Angels-Balaam

The story of Balaam constitutes one of the favorite subjects of famous
painters, such as Rembrandt, whose most remarkable representation
of angelic scenes is The Angel and The Prophet Balaam (Musée
Cognacq-Jay, Paris). According to the story reported in Numbers 22,
Balak, king of the Moabites, summons the prophet Balaam from the
land of Amaw. At first God forbids, then later allows Balaam to follow
the summons. God’s angel is opposed to Balaam going, and after the
show-down between man and angel, Balaam is again allowed to proceed
on his voyage. It is reported that,
Balaam got up in the morning, saddled his donkey and went
with the princes of Moab. But God was very angry when he
went, and the angel of the Lord stood in the road to oppose him.
Balaam was riding on his donkey, and his two servants were
with him. When the donkey saw the angel of the Lord standing
in the road with a drawn sword in his hand, she turned off the
road into a field. Balaam beat her to get her back on the road.
Then the angel of the Lord stood in a narrow path between two
vineyards, with walls on both sides. When the donkey saw the
angel of the Lord, she pressed close to the wall, crushing Balaam’s
foot against it. So he beat her again. Then the angel of the
Lord moved on ahead and stood in a narrow place where there
was no room to turn, either to the right or to the left. When the
donkey saw the angel of the Lord, she lay down under Balaam,
and he was angry and beat her with his staff.Balaam, who did not initially recognize the
angel as such, was finally illuminated.
Then the Lord opened Balaam’s eyes, and
he saw the angel of the Lord standing in the
road with his sword drawn. So he bowed low
and fell facedown. Then Balaam said, “I
have sinned. I did not realize you were
standing in the road to oppose me. Now if
you are displeased, I will go back.” But the
angel let him go, and Balaam went with the
princes of Balak.
This story constitutes a delightful interlude
in the Numbers narrative, although it does not
add considerable substance to the history of
Israel’s fortunes in Transjordan. There is some
uncertainty about the original beginning of the
episode, since verse 18 reports that Balaam
refused the offer of Balak’s messengers, and has
declared that he must obey God’s command.
The talking ass represents a note of intentional
humor. Although speaking animals are
not too uncommon in the literature of antiquity,
the only other parallel in the Old Testament
is the serpent in the Garden of Eden.