Who was Balaam?

PIKESVILLE, Maryland — The seventh weekly biblical portion in Numbers is Balak (22:2-25:9). It is the tale of the non-Jewish prophet Balaam, whom the non-Israelite King Balak hired to curse the Israelites, hoping the curse would weaken them. The king was frightened for the safety of his country when he saw Israel advancing toward Canaan.

The Bible is somewhat obscure about who Balaam was, whether he was a true prophet, and whether he was good or bad. Sages differed on all these points. Midrash Genesis Rabbah 14:34 contends that he was as great as Moses: “What prophet did they [non-Israelites] have who was like Moses? Balaam the son of Beor.” What would Maimonides say? Since Maimonides defined prophecy as a higher level of intelligence[1] and not as a divine communication, the answer is likely that he would consider Balaam a prophet.

Ehrlich asks a practical question: Isn’t it contrary to our understanding of psychology and history that a king would seek help from an alien? Why did Balak select Balaam, who was not a citizen of his country and did not even live there?

He suggests that Balak needed someone familiar with and who worshipped the God of Israel. Because of his relationship with the Israelite God, such a person could develop the most effective curse and make it work. Ehrlich notes that Balaam came from Aram,[2] where Abraham had dwelt, and proposes that the population of Aram understood and remained in a relationship with the Israelite God in Abraham’s day and for a long time thereafter. He adds that the Torah attests to Balaam’s relationship with God, stating that God spoke with Balaam. This is why Balak chose him.

The unusual English spelling is based on the Greek usage in the Septuagint, a Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible.

Throughout the episode, it is clear that both the king and his hired seer were convinced that one cannot curse what one cannot see.

This seems to suggest that God changed His mind, and it depicts God as fallible. Ehrlich explains that first, God told Balaam not to curse the Israelites, and later informed him that he could go as long as he blessed them.

During his trip on an ass to view the advancing Israelites and curse them, the ass begins to speak to the seer and cautions him not to curse Israel. Was this a miracle, another warning from God? Readers may want to consider this episode as a natural event, as Balaam’s dream or his internal struggle, “am I acting like an ass?”

Readers might also ask, however one interprets the event, shouldn’t something significant be revealed, especially if it is a miracle? Ehrlich suggests that it was a dramatic threat. Balaam is told that he had better be careful what he says. Just as God has the power to make an ass speak, He can make the ass (and Balaam) dumb.

Some sages highlighted the significance of this miracle far beyond what is rational, noting that it was so great that God had prepared it long before it was necessary.[4] However, while discussing miracles, Maimonides mentions this midrashic statement in his Guide for the Perplexed 2:29.[5] He felt the sages meant that what appears to be miracles are natural events. By saying “prepared long before it was necessary,” they were saying it is part of the natural world and the laws of nature that God created.

Balaam praises Israel in 23:23, “There is no enchantment with Jacob or divination in Israel.” His words are unclear. What is he saying? Was he declaring that divinations and enchantments do not work? No. This is an example of Scripture making an incomplete statement,[6] leaving it to readers to supply the implied ending: “There is no enchantment with Jacob or divination in Israel that can harm them.”

Balaam’s blessing of the Israelites (24:5) starts with praise, beginning ma tovu, which is usually translated as “How goodly (are your tents, Jacob, your dwellings, Israel).” Jewish tradition placed this statement at the beginning of the morning service.

Many people were perplexed: Why place words of a non-Jew in the Jewish prayer book? Rabbi Baruch Epstein (1860-1941) answered in his brilliant eight-volume, very popular Torah Temimah, with Maimonides’ teaching: The truth is the truth no matter its source.[7]

Baal means “lord” or “god,” and peor means “open.” Mishna Sanhedrin 6:7 states that worshippers of Baal Peor would defecate before their god. It is unreasonable to take this statement literally; no one would behave this way. The Sages did not want to reveal what the worshippers did, and they insulted them.[8]

Ehrlich explains that many ancient pagans worshipped their deity by having sex before them; men served by opening a virgin’s hymen, and women by surrendering it.

His interpretation is supported by the Torah’s use of vayitzmed Yisrael l’baal peor, because vayitzmed means “coupling (before Baal Peor),” as in I Samuel 11:7.

This helps us understand why Pinchas killed the man and woman who were having sex (Numbers 25:8). He did not execute them because they had sex, but because they worshipped Baal with their sex act. Moreover, because both the male and female were important persons in their country, they would influence the Israelites to worship the idol as they did.

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