Comentário sobre Números 23:3

'אולי יקרה ה‎‎ לקראתי PERHAPS THE LORD WILL HAPPEN TO MEET ME — Perhaps: He is not accustomed to speak with me by day.

התיצב על עולותך, so that you can mentally concentrate on what you are doing during the offering of each single part of the animal, a reminder of the blood being the essence of the animal (Leviticus 17,11).

וילך שפי; he was partially lame; we find the expression in this sense in Job 33,21 ושופו עצמותיו .

וילך שפי, “He went alone.” Ibn Ezra, quoting Onkelos, says that the word שפי means “alone,” Other commentators understand the word as meaning “at an angle,” i.e. that Bileam was limping and could not walk upright. They derive this from Job 33,21 ושפי עצמותיו לא ראו, “that (from the context) up until then the deformity of his bones had not become visible.” The correct interpretation of the verse is that it parallels Jeremiah 3,21 קול על שפיים נשמע בכי, ”a sound is heard on the bare heights, weeping, etc.” The word אל, “to,” in front of שפי is missing here.

He does not usually speak with me by day. As it is written (Bamidbar 22:8), “Spend this night here” and similarly, “Fallen, with opened eyes” (24:4), which according to the simple interpretation means, as Onkelos translates, that Hashem only appeared at night when he slept on his bed. (Gur Aryeh) For if not so, why did he say “perhaps” which implies a doubt, while above he said “I will know what he adds…” which implies that he was certain that Hashem would speak to him?

V. 3. על עלתך. Wie bereits zu V. 1 angedeutet, bilden die sieben Opfer einen Begriff. אולי יקרה ד׳ וגו׳ (siehe zu Wajikra 1, 1). Wörtlich heißt es: Vielleicht wird Gott durch die in unsern Opfern liegende Macht sich mir entgegenbringen lassen. Bileam und Balak war, wie bereits zu Kap. 22, 5 bemerkt, der Gotteinheitgedanke ד׳ nicht fremd. Allein es war ihnen der Gedanke heidnisch getrübt und sie glaubten durch Opfer einen bannartigen Machteinfluss auf die Gottheit üben zu können. ודבר מה יראני והגדתי לך, er erwartet מראה אלקים, eine prophetische Erscheinung, und will ihm das, was er sehen wird, in Worten schildern.

וילך שפי, “he was limping,” as a result of the ass having squeezed his leg against the wall. He was so consumed with hatred for the Jewish people that he did not even take time out to wait until his injury had healed.

וילך שפי AND HE WENT שפי — Understand this as the Targum does: “alone”; it is an expression denoting ease and tranquillity; the statement means that there was nothing with him except silence (nothing to disturb him).

'אולי יקרה ה, perhaps through my isolating myself I can achieve to see “the King’s face, have him relate to me with a benevolent mien.” Bileam hoped, (perhaps), to achieve the kind of familiarity with G’d which the Torah reports about Moses, whom G’d described as having unrestricted access to His entire “house.” (Numbers 12,7) יקרה לי, that G’d would come toward me, as had happened to Moses at the beginning of his career as a prophet at the burning bush. G’d had waited with addressing Moses until the latter had made up his mind not to ignore the bush that burned but would not become consumed by the flames (Exodus 3,4).

שפי, the expression in this sense occurs in Job 33,21: עצמותיו and his bones were rubbed away.”