Numbers 22:33

Had she not turned aside. Like לוּלֵא, “if not.” Sometimes אוּלַי, (lit. “perhaps”) is used to connote לוּלֵא, “if not.”

I would surely have killed you. This verse should be rearranged, to read “I would also have killed you.” As if to say, ”Not only would you have been restrained by me, but you also would have been killed.”

And she, I would let live. But now, because she spoke and admonished you, and you were unable to withstand her admonishment as it is written, “He said, ‘No”’ — I killed her, so that it should not be said, “this is the one that drove away Bil’am with her admonishment, and he was unable to reply.” For the Omnipresent is solicitous with human dignity. Similarly, “you shall kill the woman and the animal.” Similarly, “kill the animal.”

But the ass discerned me, and turned away from me these three times: had she not turned from me, surely now I should have slain thee, and spared her alive.

AND SHE TURNED ASIDE ‘L’PHANAI’ (BEFORE ME). Commentators (‘from’ before me) and not l’phanai (‘before’ me). have explained this [word ‘l’phanai’ as meaning]: “and she turned aside into the field when she was before me.” But there is no need [for this interpretation and addition], for the meaning [of the word l’phanai] is like mipanai (“from” before me), for such is the usage of the letter lamed, as in [the verses]; and they left off ‘livnoth’ (to build) the city [which is like mivnoth — literally: “from building” the city]; he hath left off ‘l’haskil’ (to be wise), to do good [which is like meihaskil — literally: “from being wise”]. There are also many other cases [like this]. Similarly: And Joab and the captains of the host went out ‘liphnei’ [literally: “before,” but really meaning mipnei — “from before,” i.e. “from the presence of”] the king, to number the people of Israel.

ULAI’ normally means “perhaps,” which is inappropriate in the context of this verse, since there was no doubt as to whether the ass had turned aside. Hence the commentators explained it as meaning lulei — “unless,” and the angel is thus saying, in defense of the animal, that “had she not turned aside from me, I would have killed you [Balaam].” Ramban later on offers his own interpretation of the verse and the word ulai actually used by Scripture. SHE HAD TURNED ASIDE FROM ME. In the opinion of the commentators [the word ‘ulai’ here] is like lulei — “‘unless’ she had turned aside from me [surely now also I had slain thee.” The word ulai] in this context is thus used [with a meaning] different than that of all the other occasions where it is found. But in my opinion it is used here in its literal meaning [“perhaps:” — implying a doubt]; for the ass felt the presence of — or saw — the angel, but did not know what it meant, and [the reason why she turned aside] was because of the drawn sword, as animals are wont to do [when they see a drawn sword]. Therefore the angel said to Balaam: “And the ass saw me and turned aside from me, [although it was only] because of a doubt that she turned aside from before me [not knowing my intentions], for I came to slay you, but I would have saved her life, since the sin is in you and not in the ass.”

אולי נטתה מפני; whenever the word אולי occurs in the Bible its meaning is similar to the words אם and אילו. (‘if’) Commentators who explain the word as meaning לולי as in Genesis 43,10 לולי התמהמנו, ”if not for the fact that we procrastinated,” or as in Genesis 31,42, לולי אלוקי אבי, “if not for the G’d of my father, etc.,” are in error. We have to understand the word as in Lamentations 3,29 אולי יש תקוה, “maybe there is hope,” or as in Amos 5,15 אולי יחנן ה', “maybe G’d will be gracious,” or as in Genesis 43,12 אולי משגה הוא,”maybe it was an oversight.”

Here too the angel challenged Bileam asking: “why did you strike your ass three times, implying that Bileam had been wrong to do this, explaining that the ass had tried to avoid him, the angel, לפני, “in front of me,” as opposed to מפני. He meant that if the ass had actually passed the angel instead of halting before him, he, the angel, would have been forced also to kill Bileam as he was not supposed to get past him. As matters stood, thanks to the ass’ behaviour Bileam had suffered only minor injury. In the alternate scenario the ass would not have been harmed at all for the angel would allowed her to live just as she was alive now. After all, it was not the ass who had sinned but her owner.

גם אותך הרגתי, the word גם here is used in the same sense as in Exodus 12,32 וברכתם גם אותי, “also bestow a blessing upon me!” [be on your way and bless me, i.e. the word גם is not a continuation of something conceptually identical with what preceded it. Ed.]

ותראני האתון ותט לפני, in spite of your own oblivion to these signs your ass did see me and tried to avoid a frontal contact with me. She did so three times and yet you did not pay any attention to these strange symptoms.

אולי נטתה מפני, you should have considered that maybe she had swerved so on my account You were aware that the Jewish people have advocates at G’d’s throne so that it is not far fetched to assume that such an advocate had been commissioned to hinder your mission against these people. G’d has given me permission to act in the manner in which I did.

גם אותך הרגתי, “I would also have killed you.” Rashi considers this verse as having been truncated, as no reference was made to who would have been the angel’s first victim. I believe Rashi must be understood as follows: if we were to assume that he meant that the angel would have killed the ass first, this line would make perfect sense at this point. But, how are we then understand his adding in the same breath: “and her (the ass) I would have allowed to remain alive?” When we turn the verse around, as implied by Rashi, the meaning would be “not only would I have blocked your progress on this path, but if you had not taken the hint to turn around, I would have been forced to not only delay you but to also kill you in order to prevent you from getting to Balak.” In that event, I would not have needed to kill your ass. Once you had been dead, there would not have arisen the embarrassment of Bileam’s ass having been treated with more concern than its owner, as the dead cannot be embarrassed. However, thanks to the fact that even your ass talked to you and criticised you, this has saved your life as I did not want you to be considered as inferior to your beasts.

ואותה החייתי, “but I allowed her to remain alive.” From this wording it appears that Bileam’s two man servants had been killed by the angel as they have not been mentioned anymore.