Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
Revelation 2:14 But I have a few things against thee, because thou hast there them that hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balac to cast a stumblingblo…
Jude 1:11 Woe unto them! for they have gone in the way of Cain, and ran greedily after the error of Balaam for reward, and perished in the gainsaying…
Deuteronomy 23:4-5 Because they met you not with bread and with water in the way, when ye came forth out of Egypt; and because they hired against thee Balaam t…
Numbers 22:5-7 He sent messengers therefore unto Balaam the son of Beor to Pethor, which is by the river of the land of the children of his people, to call…
Numbers 31:16 Behold, these caused the children of Israel, through the counsel of Balaam, to commit trespass against the LORD in the matter of Peor, and t…
Nehemiah 13:2 Because they met not the children of Israel with bread and with water, but hired Balaam against them, that he should curse them: howbeit our…
Micah 6:5 O my people, remember now what Balak king of Moab consulted, and what Balaam the son of Beor answered him from Shittim unto Gilgal; that ye…
Proverbs 28:4 They that forsake the law praise the wicked: but such as keep the law contend with them.
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on 2 Peter 2:10–end
The apostle's design being to warn us of, and arm us against, seducers, he now returns to discourse more particularly of them, and give us an account of their character and conduct, which abundantly justifies the righteous Judge of the world in reserving them in an especial manner for the most severe and heavy doom, as Cain is taken under special protection that he might be kept for uncommon vengeance. But why will God thus deal with these false teachers? This he shows in what follows.
I. These walk after the flesh; they follow the devices and desires of their own hearts, they give up themselves to the conduct of their own fleshly mind, refusing to make their reason stoop to divine revelatio…
have--Some of the seducers are spoken of as already come, others as yet to come.
following--out: so the Greek.
the way-- (Num 22:23, Num 22:32; Isa 56:11).
son of Bosor--the same as Beor (Num 22:5). This word was adopted, perhaps, because the kindred word Basar means flesh; and Balaam is justly termed son of carnality, as covetous, and the enticer of Israel to lust.
loved the wages of unrighteousness--and therefore wished (in order to gain them from Balak) to curse Israel whom God had blessed, and at last gave the hellish counsel that the only way to bring God's curse on Israel was to entice them to fleshly lust and idolatry, which often go together.
Adam Clarke on 2 Peter 2:15
Which have forsaken the right way - As Balaam did, who, although God showed him the right way, took one contrary to it, preferring the reward offered him by Balak to the approbation and blessing of God.
The way of Balaam - Is the counsel of Balaam. He counselled the Moabites to give their most beautiful young women to the Israelitish youth, that they might be enticed by them to commit idolatry. See the notes on Num 22:5, etc., and Num 23:1 (note), etc.
The son of Bosor - Instead of Βοσορ, Bosor two ancient MSS. and some of the versions have Βεωρ, Beor, to accommodate the word to the Hebrew text and the Septuagint. The difference in this name seems to have arisen from mistaking one letter for…
The right way is the way of Christ, who said: "I am the way, the truth and the life."
As we know from the Old Testament, Balaam was hindered by God for his greed in trying to obtain a living off his prophetic spirit. He obstinately tried to run to Balak a second time, and only after he was corrected by the fear of God and the terrors which he met along the way was he able to get the word of blessing right, so that what he said was from God and not his own wicked preference. For even his tongue was not totally given over to the service of a lie.
Having hearts exercised with covetous practices, accursed children, who have forsaken the right way and gone astray, following the way of Balaam the son of Bosor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness; but was rebuked for his iniquity [Num. 22:6]: the dumb beast speaking with a man's voice restrained the madness of the prophet. Having hearts exercised with covetous practices, whether of filthiness or even of possessions, for which both, abandoning the way that would lead them to salvation, have strayed from it: and the same happened to them as to Balaam the son of Beor, since he also loved the wages of unrighteousness for the sake of the gifts offered: but he was rebuked for his iniquity, namely by a dumb beast of burden, which speaking with a man's voice restrained the madness of the prophet. And from this, therefore, we learn that Balaam, because of the affection of his desire, which he nourished with his insane prophecy, once prohibited by God, was again hastening to go to Balak steadfastly: but hindered by the fear of God, and by the terrors that met him on the way, he did not change the word of blessing, which was not of divination (for we have said that divination is uttered by a raging mind, and those things are said by one who is ignorant), but of prophecy. Indeed, the prophets speak knowing what they say. Hence, he called the prophet himself, as one who knows what he should say. For he certainly did not choose better while ignorant of what he was saying: therefore, the blessing was not of divination, but of the power of God.
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
Dictionary and topics
Bosor — The Chaldee or Aramaic form of the name Beor, the father of Balaam (2 Pet. 2:15).
Jude, Epistle of — The author was “Judas, the brother of James” the Less (Jude 1:1), called also Lebbaeus (Matt. 10:3) and Thaddaeus (Mark 3:18). The genuineness of this epistle was early questioned, and doubts…
Nicolaitans — (followers of Nicolas), a sect mentioned in (Revelation 2:6,15) whose deeds were strongly condemned. They may have been identical with those who held the doctrine of Balaam. They seem to have held…
Anarchy · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Forsaking God · Is forsaking: The right way — Is forsaking: The right way
Worldliness · .Balaam — .Balaam
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
John Gill on 2 Peter 2:15
Which have forsaken the right way,.... The right way of the Lord, the way of truth, the Gospel of truth; or Christ, who is the way, the truth, and the life; the true way to eternal life, and which is the right way to eternal happiness; the way of life, righteousness, and salvation by Christ, the Christian faith, and the doctrine of it, which they once professed, but now relinquished:
and are gone astray; from the right way, the way of truth and holiness, into the paths of error and profaneness:
following the way of Balaam the son of Bosor; which Jude calls his error, Jde 1:11, and is the path of covetousness, uncleanness, and idolatry, sins which he was either guilty of himself, or taught,…
2 Peter 2:12-16
12. But these, as natural brute beasts, made to be taken and destroyed, speak evil of the things that they understand not; and shall utterly perish in their own corruption;
12. Isti autem tanquam bruta animalia, naturaliter genita in capturam et perniciem, in quibus nihil intelligunt maledicentes, in sua corruptione peribunt
13. And shall receive the reward of unrighteousness, as they that count it pleasure to riot in the day time. Spots they are and blemishes, sporting themselves with their own deceivings while they feast with you;
13. Recipientes mercedem injustitiae, pro voluptate ducentes in diem frui deliciis, labes et maculae, deliciantes in erroribus suis, conviven…
who loved to earn money by doing wrong: Despite consulting with God about what he should do, Balaam was determined to go his own way in hopes of receiving Balak’s money (see Num 22–24). The Old Testament account hints at Balaam’s greed, and Jewish tradition developed this theme (see Numbers Rabbah 20:10; Mishnah Avot 5:22; Philo, Moses 1:266-268).
