במדבר, פרק כ״ג, פסוק ב׳

The alliance between the Moabite king and the Midianite prophet reaches its peak during a sacrificial ritual. This moment blends physical actions with spiritual intentions in an attempt to influence God's will and bring harm to the Israelites. While the two men worked closely together, the exact nature of their partnership is debated. One perspective views the joint offering as an act of connection, designed to strengthen their bond and establish the prophet as the king's official representative [ביאור שטיינזלץ]. Another approach points to a clear division of labor, where the king managed the physical act of sacrificing the animals, while the prophet provided the spiritual focus behind them [שפתי כהן]. Alternatively, some suggest that the prophet alone performed the actual sacrifices, with the king's role limited strictly to preparing them [אור החיים].

This ritual raises a question regarding the prophet's initiative. Since God had strictly forbidden him from taking any action without direct instruction, why did he offer sacrifices on his own? He reasoned that the divine prohibition only applied to using impure forces to issue a curse. Actions intended to honor God, however, were not forbidden. Therefore, he chose to offer sacrifices to God as a way of testing whether his efforts would find divine favor [אור החיים].

The specific details of the ritual were highly calculated, aimed directly at countering the spiritual merits of the Israelite forefathers. The construction of exactly seven altars was meant to parallel the seven altars built by the patriarchs over the generations, an attempt to prove that the Israelites did not hold an exclusive claim to spiritual greatness [אור החיים]. Furthermore, the choice of animals was deliberate. A bull and a ram were offered on each individual altar, rather than just one of each overall, as the primary approach among commentators explains. These specific animals were chosen to target the merits of Abraham and Isaac. Notably, the men avoided sacrificing sheep, which represent Jacob. They recognized that Jacob's family line was entirely pure and flawless, leaving them with no spiritual foothold to attack him [אדרת אליהו].