Numbers 22:4

Summary

Moab addresses the elders of Midian, warning that the approaching group will "lick up" everything around them, using the image of an ox licking up the greenery of a field. The verse closes with a narrative note identifying Balak son of Zippor as king of Moab at that time.

Key words

• yelachakhu ("they will lick up", H3897) — piel imperfect, 3rd person masculine plural; the verb form is plural even though its subject is a singular collective noun.
• ha-qahal ("the company", H6951) — masculine singular noun with the definite article; grammatically singular, referring to the approaching group as a unified body.
• sevivoteinu ("around us", H5439) — plural construct noun with 1st person plural suffix "our", literally "the surroundings of us".
• lechokh ("to lick", H3897) — same root as yelachakhu, here in the qal infinitive construct, used to form the comparison ("as the licking of...").
• ki ("as", H9004) — preposition attached to the infinitive, introducing the simile between the group's action and the ox's action.

What the text says

The sentence built by Moab's speech contains an internal comparison marked by the preposition ki ("as", H9004) plus the infinitive lechokh ("to lick", H3897): the finite verb yelachakhu ("they will lick up") in the main clause is echoed by the infinitive of the same root in the comparative clause, producing a repetition of the verb lachakh that ties the two images—the advancing group and the ox—together through shared vocabulary rather than a separate comparative word alone.

A notable grammatical feature is the mismatch in number: ha-qahal ("the company", H6951) is a singular noun, yet the verb governing it, yelachakhu, is plural. The Hebrew treats the collective singular noun as capable of taking plural verbal agreement, a pattern collective nouns can show when the group's individual members are in view.

The verse ends with a separate clause introduced by the conjunction va ("and", H9001), shifting from direct speech to narration: it identifies Balak son of Tzippor as melekh ("king", H4428) le-Moav ("of Moab", H4124) "at that time" (ba-'et ha-hi), functioning as an explanatory aside rather than part of the elders' speech.

Differences between versions

The LXX renders ha-qahal as "ἡ συναγωγὴ αὕτη" ("this congregation"), adding the demonstrative "this" not explicit in the Hebrew, and pairs it with a singular verb (ἐκλίξει), resolving the Hebrew's singular-noun/plural-verb pattern into grammatical agreement. The Vulgate uses "populus" ("people") with the singular verb "delebit" ("will destroy"), and expands the ox comparison with the added phrase "usque ad radices" ("down to the roots"), a detail not present in the Hebrew yerek ha-sadeh ("the greenery of the field").