🔢WEB · Numbers 22:15
What does Numbers 22:15 mean?
"Balak again sent princes, more, and more honorable than they."
— Numbers 22:15 (World English Bible)
Surrounding context
God said to Balaam, “You shall not go with them. You shall not curse the people; for they are blessed.”
Balaam rose up in the morning, and said to the princes of Balak, “Go to your land; for Yahweh refuses to permit me to go with you.”
The princes of Moab rose up, and they went to Balak, and said, “Balaam refuses to come with us.”
Balak again sent princes, more, and more honorable than they.
They came to Balaam, and said to him, “Thus says Balak the son of Zippor, ‘Please let nothing hinder you from coming to me,
for I will promote you to very great honor, and whatever you say to me I will do. Please come therefore, and curse this people for me.’”
Balaam answered the servants of Balak, “If Balak would give me his house full of silver and gold, I can’t go beyond the word of Yahweh my God, to do less or more.
Explanation
Numbers 22:15 describes a moment in the story of Balaam and Balak. In plain language, the verse simply says that Balak, the king of Moab, sent a second delegation to Balaam — and this time the men he sent were more numerous and held in higher honor than the first group had been. It's a short narrative note, but it signals an escalation in Balak's efforts to secure Balaam's cooperation.
The context is essential to understanding why this verse matters. The Israelites, having left Egypt and wandered through the wilderness, were now camped on the plains of Moab, poised to enter the promised land. Balak, seeing this vast nation approaching his territory, was terrified and sought a way to weaken or curse them before they could threaten his kingdom. He had already sent an initial group of messengers to Balaam, a renowned diviner/prophet, asking him to curse Israel on Moab's behalf (Numbers 22:5-7). But Balaam refused to go with them without first consulting God, and God told him not to go (22:8-13). Balak's response to this refusal was not to give up, but to intensify his appeal — sending princes "more, and more honorable" than before, essentially raising the stakes and appealing to Balaam's sense of status and importance, along with promises of great honor and reward (as the following verses
Compare translations
Go deeper with ScriptureCompanion AI
Ask questions about any verse, follow reading plans, write personal prayers, and track your daily habit — all grounded in verified scripture text.