Numbers 22:5

Summary

Balak sends messengers to Balaam son of Beor at Pethor, described as being by the river in the land of his people, in order to summon him. The message reports that a people has come out of Egypt, has covered the surface of the land, and is now dwelling opposite the sender.

Key words

• va-yishlach ("and he sent", H7971G) — qal narrative verb, opening the sequence of action with the standard "and then he did X" form.
• malakhim ("messengers", H4397G) — masculine plural noun, the agents sent to Balaam.
• liqro-lo ("to summon him", H7121G) — qal infinitive with prefixed preposition and pronominal suffix "him", expressing the purpose of sending the messengers.
• kissah ("it has covered", H3680) — piel (intensive) perfect, marking a completed and forceful covering action, contrasted with the simpler qal perfect yatza' ("it has come out", H3318G) used just before it.
• yoshev ("dwelling", H3427) — qal participle, denoting an ongoing state ("the one who is dwelling") rather than a completed action, describing the people's current position "in front of me" (mimuli, H4136 + H9030).

What the text says

The verse is built as a single narrative clause (va-yishlach, "and he sent") followed by a chain of descriptive and purpose elements: the recipient (Balaam, identified by patronymic ben-Beor, "son of Beor"), his location (Pethor, qualified by the relative clause asher al-ha-nahar, "which is on the river"), and the purpose infinitive liqro-lo ("to summon him"). The quoted message itself uses two parallel hinneh ("here!", H2009) exclamations, each introducing a verb: first yatza' (qal perfect, "it has come out"), then kissah (piel perfect, "it has covered"). The shift from qal to piel stem marks an intensified or extensive sense for the covering action compared to the plain "coming out." The final clause uses the participle yoshev ("dwelling") rather than a perfect verb, presenting the settling as a continuing situation at the moment of speaking, located mimuli ("in front of me/opposite me"), a construct noun with a first-person suffix.

Differences between versions

The Hebrew phrase eretz bene-ammo ("land of the sons of his people", H1121G + H5971A + H9023) is rendered by the LXX as γῆς υἱῶν λαοῦ αὐτοῦ ("land of the sons of his people"), closely matching the Hebrew. The Vulgate, however, reads terræ filiorum Ammon ("land of the sons of Ammon"), interpreting the phrase as a reference to the Ammonites rather than as "his own people." The Vulgate also adds the word ariolum ("diviner") after Balaam's name, a descriptive addition not present in the Hebrew text. The BSB translation inserts "said Balak" into the quoted speech for clarity, a phrase not found in the Hebrew, LXX, or Vulgate.