and he took up his discourse and said, “The oracle of Balaam the son of Beor, the oracle of the man whose eye is opened,
3. And the man whose eyes are open, “Reconditus oculo;” covered in the eye.— Lat. “Qui a l’oeil couvert;” who has the eye covered. — Fr. hath said. This preface has no other object than to prove that he is a true prophet of God, and that he has received the blessing, which he pronounces, from divine revelation; and indeed his boast was true as...
The blessing itself which Balaam here pronounces upon Israel is much the same with the two we had in the foregoing chapter; but the introduction to it is different. I. The method of proceeding here varies much in several instances. 1.
Commenting on Numbers 24:1-9
And he took up his parable,.... His parable of prophecy, as the Targums, his prophetic speech, which, with a loud voice, he expressed in the hearing of Balak and his nobles: and said, Balaam the son of Beor hath said; the preface to his prophecy is pompous, and seems to be full of pride and vanity, and so the Targums of Jonathan and Jerusalem represent...