Números 24:17

Almeida Revista e Corrigida

V-lo-ei, mas no agora; contempl-lo-ei, mas no de perto; uma estrela proceder de Jac, e um cetro subir de Israel, que ferir os termos dos moabitas e destruir todos os filhos de Sete.

Parallel Translations

A Biblia Sagrada
V-lo-ei, mas no agora, contempl-lo-ei, mas no de perto; uma estrela proceder de Jac e um cetro subir de Israel, que ferir os termos dos moabitas, e destruir todos os filhos de Sete.

Almeida Revista e Atualizada
V-lo-ei, mas no agora; contempl-lo-ei, mas no de perto; uma estrela proceder de Jac, de Israel subir um cetro que ferir as tmporas de Moabe e destruir todos os filhos de Sete.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

I shall see him: The Targum of Onkelos translates this passage in the following manner: "I shall see him, but not now; I shall behold him, but he is not near. When a king shall arise from the house of Jacob, and the Messiah be anointed from the house of Israel; he shall slay the princes of Moab, and rule over all the children of men." The marginal references will direct the reader to the fulfilment of these remarkable prophecies. Job 19:25-27, Zechariah 12:10, Jude 1:11, Jude 1:14, Jude 1:15, Revelation 1:7

a Star: Matthew 2:2-9, Luke 1:78, 2 Peter 1:19, Revelation 22:16

a Sceptre: Genesis 49:10, Psalms 45:6, Psalms 78:70-72, Psalms 110:2, Isaiah 9:7, Luke 1:32, Luke 1:33, Hebrews 1:8

smite the corners of Moab: or, smite through the princes of Moab, 1 Samuel 14:38, *marg. Zechariah 10:4

Moab: 2 Samuel 8:2, 2 Kings 3:5, 2 Kings 3:26, 2 Kings 3:27, 1 Chronicles 18:2, Jeremiah 48:45

all the children: Genesis 4:25, Genesis 4:26, Genesis 5:3-29

Sheth: Psalms 72:8-11, Revelation 11:15

Reciprocal: Genesis 22:17 - thy seed Genesis 36:31 - the kings Numbers 22:4 - Now shall Numbers 23:24 - he shall Numbers 24:14 - I will advertise 2 Samuel 22:49 - thou also 2 Kings 3:19 - And ye 1 Chronicles 1:43 - the kings Job 19:27 - I shall Psalms 18:37 - General Isaiah 11:14 - them of the east Isaiah 16:12 - when Isaiah 19:13 - stay Isaiah 25:10 - Moab Isaiah 46:10 - the end Jeremiah 48:1 - Moab Jeremiah 49:7 - Edom Ezekiel 19:11 - she had Ezekiel 25:8 - Moab Amos 2:3 - General Amos 9:12 - Edom Matthew 11:3 - Art John 5:46 - for Hebrews 11:13 - but

Gill's Notes on the Bible

I shall see him, but not now,.... Meaning not Israel, for he now saw him encamped, and at no great distance; but one that should descend from him, a famous and excellent person, and who is no other than the Messiah, as appears by what follows; him he should see, not spiritually with an eye of faith, nor corporeally with his bodily eyes in his state of incarnation, but at the day of judgment; and now, indeed, he saw him by a spirit of prophecy:

I shall behold him, but not nigh; signifying, that the coming of this illustrious Person, who should smite the borders of Moab, was not near, and therefore Balak had no reason to indulge any present fears; and that when he was come either into the world to save men, or to judgment, Balaam would have no nearness to him, nor interest in him; he would see him at the last day, but not for himself, as Job says he should, Job 19:25

there shall come a star out of Jacob, and a sceptre shall rise out of Israel; which Aben Ezra interprets of David, though he says many interpret it of the Messiah; and there are some writers, both Jewish and Christian, that understand it partly of David, and partly of Christ, and chiefly of him, and of David as a type of him; the fulfilment of which was only in part in David, but principally and completely in Christ. Maimonides c parts the prophecy between them: the whole undoubtedly agrees with Christ, and belongs unto him: the "star" and "sceptre" may be considered as names and titles of the Messiah; he is called the "morning star", Revelation 22:16 for his glory, brightness, and splendour, and for the light that comes by him, and the influence of his grace, and the blessings of it on the sons of men; and hence a false Messiah took the name of Bar Cochab, the son of a star, to answer to this prophecy; and he may be called a "sceptre", that is, a sceptre bearer, because of his royalty; he not only has the name of a king, but has a kingdom, both of nature, providence, and grace, and rules with a sceptre of grace, mercy, and righteousness; and as he was to spring from Jacob or Israel, so he did, being a son of Abraham, a descendant of Jacob, of the tribe of Judah, and family of David, Matthew 1:1, but I rather think that the star is to be considered as a sign and circumstance of his coming, and that the words may be rendered, "when a star steers its course from Jacob", or "unto Jacob, then a sceptre", or "sceptre bearer",

shall rise out of Israel, or "rise up unto Israel"; for the particle

מ sometimes signifies "unto" d; and that the appearance of a star in Israel was a sign of the Messiah's coming is certain from Matthew 2:1 of which the Magi were informed by Zoroastres e their founder, who, being of Jewish extract, had got it from this prophecy of Balaam; and it is as evident that the Jews expected the appearance of an extraordinary star at the time of the Messiah's coming; for so they say more than once, in an ancient book of theirs f, that when the

"Messiah shall be revealed, a bright and shining star shall arise in the east;''

which expectation must be founded on this prophecy:

and shall smite the corners of Moab; not only the corners of their houses and cities, but the extreme parts and borders of the land, even all the sides, and the whole of it; or the princes and great men of the land, sometimes called "corners", see Zechariah 10:4 and so the Targums of Onkelos and Jonathan,

and shall kill the princes of Moab or the mighty ones of Moab, as the Jerusalem Targum; this was literally fulfilled in David, 2 Samuel 8:2

Psalms 60:1 and figuratively and mystically in Christ, by subduing his enemies, signified by Moabites, as being the enemies of Israel; either by reducing them through the power of his grace to obedience to him, or by smiting and breaking them in pieces with a rod of iron; and which will be more plainly and fully accomplished when he shall destroy those Moabites, the antichristian nations, Revelation 19:15

and destroy all the children of Sheth; some take Sheth to be the name of some famous king among the Moabites, as Grotius; others, the name of some city of Moab, which David utterly destroyed, as R. Nathan g; others suppose some particular nations are meant, as either the Edomites, so called because they put confidence in their foundations, and fortified places, so Vitringa h; or the Egyptians, from Seth or Sethos, one of their kings, who was known by the name Egyptus, as a late learned writer i of ours conjectures; but rather by the children of Seth are meant all nations, as Jarchi observes, for all come from Seth, the son of the first man; and so the words may be rendered, as they are by Onkelos,

"he shall rule over all the children of men;''

which will be fulfilled in Christ, when he shall have put down all rule and authority, and all will be subject to him, and his kingdom be from sea to sea, and his dominion from the river to the ends of the earth; unless rather by the children of Seth are meant the special people of God, in distinction from others, and in allusion to the distinction between the Sethites and Cainites, the one being the people of God, the other not; and so it may be interpreted of Christ's gathering them to him, by clucking as it were for them, as a hen gathers her chickens; so the word is used in Jewish writings, and of God himself; for it is said k the holy blessed God מקרקר, clucks over them, as hens do, which is the simile our Lord himself uses, Matthew 23:37 the Targums of Onkelos and Jonathan interpret this prophecy of the Messiah by name; and so do many other Jewish writers, both ancient l and modern m.

c Hilchot Melachim, c. 11. sect. 1. d Vid. Nold. Concord. Ebr. part. p. 545. e Abulpharag. Hist. Dynast. p. 54. f Zohar in Exod. fol. 3. 3, 4. & in Numb fol. 85. 4. & 86. 1. g Apud Lyram in loc. h Comment. in Isa. xxii. 5. i Clayton's Chronology of the Hebrew Bible, &c. p. 445. k T. Bab. Taanith, c. 4. in En Jacob, par. 1. fol. 143. 4. l Debarim Rabba, fol. 234. 4. Pesikta in Kettoreth Hassammim in Numb. fol. 27. 3. & 28. 1. m Abarbinel. Mashmiah Jeshuah, fol. 4. 2, 3. Abendana in loc. R. Isaac Chizzuk Emunah, p. 71, 72.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Render, I see him, though he be not now: I behold him, though he be not near. Balaam here describes what is actually before him in inward vision.

Him - i. e., the prince, represented in the succeeding words by the Star and Scepter. The star has among all nations served as a symbol of regal power and splendour: and the birth and future glory of great monarchs were believed by the ancients to be heralded by the appearance of stars or comets: compare also Isaiah 14:12; Daniel 8:10; Revelation 1:16, Revelation 1:20; Revelation 2:1; Revelation 9:1.

The corners of Moab - literally, “the two sides of Moab,” i. e., the length and breadth of the land: compare Jeremiah 48:45.

Destroy all the children of Sheth - Rather, “overthrow the sons of tumult,” i. e., the warriors of Moab, whose valour and fierceness is frequently referred to elsewhere (compare Exodus 15:15; Isaiah 15:4; Isaiah 16:6, etc.) Compare Jeremiah 48:45.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Numbers 24:17. I shall see him, but not now — Or, I shall see him, but he is not now. I shall behold him, but not nigh - I shall have a full view of him, but the time is yet distant. That is, The person of whom I am now prophesying does not at present exist among these Israelites, nor shall he appear in this generation. There shall come a Star out of Jacob, and a Sceptre shall rise out of Israel - a person eminent for wisdom, and formidable for strength and power, shall arise as king among this people. He shall smite the corners of Moab - he shall bring the Moabites perfectly under subjection; (See 2 Samuel 8:2); and destroy all the children of Sheth. The original word קרקר karkar, from קרה karah, to meet, associate, join, blend, and the like, is variously translated;

-vastabit, he shall waste, VULGATE.

-προνομευσει, shall prey on, SEPT.

-'ישלוט yishlot, shall rule over, TARGUM.

-Shall shake, ARABIC.

-[Persian] barbend, shall put a yoke on, PERS.

-Shall unwall, AINSWORTH, c., &c.

The Targum of Onkelos translates the whole passage thus: "I shall see him, but not now: I shall behold him, but he is not near. When a king shall arise from the house of Jacob, and the Messiah be anointed from the house of Israel, he shall slay the princes of Moab, and rule over all the children of men."

The Jerusalem Targum is a little different: "A king shall arise from the house of Jacob, a redeemer and governor from the house of Israel, who shall slay the chiefs of the Moabites, and empty out and destroy all the children of the East."

Rabbi Moses ben Maimon has, in my opinion, perfectly hit the meaning of the prophecy in the following paraphrase of the text: "I shall see him, but not now. This is DAVID. - I shall behold him, but not nigh. This is the king MESSIAH. - A Star shall come out of Jacob. This is DAVID. - And a Sceptre shall rise out of Israel. This is the king MESSIAH. - And shall smite the corners of Moab. This is DAVID, (as it is written, 2 Samuel 8:2: And he smote Moab, casting them down to the ground.) - And shall destroy all the children of Sheth. This is the king MESSIAH, of whom it is written, (Psalms 72:8), He shall have dominion from sea to sea."