the vision of the Almighty, fall- | ing into a trance, but having his eyes open: down." But he judiciously observes of this afflatus, that "it assumed such a violent character, prostrating both soul and body, only where it found an unripe (or unadapted) state. The falling down is mentioned only of such a class of persons as Balaam, Saul, and the prophetic scholars. In a Samuel we can hardly imagine such violent appearances. The more the mind, in its ordinary consciousness, is penetrated by the Spirit, the less necessary is it for the Spirit to set itself against it in a hostile attitude, by its extraordi to its own, to what is homogeneous." He does not accordingly consider the instances of Abraham, Ezekiel, Daniel, and John, as altogether parallel with the present, inasmuch as in them "the falling down did not proceed from the influences of the Spirit forcibly pressing down the natural life, but from an overpowering impression of the glory of the person beheld, an impression of terror and reverence." We conclude, therefore, on the whole, that what Balaam intended was to affirm of himself that his case was marked by this char sayings of God," which the Chald. renders "The word from before the Lord," and the Gr. "The oracles of the Strong," i. e., of the Almighty, with reference to the Hebrew name of God, which is here El, signifying strong or mighty.¶ Which saw the vision of the Almighty. Heb. Shaddai, the All-sufficient. The "vision of the Almighty" is probably to be understood of the vision, that is, the prophetic perception, vouchsafed by the Almighty, as this is the general import of the term. Otherwise it might be understood of the vision of the divine appearance in person, which is sup-nary manifestations; it then only comes posed, indeed, by some to have been the case in the manifestation of the Angel-Jehovah to the prophet during his journey. But the usage of the original is so uniform in respect to that kind of vision which was granted to the prophets in their ecstatic states, that we feel shut up to that interpretation.-¶ Falling (into a trance). The words "into a trance," it will be observed, are supplied in our version, their equivalents not occurring in the original. This gives occasion to a twofold diversity of rendering. One class of expositors, agreeing with our trans-acteristic of a true prophet, that the illators, understand it of his falling into a trance-state on the occasion mentioned ch. 22, while on his way to Moab. Another takes the term "falling" as having reference to the frequent effect of the prophetic influx, which was to cause the subjects of it to fall down prostrate to the earth, as was the case with Saul, 1 Sam. 19: 24. Compare also Gen. 15: 12. Dan. 8: 17, 18. Rev. 1:17. Ezek. 1:28. 3:23. 43 3. 44: 4. "The word," says Hengstenberg, "indicates the force of the afflatus which, like an armed man, comes upon the seer and strikes him lapse of the Divine Spirit upon him, when it came, was so powerful as to cause him habitually to fall to the ground; while, at the same time, we see nothing to forbid the idea that he had a collateral reference to the incidents of his journey, one of which was the falling into a trance, although it is not this kind of "falling" which is here immediately indicated by the use of the term. But he was doubtless during some part of this journey under the influence of a trance; and we have, in a former Note, referred to this passage as affording to some commentators a 5 How goodly are thy tents, O Jacob, and thy tabernacles, O Israel! strong incidental proof that the miracle recorded ch. 22, was subjective rather than objective—a conclusion, however, which we do not indorse except in a qualified sense. Gr. "Who in sleep hath seen a vision of God." Chald. "Who seeth a vision from before the face of the Almighty, falling down and it is revealed unto him." Vulg. "He that hath beheld the vision of the Almighty, he that falleth, and so his eyes are opened." Syr. "Who sees the visions of God, and when he is prostrate (or cast down) then his eyes are opened." As a general fact, the ancient versions render by a term signifying falling, but the term itself having no allusion to falling into a trance.¶ But having his eyes open. Heb. "Uncovered, or unveiled." Chald. "And it was revealed unto him." A close relation between the "falling" and the "opening of the eyes" is no doubt intended to be conveyed, and which is clearly indicated by the Vulg. and Syr. versions as given above; and we know that, psychologically, the ecstatic state is accompanied with a special opening of the interior vision which reveals marvellous things of the spiritual world to the soul. V. 5. How goodly are thy tents, O Jacob, etc. Heb. "How good!" but the original term has frequently the import of that good which is recognized in beauty, joy, delight, etc. The expression is here prompted by a spiritual perception of the moral order and beauty of the church as represented by the regular and imposing arrangement of the tents of Israel as they lay encamped on the plains of Moab. He had just before, with open outward eye, beheld the chosen people abiding in their tents according to their tribes, and this external view is a kind of substratum on which the spiritual beholding develops itself. In other words, he is carried onwards in spirit from the shadow to the substance, and sees the spiritual Israel arrayed in a glory and symmetry corresponding with that of the literal. "Tents" and "tabernacles" are not unfrequently spoken of in the Divine word as the habitations of the Israelites in Canaan, although even in these cases we may perceive an adumbration of the Christian Church in its external order. Ainsworth remarks that the original word for. tabernacles implies vicinity or nearness, and therefore points to the communion of the Church with its Divine Lord and with one another; and the passage is expounded by Targ. Jon. as follows: "The tabernacle of the congregation which is set among you, and your tabernacles which are round about it, O house of Israel." As to the distinction implied in the two names of the father of the twelve tribes, it may be sufficient to suggest, that Jacob is the name of the Church in respect to its own intrinsic infirmity, in allusion to which it is said, Is. 41 : 14, “Fear not, thou worm Jacob," and Am. 7:25, "By whom shall Jacob arise, for he is small," while Israel is its name derived from its power and prevailing with God and man. See Note on Gen. 32: 28. V. 6. As the valleys are they spread forth. The sentiment contained in the preceding verse is here farther amplified; the loveliness of the tents of Israel being exhibited in a succession aloes which the LORD hath planted, and as cedar trees beside the waters. c Ps. 92. 12-14. of comparisons. First, they are spread out like valleys, implying both length and breadth, and conveying an idea of the large extent of Israel's habitations. The original nahal denotes primarily a brook; then a valley, through which a brook runs. That here the latter meaning is intended, as our translators have taken it, is to be obviously inferred from the following comparisons, in which the tents of Israel are not compared to waters, but to objects by the side of waters, such as gardens, trees, etc. The scenery wrought into the picture is such as would be most charming to an Oriental eye, and such as would stand in most marked contrast with the wild, barren, rocky, and dreary desert through which Israel had passed, and in which they had so long abode. Here the images are those of fertility and beauty, and thus in accordance with the frequent strains of prophecy, setting forth under similar figures, the future prosperity, abundance, and universal welfare of the spiritual church. The best commentary on the passage is doubtless to bring it into juxtaposition with parallel passages, as to which there can be no question that they involve an ulterior reference to the Christian Church. "A garden inclosed is my sister, my spouse; a spring shut up, a fountain sealed. Thy plants are an orchard of pome granates, with pleasant fruits; camphire, with spikenard, spikenard and saffron; calamus and cinnamon, with all trees of frankincense; myrrh and aloes, with all the chief spices: a fountain of gardens, a well of living waters, and streams from Lebanon. Awake, O north wind; and come, thou south; 7 He shall pour the water out of his buckets, and his seed shall be in many waters, and his blow upon my garden, that the spices thereof may flow out. Let my beloved come into his garden, and eat his pleasant fruits." Is. 58: 11, "And the Lord shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones; and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not." Ps. 65: 9, "Thou visitest the earth and waterest it thou greatly enrichest it with the river of God, which is full of water." Ps. 46: 4, "There is a river, the streams whereof shall make glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacles of the Most High." This river is the Lord's divine truth embodied in his Word which ministers sustentation, comfort, and refreshment to his people, of whom it is written, Jer. 31: 12, "Their soul shall be as a watered garden, and they shall not sorrow any more at all." It was therefore the state of the church in its prosperous periods represented by these significant images, to which the words of Balaam are to be applied.- -¶ Trees of lign-aloes. Heb. ahalim, a term denoting some kind of odoriferous tree, but the precise species of which is not at present known with certainty, but supposed to be the Agollocham, which ancient writers say was burnt for the sake of the odorous fumes it produced. It belonged probably to the cone-bearing fainily, inasmuch as the word in Heb. is composed of the same letters as ohalim, tents, and these trees, it is said, from their shape, resemble, when growing together, an encampment of tents. V. 7. He shall pour the water out of his buckets. Or, Heb. "Water shall flow out of his buckets." That is, he king shall be higher than Agag, and his kingdom shall be ex alted. paring the ground for sowing." This then is doubtless the image couched under the letter of the text, but the spirit gives us a richer meaning grafted on the literal sense. The effusion of water, mentioned in the preceding clause, denotes the impartation of that scriptural or doctrinal truth which goes to prepare the mind for a fructifying process, as water which irrigates and saturates the earth prepares it for bringing forth an abundant crop of the grain sown. The "seed in many waters," or the seed-corn sown in moist, watery, and fruitful fields, points to that higher spiritual element which is implanted in the instructed mind, and results in the production of the fruits of a holy life; for fruits are from seeds, and seeds are fruitful in proportion as the ground in which they are sown is well watered. The water and the seeds, therefore, denote different degrees of divine influence.- -T And his king shall be higher than Agag. Our divine Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ is undoubtedly here intended to be desig shall be an instrument and a medium of imparting an abundance of spiritual blessings to others. As thirsty plants or fields are refreshed and fertilized by copious irrigation, so shall the barren moral wastes be beautified by the agency of the sons of the church. The idea is substantially the same with that expressed by the prophet, Is. 12: 3, where the pouring out, or the abundant supply, of the Spirit of Truth is hinted at, and it is said, "With joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation." It is an intimation directly the opposite to that of the woman of Samaria, who said to our Lord, the true "fountain of Israel," "Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with (no bucket), and the well is deep; from whence then hast thou that living water?" It is the prerogative of the spiritual Israel to supply the waters of salvation to those who are destitute. "Out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem." But as the church is embodied in the Lord who is its life, its all in all, so it is no contradiction to what we have now said to recognize him as the grand dis-nated, by the spirit of prophecy, under penser of the waters of life to a thirsty world.—¶ His seed (shall be) in many waters. The primary idea conveyed to the mind of an oriental by this language would probably be very nearly the same with that received from the kindred words of the prophet, Is. 32: 20, "Blessed are they that sow beside all waters, that send forth thither the feet of the ox and the ass." "This," says Sir John Chardin, "exactly answers the manner of sowing rice; for they sow it upon the water; and before sowing, while the earth is covered with water, they cause the ground to be trodden by oxen, horses, and asses, who go midleg deep; and this is the way of pre the title of "his king." Of him it is said, Ps. 89: 28, that "he is higher than the kings of the earth;" and one of these kings, or perhaps rather a line of kings, is here specified under the name of " Agag." This was the name of the king of the Amalekites, who were subdued by Saul, king of Israel, 1 Sam. 15: 8. But it is supposed that the name was common to the Amalekite kings, like Pharaoh in Egypt, Abimelech in Philistia, and Cesar in Rome. The nation of the Amalekites was at this time powerful and formidable, as may be inferred from their bold assault upon a people so numerous as the Israelites, and from the declaration, v. 20, d 8 God brought him forth out | mies, and shall break their of Egypt; he hath as it were bones, and pierce them through the strength of an unicorn: he with his arrows. shall eat up the nations his ene that they were "the first of the nations." This was probably the reason why they were specified in preference to any other. He announces that the King of Israel should be the greatest of kings, inasmuch as no greater than Agag was then known. Some think the words refer to Saul, the first king of Israel, who subdued the Amalekites and took Agag captive, to wit, that Israel, in Saul its king, should be thus paramount to Agag. But we are forced from the general analogy of the predictions to recognize an ulterior reach of import in the passage, embracing an intimation of the triumphs of the Messiah and his kingdom over every opposing power, even down to the final consummation. Among the ancient versions the Gr. has "And a kingdom greater than Gog's shall be raised up." Sam. " And his king shall be exalted above Gog." Symmachus, according to Grotius, renders in a similar way. The other versions have "Agog." Simonis (Onomasticon, § II. c. 6.) by comparing the Arab. and Pers. oog, to be high, lofty, sublime, deduces a like meaning for Agag, so that to be higher than Agag is to be higher than the highest. Simonis refers also to the same root the Germ. hoch, high, the proper name Hugo, Ogyges, and gigas, giant. As Gog seems to have relation to the same root, we incline to the opinion that Agag may here be taken as of equivalent import with Gog, and thus stand as a mystical denomination for that formidable hostile power predicted by Ezekiel, 38: 2. 39:1, and John, Rev. 20:8, as among the last grand enemies of the church. "As Gog in Scripture d Ps. 2. 9. e Ps. 45. 5. seems to mean the enemies of God's people, the promises here may imply that the true worshippers of the Most High shall ultimately have dominion over their enemies."-A. Clarke.¶ His kingdom shall be exalted. That is, in Saul, in David, in Solomon, and preeminently in Christ, in whom the kingdom culminated to its highest glory, Is. 2: 2. Dan. 2:44. Rev. 11: 15. V. 8. God brought him forth out of Egypt. These words are here repeated from ch. 23: 22, and the purport in both places is, that as it was the Most High himself, their divine vindicator, guide, and king, who with a strong arm brought them forth out of Egypt, so that same God would make them victorious over all their enemies, so that consequently every form of opposition would be vain. This would constitute an appeal to Balak to halt in the dangerous path in which he was treading. THe hath as it were the strength of an unicorn. The comparison is here also repeated and amplified from ch. 23: 22, as giving a reason for the previous intimation respecting the final victory of Israel.—¶ Shall break their bones. Gr. "Shall unmarrow (or eat out the marrow) of their fat (bones);" rendered by Thomson, "shall exhaust their fatness." It implies such an effectual weakening of their forces and resources that they should never be able to recover.— -T Pierce them through with his arrows. Gr. "Shoot through the enemy with his arrows." Arrows are often mentioned among the weapons of war, and that there are spiritual as well as physical arrows is clear from the words of the Psalmist, Ps. 45: 6, |
