The Donkey Speaks
Numbers 22:28-30 records one of the most unusual miracles in the Bible. A donkey speaks. Not only does it speak, but it speaks more reasonably than a man.
ויפתח יהוה את פי האתון ותאמר לבלעם מה עשיתי לך כי הכיתני זה שלש רגלים ויאמר בלעם לאתון כי התעללת בי לו יש חרב בידי כי עתה הרגתיך ותאמר האתון אל בלעם הלוא אנכי אתנך אשר רכבת עלי מעודך עד היום הזה ההסכן הסכנתי לעשות לך כה ויאמר לא 1
1 2 3 4 5 504 26 401 90 462 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 6- 10- 80- 400- 8 10- 5- 6- 5 1- 400 80- 10 5- 1- 400- 6- 50 then he opened Yhwh the mouth of donkey 6 7 8 9 647 172 45 790 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 6- 400- 1- 40- 200 30- 2- 30- 70- 40 40- 5 70- 300- 10- 400- 10 and she said to Balaam what I did 10 11 12 13 14 50 30 495 12 630 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 30- 20 20- 10 5- 20- 10- 400- 50- 10 7- 5 300- 30- 300 to you that you beat me this three 15 16 17 18 283 257 142 487 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 200- 3- 30- 10- 40 6- 10- 1- 40- 200 2- 30- 70- 40 30- 1- 400- 6- 50 times and he answered Balaam to donkey 19 20 21 22 23 30 935 12 36 310 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 20- 10 5- 400- 70- 30- 30- 400 2- 10 30- 6 10- 300 because you made fool of me if he was 24 25 26 27 28 210 26 30 475 638 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 8- 200- 2 2- 10- 4- 10 20- 10 70- 400- 5 5- 200- 3- 400- 10- 20 sword in my hand then now I would kill you 29 30 31 32 647 462 31 142 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 6- 400- 1- 40- 200 5- 1- 400- 6- 50 1- 30 2- 30- 70- 40 and she said donkey to Balaam 33 34 35 36 42 81 471 501 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 132 5- 30- 6- 1 1- 50- 20- 10 1- 400- 50- 20 1- 300- 200 not I you donkey which 37 38 39 40 622 110 140 74 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140 141 142 143 144 145 146 200- 20- 2- 400 70- 30- 10 40- 70- 6- 4- 20 70- 4 you ride on me always to 41 42 43 44 61 17 140 545 147 148 149 150 151 152 153 154 155 156 157 158 159 160 161 162 163 164 5- 10- 6- 40 5- 7- 5 5- 5- 60- 20- 50 5- 60- 20- 50- 400- 10 the day this to make habit I made habit 45 46 47 48 806 50 25 257 165 166 167 168 169 170 171 172 173 174 175 176 177 178 30- 70- 300- 6- 400 30- 20 20- 5 6- 10- 1- 40- 200 to do to you this and he said 49 31 179 180 30- 1 = 13480 = 2 x 2 x 2 x 5 x 337. no2
(See numeric section below for the explanation of the green highlight and strong emphasis in black.)
The twenty-second chapter of the book of Numbers gives the story. Balak, the king of Moab was frightened of the Israelite horde from Egypt that had destroyed the Amorites. He sent his representatives, along with Midianite allies to hire Balaam the seer to curse Israel. Balaam had a reputation of being able to effectively curse or bless. If Balaam cursed Israel, Balak felt more confident in fighting Israel (verse 6).
God told the seer not to go with the Moabites, and He expressly told Balaam Israel was blessed (verse 12). Balaam does not relay this to the Moabites. All he says is the LORD has refused to let me go with you.
(Verse 13) He did this because he was greedy. He knew the Moabites and Midianites would be back, and they would bring more divination fees.
When higher ranking representatives returned with more gifts and money, Balaam went through the motion of asking God
again even though he knew full well what God’s answer had been. His idea of God was that God might change His mind or be open to sacrificial bribes.
This time, at night God gave Balaam a double-edged answer:
If the men have come to call you, rise, go with them; but only what I bid you, that shall you do.
(Verse 20)3
The answer was clear. Balaam was supposed to wait for God to say something in the morning. But his greed made him hear only what he wanted to hear: If the men have come... go with them.
He forgot that he is supposed to wait for God.
Balaam did not know he was now in a sort of bind. Strictly speaking, if God said nothing in the morning, Balaam would have to stay in bed and not even rise, much less get up, have breakfast or talk to anyone!
In the morning, God was silent. And this meant Balaam wasn't supposed to do anything or go anywhere. But Balaam took silence to mean God approved (verse 21). He went with the Moabites and Midianites, and God sent an angel to kill him.
Balaam could not see the angel, but the donkey did. Three times the donkey saved his life, first by leaving the road and going into a field, second by pressing against a wall in order to pass, and finally by sitting and refusing to proceed. Each time, Balaam took the donkey's actions as disobedience and struck her (verses 22-27).
Then a miracle happened. The donkey spoke. One would think a miracle would silence the seer. Not so. Balaam's furious reply was full of egocentric swollen pride:
Because you have made sport of me. I wish I had a sword in my hand, for then I would kill you.
(Verse 29 with emphasis added.)
Balaam was completely blind to the fact that the donkey's behaviour was completely out of the normal. It was a sign he ignored. He was more concerned with his own image and reputation, than that of the unprecedented miracle of an animal speaking. He thought his god given right to wealth, power and prestige was being thwarted, and he could see nothing else. He would slay the animal that had served him faithfully for so many years.
God opened his eyes to the angel (verse 31) and Balaam fell down in fear.
Numeric Features
It is important and necessary to distinguish between what happened, what the donkey said, and what Balaam said. The miracle is not Balaam. The miracle is the donkey! Verses 28 and 30 are highlighted in green. The donkey's speech is emphasized in stronger black. Verse 29 is mostly about Balaam, and the words he speaks. These words have been left as is. The last two words of verse 30 are also from and about Balaam, and they are not emphasized in black.
All Three Verses
1.There are 49 words (7 x 7) in these three verses, 180 letters, and a total of 13480 (2 x 2 x 2 x 5 x 337). Aside from the 49 words, there appears to be no other numeric features in these verses. But that is because Balaam is not the miracle and gets in the way.
The Donkey's Words
2.The donkey's words are emphasized in darker black.
2.1There are 23 words. 23 can represent a human being. In speaking, the donkey was acting as a person. Its questions, and reply to Balaam's fury were all rational and reasonable. The donkey was the human. Balaam was acting like an animal. That is why the angel said he was perverse (verse 32).
2.2The numeric total of the donkey's 23 words: 6020 = 22 x 5 x 7 x 43.
2.3Donkey's first and last words: 45 + 25 = 70 = 2 x 5 x 7. SF: 14 = 2 x 7.
2.4.1The 7th word of the donkey's first phrase: 630 = 2 x 32 x 5 x 7.
2.4.2The 7th word of the donkey's last phrase: 140 = 22 x 5 x 7
2.5.1The odd positioned letters of the donkey's words:
a) Letter position. b) Letter value. a) 1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19 21 23 25 27 29 31 33 35 37 39 41 b) 40 70 10 10 20 10 20 400 10 5 30 200 30 40 30 1 50 10 400 20 300 a) 43 45 47 49 51 53 55 57 59 61 63 65 67 69 71 73 75 77 79 81 b) 200 2 70 10 70 4 70 5 6 5 5 5 20 5 20 400 30 300 400 20 a) 83 b) 5
Total: 3358 = 2 x 23 x 73. SF: 98 = 2 x 72. Twenty-three shows the donkey was more human and reasonable than Balaam at this point.
2.5.2Even positioned letters of the donkey's words:
a) Letter position. b) Letter value. a) 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 28 30 32 34 36 38 40 42 b) 5 300 400 30 20 5 10 50 7 300 300 3 10 5 6 1 20 1 50 1 200 a) 44 46 48 50 52 54 56 58 60 62 64 66 68 70 72 74 76 78 80 82 b) 20 400 30 40 6 20 4 10 40 7 5 60 50 60 50 10 70 6 30 20
Total: 2662 = 2 x 11 x 11 x 11. SF: 35 = 5 x 7. The elevens and the sum of the factors show God's hand in the background. The three 11s also show the donkey is instructing Balaam.
Eliminating Balaam
3.The majority of the numeric features are found in the three verses after everything about Balaam is removed.
13480 Total of the three verses
-3588 Subtract verse 29, which is entirely Balaam.
-288 Subtract the last 2 words of verse 30, which is Balaam again.
_____
9604
9604 = 22 x 74. (This could be written as a perfect pair of squares: 22 x 492.)
4.Word list for this section:
a) Word position. b) Reverse word position. c) Word value. a) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 b) 34 33 32 31 30 29 28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19 c) 504 26 401 90 462 647 172 45 790 50 30 495 12 630 283 647 a) 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 b) 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 c) 462 31 142 42 81 471 501 622 110 140 74 61 17 140 545 806 a) 33 34 b) 2 1 c) 50 25
4.1The first, last and two middle words are: 504 + 462 + 31 + 25 = 1022 = 2 x 7 x 73.
4.2Because there are 34 words, this means the first position, plus the last position is divisible by 7: 1 + 34 = 35 = 5 x 7. And this also means pairing any Nth to Nth last also have positions divisible by 7 (i.e. the two middle word positions): 17 + 18 = 35 = 5 x 7.
4.3The first half of the words: 5746 = 2 x 132 x 17. (The last half of the words have no feature, but this should not be expected. This is a donkey speaking, not a human being, not an angel, and not God.)
4.4The odd and even valued words themselves do not have a feature. The feature is found in their positions from within the list.
4.4.1Odd valued words:
a) Word position. b) Word value. a) 3 6 8 12 15 16 18 21 22 23 28 29 31 34 b) 401 647 45 495 283 647 31 81 471 501 61 17 545 25
Sum of the positions (line a): 266 = 2 x 7 x 19. SF: 28 = 22 x 7.
4.4.2Even valued words:
a) Word position. b) Word value. a) 1 2 4 5 7 9 10 11 13 14 17 19 20 24 25 26 27 30 32 33 b) 504 26 90 462 172 790 50 30 12 630 462 142 42 622 110 140 74 140 806 50
Sum of the positions (line a): 329 = 7 x 47.
5.1Every 3rd word:
Word position: 3 6 9 12 15 18 21 24 27 30 33 Word value: 401 647 790 495 283 31 81 622 74 140 50
Total: 3614 = 2 x 13 x 139. SF: 154 = 2 x 7 x 11.
5.2Every 4th word:
Word position: 4 8 12 16 20 24 28 32 Word value: 90 45 495 647 42 622 61 806
Total: 2808 = 23 x 33 x 13. SF: 28 = 22 x 7.
5.3These are the only sequences that yield totals divisible by 13: 3 + 4 = 7.
6.Pair the 34 words into 17 groups of two.
6.1Odd positioned segments of 2 words: 4648 = 23 x 7 x 83.
6.2Even positioned segments of 2 words: 4956 = 22 x 3 x 7 x 59.
7.Adding the Nth word to the Nth last word, find all pairs that are divisible by 13. There are only three:
a) Pair number. b) Nth word. c) Nth last word. d) b + c. e) Remainder when 'd' is divided by 13. a) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 b) 504 26 401 90 462 647 172 45 790 50 30 495 12 630 283 647 462 c) 25 50 806 545 140 17 61 74 140 110 622 501 471 81 42 142 31 d) 529 76 1207 635 602 664 233 119 930 160 652 996 483 711 325 789 493 e) 4 6 3 5 0 6 2 0 6 6 1 2 0 4 3 5 3
Only the 5th, 8th and 13th pairs are divisible by 13: 5 + 8 + 13 = 26 = 2 x 13. This points back to God.
8.The list of 34 words exceeds The Proclamation's 33 words by one. Drop the first word from the list above: 9604 - 504 = 9100 = 22 x 52 x 7 x 13. (Coincidentally, the factors of 9100 add up to 34, which is the number of words in the list in the first place.)
The Letters
Letter list for this section:
a) Letter position. b) Reverse letter position. c) Letter value. a) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 b) 132 131 130 129 128 127 126 125 124 123 122 121 120 c) 6 10 80 400 8 10 5 6 5 1 400 80 10 a) 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 b) 119 118 117 116 115 114 113 112 111 110 109 108 107 c) 5 1 400 6 50 6 400 1 40 200 30 2 30 a) 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 b) 106 105 104 103 102 101 100 99 98 97 96 95 94 93 c) 70 40 40 5 70 300 10 400 10 30 20 20 10 5 a) 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 b) 92 91 90 89 88 87 86 85 84 83 82 81 80 79 78 77 c) 20 10 400 50 10 7 5 300 30 300 200 3 30 10 40 6 a) 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 b) 76 75 74 73 72 71 70 69 68 67 66 65 64 63 62 61 c) 400 1 40 200 5 1 400 6 50 1 30 2 30 70 40 5 a) 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 b) 60 59 58 57 56 55 54 53 52 51 50 49 48 47 46 45 c) 30 6 1 1 50 20 10 1 400 50 20 1 300 200 200 20 a) 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 b) 44 43 42 41 40 39 38 37 36 35 34 33 32 31 30 c) 2 400 70 30 10 40 70 6 4 20 70 4 5 10 6 a) 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 b) 29 28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19 18 17 c) 40 5 7 5 5 5 60 20 50 5 60 20 50 a) 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 b) 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 c) 400 10 30 70 300 6 400 30 20 20 5
9.The 127 letters in the list exceeds The Proclamation's 119 letters by 8 letters. Drop the first 8 letters: 9604 - 525 = 9079 = 7 x 1297.
10.One letter appeared more than all the others in the passage, and it appeared 13 times. This is the letter 10, which coincidentally is also the first letter of God's name in Hebrew. (Naturally since it appeared thirteen times, the sum of all appearances of the letter 10 would be divisible by 13.)
11.Use the divine name 13 times to count through the letters.
a) Letter from the Hebrew divine name. b) Count. c) Adjusted count. d) Letter found. a) 10 5 6 5 10 5 6 5 10 5 6 5 10 5 6 5 10 5 6 5 b) 10 15 21 26 36 41 47 52 62 67 73 78 88 93 99 104 114 119 125 130 c) 10 15 21 26 36 41 47 52 62 67 73 78 88 93 99 104 114 119 125 3 d) 1 1 1 30 30 20 5 3 1 30 30 20 20 10 70 40 60 30 20 80 a) 10 5 6 5 10 5 6 5 10 5 6 5 10 5 6 5 10 5 6 b) 13 18 24 29 39 44 50 55 65 70 76 81 91 96 102 107 117 122 128 c) 13 18 24 29 39 44 50 55 65 70 76 81 91 96 102 107 117 122 1 d) 10 50 30 40 10 50 300 40 50 70 1 400 70 6 10 5 400 6 6 a) 5 10 5 6 5 10 5 6 5 10 5 6 5 b) 6 16 21 27 32 42 47 53 58 68 73 79 84 c) 6 16 21 27 32 42 47 53 58 68 73 79 84 d) 10 400 1 70 300 10 5 30 1 2 30 10 1
Total: 2926 = 2 x 7 x 11 x 19. SF: 39 = 3 x 13.
12.Paired groups of letters can be pulled from opposite ends of the list that are divisible by 7.
Example of symmetrically positioned group pairs.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 ... 121 122 123 124 125 126 127
127 126 125 124 123 122 121 ... 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
|-A-| |-A-|
|---B---| |---B---|a) Starting letter position for the group. b) Ending letter position for the group. c) Sum of the two groups. a) 1 1 1 1 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 b) 12 27 29 35 4 8 9 14 20 25 30 c) 2352 3906 4060 5005 560 1365 1400 2436 3444 3780 4074 a) 2 2 2 2 3 3 3 3 3 3 4 4 4 4 b) 36 57 60 61 5 32 46 51 53 62 6 10 18 22 c) 5054 8757 9100 9135 938 4424 6839 8155 8190 9107 854 1281 2898 3367 a) 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 5 5 5 5 5 b) 31 34 39 41 42 43 50 54 55 8 9 14 20 25 c) 4018 4844 5446 5691 5901 6601 7805 8106 8176 805 840 1876 2884 3220 a) 5 5 5 5 5 6 6 6 6 6 7 7 7 b) 30 36 57 60 61 32 46 51 53 62 10 18 22 c) 3514 4494 8197 8540 8575 3486 5901 7217 7252 8169 427 2044 2513 a) 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 8 8 8 8 b) 31 34 39 41 42 43 50 54 55 16 19 40 45 c) 3164 3990 4592 4837 5047 5747 6951 7252 7322 1603 1750 4312 5523 a) 8 8 8 8 8 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 b) 47 48 56 58 59 14 20 25 30 36 57 60 61 c) 5985 6286 7028 7539 7609 1071 2079 2415 2709 3689 7392 7735 7770 a) 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 11 11 11 11 11 b) 14 20 25 30 36 57 60 61 18 22 31 34 39 c) 1036 2044 2380 2674 3654 7357 7700 7735 1617 2086 2737 3563 4165 a) 11 11 11 11 11 11 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 b) 41 42 43 50 54 55 15 17 21 23 24 37 38 44 c) 4410 4620 5320 6524 6825 6895 231 707 1239 1491 1561 2933 3353 4571 a) 12 12 13 13 13 14 14 14 15 15 15 15 15 b) 49 52 27 29 35 26 28 33 20 25 30 36 57 c) 5404 5978 1554 1708 2653 1449 1568 2163 1008 1344 1638 2618 6321 a) 15 15 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 17 17 17 b) 60 61 17 21 23 24 37 38 44 49 52 19 40 45 c) 6664 6699 476 1008 1260 1330 2702 3122 4340 5173 5747 147 2709 3920 a) 17 17 17 17 17 18 18 18 18 18 18 18 18 19 b) 47 48 56 58 59 21 23 24 37 38 44 49 52 22 c) 4382 4683 5425 5936 6006 532 784 854 2226 2646 3864 4697 5271 469 a) 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 20 20 20 20 b) 31 34 39 41 42 43 50 54 55 40 45 47 48 c) 1120 1946 2548 2793 3003 3703 4907 5208 5278 2562 3773 4235 4536 a) 20 20 20 21 21 21 21 21 21 22 22 22 22 22 b) 56 58 59 25 30 36 57 60 61 23 24 37 38 44 c) 5278 5789 5859 336 630 1610 5313 5656 5691 252 322 1694 2114 3332 a) 22 22 23 23 23 23 23 23 23 23 23 24 24 b) 49 52 31 34 39 41 42 43 50 54 55 37 38 c) 4165 4739 651 1477 2079 2324 2534 3234 4438 4739 4809 1442 1862 a) 24 24 24 25 25 25 25 25 26 26 26 26 26 b) 44 49 52 37 38 44 49 52 30 36 57 60 61 c) 3080 3913 4487 1372 1792 3010 3843 4417 294 1274 4977 5320 5355 a) 27 27 28 28 29 30 31 31 31 31 32 32 32 32 32 b) 28 33 29 35 33 35 36 57 60 61 34 39 41 42 43 c) 119 714 154 1099 595 945 980 4683 5026 5061 826 1428 1673 1883 2583 a) 32 32 32 33 33 33 33 35 35 35 35 35 35 35 b) 50 54 55 46 51 53 62 39 41 42 43 50 54 55 c) 3787 4088 4158 2415 3731 3766 4683 602 847 1057 1757 2961 3262 3332 a) 37 37 37 38 38 38 39 39 39 40 40 40 40 40 b) 57 60 61 44 49 52 44 49 52 41 42 43 50 54 c) 3703 4046 4081 1638 2471 3045 1218 2051 2625 245 455 1155 2359 2660 a) 40 41 41 41 41 41 41 42 42 42 42 43 43 b) 55 45 47 48 56 58 59 43 50 54 55 50 54 c) 2730 1211 1673 1974 2716 3227 3297 910 2114 2415 2485 1904 2205 a) 43 44 44 44 45 45 46 46 46 46 46 47 47 47 b) 55 50 54 55 49 52 47 48 56 58 59 51 53 62 c) 2275 1204 1505 1575 833 1407 462 763 1505 2016 2086 1316 1351 2268 a) 48 48 48 49 49 49 50 51 51 52 52 54 57 57 58 b) 56 58 59 56 58 59 52 54 55 53 62 62 58 59 60 c) 1043 1554 1624 742 1253 1323 574 301 371 35 952 917 511 581 343 a) 58 b) 61 c) 378
Sum of positions (a + b): 18018 = 2 x 32 x 7 x 11 x 13. SF: 39 = 3 x 13.
12.2The 157th pair in the above list [a) 20, b) 45, c) 3773] gives the most factors of 7: 3773 = 73 x 11. It just so happens that all the positions of these letters also has a feature: 20 + 21 + 22 + 23 + 24 + 25 + 26 + 27 + 28 + 29 + 30 + 31 + 32 + 33 + 34 + 35 + 36 + 37 + 38 + 39 + 40 + 41 + 42 + 43 + 44 + 45 = 845 = 5 x 132.
13.1Beginning with the first letter, and pulling every Nth after, the following values of N produce sequences divisible by 7:
4 11 14 16 18 32 37 46 53
The sum of N: 231 = 3 x 7 x 11. SF: 21 = 3 x 7.
13.2Beginning with the first letter, and pulling every Nth after, the following values of N produce sequences divisible by 13:
18 34
The sum of N: 52 = 2 x 2 x 13.
14.1Twenty-one (3 x 7) letters are prime numbers:
a) Letter position. b) Letter value. a) 7 9 14 25 30 40 46 47 52 61 68 72 89 101 105 106 107 108 109 113 127 b) 5 5 5 2 5 5 7 5 3 5 2 5 2 5 5 7 5 5 5 5 5
Total of the letters: 98 = 2 x 72.
14.2Sum of the nonprimes:
a) Letter position. b) Letter value. a) 1 2 3 4 5 6 8 10 11 12 13 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 b) 6 10 80 400 8 10 6 1 400 80 10 1 400 6 50 6 400 1 40 200 a) 24 26 27 28 29 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 41 42 43 44 45 b) 30 30 70 40 40 70 300 10 400 10 30 20 20 10 20 10 400 50 10 a) 48 49 50 51 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 62 63 64 65 66 67 b) 300 30 300 200 30 10 40 6 400 1 40 200 1 400 6 50 1 30 a) 69 70 71 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 90 b) 30 70 40 30 6 1 1 50 20 10 1 400 50 20 1 300 200 200 20 400 a) 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 102 103 104 110 111 112 114 b) 70 30 10 40 70 6 4 20 70 4 10 6 40 60 20 50 60 a) 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 b) 20 50 400 10 30 70 300 6 400 30 20 20
Total of the positions: 6692 = 22 x 7 x 239.
Total of the letters: 9506 = 2 x 72 x 97.
Conclusion
The numbers show the miracle behind the miracle, and assure us that long long ago, a donkey actually spoke. The Bible does not say an angel spoke through the donkey. Nor does the Bible say God spoke through the donkey. Moses' record of this incident is that it was the donkey speaking. In other words, animals are intelligent and have feelings.4 It is another reason why a righteous man treats domesticated animals well (Proverbs 12:10). Animals are not here for us to abuse.
The story of Balaam teaches us how rational men become less than unthinking beasts. It is the love of money that twists and perverts (1 Timothy 6:10; Hebrews 13:5). By loving money, Balaam found himself in a serious predicament (Numbers 22:38). He thought God was an impersonal force or a puppet to be used for his own ends. Now he was the puppet. He thought God was open to sacrificial bribes. He was wrong.
From Numbers 22:39 to 24:25, all Balaam could do was bless Israel, angering the king of Moab. It is unlikely he was paid for his efforts. Unfortunately, he learned nothing at all from his close brush with death. He tried to retrieve his reputation by counseling the Midianites to seduce Israel into idol worship (Numbers 25:1-15). And he stayed to see through his project and be paid. He paid with his life.
They slew the kings of Midian with the rest of their slain, Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba, the five kings of Midian; and they also slew Balaam the son of Beor with the sword. (Numbers 31:8)
Notes
- Hebrew text is from Bibleworks 3.2.009 by Michael S. Bushell, 1995. Verse numbering, vowels and punctuation have been removed.
- Interlinear English was adapted from The NIV Interlinear Hebrew-English Old Testament, edited by John R. Kohleberger III, Zondervan Publishing House, volume 1, 1979.
- English reference quotes are from the Revised Standard Version, Thomas Nelson Inc., 1972.
- Scientists have been devising sophisticated experiments and new ways of observation to understand animals as fellow beings. For more on the intelligence, and emotional lives of animals see Animal Wise, by Virginia Morell, Crown Publishers, 2013.