John Gill Commentary Numbers 23:24

"Behold, the people riseth up as a lioness, And as a lion doth he lift himself up: He shall not lie down until he eat of the prey, And drink the blood of the slain." — Numbers 23:24 (ASV)

Behold, the people shall rise up as a great lion
Or rather, "as the lioness" ^F14 , which, as Aelianus says ^F15 , is the strongest and most warlike beast, the most fierce and furious, as is believed both by Greeks and Barbarians; and he mentions the heroism of Perdiccas the Macedonian, and Semiramis the Assyrian, in engaging with and killing, not the lion or leopard, but lioness:

and shall lift up himself as a young lion ;
both phrases denoting the courage and strength of the people of Israel, in attacking their enemies and engaging them:

he shall not lie down ;
being once roused up and engaged in war:

until he eat of the prey, and drink the blood of the slain ;
as the lion does when it has seized on a creature, tears it to pieces, eats its flesh and drinks its blood: this may refer to the slaughter of the Midianites that would be quickly made, and among the slain of whom Balaam himself was, (Numbers 31:7Numbers 31:8) , and to the slaughter and conquest of the Canaanites under Joshua, and taking their spoils.

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FOOTNOTES:

• F14: (ayblk) "ut leaena", V. L. Tigurine version.
• F15: Var. Hist. l. 12. c. 39. Vid. Herodot. Thalia, sive, l. 3. c. 108.