Numbers 23:15

Summary

Balaam instructs Balak to remain standing beside his burnt offering while Balaam himself goes to encounter something or someone, described only by the repeated adverb "thus" (koh). The Hebrew text is notably terse compared to the versions, which add explanatory content not present in the Masoretic wording.

Key words

• hityaTzev ("take your stand", H3320) — hithpael imperative, a reflexive/intensive stem giving the sense of "position yourself firmly," addressed to Balak (you, m. singular).
• koh ("thus", H3541) — adverb appearing twice (positions 6 and 13), framing the instruction with a spatial/manner sense ("thus," "here," "in this way") rather than naming a specific location.
• 'olateKha ("your burnt offering", H5930A + H9021) — feminine singular noun in construct with the second-person suffix, "your," referring back to Balak's own sacrificial offering.
• 'anoKhi ("I", H0595) — independent personal pronoun, emphatic subject preceding the verb, contrasting Balaam's action with Balak's command to stay.
• 'iKareh ("I will meet", H7136A) — niphal imperfect, a passive/reflexive stem conveying that the meeting happens to the subject or is self-initiated, with imperfect aspect indicating an action not yet completed — "I will be met" or "I will present myself to be met."

What the text says

The verse divides into two parallel commands framed by the same adverb koh ("thus," H3541), used at both the beginning of Balaam's instruction (position 6) and its end (position 13). This repetition creates a structural echo: Balak is to stand "thus" in one place, while Balaam will meet "thus" in another manner or place — the Hebrew does not specify what or whom, leaving the object of the meeting unstated.

The verb 'iKareh ("I will meet", H7136A) is in the niphal stem, which typically marks passive or reflexive action. This grammatical choice differs from a straightforward active "I will go and meet," instead suggesting that the encounter is something that happens to Balaam, or that he presents himself to be met, without the Hebrew text naming an object of that encounter.

Differences between versions

The Hebrew text does not name what or whom Balaam will meet — it simply uses koh ("thus", H3541) with the niphal verb 'iKareh. The LXX renders this with πορεύσομαι ἐπερωτῆσαι τὸν θεόν ("I will go to inquire of God"), explicitly naming "God" (θεόν) as the object. The Vulgate similarly adds specificity absent from the Hebrew phrase structure, rendering "donec ego obvius pergam" ("until I go to meet [him]"). The English translations (BSB: "the LORD"; SBLIBRE: "Dios") both supply an explicit object not present in the bare Hebrew wording at this verse.