Numbers 22:7

"And the elders of Moab and the elders of Midian departed with the rewards of divination in their hand; and they came unto Balaam, and spake unto him the words of Balak. And he said unto them, Lodge here this night, and I will bring you word again, as Jehovah shall speak unto me: and the princes of Moab abode with Balaam. And God came unto Balaam and said, What men are these with thee? And Balaam said unto God, Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, hath sent unto me, saying, Behold, the people that is come out of Egypt, it covereth the face of the earth: now, come curse me them; peradventure I shall be able to fight against them, and shall drive them out. And God said unto Balaam, Thou shalt not go with them; thou shalt not curse the people; for they are blessed. And Balaam rose up in the morning, and said unto the princes of Balak, Get you into your land; for Jehovah 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."

This should have ended the whole episode, but, as we shall see, the greedy heart of Balaam led him to solicit God's permission a second time. We find no basis whatever for agreement with Dummelow's assertion that it "is unfair" to see any blame on Balaam's action here. "On the occasion of the first message from Balak, he was honestly in doubt(!) whether or not to go!"[9] How could he have been "in doubt"? God said, "Thou shalt not go!" What is ambiguous or uncertain about that? Furthermore, Balaam, in giving God's response to his request to the princes of Balak, "omitted all reference to the fact that the people Balak desired him to curse were indeed blessed of God."[10] The logical conclusion of Balak's messengers was predictable enough; they thought that Balaam merely desired larger rewards, a conclusion that Balaam's incomplete answer fully justified.

"What men are these with thee ..." (Numbers 22:11). This is like the question in Genesis 4:9, "Where is Abel thy brother?" God already knew the answer to this; the question was merely to warn Balaam of the evil purpose of his guests.