אראנו ולא עתה. הקרוב אלי כי זאת הנבוא' על דוד אמר ולא עתה כי אחרי ארבע מאות שנה היתה: I SEE HIM, BUT NOT NOW. It appears to me that this prophecy refers to King David. Balaam said but not now, for it referred to an event four hundred years later.
אשורנו ולא קרוב. הטעם כפול והמשל הוא כוכב ושבט: I BEHOLD HIM, BUT NOT NIGH. Scripture repeats itself.37I behold him, but not nigh repeats, I see him, but not now. The star and the sceptre are the parable.
דרך כוכב. יש דמות כוכבים דורכים ברקיע שלא היו בתולדת ולא נודעו: THERE SHALL STEP FORTH A STAR. There are images of stars that step forth in the sky that never existed and were never known.38New stars appear that were never known. I.E. is probably referring to comets. His point is that the king referred to in our verse shall suddenly appear.
וקם שבט. מלכות והנכון בעיני כי מלת דרך שיראה בדרכו כטעם הכוכבים ממסילותם ורבים פירשוהו על המשיח והקדמונים אמרו סנחריב בלבל הגוים והנה מואב ועמלק ואשור ועוד למה השלים וענו עבר רק היה ראוי להיות דרך כוכב בסוף משלו וחסירי דעת יחשבו כי המפרש דרך כוכב על דוד הוא מכחש ביאת המשיח חלילה חלילה כי המשיח מבואר היטב בנבואת דניאל כאשר פירשתי שהזכיר עמידת מלכי יון וקום החשמונים ועמידת בית שני ושני המצור והגליות והישועה זה אחר זה ואין צורך לנביא בעולם עם דברי משה שהוא העיקר אם יהיה נדחך בקצה השמים ושב ה' אלהיך את שבותך: AND A SCEPTRE39Hebrew, shevet (a rod). Hence I.E.’s comment. SHALL ARISE. The reference is to a royal sceptre.I believe that shall step means that the star shall be seen making its way, as in The stars in their courses (Jud. 5:20). Many explained that the reference is to the messiah. The ancients said that Sanherib40An Assyrian king who lived in the eighth century. mixed up the nations.41See Yoma 54a. However, note that Scripture speaks of Moab, Amalek, and Asshur.42Thus our verse deals with the pre-Sanherib period. Therefore it cannot pertain to the messiah. Furthermore, why does Balaam conclude with and shall afflict Eber (v. 24)?43Eber refers to the Israelites. If Balaam’s prophecy refers to the messiah, why does he conclude with the affliction of Israel? Israel will not be afflicted in the messianic era. On the contrary, Balaam should have ended his parable with There shall step forth a star out of Jacob.44For that is what will take place in the messianic era after Israel is afflicted. Those who lack intelligence think that anyone who explains that There shall step forth a star refers to King David denies the coming of the messiah.45For “those who lack intelligence” believe that this verse is necessary for belief in the coming of the messiah. Therefore one who interprets this verse as referring to King David denies the coming of the messiah. Far be it, far be it, for the messiah is clearly stated in the prophecy of Daniel. I have already explained that Daniel first mentions the coming into existence of the Greek kings46The kingdoms of the Greeks. and the arising of the Hasmoneans. He mentions the existence of the second temple, the years of the siege, the exile, and the salvation. He notes these things in order. There is no conceivable need for another prophet,47We would know about the coming of the messiah even if we did not have the Book of Daniel. since we have the words of Moses, who is the most important prophet: If any of thine that are dispersed be in the uttermost parts of heaven… the Lord thy God will bring thee (Deut. 30:4,5).48Back to the Land of Israel. In other words, although our verse does not allude to the messiah, Deuteronomy does. I.E. notes this because he wants to show that Moses predicted the coming of the messiah.
ומחץ פאתי מואב. כן עשה דוד: AND SHALL SMITE THROUGH THE CORNERS OF MOAB. This is what David did.49See II Sam. 8:2.
וקרקר. כמו מקרקר קיר והטעם הורס הקיר כמו מסעף: AND BREAK DOWN. The word karkar (break down) is similar to mekarkar kir (Is. 22:5), the meaning of which is, breaking the wall. It is similar to the word mesa’ef (shall lop) (Is. 10:33).50In that the verbal form of the noun means to destroy what the noun stands for. See I.E. on verse 8 and the notes thereto.
בני שת. כמו בני אדם כי הוא העיקר כי נח מבני בניו היה ויאמר היצחקי כי פירשו על בני עמון גם מואב והטעם כפול גם אמר שהוא מגזרת וחשפי שת רמז לבנות לוט והוא רחוק בעיני כי השת הוא האחור שהוא כמו היסוד כמו כי השתות יהרסון ורבים פירשו כל בני שת מגזרת כי השתות והטעם כי יהרום המדינות ואיננו רחוק: THE SONS OF SETH. People. Seth was the most important son of Adam, for Noah was descended from him. Yitzchaki51See I.E. on Gen. 36:31 and the notes thereto. says that the reference is to the Amonites and the Moabites, and that Scripture repeats itself.52Sons of Seth is another term for the Moabites. He also says that the word Seth is derived from the word shet (buttocks) in and with buttocks uncovered (Is. 20:4) and that it alludes to the daughters53The ancestresses of the Moabites and the Ammonites. See Gen. 19:37,38. of Lot.54Their father, whose nakedness his daughters uncovered. See Gen. 19:30-38. However, this appears to me to be farfetched, for shet refers to the backside,55While Lot’s daughters uncovered his front. The point is, Scripture would not allude to intercourse by employing the phrase “uncovering the buttocks.” which is the foundation of the body.56In other words, the basic meaning of shet is foundation, not buttock. Compare, ki ha-shatot yeharesun (When the foundations are destroyed) (Ps. 11:3). Many others have explained that the word shet (Seth) in all the sons of Seth, is related to the word ha-shatot (foundations) in When the foundations are destroyed. It means that the cities will be destroyed.57According to this interpretation, ve-karkar kol bene shet (and break down all the sons of Seth) means: and will break down all foundations. This interpretation is not far-fetched.