Midrash sa Genesis 30:9: Midrash Tanchuma, Midrash Tanchuma Buber & Bamidbar Rabbah

(Numb. 23:4:) “Then God encountered Balaam.” The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him, “You evil man! What are you doing?” (Ibid., cont.:) “And [Balaam] said unto him, ‘I have prepared the seven altars [and offered a ram and a bull on each altar].’” [The matter] is comparable to a money-changer who lies about the weights. When the head of the marketplace came, he noticed him. He said to him, “What are you doing inflating and lying about the weights?” [The money changer then] said to him, “I have already sent a gift⁴⁶Gk.: doron. to your house.” So also it was in the case of Balaam. The holy spirit cried out to him. It said to him, “You evil man! What are you doing.” He said to it (in Numb. 23:4), “I have prepared the seven altars [and offered a ram and a bull on each altar].” It said to him (in Prov. 15:17), “’Better a meal of vegetable greens [where there is love than a fattened ox with hatred in it].’ Better the dinner of unleavened bread and bitter herbs which Israel ate in Egypt, than bulls which you offer with hands of [hatred].” (Numb. 23:5:) “So the Lord put a word (davar) in Balaam's mouth,” which twisted his mouth and pierced it,⁴⁷Both “twisted” and “pierced” connote the use of a bit on a horse. as one would drive a nail into a board. R. Eliezer (understanding davar as word) says, “An angel was speaking.” But R. Joshua says, “[It was] the Holy One, blessed be He, as stated, (in Numb. 23:5), “Return unto Balak and speak thus.” (Numb. 23:6:) “So he returned unto him, and there he was standing beside his burnt offerings with all the ministers of Moab,” who stood anxiously awaiting [the time] when he would come and speak. (Numb. 23:7:) “So he took up his theme and said, ‘From Aram, Balak the king of Moab has brought me, from the hills of the east.’” I was one of the exalted ones,⁴⁸Ramim. The midrash links this word with ARAM in Numb. 23:7. but Balak has brought me down to the pit of corruption.⁴⁹Numb. R. 20:19; also above, Lev. 5:1 and the notes there. (Ibid.:) “Brought me (yanheni, rt.: nhh),” [is to be understood] just as you say (in Ezek. 32:18), “bring (rt.: nhh) the masses of Egypt [and cast them down… unto the lowest part of the netherworld along with those who go down to the pit].”⁵⁰Thus Numb. 23:7 comes to mean that Balak BROUGHT (rt.: NHH) Balaam down to the grave. The unusual Biblical translation is necessary to fit the sense of the midrash. Another interpretation (of Numb. 23:7), “From Aram.” I was with the highest (ram) of the high, and Balak has brought me down from my glory. [The matter] is comparable to one who was walking with the king. When he saw [some] robbers,⁵¹Gk.: lestai. he left the king and toured along with the robbers. When he returned to be with the king, the king said to him, “Go with whomever you have toured with, because it not possible for you to walk with me again.” Similarly Balaam had been bound to the holy spirit. When he paired himself with Balak, the holy spirit departed from him. So he returned to being a diviner as in the beginning. Thus it is stated (at his execution in Josh. 13:22), “Balaam ben Beor the diviner….” Therefore did he say, “I was high up (ram), and Balak brought me down.” Another interpretation (of Numb. 23:7), “From Aram, Balak the king of Moab has brought me, from the hills of the east.” [Balaam] said to [Balak], “We are alike, even both of us, for being ungrateful, because were it not for our father Abraham, there would have been no Balak. Thus it is stated (in Gen. 19:29), ‘And it came to pass that when God destroyed the cities of the plain, God remembered Abraham and sent Lot away.’ Except for Abraham, he would not have delivered Lot from Sodom; and you are one of the children of the children of Lot.⁵²As a Moabite, Balak was descended from Moab, the son of Lot. See Gen. 19:37. Moreover, if it were not for their father Jacob, I should not have been present in the world, because Laban had sons only through the merit of Jacob, since it is written at the beginning (in Gen. 29:9), ‘Rachel came with the sheep.’ Now if he had sons, how was his daughter a shepherdess? As soon as Jacob came there, sons were given to him, as stated (in Gen. 31:1), ‘Now he heard the things that Laban's sons [were saying].’⁵³Jewish tradition gives three views on Balaam’s relation to Laban: That he was Laban himself, that he was Laban’s nephew, and that he was Laban’s grandson. See Ginzberg, vol. III, p. 354; vol.. V, p. 303, n. 229; vol. VI, pp. 123f., nn. 722f.; p. 130, n. 764. And it also says [that Laban said] (in Gen. 30:27), ‘I have learned by divination that the Lord has blessed me for your sake.’ So if it were not for their ancestors, you and I would not have been present in the world”. (Numb. 23:7, cont.:) “Come, curse Jacob for me.” Whoever curses the Children of Jacob is cursing himself, since it is stated (in Gen. 12:3), “and the one who curses you, I will curse.” It also says (in Gen. 27:29), “cursed be those who curse you,⁵⁴See above, Gen. 6:16. and blessed be those who bless you.” (Numb. 23:7:) “Come, curse [Jacob] for me.” If you had told me to curse another people, for example, the Children of Abraham from the concubines, I would have been able [to do so]. But Jacob? When a king selects a portion for himself, and someone else gets up and speaks disparagingly about it, will he keep his life? Now these people are the Holy One, blessed be He’s, heritage, His portion, and His treasure. Thus it is stated (in Deut. 32:9), “For the Lord's share is His people; Jacob the portion of His heritage.” And it is written (in Exod. 19:5), “and you shall be My treasure.” (Numb. 23:7, cont.:) “And come, denounce Israel.” When a king takes a crown and puts it on his head, and someone says of it that it is nothing, will he keep his life? Now in regard to these people it is written about them (in Is. 49:3), “Israel, in whom I will be glorified.” (Numb. 23:8:) “How shall I curse whom God has not cursed?” When they deserved to be cursed, they were not cursed, when Jacob went in to receive the blessings. It is written (in Gen. 27:16), “Then [she clothed his arms and the hairless part of his neck] with the skins of goat kids.” His father said to him (in Gen. 27:18), “Who are you?” He said to him (in vs. 19), “I am Esau, your first-born.” Does not the one who puts forth a lie with his mouth deserve to be cursed? Yet not only [was he not cursed], but he was blessed; as stated (in Gen. 27:33), “he shall also be blessed.” So how do I curse them? (In the words of Numb. 23:8) “God has not cursed.” Another interpretation (of Numb. 23:8), “How shall I curse whom God has not cursed?” According to universal custom, when a legion⁵⁵Lat.: legio. rebels against the king, it incurs the penalty of death. Now since these denied and revolted against Him, when they said to the calf (in Exod. 32:4), “This is your God, O Israel,” did they not, therefore, deserve to have Him destroy them at that time? [Still] He did not cease to cherish them. Instead He had clouds of glory accompany them. Nor did He withhold the manna and the well from them. And so it says (in Neh. 9:18-20), “Even though they had made themselves a molten calf […], You in Your great mercies did not abandon them in the desert […]; and You did not withhold Your manna from their mouth […].” How can I curse them? This [question] is related (to Numb. 23:8), “How shall I curse whom God has not cursed?” When He commanded them concerning the blessings and the curses, He mentioned them (as the people) in connection with the blessings where it is stated (in Deut. 27:12), “These shall stand [on Mount Gerizim] for blessing the people;” but He did not mention them in connection with the curses. Thus it is stated (in vs. 13), “And these shall stand on Mount Ebal for the curse.” Moreover, when they sin and He plans to bring a curse upon them, it is not written that He Himself is bringing them (i.e., the curses); but with respect to the blessings, He Himself is blessing them; for so it says (in Deut. 28:1, 8), “And it shall come to pass that, if you diligently obey […], the Lord your God will set you high [over all the nations of the earth]. The Lord will command the blessing to be with you.” But with respect to the curses, it is written (according to Deut. 28:15), “And it shall come to pass that, if you do not obey […], then [all these curses] shall come upon you,” [i.e.,] of their own accord. Ergo (in Numb. 23:8), “How shall I curse whom God has not cursed?” (Numb. 23:9:) “For from the top of the rocks I see him,” in order to make the hatred of that evil man (i.e., Balaam) known to you. As from his blessing you may know his thoughts. To what is he comparable? To someone who came to chop down a tree. One who is not an expert chops off the branches one at a time and becomes tired, but the clever one exposes the roots and [then] chops it down. Similarly that wicked man said, “How shall I curse each and every tribe? Rather I will go to their roots.” When he came to touch them, he found them hard [to cut]. It is therefore stated (in Numb. 23:9), “For from the top of the rocks I see him.” Another interpretation (of Numb. 23:9), “For from the top of the rocks,” these are the patriarchs; (ibid., cont.) “and from the hills I behold him,” these are the matriarchs. (Numb. 23:9, cont.:) “Here is a people dwelling alone.” When He makes them rejoice, no nation rejoices along with them. Rather they are all afflicted, [as stated (in Deut. 32:12),] “The Lord alone did lead him, and there was no foreign god with him.” (Numb. 23:9, cont.:), “And they shall not be reckoned (rt.: hshb) among the nations.” But when the nations are rejoicing in this world, they (i.e., the Children of Israel) eat with each and every kingdom, and no one is charging [such pleasures] against their account (rt: hshb).⁵⁶In other words the pleasures that Israel enjoys in this world are not to be deducted from their pleasures in the world to come. It is so stated (in Numb. 23:9, cont.), “and they shall not be reckoned (rt.: hshb) among the nations.” (Numb. 23:10:) “Who has counted the dust of Jacob?” Who is able to count the commandments which they carry out upon the dust: (In Deut. 22:10,) “You shall not plow with an ox and an ass together”; (in Deut. 22:9,) “You shall not sow your vineyard with two kinds of seed”; (in Numb. 19:9,) “Then someone clean shall gather the ashes of the heifer”; (in Numb. 5:17,) “[Then the high priest shall take holy water in an earthen vessel] and some of the dust which is on the floor of the tabernacle”; (in Lev. 19:23,) “[Moreover, when you come into the land and plant any tree for food, you shall count its fruit as forbidden,] three years it shall be forbidden to you, [it shall not be eaten]”; and so on with all of them. (Numb. 23:10, cont.:) “Or numbered the sand (rb') of Israel,” [i.e.,] their copulations (rt.: rb').⁵⁷For this interpretation, cf. Nid. 31a. Who can number the masses⁵⁸Gk.: ochloi. that have emerged from them, from those women who seize on and cherish the commandments (of procreation), as stated (in Gen. 30:15), “But she said to her, ‘Is it a small matter that you have taken away my husband?’” [And so too (in Gen. 30:3, 9),] “Here is my maid Bilhah; go into her.” “When Leah saw that she had ceased bearing children, [she took her maidservant Zilpah and gave her to Jacob as a wife].” [And so too (in Gen. 16:3),] “So Abraham's wife Sarai took her maidservant Hagar the Egyptian… [and gave her to her husband Abraham as a wife].” (Numb. 23:10, cont.:) “Let me die the death of the upright.” The matter is comparable to a butcher who came to slaughter a cow that belonged to a king. The king began to take notice. When [the butcher] realized [what was happening], he began by discarding the knife, then giving [the cow] a rubdown [and] filling the feeding trough for it. He began to say, “Let my life be forfeit for coming to slaughter it; but observe that I have [now given it sustenance].” Similarly Balaam said, “Let my life be forfeit for coming to curse, but I will bless [them].” Ergo (in Numb. 23:10), “let me die the death of the upright!”

(Numb. 23:10, cont.:) OR THE NUMBERED THE SAND (RB') OF ISRAEL, <i.e.,> their copulations (rt.: RB').⁷⁰For this interpretation, cf. Nid. 31a. Who can number the masses⁷¹Gk.: ochloi. that have emerged from them, from those women who seize on and cherish the commandments (on procreation), as stated (in Gen. 30:15): BUT SHE SAID TO HER: IS IT A SMALL MATTER THAT YOU HAVE TAKEN AWAY MY HUSBAND? (Gen. 30:3:) HERE IS MY MAID BILHAH; GO INTO HER. (Gen. 30:9:) WHEN LEAH SAW THAT SHE HAD CEASED BEARING CHILDREN, <SHE TOOK HER MAIDSERVANT ZILPAH AND GAVE HER TO JACOB AS A WIFE>. (Gen. 16:3:) SO ABRAHAM's WIFE SARAI TOOK HER MAIDSERVANT HAGAR THE EGYPTIAN … <AND GAVE HER TO HER HUSBAND ABRAHAM AS A WIFE>.

“He took up his parable, and said: From Aram, Balak leads me, the king of Moav from the highlands of the east; Go, curse Jacob for me, and go, censure Israel” (Numbers 23:7).
“He took up his parable, and said: From Aram, [Balak] leads me [yanḥeni]” – he began and said: ‘I was of the exalted [haramim], but Balak took me down to the pit of perdition.’ Yanḥeni, just as it says: “Wail [neheh] for the multitude of Egypt, and cast it down…[with those who descend into the pit]” (Ezekiel 32:18).
Another matter, “from Aram” – with the exalted [im ram], I was exalted, but Balak caused me to descend from my prominence. This is analogous to one who accompanies a king. He saw a robber, forsook the king, and walked with the robber. When he returned to the king, the king said to him: 'Go with the one with whom you walked, as it is not possible for you to accompany me.' So, Bilam had been attached to the Divine Spirit, and returned to be a sorcerer, as he had been initially, as it is stated: “Bilam son of Beor the sorcerer” (Joshua 13:22). That is why he screamed: ‘I was exalted and Balak took me down.’
Another matter, “from Aram, [Balak] leads me” – he said to him: 'We are both equal in our being ingrates. Had it not been for Abraham their patriarch, there would be no Balak, as it is stated: “It was when God destroyed the cities of the plain, God remembered Abraham, and He sent Lot” (Genesis 19:29). Had it not been for Abraham, Lot would not have escaped Sodom, and you are from the descendants of Lot. Had it not been for Jacob their patriarch, I would not be in the world, as Lavan had sons only due to the merit of Jacob.' Initially, it is written: “Rachel came with the flock” (Genesis 29:9). If he had sons, how is his daughter herding? When Jacob went there, he was granted sons, as it is stated: “Jacob heard the statement of Laban’s sons” (Genesis 31:1). Likewise he [Laban] said to him [Jacob]: “I have divined, and the Lord has blessed me on your account” (Genesis 30:27).
“Go, curse [Jacob] for me” – one who curses, curses himself,⁵²The Hebrew phrase “ara li” which is translated "curse for me" can also be read to mean "curse me" (Matnot Kehuna). as, so it is written: “And he who curses you, I will curse” (Genesis 12:3), and it says: “Cursed be those who curse you” (Genesis 27:29).
“Go, curse Jacob for me, and go, censure Israel” – had he asked me to curse another nation, e.g., the descendants of Abraham and Isaac, I would have been able.⁵³This is because Abraham and Isaac had descendants not only from Israel, but from Ishmael and Esau. But Jacob, a king who selects a portion for himself and another stands and disparages it, will he live? These are His lot, His inheritance, His treasured possession, as it is stated: “For the portion of the Lord is His people, Jacob the lot of His inheritance” (Deuteronomy 32:9). And it is stated: “You will be My treasured possession” (Exodus 19:5). “And go, censure Israel” – this is analogous to a king who took a crown and placed it on his head, and a person said ‘That, it is nothing,’ will he live? These, it is written in their regard: “Israel, in whom I glory [etpa’ar]” (Isaiah 49:3).⁵⁴Pe’arim is a term meaning hats or crowns, (see Isaiah 3:20).
“How will I curse whom God has not cursed? How will I censure whom the Lord has not censured?” (Numbers 23:8).
“How will I curse whom God has not cursed?” When they were deserving of being cursed, they were not cursed. When Jacob entered to take the blessings, he entered deceitfully, as it is stated: “And the hides of the kids of the goats, [she placed on his hands and on the smoothness of his neck]” (Genesis 27:16). His father said: “Who are you?” (Genesis 27:18). He said to him: “I am Esau your firstborn” (Genesis 27:19). One who expresses falsehood from his mouth, is he not deserving of being cursed? Moreover, he was blessed, as it is written: “Indeed, he shall be blessed” (Genesis 27:33). How then will I curse whom God has not cursed?
Another matter, “How will I curse whom God has not cursed?” The way of the world is that a legion that rebelled against the king incurs liability for death. These denied Him and rebelled, and said: “This is your god, Israel” (Exodus 32:4).⁵⁵Referring to the Golden Calf. Should He not have eliminated them? But even at that moment, He did not move from love for them. He accompanied them with clouds of glory, and the manna and the spring did not stop for them. Likewise it says: “When they crafted themselves a cast figure of a calf…but You in Your great mercy did not forsake them in the wilderness; the pillar of cloud did not withdraw from over them by day…You did not withhold Your manna from their mouth, and You gave them water for their thirst” (Nehemiah 9:18–20). How, then, can I curse them?
“How will I curse whom God has not cursed”? When He commanded them regarding the blessings and the curses, regarding the blessings, He mentioned them, as it is stated: “These shall stand to bless the people” (Deuteronomy 27:12). But, regarding the curses, He did not curse them directly, as He says: “These will stand for the curse on Mount Eival” (Deuteronomy 27:13).
When they sin, and He says to bring a curse upon them, He does not write that He will bring it [directly], but in the blessings, He, Himself, blesses them [directly], as it is stated: “The Lord your God will place you supreme…” (Deuteronomy 28:1); “the Lord will command for you the blessing” (Deuteronomy 28:8). But regarding the curses, He would not curse them directly, as it says: “It shall be that if you do not heed [the voice of the Lord your God…] all these curses will come upon you” (Deuteronomy 28:15); on their own. That is, “how will I curse whom God has not cursed?”
“For from the top of precipices I will see it, and from hills I behold it; behold, it is a people that will dwell alone, and will not be reckoned among the nations” (Numbers 23:9).
“For from the top of precipices I will see it” – this is to inform of the hatred of that wicked one, as from his blessings, you ascertain his thoughts.⁵⁶He intended to curse the "tops of precipices" but in the end, blessed them. The "tops of the precipices" refers to the patriarchs (as mentioned in the continuation of the midrash), who are the roots of the tribes. To what is the matter comparable? It is to a person who comes to chop down a tree. One who is not expert, cuts each and every branch and exhausts himself. But the clever man exposes the roots and cuts. So that wicked one said: ‘Why should I curse each and every tribe? I will go to their root.’ He came to harm them, but found that they were hard. That is why he said: “For from the top of precipices I will see it.”
Another matter, “for from the top [of precipices]” – these are the patriarchs; “and from the hills” – these are the matriarchs.
“Behold, it is a people that will dwell alone” – and when He causes them joy, He causes them joy by themselves, as it is stated: “The Lord will guide them alone” (Deuteronomy 32:12). When the nations in this world rejoice, they⁵⁷Israel. eat with each and every kingdom, but it does not cost them from their portion, as it is stated: “and will not be reckoned among the nations.”
“Who has counted the dust of Jacob, or tallied one quarter of Israel? Let me die the death of the upright, and let my end be like his” (Numbers 23:10).
“Who has counted the dust of Jacob” – who can enumerate the mitzvot that they perform regarding dust? “You shall not plow with an ox and a donkey together” (Deuteronomy 22:10); “you shall not sow your vineyard with diverse kinds” (Deuteronomy 22:9); “A pure man shall gather the ashes of the heifer” (Numbers 19:9);⁵⁸See Numbers 19:17, where the word used in Hebrew for dust (afar) is also used for ashes. “the priest shall take from the dirt that is on the floor of the Tabernacle” (Numbers 5:17); “three years shall it be as forbidden unto you” (Leviticus 19:23), and likewise regarding all of them.
“Or tallied one quarter [rova] of Israel” – their procreation [reviit]. Who can count the population that emerged from those who snatch and love the mitzvot? “She said to her: Is the taking of my husband insignificant…[Rachel said: Therefore, he will lie with you tonight]” (Genesis 30:15); “Here is my maidservant Bilha, consort with her” (Genesis 30:3); “Leah saw that she had ceased bearing; [she took Zilpa her maidservant and gave her to Jacob as a wife]” (Genesis 30:9); “Sarai Abram’s wife took Hagar… [and gave her to her husband Abram as a wife]” (Genesis 16:3).
“Let me die the death of the upright” – this is analogous to a butcher who comes to slaughter a king’s cow.⁵⁹He was doing so to harm the king, at the behest of his enemies. The king began to look. Once he sensed that the king was looking, he began casting the knife aside, petting it, and filling the trough before it. He began to say: ‘May my soul depart,⁶⁰The phrase "my soul departs" means "I sympathize with myself," that instead of doing one thing, I had to do the opposite. as I came to slaughter it, but I left it alone.’ So, Bilam said: ‘May my soul depart, as I came to curse, but I will bless.’
“He took him to the field of Tzofim, to the top of the peak, and he built seven altars, and offered up a bull and a ram on each altar” (Numbers 23:14).
“He took him to the field of Tzofim, to the top of the peak” – it is a peak where there are breaches, as it is stated: “Ascend to the top of the peak” (Deuteronomy 3:27).⁶¹In that place, something negative will happen to Israel and "breach" their security. Is there a breach greater than that that he saw through divination, and he believed that there they would be eliminated.