Hebrew Bible Study
Hebrew Bible Study

Commentary for Numbers 22:8

וַיֹּ֣אמֶר אֲלֵיהֶ֗ם לִ֤ינוּ פֹה֙ הַלַּ֔יְלָה וַהֲשִׁבֹתִ֤י אֶתְכֶם֙ דָּבָ֔ר כַּאֲשֶׁ֛ר יְדַבֵּ֥ר יְהוָ֖ה אֵלָ֑י וַיֵּשְׁב֥וּ שָׂרֵֽי־מוֹאָ֖ב עִם־בִּלְעָֽם׃

And he said unto them: ‘Lodge here this night, and I will bring you back word, as the LORD may speak unto me’; and the princes of Moab abode with Balaam.

Rashi on Numbers

לינו פה הלילה LODGE HERE THIS NIGHT — The Holy Spirit rested upon him only at night time, and similarly in the case of all the prophets of the heathen peoples, and similarly He revealed Himself to Laban in a dream at night, as it is said, (Genesis 31:24) “And God came to Laban in a dream of the night” — as a man who comes to his concubine furtively (cf. Leviticus Rabbah 1 13; Rashi on Job 12:4).
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Sforno on Numbers

כאשר ידבר ה' אלי, for I am preparing myself to receive a prophetic message.
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Or HaChaim on Numbers

לינו פה, "stay here overnight." Bileam may have meant that the messengers stay overnight in his own home, and that is what he meant by the word פה, "here." He concluded by saying that he would tell them what G'd was going to say, כאשר ידבר, not what G'd had said. He hinted that by staying overnight at his home he could inform them immediately G'd would give him instructions. When he emphasised הלילה, "this night," he might have inadvertently revealed his miserly nature as he was not willing to play host to them for more than one night.
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