Beatings, Blessings, and Blame

Beatings, Blessings, and Blame Comparative commentary by Bridget Nichols Cite Share Show Bible Passage The story of the non-Israelite prophet and seer Balaam, and his response to the summons of Balak the Moabite ruler to curse the Israelite people, occupies three chapters in Numbers. Initially, God refuses to let Balaam go to Moab or to curse God’s people. Balaam’s reluctant agreement to undertake the mission after a second party of emissaries is sent from Balak is sanctioned by God. But God then appears to undergo a further change of heart and becomes angry (Numbers 22:22). The high point in the narrative comes when Balaam’s she-ass (the Hebrew text is specific) finds her voice. As they travel, she sees an angel barring the road. Three times, the angel obstructs progress and Balaam, who does not see the angel, beats her angrily. When God gives her the power to speak, she protests that she has carried Balaam faithfully and does not deserve ill-treatment. Balaam now perceives the angel. When Balaam arrives in the Moabite territory, instead of cursing the Israelites, he assures them of God’s blessing. Animals and birds who address human beings in their own language are well represented in world literature. Yet in biblical literature, only the serpent in the Garden of Eden and the eagle who cries ‘Woe to the earth’ in Revelation are possible companions to the ass (Genesis 3:1–7; Revelation 8:13). Balaam not only replies to the ass’s rebuke, but does so as if he is quite accustomed to having conversations with her. Gender matters here almost as much as species. It would have been unseemly for a woman to remonstrate with a prophet. An eloquent female animal adds a further element of mockery to an already ridiculous situation. Despite proving himself to be on Israel’s side, Balaam’s subsequent career is dark. He is held responsible for the seduction of Israelite men by Midianite or Moabite women (Numbers 25; 31:8) and finally put to death (Numbers 31:8; Joshua 13:22). In Micah 6:5, 2 Peter 2:15, Jude 1:11, and Revelation 2:14, he becomes an example of someone who led God’s people astray and dabbled in divination for money. The fifth-century CE collection of rabbinic writings known as the Babylonian Talmud alleges that that he had a sexual relationship with the ass (Sanhedrin 105b). The three responses to the encounter with the angel by Rembrandt van Rijn, the illustrator of the Weltchronik, and Miss Lassie all recognize its drama, while emphasizing different aspects of the episode. In Rembrandt’s exuberant scene, the seer’s failure to see is given comic treatment, exaggerated by skilful contrasts in the depiction of eyes and lines of sight. Likewise, his humiliation before sombre observers is heightened when he is seen opulently dressed astride a kneeling animal, and missing a shoe. The hastily packed satchel points to someone who has set out in a great hurry. The Weltchronik illustrator has reduced the cast to Balaam, the ass, and the angel in a visual counterpart to the text. But the artist has found ways, especially brush techniques, of mischievously suggesting similarities between the prophet and the ass. The angel mediates between them, directing the sword at Balaam, but stretching out what could be read as a reassuring hand to the ass. Eyes play an important part, as they do in Rembrandt’s treatment. Miss Lassie’s interpretation could be enjoyed simply for its vivid use of colour, its ostentatious labelling of the scene, and its double signature—as if to make sure that there should be no mistake about attribution. It merits closer inspection, particularly of the ass. Whereas the angelic and human figure are relatively static, the ass is addressing the angel vehemently. Balaam has ceased to matter and his half-hearted beating is ignored. The further unfolding of events following the meeting with the angel in Numbers, and references to Balaam in later biblical tradition, neither found him amusing, nor considered the ass to be of interest (except in the Talmudic allegation of bestiality, which was part of a wider presentation of Balaam as a bad prophet). The three artists represented here have shown that serious themes can be illuminated by attention to incongruous and often diverting detail. References Alter, Robert. 2004. ‘Balaam and the Ass: An Excerpt from a New Translation of the “Five Books of Moses”’, The Kenyon Review, 26.4: 6–32 Berkowitz, Beth A. 2018. Animals and Animality in the Babylonian Talmud (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press) Van Kooten, George H. and Jacques van Ruiten (eds). 2008. The Prestige of the Pagan Prophet Balaam in Judaism, Early Christianity, and Islam (Leiden: Brill)