaam, a non-Israelite prophet with genuine prophetic gifting, to curse Israel. God tells Balaam: do not go, for they are blessed. Balaam refuses. Balak sends again with more prestigious messengers and greater promises. God tells Balaam he may go but must speak only what God tells him.
On the way the donkey sees the angel of the LORD standing in the road with a drawn sword and stops. Three times. Balaam beats the donkey. Then the LORD opens the donkey's mouth: what have I done to you that you have struck me three times? Then the LORD opens Balaam's eyes and he sees the angel and falls on his face.
Balaam goes to Balak. Four times he opens his mouth to curse Israel and four times blessings come out instead. How can I curse whom God has not cursed? How can I denounce whom the LORD has not denounced? From the rocky peaks I see them, from the heights I view them: a people who dwell apart, not reckoned among the nations. Who can count the dust of Jacob or number the fourth part of Israel? Let me die the death of the upright.
The third oracle: God is not human that he should lie, or a son of man that he should change his mind. Has he said and will he not do it? Has he spoken and will he not fulfill it? I have received a command to bless; he has blessed, and I cannot revoke it. Thread 2 is the blessing of the corporate covenant people that cannot be reversed. Thread 7 is in the scope of the blessing.
The fourth oracle contains the star: darakh kokhav mi-Ya'akov, a star shall come out of Jacob, and a sceptre shall rise out of Israel. The magi who follow the star to Bethlehem are following a tradition that traces back to Balaam's oracle. Thread 3 is in the star and the sceptre: the royal trajectory is being announced by a pagan prophet who cannot help himself.
Balaam cannot curse what God has not cursed. The Balaam oracles are among the most remarkable prophecies in the OT, forced from the mouth of a diviner who wanted to speak otherwise, blessing Israel with language that includes the star prophecy of Numbers 24:17.
דָּרַךְ כּוֹכָב מִיַּעֲקֹב וְקָם שֵׁבֶט מִיִּשְׂרָאֵל (darakh kokhav mi-Ya'akov ve-qam shevet mi-Yisrael): there shall come a star out of Jacob and a sceptre shall rise out of Israel: kokhav (star, the star is a royal symbol throughout the ANE; Jewish tradition consistently read this as a messianic prophecy; Matthew 2 connects the magi's star to this text; the Magi are following what the star-reading tradition had preserved from Balaam's oracle); shevet (sceptre, the rod of authority, the same word as Genesis 49:10; the royal trajectory
threads t1 · t2 · t7 · see Genesis 49:10 · Matthew 2:2 · 2 Peter 2:15-16
Balak king of Moab is terrified of Israel. He sends for Balaam, a non-Israelite prophet with genuine prophetic gifting, to curse Israel. God tells Balaam: do not go, for they are blessed. Balaam refuses. Balak sends again with more prestigious messengers and greater promises. God tells Balaam he may go but must speak only what God tells him.
On the way the donkey sees the angel of the LORD standing in the road with a drawn sword and stops. Three times. Balaam beats the donkey. Then the LORD opens the donkey's mouth: what have I done to you that you have struck me three times? Then the LORD opens Balaam's eyes and he sees the angel and falls on his face.
Balaam goes to Balak. Four times he opens his mouth to curse Israel and four times blessings come out instead. How can I curse whom God has not cursed? How can I denounce whom the LORD has not denounced? From the rocky peaks I see them, from the heights I view them: a people who dwell apart, not reckoned among the nations. Who can count the dust of Jacob or number the fourth part of Israel? Let me die the death of the upright.
The third oracle: God is not human that he should lie, or a son of man that he should change his mind. Has he said and will he not do it? Has he spoken and will he not fulfill it? I have received a command to bless; he has blessed, and I cannot revoke it. Thread 2 is the blessing of the corporate covenant people that cannot be reversed. Thread 7 is in the scope of the blessing.
The fourth oracle contains the star: darakh kokhav mi-Ya'akov, a star shall come out of Jacob, and a sceptre shall rise out of Israel. The magi who follow the star to Bethlehem are following a tradition that traces back to Balaam's oracle. Thread 3 is in the star and the sceptre: the royal trajectory is being announced by a pagan prophet who cannot help himself.
Balaam cannot curse what God has not cursed. The Balaam oracles are among the most remarkable prophecies in the OT, forced from the mouth of a diviner who wanted to speak otherwise, blessing Israel with language that includes the star prophecy of Numbers 24:17.
דָּרַךְ כּוֹכָב מִיַּעֲקֹב וְקָם שֵׁבֶט מִיִּשְׂרָאֵל (darakh kokhav mi-Ya'akov ve-qam shevet mi-Yisrael): there shall come a star out of Jacob and a sceptre shall rise out of Israel: kokhav (star, the star is a royal symbol throughout the ANE; Jewish tradition consistently read this as a messianic prophecy; Matthew 2 connects the magi's star to this text; the Magi are following what the star-reading tradition had preserved from Balaam's oracle); shevet (sceptre, the rod of authority, the same word as Genesis 49:10; the royal trajectory
threads t1 · t2 · t7 · see Genesis 49:10 · Matthew 2:2 · 2 Peter 2:15-16
Balak king of Moab is terrified of Israel. He sends for Balaam, a non-Israelite prophet with genuine prophetic gifting, to curse Israel. God tells Balaam: do not go, for they are blessed. Balaam refuses. Balak sends again with more prestigious messengers and greater promises. God tells Balaam he may go but must speak only what God tells him.
On the way the donkey sees the angel of the LORD standing in the road with a drawn sword and stops. Three times. Balaam beats the donkey. Then the LORD opens the donkey's mouth: what have I done to you that you have struck me three times? Then the LORD opens Balaam's eyes and he sees the angel and falls on his face.
Balaam goes to Balak. Four times he opens his mouth to curse Israel and four times blessings come out instead. How can I curse whom God has not cursed? How can I denounce whom the LORD has not denounced? From the rocky peaks I see them, from the heights I view them: a people who dwell apart, not reckoned among the nations. Who can count the dust of Jacob or number the fourth part of Israel? Let me die the death of the upright.
The third oracle: God is not human that he should lie, or a son of man that he should change his mind. Has he said and will he not do it? Has he spoken and will he not fulfill it? I have received a command to bless; he has blessed, and I cannot revoke it. Thread 2 is the blessing of the corporate covenant people that cannot be reversed. Thread 7 is in the scope of the blessing.
The fourth oracle contains the star: darakh kokhav mi-Ya'akov, a star shall come out of Jacob, and a sceptre shall rise out of Israel. The magi who follow the star to Bethlehem are following a tradition that traces back to Balaam's oracle. Thread 3 is in the star and the sceptre: the royal trajectory is being announced by a pagan prophet who cannot help himself.
Balaam cannot curse what God has not cursed. The Balaam oracles are among the most remarkable prophecies in the OT, forced from the mouth of a diviner who wanted to speak otherwise, blessing Israel with language that includes the star prophecy of Numbers 24:17.
דָּרַךְ כּוֹכָב מִיַּעֲקֹב וְקָם שֵׁבֶט מִיִּשְׂרָאֵל (darakh kokhav mi-Ya'akov ve-qam shevet mi-Yisrael): there shall come a star out of Jacob and a sceptre shall rise out of Israel: kokhav (star, the star is a royal symbol throughout the ANE; Jewish tradition consistently read this as a messianic prophecy; Matthew 2 connects the magi's star to this text; the Magi are following what the star-reading tradition had preserved from Balaam's oracle); shevet (sceptre, the rod of authority, the same word as Genesis 49:10; the royal trajectory
threads t1 · t2 · t7 · see Genesis 49:10 · Matthew 2:2 · 2 Peter 2:15-16
Balak king of Moab is terrified of Israel. He sends for Balaam, a non-Israelite prophet with genuine prophetic gifting, to curse Israel. God tells Balaam: do not go, for they are blessed. Balaam refuses. Balak sends again with more prestigious messengers and greater promises. God tells Balaam he may go but must speak only what God tells him.
On the way the donkey sees the angel of the LORD standing in the road with a drawn sword and stops. Three times. Balaam beats the donkey. Then the LORD opens the donkey's mouth: what have I done to you that you have struck me three times? Then the LORD opens Balaam's eyes and he sees the angel and falls on his face.
Balaam goes to Balak. Four times he opens his mouth to curse Israel and four times blessings come out instead. How can I curse whom God has not cursed? How can I denounce whom the LORD has not denounced? From the rocky peaks I see them, from the heights I view them: a people who dwell apart, not reckoned among the nations. Who can count the dust of Jacob or number the fourth part of Israel? Let me die the death of the upright.
The third oracle: God is not human that he should lie, or a son of man that he should change his mind. Has he said and will he not do it? Has he spoken and will he not fulfill it? I have received a command to bless; he has blessed, and I cannot revoke it. Thread 2 is the blessing of the corporate covenant people that cannot be reversed. Thread 7 is in the scope of the blessing.
The fourth oracle contains the star: darakh kokhav mi-Ya'akov, a star shall come out of Jacob, and a sceptre shall rise out of Israel. The magi who follow the star to Bethlehem are following a tradition that traces back to Balaam's oracle. Thread 3 is in the star and the sceptre: the royal trajectory is being announced by a pagan prophet who cannot help himself.
Balaam cannot curse what God has not cursed. The Balaam oracles are among the most remarkable prophecies in the OT, forced from the mouth of a diviner who wanted to speak otherwise, blessing Israel with language that includes the star prophecy of Numbers 24:17.
דָּרַךְ כּוֹכָב מִיַּעֲקֹב וְקָם שֵׁבֶט מִיִּשְׂרָאֵל (darakh kokhav mi-Ya'akov ve-qam shevet mi-Yisrael): there shall come a star out of Jacob and a sceptre shall rise out of Israel: kokhav (star, the star is a royal symbol throughout the ANE; Jewish tradition consistently read this as a messianic prophecy; Matthew 2 connects the magi's star to this text; the Magi are following what the star-reading tradition had preserved from Balaam's oracle); shevet (sceptre, the rod of authority, the same word as Genesis 49:10; the royal trajectory
threads t1 · t2 · t7 · see Genesis 49:10 · Matthew 2:2 · 2 Peter 2:15-16
Balak king of Moab is terrified of Israel. He sends for Balaam, a non-Israelite prophet with genuine prophetic gifting, to curse Israel. God tells Balaam: do not go, for they are blessed. Balaam refuses. Balak sends again with more prestigious messengers and greater promises. God tells Balaam he may go but must speak only what God tells him.
On the way the donkey sees the angel of the LORD standing in the road with a drawn sword and stops. Three times. Balaam beats the donkey. Then the LORD opens the donkey's mouth: what have I done to you that you have struck me three times? Then the LORD opens Balaam's eyes and he sees the angel and falls on his face.
Balaam goes to Balak. Four times he opens his mouth to curse Israel and four times blessings come out instead. How can I curse whom God has not cursed? How can I denounce whom the LORD has not denounced? From the rocky peaks I see them, from the heights I view them: a people who dwell apart, not reckoned among the nations. Who can count the dust of Jacob or number the fourth part of Israel? Let me die the death of the upright.
The third oracle: God is not human that he should lie, or a son of man that he should change his mind. Has he said and will he not do it? Has he spoken and will he not fulfill it? I have received a command to bless; he has blessed, and I cannot revoke it. Thread 2 is the blessing of the corporate covenant people that cannot be reversed. Thread 7 is in the scope of the blessing.
The fourth oracle contains the star: darakh kokhav mi-Ya'akov, a star shall come out of Jacob, and a sceptre shall rise out of Israel. The magi who follow the star to Bethlehem are following a tradition that traces back to Balaam's oracle. Thread 3 is in the star and the sceptre: the royal trajectory is being announced by a pagan prophet who cannot help himself.
Balaam cannot curse what God has not cursed. The Balaam oracles are among the most remarkable prophecies in the OT, forced from the mouth of a diviner who wanted to speak otherwise, blessing Israel with language that includes the star prophecy of Numbers 24:17.
דָּרַךְ כּוֹכָב מִיַּעֲקֹב וְקָם שֵׁבֶט מִיִּשְׂרָאֵל (darakh kokhav mi-Ya'akov ve-qam shevet mi-Yisrael): there shall come a star out of Jacob and a sceptre shall rise out of Israel: kokhav (star, the star is a royal symbol throughout the ANE; Jewish tradition consistently read this as a messianic prophecy; Matthew 2 connects the magi's star to this text; the Magi are following what the star-reading tradition had preserved from Balaam's oracle); shevet (sceptre, the rod of authority, the same word as Genesis 49:10; the royal trajectory
threads t1 · t2 · t7 · see Genesis 49:10 · Matthew 2:2 · 2 Peter 2:15-16
Balak king of Moab is terrified of Israel. He sends for Balaam, a non-Israelite prophet with genuine prophetic gifting, to curse Israel. God tells Balaam: do not go, for they are blessed. Balaam refuses. Balak sends again with more prestigious messengers and greater promises. God tells Balaam he may go but must speak only what God tells him.
On the way the donkey sees the angel of the LORD standing in the road with a drawn sword and stops. Three times. Balaam beats the donkey. Then the LORD opens the donkey's mouth: what have I done to you that you have struck me three times? Then the LORD opens Balaam's eyes and he sees the angel and falls on his face.
Balaam goes to Balak. Four times he opens his mouth to curse Israel and four times blessings come out instead. How can I curse whom God has not cursed? How can I denounce whom the LORD has not denounced? From the rocky peaks I see them, from the heights I view them: a people who dwell apart, not reckoned among the nations. Who can count the dust of Jacob or number the fourth part of Israel? Let me die the death of the upright.
The third oracle: God is not human that he should lie, or a son of man that he should change his mind. Has he said and will he not do it? Has he spoken and will he not fulfill it? I have received a command to bless; he has blessed, and I cannot revoke it. Thread 2 is the blessing of the corporate covenant people that cannot be reversed. Thread 7 is in the scope of the blessing.
The fourth oracle contains the star: darakh kokhav mi-Ya'akov, a star shall come out of Jacob, and a sceptre shall rise out of Israel. The magi who follow the star to Bethlehem are following a tradition that traces back to Balaam's oracle. Thread 3 is in the star and the sceptre: the royal trajectory is being announced by a pagan prophet who cannot help himself.
Balaam cannot curse what God has not cursed. The Balaam oracles are among the most remarkable prophecies in the OT, forced from the mouth of a diviner who wanted to speak otherwise, blessing Israel with language that includes the star prophecy of Numbers 24:17.
דָּרַךְ כּוֹכָב מִיַּעֲקֹב וְקָם שֵׁבֶט מִיִּשְׂרָאֵל (darakh kokhav mi-Ya'akov ve-qam shevet mi-Yisrael): there shall come a star out of Jacob and a sceptre shall rise out of Israel: kokhav (star, the star is a royal symbol throughout the ANE; Jewish tradition consistently read this as a messianic prophecy; Matthew 2 connects the magi's star to this text; the Magi are following what the star-reading tradition had preserved from Balaam's oracle); shevet (sceptre, the rod of authority, the same word as Genesis 49:10; the royal trajectory
threads t1 · t2 · t7 · see Genesis 49:10 · Matthew 2:2 · 2 Peter 2:15-16
Balak king of Moab is terrified of Israel. He sends for Balaam, a non-Israelite prophet with genuine prophetic gifting, to curse Israel. God tells Balaam: do not go, for they are blessed. Balaam refuses. Balak sends again with more prestigious messengers and greater promises. God tells Balaam he may go but must speak only what God tells him.
On the way the donkey sees the angel of the LORD standing in the road with a drawn sword and stops. Three times. Balaam beats the donkey. Then the LORD opens the donkey's mouth: what have I done to you that you have struck me three times? Then the LORD opens Balaam's eyes and he sees the angel and falls on his face.
Balaam goes to Balak. Four times he opens his mouth to curse Israel and four times blessings come out instead. How can I curse whom God has not cursed? How can I denounce whom the LORD has not denounced? From the rocky peaks I see them, from the heights I view them: a people who dwell apart, not reckoned among the nations. Who can count the dust of Jacob or number the fourth part of Israel? Let me die the death of the upright.
The third oracle: God is not human that he should lie, or a son of man that he should change his mind. Has he said and will he not do it? Has he spoken and will he not fulfill it? I have received a command to bless; he has blessed, and I cannot revoke it. Thread 2 is the blessing of the corporate covenant people that cannot be reversed. Thread 7 is in the scope of the blessing.
The fourth oracle contains the star: darakh kokhav mi-Ya'akov, a star shall come out of Jacob, and a sceptre shall rise out of Israel. The magi who follow the star to Bethlehem are following a tradition that traces back to Balaam's oracle. Thread 3 is in the star and the sceptre: the royal trajectory is being announced by a pagan prophet who cannot help himself.
Balaam cannot curse what God has not cursed. The Balaam oracles are among the most remarkable prophecies in the OT, forced from the mouth of a diviner who wanted to speak otherwise, blessing Israel with language that includes the star prophecy of Numbers 24:17.
דָּרַךְ כּוֹכָב מִיַּעֲקֹב וְקָם שֵׁבֶט מִיִּשְׂרָאֵל (darakh kokhav mi-Ya'akov ve-qam shevet mi-Yisrael): there shall come a star out of Jacob and a sceptre shall rise out of Israel: kokhav (star, the star is a royal symbol throughout the ANE; Jewish tradition consistently read this as a messianic prophecy; Matthew 2 connects the magi's star to this text; the Magi are following what the star-reading tradition had preserved from Balaam's oracle); shevet (sceptre, the rod of authority, the same word as Genesis 49:10; the royal trajectory
threads t1 · t2 · t7 · see Genesis 49:10 · Matthew 2:2 · 2 Peter 2:15-16
Balak king of Moab is terrified of Israel. He sends for Balaam, a non-Israelite prophet with genuine prophetic gifting, to curse Israel. God tells Balaam: do not go, for they are blessed. Balaam refuses. Balak sends again with more prestigious messengers and greater promises. God tells Balaam he may go but must speak only what God tells him.
On the way the donkey sees the angel of the LORD standing in the road with a drawn sword and stops. Three times. Balaam beats the donkey. Then the LORD opens the donkey's mouth: what have I done to you that you have struck me three times? Then the LORD opens Balaam's eyes and he sees the angel and falls on his face.
Balaam goes to Balak. Four times he opens his mouth to curse Israel and four times blessings come out instead. How can I curse whom God has not cursed? How can I denounce whom the LORD has not denounced? From the rocky peaks I see them, from the heights I view them: a people who dwell apart, not reckoned among the nations. Who can count the dust of Jacob or number the fourth part of Israel? Let me die the death of the upright.
The third oracle: God is not human that he should lie, or a son of man that he should change his mind. Has he said and will he not do it? Has he spoken and will he not fulfill it? I have received a command to bless; he has blessed, and I cannot revoke it. Thread 2 is the blessing of the corporate covenant people that cannot be reversed. Thread 7 is in the scope of the blessing.
The fourth oracle contains the star: darakh kokhav mi-Ya'akov, a star shall come out of Jacob, and a sceptre shall rise out of Israel. The magi who follow the star to Bethlehem are following a tradition that traces back to Balaam's oracle. Thread 3 is in the star and the sceptre: the royal trajectory is being announced by a pagan prophet who cannot help himself.
Balaam cannot curse what God has not cursed. The Balaam oracles are among the most remarkable prophecies in the OT, forced from the mouth of a diviner who wanted to speak otherwise, blessing Israel with language that includes the star prophecy of Numbers 24:17.
דָּרַךְ כּוֹכָב מִיַּעֲקֹב וְקָם שֵׁבֶט מִיִּשְׂרָאֵל (darakh kokhav mi-Ya'akov ve-qam shevet mi-Yisrael): there shall come a star out of Jacob and a sceptre shall rise out of Israel: kokhav (star, the star is a royal symbol throughout the ANE; Jewish tradition consistently read this as a messianic prophecy; Matthew 2 connects the magi's star to this text; the Magi are following what the star-reading tradition had preserved from Balaam's oracle); shevet (sceptre, the rod of authority, the same word as Genesis 49:10; the royal trajectory
threads t1 · t2 · t7 · see Genesis 49:10 · Matthew 2:2 · 2 Peter 2:15-16
Balak king of Moab is terrified of Israel. He sends for Balaam, a non-Israelite prophet with genuine prophetic gifting, to curse Israel. God tells Balaam: do not go, for they are blessed. Balaam refuses. Balak sends again with more prestigious messengers and greater promises. God tells Balaam he may go but must speak only what God tells him.
On the way the donkey sees the angel of the LORD standing in the road with a drawn sword and stops. Three times. Balaam beats the donkey. Then the LORD opens the donkey's mouth: what have I done to you that you have struck me three times? Then the LORD opens Balaam's eyes and he sees the angel and falls on his face.
Balaam goes to Balak. Four times he opens his mouth to curse Israel and four times blessings come out instead. How can I curse whom God has not cursed? How can I denounce whom the LORD has not denounced? From the rocky peaks I see them, from the heights I view them: a people who dwell apart, not reckoned among the nations. Who can count the dust of Jacob or number the fourth part of Israel? Let me die the death of the upright.
The third oracle: God is not human that he should lie, or a son of man that he should change his mind. Has he said and will he not do it? Has he spoken and will he not fulfill it? I have received a command to bless; he has blessed, and I cannot revoke it. Thread 2 is the blessing of the corporate covenant people that cannot be reversed. Thread 7 is in the scope of the blessing.
The fourth oracle contains the star: darakh kokhav mi-Ya'akov, a star shall come out of Jacob, and a sceptre shall rise out of Israel. The magi who follow the star to Bethlehem are following a tradition that traces back to Balaam's oracle. Thread 3 is in the star and the sceptre: the royal trajectory is being announced by a pagan prophet who cannot help himself.
Balaam cannot curse what God has not cursed. The Balaam oracles are among the most remarkable prophecies in the OT, forced from the mouth of a diviner who wanted to speak otherwise, blessing Israel with language that includes the star prophecy of Numbers 24:17.
דָּרַךְ כּוֹכָב מִיַּעֲקֹב וְקָם שֵׁבֶט מִיִּשְׂרָאֵל (darakh kokhav mi-Ya'akov ve-qam shevet mi-Yisrael): there shall come a star out of Jacob and a sceptre shall rise out of Israel: kokhav (star, the star is a royal symbol throughout the ANE; Jewish tradition consistently read this as a messianic prophecy; Matthew 2 connects the magi's star to this text; the Magi are following what the star-reading tradition had preserved from Balaam's oracle); shevet (sceptre, the rod of authority, the same word as Genesis 49:10; the royal trajectory
threads t1 · t2 · t7 · see Genesis 49:10 · Matthew 2:2 · 2 Peter 2:15-16
Balak king of Moab is terrified of Israel. He sends for Balaam, a non-Israelite prophet with genuine prophetic gifting, to curse Israel. God tells Balaam: do not go, for they are blessed. Balaam refuses. Balak sends again with more prestigious messengers and greater promises. God tells Balaam he may go but must speak only what God tells him.
On the way the donkey sees the angel of the LORD standing in the road with a drawn sword and stops. Three times. Balaam beats the donkey. Then the LORD opens the donkey's mouth: what have I done to you that you have struck me three times? Then the LORD opens Balaam's eyes and he sees the angel and falls on his face.
Balaam goes to Balak. Four times he opens his mouth to curse Israel and four times blessings come out instead. How can I curse whom God has not cursed? How can I denounce whom the LORD has not denounced? From the rocky peaks I see them, from the heights I view them: a people who dwell apart, not reckoned among the nations. Who can count the dust of Jacob or number the fourth part of Israel? Let me die the death of the upright.
The third oracle: God is not human that he should lie, or a son of man that he should change his mind. Has he said and will he not do it? Has he spoken and will he not fulfill it? I have received a command to bless; he has blessed, and I cannot revoke it. Thread 2 is the blessing of the corporate covenant people that cannot be reversed. Thread 7 is in the scope of the blessing.
The fourth oracle contains the star: darakh kokhav mi-Ya'akov, a star shall come out of Jacob, and a sceptre shall rise out of Israel. The magi who follow the star to Bethlehem are following a tradition that traces back to Balaam's oracle. Thread 3 is in the star and the sceptre: the royal trajectory is being announced by a pagan prophet who cannot help himself.
Balaam cannot curse what God has not cursed. The Balaam oracles are among the most remarkable prophecies in the OT, forced from the mouth of a diviner who wanted to speak otherwise, blessing Israel with language that includes the star prophecy of Numbers 24:17.
דָּרַךְ כּוֹכָב מִיַּעֲקֹב וְקָם שֵׁבֶט מִיִּשְׂרָאֵל (darakh kokhav mi-Ya'akov ve-qam shevet mi-Yisrael): there shall come a star out of Jacob and a sceptre shall rise out of Israel: kokhav (star, the star is a royal symbol throughout the ANE; Jewish tradition consistently read this as a messianic prophecy; Matthew 2 connects the magi's star to this text; the Magi are following what the star-reading tradition had preserved from Balaam's oracle); shevet (sceptre, the rod of authority, the same word as Genesis 49:10; the royal trajectory
threads t1 · t2 · t7 · see Genesis 49:10 · Matthew 2:2 · 2 Peter 2:15-16
Balak king of Moab is terrified of Israel. He sends for Balaam, a non-Israelite prophet with genuine prophetic gifting, to curse Israel. God tells Balaam: do not go, for they are blessed. Balaam refuses. Balak sends again with more prestigious messengers and greater promises. God tells Balaam he may go but must speak only what God tells him.
On the way the donkey sees the angel of the LORD standing in the road with a drawn sword and stops. Three times. Balaam beats the donkey. Then the LORD opens the donkey's mouth: what have I done to you that you have struck me three times? Then the LORD opens Balaam's eyes and he sees the angel and falls on his face.
Balaam goes to Balak. Four times he opens his mouth to curse Israel and four times blessings come out instead. How can I curse whom God has not cursed? How can I denounce whom the LORD has not denounced? From the rocky peaks I see them, from the heights I view them: a people who dwell apart, not reckoned among the nations. Who can count the dust of Jacob or number the fourth part of Israel? Let me die the death of the upright.
The third oracle: God is not human that he should lie, or a son of man that he should change his mind. Has he said and will he not do it? Has he spoken and will he not fulfill it? I have received a command to bless; he has blessed, and I cannot revoke it. Thread 2 is the blessing of the corporate covenant people that cannot be reversed. Thread 7 is in the scope of the blessing.
The fourth oracle contains the star: darakh kokhav mi-Ya'akov, a star shall come out of Jacob, and a sceptre shall rise out of Israel. The magi who follow the star to Bethlehem are following a tradition that traces back to Balaam's oracle. Thread 3 is in the star and the sceptre: the royal trajectory is being announced by a pagan prophet who cannot help himself.
Balaam cannot curse what God has not cursed. The Balaam oracles are among the most remarkable prophecies in the OT, forced from the mouth of a diviner who wanted to speak otherwise, blessing Israel with language that includes the star prophecy of Numbers 24:17.
דָּרַךְ כּוֹכָב מִיַּעֲקֹב וְקָם שֵׁבֶט מִיִּשְׂרָאֵל (darakh kokhav mi-Ya'akov ve-qam shevet mi-Yisrael): there shall come a star out of Jacob and a sceptre shall rise out of Israel: kokhav (star, the star is a royal symbol throughout the ANE; Jewish tradition consistently read this as a messianic prophecy; Matthew 2 connects the magi's star to this text; the Magi are following what the star-reading tradition had preserved from Balaam's oracle); shevet (sceptre, the rod of authority, the same word as Genesis 49:10; the royal trajectory
threads t1 · t2 · t7 · see Genesis 49:10 · Matthew 2:2 · 2 Peter 2:15-16
Balak king of Moab is terrified of Israel. He sends for Balaam, a non-Israelite prophet with genuine prophetic gifting, to curse Israel. God tells Balaam: do not go, for they are blessed. Balaam refuses. Balak sends again with more prestigious messengers and greater promises. God tells Balaam he may go but must speak only what God tells him.
On the way the donkey sees the angel of the LORD standing in the road with a drawn sword and stops. Three times. Balaam beats the donkey. Then the LORD opens the donkey's mouth: what have I done to you that you have struck me three times? Then the LORD opens Balaam's eyes and he sees the angel and falls on his face.
Balaam goes to Balak. Four times he opens his mouth to curse Israel and four times blessings come out instead. How can I curse whom God has not cursed? How can I denounce whom the LORD has not denounced? From the rocky peaks I see them, from the heights I view them: a people who dwell apart, not reckoned among the nations. Who can count the dust of Jacob or number the fourth part of Israel? Let me die the death of the upright.
The third oracle: God is not human that he should lie, or a son of man that he should change his mind. Has he said and will he not do it? Has he spoken and will he not fulfill it? I have received a command to bless; he has blessed, and I cannot revoke it. Thread 2 is the blessing of the corporate covenant people that cannot be reversed. Thread 7 is in the scope of the blessing.
The fourth oracle contains the star: darakh kokhav mi-Ya'akov, a star shall come out of Jacob, and a sceptre shall rise out of Israel. The magi who follow the star to Bethlehem are following a tradition that traces back to Balaam's oracle. Thread 3 is in the star and the sceptre: the royal trajectory is being announced by a pagan prophet who cannot help himself.
Balaam cannot curse what God has not cursed. The Balaam oracles are among the most remarkable prophecies in the OT, forced from the mouth of a diviner who wanted to speak otherwise, blessing Israel with language that includes the star prophecy of Numbers 24:17.
דָּרַךְ כּוֹכָב מִיַּעֲקֹב וְקָם שֵׁבֶט מִיִּשְׂרָאֵל (darakh kokhav mi-Ya'akov ve-qam shevet mi-Yisrael): there shall come a star out of Jacob and a sceptre shall rise out of Israel: kokhav (star, the star is a royal symbol throughout the ANE; Jewish tradition consistently read this as a messianic prophecy; Matthew 2 connects the magi's star to this text; the Magi are following what the star-reading tradition had preserved from Balaam's oracle); shevet (sceptre, the rod of authority, the same word as Genesis 49:10; the royal trajectory
threads t1 · t2 · t7 · see Genesis 49:10 · Matthew 2:2 · 2 Peter 2:15-16
Balak king of Moab is terrified of Israel. He sends for Balaam, a non-Israelite prophet with genuine prophetic gifting, to curse Israel. God tells Balaam: do not go, for they are blessed. Balaam refuses. Balak sends again with more prestigious messengers and greater promises. God tells Balaam he may go but must speak only what God tells him.
On the way the donkey sees the angel of the LORD standing in the road with a drawn sword and stops. Three times. Balaam beats the donkey. Then the LORD opens the donkey's mouth: what have I done to you that you have struck me three times? Then the LORD opens Balaam's eyes and he sees the angel and falls on his face.
Balaam goes to Balak. Four times he opens his mouth to curse Israel and four times blessings come out instead. How can I curse whom God has not cursed? How can I denounce whom the LORD has not denounced? From the rocky peaks I see them, from the heights I view them: a people who dwell apart, not reckoned among the nations. Who can count the dust of Jacob or number the fourth part of Israel? Let me die the death of the upright.
The third oracle: God is not human that he should lie, or a son of man that he should change his mind. Has he said and will he not do it? Has he spoken and will he not fulfill it? I have received a command to bless; he has blessed, and I cannot revoke it. Thread 2 is the blessing of the corporate covenant people that cannot be reversed. Thread 7 is in the scope of the blessing.
The fourth oracle contains the star: darakh kokhav mi-Ya'akov, a star shall come out of Jacob, and a sceptre shall rise out of Israel. The magi who follow the star to Bethlehem are following a tradition that traces back to Balaam's oracle. Thread 3 is in the star and the sceptre: the royal trajectory is being announced by a pagan prophet who cannot help himself.
Balaam cannot curse what God has not cursed. The Balaam oracles are among the most remarkable prophecies in the OT, forced from the mouth of a diviner who wanted to speak otherwise, blessing Israel with language that includes the star prophecy of Numbers 24:17.
דָּרַךְ כּוֹכָב מִיַּעֲקֹב וְקָם שֵׁבֶט מִיִּשְׂרָאֵל (darakh kokhav mi-Ya'akov ve-qam shevet mi-Yisrael): there shall come a star out of Jacob and a sceptre shall rise out of Israel: kokhav (star, the star is a royal symbol throughout the ANE; Jewish tradition consistently read this as a messianic prophecy; Matthew 2 connects the magi's star to this text; the Magi are following what the star-reading tradition had preserved from Balaam's oracle); shevet (sceptre, the rod of authority, the same word as Genesis 49:10; the royal trajectory
threads t1 · t2 · t7 · see Genesis 49:10 · Matthew 2:2 · 2 Peter 2:15-16
Balak king of Moab is terrified of Israel. He sends for Balaam, a non-Israelite prophet with genuine prophetic gifting, to curse Israel. God tells Balaam: do not go, for they are blessed. Balaam refuses. Balak sends again with more prestigious messengers and greater promises. God tells Balaam he may go but must speak only what God tells him.
On the way the donkey sees the angel of the LORD standing in the road with a drawn sword and stops. Three times. Balaam beats the donkey. Then the LORD opens the donkey's mouth: what have I done to you that you have struck me three times? Then the LORD opens Balaam's eyes and he sees the angel and falls on his face.
Balaam goes to Balak. Four times he opens his mouth to curse Israel and four times blessings come out instead. How can I curse whom God has not cursed? How can I denounce whom the LORD has not denounced? From the rocky peaks I see them, from the heights I view them: a people who dwell apart, not reckoned among the nations. Who can count the dust of Jacob or number the fourth part of Israel? Let me die the death of the upright.
The third oracle: God is not human that he should lie, or a son of man that he should change his mind. Has he said and will he not do it? Has he spoken and will he not fulfill it? I have received a command to bless; he has blessed, and I cannot revoke it. Thread 2 is the blessing of the corporate covenant people that cannot be reversed. Thread 7 is in the scope of the blessing.
The fourth oracle contains the star: darakh kokhav mi-Ya'akov, a star shall come out of Jacob, and a sceptre shall rise out of Israel. The magi who follow the star to Bethlehem are following a tradition that traces back to Balaam's oracle. Thread 3 is in the star and the sceptre: the royal trajectory is being announced by a pagan prophet who cannot help himself.
Balaam cannot curse what God has not cursed. The Balaam oracles are among the most remarkable prophecies in the OT, forced from the mouth of a diviner who wanted to speak otherwise, blessing Israel with language that includes the star prophecy of Numbers 24:17.
דָּרַךְ כּוֹכָב מִיַּעֲקֹב וְקָם שֵׁבֶט מִיִּשְׂרָאֵל (darakh kokhav mi-Ya'akov ve-qam shevet mi-Yisrael): there shall come a star out of Jacob and a sceptre shall rise out of Israel: kokhav (star, the star is a royal symbol throughout the ANE; Jewish tradition consistently read this as a messianic prophecy; Matthew 2 connects the magi's star to this text; the Magi are following what the star-reading tradition had preserved from Balaam's oracle); shevet (sceptre, the rod of authority, the same word as Genesis 49:10; the royal trajectory
threads t1 · t2 · t7 · see Genesis 49:10 · Matthew 2:2 · 2 Peter 2:15-16
Balak king of Moab is terrified of Israel. He sends for Balaam, a non-Israelite prophet with genuine prophetic gifting, to curse Israel. God tells Balaam: do not go, for they are blessed. Balaam refuses. Balak sends again with more prestigious messengers and greater promises. God tells Balaam he may go but must speak only what God tells him.
On the way the donkey sees the angel of the LORD standing in the road with a drawn sword and stops. Three times. Balaam beats the donkey. Then the LORD opens the donkey's mouth: what have I done to you that you have struck me three times? Then the LORD opens Balaam's eyes and he sees the angel and falls on his face.
Balaam goes to Balak. Four times he opens his mouth to curse Israel and four times blessings come out instead. How can I curse whom God has not cursed? How can I denounce whom the LORD has not denounced? From the rocky peaks I see them, from the heights I view them: a people who dwell apart, not reckoned among the nations. Who can count the dust of Jacob or number the fourth part of Israel? Let me die the death of the upright.
The third oracle: God is not human that he should lie, or a son of man that he should change his mind. Has he said and will he not do it? Has he spoken and will he not fulfill it? I have received a command to bless; he has blessed, and I cannot revoke it. Thread 2 is the blessing of the corporate covenant people that cannot be reversed. Thread 7 is in the scope of the blessing.
The fourth oracle contains the star: darakh kokhav mi-Ya'akov, a star shall come out of Jacob, and a sceptre shall rise out of Israel. The magi who follow the star to Bethlehem are following a tradition that traces back to Balaam's oracle. Thread 3 is in the star and the sceptre: the royal trajectory is being announced by a pagan prophet who cannot help himself.
Balaam cannot curse what God has not cursed. The Balaam oracles are among the most remarkable prophecies in the OT, forced from the mouth of a diviner who wanted to speak otherwise, blessing Israel with language that includes the star prophecy of Numbers 24:17.
דָּרַךְ כּוֹכָב מִיַּעֲקֹב וְקָם שֵׁבֶט מִיִּשְׂרָאֵל (darakh kokhav mi-Ya'akov ve-qam shevet mi-Yisrael): there shall come a star out of Jacob and a sceptre shall rise out of Israel: kokhav (star, the star is a royal symbol throughout the ANE; Jewish tradition consistently read this as a messianic prophecy; Matthew 2 connects the magi's star to this text; the Magi are following what the star-reading tradition had preserved from Balaam's oracle); shevet (sceptre, the rod of authority, the same word as Genesis 49:10; the royal trajectory
threads t1 · t2 · t7 · see Genesis 49:10 · Matthew 2:2 · 2 Peter 2:15-16
Balak king of Moab is terrified of Israel. He sends for Balaam, a non-Israelite prophet with genuine prophetic gifting, to curse Israel. God tells Balaam: do not go, for they are blessed. Balaam refuses. Balak sends again with more prestigious messengers and greater promises. God tells Balaam he may go but must speak only what God tells him.
On the way the donkey sees the angel of the LORD standing in the road with a drawn sword and stops. Three times. Balaam beats the donkey. Then the LORD opens the donkey's mouth: what have I done to you that you have struck me three times? Then the LORD opens Balaam's eyes and he sees the angel and falls on his face.
Balaam goes to Balak. Four times he opens his mouth to curse Israel and four times blessings come out instead. How can I curse whom God has not cursed? How can I denounce whom the LORD has not denounced? From the rocky peaks I see them, from the heights I view them: a people who dwell apart, not reckoned among the nations. Who can count the dust of Jacob or number the fourth part of Israel? Let me die the death of the upright.
The third oracle: God is not human that he should lie, or a son of man that he should change his mind. Has he said and will he not do it? Has he spoken and will he not fulfill it? I have received a command to bless; he has blessed, and I cannot revoke it. Thread 2 is the blessing of the corporate covenant people that cannot be reversed. Thread 7 is in the scope of the blessing.
The fourth oracle contains the star: darakh kokhav mi-Ya'akov, a star shall come out of Jacob, and a sceptre shall rise out of Israel. The magi who follow the star to Bethlehem are following a tradition that traces back to Balaam's oracle. Thread 3 is in the star and the sceptre: the royal trajectory is being announced by a pagan prophet who cannot help himself.
Balaam cannot curse what God has not cursed. The Balaam oracles are among the most remarkable prophecies in the OT, forced from the mouth of a diviner who wanted to speak otherwise, blessing Israel with language that includes the star prophecy of Numbers 24:17.
דָּרַךְ כּוֹכָב מִיַּעֲקֹב וְקָם שֵׁבֶט מִיִּשְׂרָאֵל (darakh kokhav mi-Ya'akov ve-qam shevet mi-Yisrael): there shall come a star out of Jacob and a sceptre shall rise out of Israel: kokhav (star, the star is a royal symbol throughout the ANE; Jewish tradition consistently read this as a messianic prophecy; Matthew 2 connects the magi's star to this text; the Magi are following what the star-reading tradition had preserved from Balaam's oracle); shevet (sceptre, the rod of authority, the same word as Genesis 49:10; the royal trajectory
threads t1 · t2 · t7 · see Genesis 49:10 · Matthew 2:2 · 2 Peter 2:15-16
Balak king of Moab is terrified of Israel. He sends for Balaam, a non-Israelite prophet with genuine prophetic gifting, to curse Israel. God tells Balaam: do not go, for they are blessed. Balaam refuses. Balak sends again with more prestigious messengers and greater promises. God tells Balaam he may go but must speak only what God tells him.
On the way the donkey sees the angel of the LORD standing in the road with a drawn sword and stops. Three times. Balaam beats the donkey. Then the LORD opens the donkey's mouth: what have I done to you that you have struck me three times? Then the LORD opens Balaam's eyes and he sees the angel and falls on his face.
Balaam goes to Balak. Four times he opens his mouth to curse Israel and four times blessings come out instead. How can I curse whom God has not cursed? How can I denounce whom the LORD has not denounced? From the rocky peaks I see them, from the heights I view them: a people who dwell apart, not reckoned among the nations. Who can count the dust of Jacob or number the fourth part of Israel? Let me die the death of the upright.
The third oracle: God is not human that he should lie, or a son of man that he should change his mind. Has he said and will he not do it? Has he spoken and will he not fulfill it? I have received a command to bless; he has blessed, and I cannot revoke it. Thread 2 is the blessing of the corporate covenant people that cannot be reversed. Thread 7 is in the scope of the blessing.
The fourth oracle contains the star: darakh kokhav mi-Ya'akov, a star shall come out of Jacob, and a sceptre shall rise out of Israel. The magi who follow the star to Bethlehem are following a tradition that traces back to Balaam's oracle. Thread 3 is in the star and the sceptre: the royal trajectory is being announced by a pagan prophet who cannot help himself.
Balaam cannot curse what God has not cursed. The Balaam oracles are among the most remarkable prophecies in the OT, forced from the mouth of a diviner who wanted to speak otherwise, blessing Israel with language that includes the star prophecy of Numbers 24:17.
דָּרַךְ כּוֹכָב מִיַּעֲקֹב וְקָם שֵׁבֶט מִיִּשְׂרָאֵל (darakh kokhav mi-Ya'akov ve-qam shevet mi-Yisrael): there shall come a star out of Jacob and a sceptre shall rise out of Israel: kokhav (star, the star is a royal symbol throughout the ANE; Jewish tradition consistently read this as a messianic prophecy; Matthew 2 connects the magi's star to this text; the Magi are following what the star-reading tradition had preserved from Balaam's oracle); shevet (sceptre, the rod of authority, the same word as Genesis 49:10; the royal trajectory
threads t1 · t2 · t7 · see Genesis 49:10 · Matthew 2:2 · 2 Peter 2:15-16
Balak king of Moab is terrified of Israel. He sends for Balaam, a non-Israelite prophet with genuine prophetic gifting, to curse Israel. God tells Balaam: do not go, for they are blessed. Balaam refuses. Balak sends again with more prestigious messengers and greater promises. God tells Balaam he may go but must speak only what God tells him.
On the way the donkey sees the angel of the LORD standing in the road with a drawn sword and stops. Three times. Balaam beats the donkey. Then the LORD opens the donkey's mouth: what have I done to you that you have struck me three times? Then the LORD opens Balaam's eyes and he sees the angel and falls on his face.
Balaam goes to Balak. Four times he opens his mouth to curse Israel and four times blessings come out instead. How can I curse whom God has not cursed? How can I denounce whom the LORD has not denounced? From the rocky peaks I see them, from the heights I view them: a people who dwell apart, not reckoned among the nations. Who can count the dust of Jacob or number the fourth part of Israel? Let me die the death of the upright.
The third oracle: God is not human that he should lie, or a son of man that he should change his mind. Has he said and will he not do it? Has he spoken and will he not fulfill it? I have received a command to bless; he has blessed, and I cannot revoke it. Thread 2 is the blessing of the corporate covenant people that cannot be reversed. Thread 7 is in the scope of the blessing.
The fourth oracle contains the star: darakh kokhav mi-Ya'akov, a star shall come out of Jacob, and a sceptre shall rise out of Israel. The magi who follow the star to Bethlehem are following a tradition that traces back to Balaam's oracle. Thread 3 is in the star and the sceptre: the royal trajectory is being announced by a pagan prophet who cannot help himself.
Balaam cannot curse what God has not cursed. The Balaam oracles are among the most remarkable prophecies in the OT, forced from the mouth of a diviner who wanted to speak otherwise, blessing Israel with language that includes the star prophecy of Numbers 24:17.
דָּרַךְ כּוֹכָב מִיַּעֲקֹב וְקָם שֵׁבֶט מִיִּשְׂרָאֵל (darakh kokhav mi-Ya'akov ve-qam shevet mi-Yisrael): there shall come a star out of Jacob and a sceptre shall rise out of Israel: kokhav (star, the star is a royal symbol throughout the ANE; Jewish tradition consistently read this as a messianic prophecy; Matthew 2 connects the magi's star to this text; the Magi are following what the star-reading tradition had preserved from Balaam's oracle); shevet (sceptre, the rod of authority, the same word as Genesis 49:10; the royal trajectory
threads t1 · t2 · t7 · see Genesis 49:10 · Matthew 2:2 · 2 Peter 2:15-16
Balak king of Moab is terrified of Israel. He sends for Balaam, a non-Israelite prophet with genuine prophetic gifting, to curse Israel. God tells Balaam: do not go, for they are blessed. Balaam refuses. Balak sends again with more prestigious messengers and greater promises. God tells Balaam he may go but must speak only what God tells him.
On the way the donkey sees the angel of the LORD standing in the road with a drawn sword and stops. Three times. Balaam beats the donkey. Then the LORD opens the donkey's mouth: what have I done to you that you have struck me three times? Then the LORD opens Balaam's eyes and he sees the angel and falls on his face.
Balaam goes to Balak. Four times he opens his mouth to curse Israel and four times blessings come out instead. How can I curse whom God has not cursed? How can I denounce whom the LORD has not denounced? From the rocky peaks I see them, from the heights I view them: a people who dwell apart, not reckoned among the nations. Who can count the dust of Jacob or number the fourth part of Israel? Let me die the death of the upright.
The third oracle: God is not human that he should lie, or a son of man that he should change his mind. Has he said and will he not do it? Has he spoken and will he not fulfill it? I have received a command to bless; he has blessed, and I cannot revoke it. Thread 2 is the blessing of the corporate covenant people that cannot be reversed. Thread 7 is in the scope of the blessing.
The fourth oracle contains the star: darakh kokhav mi-Ya'akov, a star shall come out of Jacob, and a sceptre shall rise out of Israel. The magi who follow the star to Bethlehem are following a tradition that traces back to Balaam's oracle. Thread 3 is in the star and the sceptre: the royal trajectory is being announced by a pagan prophet who cannot help himself.
Balaam cannot curse what God has not cursed. The Balaam oracles are among the most remarkable prophecies in the OT, forced from the mouth of a diviner who wanted to speak otherwise, blessing Israel with language that includes the star prophecy of Numbers 24:17.
דָּרַךְ כּוֹכָב מִיַּעֲקֹב וְקָם שֵׁבֶט מִיִּשְׂרָאֵל (darakh kokhav mi-Ya'akov ve-qam shevet mi-Yisrael): there shall come a star out of Jacob and a sceptre shall rise out of Israel: kokhav (star, the star is a royal symbol throughout the ANE; Jewish tradition consistently read this as a messianic prophecy; Matthew 2 connects the magi's star to this text; the Magi are following what the star-reading tradition had preserved from Balaam's oracle); shevet (sceptre, the rod of authority, the same word as Genesis 49:10; the royal trajectory
threads t1 · t2 · t7 · see Genesis 49:10 · Matthew 2:2 · 2 Peter 2:15-16
Balak king of Moab is terrified of Israel. He sends for Balaam, a non-Israelite prophet with genuine prophetic gifting, to curse Israel. God tells Balaam: do not go, for they are blessed. Balaam refuses. Balak sends again with more prestigious messengers and greater promises. God tells Balaam he may go but must speak only what God tells him.
On the way the donkey sees the angel of the LORD standing in the road with a drawn sword and stops. Three times. Balaam beats the donkey. Then the LORD opens the donkey's mouth: what have I done to you that you have struck me three times? Then the LORD opens Balaam's eyes and he sees the angel and falls on his face.
Balaam goes to Balak. Four times he opens his mouth to curse Israel and four times blessings come out instead. How can I curse whom God has not cursed? How can I denounce whom the LORD has not denounced? From the rocky peaks I see them, from the heights I view them: a people who dwell apart, not reckoned among the nations. Who can count the dust of Jacob or number the fourth part of Israel? Let me die the death of the upright.
The third oracle: God is not human that he should lie, or a son of man that he should change his mind. Has he said and will he not do it? Has he spoken and will he not fulfill it? I have received a command to bless; he has blessed, and I cannot revoke it. Thread 2 is the blessing of the corporate covenant people that cannot be reversed. Thread 7 is in the scope of the blessing.
The fourth oracle contains the star: darakh kokhav mi-Ya'akov, a star shall come out of Jacob, and a sceptre shall rise out of Israel. The magi who follow the star to Bethlehem are following a tradition that traces back to Balaam's oracle. Thread 3 is in the star and the sceptre: the royal trajectory is being announced by a pagan prophet who cannot help himself.
Balaam cannot curse what God has not cursed. The Balaam oracles are among the most remarkable prophecies in the OT, forced from the mouth of a diviner who wanted to speak otherwise, blessing Israel with language that includes the star prophecy of Numbers 24:17.
דָּרַךְ כּוֹכָב מִיַּעֲקֹב וְקָם שֵׁבֶט מִיִּשְׂרָאֵל (darakh kokhav mi-Ya'akov ve-qam shevet mi-Yisrael): there shall come a star out of Jacob and a sceptre shall rise out of Israel: kokhav (star, the star is a royal symbol throughout the ANE; Jewish tradition consistently read this as a messianic prophecy; Matthew 2 connects the magi's star to this text; the Magi are following what the star-reading tradition had preserved from Balaam's oracle); shevet (sceptre, the rod of authority, the same word as Genesis 49:10; the royal trajectory
threads t1 · t2 · t7 · see Genesis 49:10 · Matthew 2:2 · 2 Peter 2:15-16
Balak king of Moab is terrified of Israel. He sends for Balaam, a non-Israelite prophet with genuine prophetic gifting, to curse Israel. God tells Balaam: do not go, for they are blessed. Balaam refuses. Balak sends again with more prestigious messengers and greater promises. God tells Balaam he may go but must speak only what God tells him.
On the way the donkey sees the angel of the LORD standing in the road with a drawn sword and stops. Three times. Balaam beats the donkey. Then the LORD opens the donkey's mouth: what have I done to you that you have struck me three times? Then the LORD opens Balaam's eyes and he sees the angel and falls on his face.
Balaam goes to Balak. Four times he opens his mouth to curse Israel and four times blessings come out instead. How can I curse whom God has not cursed? How can I denounce whom the LORD has not denounced? From the rocky peaks I see them, from the heights I view them: a people who dwell apart, not reckoned among the nations. Who can count the dust of Jacob or number the fourth part of Israel? Let me die the death of the upright.
The third oracle: God is not human that he should lie, or a son of man that he should change his mind. Has he said and will he not do it? Has he spoken and will he not fulfill it? I have received a command to bless; he has blessed, and I cannot revoke it. Thread 2 is the blessing of the corporate covenant people that cannot be reversed. Thread 7 is in the scope of the blessing.
The fourth oracle contains the star: darakh kokhav mi-Ya'akov, a star shall come out of Jacob, and a sceptre shall rise out of Israel. The magi who follow the star to Bethlehem are following a tradition that traces back to Balaam's oracle. Thread 3 is in the star and the sceptre: the royal trajectory is being announced by a pagan prophet who cannot help himself.
Balaam cannot curse what God has not cursed. The Balaam oracles are among the most remarkable prophecies in the OT, forced from the mouth of a diviner who wanted to speak otherwise, blessing Israel with language that includes the star prophecy of Numbers 24:17.
דָּרַךְ כּוֹכָב מִיַּעֲקֹב וְקָם שֵׁבֶט מִיִּשְׂרָאֵל (darakh kokhav mi-Ya'akov ve-qam shevet mi-Yisrael): there shall come a star out of Jacob and a sceptre shall rise out of Israel: kokhav (star, the star is a royal symbol throughout the ANE; Jewish tradition consistently read this as a messianic prophecy; Matthew 2 connects the magi's star to this text; the Magi are following what the star-reading tradition had preserved from Balaam's oracle); shevet (sceptre, the rod of authority, the same word as Genesis 49:10; the royal trajectory
threads t1 · t2 · t7 · see Genesis 49:10 · Matthew 2:2 · 2 Peter 2:15-16
Balak king of Moab is terrified of Israel. He sends for Balaam, a non-Israelite prophet with genuine prophetic gifting, to curse Israel. God tells Balaam: do not go, for they are blessed. Balaam refuses. Balak sends again with more prestigious messengers and greater promises. God tells Balaam he may go but must speak only what God tells him.
On the way the donkey sees the angel of the LORD standing in the road with a drawn sword and stops. Three times. Balaam beats the donkey. Then the LORD opens the donkey's mouth: what have I done to you that you have struck me three times? Then the LORD opens Balaam's eyes and he sees the angel and falls on his face.
Balaam goes to Balak. Four times he opens his mouth to curse Israel and four times blessings come out instead. How can I curse whom God has not cursed? How can I denounce whom the LORD has not denounced? From the rocky peaks I see them, from the heights I view them: a people who dwell apart, not reckoned among the nations. Who can count the dust of Jacob or number the fourth part of Israel? Let me die the death of the upright.
The third oracle: God is not human that he should lie, or a son of man that he should change his mind. Has he said and will he not do it? Has he spoken and will he not fulfill it? I have received a command to bless; he has blessed, and I cannot revoke it. Thread 2 is the blessing of the corporate covenant people that cannot be reversed. Thread 7 is in the scope of the blessing.
The fourth oracle contains the star: darakh kokhav mi-Ya'akov, a star shall come out of Jacob, and a sceptre shall rise out of Israel. The magi who follow the star to Bethlehem are following a tradition that traces back to Balaam's oracle. Thread 3 is in the star and the sceptre: the royal trajectory is being announced by a pagan prophet who cannot help himself.
Balaam cannot curse what God has not cursed. The Balaam oracles are among the most remarkable prophecies in the OT, forced from the mouth of a diviner who wanted to speak otherwise, blessing Israel with language that includes the star prophecy of Numbers 24:17.
דָּרַךְ כּוֹכָב מִיַּעֲקֹב וְקָם שֵׁבֶט מִיִּשְׂרָאֵל (darakh kokhav mi-Ya'akov ve-qam shevet mi-Yisrael): there shall come a star out of Jacob and a sceptre shall rise out of Israel: kokhav (star, the star is a royal symbol throughout the ANE; Jewish tradition consistently read this as a messianic prophecy; Matthew 2 connects the magi's star to this text; the Magi are following what the star-reading tradition had preserved from Balaam's oracle); shevet (sceptre, the rod of authority, the same word as Genesis 49:10; the royal trajectory
threads t1 · t2 · t7 · see Genesis 49:10 · Matthew 2:2 · 2 Peter 2:15-16
Balak king of Moab is terrified of Israel. He sends for Balaam, a non-Israelite prophet with genuine prophetic gifting, to curse Israel. God tells Balaam: do not go, for they are blessed. Balaam refuses. Balak sends again with more prestigious messengers and greater promises. God tells Balaam he may go but must speak only what God tells him.
On the way the donkey sees the angel of the LORD standing in the road with a drawn sword and stops. Three times. Balaam beats the donkey. Then the LORD opens the donkey's mouth: what have I done to you that you have struck me three times? Then the LORD opens Balaam's eyes and he sees the angel and falls on his face.
Balaam goes to Balak. Four times he opens his mouth to curse Israel and four times blessings come out instead. How can I curse whom God has not cursed? How can I denounce whom the LORD has not denounced? From the rocky peaks I see them, from the heights I view them: a people who dwell apart, not reckoned among the nations. Who can count the dust of Jacob or number the fourth part of Israel? Let me die the death of the upright.
The third oracle: God is not human that he should lie, or a son of man that he should change his mind. Has he said and will he not do it? Has he spoken and will he not fulfill it? I have received a command to bless; he has blessed, and I cannot revoke it. Thread 2 is the blessing of the corporate covenant people that cannot be reversed. Thread 7 is in the scope of the blessing.
The fourth oracle contains the star: darakh kokhav mi-Ya'akov, a star shall come out of Jacob, and a sceptre shall rise out of Israel. The magi who follow the star to Bethlehem are following a tradition that traces back to Balaam's oracle. Thread 3 is in the star and the sceptre: the royal trajectory is being announced by a pagan prophet who cannot help himself.
Balaam cannot curse what God has not cursed. The Balaam oracles are among the most remarkable prophecies in the OT, forced from the mouth of a diviner who wanted to speak otherwise, blessing Israel with language that includes the star prophecy of Numbers 24:17.
דָּרַךְ כּוֹכָב מִיַּעֲקֹב וְקָם שֵׁבֶט מִיִּשְׂרָאֵל (darakh kokhav mi-Ya'akov ve-qam shevet mi-Yisrael): there shall come a star out of Jacob and a sceptre shall rise out of Israel: kokhav (star, the star is a royal symbol throughout the ANE; Jewish tradition consistently read this as a messianic prophecy; Matthew 2 connects the magi's star to this text; the Magi are following what the star-reading tradition had preserved from Balaam's oracle); shevet (sceptre, the rod of authority, the same word as Genesis 49:10; the royal trajectory
threads t1 · t2 · t7 · see Genesis 49:10 · Matthew 2:2 · 2 Peter 2:15-16
Balak king of Moab is terrified of Israel. He sends for Balaam, a non-Israelite prophet with genuine prophetic gifting, to curse Israel. God tells Balaam: do not go, for they are blessed. Balaam refuses. Balak sends again with more prestigious messengers and greater promises. God tells Balaam he may go but must speak only what God tells him.
On the way the donkey sees the angel of the LORD standing in the road with a drawn sword and stops. Three times. Balaam beats the donkey. Then the LORD opens the donkey's mouth: what have I done to you that you have struck me three times? Then the LORD opens Balaam's eyes and he sees the angel and falls on his face.
Balaam goes to Balak. Four times he opens his mouth to curse Israel and four times blessings come out instead. How can I curse whom God has not cursed? How can I denounce whom the LORD has not denounced? From the rocky peaks I see them, from the heights I view them: a people who dwell apart, not reckoned among the nations. Who can count the dust of Jacob or number the fourth part of Israel? Let me die the death of the upright.
The third oracle: God is not human that he should lie, or a son of man that he should change his mind. Has he said and will he not do it? Has he spoken and will he not fulfill it? I have received a command to bless; he has blessed, and I cannot revoke it. Thread 2 is the blessing of the corporate covenant people that cannot be reversed. Thread 7 is in the scope of the blessing.
The fourth oracle contains the star: darakh kokhav mi-Ya'akov, a star shall come out of Jacob, and a sceptre shall rise out of Israel. The magi who follow the star to Bethlehem are following a tradition that traces back to Balaam's oracle. Thread 3 is in the star and the sceptre: the royal trajectory is being announced by a pagan prophet who cannot help himself.
Balaam cannot curse what God has not cursed. The Balaam oracles are among the most remarkable prophecies in the OT, forced from the mouth of a diviner who wanted to speak otherwise, blessing Israel with language that includes the star prophecy of Numbers 24:17.
דָּרַךְ כּוֹכָב מִיַּעֲקֹב וְקָם שֵׁבֶט מִיִּשְׂרָאֵל (darakh kokhav mi-Ya'akov ve-qam shevet mi-Yisrael): there shall come a star out of Jacob and a sceptre shall rise out of Israel: kokhav (star, the star is a royal symbol throughout the ANE; Jewish tradition consistently read this as a messianic prophecy; Matthew 2 connects the magi's star to this text; the Magi are following what the star-reading tradition had preserved from Balaam's oracle); shevet (sceptre, the rod of authority, the same word as Genesis 49:10; the royal trajectory
threads t1 · t2 · t7 · see Genesis 49:10 · Matthew 2:2 · 2 Peter 2:15-16
Balak king of Moab is terrified of Israel. He sends for Balaam, a non-Israelite prophet with genuine prophetic gifting, to curse Israel. God tells Balaam: do not go, for they are blessed. Balaam refuses. Balak sends again with more prestigious messengers and greater promises. God tells Balaam he may go but must speak only what God tells him.
On the way the donkey sees the angel of the LORD standing in the road with a drawn sword and stops. Three times. Balaam beats the donkey. Then the LORD opens the donkey's mouth: what have I done to you that you have struck me three times? Then the LORD opens Balaam's eyes and he sees the angel and falls on his face.
Balaam goes to Balak. Four times he opens his mouth to curse Israel and four times blessings come out instead. How can I curse whom God has not cursed? How can I denounce whom the LORD has not denounced? From the rocky peaks I see them, from the heights I view them: a people who dwell apart, not reckoned among the nations. Who can count the dust of Jacob or number the fourth part of Israel? Let me die the death of the upright.
The third oracle: God is not human that he should lie, or a son of man that he should change his mind. Has he said and will he not do it? Has he spoken and will he not fulfill it? I have received a command to bless; he has blessed, and I cannot revoke it. Thread 2 is the blessing of the corporate covenant people that cannot be reversed. Thread 7 is in the scope of the blessing.
The fourth oracle contains the star: darakh kokhav mi-Ya'akov, a star shall come out of Jacob, and a sceptre shall rise out of Israel. The magi who follow the star to Bethlehem are following a tradition that traces back to Balaam's oracle. Thread 3 is in the star and the sceptre: the royal trajectory is being announced by a pagan prophet who cannot help himself.
Balaam cannot curse what God has not cursed. The Balaam oracles are among the most remarkable prophecies in the OT, forced from the mouth of a diviner who wanted to speak otherwise, blessing Israel with language that includes the star prophecy of Numbers 24:17.
דָּרַךְ כּוֹכָב מִיַּעֲקֹב וְקָם שֵׁבֶט מִיִּשְׂרָאֵל (darakh kokhav mi-Ya'akov ve-qam shevet mi-Yisrael): there shall come a star out of Jacob and a sceptre shall rise out of Israel: kokhav (star, the star is a royal symbol throughout the ANE; Jewish tradition consistently read this as a messianic prophecy; Matthew 2 connects the magi's star to this text; the Magi are following what the star-reading tradition had preserved from Balaam's oracle); shevet (sceptre, the rod of authority, the same word as Genesis 49:10; the royal trajectory
threads t1 · t2 · t7 · see Genesis 49:10 · Matthew 2:2 · 2 Peter 2:15-16
Balak king of Moab is terrified of Israel. He sends for Balaam, a non-Israelite prophet with genuine prophetic gifting, to curse Israel. God tells Balaam: do not go, for they are blessed. Balaam refuses. Balak sends again with more prestigious messengers and greater promises. God tells Balaam he may go but must speak only what God tells him.
On the way the donkey sees the angel of the LORD standing in the road with a drawn sword and stops. Three times. Balaam beats the donkey. Then the LORD opens the donkey's mouth: what have I done to you that you have struck me three times? Then the LORD opens Balaam's eyes and he sees the angel and falls on his face.
Balaam goes to Balak. Four times he opens his mouth to curse Israel and four times blessings come out instead. How can I curse whom God has not cursed? How can I denounce whom the LORD has not denounced? From the rocky peaks I see them, from the heights I view them: a people who dwell apart, not reckoned among the nations. Who can count the dust of Jacob or number the fourth part of Israel? Let me die the death of the upright.
The third oracle: God is not human that he should lie, or a son of man that he should change his mind. Has he said and will he not do it? Has he spoken and will he not fulfill it? I have received a command to bless; he has blessed, and I cannot revoke it. Thread 2 is the blessing of the corporate covenant people that cannot be reversed. Thread 7 is in the scope of the blessing.
The fourth oracle contains the star: darakh kokhav mi-Ya'akov, a star shall come out of Jacob, and a sceptre shall rise out of Israel. The magi who follow the star to Bethlehem are following a tradition that traces back to Balaam's oracle. Thread 3 is in the star and the sceptre: the royal trajectory is being announced by a pagan prophet who cannot help himself.
Balaam cannot curse what God has not cursed. The Balaam oracles are among the most remarkable prophecies in the OT, forced from the mouth of a diviner who wanted to speak otherwise, blessing Israel with language that includes the star prophecy of Numbers 24:17.
דָּרַךְ כּוֹכָב מִיַּעֲקֹב וְקָם שֵׁבֶט מִיִּשְׂרָאֵל (darakh kokhav mi-Ya'akov ve-qam shevet mi-Yisrael): there shall come a star out of Jacob and a sceptre shall rise out of Israel: kokhav (star, the star is a royal symbol throughout the ANE; Jewish tradition consistently read this as a messianic prophecy; Matthew 2 connects the magi's star to this text; the Magi are following what the star-reading tradition had preserved from Balaam's oracle); shevet (sceptre, the rod of authority, the same word as Genesis 49:10; the royal trajectory
threads t1 · t2 · t7 · see Genesis 49:10 · Matthew 2:2 · 2 Peter 2:15-16
Balak king of Moab is terrified of Israel. He sends for Balaam, a non-Israelite prophet with genuine prophetic gifting, to curse Israel. God tells Balaam: do not go, for they are blessed. Balaam refuses. Balak sends again with more prestigious messengers and greater promises. God tells Balaam he may go but must speak only what God tells him.
On the way the donkey sees the angel of the LORD standing in the road with a drawn sword and stops. Three times. Balaam beats the donkey. Then the LORD opens the donkey's mouth: what have I done to you that you have struck me three times? Then the LORD opens Balaam's eyes and he sees the angel and falls on his face.
Balaam goes to Balak. Four times he opens his mouth to curse Israel and four times blessings come out instead. How can I curse whom God has not cursed? How can I denounce whom the LORD has not denounced? From the rocky peaks I see them, from the heights I view them: a people who dwell apart, not reckoned among the nations. Who can count the dust of Jacob or number the fourth part of Israel? Let me die the death of the upright.
The third oracle: God is not human that he should lie, or a son of man that he should change his mind. Has he said and will he not do it? Has he spoken and will he not fulfill it? I have received a command to bless; he has blessed, and I cannot revoke it. Thread 2 is the blessing of the corporate covenant people that cannot be reversed. Thread 7 is in the scope of the blessing.
The fourth oracle contains the star: darakh kokhav mi-Ya'akov, a star shall come out of Jacob, and a sceptre shall rise out of Israel. The magi who follow the star to Bethlehem are following a tradition that traces back to Balaam's oracle. Thread 3 is in the star and the sceptre: the royal trajectory is being announced by a pagan prophet who cannot help himself.
Balaam cannot curse what God has not cursed. The Balaam oracles are among the most remarkable prophecies in the OT, forced from the mouth of a diviner who wanted to speak otherwise, blessing Israel with language that includes the star prophecy of Numbers 24:17.
דָּרַךְ כּוֹכָב מִיַּעֲקֹב וְקָם שֵׁבֶט מִיִּשְׂרָאֵל (darakh kokhav mi-Ya'akov ve-qam shevet mi-Yisrael): there shall come a star out of Jacob and a sceptre shall rise out of Israel: kokhav (star, the star is a royal symbol throughout the ANE; Jewish tradition consistently read this as a messianic prophecy; Matthew 2 connects the magi's star to this text; the Magi are following what the star-reading tradition had preserved from Balaam's oracle); shevet (sceptre, the rod of authority, the same word as Genesis 49:10; the royal trajectory
threads t1 · t2 · t7 · see Genesis 49:10 · Matthew 2:2 · 2 Peter 2:15-16
Balak king of Moab is terrified of Israel. He sends for Balaam, a non-Israelite prophet with genuine prophetic gifting, to curse Israel. God tells Balaam: do not go, for they are blessed. Balaam refuses. Balak sends again with more prestigious messengers and greater promises. God tells Balaam he may go but must speak only what God tells him.
On the way the donkey sees the angel of the LORD standing in the road with a drawn sword and stops. Three times. Balaam beats the donkey. Then the LORD opens the donkey's mouth: what have I done to you that you have struck me three times? Then the LORD opens Balaam's eyes and he sees the angel and falls on his face.
Balaam goes to Balak. Four times he opens his mouth to curse Israel and four times blessings come out instead. How can I curse whom God has not cursed? How can I denounce whom the LORD has not denounced? From the rocky peaks I see them, from the heights I view them: a people who dwell apart, not reckoned among the nations. Who can count the dust of Jacob or number the fourth part of Israel? Let me die the death of the upright.
The third oracle: God is not human that he should lie, or a son of man that he should change his mind. Has he said and will he not do it? Has he spoken and will he not fulfill it? I have received a command to bless; he has blessed, and I cannot revoke it. Thread 2 is the blessing of the corporate covenant people that cannot be reversed. Thread 7 is in the scope of the blessing.
The fourth oracle contains the star: darakh kokhav mi-Ya'akov, a star shall come out of Jacob, and a sceptre shall rise out of Israel. The magi who follow the star to Bethlehem are following a tradition that traces back to Balaam's oracle. Thread 3 is in the star and the sceptre: the royal trajectory is being announced by a pagan prophet who cannot help himself.
Balaam cannot curse what God has not cursed. The Balaam oracles are among the most remarkable prophecies in the OT, forced from the mouth of a diviner who wanted to speak otherwise, blessing Israel with language that includes the star prophecy of Numbers 24:17.
דָּרַךְ כּוֹכָב מִיַּעֲקֹב וְקָם שֵׁבֶט מִיִּשְׂרָאֵל (darakh kokhav mi-Ya'akov ve-qam shevet mi-Yisrael): there shall come a star out of Jacob and a sceptre shall rise out of Israel: kokhav (star, the star is a royal symbol throughout the ANE; Jewish tradition consistently read this as a messianic prophecy; Matthew 2 connects the magi's star to this text; the Magi are following what the star-reading tradition had preserved from Balaam's oracle); shevet (sceptre, the rod of authority, the same word as Genesis 49:10; the royal trajectory
threads t1 · t2 · t7 · see Genesis 49:10 · Matthew 2:2 · 2 Peter 2:15-16
Balak king of Moab is terrified of Israel. He sends for Balaam, a non-Israelite prophet with genuine prophetic gifting, to curse Israel. God tells Balaam: do not go, for they are blessed. Balaam refuses. Balak sends again with more prestigious messengers and greater promises. God tells Balaam he may go but must speak only what God tells him.
On the way the donkey sees the angel of the LORD standing in the road with a drawn sword and stops. Three times. Balaam beats the donkey. Then the LORD opens the donkey's mouth: what have I done to you that you have struck me three times? Then the LORD opens Balaam's eyes and he sees the angel and falls on his face.
Balaam goes to Balak. Four times he opens his mouth to curse Israel and four times blessings come out instead. How can I curse whom God has not cursed? How can I denounce whom the LORD has not denounced? From the rocky peaks I see them, from the heights I view them: a people who dwell apart, not reckoned among the nations. Who can count the dust of Jacob or number the fourth part of Israel? Let me die the death of the upright.
The third oracle: God is not human that he should lie, or a son of man that he should change his mind. Has he said and will he not do it? Has he spoken and will he not fulfill it? I have received a command to bless; he has blessed, and I cannot revoke it. Thread 2 is the blessing of the corporate covenant people that cannot be reversed. Thread 7 is in the scope of the blessing.
The fourth oracle contains the star: darakh kokhav mi-Ya'akov, a star shall come out of Jacob, and a sceptre shall rise out of Israel. The magi who follow the star to Bethlehem are following a tradition that traces back to Balaam's oracle. Thread 3 is in the star and the sceptre: the royal trajectory is being announced by a pagan prophet who cannot help himself.
Balaam cannot curse what God has not cursed. The Balaam oracles are among the most remarkable prophecies in the OT, forced from the mouth of a diviner who wanted to speak otherwise, blessing Israel with language that includes the star prophecy of Numbers 24:17.
דָּרַךְ כּוֹכָב מִיַּעֲקֹב וְקָם שֵׁבֶט מִיִּשְׂרָאֵל (darakh kokhav mi-Ya'akov ve-qam shevet mi-Yisrael): there shall come a star out of Jacob and a sceptre shall rise out of Israel: kokhav (star, the star is a royal symbol throughout the ANE; Jewish tradition consistently read this as a messianic prophecy; Matthew 2 connects the magi's star to this text; the Magi are following what the star-reading tradition had preserved from Balaam's oracle); shevet (sceptre, the rod of authority, the same word as Genesis 49:10; the royal trajectory
threads t1 · t2 · t7 · see Genesis 49:10 · Matthew 2:2 · 2 Peter 2:15-16
Balak king of Moab is terrified of Israel. He sends for Balaam, a non-Israelite prophet with genuine prophetic gifting, to curse Israel. God tells Balaam: do not go, for they are blessed. Balaam refuses. Balak sends again with more prestigious messengers and greater promises. God tells Balaam he may go but must speak only what God tells him.
On the way the donkey sees the angel of the LORD standing in the road with a drawn sword and stops. Three times. Balaam beats the donkey. Then the LORD opens the donkey's mouth: what have I done to you that you have struck me three times? Then the LORD opens Balaam's eyes and he sees the angel and falls on his face.
Balaam goes to Balak. Four times he opens his mouth to curse Israel and four times blessings come out instead. How can I curse whom God has not cursed? How can I denounce whom the LORD has not denounced? From the rocky peaks I see them, from the heights I view them: a people who dwell apart, not reckoned among the nations. Who can count the dust of Jacob or number the fourth part of Israel? Let me die the death of the upright.
The third oracle: God is not human that he should lie, or a son of man that he should change his mind. Has he said and will he not do it? Has he spoken and will he not fulfill it? I have received a command to bless; he has blessed, and I cannot revoke it. Thread 2 is the blessing of the corporate covenant people that cannot be reversed. Thread 7 is in the scope of the blessing.
The fourth oracle contains the star: darakh kokhav mi-Ya'akov, a star shall come out of Jacob, and a sceptre shall rise out of Israel. The magi who follow the star to Bethlehem are following a tradition that traces back to Balaam's oracle. Thread 3 is in the star and the sceptre: the royal trajectory is being announced by a pagan prophet who cannot help himself.
Balaam cannot curse what God has not cursed. The Balaam oracles are among the most remarkable prophecies in the OT, forced from the mouth of a diviner who wanted to speak otherwise, blessing Israel with language that includes the star prophecy of Numbers 24:17.
דָּרַךְ כּוֹכָב מִיַּעֲקֹב וְקָם שֵׁבֶט מִיִּשְׂרָאֵל (darakh kokhav mi-Ya'akov ve-qam shevet mi-Yisrael): there shall come a star out of Jacob and a sceptre shall rise out of Israel: kokhav (star, the star is a royal symbol throughout the ANE; Jewish tradition consistently read this as a messianic prophecy; Matthew 2 connects the magi's star to this text; the Magi are following what the star-reading tradition had preserved from Balaam's oracle); shevet (sceptre, the rod of authority, the same word as Genesis 49:10; the royal trajectory
threads t1 · t2 · t7 · see Genesis 49:10 · Matthew 2:2 · 2 Peter 2:15-16
Balak king of Moab is terrified of Israel. He sends for Balaam, a non-Israelite prophet with genuine prophetic gifting, to curse Israel. God tells Balaam: do not go, for they are blessed. Balaam refuses. Balak sends again with more prestigious messengers and greater promises. God tells Balaam he may go but must speak only what God tells him.
On the way the donkey sees the angel of the LORD standing in the road with a drawn sword and stops. Three times. Balaam beats the donkey. Then the LORD opens the donkey's mouth: what have I done to you that you have struck me three times? Then the LORD opens Balaam's eyes and he sees the angel and falls on his face.
Balaam goes to Balak. Four times he opens his mouth to curse Israel and four times blessings come out instead. How can I curse whom God has not cursed? How can I denounce whom the LORD has not denounced? From the rocky peaks I see them, from the heights I view them: a people who dwell apart, not reckoned among the nations. Who can count the dust of Jacob or number the fourth part of Israel? Let me die the death of the upright.
The third oracle: God is not human that he should lie, or a son of man that he should change his mind. Has he said and will he not do it? Has he spoken and will he not fulfill it? I have received a command to bless; he has blessed, and I cannot revoke it. Thread 2 is the blessing of the corporate covenant people that cannot be reversed. Thread 7 is in the scope of the blessing.
The fourth oracle contains the star: darakh kokhav mi-Ya'akov, a star shall come out of Jacob, and a sceptre shall rise out of Israel. The magi who follow the star to Bethlehem are following a tradition that traces back to Balaam's oracle. Thread 3 is in the star and the sceptre: the royal trajectory is being announced by a pagan prophet who cannot help himself.
Balaam cannot curse what God has not cursed. The Balaam oracles are among the most remarkable prophecies in the OT, forced from the mouth of a diviner who wanted to speak otherwise, blessing Israel with language that includes the star prophecy of Numbers 24:17.
דָּרַךְ כּוֹכָב מִיַּעֲקֹב וְקָם שֵׁבֶט מִיִּשְׂרָאֵל (darakh kokhav mi-Ya'akov ve-qam shevet mi-Yisrael): there shall come a star out of Jacob and a sceptre shall rise out of Israel: kokhav (star, the star is a royal symbol throughout the ANE; Jewish tradition consistently read this as a messianic prophecy; Matthew 2 connects the magi's star to this text; the Magi are following what the star-reading tradition had preserved from Balaam's oracle); shevet (sceptre, the rod of authority, the same word as Genesis 49:10; the royal trajectory
threads t1 · t2 · t7 · see Genesis 49:10 · Matthew 2:2 · 2 Peter 2:15-16
Balak king of Moab is terrified of Israel. He sends for Balaam, a non-Israelite prophet with genuine prophetic gifting, to curse Israel. God tells Balaam: do not go, for they are blessed. Balaam refuses. Balak sends again with more prestigious messengers and greater promises. God tells Balaam he may go but must speak only what God tells him.
On the way the donkey sees the angel of the LORD standing in the road with a drawn sword and stops. Three times. Balaam beats the donkey. Then the LORD opens the donkey's mouth: what have I done to you that you have struck me three times? Then the LORD opens Balaam's eyes and he sees the angel and falls on his face.
Balaam goes to Balak. Four times he opens his mouth to curse Israel and four times blessings come out instead. How can I curse whom God has not cursed? How can I denounce whom the LORD has not denounced? From the rocky peaks I see them, from the heights I view them: a people who dwell apart, not reckoned among the nations. Who can count the dust of Jacob or number the fourth part of Israel? Let me die the death of the upright.
The third oracle: God is not human that he should lie, or a son of man that he should change his mind. Has he said and will he not do it? Has he spoken and will he not fulfill it? I have received a command to bless; he has blessed, and I cannot revoke it. Thread 2 is the blessing of the corporate covenant people that cannot be reversed. Thread 7 is in the scope of the blessing.
The fourth oracle contains the star: darakh kokhav mi-Ya'akov, a star shall come out of Jacob, and a sceptre shall rise out of Israel. The magi who follow the star to Bethlehem are following a tradition that traces back to Balaam's oracle. Thread 3 is in the star and the sceptre: the royal trajectory is being announced by a pagan prophet who cannot help himself.
Balaam cannot curse what God has not cursed. The Balaam oracles are among the most remarkable prophecies in the OT, forced from the mouth of a diviner who wanted to speak otherwise, blessing Israel with language that includes the star prophecy of Numbers 24:17.
דָּרַךְ כּוֹכָב מִיַּעֲקֹב וְקָם שֵׁבֶט מִיִּשְׂרָאֵל (darakh kokhav mi-Ya'akov ve-qam shevet mi-Yisrael): there shall come a star out of Jacob and a sceptre shall rise out of Israel: kokhav (star, the star is a royal symbol throughout the ANE; Jewish tradition consistently read this as a messianic prophecy; Matthew 2 connects the magi's star to this text; the Magi are following what the star-reading tradition had preserved from Balaam's oracle); shevet (sceptre, the rod of authority, the same word as Genesis 49:10; the royal trajectory
threads t1 · t2 · t7 · see Genesis 49:10 · Matthew 2:2 · 2 Peter 2:15-16
Balak king of Moab is terrified of Israel. He sends for Balaam, a non-Israelite prophet with genuine prophetic gifting, to curse Israel. God tells Balaam: do not go, for they are blessed. Balaam refuses. Balak sends again with more prestigious messengers and greater promises. God tells Balaam he may go but must speak only what God tells him.
On the way the donkey sees the angel of the LORD standing in the road with a drawn sword and stops. Three times. Balaam beats the donkey. Then the LORD opens the donkey's mouth: what have I done to you that you have struck me three times? Then the LORD opens Balaam's eyes and he sees the angel and falls on his face.
Balaam goes to Balak. Four times he opens his mouth to curse Israel and four times blessings come out instead. How can I curse whom God has not cursed? How can I denounce whom the LORD has not denounced? From the rocky peaks I see them, from the heights I view them: a people who dwell apart, not reckoned among the nations. Who can count the dust of Jacob or number the fourth part of Israel? Let me die the death of the upright.
The third oracle: God is not human that he should lie, or a son of man that he should change his mind. Has he said and will he not do it? Has he spoken and will he not fulfill it? I have received a command to bless; he has blessed, and I cannot revoke it. Thread 2 is the blessing of the corporate covenant people that cannot be reversed. Thread 7 is in the scope of the blessing.
The fourth oracle contains the star: darakh kokhav mi-Ya'akov, a star shall come out of Jacob, and a sceptre shall rise out of Israel. The magi who follow the star to Bethlehem are following a tradition that traces back to Balaam's oracle. Thread 3 is in the star and the sceptre: the royal trajectory is being announced by a pagan prophet who cannot help himself.
Balaam cannot curse what God has not cursed. The Balaam oracles are among the most remarkable prophecies in the OT, forced from the mouth of a diviner who wanted to speak otherwise, blessing Israel with language that includes the star prophecy of Numbers 24:17.
דָּרַךְ כּוֹכָב מִיַּעֲקֹב וְקָם שֵׁבֶט מִיִּשְׂרָאֵל (darakh kokhav mi-Ya'akov ve-qam shevet mi-Yisrael): there shall come a star out of Jacob and a sceptre shall rise out of Israel: kokhav (star, the star is a royal symbol throughout the ANE; Jewish tradition consistently read this as a messianic prophecy; Matthew 2 connects the magi's star to this text; the Magi are following what the star-reading tradition had preserved from Balaam's oracle); shevet (sceptre, the rod of authority, the same word as Genesis 49:10; the royal trajectory
threads t1 · t2 · t7 · see Genesis 49:10 · Matthew 2:2 · 2 Peter 2:15-16
Balak king of Moab is terrified of Israel. He sends for Balaam, a non-Israelite prophet with genuine prophetic gifting, to curse Israel. God tells Balaam: do not go, for they are blessed. Balaam refuses. Balak sends again with more prestigious messengers and greater promises. God tells Balaam he may go but must speak only what God tells him.
On the way the donkey sees the angel of the LORD standing in the road with a drawn sword and stops. Three times. Balaam beats the donkey. Then the LORD opens the donkey's mouth: what have I done to you that you have struck me three times? Then the LORD opens Balaam's eyes and he sees the angel and falls on his face.
Balaam goes to Balak. Four times he opens his mouth to curse Israel and four times blessings come out instead. How can I curse whom God has not cursed? How can I denounce whom the LORD has not denounced? From the rocky peaks I see them, from the heights I view them: a people who dwell apart, not reckoned among the nations. Who can count the dust of Jacob or number the fourth part of Israel? Let me die the death of the upright.
The third oracle: God is not human that he should lie, or a son of man that he should change his mind. Has he said and will he not do it? Has he spoken and will he not fulfill it? I have received a command to bless; he has blessed, and I cannot revoke it. Thread 2 is the blessing of the corporate covenant people that cannot be reversed. Thread 7 is in the scope of the blessing.
The fourth oracle contains the star: darakh kokhav mi-Ya'akov, a star shall come out of Jacob, and a sceptre shall rise out of Israel. The magi who follow the star to Bethlehem are following a tradition that traces back to Balaam's oracle. Thread 3 is in the star and the sceptre: the royal trajectory is being announced by a pagan prophet who cannot help himself.
Balaam cannot curse what God has not cursed. The Balaam oracles are among the most remarkable prophecies in the OT, forced from the mouth of a diviner who wanted to speak otherwise, blessing Israel with language that includes the star prophecy of Numbers 24:17.
דָּרַךְ כּוֹכָב מִיַּעֲקֹב וְקָם שֵׁבֶט מִיִּשְׂרָאֵל (darakh kokhav mi-Ya'akov ve-qam shevet mi-Yisrael): there shall come a star out of Jacob and a sceptre shall rise out of Israel: kokhav (star, the star is a royal symbol throughout the ANE; Jewish tradition consistently read this as a messianic prophecy; Matthew 2 connects the magi's star to this text; the Magi are following what the star-reading tradition had preserved from Balaam's oracle); shevet (sceptre, the rod of authority, the same word as Genesis 49:10; the royal trajectory
threads t1 · t2 · t7 · see Genesis 49:10 · Matthew 2:2 · 2 Peter 2:15-16
Balak king of Moab is terrified of Israel. He sends for Balaam, a non-Israelite prophet with genuine prophetic gifting, to curse Israel. God tells Balaam: do not go, for they are blessed. Balaam refuses. Balak sends again with more prestigious messengers and greater promises. God tells Balaam he may go but must speak only what God tells him.
On the way the donkey sees the angel of the LORD standing in the road with a drawn sword and stops. Three times. Balaam beats the donkey. Then the LORD opens the donkey's mouth: what have I done to you that you have struck me three times? Then the LORD opens Balaam's eyes and he sees the angel and falls on his face.
Balaam goes to Balak. Four times he opens his mouth to curse Israel and four times blessings come out instead. How can I curse whom God has not cursed? How can I denounce whom the LORD has not denounced? From the rocky peaks I see them, from the heights I view them: a people who dwell apart, not reckoned among the nations. Who can count the dust of Jacob or number the fourth part of Israel? Let me die the death of the upright.
The third oracle: God is not human that he should lie, or a son of man that he should change his mind. Has he said and will he not do it? Has he spoken and will he not fulfill it? I have received a command to bless; he has blessed, and I cannot revoke it. Thread 2 is the blessing of the corporate covenant people that cannot be reversed. Thread 7 is in the scope of the blessing.
The fourth oracle contains the star: darakh kokhav mi-Ya'akov, a star shall come out of Jacob, and a sceptre shall rise out of Israel. The magi who follow the star to Bethlehem are following a tradition that traces back to Balaam's oracle. Thread 3 is in the star and the sceptre: the royal trajectory is being announced by a pagan prophet who cannot help himself.
Balaam cannot curse what God has not cursed. The Balaam oracles are among the most remarkable prophecies in the OT, forced from the mouth of a diviner who wanted to speak otherwise, blessing Israel with language that includes the star prophecy of Numbers 24:17.
דָּרַךְ כּוֹכָב מִיַּעֲקֹב וְקָם שֵׁבֶט מִיִּשְׂרָאֵל (darakh kokhav mi-Ya'akov ve-qam shevet mi-Yisrael): there shall come a star out of Jacob and a sceptre shall rise out of Israel: kokhav (star, the star is a royal symbol throughout the ANE; Jewish tradition consistently read this as a messianic prophecy; Matthew 2 connects the magi's star to this text; the Magi are following what the star-reading tradition had preserved from Balaam's oracle); shevet (sceptre, the rod of authority, the same word as Genesis 49:10; the royal trajectory
threads t1 · t2 · t7 · see Genesis 49:10 · Matthew 2:2 · 2 Peter 2:15-16
Balak king of Moab is terrified of Israel. He sends for Balaam, a non-Israelite prophet with genuine prophetic gifting, to curse Israel. God tells Balaam: do not go, for they are blessed. Balaam refuses. Balak sends again with more prestigious messengers and greater promises. God tells Balaam he may go but must speak only what God tells him.
On the way the donkey sees the angel of the LORD standing in the road with a drawn sword and stops. Three times. Balaam beats the donkey. Then the LORD opens the donkey's mouth: what have I done to you that you have struck me three times? Then the LORD opens Balaam's eyes and he sees the angel and falls on his face.
Balaam goes to Balak. Four times he opens his mouth to curse Israel and four times blessings come out instead. How can I curse whom God has not cursed? How can I denounce whom the LORD has not denounced? From the rocky peaks I see them, from the heights I view them: a people who dwell apart, not reckoned among the nations. Who can count the dust of Jacob or number the fourth part of Israel? Let me die the death of the upright.
The third oracle: God is not human that he should lie, or a son of man that he should change his mind. Has he said and will he not do it? Has he spoken and will he not fulfill it? I have received a command to bless; he has blessed, and I cannot revoke it. Thread 2 is the blessing of the corporate covenant people that cannot be reversed. Thread 7 is in the scope of the blessing.
The fourth oracle contains the star: darakh kokhav mi-Ya'akov, a star shall come out of Jacob, and a sceptre shall rise out of Israel. The magi who follow the star to Bethlehem are following a tradition that traces back to Balaam's oracle. Thread 3 is in the star and the sceptre: the royal trajectory is being announced by a pagan prophet who cannot help himself.
Balaam cannot curse what God has not cursed. The Balaam oracles are among the most remarkable prophecies in the OT, forced from the mouth of a diviner who wanted to speak otherwise, blessing Israel with language that includes the star prophecy of Numbers 24:17.
דָּרַךְ כּוֹכָב מִיַּעֲקֹב וְקָם שֵׁבֶט מִיִּשְׂרָאֵל (darakh kokhav mi-Ya'akov ve-qam shevet mi-Yisrael): there shall come a star out of Jacob and a sceptre shall rise out of Israel: kokhav (star, the star is a royal symbol throughout the ANE; Jewish tradition consistently read this as a messianic prophecy; Matthew 2 connects the magi's star to this text; the Magi are following what the star-reading tradition had preserved from Balaam's oracle); shevet (sceptre, the rod of authority, the same word as Genesis 49:10; the royal trajectory
threads t1 · t2 · t7 · see Genesis 49:10 · Matthew 2:2 · 2 Peter 2:15-16
