BAL 



210 



BAL 



Balaam. 



it is a proof that God revealed himself to other na- 

 tions, as well as to the .lews ; for neither Job nor his 

 friends were of the family of Israel, .lethro, the 

 priest of Midian, also, had the knowledge of the true 

 God. We need not be surprised, then, that Balaam, 

 who was of the same country, should possess the 

 same knowledge. If holiness be essential to the cha- 

 racter of aprophet, Balaam's qualifications must indeed 

 appear very doubtful. But it is evident from scripture, 

 that the persons possessing the prophetic spirit, were 

 not always distinguished by integrity and uprightness. 

 We have a remarkable instance of this, in the conduct 

 of two prophets, as recorded in the 13th chap, of the 

 first book of Kings. Saul himself was, for a time, 

 among the prophets : Caiaphas, the high-priest, who 

 joined in the persecution of our Lord, had a sudden 

 illapse of the prophetic spirit : and some wicked pro- 

 phets are represented as saying at the day of judg- 

 ment, " Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name i" 

 Balaam, then, it appears, must be added to the num- 

 ber of those, who have sometimes been favoured with 

 the spirit of prophecy, without always possessing the 

 spirit of holiness. 



With regard to his conduct, it does not appear, at 

 first sight, what it was that rendered it so offensive 

 in the sight of God. A little attention to the nar- 

 rative, however, and to some subsequent intimations 

 of Scripture, will enable us sufficiently to explain it. 

 Balak, king of Mpab, sent to entreat him, that he 

 would come and curse Israel. Upon this he consult- 

 ed God, who said, " Thou shalt not go with them." 

 The messengers therefore returned to Balak, who 

 immediately dispatched others more honourable, and 

 empowered them to make him the most flattering 

 offers. Though strongly inclined to comply, yet he . 

 did not dare to disobey the positive command of 

 God. He therefore consulted again, and received 

 this instruction : " If the men come to call thee, rise 

 up and go with them." Upon this we are informed, 

 Balaam rose up in the morning, and saddled his 

 ass, and went with the princes of Midian ; and God's 

 anger was kindled because he went." The difficulty 

 which this passage presents, will be solved at once, 

 if we adopt Shuckford's translation : " God's anger 

 was kindled because he went of himself." The 

 meaning then would be, that Balaam had not waited 

 till the princes of Midian called him in the morn- 

 ing, as he had been directed to do, but had abused 

 the conditional permission which God had given him, 

 by officiously offering to accompany them before he 

 had been again solicited. This is the usual explana- 

 tion of the passage, and may certainly be fairly in- 

 ferred from the words in which it is expressed ; or 

 it may be, that God was offended because he went 

 with a bad intention. That Balaam went with a dis- 

 position to curse, rather than to bless the children of 

 Israel, is evident from what the angel says to him, 

 " I went out to withstand thee, because thy way is 

 perverse before me." It appears also, that he indus- 

 triously sought for evil omens against Israel, and 

 shifted his position several times, that he might, if 

 possible, catch an unfavourable aspect, and pronounce 

 that malediction which the king of Moab so earnestly 

 desired. " But when he saw that it ph ased the Lord 

 to bless Israel, he went uul, as at other times, to 



seek for enchantments," Numb. xxiv. i. His hosti- 

 lity to Israel is also clearly proved, by the counsel 

 which he afterwards gave to the Midianites. Find- 

 ing himself restrained from cursing Israel, he advised 

 the Midianites to seduce them, if possible, into idol- 

 atry. This stratagem was but too successful : the 

 Israelites, however, soon returned to the service of 

 God ; and, when they avenged themselves on Midian, 

 they slew Balaam with the edge of the sword, as 

 the chief author of their sin and of their calamities, 

 Numb. xxxi. 1. 



Much has been said on the subject of the ass, and 

 it has often excited the sneers and ridicule of sceptics 

 and unbelievers ; but if they had half the sense of 

 Balaam's ass, they would not subject a miraculous 

 event to :he ordinary rules of ratiocination. If we 

 admit the possibility of miracles at all, an ass speak- 

 ing is neither more astonishing, nor less possible, than 

 any other deviation from the laws of nature. Mai- 

 monides, however, and almost all the Jewish writers, 

 suppose the whole of this scene to be an allegory, or 

 a vision. Balaam indeed says, that " he saw the vi- 

 sion of the Almighty, falling into a trance, but ha- 

 ving his eyes open f but we cannot be sure that this 

 applies to the particular scene of which we are speak- 

 ing. St Peter seems to favour the literal interpreta- 

 tion : speaking of Balaam, he says, " the dumb ass, 

 speaking with man's voice, forbade the madness of 

 the prophet ;" 2 Pet. ii. 16. See Shuckford's Con- 

 nections, vol. iii. p. 312. Calmet's Dictionary. Bry- 

 ant's Mythology, vol. i. p. 310. Parkhurst's Lexi- 

 con, on the word Pethor. (g) 



BALACLAVA, a sea-port town of Tartary, for- 

 merly Symbolon and Cembalo, is situated on the 

 south side of the Crimea. This town appears to have 

 been founded by the Greeks, and afterwards re- 

 peopled by the Genoese; but being deserted by them, 

 and having fallen into ruins, has now reverted to its 

 original inhabitants. The port, which is situated to 

 the west of the town, is about a verst long, and two 

 hundred toises broad, and is sufficiently deep to re- 

 ceive vessels of the largest size. Being protected 

 from every wind by high mountains, the water is al- 

 ways perfectly calm. The entrance to the south is 

 so contracted by high rocks, that it is impossible for 

 two vessels to pass together, without running foul of 

 each other. Dangerous as this entrance appears, the 

 harbour has been gladly made by vessels driven upon 

 the peninsula, which could not double the point of Chcr- 

 sonesus. The port, however, is shut against ships of 

 all nations, from the fear of contraband trade, which., 

 by less cruel means, it would be easy to prevent. 



The garrison is ordered to fire upon all vessels, 

 even those belonging to the crown, which attempt to 

 enter the harbour. These severe measures have con- 

 sequently occasioned a great number of shipwrecks. 

 In the year 1802, no fewer than four ships, in great 

 distress, begged in vain for shelter. They struck 

 opposite the monastery of St George, and the crew 

 and cargo of two of them were entirely lost. The 

 old Genoese fortress is situated at the entrance of the 

 port, upon a high mountain to the east, defended by 

 lofty walls and towers. The town is well peopled, 

 and its position in the centre of the peninsula makes 

 it a place of considerable trade. The population, con- 



Balaar.x, 

 Balaclav.. 



