Matthew Henry on Numbers 22:36–end
We have here the meeting between Balak and Balaam, confederate enemies to God's Israel; but here they seem to differ in their expectations of the success. 1. Balak speaks of it with confidence, not doubting but to gain his point now that Balaam had come. In expectation of this, he went out to meet him, even to the utmost border of his country (Num 22:36), partly to gratify his own impatient desire to see one he had such great expectations from, and partly to do honour to Balaam, and so to engage him with his utmost power to serve him. See what respect heathen princes paid to those that had but the name and face of prophets, and pretended to have any interest in heaven; and how welcome one wa…
Read the whole note in the consoleJamieson-Fausset-Brown on Numbers 22:36
when Balak heard that Balaam was come, he went out to meet him--Politeness requires that the higher the rank of the expected guest, greater distance is to be gone to welcome his arrival.
John Gill on Numbers 22:37
And Balak said unto Balaam,.... Upon their meeting together:
did I not earnestly send unto thee to call thee? or "in sending send" (u); the first messengers in a very pressing manner, with great importunity, to give thee an invitation to come to me, and those men of rank and quality, with rewards of divination in their hands, and yet the invitation was rejected; and after them other messengers, more in number and greater in dignity, with larger offers and promises; and now indeed thou art come, but with much ado, what is the meaning of all this?
wherefore camest thou not unto me? at first, without showing so much indifference and reluctance, and which obliged me to send another message to…
Read the whole note in the consoleJohn Calvin on Numbers 22:37-36
And Balak said unto Balaam, Did I not earnestly send unto thee to call thee? wherefore camest thou not unto me? am I not able indeed to promote thee to honor?
