Midrash sur Les Nombres 22:12

Rabba b. R. Huna in the name of his father, and according to others, R. Huna in the name of R. Elazar, said: "From the Pentateuch, Prohpets, and Hagiographa it is inferred that Heaven leads a man upon the road he desires to follow. From the Pentateuch (Num. 22, 12) Thou shalt not go with them, and (Ib., ib. 20) Rise, up, go with them; from the Prophets (Is. 48, 17) Who teacheth thee for thy profit, who leadeth thee by the way that thou shouldst go; and from Hagiographa (Pr. 3, 34) If it concerneth the scorners, He scorneth them; but unto the humble, He giveth grace.

6 "And Balak saw" (Numbers 22:2) When his messengers came to Bilaam, the Holy One, blesed be He, said to him, "Who are these people" (Numbers 22:9). Bilaam said to him, (Numbers 22:10), "Balak son of Beor, king of Moav, sent to me." Rabbi Abba bar Kahana said, "This is one of three people that the Holy One, blessed be He, examined and found to be a carriage of urine: Kayin, Chizkiyah and Bilaam. Kayin - at the time that the Holy One, blessed be He, said, 'Where is Hevel, your brother' (Genesis 4:9), he sought to - as if it were possible - deceive Him. He should have said, 'Master of the world, the hidden things and the revealed things are revealed in front of You, and You ask me about me about my brother?' Instead he said to Him (Genesis 4:9), 'I do not know; am I my brother's keeper?' The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him, 'By your life, this is how you spoke? "The blood of your brother is crying out."' Chizkiyah - when he got up (recovered) from his illness, Merodach-baladan sent him a gift - as it is stated (Isaiah 39:1), 'At that time, Merodach-baladan, sent' - Yishayah came [and] said to him, 'What did those people say, and from where did they come to you.' He should have said, 'You are a prophet of the Omnipresent, and you ask me?' Instead he began to be haughty and said (Isaiah 39:3), 'From a distant land; they have come from Babylonia.' Isaiah said, 'Since you have spoken like this (Isaiah 39:6-7), "Days are coming when everything in your palace, will be carried off [...]. And some of your sons, your own issue, whom you will have fathered, will be taken to serve as eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylonia."' And likewise Bilaam the evildoer - at the time that Balak sent to him, the Holy One, blessed be He, said to him, 'Who are these people with you'; he should have said, 'Master of the world, 'Everything is revealed in front of You and there is not anything hidden from you, and You ask me?' Instead, he said to Him (Numbers 22:10), 'Balak son of Beor, king of Moav, sent to me.' The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him, 'Since you speak to Me like this (Numbers 22:12), "you may not curse the nation."' The Holy One, blessed be He, said, 'Evildoer of the world, it is written about Israel (Zechariah 2:12), "since one who touches you is like one who touches the pupil of his eye," and you are going to touch them and curse them? His eye shall be removed.' As it is stated (Numbers 24:3), 'with the shut eye,' to fulfill, whoever 'touches them is like one who touches the pupil of his eye.'"

10 (Numb. 22:12) “Then God said unto Balaam, ‘You shall not go with them’”: He said to Him, “If so, I will curse them from where I am.” He said to him, (ibid., cont.) “You shall not curse the people.” He said to Him, “If so, let me bless them.” He said to him, “They do not need your blessing, (ibid., cont.) ‘for they are blessed.’” Similarly one says to a hornet, “None of your honey and none of your sting.” (Numb. 22:13) “So Balaam arose in the morning and said to the ministers of Balak”: Balaam did not tell them, “He did not give me permission to go and to curse.” [He simply said] (ibid., cont.), “To let me go with you”: He said to me, “It is not in accord with your honor to go with these people. Rather [you must go] with people greater then they,” since He takes pleasure in my being honored. Therefore (in vs. 15), “Once again Balak sent ministers, more numerous and more honorable [than (the first ones)].” (Numb. 22:17) “For I will surely honor you greatly”: [Even] more than what you [wanted] formerly will I give you. (Numb. 22:18) “But Balaam answered and said […], ‘[Even] if Balak should give me his house full of silver and gold, [I could not transgress the command of the Lord my God to do less or more].’” From here you learn that he had three things. And they are an evil eye, a haughty spirit and a greedy soul:¹⁷See Avot 5:19. An evil eye, as it is written (in Numb. 24:2), “Then Balaam raised his eyes and saw Israel […].” A haughty spirit, as it is written (according to Numb. 22:13), “for the Lord refused to let me go with you.” A greedy soul, as it is written (according to Numb. 22:18), “[Even] if Balak should give me his house full of silver and gold.” [He said to Balak,] “If you sought to hire soldiers to fight against them, it is a question whether they would vanquish them or fail, [yet you would pay it]; is it not [then proper] that you would give it to vanquish [them with certainty]?” See you have learned that he sought this. (Ibid., cont.) “I could not transgress [the command of the Lord my God]”: [He was] prophesying that he could not annul the blessings with which the ancestors had been blessed by the mouth of the Divine Presence. (Numb. 22:19) “Now you also please stay here tonight”: What is the meaning of “you also.” That in the end you will go in disappointment like the former [messengers]. (Ibid., cont.) “So that I may know what else (rt.: ysp) the Lord may say to me”: Thus he prophesied that the Holy One, blessed be He, was going to multiply (rt.: ysp) blessings for them through him.

12 (Numb. 22:20) “Then God came unto Balaam at night”: This text is related (to Exod. 12:42), “That was for the Lord a night of vigil […].” All miracles which were done for Israel and which involved exacting retribution for them from the wicked took place at night: (Gen. 31:24) “And God came unto Laban the Aramean in a dream at night”: And it is written (in Gen. 20:3), “But God came unto Abimelech in a dream at night.” And it is written (in Exod. 12:29), “And it came to pass in the middle of the night.” And it is written (in Exod. 14:20), “there was the cloud with the darkness, and it cast a spell upon the night.” And it is written (in Gen. 14:15), “And he deployed at night.” And so [it was with] all of them. Another interpretation: Why did he reveal himself to Balaam by night? He was not worthy of [receiving] the holy spirit [except at night]. As He speaks at night with all the prophets of the nations, as stated (in Job 4:13), “In opinions from night visions.” And so Eliphaz says (in Job 4:13), “In a dream, a vision of the night,” about [Balaam’s] speaking with him at night. And similarly Elihou speaks about that which He had spoken with him at night. (Numb. 22:20, cont.) “If these men have come to invite you, arise and go with them”: From here you learn that in the way that a man wants to go, in it is he driven. As at first it was said to him (in Numb. 22:12), “Do not go with them.” As soon as he had become defiant, he went. As so is it written about him (in Numb. 22:22), “But God's anger was kindled because he was going.” The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him, “I do not desire the death of the wicked. [But] in as much as you want to be obliterated from the world, ‘arise and go with them.’” (Numb. 22:20, cont.), “But only the thing [that I tell you are you to do].” [These words are] to teach you that he went with a warning. Immediately he got up early in the morning [preparing his donkey] quickly all by himself. The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him, “You wicked man! Their ancestor Abraham has already anticipated you at the binding of his son Isaac,” as stated (in Gen. 22:3), “So Abraham arose early in the morning, saddled his he-ass.” (Numb. 22:21, cont.) “And went with the princes of Moab”: [These words are] to teach you that he was as glad at the tribulation of Israel as they were.