Who Was Greater - Moshe or Bila'am? The Debate in Bamidbar Rabbah

And who wrote the books of the Bible? Moses wrote his own book, i.e., the Torah, and the portion of [acc. to Mun. MSS, "the book of"] Balaam in the Torah, and the book of Job.

(5) How fair are your tents, O Jacob, Your dwellings, O Israel.... (8) God who freed them from Egypt Is for them like the horns of the wild ox. They shall devour enemy nations, Crush their bones, And smash their arrows.... (10) Enraged at Balaam, Balak struck his hands together. “I called you,” Balak said to Balaam, “to damn my enemies, and instead you have blessed them these three times! (11) Back with you at once to your own place! I was going to reward you richly, but יהוה has denied you the reward.” (12) Balaam replied to Balak, “But I even told the messengers you sent to me, (13) ‘Though Balak were to give me his house full of silver and gold, I could not of my own accord do anything good or bad contrary to יהוה’s command. What יהוה says, that I must say.’ (14) And now, as I go back to my people, let me inform you of what this people will do to your people in days to come.”

(2) “Avenge the Israelite people on the Midianites; then you shall be gathered to your kin.” (3) Moses spoke to the militia, saying, “Let troops be picked out from among you for a campaign, and let them fall upon Midian to wreak יהוה’s vengeance on Midian.... (7)... They 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.

(15) And so Moses assigned [the following] to the tribe of the Reubenites, for their various clans.... (21) all the towns of the Tableland and the entire kingdom of Sihon, the king of the Amorites, who had reigned in Heshbon. (For Moses defeated him and the Midianite chiefs Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba, who had dwelt in the land as princes of Sihon. (22) Together with the others that they slew, the Israelites put Balaam son of Beor, the augur, to the sword.)

§ With regard to Balaam, it is stated: “And they slew the kings of Midian, with the rest of their slain…And Balaam, son of Beor, they slew with the sword” (Numbers 31:8). The Gemara asks: Balaam, what did he seek there; what was his role in that war? He lived in Aram. Rabbi Yoḥanan says: He went to collect payment for twenty-four thousand members of the Jewish people, whom he felled with his advice.... The Gemara asks: Was he a diviner? He was a prophet? Rabbi Yoḥanan says: Initially he was a prophet, but ultimately, he lost his capacity for prophecy and remained merely a diviner.

(20) “And when Moses came into the Tent of Meeting to speak with Him” – it is taught: “There has not arisen another prophet in Israel like Moses” (Deuteronomy 34:10) – in Israel one has not arisen, but among the nations of the world he has arisen.... However, there is a disparity between Moses’ prophecy and Bilam’s prophecy. There were three qualities that existed in Moses that did not exist in Bilam. Moses would speak with Him standing, as it is stated: “But you, stand here with Me and I will speak to you…” (Deuteronomy 5:28). With Bilam, He would speak to him only when he was fallen, as it is stated: “Fallen with open eyes” (Numbers 24:4). Moses, He would speak to him mouth to mouth, as it is stated: “Mouth to mouth I will speak to him” (Numbers 12:8), but regarding Bilam, “the utterance of one who hears the sayings of God” (Numbers 24:4), as he would not speak to him mouth to mouth. Moses, He would speak to him face-to-face, as it is stated: “The Lord would speak to Moses face-to-face” (Exodus 33:11), but with Bilam, he would speak in parables, just as it says: “He proclaimed his parable and said…” (Numbers 23:7).

There were three qualities that existed in Bilam that did not exist in Moses. Moses would not know who was speaking with him; Bilam would know who was speaking with him, as it is stated: “The utterance of one who hears the sayings of God, the vision of the Almighty he will see” (Numbers 24:4). Moses did not know when the Holy One blessed be He would speak with him, but Bilam would know when the Holy One blessed be He would speak with him, as it is stated: “He knows the knowledge of the Most High” (Numbers 24:16).

They stated a parable: It is analogous to the king’s slaughterer, who knew what the king would offer on his table and knew how many expenditures the king would outlay for his table. So, Bilam would know what the Holy One blessed be He was destined to speak with him. Bilam, He would speak with him whenever he wished, as it is stated: “Fallen with open eyes” (Numbers 24:4). He would fall on his face and immediately, he was open eyed regarding what he asked. But Moses, He would not speak with him whenever he wished.

Rabbi Shimon says: To Moses, too, He would speak whenever he wished, as it is stated: “And when Moses came into the Tent of Meeting to speak with Him,” immediately, “he heard the Voice speaking with him.”