Balaam and His Donkey

Israel is camped on the plains of Moab, across from Jericho. Frightened, Balak, king of Moab, sends for the diviner Balaam, son of Beor, to curse this people. God tells Balaam at first: “Thou shalt not curse the people: for they are blessed.” Balak persists and promises great honors; God lets Balaam go, on the condition that he say only what God tells him. On the way, the angel of the LORD, with his sword drawn in his hand, blocks his path. Only the donkey sees him: three times she turns aside, and three times Balaam strikes her. Then the LORD opens the donkey’s mouth: “What have I done unto thee?” He then opens Balaam’s eyes, and Balaam sees the angel. At Balak’s side, on three mountaintops, seven altars are built; but each time, instead of cursing Israel, Balaam blesses it: “How shall I curse, whom God hath not cursed?” He even announces: “There shall come a Star out of Jacob, and a Sceptre shall rise out of Israel.”