The KJV Holy Bible

 

Numbers Chapter Twenty Two

 

1 And the children of Israel set forward, and pitched in the plains of Moab on this side Jordan by Jericho.

2 And Balak the son of Zippor saw all that Israel had done to the Amorites.

3 And Moab was sore afraid of the people, because they were many: and Moab was distressed because of the children of Israel.

4 And Moab said unto the elders of Midian, Now shall this company lick up all that are round about us, as the ox licketh up the grass of the field. And Balak the son of Zippor was king of the Moabites at that time.

5 He sent messengers therefore unto Balaam the son of Beor to Pethor, which is by the river of the land of the children of his people, to call him, saying, Behold, there is a people come out from Egypt: behold, they cover the face of the earth, and they abide over against me:

6 Come now therefore, I pray thee, curse me this people; for they are too mighty for me: peradventure I shall prevail, that we may smite them, and that I may drive them out of the land: for I wot that he whom thou blessest is blessed, and he whom thou cursest is cursed.

7 And the elders of Moab and the elders of Midian departed with the rewards of divination in their hand; and they came unto Balaam, and spake unto him the words of Balak.

8 And he said unto them, Lodge here this night, and I will bring you word again, as the Lord shall speak unto me: and the princes of Moab abode with Balaam.

9 And God came unto Balaam, and said, What men are these with thee?

10 And Balaam said unto God, Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, hath sent unto me, saying,

11 Behold, there is a people come out of Egypt, which covereth the face of the earth: come now, curse me them; peradventure I shall be able to overcome them, and drive them out.

12 And God said unto Balaam, Thou shalt not go with them; thou shalt not curse the people: for they are blessed.

13 And Balaam rose up in the morning, and said unto the princes of Balak, Get you into your land: for the Lord refuseth to give me leave to go with you.

14 And the princes of Moab rose up, and they went unto Balak, and said, Balaam refuseth to come with us.

15 And Balak sent yet again princes, more, and more honourable than they.

16 And they came to Balaam, and said to him, Thus saith Balak the son of Zippor, Let nothing, I pray thee, hinder thee from coming unto me:

17 For I will promote thee unto very great honour, and I will do whatsoever thou sayest unto me: come therefore, I pray thee, curse me this people.

18 And Balaam answered and said unto the servants of Balak, If Balak would give me his house full of silver and gold, I cannot go beyond the word of the Lord my God, to do less or more.

19 Now therefore, I pray you, tarry ye also here this night, that I may know what the Lord will say unto me more.

20 And God came unto Balaam at night, and said unto him, If the men come to call thee, rise up, and go with them; but yet the word which I shall say unto thee, that shalt thou do.

21 And Balaam rose up in the morning, and saddled his ass, and went with the princes of Moab.

22 And God's anger was kindled because he went: and the angel of the Lord stood in the way for an adversary against him. Now he was riding upon his ass, and his two servants were with him.

23 And the ass saw the angel of the Lord standing in the way, and his sword drawn in his hand: and the ass turned aside out of the way, and went into the field: and Balaam smote the ass, to turn her into the way.

24 But the angel of the Lord stood in a path of the vineyards, a wall being on this side, and a wall on that side.

25 And when the ass saw the angel of the Lord, she thrust herself unto the wall, and crushed Balaam's foot against the wall: and he smote her again.

26 And the angel of the Lord went further, and stood in a narrow place, where was no way to turn either to the right hand or to the left.

27 And when the ass saw the angel of the Lord, she fell down under Balaam: and Balaam's anger was kindled, and he smote the ass with a staff.

28 And the Lord opened the mouth of the ass, and she said unto Balaam, What have I done unto thee, that thou hast smitten me these three times?

29 And Balaam said unto the ass, Because thou hast mocked me: I would there were a sword in mine hand, for now would I kill thee.

30 And the ass said unto Balaam, Am not I thine ass, upon which thou hast ridden ever since I was thine unto this day? was I ever wont to do so unto thee? and he said, Nay.

31 Then the Lord opened the eyes of Balaam, and he saw the angel of the Lord standing in the way, and his sword drawn in his hand: and he bowed down his head, and fell flat on his face.

32 And the angel of the Lord said unto him, Wherefore hast thou smitten thine ass these three times? behold, I went out to withstand thee, because thy way is perverse before me:

33 And the ass saw me, and turned from me these three times: unless she had turned from me, surely now also I had slain thee, and saved her alive.

34 And Balaam said unto the angel of the Lord, I have sinned; for I knew not that thou stoodest in the way against me: now therefore, if it displease thee, I will get me back again.

35 And the angel of the Lord said unto Balaam, Go with the men: but only the word that I shall speak unto thee, that thou shalt speak. So Balaam went with the princes of Balak.

36 And when Balak heard that Balaam was come, he went out to meet him unto a city of Moab, which is in the border of Arnon, which is in the utmost coast.

37 And Balak said unto Balaam, Did I not earnestly send unto thee to call thee? wherefore camest thou not unto me? am I not able indeed to promote thee to honour?

38 And Balaam said unto Balak, Lo, I am come unto thee: have I now any power at all to say any thing? the word that God putteth in my mouth, that shall I speak.

39 And Balaam went with Balak, and they came unto Kirjathhuzoth.

40 And Balak offered oxen and sheep, and sent to Balaam, and to the princes that were with him.

41 And it came to pass on the morrow, that Balak took Balaam, and brought him up into the high places of Baal, that thence he might see the utmost part of the people.

 

 

Esoteric Interpretation & Commentary

 

The Hermetic Blueprint of Numbers Chapter Twenty-Two: The Blind Seer and the Speaking Ass 

"Numbers Chapter Twenty-Two reveals the subtle psychological danger of intellectual compromise. It illustrates how the outer intellect, driven by material reward and Egoic ambition, attempts to manipulate spiritual laws, remaining entirely blind to the higher spiritual realities unfolding right before its path until forced to awaken by the deepest instincts of the Subconscious."

 

 

Verses 1-6: Balak and the Terror of the Awakened Microcosm - "And the children of Israel set forward, and pitched in the plains of Jordan on this side Jericho by Jordan. And Balak the son of Zippor saw all that Israel had done to the Amorites... And Moab was sore afraid of the people... Now therefore come, I pray thee, curse me this people; for they are too mighty for me..." 

Balak, king of Moab, represents the ruling forces of the external, mundane world and the entrenched lower Ego. Observing the unstoppable spiritual advancement of the Microcosm (Israel), the lower earthly plane experiences profound existential terror. Recognizing that it cannot defeat the Awakened Soul through direct physical resistance, the Ego resorts to psychological warfare—seeking to hire Balaam, a renowned seer who embodies the corruptible intellect that attempts to use spiritual gifts for material gain, hoping to curse and neutralize the divine frequency of the Higher Self.

 

 

Verses 7-14: The Divine Prohibition and the Seduction of Reward - "And the elders of Moab and the elders of Midian departed with the rewards of divination in their hand... And God came unto Balaam, and said, What men are these with thee?... And Balaam rose up in the morning, and said unto the princes of Balak, Get you into your land: for the LORD refuseth to give me leave to go with you." 

The messengers arriving with "rewards of divination" symbolize the material bribes, worldly honors, and egoic validations that constantly tempt the spiritual intellect. When Balaam initially consults the Divine, he is forbidden from cursing Israel. This establishes a core Hermetic truth: true spiritual insight cannot be bought, and the higher laws of the Superconscious Source cannot be subverted by earthly ambition. The conscious mind must immediately reject the initial overtures of material compromise.

 

 

Verses 15-20: The Peril of Conditional Permission - "And Balak sent yet again princes, more, and more honourable than they... And God came unto Balaam at night, and said unto him, If the men come to call thee, rise up, and go with them; but yet the word which I shall say unto thee, that shalt thou do." 

The return of more honorable princes represents a heavier, more seductive wave of worldly temptation. When Balaam inquires a second time, the Superconscious Source grants conditional permission ("if the men come to call thee, rise up, and go"). In esoteric terms, when the lower intellect stubbornly insists on entertaining worldly compromise against the initial divine intuition, the higher law permits it to experience the natural karmic consequences of its choices. True free will allows the mind to walk into testing grounds of its own making.

 

 

Verses 21-30: The Angel with the Drawn Sword and the Seeing Ass - "And Balaam rose up in the morning, and saddled his ass, and went with the princes of Moab. And God's anger was kindled because he went... And the ass saw the angel of the LORD standing in the way, and his sword drawn in his hand... and the ass turned aside out of the way... And the LORD opened the mouth of the ass, and she said unto Balaam, What have I done unto thee, that thou hast smitten me these three times?" 

This is one of the most profound symbolic sequences in the esoteric text. Balaam, blinded by his greed for material reward and Egoic prestige, rides upon his ass—symbolizing the humble, instinctual, and foundational animal nature of the Subconscious. While the intellectual seer is spiritually blind, the lower instinctual faculty immediately perceives the terrifying presence of the Angel of the LORD holding a drawn sword (the uncompromising, protective barrier of the Divine Will). Three times the ass turns aside to save Balaam's life, and three times the frustrated intellectual intellect beats it in ignorance. When the ass finally speaks, it reveals a supreme Hermetic inversion: the supposedly "lower" instinctual nature possesses a truer, clearer spiritual vision than the arrogant, intellectual mind that claims to serve the Divine.

 

 

Verses 31-35: The Opening of the Eyes and the Limits of Speech - "Then the LORD opened the eyes of Balaam, and he saw the angel of the LORD standing in the way, and his sword drawn in his hand: and he bowed down his head, and fell flat on his face... And the angel of the LORD said unto Balaam... Behold, I went out to withstand thee, because thy way is perverse before me... Go with the men, but only the word that I shall speak unto thee, that thou shalt speak." 

The physical eyes of the intellect are finally forced open to the spiritual reality of the threshold. Confronted by the blazing reality of the Divine Will, Balaam is forced into total submission (falling on his face). The angel grants him passage, but establishes a strict, unyielding Hermetic limitation: he is physically permitted to journey with the worldly emissaries, but his voice is entirely stripped of personal power. He cannot utter his own egoic curses or blessings; he can only transmit the exact, unalterable words dictated by the Superconscious Source.