Numbers 23:1

Summary

Balaam instructs Balak to build seven altars and prepare seven bulls and seven rams at this location. The verse is a direct speech command, introduced by a standard narrative formula, in which Balaam issues two parallel imperatives to Balak.

Key words

• va-yomer ("and he said", H0559) — qal narrative verb form, marking the sequential action in the story ("and then he said").
• beneh ("build", H1129) — qal imperative, masculine singular, a direct command addressed to Balak.
• hakhen ("prepare", H3559A) — hiphil imperative, masculine singular; the causative stem here conveys "cause [these animals] to be ready."
• shiv'ah ("seven", H7651) — cardinal number repeated three times, each time governing a different noun (altars, bulls, rams).
• mizbechot ("altars", H4196) — feminine plural noun, the object to be built.

What the text says

The verse opens with the narrative va-yomer ("and he said", H0559), a wayyiqtol form that moves the story forward, followed by the subject Bil'am ("Balaam", H1109A) and the addressee marked by 'el ("to", H0413) plus Balak ("Balak", H1111). The reported speech itself consists of two commands built on parallel syntax: beneh-li vazeh shiv'ah mizbechot ("build for me in this [place] seven altars") and ve-hakhen li bazeh shiv'ah farim ve-shiv'ah eilim ("and prepare for me in this [place] seven bulls and seven rams").

Both verbs are second-person masculine singular imperatives, addressed directly to Balak, and both are followed by the same construction: preposition-plus-suffix li ("for me", from H9005 + H9030) and the locative bazeh ("in this", H2088 with H9003), repeated identically before each object. This repetition creates a balanced two-part command: first the structure (mizbechot, "altars", H4196, feminine plural), then the offerings (farim, "young bulls", H6499, and eilim, "rams", H0352A, both masculine plural). The number shiv'ah ("seven", H7651) appears three times, once for each noun it modifies, rather than being stated once and assumed for all.

The choice of hakhen (hiphil of H3559A) instead of a repetition of beneh signals a distinction between the two actions: building altars versus causing animals to be made ready — the causative stem implies that the state of readiness is brought about, not merely that an object is constructed.

Differences between versions

The LXX renders bazeh ("in this [place]", H2088 + H9003) as ἐνταῦθα ("here"), and the Vulgate as hic ("here"), both making explicit a locative sense that in the Hebrew is carried by the demonstrative zeh ("this") rather than a dedicated adverb of place. The Vulgate additionally paraphrases the second shiv'ah ("seven", H7651) as totidem ("the same number") and ejusdemque numeri ("of the same number") for the third occurrence, rather than repeating the numeral "seven" as the Hebrew, LXX, and other translations do.