And he took up his parable, and said, Balaam the son of Beor hath said, and the man whose eyes are open hath said:
3. And the man whose eyes are open, “Reconditus oculo;” covered in the eye.— Lat. “Qui a l’oeil couvert;” who has the eye covered. — Fr. hath said. This preface has no other object than to prove that he is a true prophet of God, and that he has received the blessing, which he pronounces, from divine revelation; and indeed his boast was true as...
The blessing itself which Balaam here pronounces upon Israel is much the same with the two we had in the foregoing chapter; but the introduction to it is different. I. The method of proceeding here varies much in several instances. 1.
Commenting on Numbers 24:1-9
And he took up his parable,.... His parable of prophecy, as the Targums, his prophetic speech, which, with a loud voice, he expressed in the hearing of Balak and his nobles: and said, Balaam the son of Beor hath said; the preface to his prophecy is pompous, and seems to be full of pride and vanity, and so the Targums of Jonathan and Jerusalem represent...