Numbers 24:3-5

New English Translation

Footnotes

1. Numbers 24:3 tn Heb “and he took up his oracle and said.”
2. Numbers 24:3 tn The word נְאֻם (n^eʾum) is an “oracle.” It is usually followed by a subjective genitive, indicating the doer of the action. The word could be rendered “says,” but this translations is more specific.
3. Numbers 24:3 tn The Greek version reads “the one who sees truly.” The word has been interpreted in both ways, “shut” or “open.”
4. Numbers 24:4 tn The phrase “flat on the ground” is supplied in the translation for clarity. The Greek version interprets the line to mean “falling asleep.” It may mean falling into a trance.
5. Numbers 24:4 tn The last colon simply has “falling, but opened eyes.” The falling may simply refer to lying prone; and the opened eyes may refer to his receiving a vision. See H. E. Freeman, An Introduction to the Old Testament Prophets, 37-41.
6. Numbers 24:5 tn Here מָה (mah) has an exclamatory sense: “How!” (see Gen 28:17).