
| Welcome to Kadaish. We hope you enjoy your visit. You're currently viewing our forum as a guest. This means you are limited to certain areas of the board and there are some features you can't use. If you join our community, you'll be able to participate in the discussions, sharing your ideas and questions. This will broaden the scope of our understanding together and we greatly appreciate your willingness to be involved, regardless of how we may agree or disagree. Registration is simple, fast, and completely free. Join our community! If you're already a member please log in to your account to access all of our features: |
| The field of Zophim | |
|---|---|
| Tweet Topic Started: Jul 9 2011, 07:31 AM (207 Views) | |
| MarkStaneart | Jul 9 2011, 07:31 AM Post #1 |
|
Administrator
|
The field (or flat space) of Zophim can be translated as "the field of the watchers." It was likely an outpost established just for the purpose of observing potential threats from a covert vantage. It is from Pisgah that God will show the land of Promise to Moses, from just outside the boarders of Israel. The population of Israel, not including the "mixed multitude" that traveled among them, was estimated to be about 1.6 million people (all with their cows, sheep, donkeys and camels). They had to take up a significant portion of real estate. Balak suggested that if he couldn't get an outright cursing out of God, maybe he could get at least a portion of them cursed. He might have been responding to Bilaam's statement, "who can number the fourth part of Israel..." The fourth part isn't considered an equal portion divided into quarters. It would be the lower fourth, like from the knee down. It carries the idea of weakness and submission: possibly viewing the mixed-multitude specifically and only. "Can't we curse even them?" It is a common strategy, when attacked by our enemies, that the attention if focused upon the weakest elements as definitive concerning the whole. Cursing the lesser parts causes division among the congregation, even inclines the collective to be in conflict with itself. It is a shrewd and effective strategy. This is why Paul says for us to bear one another's burdens in Galatians 6:2.
|
| Visit Mark Staneart at www.renewourdays.com | |
![]() |
|
| 1 user reading this topic (1 Guest and 0 Anonymous) | |
| « Previous Topic · 4th Reading Numbers 22:39-23:12 · Next Topic » |





5:42 PM Jul 10