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A Study on the Boundary between Acceptance and Rejection of Balaam: Centered on Numbers 22-24

  • Korean Journal of Old Testament Studies
  • Abbr : KJOTS
  • 2020, 26(1), pp.14-36
  • DOI : 10.24333/jkots.2020.26.1.14
  • Publisher : Korean Society of Old Testament Studies
  • Research Area : Humanities > Christian Theology
  • Received : November 2, 2019
  • Accepted : January 19, 2020

Kim Ju-Hwan 1

1연세대학교

Accredited

ABSTRACT

Numbers 22-24 records two aspects of Balaam. One aspect is Balaam as a prophet who blessed Israel and explained to Balak, who had hired him to curse her, why he could not do. The other is Balaam as a man of no discernment who did not only reversed Yahweh’s command not to accompany those sent by Balak, but also wielded violence against his donkey that tried to detour the road to save himself from Yahweh’s messenger. Although Balaam is negatively evaluated in the Old Testament and considered even in Numbers as the one who planned the heresy of Peor, the author of Numbers recorded the story of Balaam in many pages of Numbers 22-24. The reason was that Israel needed external testimony, not only her own claim, in taking over the land of Canaan and settling in it. Therefore, the author accepted Balaam’s prophecy and rejected his conduct. On the one hand, if the author intended to evaluate Balaam only negatively, he could have selected and recorded only the negative aspects of Balaam. For it would have been easy for him to jump on the atmosphere of the negative evaluation of Balaam which is recorded throughout the Old Testament. On the other, if there were reasons why the author had to positively evaluate Balaam by force of necessity, he could have recorded only the positive aspects of Balaam. However, a double description of Balaam was possible to the author of Numbers because there were parts to accept from Balaam and parts to reject as well. The author strengthened Israel’s justification for advancing into the land of Canaan by accepting Balaam’s prophecy on her and justified Balaam’s death by ostracizing his conduct. Balaam's prophecy, which justified Israel’s ownership of the land of Canaan, could be utilized for various purposes in various times, transcending the date of Numbers. In an era when Israel was at odds with her neighboring countries in her history, the story of Balaam could have claimed her status, and in the post-exilic period it could have been used as the theological basis for the validity of the return of the captives who were to return to the Promised Land. After all, the boundary between acceptance and rejection of Balaam between words and deeds is the result of literary activities that the author can choose as needed.

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