And when he looked on Amalek, he took up his parable, and said, Amalek was the first of the nations; but his latter end shall be that he perish for ever.

And when he saw Amalec, he took up his parable, and said: Amalec the beginning of nations, whose latter ends shall be destroyed.

And he saw Amalek, and took up his parable, and said, Amalek is the first of the nations, but his latter end shall be for destruction.

And he seeth Amalek, and taketh up his simile, and saith: 'A beginning of the Goyim is Amalek; And his latter end, for ever he perisheth.'

Then, turning his eyes to Amalek, he went on with his story and said, Amalek was the first of the nations, but his part will be destruction for ever.

And when he saw Amalek, taking up his parable, he said: "Amalek, first among the Gentiles, whose very end shall be perdition."

Et quum vidisset Amalec, assumpsit parabolam suam, et dixit, Principium gentium Amalec, ideo novissimum ejus usque ad perditionem.

And when he looked on Amalek. This people had already been destined to destruction by a Divine decree; but what God had before declared, is here again ratified by Moses. Although the vengeance, which God was about to take, lay dormant for many ages, it was at length experimentally proved that God had not threatened in vain. But, whilst it is true that they were destroyed by Saul, still we learn from the history that some still survived, and again inhabited their land. In order, therefore, to arrive at the entire accomplishment of this prophecy, we must come to Christ, whose kingdom is the eternal destruction of all the wicked. Poor and unsatisfactory is the view of some commentators [1] who think that Amalek is called "the first of the nations," because they first took up arms against Israel, and encountered them in order to prevent their advance. Rather is the pride of Amalek indirectly rebuked, because they claimed superiority for themselves over other nations, and this on the score of their antiquity, as if they had been created together with the sun and moon. There is then a pointed comparison between this noble origin, and the slaughter which awaited them at their end.

Footnotes

1 - "So all the paraphrasts," says Drusius, in Poole's Syn. See margin A. V., and the gloss in the Geneva Bible.

When he looked - i. e., in spirit, as he saw the Star Numbers 24:17.
Amalek was the first of the nations - Rather, is pre-eminent among the neighboring nations: compare the same expression in Amos 6:1. Hence, the force of the words Numbers 24:7 "higher than Agag," i. e., than the king of this powerful nation (compare Numbers 14:45; Exodus 17:8). This rank, due to the warlike prowess of the tribe, Balaam contrasts with its approaching downfall and extinction.

Amalek was the first of the nations - The most ancient and most powerful of all the nations or states then within the view of Balaam; but his latter end shall be that he perish for ever, or his posterity אחריתו acharitho, shall be destroyed, or shall utterly fail. This oracle began to be fulfilled by Saul, 1-Samuel 15:7, 1-Samuel 15:8, who overthrew the Amalekites, and took their king, Agag, prisoner. Afterwards they were nearly destroyed by David, 1-Samuel 27:8, and they were finally exterminated by the sons of Simeon in the days of Hezekiah, 1-Chronicles 4:41-43; since that time they have ceased to exist as a people, and now no vestige of them remains on the face of the earth; so completely is their posterity cut off, according to this prophecy. The marginal reading does not appear to give the proper sense.

And when he looked on Amalek, he took up his parable, and said, Amalek [was] the (n) first of the nations; but his latter end [shall be] that he perish for ever.
(n) The Amalekites first made war against Israel, (Numbers 14:45).

And when he looked on Amalek,.... The country of Amalek, which lay to the south of the land of Canaan, Numbers 13:29 and which Balaam had a view of from the mountain of Peor, where he now was:
and he took up his parable, and said; the parable of his prophecy, as the Targum of Jonathan, and pronounced it aloud:
Amalek was the first of the nations; not the first nation in the world, nor the chief and principal for numbers, riches, or strength, but the first that made war with Israel, as all the three Targums paraphrase it, as they did, see Exodus 17:8,
but his latter end shall be that he perish for ever; this was threatened to them by the Lord upon that battle, and is confirmed by this prophecy of Balaam: and after this, orders were given to Israel to blot out their remembrance, Deuteronomy 25:19, and which, in a good measure, though not completely, was done in the times of Saul, 1-Samuel 15:8 and after that they were distressed by David, 1-Samuel 27:9 and the rest of them were smitten by the sons of Simeon, in the days of Hezekiah, 1-Chronicles 4:41, after which we hear of them no more: Amalek may be considered as a type of antichrist, the son of perdition, who shall go into it, shall come to his end, and there shall be none to help him; which will be true of all the antichristian party, the enemies of Christ, who will be destroyed by him, and perish eternally; see Daniel 11:45.

Amalek . . . his latter end shall be that he perish for ever--Their territory was seen at the remote extremity of the desert. (See on Exodus 17:13; also 1Sa. 15:1-35).

The second saying in this prophecy relates to the Amalekites. Balaam sees them, not with the eyes of his body, but in a state of ecstasy, like the star out of Jacob. "Beginning of the heathen is Amalek, and its end is destruction." Amalek is called the beginning of the nations, not "as belonging to the most distinguished and foremost of the nations in age, power, and celebrity" (Knobel), - for in all these respects this Bedouin tribe, which descended from a grandson of Esau, was surpassed by many other nations, - but as the first heathen nation which opened the conflict of the heathen nations against Israel as the people of God (see at Exodus 17:8.). As its beginning had been enmity against Israel, its end would be "even to the perishing" (אבד עדי), i.e., reaching the position of one who was perishing, falling into destruction, which commenced under Saul and was completed under Hezekiah.

He looked on Amalek - From the top of Pisgah, which was exceeding high, and gave him the prospect of part of all these kingdoms. The first - Hebrews. the firstfruits; so called either, because they were the first of all the neighbouring nations which were embodied together in one government: or, because he was the first who fought against Israel and was vanquished by them. That victory was an earnest and first - fruit of the large harvest of victories which the Israelites should in due time get over all their enemies. He shall perish for ever - He began with God and with Israel, but God will end with him, and the firm purpose of God is, that he shall be utterly destroyed; so that Saul lost his kingdom for not executing this decree, and God's command pursuant thereunto.