וישא משלו ויאמר מן ארם ינחני בלק מלך מואב מהררי קדם (שם שם ז). מן הרמים הייתי, והורידני בלק לבאר שחת.
(Numb. 23:7:) SO HE TOOK UP HIS THEME AND SAID: IT IS FROM ARAM THAT BALAK HAS BROUGHT ME, THE KING OF MOAB FROM THE HILLS OF THE EAST. I was one of the exalted ones,59Ramim. The midrash links this word with ARAM in Numb. 23:7. but Balak has brought me down to the pit of corruption.60Numb. R. 20:19; also above, Lev. 5:1 and the notes there.
2
ינחני. כמה דאת אמר (נחה) [נהה] על המון מצרים והורידהו (יחזקאל לב יח).
(ibid.:) BROUGHT ME (yanheni, rt.: NHH) <is to be understood> just as you say (in Ezek. 32:18): BRING (rt.: NHH) THE MASSES OF EGYPT AND CAST THEM DOWN … <UNTO THE LOWEST PART OF THE NETHERWORLD ALONG WITH THOSE WHO GO DOWN TO THE PIT>.61Thus Numb. 23:7 comes to mean that Balak BROUGHT (rt.: NHH) Balaam down to the grave. The unusual biblical translation is necessary to fit the sense of the midrash.
3
ד"א מן ארם עם רם של מעלן הייתי, והורידני בלק מן כבודי. משל למי שמהלך עם המלך, ראה ליסטין, הניח את המלך ומטייל עם הליסטין, כשחזר עם המלך, אמר לך עם מי שטיילת עמו, שאי אפשר לך שתלך עמי עוד, כך בלעם נזקק לרוח הקודש, כשנזדווג עם בלק נסתלקה ממנו רוח הקודש, וחזר להיות קוסם כבתחלה, שנאמר ואת בלעם [בן בעור] הקוסם (יהושע יג כב), לכך צווח רם הייתי והורידני בלק.
Another interpretation (of Numb. 23:7): FROM ARAM. I was with the highest (ram) of the high, and Balak has brought me down from my glory. <The matter> is comparable to one who was walking with the king. When he saw <some> robbers,62Gk.: lestai. he left the king and toured along with the robbers. When he returned to be with the king, he said to him: Go with whomever you have toured with, because it not possible for you to walk again with me. Similarly Balaam had been bound to the Holy Spirit. When he paired himself with Balak, the Holy Spirit departed from him. So he returned to being a diviner as in the beginning. Thus it is stated (at his execution in Josh. 13:22): BALAAM [BEN BEOR] THE DIVINER. Therefore did he cry: I was high up (ram), and Balak brought me down.
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ד"א מן ארם ינחני, א"ל השוינו גם שנינו להיות כפוי טובה, שאילולי אברהם אבינו לא היה בלק, שנאמר ויהי בשחת אלהים את ערי הככר, ויזכור אלהים את אברהם וישלח את לוט (בראשית יט כט), כי אילולי אברהם לא פלט לוט מן סדום, ואתה מן בני בניו של לוט, ואילולי יעקב איבהם לא עמדתי אני בעולם, שלא ראה לבן בנים אלא בזכות יעקב, שבתחלה כתיב ורחל באה עם הצאן (שם כט ט), ואילו היה לו בנים, היאך בתו רועה, כיון שהלך יעקב לשם נתנו לו בנים, שנאמר וישמע את דברי בני לבן וגו' (שם לא א), ויאמר וגו' נחשתי ויברכני ה' בגללך (שם ל כז), ואילולי אבותם אני ואתה לא עמדנו בעולם.
Another interpretation (of Numb. 23:7): <IT IS> FROM ARAM <THAT BALAK> HAS BROUGHT ME. <Balaam> said to <Balak>: We are alike, even both of us, for being ungrateful, because were it not for our father Abraham, there would have been no Balak. Thus it is stated (in Gen. 19:29): AND IT CAME TO PASS THAT WHEN GOD DESTROYED THE CITIES OF THE PLAIN, GOD REMEMBERED ABRAHAM AND SENT LOT AWAY. Except for Abraham, he would not have delivered Lot from Sodom; and you are one of the children of the children of Lot.63As a Moabite, Balak was descended from Moab, the son of Lot. See Gen. 19:37. Moreover, if it were not for their father Jacob, I should not have been present in the world, because Laban had sons only through the merit of Jacob, since it is written at the beginning (in Gen. 29:9): RACHEL CAME WITH THE SHEEP. Now if he had sons, how was his daughter a shepherdess? As soon as Jacob came there, sons were given to him, as stated (in Gen. 31:1): NOW HE HEARD THE THINGS THAT LABAN's SONS <WERE SAYING>.64Jewish tradition gives three views on Balaam’s relation to Laban: That he was Laban himself, that he was Laban’s nephew, and that he was Laban’s grandson. See Ginzberg, vol. III, p. 354; vol.. V, p. 303, n. 229; vol. VI, pp. 123f., nn. 722f.; p. 130, n. 764. (Gen. 30:27:) BUT <LABAN> SAID <UNTO HIM> … I HAVE LEARNED BY DIVINATION THAT THE LORD HAS BLESSED ME FOR YOUR SAKE. So if it were not for their ancestors, you and I would not have been present in the world.
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לכה נא ארה לי (במדבר כב ו). מי שמאררן, עצמו הוא מארר, שנאמר ומקללך אאור (בראשית יב ג), ואומר אורריך ארור ומברכיך ברוך (שם כז כט).
(Numb. 23:7, cont.:) COME, PLEASE,65Na. The word is not found in the Masoretic Text. CURSE <JACOB> FOR ME. Whoever curses them (i.e., the children of Jacob) is cursing himself, since it is stated (in Gen. 12:3): AND THE ONE WHO CURSES YOU, I WILL CURSE. It also says (in Gen. 27:29): CURSED BE THOSE WHO CURSE YOU,66See above, Gen. 6:16. AND BLESSED BE THOSE WHO BLESS YOU.
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לכה ארה לי יעקב. אילו אומה אחרת אמרת לי לקלל, כגון [בני] אברהם ויצחק הייתי יכול, אלא יעקב, מלך שבורר לעצמו מנה ועמד אחר ואמר גנאי עליה, כלום יש לו חיים, ואלו נחלתו וחבלתו וסגולתו, שנאמר כי חלק ה' עמו יעקב חבל נחלתו (דברים לב ט), והייתם לי סגולה מכל העמים וגו' (שמות יט ה).
(Numb. 23:7:) COME, CURSE <JACOB> FOR ME. If you had told me to curse another people, for example, [the children of] Abraham and Isaac, I would have been able <to do so>. But Jacob? When a king selects a portion for himself, and someone else gets up and speaks disparagingly about it, will he keep his life? Now these people are his heritage, his portion, and his treasure. Thus it is stated (in Deut. 32:9): FOR THE LORD's SHARE IS HIS PEOPLE; JACOB THE PORTION OF HIS HERITAGE. (Exod. 19:5:) AND YOU SHALL BE MY TREASURE FROM AMONG ALL THE PEOPLES….
7
ולכה זועמה ישראל (במדבר כג ז). מלך שנטל עטרה ונתנה בראשו, ואמר אדם עליה שאינה כלום, יש לו חיים, ואלו כתיב בהם ישראל אשר בך אתפאר (ישעיה מט ג).
(Numb. 23:7, cont.:) AND COME, DENOUNCE ISRAEL. When a king takes a crown and puts it on his head, and someone says of it that it is nothing, will he keep his life? Now in regard to these people it is written about them (in Is. 49:3): ISRAEL, IN WHOM I WILL BE GLORIFIED.
וישא משלו ויאמר מן ארם ינחני בלק מלך מואב מהררי קדם (שם שם ז). מן הרמים הייתי, והורידני בלק לבאר שחת.
(Numb. 23:7:) SO HE TOOK UP HIS THEME AND SAID: IT IS FROM ARAM THAT BALAK HAS BROUGHT ME, THE KING OF MOAB FROM THE HILLS OF THE EAST. I was one of the exalted ones,59Ramim. The midrash links this word with ARAM in Numb. 23:7. but Balak has brought me down to the pit of corruption.60Numb. R. 20:19; also above, Lev. 5:1 and the notes there.
ינחני. כמה דאת אמר (נחה) [נהה] על המון מצרים והורידהו (יחזקאל לב יח).
(ibid.:) BROUGHT ME (yanheni, rt.: NHH) <is to be understood> just as you say (in Ezek. 32:18): BRING (rt.: NHH) THE MASSES OF EGYPT AND CAST THEM DOWN … <UNTO THE LOWEST PART OF THE NETHERWORLD ALONG WITH THOSE WHO GO DOWN TO THE PIT>.61Thus Numb. 23:7 comes to mean that Balak BROUGHT (rt.: NHH) Balaam down to the grave. The unusual biblical translation is necessary to fit the sense of the midrash.
ד"א מן ארם עם רם של מעלן הייתי, והורידני בלק מן כבודי. משל למי שמהלך עם המלך, ראה ליסטין, הניח את המלך ומטייל עם הליסטין, כשחזר עם המלך, אמר לך עם מי שטיילת עמו, שאי אפשר לך שתלך עמי עוד, כך בלעם נזקק לרוח הקודש, כשנזדווג עם בלק נסתלקה ממנו רוח הקודש, וחזר להיות קוסם כבתחלה, שנאמר ואת בלעם [בן בעור] הקוסם (יהושע יג כב), לכך צווח רם הייתי והורידני בלק.
Another interpretation (of Numb. 23:7): FROM ARAM. I was with the highest (ram) of the high, and Balak has brought me down from my glory. <The matter> is comparable to one who was walking with the king. When he saw <some> robbers,62Gk.: lestai. he left the king and toured along with the robbers. When he returned to be with the king, he said to him: Go with whomever you have toured with, because it not possible for you to walk again with me. Similarly Balaam had been bound to the Holy Spirit. When he paired himself with Balak, the Holy Spirit departed from him. So he returned to being a diviner as in the beginning. Thus it is stated (at his execution in Josh. 13:22): BALAAM [BEN BEOR] THE DIVINER. Therefore did he cry: I was high up (ram), and Balak brought me down.
ד"א מן ארם ינחני, א"ל השוינו גם שנינו להיות כפוי טובה, שאילולי אברהם אבינו לא היה בלק, שנאמר ויהי בשחת אלהים את ערי הככר, ויזכור אלהים את אברהם וישלח את לוט (בראשית יט כט), כי אילולי אברהם לא פלט לוט מן סדום, ואתה מן בני בניו של לוט, ואילולי יעקב איבהם לא עמדתי אני בעולם, שלא ראה לבן בנים אלא בזכות יעקב, שבתחלה כתיב ורחל באה עם הצאן (שם כט ט), ואילו היה לו בנים, היאך בתו רועה, כיון שהלך יעקב לשם נתנו לו בנים, שנאמר וישמע את דברי בני לבן וגו' (שם לא א), ויאמר וגו' נחשתי ויברכני ה' בגללך (שם ל כז), ואילולי אבותם אני ואתה לא עמדנו בעולם.
Another interpretation (of Numb. 23:7): <IT IS> FROM ARAM <THAT BALAK> HAS BROUGHT ME. <Balaam> said to <Balak>: We are alike, even both of us, for being ungrateful, because were it not for our father Abraham, there would have been no Balak. Thus it is stated (in Gen. 19:29): AND IT CAME TO PASS THAT WHEN GOD DESTROYED THE CITIES OF THE PLAIN, GOD REMEMBERED ABRAHAM AND SENT LOT AWAY. Except for Abraham, he would not have delivered Lot from Sodom; and you are one of the children of the children of Lot.63As a Moabite, Balak was descended from Moab, the son of Lot. See Gen. 19:37. Moreover, if it were not for their father Jacob, I should not have been present in the world, because Laban had sons only through the merit of Jacob, since it is written at the beginning (in Gen. 29:9): RACHEL CAME WITH THE SHEEP. Now if he had sons, how was his daughter a shepherdess? As soon as Jacob came there, sons were given to him, as stated (in Gen. 31:1): NOW HE HEARD THE THINGS THAT LABAN's SONS <WERE SAYING>.64Jewish tradition gives three views on Balaam’s relation to Laban: That he was Laban himself, that he was Laban’s nephew, and that he was Laban’s grandson. See Ginzberg, vol. III, p. 354; vol.. V, p. 303, n. 229; vol. VI, pp. 123f., nn. 722f.; p. 130, n. 764. (Gen. 30:27:) BUT <LABAN> SAID <UNTO HIM> … I HAVE LEARNED BY DIVINATION THAT THE LORD HAS BLESSED ME FOR YOUR SAKE. So if it were not for their ancestors, you and I would not have been present in the world.
לכה נא ארה לי (במדבר כב ו). מי שמאררן, עצמו הוא מארר, שנאמר ומקללך אאור (בראשית יב ג), ואומר אורריך ארור ומברכיך ברוך (שם כז כט).
(Numb. 23:7, cont.:) COME, PLEASE,65Na. The word is not found in the Masoretic Text. CURSE <JACOB> FOR ME. Whoever curses them (i.e., the children of Jacob) is cursing himself, since it is stated (in Gen. 12:3): AND THE ONE WHO CURSES YOU, I WILL CURSE. It also says (in Gen. 27:29): CURSED BE THOSE WHO CURSE YOU,66See above, Gen. 6:16. AND BLESSED BE THOSE WHO BLESS YOU.
לכה ארה לי יעקב. אילו אומה אחרת אמרת לי לקלל, כגון [בני] אברהם ויצחק הייתי יכול, אלא יעקב, מלך שבורר לעצמו מנה ועמד אחר ואמר גנאי עליה, כלום יש לו חיים, ואלו נחלתו וחבלתו וסגולתו, שנאמר כי חלק ה' עמו יעקב חבל נחלתו (דברים לב ט), והייתם לי סגולה מכל העמים וגו' (שמות יט ה).
(Numb. 23:7:) COME, CURSE <JACOB> FOR ME. If you had told me to curse another people, for example, [the children of] Abraham and Isaac, I would have been able <to do so>. But Jacob? When a king selects a portion for himself, and someone else gets up and speaks disparagingly about it, will he keep his life? Now these people are his heritage, his portion, and his treasure. Thus it is stated (in Deut. 32:9): FOR THE LORD's SHARE IS HIS PEOPLE; JACOB THE PORTION OF HIS HERITAGE. (Exod. 19:5:) AND YOU SHALL BE MY TREASURE FROM AMONG ALL THE PEOPLES….
ולכה זועמה ישראל (במדבר כג ז). מלך שנטל עטרה ונתנה בראשו, ואמר אדם עליה שאינה כלום, יש לו חיים, ואלו כתיב בהם ישראל אשר בך אתפאר (ישעיה מט ג).
(Numb. 23:7, cont.:) AND COME, DENOUNCE ISRAEL. When a king takes a crown and puts it on his head, and someone says of it that it is nothing, will he keep his life? Now in regard to these people it is written about them (in Is. 49:3): ISRAEL, IN WHOM I WILL BE GLORIFIED.