Numbers 23:22 kjv
God brought them out of Egypt; he hath as it were the strength of an unicorn.
Numbers 23:22 nkjv
God brings them out of Egypt; He has strength like a wild ox.
Numbers 23:22 niv
God brought them out of Egypt; they have the strength of a wild ox.
Numbers 23:22 esv
God brings them out of Egypt and is for them like the horns of the wild ox.
Numbers 23:22 nlt
God brought them out of Egypt;
for them he is as strong as a wild ox.
Numbers 23 22 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference (Short Note) |
|---|---|---|
| Num 23:23 | "Surely there is no enchantment against Jacob, no divination against Israel..." | God's power protects from all opposition. |
| Deut 4:34 | "...did any god ever attempt to go and take a nation for himself..." | God's unique action in delivering Israel. |
| Deut 33:17 | "...His horns are the horns of a wild ox; with them he shall gore the peoples..." | Wild ox as a symbol of powerful tribal strength. |
| Ps 22:21 | "Save me from the mouth of the lion; from the horns of the wild oxen you answer me!" | God delivers from powerful and dangerous foes. |
| Ps 29:6 | "He makes Lebanon skip like a calf, and Sirion like a young wild ox." | God's voice (power) affects mighty creation like the wild ox. |
| Ps 92:10 | "You have exalted my horn like that of the wild ox..." | God bestows and increases the believer's strength. |
| Job 39:9-11 | "Is the wild ox willing to serve you? Will he spend the night at your manger?" | Highlights the re'em's formidable, untamable nature. |
| Isa 43:3 | "For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior; I give Egypt as your ransom..." | God as the divine rescuer through the Exodus. |
| Jer 32:20-21 | "...who performed signs and wonders in the land of Egypt, and even to this day, in Israel..." | Remembers the Exodus as a monumental act of power. |
| Exod 6:6-7 | "Say therefore to the people of Israel, 'I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the burdens...'" | God's direct promise to initiate the Exodus. |
| Exod 15:2-3, 11 | "The Lord is my strength and my song... The Lord is a man of war... Who is like you, O Lord, among the gods?" | Praises God's strength and incomparable power in deliverance. |
| Ps 68:4-5 | "Sing to God... his name is the Lord! ...a father of the fatherless and a protector of widows is God..." | God as the great deliverer and protector. |
| Ps 77:14-15 | "You are the God who works wonders; you have made known your might among the peoples..." | God's wondrous deeds and mighty acts for His people. |
| Deut 23:5 | "Nevertheless, the Lord your God would not listen to Balaam; instead, the Lord your God turned the curse into a blessing..." | God's sovereignty over Balaam's prophecies. |
| Neh 13:2 | "...they had hired Balaam against them to curse them, yet our God turned the curse into a blessing." | Confirms God's divine reversal of intended harm. |
| Rom 8:31 | "If God is for us, who can be against us?" | God's powerful, supportive presence ensures triumph. |
| Heb 1:3 | "He is the radiance of the glory of God... and he upholds the universe by the word of his power." | Christ's sustaining power reflects divine might. |
| Rev 1:8 | "'I am the Alpha and the Omega,' says the Lord God, 'who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.'" | Attributes ultimate, all-encompassing power to God. |
| Ps 147:5 | "Great is our Lord, and abundant in power; his understanding is beyond measure." | Emphasizes God's infinite power and knowledge. |
| Ps 78:42-43 | "They did not remember his power... how he had performed his signs in Egypt..." | Highlights Israel's forgetfulness of God's Exodus power. |
| Isa 40:28 | "The Lord is the everlasting God... He does not faint or grow weary..." | God's eternal and inexhaustible power. |
| 1 Chr 29:11 | "Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory..." | Ascribes all attributes of supreme power to God. |
| Col 1:16-17 | "For by him all things were created... and in him all things hold together." | Christ's foundational creative and sustaining power. |
Numbers 23 verses
Numbers 23 22 Meaning
Numbers 23:22 proclaims the unparalleled might of the God of Israel. It affirms that the Lord, the one who powerfully liberated His people from Egyptian bondage, possesses an immense, untameable strength, likened to that of a wild ox, a creature renowned for its formidable and irresistible power. This verse, spoken by the pagan prophet Balaam, highlights God's unique and overwhelming power demonstrated in historical deliverance, specifically the Exodus.
Numbers 23 22 Context
Numbers 23:22 is part of Balaam's second oracle, delivered to Balak, King of Moab, who desperately sought to have Israel cursed. Balak brought Balaam to various vantage points, hoping for a change in prophecy after the first oracle also blessed Israel. However, in each instance, the spirit of the Lord compelled Balaam to utter blessings upon Israel instead of curses. This particular verse follows Balaam's declaration in Numbers 23:21 that God "has not beheld iniquity in Jacob, nor has he seen trouble in Israel," emphasizing God's favor and protective stance over His chosen people. The immediate chapter context highlights God's absolute sovereignty over even the words of a foreign diviner, ensuring that His divine plans for Israel cannot be thwarted by human or pagan attempts.
Numbers 23 22 Word analysis
- God: (Hebrew:
אֵל, El) – A foundational and powerful term for the divine in the ancient Near East, often signifying supreme power and authority. Here, it specifically denotes the singular, true God of Israel, distinguishing His unique and omnipotent nature from local pagan deities. - brought them out: (Hebrew:
הוֹצִיאוֹ, ho·tsi'o - "He brought them out") – Derived from the rootיָצָא(yatsa), meaning "to go out" or "to come out." This verb emphatically points to the historical Exodus event, which is the foundational act of liberation for the nation of Israel from Egyptian slavery. It signifies God's direct, powerful, and deliberate intervention to redeem His people. This act is a primary identifier of Israel's God. - of Egypt: (Hebrew:
מִמִּצְרָֽיִם, mim·mitz·ra·yim - "from Egypt") – Refers to the oppressive land where Israel was held in bondage. "Egypt" in biblical narrative frequently symbolizes oppressive worldly powers or slavery to sin. God bringing Israel out of Egypt underscores His role as a divine redeemer and liberator from insurmountable oppression. - he has as it were: (Hebrew:
ל֥וֹ כְתֹֽעֲפֹת, lo chetho'aphot - "to him, as strength/swiftness of...") – The Hebrew che (כְ) is a comparative particle, meaning "as" or "like," directly introducing a simile. It prepares the listener for a vivid and powerful comparison, indicating an attribute of God that intensely resembles the described entity. - the strength: (Hebrew:
תּוֹעֲפֹֽת, to'aphot) – Often translated as "strength," "vigor," "might," "swiftness," or "power." It conveys an attribute of formidable and irresistible energy and vitality. In this context, it suggests overwhelming, active, and untameable power. - of a wild ox: (Hebrew:
רְאֵם, re'em) – A large, formidable, and powerful bovine animal, now extinct (widely identified as the aurochs, Bos primigenius). In the ancient world, it was renowned for its immense physical strength, large and dangerous horns, ferocity, and completely untameable nature. In Scripture,re'emsymbolizes irresistible power, aggressive might, and often the exalting of horns as a sign of triumph and strength. Comparing God's strength to a wild ox emphasizes His unrivalled, fierce, and liberating power that none can stand against or domesticate.
Words-group analysis
- "God brought them out of Egypt": This concise phrase encapsulates the central redemptive act of the Old Testament, forming the core identity of the nation of Israel and serving as the foundational evidence of God's unparalleled power and unwavering faithfulness. For Balaam, a non-Israelite diviner, to emphatically acknowledge this historical fact underscores its universal recognition and the supreme authority of Yahweh to powerfully intervene and liberate.
- "he has as it were the strength of a wild ox": This striking simile vividly articulates a profound aspect of God's character: His immense, irresistible power. The re'em (wild ox) was globally recognized for its undomesticated and tremendously forceful nature, often associated with an unstoppable, goring impact. By likening God's strength to this animal, Balaam testifies to the irresistible, untameable, and overwhelming power of the Lord that no human opposition, spiritual sorcery, or worldly kingdom can effectively withstand. It conveys an image of active, potent, conquering, and fiercely protective divine might.
Numbers 23 22 Bonus section
The imagery of the re'em (wild ox) would have carried particular resonance and weight for ancient audiences, especially in the Near East. In ancient Mesopotamian and Assyrian art and reliefs, powerful kings were frequently depicted hunting or conquering wild oxen, symbolizing their own great strength, valor, and conquering prowess. For Balaam, a foreign diviner, to attribute this exact symbol of supreme, untamed, and irresistible power directly to the God of Israel is an extraordinary and telling declaration. It unequivocally elevates Yahweh above any king, human authority, or rival deity within the entire pagan pantheon. This strongly suggests that the God who leads Israel is an unstoppable force, actively working on behalf of His people. The verse's strategic placement within Balaam's otherwise commissioned curses powerfully illustrates that God's immutable truth and sovereign plan can pierce through and overturn even the most entrenched spiritual opposition, miraculously transforming intended curses into powerful, divine blessings.
Numbers 23 22 Commentary
Numbers 23:22, a prophetic declaration spoken unexpectedly by a pagan diviner, provides a powerful and unsolicited tribute to the unparalleled strength of Israel's God. This verse serves as a crucial reminder of God's absolute sovereignty and limitless capacity for deliverance, deeply anchoring His identity in the foundational historical event of the Exodus. The vivid comparison of God's might to the "wild ox" (re'em) vividly illustrates an untamed, fiercely irresistible, and overwhelming strength that far surpasses all earthly and spiritual powers arrayed against His people. This divine strength not only enabled the miraculous escape from Egyptian bondage but also implicitly assures Israel of continued divine protection, triumphant victory, and steadfast support against all future formidable adversaries. The very nature of the God of Israel—being of such formidable, untamable might—underscores His perfect faithfulness to His covenant and His absolute unstoppable pursuit of His divine purposes for His chosen nation, thereby instilling profound confidence in Israel and deep terror in her enemies.