“Behold, the people shall rise up as a great lion, and lift up himself as a young lion: he shall not lie down until he eat of the prey, and drink the blood of the slain.”
Look, a people rising like a lioness, and rousing itself like a lion! It does not lie down until it has eaten the prey and drunk the blood of the slain' — the imagery shifts to animals of prey: lioness and lion. Israel is described in active, aggressive language; these are hunters, warriors, unstoppable predators. The imagery of eating prey and drinking blood is visceral and violent; it speaks to Israel's military dominance. Yet the oracle affirms what Balak fears: Israel is indeed a mighty, devouring force.
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