Numbers 24:7 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
Numbers 24:7
He shall pour the water out of his buckets, and his seed shall be in many waters, and his king shall be higher than Agag, and his kingdom shall be exalted.
to drip · verb, qal imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
water
מַ֙יִם֙ma.yim
H4325
water · noun, common masculine plural absolute
out
נָזַלnâzal
H5140
to drip
buckets
מִדָּ֣לְיָ֔וmi.Dal.Yav
H1805
a pail or jar (for drawing water) · preposition + noun, common masculine dual construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
seed
וְזַרְע֖וֹve.zar.'O
H2233
seed · conjunction + noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
many
רַבִּ֑יםra.Bim
H7227
abundant (in quantity · adjective, masculine plural absolute
waters
בְּמַ֣יִםbe.Ma.yim
H4325
water · preposition + noun, common masculine plural absolute
king
מַלְכּ֔וֹmal.Ko
H4428
a king · noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
higher
וְיָרֹ֤םve.ya.Rom
H7311
to be high actively · conjunction + verb, qal jussive, 3rd person masculine singular
Agag
מֵֽאֲגַג֙me.'a.Gag
H90
Agag · preposition + proper noun, a man's name
kingdom
מַלְכֻתֽוֹmal.khu.To
H4438
a rule · noun, common feminine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
exalted
וְתִנַּשֵּׂ֖אve.tin.na.Se'
H5375
to lift · conjunction + verb, hithpael, 3rd person feminine singular
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 Samuel 5:12 And David perceived that the LORD had established him king over Israel, and that he had exalted his kingdom for his people Israel’s sake.
1 Chronicles 14:2 And David perceived that the LORD had confirmed him king over Israel, for his kingdom was lifted up on high, because of his people Israel.
Jeremiah 51:13 O thou that dwellest upon many waters, abundant in treasures, thine end is come, and the measure of thy covetousness.
Revelation 17:1 And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will shew unto thee the…
1 Samuel 15:8-9 And he took Agag the king of the Amalekites alive, and utterly destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword.
Revelation 17:15 And he saith unto me, The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues.
Revelation 19:16 And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.
1 Samuel 15:32-33 Then said Samuel, Bring ye hither to me Agag the king of the Amalekites. And Agag came unto him delicately. And Agag said, Surely the bitter…
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Numbers 24:1-9
The blessing itself which Balaam here pronounces upon Israel is much the same with the two we had in the foregoing chapter; but the introduction to it is different.
I. The method of proceeding here varies much in several instances. 1. Balaam laid aside the enchantments which he had hitherto depended on, used no spells, or charms, or magic arts, finding they did him no service; it was to no purpose to deal with the devil for a curse, when it was plain that God was determined immovably to bless, Num 24:1. Sooner or later God will convince men of their folly in seeking after lying vanities, which cannot profit. To what purpose should he seek for enchantment? He knew that God was out of the reac…
his king shall be higher than Agag--The Amalekites were then the most powerful of all the desert tribes, and "Agag" a title common to their kings.
John Gill on Numbers 24:7
He shall pour the water out of his buckets,.... That is, God shall plentifully send down rain out of the clouds upon these valleys, gardens, and trees, and make them fruitful; and this may be a figure of the grace of God, with which his churches are watered, and become fruitful by means of the word and ordinances, which is conveyed through them out of the fulness which is in Christ:
and his seed shall be in many waters; the seed and offspring of Israel shall be in a place of many waters, in a land of brooks and waters, shall dwell in a well watered land, the land of Canaan, Deuteronomy 8:7 or shall be like seed sown near water, or in well watered places, which springs up and brings forth mu…
And his king shall be higher than Agag. He now begins to enlarge on their outward prosperity, viz., that the people of Israel shall be powerful and flourishing, and endowed with a warlike spirit to resist the assaults of their enemies; for it would not be sufficient that they should abound with all blessings, unless the ability to defend them should also be superadded. It is by no means a probable conjecture that he speaks of Saul who made prisoner of their king, Agag, in the battle with the Amalekites; but their opinion is the more correct one, who suppose that this was a name common to all the kings of that nation. It was, therefore, God's intention to declare the superiority of His chosen…
The Church Fathers
But now let us see what he also prophesies concerning Christ. For it is he of whom he says: "There shall come forth a man from his seed, and he shall have dominion over many nations; and his kingdom shall be exalted above Gog, and his kingdom shall grow. God led him out of Egypt, as the glory of a unicorn is his." It is Christ, therefore, who came forth from the seed of Israel according to the flesh, who, how he has dominion over the nations, needs no exposition, especially for one who reads what was said to him by the Father: "Ask of me, and I will give you the nations for your inheritance, and for your possession the ends of the earth." But what is it that he says: "his kingdom shall be exalted above Gog"? Gog is interpreted "above the roofs," and in this passage it is not set down for the name of some nation, as is thought, but, as in some other places, the Hebrew word itself has been left uninterpreted, and on this account it seems to be said as though of some nation. The consequence of the discourse, therefore, is this: "and his kingdom shall be exalted above the roofs, and his kingdom shall grow." To be exalted above the roofs is said of the perfection of believers, but to grow refers to the multitudes. In those, therefore, who are perfect, the kingdom of Christ is exalted above the roofs—that is, above even those who are in the higher places and dwell in the upper regions. For perhaps there are some even among the heavenly beings, beyond whom these who are in the kingdom of Christ advance more and are exalted more highly. And therefore, I believe, the Savior himself too was saying: "Let him who is on the roof not come down to take anything out of the house," admonishing that those who have come to the lofty perfection should not again come down to the low and abject things of this world, which is now called a house. But that too which he says: "What you have heard in the ear, preach upon the roofs," looks nonetheless to this. So, then, above Gog his kingdom is exalted, and his kingdom grows. For it grows while the churches are multiplied and the number of the faithful is increased; and the kingdom of Christ grows to such a degree, until the Father "put all his enemies under his feet," and moreover destroy "the last enemy, death."
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
Agag — Flame, the usual title of the Amalekite kings, as “Pharaoh” was of the Egyptian. (1.) A king of the Amalekites referred to by Balaam (Num. 24:7). He lived at the time of the Exodus. (2.) Another king…
Amalekite — A tribe that dwelt in Arabia Petraea, between the Dead Sea and the Red Sea. They were not the descendants of Amalek, the son of Eliphaz, for they existed in the days of Abraham (Gen. 14:7). They were…
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…
Bucket — A vessel to draw water with (Isa. 40:15); used figuratively, probably, of a numerous issue (Num. 24:7).
Agag · 1. A king of the Amalekites — 1. A king of the Amalekites
Amalekites, The · A powerful and influential nation — A powerful and influential nation
Balaam · A prophet — A prophet
Bucket · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Prophecy · Gift of, sometimes possessed by unconverted men — Gift of, sometimes possessed by unconverted men
Water · Illustrative: (Pouring, out of buckets,) of a numerous progeny — Illustrative: (Pouring, out of buckets,) of a numerous progeny
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).
And not only its dwellings, but Israel itself would also prosper abundantly. It would have an abundance of water, that leading source of all blessing and prosperity in the burning East. The nation is personified as a man carrying two pails overflowing with water. דּליו is the dual דּליים. The dual is generally used in connection with objects which are arranged in pairs, either naturally or artificially (Ges. 88, 2). "His seed" (i.e., his posterity, not his sowing corn, the introduction of which, in this connection, would, to say the least, be very feeble here) "is," i.e., grows up, "by many waters," that is to say, enjoys the richest blessings (comp. Deu 8:7 and Deu 11:10 with Isa 44:4; Isa…
24:7b-9 God’s blessing would enable the Israelites to overcome their enemies (see 24:15-24). • Agag was an Amalekite king defeated by Saul (1 Sam 15:7-9, 32-33). The Amalekites, a desert people, were traditional enemies of the Hebrews (cp. Num 14:45; Exod 17:8-16), and it is likely that Agag was the traditional designation for their king. Since God brought Israel out of Egypt, he fought on their behalf, like a warrior and like a wild animal (ox and lion; Num 24:8-9). • Blessed . . . cursed: See Gen 12:3; 27:29.
Rashi on Numbers 24:7
מדליו means OUT OF HIS SPRINGS, and its explanation is as given in the Targum (“The king appointed from amongst his sons shall be great”).
וזרעו במים רבים AND HIS SEED SHALL BE IN MANY WATERS — This is an expression denoting prosperity — he shall be as seed which is sown upon well-watered soil.
וירם מאגג מלכו AND HIS KING SHALL BE HIGHER THAN AGAG — Their first king will conquer Agag king of the Amalakites.
ותנשא מלכתו AND HIS KINGDOM SHALL BE EXALTED — i.e. the kingdom of Jacob (the Israelitish people) shall be exalted more and more, because the powerful monarchs David and Solomon will succeed him (their first king).
