Bilam/0/he

בלעם

Bilam in the Biblical Text

Bilam is one of the more mysterious characters in Tanakh. Bilam is first mentioned in במדבר כ״ב:ה', when Balak, King of Moav, requests his assistance in cursing the People of Israel. The Torah spends the next three chapters detailing Hashem's warnings to Bilam, Bilam's attempts at cursing the Israelites, and how the curses were turned into blessings, at the end of which (במדבר כ״ד:כ"ה) Bilam goes home. Bilam then appears again during the battle with the Midianites, where Bilam is mentioned as being killed together with the four kings of Midian (במדבר ל"א:ח', with parallels in יהושע י"ג:כ"א-כ"ב), and is said to be the instigator of the Sin of Baal Peor (במדבר ל"א:ט"ז).

The hiring of Bilam is mentioned as one of the reasons Amonites and Moabites are banned from joining the Israelites (דברים כ"ג:ה'-ו', and also נחמיה י"ג:א'-ב'). The reversal of Bilam's curses is mentioned as one of the major ways Hashem protected Israel in the desert in יהושע כ"ד:ט'-י' and מיכה ו':ה'. Who is Bilam? What is the meaning of him being a "קּוֹסֵם" (יהושע י״ג:כ״ב)? Why did his attempt to curse Israel leave such a lasting impression?¹

Was Bilam a Prophet?

The verses give varying indicators regarding Bilam's status.² Bilam receives prophetic dreams (במדבר כ״ב:ט'-י"ב,כ'), sees an angel (במדבר כ״ב:ל"א-ל"ה), and receives other heavenly messages (במדבר כ״ג:ד'-ה',ט"ז, כ"ד:ב'). He also states throughout the story that his actions are dependent on Hashem's guidance, and refers to himself as "שֹׁמֵעַ אִמְרֵי אֵל אֲשֶׁר מַחֲזֵה שַׁדַּי יֶחֱזֶה נֹפֵל וּגְלוּי עֵינָיִם" (במדבר כ״ד:ד', and similarly in במדבר כ״ד:ט"ז). In contrast, in יהושע י״ג:כ״ב he is referred to as "בִּלְעָם בֶּן בְּעוֹר הַקּוֹסֵם", without mentioning prophetic abilities, in במדבר כ״ב:ז' the messengers bring "קְסָמִים" to Bilam, and במדבר כ״ד:א' mentions Bilam using "נְחָשִׁים".

• High Level Prophet – ספרי דבריםל"ד:י'אודות ספרי דברים, מדרש תנאיםדברים ל"ד:י'אודות מדרש תנאים, ספרי זוטאבמדבר ז':פ"טאודות ספרי זוטא, and במדבר רבהי"ד:כ'אודות במדבר רבה compare Bilam's prophetic abilities to those of Moshe, saying that the statement "וְלֹא קָם נָבִיא עוֹד בְּיִשְׂרָאֵל כְּמֹשֶׁה" (דברים ל"ד:י') is limited to Jews, but Bilam, who was not Jewish, was a prophet at Moshe's level.
• Low Level Prophet – Bilam had prophetic abilities, but they were very limited. According to the בבליברכות ז'.סנהדרין ק"ה.-ק"ו:אודות הבבלי, Bilam's ability was limited to knowing when Hashem got angry, thus knowing when to give curses. ויקרא רבהא':י"ב-י"גאודות ויקרא רבה states that Bilam, as a non-Jewish prophet, was limited to prophecy during nightly dreams. רמב"םמורה נבוכים ב':מ"האודות ר' משה בן מיימון states that Bilam never got above the second level of prophecy, placing him at the level of the authors of Ketuvim.
• Temporary Prophet – According to R. Yochanan in בבלי סנהדריןסנהדרין ק"ה.-ק"ו:אודות הבבלי, once Bilam attempted to curse Israel, he was stripped of his prophetic abilities, reducing him to a קוסם. In contrast, according to אבן עזראבמדבר כ"ב:כ"חאודות ר' אברהם אבן עזרא, רד"קיהושע י"ג:כ"באודות ר' דוד קמחי, רמב"ןבמדבר כ"ב:ל"אבמדבר כ"ד:א'אודות ר' משה בן נחמן, and שד"לבמדבר כ"ב:ב'אודות ר' שמואל דוד לוצאטו, Bilam never had prophetic abilities, and was only granted them on a temporary basis in order to bless Israel. Shadal adds that Bilam always (erroneously) believed in his divinatory powers, and thus was not surprised by Hashem actually appearing to him. Ramban states that even among the various blessings there is change: while the original blessings were at a low level of divine inspiration, due to Bilam's desire to curse Israel, once Bilam stopped attempting to curse (Bemidbar 24:1), Bilam became a true prophet, and thus he was "שֹׁמֵעַ אִמְרֵי אֵל".

Bilam and Other Characters

• Bilam and Lavan – there are remarkable similarities between these two characters:
  • Both are from Aram Naharayim.³
  • Both receive a heavenly dream, warning them against harming Israel (Bereshit 31:24 and במדבר כ״ב:ט'-י"ב,כ').
  • Lavan divines using ניחוש (Bereshit 30:27), while Bilam uses נחשים (במדבר כ״ד:א').
  • Both encounter Israel and end up blessing them.
  • About both the Torah records: "וַיָּשׇׁב לִמְקֹמוֹ" (Bereshit 32:1, במדבר כ״ד:כ"ה).⁴
  These similarities lead the midrashim to state that Lavan either was Bilam (תרגום ירושלמי (יונתן)במדבר כ"ב:ה'אודות תרגום ירושלמי (יונתן)) or was Bilam's father (בבלי סנהדריןסנהדרין ק"ה.-ק"ו:אודות הבבלי).
• Bilam and Yitro are two of the few Gentile personalities who encounter the Children of Israel in the desert, and to whom the Torah devotes considerable attention. As discussed in יתרו ובלעם, the two characters are a study in contrasts. Yitro is the friend who blesses Israel in the first year in the desert, while Bilam is the foe who attempts to curse Israel in the fortieth year. The Torah does not mention any encounter between the two, but some Midrashim (בבליסוטה י"א.סנהדרין ק"ה.-ק"ו:אודות הבבלי and שמות רבהא':ט'אודות שמות רבה) tell of an even earlier rivalry between Yitro and Bilam in Paroh's court.
• Bilam and Moshe – As seen above, a number of Midrashim compare Bilam's prophetic abilities to those of Moshe.
• Bilam and Paroh
• Bilam and Iyyov

Bilam's Origins

Where did Bilam live? According to במדבר כ״ב:ה', Balak sent messengers to find Bilam at "פְּתוֹרָה אֲשֶׁר עַל הַנָּהָר אֶרֶץ בְּנֵי עַמּוֹ", in במדבר כ״ג:ז' Bilam states "מִן אֲרָם יַנְחֵנִי בָלָק מֶלֶךְ מוֹאָב מֵהַרְרֵי קֶדֶם", and in דברים כ״ג:ה׳ Bilam is identified as coming "מִפְּתוֹר אֲרַם נַהֲרַיִם". Further complicating the issue is the combination of במדבר כ״ד:כ"ה, which states that Bilam returned home after being dismissed by Balak, and במדבר ל"א:ח', which states that Bilam was killed soon after in Midian.

• Most of the commentators maintain that Bilam lived in Aram. According to תרגום אונקלוסבמדבר כ"ב:ה'אודות תרגום אונקלוס, "פְּתוֹר" is a place in Aram, and the river is נהר פרת‎.⁵ It is unclear according to this what "אֶרֶץ בְּנֵי עַמּוֹ" refers to: either Balak's home country, indicating Balak was originally from Aram (רש"יבמדבר כ"ב:ה'אודות ר' שלמה יצחקי, רשב"םבמדבר כ"ב:ה'אודות ר' שמואל בן מאיר), or to Bilam's home country (רמב"ןבמדבר כ"ב:ה'אודות ר' משה בן נחמן).
• In contrast, חזקוניבמדבר כ"ב:ח'אודות ר' חזקיה בן מנוח states that Bilam lived in Midian, making clear why he was killed there, and why Balak sent Midianite elders as his messengers. However, it is unclear how Chizkuni explains the verses referring to "פְּתוֹר" and Aram.
• A third approach, found in a number of modern scholars, understands "אֶרֶץ בְּנֵי עַמּוֹ" to refer to a place called Amu.

Bilam in the Ancient Near East

Bilam is the only character in Torah who appears in (non-Biblical) Ancient Near Eastern texts. In 1967 an inscription was found on the wall of a temple in Deir Alla, Jordan. This inscription, written in red and black ink on plaster, is written in Aramaic and can be dated to the late ninth century BCE. The inscriptions begins by saying "[זה] ספר [ב]לעם [בר בער]", and tells of apocalyptic visions seen by Bilam in dreams. The inscription refers multiple times to "בלעם בר בער", and contains linguistic parallels to the blessings of Bilam in the Torah.

Additional Topics

• היש סיבה לדאוג מקללת בלעם?
• למה כעס ה' על בלעם?
• יתרו ובלעם
• התנאים הנצרכים לנבואה
• בלעם ואתונו באמנות

¹ See also היש סיבה לדאוג מקללת בלעם?.

² For additional discussion of Bilam's prophetic status, see למה כעס ה' על בלעם? and התנאים הנצרכים לנבואה.

³ Lavan is referred to as an Aramean (Bereshit 25:20, 28:5, 31:20, and 31:24) and is from Aram Naharayim (see Bereshit 24:10), and Bilam is identified as coming from Aram (במדבר כ״ג:ז'), specifically Aram Naharayim (דברים כ״ג:ה׳)

⁴ The only other case where a person is described with the term "וַיָּשׇׁב לִמְקֹמוֹ" is in Shemuel II 19:40.

⁵ Alternatively, one can explain "פְּתוֹר" itself to refer to פרת (since both contain the same letters), or, as seen in תרגום ירושלמי (יונתן)במדבר כ"ב:ה'אודות תרגום ירושלמי (יונתן), "פְּתוֹרָה" may be a title for Bilam, unrelated to location.