Numbers 22:28

And the LORD opened the mouth of the ass, and she said unto Balaam, What have I done unto thee, that thou hast smitten me these three times?

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Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
LORD	יְהוָ֖ה Yah.weh	H3068	Jehovah · proper noun, a title
opened	וַיִּפְתַּ֥ח vai.yif.Tach	H6605	to open wide (literally or figuratively) · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
mouth	פִּ֣י pi	H6310	the mouth (as the means of blowing) · noun, common masculine singular construct
ass	הָאָת֑וֹן ha.'a.Ton	H860	a female donkey (from its docility) · definite article + noun, common feminine singular absolute
said	וַתֹּ֤אמֶר va.To.mer	H559	to say (used with great latitude) · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person feminine singular
Balaam	לְבִלְעָם֙ le.vil.'Am	H1109	Bilam · preposition + proper noun, a man's name
done	עָשִׂ֣יתִֽי 'a.Si.ti	H6213	to do or make · verb, qal perfect, 1st person common singular
smitten	הִכִּיתַ֔נִי hi.ki.Ta.ni	H5221	to strike (lightly or severely · verb, hiphil perfect, 2nd person masculine singular + pronominal suffix
three	שָׁלֹ֥שׁ sha.Losh	H7969	three · cardinal number, both genders singular absolute
times	רְגָלִֽים re.ga.Lim	H7272	a foot (as used in walking) · noun, common masculine plural absolute

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

2 Peter 2:16 But was rebuked for his iniquity: the dumb ass speaking with man’s voice forbad the madness of the prophet.
Exodus 4:11 And the LORD said unto him, Who hath made man’s mouth? or who maketh the dumb, or deaf, or the seeing, or the blind? have not I the LORD?
Luke 1:37 For with God nothing shall be impossible.
1 Corinthians 1:19 For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.
Romans 8:22 For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now.

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Numbers 22:22-35

We have here an account of the opposition God gave to Balaam in his journey towards Moab; probably the princes had gone before, or gone some other way, and Balaam had pointed out where he would meet them, or where they should stay for him, for we read nothing of them in this part of our narrative, only that Balaam, like a person of some quality, was attended with his two men-honour enough, one would think, for such a man, he needed not be beholden to Balak for promotion. I. Here is God's displeasure against Balaam for undertaking this journey: God's anger was kindled because he went, Num 22:22. Note, 1. The sin of sinners is not to be thought the less provoking to God because he permits it.…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Numbers 22:28

the Lord opened the mouth of the ass--to utter, like a parrot, articulate sounds, without understanding them. That this was a visionary scene is a notion which seems inadmissible, because of the improbability of a vision being described as an actual occurrence in the middle of a plain history. Besides, the opening of the ass's mouth must have been an external act, and that, with the manifest tenor of Peter's language, strongly favors the literal view [Pe2 2:15-16]. The absence of any surprise at such a phenomenon on the part of Balaam may be accounted for by his mind being wholly engrossed with the prospect of gain, which produced "the madness of the prophet" [Pe2 2:16]. "It was a miracle, w…

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John Gill on Numbers 22:28

And the Lord opened the mouth of the ass, and she said unto Balaam,.... This was a very extraordinary and miraculous affair, and effected by a supernatural power, that a dumb creature, which had not organs endued with speech, should speak so plainly and distinctly, as is after expressed; and yet it should not be thought incredible, for what is it that Omnipotence cannot do? wherefore there is no need to say, as some Jewish writers (i), that this was all done in a visionary way, and not really and literally performed; nor can Heathens well object to the verity of it, if they believe what they themselves report concerning one of the asses which carried Bacchus over a river, to which, for rewar…

The Church Fathers

I even think those birds blessed, which were offered for the birth of the Lord; and just as I marvel at Balaam's ass and heap up her happiness, because she was worthy not only to see the angel of God, but also, with her mouth unlocked, to break forth into human speech, so much more do I proclaim and exalt these birds, that they were offered for our Lord and Savior before the altar.
— Origen of Alexandria, HOMILIES ON THE GOSPEL OF LUKE 14

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

Animals · Instruments of God’s willEx 8;9;10:1-20; — Instruments of God’s willEx 8;9;10:1-20;
Ass (Donkey) · .Used for riding — .Used for riding
Ass, The Domestic · Miracles connected with: Mouth of Balaam’s opened to speak — Miracles connected with: Mouth of Balaam’s opened to speak
B · Domestic: Not to be cruelly used — Domestic: Not to be cruelly used
Balaam · Anger of, rebuked by his ass — Anger of, rebuked by his ass
Desert, Journey Of Israel Through The · Balaam not permitted to curse Israel — Balaam not permitted to curse Israel

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).

Numbers 22:28

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Numbers 22:22-35

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Numbers 22:28

John Gill on Numbers 22:28

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Numbers 22:28

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Numbers 22:22-35

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Numbers 22:28

John Gill on Numbers 22:28

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

John Calvin on Numbers 22:28-30

Keil & Delitzsch on Numbers 22:28-31

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Numbers 22:28-31

Rashi on Numbers 22:28