Numbers 24:17

I shall see him, but not now: I shall behold him, but not nigh: there shall come a Star out of Jacob, and a Sceptre shall rise out of Israel, and shall smite the corners of Moab, and destroy all the children of Sheth.

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Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
see	אֶרְאֶ֙נּוּ֙ 'er.'E.nu	H7200	to see · verb, qal imperfect, 1st person common singular + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
behold	אֲשׁוּרֶ֖נּוּ 'a.shu.Re.nu	H7789	to spy out · verb, qal imperfect, 1st person common singular + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
nigh	קָר֑וֹב ka.Rov	H7138	near (in place · adjective, masculine singular absolute
come	דָּרַ֨ךְ da.Rakh	H1869	to tread · verb, qal perfect, 3rd person masculine singular
Star	כּוֹכָ֜ב ko.Khav	H3556	a star (as round or as shining) · noun, common masculine singular absolute
Jacob	מִֽיַּעֲקֹ֗ב mi.ya.'a.Ko	H3290	Jaakob · preposition + proper noun, a man's name
Sceptre	שֵׁ֙בֶט֙ she.vet	H7626	a scion · noun, common masculine singular absolute
rise	וְקָ֥ם ve.Kam	H6965	to rise (in various applications · conjunction + verb, qal sequential perfect, 3rd person masculine singular
Israel	מִיִּשְׂרָאֵ֔ל mi.Yis.ra.'El	H3478	Jisrael · preposition + proper noun, a place name
smite	וּמָחַץ֙ u.ma.Chatz	H4272	to dash asunder · conjunction + verb, qal sequential perfect, 3rd person masculine singular
corners	פַּאֲתֵ֣י pa.'a.Tei	H6285	properly · noun, common feminine dual construct
Moab	מוֹאָ֔ב mo.'Av	H4124	Moab · proper noun, a place name
destroy	וְקַרְקַ֖ר ve.kar.Kar	H6979	to trench · conjunction + noun, common both genders singular construct
children	בְּנֵי be.nei-	H1121	a son (as a builder of the family name) · noun, common masculine plural construct
Sheth	שֵֽׁת Shet	H8352	Sheth · 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

Revelation 22:16 I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and…
Luke 1:32-33 He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David:
Genesis 49:10 The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the pe…
Revelation 1:7 Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail becaus…
Revelation 11:15 And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord…
Psalms 45:6 Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: the sceptre of thy kingdom is a right sceptre.
Zechariah 10:4 Out of him came forth the corner, out of him the nail, out of him the battle bow, out of him every oppressor together.
Matthew 2:2-9 Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him.

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

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Numbers 24:15–end

The office of prophets was both to bless and to prophesy in the name of the Lord. Balaam, as a prophet, per force had blessed Israel; here he foretels future events. I. His preface is much the same as that, Num 24:3, Num 24:4. He personates a true prophet admirably well, God permitting and directing him to do so, because, whatever he was, the prophecy itself was a true prophecy. He boasts, 1. That his eyes are open (Num 24:15), for prophets were in old time called seers (Sa1 9:9), because they must speak what they had seen, and therefore, before they opened their lips, it was necessary that they should have their eyes open. 2. That he has heard the words of God, which many do that do not hee…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Numbers 24:17

I shall see him--rather, "I do see" or "I have seen him"--a prophetic sight, like that of Abraham (Joh 8:56). him--that is, Israel. there shall come a Star out of Jacob, and a Sceptre shall rise out of Israel--This imagery, in the hieroglyphic language of the East, denotes some eminent ruler--primarily David; but secondarily and pre-eminently, the Messiah (see on Gen 49:10). corners--border, often used for a whole country (Exo 8:2; Psa 74:17). children of Sheth--some prince of Moab; or, according to some, "the children of the East."

John Gill on Numbers 24:17

I shall see him, but not now,.... Meaning not Israel, for he now saw him encamped, and at no great distance; but one that should descend from him, a famous and excellent person, and who is no other than the Messiah, as appears by what follows; him he should see, not spiritually with an eye of faith, nor corporeally with his bodily eyes in his state of incarnation, but at the day of judgment; and now, indeed, he saw him by a spirit of prophecy: I shall behold him, but not nigh; signifying, that the coming of this illustrious Person, who should smite the borders of Moab, was not near, and therefore Balak had no reason to indulge any present fears; and that when he was come either into the wor…

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The Church Fathers

Moses himself [wrote] in the book of Numbers: "There shall come a star out of Jacob, and a man shall arise out of Israel." For this cause, therefore, being God, he took upon him flesh, that, becoming a mediator between God and man, having overcome death, he might by his guidance lead man to God.
— Lucius Caecilius Firmianus Lactantius, EPITOME OF THE DIVINE INSTITUTES 44

We are told that Balaam's successors moved by this (for the prediction was preserved most likely among them)4 when they noticed in the heavens a strange star besides the usual ones, fixed above the head, so to say, and vertically above Judea, hastened to arrive at Palestine, to inquire about the king announced by the star's appearance.
— Eusebius of Caesarea, PROOF OF THE GOSPEL 9.1

Listen to the Evangelist's words about Caiaphas, the high priest of the Jews: "He did not give this as a personal opinion, but in his capacity of high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus was destined to die, not for the person alone but to bring together into one also the nations that had been scattered." You will find something like it occurring again in the story of Balaam also: When urged to curse the people, he not merely did not curse them but even prophesied great and wonderful things, not merely about the people but also about the coming of the Savior.
— John Chrysostom, HOMILIES ON GENESIS 21:16

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

Balaam — Lord of the people; foreigner or glutton, as interpreted by others, the son of Beor, was a man of some rank among the Midianites (Num. 31:8; comp. 16). He resided at Pethor (Deut. 23:4), in…
Corner — The angle of a house (Job 1:19) or a street (Prov. 7:8). “Corners” in Neh. 9:22 denotes the various districts of the promised land allotted to the Israelites. In Num. 24:17, the “corners of Moab”…
Daystar — Which precedes and accompanies the sun-rising. It is found only in 2 Pet. 1:19, where it denotes the manifestation of Christ to the soul, imparting spiritual light and comfort. He is the “bright and…
How The Prophetic Gift Was Received — —We learn from Holy Scripture that it was by the agency of the Spirit of God that the prophets received the divine communication; but the means by which the divine Spirit communicated with the human…
Messiah — (Heb. mashiah), in all the thirty-nine instances of its occurring in the Old Testament, is rendered by the LXX. “Christos.” It means anointed. Thus priests (Ex. 28:41; 40:15; Num. 3:3), prophets (1…
Sceptre — (Heb. shebet = Gr. skeptron), properly a staff or rod. As a symbol of authority, the use of the sceptre originated in the idea that the ruler was as a shepherd of his people (Gen. 49:10; Num. 24:17;…
Sheth — Tumult. (1.) “The children of Sheth” (Num. 24:17); R.V., “the sons of tumult,” which is probably the correct rendering, as there is no evidence that this is a proper name here. (2.) The antediluvian…
Star, Morning — A name figuratively given to Christ (Rev. 22:16; comp. 2 Pet. 1:19). When Christ promises that he will give the “morning star” to his faithful ones, he “promises that he will give to them himself,…
Stars — The eleven stars (Gen. 37:9); the seven (Amos 5:8); wandering (Jude 1:13); seen in the east at the birth of Christ, probably some luminous meteors miraculously formed for this specific purpose (Matt.…
Christ, The King

Numbers 24:17

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Numbers 24:15–end

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Numbers 24:17

John Gill on Numbers 24:17

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Numbers 24:17

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Numbers 24:15–end

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Numbers 24:17

John Gill on Numbers 24:17

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

John Calvin on Numbers 24:17-19

Keil & Delitzsch on Numbers 24:17

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Numbers 24:17

Rashi on Numbers 24:17