Balaam’s Fourth Oracle (Numbers 24:15–19) According To The Aramaic Targums

Abstract

In the biblical narratives, the character of balaam is presented in two ways that are diametrically opposed. This chapter concentrate on one specific genre of post biblical literature, namely the Targums. It focuses especially on the interpretation of Balaam's fourth oracle, which is best-known from the famous words 'A star rises from Jacob. The fourth oracle can be divided into two main parts. The first part, Num 24:15-16, introduces and characterises Balaam. In the secondpart, Num 24:17-19, the content of the oracle is given. The chapter follows this division. It starts with a section on the speaker, followed by a section on the content of the oracle. The Palestinian Targums can be subdivided into Targum Neofiti and the Fragment Targums on the one hand and Targum Pseudo-Jonathan on the other. Keywords: Balaam; fourth oracle; Fragment Targums; Jacob; Palestinian Targums; Targum Neofiti; Targum Pseudo-Jonathan; Targums