במדבר, פרק כ״ד, פסוק י״ד

In his parting moments with the Moabite king, having realized he cannot directly curse the Israelites, Balaam shifts his approach. Recognizing that Israel cannot be defeated through direct spiritual force, he understands that their vulnerability lies in their morality. As he prepares to leave, he delivers a dual message containing both a covert plot for the immediate present and a prophetic vision for the distant future. His declaration of departure signals the end of his official role, though commentators differ on his state of mind. Some view this as a voluntary withdrawal; Balaam confidently returns to his homeland, indifferent to the king's wealth and secure in his own magical abilities to avoid harm from Israel [אור החיים, אברבנאל]. Conversely, others see this moment as a profound spiritual downfall. Stripped of the prophetic spirit following the king's angry dismissal, Balaam reverts to being merely an ordinary sorcerer among his people [רש״י, חתם סופר, לבוש האורה].

Before departing, Balaam offers counsel, a gesture interpreted in several distinct ways. The primary approach among commentators is that the narrative here is deliberately condensed, bridging practical advice with a separate future prophecy. The practical advice is kept hidden in this moment but is revealed later in the episode of Baal Peor. Knowing that God despises immorality, Balaam advises the king to use Moabite and Midianite women to seduce the Israelites into prostitution and idolatry, thereby provoking God to punish them Himself [רש״י, גור אריה, רא״ש, רש״ר הירש, חומש קה״ת]. Notably, Balaam phrases this by describing what the Israelites will ultimately do to Moab, rather than what Moab will do to Israel. He employs this inverted, euphemistic language to avoid explicitly attributing the shame of prostitution to the king's own people [תורה תמימה].

Other scholars suggest that the counsel and the prophecy are actually one and the same. In this view, Balaam’s advice is meant to reassure the king: he should cease his military preparations and abandon his fear, because Israel will not harm Moab in his lifetime, but only in the distant future [רשב״ם, ספורנו, אברבנאל, בכור שור]. Alternatively, the counsel is understood not as practical guidance, but as a revelation of God's hidden plan for the nations [רמב״ן, רבנו בחיי, טור], or simply as a promise to hint at what the future holds [הכתב והקבלה].

This final message marks a transition from Balaam's earlier prophecies, which focused on the present, to a vision fixed entirely on the future [ביאור שטיינזלץ]. While some interpret this distant era as the period of the Israelite monarchy under King David [ספורנו, שד״ל, העמק דבר], a broader perspective views this as an evolution toward the Messianic age. In this framework, Balaam's prophecies progress chronologically: the first addressed Israel's uniqueness, the second the conquest of the land, the third the reign of King David, and this final vision looks toward the ultimate end of days [רמב״ן, רבנו בחיי, טור, שפתי כהן, אברבנאל]. Although Balaam assures the king that his nation of Moab will only suffer in this distant future, he subtly implies that the king himself—who originates from Midian—remains unprotected and faces imminent danger [אור החיים]. Ultimately, these two elements of Balaam's parting words are tragically intertwined. It is precisely because of Balaam’s malicious advice, which led the Israelites into sin, that the realization of his grand, positive prophecies was delayed until the end of days [נחלת יעקב].