Numbers 23:12

Summary

Balaam responds to Balak with a rhetorical question, framed by the interrogative-negative construction ha-lo ("is it not...?"), asserting that he must speak only what Yehovah places in his mouth. The verse uses two verbs of speech-action (yasim, "he will put"; 'eshmor, "I will keep/watch") to frame Balaam's stated obligation toward the divine word.

Key words

• ya'an ("he answered", H6030B) — qal narrative verb, opens the exchange; paired with yomar ("he said", H0559) in the standard "answered and said" narrative formula.
• 'asher ("that/which", H0834A) — relative particle introducing the content clause: "that which Yehovah will put."
• yasim ("he will put", H7760H) — qal imperfect, third person; expresses an action presented as ongoing or future, here referring to Yehovah's placing words in Balaam's mouth.
• 'eshmor ("will I take care/keep", H8104J) — qal imperfect, first person; parallels yasim in verbal aspect, expressing Balaam's stated commitment as future/ongoing.
• ledabber ("to speak", H1696G) — piel infinitive with prefixed le- ("to"), giving purpose or result to the action of 'eshmor: "to keep [it] in order to speak [it]."

What the text says

The verse opens with a double narrative verb sequence, va-ya'an ("and he answered") followed by va-yomar ("and he said"), a common Hebrew construction that introduces direct speech without adding new information beyond marking the turn in dialogue. The core of Balaam's speech is a question built on ha-lo — the interrogative particle ha (H9008) combined with the negation lo' (H3808) — a construction that in Hebrew typically anticipates a positive answer, functioning rhetorically rather than as an open question.

The object of the question is marked by 'et (H0853, untranslated object marker) followed by the relative clause 'asher yasim Yehovah be-fi — "that which Yehovah will put in my mouth." The noun fi ("mouth") appears in construct form with the first-person suffix -i ("my"), producing "my mouth." The clause's verb yasim is imperfect, which in Hebrew narrative can carry future or habitual sense rather than a single completed action.

The main clause response uses 'oto (object marker + third-person suffix "it") as the object of 'eshmor ("I will keep/watch"), also imperfect. The infinitive ledabber ("to speak"), built on the piel stem of dabar (intensive form of the root meaning "speak"), expresses purpose: keeping the word in order to speak it. The Hebrew syntax thus links divine placement of speech (yasim) with human preservation and utterance of that speech ('eshmor... ledabber) as two linked actions within the rhetorical question.

Differences between versions

The LXX renders the divine name יְהוָה (Yehovah, H3068G) as ὁ θεός ("the God"), differing from the Hebrew personal name. The Vulgate simplifies the rhetorical question structure into "Num aliud possum loqui, nisi quod jusserit Dominus?" ("Can I speak anything other than what the Lord commands?"), shifting from the Hebrew's "keep/watch to speak" ('eshmor... ledabber) to a construction centered on "command" (jusserit), which is not explicit in the Hebrew verbs yasim or 'eshmor.