John Gill's Bible Commentary Ver. 3. And Balaam said unto Balak , stand by thy burnt offering, etc.] By which it appears that the sacrifices offered were of this sort, and there might be one, which was more peculiarly the burnt offering of Balak; though he might be more or less with Balaam concerned in them all; at which he was directed to stand while it was burning, presenting that and himself to the Lord, that he would have respect to both: and I will go ; depart from thence, at some little distance, unto some private place: peradventure the Lord will come to meet me ; upon the offering of these sacrifices to him, though he could not be certain of it, he having lately shown some displeasure and resentment unto him; and this was also in the daytime, when it was in the night he usually came unto him: and whatsoever he showeth me I will tell thee ; the whole of it, truly as it is, whether agreeable or not: and he went to an high place ; but he was in one already, and therefore if this is the sense of the word, he must go to another, into a grove in one of the high places, where he might be retired, and so fit for a divine converse; and the Targum of Onkelos renders it alone: but rather the sense is, that he went into a plain, as De Dieu has shown from the use of the word in the Syriac language; he was upon a high place, and he went down from thence into the plain, perhaps into a cave at the bottom of the hill, a retired place, where he hoped the Lord would meet him, as he did.
Matthew Henry Commentary
Verses 1-10 - With the camps of Israel full in view, Balaam ordered seven altars to be built, and a bullock and a ram to be offered on each. Oh the sottishness of superstition, to imagine that God will be at man's beck The curse is turned into a blessing, by the overruling power of God, is love to Israel. God designed to serve his own glory by Balaam, an therefore met him. If God put a word into the mouth of Balaam, wh would have defied God and Israel, surely he will not be wanting to those who desire to glorify God, and to edify his people; it shall be given what they should speak. He who opened the mouth of the ass caused the mouth of this wicked man to speak words as contrary to the desire of his heart, as those of the ass were to the powers of the brute. The miracle was as great in the one case as in the other. Balaa pronounces Israel safe. He owns he could do no more than God suffere him to do. He pronounces them happy in their distinction from the res of the nations. Happy in their numbers, which made them both honourabl and formidable. Happy in their last end. Death is the end of all men even the righteous must die, and it is good for us to think of thi with regard to ourselves, as Balaam does here, speaking of his ow death. He pronounces the righteous truly blessed, not only while the live, but when they die; which makes their death even more desirabl than life itself. But there are many who desire to die the death of the righteous, but do not endeavour to live the life of the righteous gladly would they have an end like theirs, but not a way like theirs They would be saints in heaven, but not saints on earth. This saying of Balaam's is only a wish, not a prayer; it is a vain wish, being only wish for the end, without any care for the means. Many seek to quie their consciences with the promise of future amendment, or take up with some false hope, while they neglect the only way of salvation, by whic a sinner can be righteous before God.
Original Hebrew ויאמר559 בלעם1109 לבלק1111 התיצב3320 על5921 עלתך5930 ואלכה1980 אולי194 יקרה7136 יהוה3068 לקראתי7125 ודבר1697 מה4100 יראני7200 והגדתי5046 לך וילך1980 שׁפי׃8205
