Komentaryong Sumisipi para sa Genesis 26:21

לשטן לו, to obstruct him. The subject matter known as שטנה, always involves an activity contrary to someone else’s activity. We find an example of this expression in this sense in Genesis 26,21 where the Philistines foiled the attempt of Yitzchak’s servants to use the water from the well they had dug. In this instance the angel had come to oppose Bileam seeing his journey contravened G’d’s will. He was afraid that Bileam would do his usual and not be content to await a propitious moment, so that he would become guilty of death. G’d wanted to spare him such a sin. [if I understand the author correctly, he feels that Bileam’s function as a “prophet”, i.e. pronouncing curses, when exploited at times when doom threatened his potential victims anyway, would not be construed as sinful by G’d. Ed.]