“Balak said to him, ‘All right, come with me to another place where you can see them. You will see only some of them, not all; but you can curse them for me from there.'”-Numbers 23:13
Balak is a darn persistent fellow!
If the sorcerer Balaam he has hired won’t curse Israel from one high spot, maybe he’ll curse them from another one
So Balak takes Balam to another high place called SEDEH-ZOPHIM.
SEDEH-ZOPHIM means “mountain of the watchmen“.
This area was utilized as an astronomical observation point in those days.
In other other words, one would track the flight of the birds and stars from this point.
In those days, stars and birds were considered important signs and omens.
Also, as I mentioned before, since it was customary to worship gods on hilltops, altars were usually constructed on such high places.
This is why throughout the ages, cathedrals were often constructed as the tallest structures in a city.
Because of it’s towering height, a cathedral was also used as a local watchtower (with bells attached to it) and it also served as a place of sanctuary if the town it was in was attacked.
Onward.
Balak brings Balaam to this second high place and then tells him “You will see only some of them, not all”
What in the world was he trying to imply by this statement?
Well, the idea was that Balaam was feeling more than a tad bit intimidated at cursing this ragtag mob of wanderers who had this incredibly powerful deity protecting them.
Balak assumed that if Balaam cursed them from a spot where he wouldn’t see so much of the population of the Israelites, he wouldn’t be so intimidated and thus it would be easier for him to do his job.
Like I said at the beginning of this post, Balak was a doggone persistent fellow!
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