Numbers 24:10 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
Numbers 24:10
And Balak’s anger was kindled against Balaam, and he smote his hands together: and Balak said unto Balaam, I called thee to curse mine enemies, and, behold, thou hast altogether blessed them these three times.
properly · noun, common masculine singular construct
kindled
וַיִּֽחַרvai.yi.char-
H2734
to glow or grow warm · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
Balaam
בִּלְעָ֔םbil.'Am
H1109
Bilam · proper noun, a man's name
smote
וַיִּסְפֹּ֖קvai.yis.Pok
H5606
to clap the hands (in token of compact · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
hands
כַּפָּ֑יוka.Pav
H3709
the hollow hand or palm (so of the paw of an animal · noun, common feminine dual construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
together
סָפַקçâphaq
H5606
to clap the hands (in token of compact
Balak
בָּלָ֜קba.Lak
H1111
Balak · proper noun, a man's name
said
וַיֹּ֨אמֶרvai.Yo.mer
H559
to say (used with great latitude) · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
Balaam
בִּלְעָ֗םbil.'Am
H1109
Bilam · proper noun, a man's name
called
קְרָאתִ֔יךָke.ra.Ti.cha
H7121
to call out to (i.e. properly · verb, qal perfect, 1st person common singular + pronominal suffix, 2nd person masculine singular
curse
לָקֹ֤בla.Ko
H6895
to scoop out · preposition + verb, qal infinitive construct
enemies
אֹֽיְבַי֙'o.ye.Vai
H341
hating · verb, qal active participle, masculine plural construct + pronominal suffix
altogether
בֵּרַ֣כְתָּbe.Rakh.ta
H1288
to kneel · verb, piel perfect, 2nd person masculine singular
blessed
בָרֵ֔ךְva.Rekh
H1288
to kneel · verb, piel infinitive construct
three
שָׁלֹ֥שׁsha.Losh
H7969
three · cardinal number, both genders singular absolute
times
פְּעָמִֽיםpe.'a.Mim
H6471
a stroke · 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
Numbers 23:11 And Balak said unto Balaam, What hast thou done unto me? I took thee to curse mine enemies, and, behold, thou hast blessed them altogether.
Ezekiel 21:14 Thou therefore, son of man, prophesy, and smite thine hands together, and let the sword be doubled the third time, the sword of the slain: i…
Ezekiel 21:17 I will also smite mine hands together, and I will cause my fury to rest: I the LORD have said it.
Ezekiel 22:13 Behold, therefore I have smitten mine hand at thy dishonest gain which thou hast made, and at thy blood which hath been in the midst of thee…
Joshua 24:9-10 Then Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, arose and warred against Israel, and sent and called Balaam the son of Beor to curse you:
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…
Job 27:23 Men shall clap their hands at him, and shall hiss him out of his place.
Numbers 22:6 Come now therefore, I pray thee, curse me this people; for they are too mighty for me: peradventure I shall prevail, that we may smite them,…
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Numbers 24:10-14
We have here the conclusion of this vain attempt to curse Israel, and the total abandonment of it. 1. Balak made the worst of it. He broke out into a rage against Balaam (Num 24:10), expressed both in words and gesture the highest degree of vexation at the disappointment; he smote his hands together, for indignation, to see all his measures thus broken, and his project baffled. He charged Balaam with putting upon him the basest affront and cheat imaginable: "I called thee to curse my enemies, and thou hast shown thyself in league with them, and in their interests, for thou hast blessed them these three times, though, by appointing the altars to be built and sacrifices to be offered, thou mad…
Balak's anger was kindled against Balaam, and he smote his hands together--The "smiting of the hands together" is, among Oriental people, an indication of the most violent rage (see Eze 21:17; Eze 22:13) and ignominious dismissal.
John Gill on Numbers 24:10
And Balak's anger was kindled against Balaam,.... He had bore much and long, but he could bear no longer, he was quite impatient, his last words more especially must exceedingly nettle him:
and he smote his hands together; as expressive of his indignation, vexation, and disappointment:
and Balak said unto Balaam, I called thee to curse my enemies; he had sent princes to him, one set of them after another, to invite him into his country, and to his court, with great promises of reward to curse Israel, whom he reckoned his enemies, and not to bless them:
and, behold, thou hast altogether blessed them these three times; done nothing else but bless them with blessing upon blessing, time after…
And Balak's anger was kindled against Balaam. Inasmuch as the obstinacy of the wicked is not overcome, so that they should submit themselves to God, when He would bring their lusts under the yoke, it must needs be that, when they are still further pressed, they are carried away into passion. Thus now, Balak, after murmurings and expostulations, bursts forth into impetuous wrath, and rejects, and drives away with reproaches from his presence Balaam, whom he had hitherto been endeavoring to cajole. For, when he smites his hands together, it is because he can no longer restrain himself. He is especially indignant, because Balaam had not hesitated freely and openly to bear witness to the blessin…
The Church Fathers
We now take up in hand the fourth of these prophecies which Balaam spoke in the word of God, wishing to open up, concerning this one too, whatever God may grant. To this prophecy, however, there were prefixed in the introduction things similar to those above. For it says: "And Balak was angry with Balaam, and clapped his hands together; and Balak said to Balaam: I called you to curse my enemy, and behold, blessing you have blessed him three times. Now therefore flee to your own place; I said: I will honor you, and now the Lord has defrauded you of honor." In these words he shows that Balak too understood that Balaam was no longer being deceived by the ministry of demons, but was being carried over to better things by the power of God, and therefore he says: "The Lord has defrauded you of honor." But passing quickly over these things, which are plain, let us come to what follows. "And Balaam said to Balak: Did I not also speak to your messengers whom you sent to me, saying: If Balak should give me his house full of silver and gold, I shall not be able to transgress the word of the Lord, to do it, whether good or evil, of my own accord? Whatever God shall say to me, this I shall speak. And now behold I return to my place." Balaam, knowing that responses were not brought to him through the accustomed ministers, but from Him who has power over all, rightly is seen to have protested that he could not transgress the word of the Lord and do it, whether small or great, of his own accord. For the one who spoke to him was not one who could be changed by sacrifices and gifts, but was one with whom there is no change nor shadow of change. And therefore the prophet cannot be altered by a fee, where God is not moved by gifts. Yet as he is about to depart, Balaam begins again to prophesy, and says: "Come, I give you counsel, what this people shall do to your people in the last days." And taking up his parable he said. But before we come to the explanation of the things which have been prophesied, I would like to inquire what this sense is, or what the order of the words is, in that he says: "Come, and I give you counsel." And indeed he seems to give no counsel, but says what this people is about to do to your people in the last days, whereas it would surely have seemed more fitting if it had said: "Come, I prophesy to you what this people is about to do to your people in…
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
Hands, The · Smitten together in extreme anger — Smitten together in extreme anger
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).
This repeated blessing of Israel threw Balak into such a violent rage, that he smote his hands together, and advised Balaam to fly to his house: adding, "I said, I will honour thee greatly (cf. Num 22:17 and Num 22:37); but, behold, Jehovah has kept thee back from honour." "Smiting the hands together" was either a sign of horror (Lam 2:15) or of violent rage; it is in the latter sense that it occurs both here and in Job 27:23. In the words, "Jehovah hath kept thee back from honour," the irony with which Balak scoffs at Balaam's confidence in Jehovah is unmistakeable.
Tyndale Open Study Notes on Numbers 24:10
Balak clapped his hands in reproach (cp. Job 27:23; Lam 2:15).
