This article is part of a series on Old Testament Christophanies. For important background information, see An Introduction to Old Testament Christophanies–with Justin Martyr.
In Numbers 22, the Israelites came to camp in the plains of Moab, beyond the Jordan, opposite Jericho. The Moabites feared their new neighbors, so Balak the son of Zippor, the king of Moab, sought to hire Balaam the son of Beor to come and curse them (vv. 1–21). Balaam is described as a diviner or soothsayer (Josh 13:22) and is called a prophet by the apostle Peter (2 Pet 2:16). He was a kind of sorcerer who, despite being a wicked man (2 Pet 2:15; Jude 1:11; Rev 2:14), legitimately heard from the Lord.
Balak sent messengers to Pethor, near the Euphrates River, to ask Balaam to come to Moab and curse the Israelites. After hearing from the Lord, Balaam rejected their request. Balak sent a second party, made up of more distinguished representatives, to try again. They promised Balaam that the king would greatly reward him. Balaam responded, saying that even if the king gave him his house full of silver and gold, he still couldn’t do anything “contrary to the command of the LORD my God” (vv. 5–18). The Targums have Balaam answering, “I have no power to transgress the decree of the Word of the Lord my God.”[1] Scripture has Balaam recognizing Yahweh as his God while the Targums have him recognizing the Word of Yahweh as his God.
Balaam asked the representatives to stay the night while he found out what else the Lord would speak to him (v. 19). One Targum specifies that Balaam would find out what “the Word of the Lord” might yet speak to him.[2] God came to Balaam and said that if the representatives should come to call, then he should go with them. But Balaam was only to do what God told him (v. 20).
The next morning, Balaam arose (of his own accord, without being called) and left with the representatives. His departure for Moab angered God, so the Angel of the Lord came and stood in the road as an adversary. Balaam couldn’t yet see the Angel, but his donkey could. The donkey turned off the road to avoid the Angel, so Balaam struck her to get her to turn around. Later, the donkey saw the Angel standing in a narrow vineyard path ahead with a wall on both sides. She pressed against one of the walls, smashing Balaam’s foot, causing him to strike her again. The Angel stood in the way on a third occasion, blocking a narrow passage. This time, the donkey laid down, leading to Balaam striking her with his stick. Then, the Lord opened the mouth of the donkey, and she asked Balaam why he struck her three times. Balaam retorted that the donkey had made a mockery of him and that she would be dead if he had a sword. The donkey then asked whether, during Balaam’s lifetime of riding her, she had been in the habit of behaving as she had recently. Balaam simply answered, “No” (vv. 21–29).
In 2 Peter 2:16, the apostle informs us that a donkey, speaking with a human voice, restrained the madness of the prophet. Hearing from God and then disobeying Him is insane. It could be that Balaam’ shock at hearing his donkey speak wasn’t recorded. However, Balaam may have been accustomed to speaking to evil spirits in the form of animals. If that was Balaam’s conclusion here, then he couldn’t have been more wrong. Yahweh opening the donkey’s mouth in verse 28 suggests that it was the Yahweh Angel who caused her to speak. One of the Targums says that “the Word of the Lord opened her mouth, and fitted her to speak.”[3]
Balaam’s encounter with God stands in stark contrast to those of Moses. Moses spoke to Yahweh face to face (e.g., Exod 33:11); Balaam didn’t even know He was there. Balaam’s spiritual blindness kept him from seeing what a donkey could.
It was time for Balaam to see the Angel, but he needed help:
Then the LORD opened the eyes of Balaam, and he saw the angel of the LORD standing in the way with his drawn sword in his hand; and he bowed all the way to the ground. The angel of the LORD said to him, “Why have you struck your donkey these three times? Behold, I have come out as an adversary, because your way was contrary to me. But the donkey saw me and turned aside from me these three times. If she had not turned aside from me, I would surely have killed you just now, and let her live.” Balaam said to the angel of the LORD, “I have sinned, for I did not know that you were standing in the way against me. Now then, if it is displeasing to you, I will turn back.” But the angel of the LORD said to Balaam, “Go with the men, but you shall speak only the word which I tell you.” So Balaam went along with the leaders of Balak (Num 22:31–35).
Three is sometimes used as a number of completeness and revelation. The donkey turning aside three times and the subsequent strikes she received led to the Angel revealing Himself. The Son of God famously revealed Himself on another third in a series (e.g., 1 Cor 15:4). Upon seeing Him, Balaam bowed to the ground out of fear and reverence. Balaam opposed Yahweh, so Yahweh came down and opposed Balaam. Balaam sinned, but the Lord still had a use for him. He was ordered to go with the men and speak only what the Angel of the Lord told him. In verse 38, Balaam informed Balak that he was only able to speak the word that God put in his mouth.
On three occasions, Balak took Balaam to a high place where he could look down on the Israelites and curse them. But each time God caused him to speak forth blessings instead (Num 22:41—24:9; see Deut 23:5). In Numbers 23:22, Balaam proclaimed that God brought the Israelites out of Egypt. Targum Onkelos adds this clause to the beginning of the verse: “The Word of the Lord their God is their helper, And the Shekinah of their King is among them.”[4] The Jerusalem Targum renders Numbers 23:21b this way: “The Word of the Lord is with them, and the trumpet of their glorious King protects them.”[5] As incredible as this reading is, Targum Pseudo-Jonathan goes a step further: “The Word of the Lord their God is their help, and the trumpets of King Messiah resound among them.”[6] Astounding! The Word of the Lord is coupled with the Messiah! Indeed, the structure of the Targum even suggests that the author equated the two. If that was the case, then this Jewish author understood that the Word, the Memra of the Lord, was the preincarnate King Messiah.
Balaam spoke a fourth blessing, one which included a prophecy about the coming Messiah (Num 24:15–24). Balaam had met Him earlier when the Messiah came and stood in his way. Long before Jesus rode upon a donkey at His triumphal entry into Jerusalem (Matt 21:1–11), He opened the mouth of one to restrain the mad prophet. What was meant for evil, the Son of God used for good.
[1] Targum Onkelos and Targum Pseudo-Jonathan on Numbers 22:18.
[2] Targum Pseudo-Jonathan on Numbers 22:19.
[3] Targum Pseudo-Jonathan on Numbers 22:28.
[4] Targum Onkelos on Numbers 23:22.
[5] The Jerusalem Targum on Numbers 23:21.
[6] Targum Pseudo-Jonathan on Numbers 23:21.
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