🔢WEB · Numbers 22:25
What does Numbers 22:25 mean?
"The donkey saw Yahweh’s angel, and she thrust herself to the wall, and crushed Balaam’s foot against the wall. He struck her again."
— Numbers 22:25 (World English Bible)
Surrounding context
God’s anger burned because he went; and Yahweh’s angel placed himself in the way for an adversary against him. Now he was riding on his donkey, and his two servants were with him.
The donkey saw Yahweh’s angel standing in the way, with his sword drawn in his hand; and the donkey turned out of the path, and went into the field. Balaam struck the donkey, to turn her into the path.
Then Yahweh’s angel stood in a narrow path between the vineyards, a wall being on this side, and a wall on that side.
The donkey saw Yahweh’s angel, and she thrust herself to the wall, and crushed Balaam’s foot against the wall. He struck her again.
Yahweh’s angel went further, and stood in a narrow place, where there was no way to turn either to the right hand or to the left.
The donkey saw Yahweh’s angel, and she lay down under Balaam. Balaam’s anger burned, and he struck the donkey with his staff.
Yahweh opened the mouth of the donkey, and she said to Balaam, “What have I done to you, that you have struck me these three times?”
Explanation
Numbers 22:25 comes in the middle of one of the Bible's most unusual and even darkly comic narratives — the story of Balaam and his donkey. Balak, king of Moab, has hired Balaam, a non-Israelite prophet or diviner, to curse the people of Israel as they journey toward the Promised Land. God permits Balaam to go on the journey but is angry about his motives, and sends an angel to block his path. The twist is that Balaam, the supposed "seer," cannot perceive the angel standing in the road, while his donkey can see it plainly. In this verse, the donkey, terrified by the angel with a drawn sword, presses herself against a wall to avoid it, crushing Balaam's foot in the process. Balaam, oblivious to the real danger, responds by striking the donkey again in anger and frustration.
The passage was written as part of the Torah, traditionally attributed to Moses, and addressed to the Israelites as they recalled their journey through the wilderness. Numbers 22–24 forms a distinct narrative unit that shows, from an outsider's perspective, that Israel's God is sovereign even over a foreign diviner hired to curse His people. The story functions almost like a folk tale or parable embedded within the larger historical account, using irony and humor to make its theological point unmistakable.
Theologically, the scene is a pointed reversal of expectation: the "dumb" animal sees spiritual reality clearly
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