Reading the Bible in Historical Sequence Part 2Намуна

Balaam responds to Balak’s call being attracted by royal riches. God uses his donkey to challenge him. He finds he cannot curse Israel and eventually suggests using seductive women.

Note Numbers 22:1; 24:25: With Israel numbering about two to three million, the camp would cover about 4.5 square miles but the people were further spread out by the special positioning of the tribes (Numbers 2), so that Balak had to take Balaam up three hilltops (Numbers 22:41; 23:14; 23:28) to see the full extent of the camp. Before he departed, Balaam suggested Balak get the Moabite women to seduce the Israelite men (Numbers 31:16). This resulted in his own death (Numbers 31:8). He predicted the defeat of Agag (Numbers 24:20) 370 years before it happened in c.1080 BC, and the fall of Moab (Numbers 24:17) around 1040 BC.