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    An Oracle of Balaam

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    Bogdan Solan

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    An Oracle of Balaam

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    Bogdan Solan
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    An Oracle of Balaam

    Uploaded by

    Bogdan Solan

    Copyright:

    Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    of 2

    THE DEIR 'ALLA INSCRIPTION

    An oracle of Balaam
    Translation and Notes: Gildas Hamel
     
    In Numbers 22-24, Balaam ben Beor comes across as a comical, helpless, though inspired figure who strangely
    enough can't help but accept the divine word and ends up repeatedly blessing the people of Israel as they are
    trekking throught the plains of Moab. He is to king Balak what his ass who sees the "angel of the Lord" is to him:
    being a stumbling, hapless visionary whom no amount of physical or psychological pressure can turn away from his
    path.
    Why would such a story be inserted in the book of Numbers?
    One of the reasons has come to light in 1967, with the discovery of a remarkable inscription in Aramaic (or
    Ammonite dialect) in Deir-Alla, Jordan, not far from the "plains of Moab." The text of the inscription is dated to
    about 700bce, that is to say at the time of well-known prophetic activities not only in the kingdoms of Israel and
    Juda but also in Aramaean states just North of Israel, as well as in Neo-Assyria. This inscription shows that
    traditions about Balaam were well known at the time (and probably for a long period of time at that) in the area
    (Ammon / Moab, Jordan valley, probably Israel and Juda too).
    The text (translation given here, line by line) was found written on plaster slabs in what may have been a cultic
    center where sacred prostitution was practiced. Translation follows, line by line. The text was written with red and
    black ink on the plaster. Red letters below correspond to the words found written in red on the plaster. The
    translation is adapted from Hoftijzer, J., and G. Van der Kooij, eds. The Balaam text from Deir 'Alla re-evaluated
    (1991), p. 295, and from Lemaire, p. 97:
     
    [1]Scroll of [Ba]laam [son of Beo]r, the man seeing the gods; behold, the gods came to him at
    night, and [spoke to] him [2] according to these words, and they said to [Balaa]m son of Beor
    thus: “The last flame has appeared; a fire for judgment has appeared.”
    [3]And Balaam arose in the morning,[2 ] days, [...] [ ], and cou[ld not eat], and he wept [4]
    abundantly.
    And his people came up to him and they [said] to Balaam son of Beor: “Why are you fasting and
    why are you weeping?”
    And he [5] said to them: “Sit!1[1] I'll show you what the Sh[addayin]2[2] are [. . . . . . . . . . . . .], and
    come, consider the doings of the gods.” [6] The gods have gathered together, and the Shaddayin
    have held an assembly, and they have said to Sh[ama]sh3[3]: ‘Sew up, close the sky with your
    cloud! [Let] darkness be there, and not bright[7]ness, shadow and not radiance; For you'll strike
    terror [with the cl]oud of darkness, and do not make noise ever but [instead??] the passer, b- [8]
    -at, eagle, and peli[can], vultures, ostrich, st[ork], young of falcons, owl, chicks of heron, dove,
    bird-of-prey, [9] pigeon and sparrow. [every bird of the s]kies ... [on earth?] below where the
    stick led the ewes, hares have eaten [10] [tog]ether [fr]eely….’”
    1

    3
    From- Comparing Mari, Neo-Assyrian, Aramaean, and Biblical prophetic texts
    ©Gildas Hamel, January 2004
    http://humwww.ucsc.edu/~gweltaz/courses/prophets/ANEprophets.html

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