SEV Biblia, Chapter 24:17
Lo veré, mas no ahora; lo miraré, mas no de cerca; SALDRA ESTRELLA DE JACOB, y se levantará cetro de Israel, y herirá los cantones de Moab, y destruirá a todos los hijos de Set.
Clarke's Bible Commentary - Numbers 24:17
Verse 17. I shall see him, but not now] Or, I shall see him, but he is not now. I shall behold him, but not nigh-I shall have a full view of him, but the time is yet distant. That is, The person of whom I am now prophesying does not at present exist among these Israelites, nor shall he appear in this generation. There shall come a Star out of Jacob, and a Sceptre shall rise out of Israel-a person eminent for wisdom, and formidable for strength and power, shall arise as king among this people. He shall smite the corners of Moab-he shall bring the Moabites perfectly under subjection; (See 2 Sam. viii. 2;) and destroy all the children of Sheth.
The original word rqrq karkar, from hrq karah, to meet, associate, join, blend, and the like, is variously translated; -vastabit, he shall waste, VULGATE. - pronomeusei, shall prey on, SEPT. - fwlŤy ' yishlot, shall rule over, TARGUM. - Shall shake, ARABIC. - barbend, shall put a yoke on, PERS. - Shall unwall, AINSWORTH, &c., &c.
The Targum of Onkelos translates the whole passage thus: "I shall see him, but not now: I shall behold him, but he is not near. When a king shall arise from the house of Jacob, and the Messiah be anointed from the house of Israel, he shall slay the princes of Moab, and rule over all the children of men." The Jerusalem Targum is a little different: "A king shall arise from the house of Jacob, a redeemer and governor from the house of Israel, who shall slay the chiefs of the Moabites, and empty out and destroy all the children of the East." Rabbi Moses ben Maimon has, in my opinion, perfectly hit the meaning of the prophecy in the following paraphrase of the text: "I shall see him, but not now. This is DAVID. - I shall behold him, but not nigh. This is the king MESSIAH. - A Star shall come out of Jacob. This is DAVID. - And a Sceptre shall rise out of Israel. This is the king MESSIAH.- And shall smite the corners of Moab. This is DAVID, (as it is written, 2 Sam. viii. 2: And he smote Moab, casting them down to the ground.)-And shall destroy all the children of Sheth. This is the king MESSIAH, of whom it is written, (Psa. lxxii. 8,) He shall have dominion from sea to sea."
John Gill's Bible Commentary
Ver. 17. I shall see him, but not now , etc.] Meaning not Israel, for he now saw him encamped, and at no great distance; but one that should descend from him, a famous and excellent person, and who is no other than the Messiah, as appears by what follows; him he should see, not spiritually with an eye of faith, nor corporeally with his bodily eyes in his state of incarnation, but at the day of judgment; and now, indeed, he saw him by a spirit of prophecy: I shall behold him, but not nigh ; signifying, that the coming of this illustrious Person, who should smite the borders of Moab, was not near, and therefore Balak had no reason to indulge any present fears; and that when he was come either into the world to save men, or to judgment, Balaam would have no nearness to him, nor interest in him; he would see him at the last day, but not for himself, as Job says he should, ( Job 19:25-27) there shall come a star out of Jacob, and a sceptre shall rise out of Israel ; which Aben Ezra interprets of David, though he says many interpret it of the Messiah; and there are some writers, both Jewish and Christian, that understand it partly of David, and partly of Christ, and chiefly of him, and of David as a type of him; the fulfilment of which was only in part in David, but principally and completely in Christ. Maimonides parts the prophecy between them: the whole undoubtedly agrees with Christ, and belongs unto him: the “star” and “sceptre” may be considered as names and titles of the Messiah; he is called the “morning star”, ( Revelation 22:16) for his glory, brightness, and splendour, and for the light that comes by him, and the influence of his grace, and the blessings of it on the sons of men; and hence a false Messiah took the name of Bar Cochab, the son of a star, to answer to this prophecy; and he may be called a “sceptre”, that is, a sceptre bearer, because of his royalty; he not only has the name of a king, but has a kingdom, both of nature, providence, and grace, and rules with a sceptre of grace, mercy, and righteousness; and as he was to spring from Jacob or Israel, so he did, being a son of Abraham, a descendant of Jacob, of the tribe of Judah, and family of David, ( Matthew 1:1 Romans 1:4 9:4,5), but I rather think that the star is to be considered as a sign and circumstance of his coming, and that the words may be rendered, “when a star steers its course from Jacob”, or “unto Jacob, then a sceptre”, or “sceptre bearer”, shall rise out of Israel , or “rise up unto Israel”; for the particle m sometimes signifies “unto” f384 ; and that the appearance of a star in Israel was a sign of the Messiah’s coming is certain from ( Matthew 2:1,2) of which the Magi were informed by Zoroastres their founder, who, being of Jewish extract, had got it from this prophecy of Balaam; and it is as evident that the Jews expected the appearance of an extraordinary star at the time of the Messiah’s coming; for so they say more than once, in an ancient book of theirs f386 , that when the “Messiah shall be revealed, a bright and shining star shall arise in the east;” which expectation must be founded on this prophecy: and shall smite the corners of Moab ; not only the corners of their houses and cities, but the extreme parts and borders of the land, even all the sides, and the whole of it; or the princes and great men of the land, sometimes called “corners”, (see Zechariah 10:4) and so the Targums of Onkelos and Jonathan, and shall kill the princes of Moab or the mighty ones of Moab, as the Jerusalem Targum; this was literally fulfilled in David, ( 2 Samuel 8:2) ( Psalm 60:1-12) and figuratively and mystically in Christ, by subduing his enemies, signified by Moabites, as being the enemies of Israel; either by reducing them through the power of his grace to obedience to him, or by smiting and breaking them in pieces with a rod of iron; and which will be more plainly and fully accomplished when he shall destroy those Moabites, the antichristian nations, ( Revelation 19:15-21) and destroy all the children of Sheth ; some take Sheth to be the name of some famous king among the Moabites, as Grotius; others, the name of some city of Moab, which David utterly destroyed, as R. Nathan f387 ; others suppose some particular nations are meant, as either the Edomites, so called because they put confidence in their foundations, and fortified places, so Vitringa f388 ; or the Egyptians, from Seth or Sethos, one of their kings, who was known by the name Egyptus, as a late learned writer of ours conjectures; but rather by the children of Seth are meant all nations, as Jarchi observes, for all come from Seth, the son of the first man; and so the words may be rendered, as they are by Onkelos, “he shall rule over all the children of men;” which will be fulfilled in Christ, when he shall have put down all rule and authority, and all will be subject to him, and his kingdom be from sea to sea, and his dominion from the river to the ends of the earth; unless rather by the children of Seth are meant the special people of God, in distinction from others, and in allusion to the distinction between the Sethites and Cainites, the one being the people of God, the other not; and so it may be interpreted of Christ’s gathering them to him, by clucking as it were for them, as a hen gathers her chickens; so the word is used in Jewish writings, and of God himself; for it is said the holy blessed God rqrqm , clucks over them, as hens do, which is the simile our Lord himself uses, ( Matthew 23:37) the Targums of Onkelos and Jonathan interpret this prophecy of the Messiah by name; and so do many other Jewish writers, both ancient and modern f392 .
Matthew Henry Commentary
Verses 15-25 - Under the powerful influence of the Spirit of prophecy, Balaam foretol the future prosperity and extensive dominion of Israel. Balaam boast that his eyes are open. The prophets were in old times called seers. He had heard the words of God, which many do who neither heed them, no hear God in them. He knew the knowledge of the Most High. A man may be full of the knowledge of God, yet utterly destitute of the grace of God. He calls God the Most High and the Almighty. No man could seem to express a greater respect to God; yet he had no true fear of him, love to him, nor faith in him; so far a man may go toward heaven, and ye come short of it at last. Here is Balaam's prophecy concerning Him wh should be the crown and glory of his people Israel; who is David in the type; but our Lord Jesus, the promised Messiah, is chiefly pointed at and of him it is an illustrious prophecy. Balaam, a wicked man, shal see Christ, but shall not see him nigh; not see him as Job, who saw his as his Redeemer, and saw him for himself. When he comes in the clouds every eye shall see him; but many will see him, as the rich man in hel saw Abraham, afar off. He shall come out of Jacob, and Israel, as Star and a Sceptre; the former denoting his glory and lustre; the latter his power and authority. Christ shall be King, not only of Jaco and Israel, but of all the world; so that all shall be either governe by his golden sceptre, or dashed in pieces by his iron rod. Balaa prophesied concerning the Amalekites and Kenites, part of whose countr he had now in view. Even a nest in a rock will not be a lastin security. Here is a prophecy that looks as far forward as to the Greek and Romans. He acknowledges all the revolutions of states and kingdom to be the Lord's doing. These events will make such desolations, tha scarcely any will escape. They that live then, will be as brand plucked out of the fire. May God fit us for the worst of times! Thu Balaam, instead of cursing the church, curses Amalek the first, an Rome the last enemy of the church. Not Rome pagan only, but Rome papa also; antichrist and all the antichristian powers. Let us as ourselves, Do we in knowledge, experience, or profession, excel Balaam No readiness of speech, even in preaching or prayer, no gifts of knowledge or prophecy, are in themselves different from, or superior to the boasted gifts of him who loved the wages of unrighteousness, an died the enemy of God. Simple dependence on the Redeemer's atonin blood and sanctifying grace, cheerful submission to the Divine will constant endeavours to glorify God and benefit his people, these ar less splendid, but far more excellent gifts, and always accompan salvation. No boasting hypocrite ever possessed these; yet the feebles believer has something of them, and is daily praying for more of them __________________________________________________________________
Original Hebrew
אראנו 7200 ולא 3808 עתה 6258 אשׁורנו 7789 ולא 3808 קרוב 7138 דרך 1869 כוכב 3556 מיעקב 3290 וקם 6965 שׁבט 7626 מישׂראל 3478 ומחץ 4272 פאתי 6285 מואב 4124 וקרקר 6979 כל 3605 בני 1121 שׁת׃ 8351
