Essay for Numbers 24:1
וַיַּ֣רְא בִּלְעָ֗ם כִּ֣י ט֞וֹב בְּעֵינֵ֤י יְהוָה֙ לְבָרֵ֣ךְ אֶת־יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל וְלֹא־הָלַ֥ךְ כְּפַֽעַם־בְּפַ֖עַם לִקְרַ֣את נְחָשִׁ֑ים וַיָּ֥שֶׁת אֶל־הַמִּדְבָּ֖ר פָּנָֽיו׃
And when Balaam saw that it pleased the LORD to bless Israel, he went not, as at the other times, to meet with enchantments, but he set his face toward the wilderness.
The Five Books of Moses, by Everett Fox
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The Five Books of Moses, by Everett Fox
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The Five Books of Moses, by Everett Fox
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The Five Books of Moses, by Everett Fox
Few moments in the Torah, to my thinking, can compare with what now happens in this story. The description of Bil’am’s transformation in the opening verses is matched and even surpassed by what happens to the poetry of this section. From v.3 on, we are treated to an elevation and intensification of poetic language, beginning with the rhythmic opening lines and continuing through the pregnant Middle Eastern imagery of trees and water.
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