to lift · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
parable
מְשָׁל֖וֹme.sha.Lo
H4912
properly · noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
said
וַיֹּאמַ֑רvai.yo.Mar
H559
to say (used with great latitude) · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
up
ק֤וּםkum
H6965
to rise (in various applications · verb, qal imperative, 2nd person masculine singular
Balak
בָּלָק֙ba.Lak
H1111
Balak · proper noun, a man's name
hear
וּֽשֲׁמָ֔עu.sha.Ma'
H8085
to hear intelligently (often with implication of attent… · conjunction + verb, qal imperative, 2nd person masculine singular
hearken
הַאֲזִ֥ינָהha.'a.Zi.nah
H238
to broaden out the ear (with the hand) · verb, hiphil imperative, 2nd person masculine singular + paragogic he
son
בְּנ֥וֹbe.No
H1121
a son (as a builder of the family name) · noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
Zippor
צִפֹּֽרtzi.Por
H6834
Tsippor · proper noun, a man's name
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
Judges 3:20 And Ehud came unto him; and he was sitting in a summer parlour, which he had for himself alone. And Ehud said, I have a message from God unt…
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Numbers 23:13–end
Here is, I. Preparation made the second time, as before, for the cursing of Israel. 1. The place is changed, Num 23:13. Balak fancied that Balaam, having so full a prospect of the whole camp of Israel, from the top of the rocks (Num 23:9), was either so enamoured with the beauty of it that he would not curse them or so affrighted with the terror of it that he durst not; and therefore he would bring him to another place, form which he might see only some part of them, which would appear more despicable, and that part at least which would lie in view he hoped he might obtain leave to curse, and so by degrees he should get ground against them, intending, no doubt, if he had gained this point, t…
Rise up--As Balak was already standing (Num 23:17), this expression is equivalent to "now attend to me." The counsels and promises of God respecting Israel are unchangeable; and no attempt to prevail on Him to reverse them will succeed, as they may with a man.
John Gill on Numbers 23:18
And he took up his parable,.... Pronounced the word put into his mouth:
and said, rise up Balak, and hear; not from his seat, as Eglon a successor of his did, Judges 3:20 for he was now standing by his burnt offering; but the sense is, that he would raise his attention, and stir up himself with all diligence to hear what he was about to say:
hearken unto me, thou son of Zippor; or to his word, as the Targums of Onkelos and Jonathan, which follow.
John Calvin on Numbers 23:18-19
And he took up his parable and said. We have already explained the meaning of this expression, namely, to make use of glowing and elevated language, in order the more to awaken the attention of the hearer. The same also is the object of the preface, "Rise up, Balak, and hear; hearken unto me, thou son of Zippor;" for such repetitions are mostly emphatic, and indicate something uncommon.
When he declares that "God cannot lie, because he is not like men," it is a severe kind of censure, as much as to say, "Would you make God a liar?" for it became requisite that the frantic eagerness of Balak should be repressed, and prevented from proceeding any further. Hence, however, a lesson of supreme u…
The Church Fathers
"And taking up," it says, "his parable, he said." By a parable, then, Balaam says: "Rise up, Balak, and hear; give ear as a witness, son of Zippor. Not as a man is God deceived, nor as a son of man is he frightened; when he has said, shall he not do it? shall he speak, and not abide by it? Behold, I have been taken up to bless; I will bless, and I will not turn it away. There shall be no labor in Jacob, nor shall sorrow be seen in Israel. The Lord his God is with him, the glories of princes are with him. God, who led him out of Egypt, his glory is as that of a unicorn. For there shall be no augury in Jacob, nor divination in Israel. In due time it shall be told to Jacob and Israel what God will accomplish. Behold, a people shall rise up like a lion's cub, and shall exult like a lion; it shall not sleep until it devours the prey, and it shall drink the blood of the slain." This is the content of the second prophecy in the words of Balaam. Let us therefore see first this very thing which he says: "Rise up, Balak, and hear." For if he had not said above that he was standing beside his burnt offering, it would not seem greatly worth inquiring why he said: "Rise up, Balak." But now, since he urges to rise up the one whom he had just said was standing, the prophetic utterance is not to be passed over idly. Therefore, in that he said above that he was standing at his burnt offering, he indicates that he was not standing rightly. For he was standing, set in idolatry, and was standing as an enemy of God — which was rather not to stand, but to fall. So then, as one who ought to fall from that standing — nay rather, as one who had already fallen — thus now, by prophetic understanding, he commands him to rise up; inasmuch as, by the very fact that he had seemed to stand in idolatry, he had fallen. Let him therefore rise up, such a one as he is, let him rise up in mind, let him rise up in faith, and let him become a witness — if indeed he is converted, a witness of faith; but if he remains unbelieving, that he may be a witness of his own condemnation.
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
Parable — (Gr. parabole), a placing beside; a comparison; equivalent to the Heb. mashal, a similitude. In the Old Testament this is used to denote (1) a proverb (1 Sam. 10:12; 24:13; 2 Chr. 7:20), (2) a…
Zippor — A little bird, the father of Balak, king of Moab (Num. 22:2, 4).
Pisgah · Balaam prophesies on — Balaam prophesies on
Zippor · Father of Balak — Father of Balak
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).
The second saying. - "Up, Balak, and hear! Hearken to me, son of Zippor!" קוּם, "stand up," is a call to mental elevation, to the perception of the word of God; for Balak was standing by his sacrifice (Num 23:17). האזין with עד, as in Job 32:11, signifies a hearing which presses forward to the speaker, i.e., in keen and minute attention (Hengstenberg). בּנו, with the antiquated union vowel for בּן; see at Gen 1:24.
Num 23:19
"God is not a man, that He should lie; nor a son of man, that He should repent: hath He said, and should He not do it? and spoken, and should not carry it out?"
Num 23:20
"Behold, I have received to bless: and He hath blessed; and I cannot turn it." Balaam meets Balak's…
This oracle emphasizes God’s faithfulness to his people—he would stay with them and keep all of his promises.
Rashi on Numbers 23:18
קום בלק RISE UP, BALAK — When he perceived that he was mocking at him, he set himself to annoy him, saying, “Stand on your feet; you have no right to remain seated, seeing that I am sent to you on a mission by the Omnipresent” (Midrash Tanchuma, Balak 13).
בנו צפור SON OF ZIPPOR — This (the suffix ו to mark the construct) is often found as a Biblical Hebrew form, as in (Psalms 50:10), “beast of (חיתו) the forest”; (Genesis 1:24) “beast of (חיתו) the earth”; (Psalms 114:8), “to a spring of (מעינו) water”.
