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Balaam and the War against the Midianites

A cloud stood over him on the sudden, and he disappeared.

JOSEPHUS ON MOSES’S DEATH IN THE ANTIQUITY OF THE JEWS, 4.8.48

The children of Israel refused to decamp while Miriam was undergoing her penance in the desert. Her ordeal took a heavy toll. The next we hear concerns Miriam’s death and burial in Kadesh.¹ Kadesh was not far from Edom. It was from this oasis that the masked Moses had sent messengers to the Edomite king seeking safe passage through the King’s Highway. This north-south road had been constructed originally for the use of Egyptian troops. It bisected Edom, making it the most direct route to Canaan—the Promised Land. Reuel negotiated with the Edomite king, promising to keep strictly to the agreed route and to pay for any water the tribe consumed. But the king not only refused to grant passage—he threatened war if Reuel trespassed on the highway.²

Biblical scholars have puzzled over why the Edomites denied the children of Israel passage through their land. Noth writes, “Accompanied as it is by a threat, the rejection of this modest request is given no foundation.”³

We suggest that the Edomite king considered his hostility towards Moses to be built on a very solid foundation indeed. Its bedrock was the death of Korah, an Edomite prince. The rage ignited by that blow had been further inflamed when blood was spilt in the battle against Amalek, another Edomite. Reinforcing his darkest suspicions was the king’s deep mistrust of his kinsman Reuel. The Edomites knew that it was the disgruntled, embittered figure of the magician Reuel who lurked behind the mask of “Moses.” The valuable spy Korah had kept them well informed about the critical events transpiring in the Israelite camp. The king of Edom was not going to make it easy for such a dangerous enemy to lead a potential army across his land.

AARON’S DEATH?

Never at a loss for a plan B, Reuel found a loophole in the determined king’s prohibition. The Mountain of God stood within Edomite territory but given its isolation was unlikely to have been patrolled regularly like the well-traveled, essential King’s Highway. Not long before, Moses had sent spies to the Promised Land.⁴ They were gone for forty days.⁵ They could only have traveled such a great distance and returned in such a short time if they had crossed Edomite territory. During that journey they could have passed the Mountain of God and seen that it stood relatively unguarded.

Armed with this intelligence the children of Israel left Kadesh and arrived at Mount Hor, a mountainous hilltop that stood next to the Mountain of God. It was here in Edom that Aaron was said to have died; a story that enjoys a long tradition. Josephus mentions that the mountain where Aaron perished is near Petra.⁶ Graham Phillips records the local Bedouin belief that “It is still called Jebel Haroun—‘Aaron’s Mountain.’ Like the spring of Moses, the local inhabitants still venerate Jebel Haroun as the site of Aaron’s tomb. Just below the summit, on a flat ridge overlooking a sheer cliff, there perches a little whitewashed mosque that stands over a cave where the prophet is said to have been laid to rest.”⁷

But is this the true location of Aaron’s grave?

We don’t believe that Aaron died at this point in the story. This was a staged death.

Biblical scholars consider the accounts of Aaron’s last hours to be curious. Noth notes that the account of the high priest’s death “has been made to resemble as closely as possible the corresponding story of Moses’ death” and “oddly enough says nothing about the burial and the grave.”⁸ Remarkable when you consider that Aaron was the Israelis’ first high priest. Even Miriam had a gravesite. Only two witnesses testify to the manner of Aaron’s end. The account comes to us from the pen of the Levite scribes, who take up the story at Mount Hor:

And the LORD spake unto Moses and Aaron in mount Hor, by the coast of the land of Edom, saying, Aaron shall be gathered unto his people: for he shall not enter into the land which I have given unto the children of Israel, because ye rebelled against my word at the water of Meribah. Take Aaron and Eleazar his son, and bring them up unto mount Hor: And strip Aaron of his garments, and put them upon Eleazar his son: and Aaron shall be gathered unto his people, and shall die there. And Moses did as the LORD commanded: and they went up into mount Hor in the sight of all the congregation. And Moses stripped Aaron of his garments, and put them upon Eleazar his son; and Aaron died there in the top of the mount: and Moses and Eleazar came down from the mount. And when all the congregation saw that Aaron was dead, they mourned for Aaron thirty days, even all the house of Israel.⁹

Aaron was denied entry to the Promised Land for the same reason as Moses. Both had failed to follow Yahweh’s precise instructions about how to retrieve water at Meribah.^*46

Although the people see Aaron, Moses, and Eleazar ascend Mount Hor, only Moses (wearing his mask) and Eleazar return.

The people grieve but have no corpse or grave to grieve over. What is the explanation for this rare lack of ceremony? We suggest that Aaron was wearing Moses’s costume and mask when he descended with his son. He used the unquestioned authority of the masked Moses to take revenge on Reuel for Miriam’s death. How exactly did this retaliation play out on Mount Hor?

There are two possibilities:

In the first case, Reuel, aware of Aaron’s (Levi’s) grief and anger over Miriam’s (Dinah’s) shame and subsequent death, seizes the chance to escape Aaron’s wrath. Familiar with the contours and pathways of Mount Hor (Edom was his native land) he abandons his Moses disguise and takes his daughter, Zipporah, along with Moses’s sons, and a generous share of the gold donated by the Israelites to create the golden calf, and flees.

Aaron and his son Eleazar, left behind on Mount Hor without Moses must face the awkward and potentially dangerous task of explaining the disappearance of the prophet. They were aware that the children of Israel would not tolerate finding themselves yet again bereft of their leader. Aaron and Eleazar took one of the few choices left and told the people that it was Aaron who had died and was buried somewhere on the mountain. The people could accept this more easily than the idea of Moses’s death. They knew how much Aaron had loved Miriam and how hard her death had been on him. Given his intense grief his death would not have been so unexpected.

In the second case Reuel and Aaron could have agreed to the switch. They might have dissolved their partnership. Reuel agrees to assist the Israelites in navigating the country beyond Edom and into the plains of Moab—the territory immediately east of the Promised Land. He tells Aaron that his plan will accomplish their safe passage through Moab and avoid war. But the scheme involves Aaron faking his own death and taking over the role of the masked Moses. Reuel may have threatened to vanish with or without Aaron’s agreement.

Once Reuel left camp, his allies, the Midianites, became vulnerable to Aaron in his new role as the masked Moses. Reuel had no reason to want to murder Midianites. He had been their high priest and his daughter, Zipporah, was born there. But Aaron, enraged as he was prone to be, and especially over any shame that befell his sister, felt justified in ridding himself of them all. He may have felt ashamed that he hadn’t done more to save Miriam and was compelled to atone with his usual displays of violence.

Midianites who had priests of their own, the Kenites, lived among the children of Israel. As leader of the Levites, Aaron determined to rid himself of these rival priests. A war against the Midianites was the perfect excuse to clean house. The consequences of that war will be explored shortly but first we will follow Reuel as he leaves Edom and takes up his persona as the magician Balaam.

THE MAGICIAN BALAAM

No sooner has the magician Reuel disappeared than a new conjurer, Balaam, enters the story. Balaam’s prophetic powers were superior to Moses. He knew exactly when Yahweh was going to speak to him and he could even initiate such a conversation. Reuel also seems to possess such profound prophetic powers. This, we suggest, is no coincidence. Jewish folklore claims that Reuel and Balaam were both magicians serving the Egyptian pharaoh around the same period. Reuel would have been familiar with Balaam’s appearance, character, and magical skills. Like a modern-day pseudo guru or fifteen-minute celebrity reinventing himself after squeezing all use from his current identity, it was time for Reuel to move on from his masked Moses persona. It was time to assume the cloak of the magician Balaam.

It is suspicious that Balaam becomes such a vociferous proponent of the god Yahweh. Why? He wasn’t associated with the Mountain of God where Yahweh was the presiding deity. Why would he want to claim a mountain god who hailed from Edom as the ultimate deity? Because Reuel, an Edomite, was playing Balaam.

The Israelites were camped outside Moab, the territory that lay east of the Jordan River. It was critical that they gain passage through Moab to enter the Promised Land. The king of Moab, Balak, who was entertaining a delegation of noblemen from Midian, was afraid that the Israelites might conquer his land. He sought advice from the magician Balaam and sent princes of Moab to beseech Balaam to curse the Israelites. “Come now therefore, I pray thee, curse me this people; for they are too mighty for me: peradventure I shall prevail, that we may smite them, and that I may drive them out of the land: for I wot that he whom thou blessest is blessed, and he whom thou cursest is cursed.”¹⁰

But Balaam (Reuel in disguise) did not respond immediately. Instead, he invites the princes of Moab to spend the night under his roof while he consults with Yahweh. “And Balaam rose up in the morning, and said unto the princes of Balak, Get you into your land: for the LORD refuseth to give me leave to go with you. And the princes of Moab rose up, and they went unto Balak, and said, Balaam refuseth to come with us.”¹¹

When Balak learned that Balaam was not willing to curse the Israelites he was distraught. He sends more esteemed princes to beg Balaam’s assistance. Even with the promise of great riches, Balaam (Reuel) once again refuses to go to Moab and again asks the noble messengers to stay overnight while he consults with Yahweh. This time, however, Balaam (Reuel) performs an elaborate act of ventriloquism for the benefit of the noble messengers:

And Balaam rose up in the morning, and saddled his ass, and went with the princes of Moab. And God’s anger was kindled because he went: and the angel of the LORD stood in the way for an adversary against him. Now he was riding upon his ass, and his two servants were with him. And the ass saw the angel of the LORD standing in the way, and his sword drawn in his hand: and the ass turned aside out of the way, and went into the field: and Balaam smote the ass, to turn her into the way. But the angel of the LORD stood in a path of the vineyards, a wall being on this side, and a wall on that side. And when the ass saw the angel of the LORD, she thrust herself unto the wall, and crushed Balaam’s foot against the wall: and he smote her again.¹²

Ventriloquists know that setting their puppet up as a foil further creates the illusion that the puppet is real. In his history of ventriloquism, Steve Connor points out that Balaam’s donkey is worked like a puppet.¹³ The hapless animal’s “conflict” with Balaam is only the beginning of a grand illusion:

And the angel of the LORD went further, and stood in a narrow place, where was no way to turn either to the right hand or to the left. And when the ass saw the angel of the LORD, she fell down under Balaam: and Balaam’s anger was kindled, and he smote the ass with a staff. And the LORD opened the mouth of the ass, and she said unto Balaam, What have I done unto thee, that thou hast smitten me these three times?¹⁴

So now the donkey speaks! Reuel has created an enticing performance for his audience, the noble princes of Moab. Soon the stakes are raised. They witness a “conversation” between the animal and the magician:

And Balaam said unto the ass, Because thou hast mocked me: I would there were a sword in mine hand, for now would I kill thee. And the ass said unto Balaam, Am not I thine ass, upon which thou hast ridden ever since I was thine unto this day? was I ever wont to do so unto thee? And he said, Nay. Then the LORD opened the eyes of Balaam, and he saw the angel of the LORD standing in the way, and his sword drawn in his hand: and he bowed down his head, and fell flat on his face.¹⁵

Balaam’s puppet has played his role. The donkey is no longer needed. Instead, the magician Balaam addresses an angel that only he can see and the “conversation” continues:

And the angel of the LORD said unto him, Wherefore hast thou smitten thine ass these three times? behold, I went out to withstand thee, because thy way is perverse before me: And the ass saw me, and turned from me these three times: unless she had turned from me, surely now also I had slain thee, and saved her alive. And Balaam said unto the angel of the LORD, I have sinned; for I knew not that thou stoodest in the way against me: now therefore, if it displease thee, I will get me back again. And the angel of the LORD said unto Balaam, Go with the men: but only the word that I shall speak unto thee, that thou shalt speak. So Balaam went with the princes of Balak.¹⁶

So what are we to make of this strange episode? Why didn’t Balaam accompany the first messengers sent by Balak? Why this elaborate delaying tactic? What was the purpose of the ventriloquism?

The answers are straightforward once we realize the perilous position that Reuel was in at this stage of the story. First, he did not want to travel to Moab and risk that the visiting elders of Midian might recognize him and reveal his act as the magician Balaam. So, he delayed the trip by twice refusing to accompany messengers, which allowed time for the elders of Midian to leave Moab.

The ventriloquism act ensured his safety while he was with the king of Moab. The princes would testify that Balaam was only a spokesman for Yahweh. He was merely Yahweh’s puppet. He could not be held responsible for not acquiescing to the king’s wish to curse the Israelites.

Balaam’s interactions with King Balak repeatedly saw the magician “falling into a trance, but having his eyes open.”¹⁷ During these “trances” Reuel made ominous predictions that the Israelites would be victorious in all their battles against the Moabites. Not what King Balak wanted to hear: “And Balak’s anger was kindled against Balaam, and he smote his hands together: and Balak said unto Balaam, I called thee to curse mine enemies, and, behold, thou hast altogether blessed them.”¹⁸ But Balaam continued relaying grim prophecies of defeat awaiting Balak and his allies at the hands of the Israelites.

Through these insidious messages Reuel demoralized the Moabites, which eventually allowed the Israelites to gain safe passage through their land. By a simple act of ventriloquism Reuel was able to pave the way for them to cross what otherwise would have been the dangerous land of Moab. It was one of his last acts and he played it out consummately.

BAAL-PEOR

While Reuel was playing the role of Balaam at the court of King Balak, the Israelites were camped on the outskirts of the king’s territory (Moab) at Shittim:

And Israel abode in Shittim, and the people began to commit whoredom with the daughters of Moab. And they called the people unto the sacrifices of their gods: and the people did eat, and bowed down to their gods. And Israel joined himself unto Baal-peor: and the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel. And the LORD said unto Moses, Take all the heads of the people, and hang them up before the LORD against the sun, that the fierce anger of the LORD may be turned away from Israel. And Moses said unto the judges of Israel, Slay ye every one his men that were joined unto Baal-peor.¹⁹

Since Reuel was still in Moab playing the part of Balaam (and disturbing their king with doomsday scenarios) he could not have been simultaneously playing the masked Moses at the Israeli camp. As we have already suggested, the “Moses” of this episode was Levi who was so disturbed that the sons of Israel were having sex with the daughters of Moab that he ordered the culprits slowly tortured to death. Yet another example of his violent temper. But it would not be his last act of wanton slaughter.

PHINEHAS

Not long after the Baal-peor incident, a plague broke out among the Israelites. The people feared that Yahweh was taking revenge upon them. During the plague a man and a woman were discovered having sex on holy territory. Phinehas, Aaron’s grandson, “took a javelin in his hand; And he went after the man of Israel into the tent, and thrust both of them through, the man of Israel, and the woman through her belly.”²⁰ When Moses (Levi in disguise) learned of the deed he was delighted with Phinehas, saying: “Behold, I give unto him my covenant of peace: And he shall have it, and his seed after him, even the covenant of an everlasting priesthood; because he was zealous for his God, and made an atonement for the children of Israel.”²¹

For this vicious act of murder, Phinehas and his descendants are granted a covenant of “everlasting priesthood.” This is curious, especially when one considers that as a Levite, Phinehas already had this right.

The text of the Phinehas incident is entirely written by Levites whose account must be taken with a grain of salt. They claim that the man was a Simeonite and the woman a Midianite. This incident signals a shift in the direction of the Israelites’ rage from the Moabites to the Midianites. This abrupt change has long confused biblical scholars. The confusion is alleviated when we realize that Levi has become the masked Moses. Levi wanted the status and perks of the priesthood to go entirely to his descendants, the Levites, but was threatened in his ambition by the rival priesthood, the Kenites, who came from Midian. Levi used the incident at Baal-peor to turn the Israelites against all Midianites. Acting as the masked Moses, he sends the Israeli army against Midian.

This not only rids him of the rival priesthood but also enacts revenge against Reuel. Reuel had been the high priest of the Midianites and now that Levi had turned against Reuel, they were fair game. The Levite scribes describe what happened: “And they warred against the Midianites, as the LORD commanded Moses; and they slew all the males. And they slew the kings of Midian, beside the rest of them that were slain; namely, Evi, and Rekem, and Zur, and Hur, and Reba, five kings of Midian: Balaam also the son of Beor they slew with the sword.”²² (Italics added)

With just these few lines, the Levite scribes effectively erased from history two of Reuel’s secret identities, Hur and Balaam. They both, according to the text, were slain during the war with the Midianites. Wishful thinking. Reuel escaped the trap and lived to a ripe old age before meeting his end in a cave overlooking the Sea of Galilee.

After their victory over the Midianites, the Israeli army took many women captives. When the masked Moses (Levi) learned that the women had been spared he was “wroth” with the officers, instructing them to “kill every woman that hath known man by lying with him”²³ but to keep as slaves the female children.²⁴ With the war with the Midianites over, the Israelites were now ready to cross the Jordan River and capture the Promised Land.

The leader of this invasion would not be Moses. It was time to end the rule of Moses and make way for a new leader, Joshua.

THE DEATH OF MOSES

It’s a curious fact that though they lay claim to Moses as their ancestor, the Levite scribes offer no account of the death of “their” prophet. The only description of his end appears in the last pages of Deuteronomy. Moses is climbing Mount Nebo, which overlooked Jericho and the Promised Land. From here, “the LORD said unto him, This is the land which I sware unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, saying, I will give it unto thy seed: I have caused thee to see it with thine eyes, but thou shalt not go over thither. So Moses, the servant of the LORD died there in the land of Moab, according to the word of the LORD. And he buried him in a valley in the land of Moab over against Beth-peor: but no man knoweth of his sepulchre unto this day.”²⁵

So, there are no witnesses to the death of the great prophet. He simply disappears. Just like Aaron, Moses ascends the mountain but doesn’t come back. The account of the Deuteronomist assumes that God took care of his body, hiding it from the Israelites.

The Jewish historian Josephus offers a different version of the death of Moses. It happens shortly after his farewell address to the tribes of Israel. The people weep, knowing that the great prophet is about to die:

Now as he went thence to the place where he was to vanish out of their sight, they all followed after him weeping; but Moses beckoned with his hand to those that were remote from him, and bade them stay behind in quiet, while he exhorted those that were near him that they would not render his departure so lamentable. Whereupon they thought they ought to grant him that favor, to let him depart, according as he himself desired: so they restrained themselves, though weeping still towards one another. All those who accompanied him were the senate, and Elezar the high priest, and Joshua their commander. Now as soon as they were come to the mountain call Abarim (which is a very high mountain, situated over against Jericho and one that affords, to such as are upon it, a prospect of the greatest part of the excellent land of Canaan), he dismissed the senate; and as he was going to embrace Elezar and Joshua, and was still discoursing with them, a cloud stood over him on the sudden, and he disappeared.²⁶

Like a Vegas magician, Moses disappears in a puff of smoke.