Balak ~ Power of Prophecy and Goodness

(1) Now Balaam, seeing that it was good in the eyes of Ad-nai to bless Israel, did not, as on previous occasions, go in search of omens, but turned his face toward the wilderness. (2) As Balaam looked up and saw Israel encamped tribe by tribe, the spirit of God came upon him. (3) Taking up his theme, he said: Word of Balaam son of Beor, Word of the man whose eye is true, (4) Word of him who hears God’s speech, Who beholds visions from the Almighty, Prostrate, but with eyes unveiled: (5) How fair are your tents, O Jacob, Your dwellings, O Israel!

(15) He took up his theme, and said: Word of Balaam son of Beor, Word of the man whose eye is true, (16) Word of him who hears God’s speech, Who obtains knowledge from the Most High, And beholds visions from the Almighty, Prostrate, but with eyes unveiled:

(40) (Devarim, Ibid. 10) "And there shall not arise in Israel again a prophet such as Moses": But among the nations, there did arise. And who was he? Bilam the son of Beor. But there is a difference between the prophecy of Moses and the prophecy of Bilam. Moses did not know who was speaking to him, and Bilam did know, viz. (Bamidbar 24:16) "The speech of the hearer (Bilam) of the words of the Almighty." Moses did not know when He would speak to him until He did so. Bilam did know, viz. "and the knower of the knowledge of the Most High." Moses did not speak with Him unless he was standing, viz. (Devarim 5:28) "And you, here, stand with Me." And Bilam spoke with Him when he was fallen, viz. (Bamidbar 24:4) "The vision of the Almighty shall he see, fallen and his eyes uncovered."

(6) Moses dispatched them on the campaign, a thousand from each tribe, with Phinehas son of Eleazar serving as a priest on the campaign, equipped with the sacred utensils and the trumpets for sounding the blasts. (7) They took the field against Midian, as the LORD had commanded Moses, and slew every male. (8) Along with their other victims, they slew the kings of Midian: Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba, the five kings of Midian. They also put Balaam son of Beor to the sword. ... (14) Moses became angry with the commanders of the army, the officers of thousands and the officers of hundreds, who had come back from the military campaign. (15) Moses said to them, “You have spared every female! (16) Yet they are the very ones who, at the bidding of Balaam, induced the Israelites to trespass against the LORD in the matter of Peor, so that the LORD’s community was struck by the plague.

(19) Anyone who has these three things is from the students of Abraham, our father, and [anyone who has] three other things is from the students of Bilaam the evildoer: [one who has] a good eye, a humble spirit and a small appetite -- is from the students of Abraham, our father. [One who has] an evil eye, a haughty spirit and a greedy appetite - is from the students of Bilaam the evildoer. What [difference] is there between the students of Abraham, our father, and the students of Bilaam the evildoer? The students of Abraham, our father, eat in this world and possess the next world, as it is stated (Proverbs 8:21), "There is what for those that love Me to inherit, and their treasuries will I fill." But the students of Bilaam the evildoer inherit Gehinnom and go down to the pit of destruction, as it is stated (Psalms 55:24), "And You, God, will bring them down to the pit of destruction; the people of blood and deceit, they will not live out half their days; and I will trust in You."

§ The mishna teaches that four prominent commoners, Balaam, Doeg, Ahithophel, and Gehazi, have no share in the World-to-Come. The Gemara elaborates: The name Balaam is interpreted as a contraction of: Without a nation [belo am], or one who has no share in the World-to-Come with the Jewish nation. Alternatively, the name Balaam is interpreted as one who wore down the Jewish people [bila am]. He is the son of Beor, one who engaged in bestiality [be’ir].

(2) This important principle was adopted by one of our Sages, one of the most distinguished among them, R. Ḥiya the Great ...[who] holds that the words of Abraham, "My Lord, if now I have found grace in thy sight, do not, I pray thee, pass from thy servant," were spoken by him in a prophetic vision to one of the men; for he says that Abraham addressed these words to the chief of these men. Note this well, for it is one of the great mysteries [of the Law]. The same, I hold, is the case when it is said in reference to Jacob, "And a man wrestled with him" (Gen. 32:25); this took place in a prophetic vision... The circumstances are here exactly the same as those in the vision of Abraham, where the general statement, "And the Lord appeared to him," etc., is followed by a detailed description. Similarly the account of the vision of Jacob begins, "And the angels of God met him" (Gen. 32:2); then follows a detailed description ... the wrestling and speaking was entirely a prophetic vision. That which happened to Balaam on the way, and the speaking of the ass, took place in a prophetic vision, since further on, in the same account, an angel of God is introduced as speaking to Balaam. I also think that what Joshua perceived, when "he lifted up his eyes and saw, and behold a man stood before him" (Josh. 5:13) was a prophetic vision, since it is stated afterwards (ver. 14) that it was "the prince of the host of the Lord." ...

(3) The second degree is this: A person feels as if something came upon him, and as if he had received a new power that encourages him to speak. He treats of science, or composes hymns, exhorts his fellow-men, discusses political and theological problems; all this he does while awake, and in the full possession of his senses. Such a person is said to speak by the holy spirit. David composed the Psalms, and Solomon the Book of Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and the Song of Solomon by this spirit; also Daniel, Job, Chronicles, and the rest of the Hagiographa were written in this holy spirit; therefore they are called ketubim (Writings, or Written), i.e., written by men inspired by the holy spirit. Our Sages mention this expressly concerning the Book of Esther. In reference to such holy spirit, David says: "The spirit of the Lord spoke in me, and his word is on my tongue" (2 Sam. 23:2); i.e., the spirit of the Lord caused him to utter these words. This class includes the seventy elders ... also Eldad and Medad (ibid. ver. 26);... every high priest that inquired [of God] by the Urim and Tummim; ... [with words such as] "when the spirit of the Lord came upon him, went forth before Asa," etc. (II Chron. 15:1, 2); and all who acted under similar circumstances. You must know that Balaam likewise belonged to this class, when he was good; this is indicated by the words, "And God put a word in the mouth of Balaam" (Num. 23:5), i.e., Balaam spoke by divine inspiration; he therefore says of himself, "Who heareth the words of God," etc. (ibid. 24:4) We must especially point out that David, Solomon, and Daniel belonged to this class, and not to the class of Isaiah, Jeremiah, Nathan the prophet, Elijah the Shilonite, and those like them. For David, Solomon, and Daniel spoke and wrote inspired by the holy spirit, ... I have, therefore, pointed out to you, that the prophecy revealed to Daniel and Solomon, although they saw an angel in the dream, was not considered by them as a perfect prophecy, but as a dream containing correct information. They belonged to the class of men that spoke, inspired by the ruaḥ ha-kodesh, "the holy spirit." Also in the order of the holy writings, no distinction is made between the books of Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Daniel, Psalms, Ruth, and Esther; they are all written by divine inspiration. The authors of all these books are called prophets in the more general sense of the term.