Números 23:24

As a great lion. לָבִיא , generally translated "old lion," as in Genesis 49:9 . By some it is rendered lioness (cf. Job 4:11 ; Nahum 2:12 ). As a young lion. אַרִי , the ordinary term for a lion without further distinction. It is altogether fantastic to suppose that Balaam had just seen a lieu coming up from the ghor of Jordan, and that this "omen" inspired his " mashal ." The rising of a lion from its covert was one of the most common of the more striking phenomena of nature in those regions, and the imagery it afforded was in constant use; but in truth it is evident that these similes are borrowed from Jacob's dying prophecy concerning Judah ( Genesis 49:9 ), in which the word "prey" (Hebrew, טֶרֶף , a torn thing) is also found. Balaam was acquainted with that prophecy, as he was with the promises made to Abraham (cf. Genesis 49:10 with Genesis 13:16 ; Genesis 28:14 ).