“Then the Lord opened the eyes of Balaam, and he saw the angel of the Lord standing in the way, and his sword drawn in his hand: and he bowed down his head, and fell flat on his face.”
The angel of the LORD said to him, 'Why have you struck your donkey these three times? I have come out as an adversary, because your way is perverse before me' — the angel rebukes Balaam for beating the donkey. The angel explicitly identifies himself as Balaam's opponent ('I have come out as an adversary,' yasarti letzar lo). The reason: 'your way is perverse before me' (derechcha neltua negdi). Balaam's journey, motivated by desire for reward and fame, represents a perversity—a deviation from the right path. The angel claims to be opposing Balaam's will, which is inclined toward cursing for hire despite God's command.
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