Charles Ellicott Commentary Numbers 22:9

"And God came unto Balaam, and said, What men are these with thee?" — Numbers 22:9 (ASV)

What men are these with you? —This inquiry, like that addressed to Elijah, What are you doing here? (1 Kings 19:9), or that to Hezekiah, What did these men say? And from where did they come to you? and What have they seen in your house? (Isaiah 39:3–4) was calculated to arouse the slumbering conscience of Balaam, and to open his eyes to a perception of his sin and of his danger.