Passage · Old Testament

Numbers 24:17

Num.24.17

I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near: a star shall come out of Jacob, and a scepter shall rise out of Israel; it shall crush the forehead of Moab and break down all the sons of Sheth.

Numbers 24:17 English Standard Version (ESV)Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. The ESV text may not be quoted in any publication made available to the public by a Creative Commons license. The ESV may not be translated into any other language.

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Connections that cite this passage

Jesus is read as fulfilling Numbers 24:17
Historic Christian readingMedium confidence
Balaam's oracle of a star from Jacob and a scepter from Israel has been read by Christians since the early centuries as pointing to the Messiah, and Matthew's star over Bethlehem is often connected to it. The New Testament does not quote the verse, so this is labeled a historic reading.
Evidence:
Other responsible views
- David as the nearer referent: Many interpreters see the oracle fulfilled first in David, who conquered Moab and Edom, with a messianic sense developing later in Jewish and Christian reading.
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Cross-references

Related passages suggested by the OpenBible.info cross-reference dataset (CC BY 4.0, community-voted). These are not FaithGraph evidence; curated connections above carry evidence labels.

Connections that cite this passage

Cross-references

Records with this passage as a primary reference