Charles Ellicott Commentary Numbers 22

In the plains of Moab.— The Arboth Moab extended from Beth Jeshimoth (the house of wastes) to Abel Shittim (the meadow of acacias) (Numbers 33:49), in the upper Arabah, the present Ghor. These plains had belonged to Moab, and, since the victory over the Amorites, were possessed by the Israelites.

On this side Jordan.— Better, alongside of the Jordan. It cannot be determined, from the use of the word eher, or me-eber, to which side of the Jordan reference is made. (See Numbers 32:19, where me-eber occurs twice, and is rendered in the Authorised Version on yonder side in the first case, and on this side in the second case. See Deuteronomy 1:1, and Note, and Isaiah 9:1, where Galilee is described by Isaiah as beyond Jordan.)

And Moab was sore afraid of the people.— There was no ground for this apprehension, since the Divine command given to Moses was Distress not the Moabites, neither contend with them in battle (Deuteronomy 2:9). It does not appear, however, that Balak was aware of the prohibition; and the recent conquests of the Israelites naturally filled the Moabites with alarm, especially since when the Israelites sent to the King of Moab to ask permission to pass through his land, he did not consent (Judges 11:17).

And Moab said to the elders of Midian— It has been thought that Balak was a Midianite, who had been imposed upon the Moabites as their king by their Amoritish conquerors. . The concluding words of the verse may be understood as denoting a recent change in the dynasty.

As the ox licks up the grass of the field. —The comparison is one which well accords with the occupation of the Moabites as a pastoral people.

Balaam the son of Beor.— The name of Balaam is probably derived from bala (to devour), with the terminal syllable am, or from the two words bala (he devoured) and am (people). His father’s name (Beor), from baar (to consume), has been thought to denote that Balaam belonged to a family in which the magical art was hereditary. He is described in Joshua 13:22 as the soothsayer (Hebrew, kosem)—i.e., one of that class of persons who were not to be tolerated among the Israelites, and who are spoken of as an abomination unto the Lord (Deuteronomy 18:10–12).

The form Bosor (2 Peter 2:15) probably arose from a peculiar mode of pronouncing the guttural letter Ain in baar. (See Keil, On the Pentateuch, 3 p. 159, and Note.) On the character and history of Balaam, reference may be made to Bishop Butler (Sermon vii); Waterland (Works, 9:397); Keil, On the Pentateuch, in loc.; Hengstenberg (Dissertation on the Histories and Prophecies of Balaam, p. 747, Clark, 1848); and to the Article in Smith’s Dictionary of the Bible, by Professor Stanley Leathes.

To Pethor, which is by the river of the land ... — Better, To Pethor, which is by the river, (even to) the land of the children of his people. Pethor was in Mesopotamia (Numbers 23:7), where Lot, from whom the Moabites were descended, had dwelt (Genesis 12:5). “The river” is the Euphrates here, as elsewhere. (See, e.g.,Genesis 15:18; Genesis 31:21; Exodus 23:31; 2 Chronicles 9:26.)

They cover the face of the earth.— Literally, the eye of the earth (or, the land). (Compare Exodus 10:5.)

Curse me this people.— Balak undoubtedly believed in the efficacy of Balaam’s magical incantations. Furthermore, it is worth noting that, as Keil has remarked (in the passage cited), "it is frequently celebrated as a great favour displayed towards Israel that the Lord did not listen to Balaam, but turned the curse into a blessing" (Deuteronomy 23:5; Joshua 24:10; Nehemiah 13:2).