Balaam and the Talking Donkey

Balaam is one of the main characters recorded in chapters 22 to 24 of the Old Testament Book of Numbers. He was not an Israelite but a foreign sorcerer and prophet. Balak, the king of Moab, believed that whoever Balaam blessed would be blessed, and whoever he cursed would be cursed. Therefore, he hired Balaam to curse the Israelites.

Balaam rode his donkey to meet the king of Moab. On the way, the angel of the Lord stood in his path to block him. The donkey saw the angel standing on the road with a drawn sword in his hand, so it left the road and went into a field. Balaam beat the donkey to make it return to the road. The angel of the Lord then stood in a narrow path between vineyards, with walls on both sides. When the donkey saw the angel, it pressed against the wall, crushing Balaam’s foot. Balaam beat it again. The angel of the Lord moved ahead and stood in a very narrow place where there was no room to turn either left or right. When the donkey saw the angel of the Lord, it lay down on the ground. Balaam was furious and beat it with his staff. The Lord then enabled the donkey to speak, and it said to Balaam, “What have I done to you to make you beat me these three times?” Balaam replied, “You have made a fool of me! If I had a sword in my hand, I would kill you right now!” The donkey said to Balaam, “Am I not your own donkey, which you have always ridden, to this day? Have I ever done this to you before?” Balaam answered, “No.”

Then the Lord opened Balaam’s eyes, and he saw the angel of the Lord standing in the road with his sword drawn. Balaam bowed low with his face to the ground. The angel said to him, “Why have you beaten your donkey these three times? I have come here to oppose you because your path is a wicked one in my sight. The donkey saw me and turned away from me these three times. If it had not turned away, I would certainly have killed you by now, but I would have spared the donkey.” Balaam said to the angel of the Lord, “I have sinned. I did not realize you were standing in the road to block my way. Now if you are opposed to my going, I will go back.” The angel of the Lord said to him, “Go with the men, but speak only what I tell you to say.” So, Balaam went with Balak’s officials. (Numbers 22:22-35)

Here, we can clearly see that the donkey’s senses were more perceptive than Balaam’s; Balaam was truly worse than his donkey. The donkey, lacking a spiritual soul, could “see the angel of the Lord” without God specifically opening its eyes. In contrast, a person with a spiritual soul like Balaam needed God to “make his eyes bright” to “see the angel of the Lord standing in the road.” Balaam’s actions were similar to those of Judas, the one who betrayed Jesus, because they both headed toward destruction. God sent the angel to appear to him, hoping that he would pull back from the brink and turn around in time. Although Balaam seemingly accepted the angel of the Lord’s warning, he did not truly repent in his heart. Afterward, he still tried to help King Balak curse the Israelites and enticed him to have Moabite and Midianite women seduce the Israelites into promiscuity, causing the Israelites to fall into sin.

Balaam is mentioned multiple times in the Bible as a negative figure to serve as a warning. In 2 Peter, Peter describes those who are greedy and indulge their carnal desires, saying, “They have left the straight way and wandered off to follow the way of Balaam son of Beor, who loved the wages of wickedness. But he was rebuked for his wrongdoing by a donkey—an animal without speech—who spoke with a human voice and restrained the prophet’s madness.” (2 Peter 2:15-16)

(Compiled and edited based on the Chinese Union Version and a comprehensive biblical interpretation.)