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The summary of the entire Torah is as simple as this:
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Home > Commentary > Torah

בּמִדְבּר • B'midbar
(“In the Wilderness”)
The Fourth Book of Moses,
Commonly Called
Numbers

Numbers: Introduction and Outline • Videos
1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9  10  11  12  13  14  15  16  17  18 
19  20  21  22  23  24  25  26  27  28  29  30  31  32  33  34  35  36
 

Parashot: Index   34. B'midbar   35. Naso   36. Beha’alotcha   37. Shlach L’kha  
38. Korach   39. Chukat   40. Balak   41. Pinchas   42. Mattot   43. Masa‘ei
(Small Roman numerals in the text indicate each 'aliyah.)[GN]

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פָּרָשָׁה חֻקַּת
Parsha 39: Chukat • Continued

~ 22 ~

5. Israel in the Plains of Moab (22:1-36:13)

a. Balaam and the King of Moab (22:1-25:18)

i. Balak, King of Moab, hires Balaam (22:1-21)

1 Then the people of Isra’el traveled on and camped in the plains of Mo’av near the Yarden River, across from Yericho. [MAP]

[Continue reading chapter 22]

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Now that you've read Parsha Chukat, listen to
Rabbi Greg Hershberg teach from the text

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Haftarah

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Haftarah Chukat is Shof’tim (Judges) 11:1–33

Listen to Haftarah Chukat read from the Complete Jewish Bible

1 Now Jephthah the Gil‘adite was a mighty man of valor. He was the son of a prostitute. Gil‘ad became the father of Jephthah. 2 Gil‘ad’s wife bore him sons. When his wife’s sons grew up, they drove Jephthah out and said to him, “You will not inherit in our father’s house, for you are the son of another woman.” 3 Then Jephthah fled from his brothers and lived in the land of Tob. Outlaws joined up with Jephthah, and they went out with him.

4 After a while, the children of Ammon made war against Isra'el. 5 When the children of Ammon made war against Isra'el, the elders of Gil‘ad went to get Jephthah out of the land of Tob. 6 They said to Jephthah, “Come and be our chief, that we may fight with the children of Ammon.”

7 Jephthah said to the elders of Gil‘ad, “Didn’t you hate me, and drive me out of my father’s house? Why have you come to me now when you are in distress?”

8 The elders of Gil‘ad said to Jephthah, “Therefore we have turned again to you now, that you may go with us and fight with the children of Ammon. You will be our head over all the inhabitants of Gil‘ad.”

9 Jephthah said to the elders of Gil‘ad, “If you bring me home again to fight with the children of Ammon, and ADONAI delivers them before me, will I be your head?”

10 The elders of Gil‘ad said to Jephthah, “ADONAI will be witness between us. Surely we will do what you say.”

11 Then Jephthah went with the elders of Gil‘ad, and the people made him head and chief over them. Jephthah spoke all his words before ADONAI in Mizpah.

12 Jephthah sent messengers to the king of the children of Ammon, saying, “What do you have to do with me, that you have come to me to fight against my land?”

13 The king of the children of Ammon answered the messengers of Jephthah, “Because Isra'el took away my land when he came up out of Egypt, from the Arnon even to the Jabbok, and to the Jordan. Now therefore restore that territory again peaceably.”

14 Jephthah sent messengers again to the king of the children of Ammon; 15 and he said to him, “Jephthah says: Isra'el didn’t take away the land of Moab, nor the land of the children of Ammon; 16 but when they came up from Egypt, and Isra'el went through the wilderness to the Sea of Suf, and came to Kadesh, 17 then Isra'el sent messengers to the king of Edom, saying, ‘Please let me pass through your land;’ but the king of Edom didn’t listen. In the same way, he sent to the king of Moab, but he refused; so Isra'el stayed in Kadesh. 18 Then they went through the wilderness, and went around the land of Edom, and the land of Moab, and came by the east side of the land of Moab, and they encamped on the other side of the Arnon; but they didn’t come within the border of Moab, for the Arnon was the border of Moab. 19 Isra'el sent messengers to Sihon king of the Amorites, the king of Heshbon; and Isra'el said to him, ‘Please let us pass through your land to my place.’ 20 But Sihon didn’t trust Isra'el to pass through his border; but Sihon gathered all his people together, and encamped in Jahaz, and fought against Isra'el. 21 ADONAI, the God of Isra'el, delivered Sihon and all his people into the hand of Isra'el, and they struck them. So Isra'el possessed all the land of the Amorites, the inhabitants of that country. 22 They possessed all the border of the Amorites, from the Arnon even to the Jabbok, and from the wilderness even to the Jordan. 23 So now ADONAI, the God of Isra'el, has dispossessed the Amorites from before his people Isra'el, and should you possess them? 24 Won’t you possess that which Chemosh your god gives you to possess? So whoever ADONAI our God has dispossessed from before us, them will we possess. 25 Now are you anything better than Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab? Did he ever strive against Isra'el, or did he ever fight against them? 26 Isra'el lived in Heshbon and its towns, and in Aroer and its towns, and in all the cities that are along the side of the Arnon for three hundred years! Why didn’t you recover them within that time? 27 Therefore I have not sinned against you, but you do me wrong to war against me. May ADONAI the Judge be judge today between the people of Isra'el and the children of Ammon.”

28 However, the king of the children of Ammon didn’t listen to the words of Jephthah which he sent him. 29 Then ADONAI’s Spirit came on Jephthah, and he passed over Gil‘ad and Manasseh, and passed over Mizpah of Gil‘ad, and from Mizpah of Gil‘ad he passed over to the children of Ammon.

30 Jephthah vowed a vow to ADONAI, and said, “If you will indeed deliver the children of Ammon into my hand, 31 then it shall be, that whatever comes out of the doors of my house to meet me when I return in peace from the children of Ammon, it shall be ADONAI’s, and I will offer it up for a burnt offering.”

32 So Jephthah passed over to the children of Ammon to fight against them; and ADONAI delivered them into his hand. 33 He struck them from Aroer until you come to Minnith, even twenty cities, and to Abelcheramim, with a very great slaughter. So the children of Ammon were subdued before the people of Isra'el.

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Ketuvei HaShalichim (Apostolic Writings)

Basar for Parsha Chukat is Yochanan (John) 3:9–21; 4:3–30; 12:27–50

3: 9Nakdimon asked Him, “How can this be?”

10Yeshua answered him, “Are you Israel’s Teacher, and don’t understand these things? 11Omein, omeinMost certainly I tell you, we speak of what we know, and we testify to what we have seen, and yet you people don’t accept our testimony. 12If I have told you about earthly things and you don’t believe, how will you believe if I tell you about heavenly things? 13No one has ascended into heaven except He who descended out of heaven, the Son of Man, Who is in heaven. 14Just as MosheMoses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 15that everyone who believes in Him may have eternal life. 16For God so loved the world, that He gave His unique Son, that everyone who believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. 17For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him. 18Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe has already been condemned because he has not believed in the Name of God’s unique Son. 19And this is the verdict: The Light has come into the world, but men loved the darkness rather than the light, because their works were evil. 20Everyone who does evil hates the Light and doesn’t come to the Light for fear that his works would be exposed. 21But whoever practices the Truth comes into the Light, so that it may be clearly seen that what he has done has been accomplished in God.”

  

4: 3He left Y'hudahJudea and went back into the GalilGallilee.[MAP] 4He had to pass through ShomronSamaria.[MAP] 5So he came to a town in Shomron called Sh'khemSychar, [MAP] near the parcel of ground Ya'akovJacob had given to his son YosefJoseph. 6Ya'akov’s well was there. So Yeshua, tired from his journey, sat down by the well. It was about the sixth hournoon.

7A woman of Shomron came to draw water. Yeshua said to her, “Give Me a drink.” 8(His talmidim had gone into the town to buy food.)

9“You are a Jew,” the woman of Shomron said. “How can you ask for a drink from me, a woman of Shomron?” (For Jews do not associate with people from Shomron.)

10Yeshua answered her, “If you knew the gift of God, and Who is asking you for a drink, you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.”

11The woman said to Him, “Sir, you have nothing to draw with, and the well is deep. So where will You get that living water? 12Are you greater than our father Ya'akov, who gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did his sons and his livestock?”

13Yeshua answered her, “Everyone who drinks this water will get thirsty again, 14but whoever drinks the water that I give him will never thirst again; indeed, the water I will give him will become in him a fount of water springing up to eternal life.”

15The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water, so that I don’t get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water.”

16Yeshua told her, “Go, call your husband, and come back.”

17“I have no husband,” the woman replied.

Yeshua said to her, “You are correct that have no husband. 18In fact, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. This you have answered truthfully.”

19“Sir,” the woman said, “I see that You are a prophet. 20Our forefathers worshiped on this mountain [Mt. Gerizim], but you Y'hudimJews say that the place where people must worship is YerushalayimJerusalem.”

21“Believe me, woman,” Yeshua replied, “the time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in YerushalayimJerusalem. 22You worship what you don’t know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Y'hudim. 23But a time is coming, and has now come, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks such as these to worship Him. 24God is Spirit, His worshippers must worship Him in spirit and truth.”

25The woman said, “I know that Mashiach is coming. When He comes, He will explain everything to us.”

26Yeshua answered, “The One Who is speaking to you, I AM,”[GN]

27Just then His talmidim returned, and were astonished that He was speaking with a woman; yet no one asked, “What do you want [from her]?” or, “Why are you talking with her?” 28Then the woman left her water jar, went back into the town, and said to the people, 29“Come, see a man who told me everything I have ever done. Can this be the Mashiach?” 30They went out of the town were coming toward Him.

 

4: 27“Now My soul is troubled. What shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour?’ But this is why I have come to this hour. 28Father, glorify Your Name!”

Then a Bat-Kol came from heaven, “I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again.”

29Then the crowd standing there heard it said that it had thundered.[29] Others said, “An angel has spoken to Him.”

30Yeshua answered, “This voice wasn’t for my benefit, but for yours. 31Now judgment is upon this world; now the prince of this world[31] will be cast out. 32 And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to Myself.” 33He said to indicate what kind of death He was about to die.

34The crowd answered him, “We have heard from the Tanakh[GN] that the Messiah will remain forever.[34] So how can You say that the Son of Man must be lifted up?’ Who is this Son of Man?”[GN]

35So Yeshua answered them, “For a little while longer the Light will be among you. Walk while you have the Light, so that darkness doesn’t overtake you. The one who walks in the darkness doesn’t know where he is going. 36 While you have the Light, believe in the Light, that you may become children of Light.” Yeshua said these things, then He went away and hid from them. 37Although He had performed so many miracles in their presence, they still didn’t believe in Him. 38This was to fulfill the word of Yesha`yahuIsaiah the prophet, who said:

“Who has believed our report?

To whom has the arm of Yehovah been revealed?”[38]

39For this reason they couldn’t believe, for Yesha`yahuIsaiah said again:

40“He has blinded their eyes and he hardened their heart,

lest they should see with their eyes,

and perceive with their heart,

and would turn,

and I would heal them.”[40]

41Yesha`yahuIsaiah said these things because he had seen Yeshua’s Sh'khinahglory; the visible presence of God, and spoke of him.[41] 42Nevertheless, even many of the leaders believed in Him, but because of the P'rushim they didn’t admit it so they wouldn’t be put out of the synagogue,[42] 43for they loved praise from men more than praise from God.

44Then Yeshua shouted out, “Whoever believes in Me, doesn’t believe only in Me, but in Him who sent Me; 45and whoever sees Me sees Him who sent Me. 46I have come into the world as a Light, so that whoever believes in Me doesn’t remain in darkness. 47If anyone hears My words and doesn’t keep them, I don’t judge him. For I haven’t come to judge the world but to save it. 48Whoever rejects Me and doesn’t accept my words has this as his judge: the word that I have spoken will judge him on the Last Day. 49For I have not spoken on My own, but the Father who sent Me has commanded Me as to what I should say and what I should speak. 50I know that His command is eternal life. So the things I speak, I speak exactly what the Father has told Me to say.”

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The Blessing After the Ketuvei HaShalichim Click here to listen to this canted by Jeremiah Greenberg of Messianic Liturgical Resources. Page numbers refer to his Messianic Shabbat Siddur.
Ba-rookh ah-tah, Adonai Eh-lo-hay-noo, meh-lekh hah-oh-lahm, ah-sher na-tahn la-noo Ha-d'var Ha-eh-met v'cha-yaye oh-lahm na-ta b'toe-chey-noo. Ba-rooch ah-ta Adonai, no-tain Ha-breet Ha-cha-da-sha. Blessed are You, O Lord our God, King of the Universe, Who has given us the Word of Truth and has planted life everlasting in our midst. Blessed are you O Lord, Giver of the New Covenant.

The Blessing of the Messiah Click here to listen to this canted by Jeremiah Greenberg of Messianic Liturgical Resources. Page numbers refer to his Messianic Shabbat Siddur.
Ba-rookh ah-tah Adonai Eh-lo-hay-noo, meh-lekh hah-oh-lahm, ah-sher na-tahn la-noo ha-deh-rech l'y'shoo-ah b'ma-she-ahch Yeshua. Ah-mein. Blessed are You, O Lord our God, King of the Universe, Who has given us the way to salvation in Messiah Yeshua. Amen.

(1) 2 Now Balak benson of Tzippor saw all that Isra'el had done to the EmoriAmorites. 3 Mo’av was very afraid of the people, because they were many of them. Mo’av was overcome with dread because of the people of Isra'el. 4 So Mo’av said to the leaders of Midyan [MAP], “Now this horde will lick up everything that is around us, the way an ox licks up grass in the field.”

Balak ben Zippor was king of Mo'av at that time. 5 He sent messengers to Bil'am ben B'or, at P'tor [MAP], which is by the [Euphrates] River in his native land, to tell him, “Listen a people has come out of Egypt, spread all over the land, and now they have settled near me. 6 Therefore, please come and curse this people for me, because they are stronger than I am. Then maybe I might defeat them and drive them out of the land; for I know that whomever you bless is blessed, and whomever you curse is cursed.”

7 The leaders of Mo'av and Midyan left, taking the payment for divination with them, came to Bil'am, and spoke to him the words of Balak. 8 Balak said to them, “Stay here tonight, and I will bring you back whatever answer ADONAI tells me.” So the princes of Mo’av stayed with Bil'am.

9 God came to Bil‘am, and said, “Who are these men with you?”

10 Bil‘am said to God, “Balak ben Zippor, king of Mo’av, has said to me, 11 ‘Listen, the people that has come out of Egypt covers the surface of the earth. Now, come curse them for me. Then maybe I might be able to fight against them, and drive them out.’”

12 God said to Bil‘am, “You may not go with them. You may not curse the people, for they are blessed.”

(RY: v; LY: ii) 13 Bil‘am arose in the morning, and said to the princes of Balak, “Go home; for ADONAI refuses to permit me to go with you.”

14 The princes of Mo’av got up, went to Balak, and told him, “Bil'am refuses to come with us.”

15 Balak again sent princes, more of them, and of higher status than the first group. 16 They went to Bil'am and said to him, “Balak ben Tzippor says, ‘Please don’t let anything keep you from coming to me. 17 I will reward you very well, and whatever you say to me I will do. So please come and curse this people for me.’”

18 Bil'am answered the servants of Balak, “Even if Balak would give me his palace full of silver and gold, I can’t go beyond the word of ADONAI my God to do anything, great or small. 19 Now, please, stay here tonight so that I may find out what else ADONAI will say to me.”

20 God came to Bil'am during the night and said to him, “If the men have come to summon you, get up and go with them; but do only what I tell to you.”

(LY: iii) 21 so Bil'am got up in the morning, saddled his donkey, and went with the princes of Mo'av.

ii. The Angel and Balaam’s Donkey (22:22-41)

22 God’s anger flared up because he had gone with them, and the Angel of ADONAI[GN] stationed Himself on the path to block his way. Bal'am was riding his donkey, and his two servants were with him. 23 The donkey saw the Angel of ADONAI standing in the way with His drawn sword in His hand; so the donkey turned off the path and went into the field. Bil'am beat the donkey to get her back onto the path. 24 Then the Angel of ADONAI stood on the path where it narrowed as it passed between some vineyards with a stone wall on each of side of Him. 25 Again the donkey saw the Angel of ADONAI and pushed up against the wall, crushing Bil'am’s foot against the wall. So he beat her again.

26 The Angel of ADONAI went on ahead and stood in a place so narrow there was no way to turn either right or left. 27 Again the donkey saw the Angel of ADONAI, and she lay down under Bil‘am, making him so angry that he struck the donkey with his staff.

28 But ADONAI enabled the donkey to speak, and she said to Bil'am, “What have I done to you to make you beat me three times?”

29 Bil'am said to the donkey, “It’s because you’re making a fool of me! I wish I had a sword in my hand; I would kill you on the spot.”

30 The donkey said to Bil'am, “I’m your donkey, right? You’ve ridden me all your life, right? Have I ever treated you like this before?”

“No, he admitted.”[30]

31 Then ADONAI opened Bil'am’s eyes so he could see the Angel of ADONAI blocking the way with His drawm sword in His hand; and he bowed his head and fell on his face. 32 The Angel of ADONAI said to him, “Why did you beat your donkey these three times? Hinneh,[GN] I have come out here to bar your way, because you are rushing to oppose Me. 33 The donkey saw Me and turned aside these three times; and if she hadn’t turned away from Me, I surely would have killed you by now and let her live.”

34 Bil'am said to the Angel of ADONAI, “I have sinned! I didn’t know that You were standing in the path to block me. Now, therefore, if what I am doing displeases You, I will go back.”

35 But the Angel of ADONAI answered him, “No, go on with the men; but you are to say only what I tell you to say.”

So Bil'am went with the princes of Balak.

36 When Balak heard that Bil'am had come, he went out to meet him in the city of Mo'av at the Arnon border, in the farthest reaches of the territory. 37 Balak said to Bil'am, “I sent for you more than once! Why didn’t you come to me? Did you think I can’t pay you enough?”

38 Bil'am replied to Balak, “Listen, I’ve come to you now! But I have no power at all of my own to say anything. I will only speak the words that God puts in my mouth.”

(RY: vi, LY: iv) 39 So Bil'am went with Balak, and they came to Kiryat-Hutzot. [MAP] 40 Balak sacrificed cattle and sheep, then sent to Bil'am and the princes who were with him. 41 In the morning Balak took Bil'am and brought him up to the high places of Ba'al;[GN] from there he could see part of the people.

Chapter 23

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30. I’ve always found it quite interesting that Bil'am expresses no surprise when the donkey speaks to him. [BACK]

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Page last updated on Wednesday, 26 August 2026 06:56 PM

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