Texts in Conversation
Numbers 22 describes how God opened the mouth of Balaam’s donkey so it could speak. Rabbinic tradition in Pirkei Avot lists the speaking animal among ten wonders God prepared at twilight before the first Sabbath of creation.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Numbers 22:28
Hebrew Bible
27 When the donkey saw the angel of the Lord, she crouched down under Balaam. Then Balaam was angry, and he beat his donkey with a staff. 28 Then the Lord opened the mouth of the donkey, and she said to Balaam, “What have I done to you that you have beaten me these three times?” 29 And Balaam said to the donkey, “You have made me look stupid; I wish there were a sword in my hand, for I would kill you right now.”
Pirkei Avot 5:6
Mishnah
Rabbinic
5 Ten wonders were wrought for our ancestors in the Temple: [1] no woman miscarried from the odor of the sacred flesh; [2] the sacred flesh never became putrid; [3] no fly was ever seen in the slaughterhouse; [4] no emission occurred to the high priest on the Day of Atonement; [5] the rains did not extinguish the fire of the woodpile; [6] the wind did not prevail against the column of smoke; [7] no defect was found in the omer, or in the two loaves, or in the showbread; [8] the people stood pressed together, yet bowed down and had room enough; [9] never did a serpent or a scorpion harm anyone in Jerusalem; [10] and no man said to his fellow: the place is too congested for me to lodge overnight in Jerusalem. 6 Ten things were created on the eve of the Sabbath at twilight, and these are they: [1] the mouth of the earth, [2] the mouth of the well, [3] the mouth of the donkey, [4] the rainbow, [5] the manna, [6] the staff [of Moses], [7] the shamir, [8] the letters, [9] the writing, [10] and the tablets. And some say: also the demons, the grave of Moses, and the ram of Abraham, our father. And some say: and also tongs, made with tongs. 7 [There are] seven things [characteristic] in a clod, and seven in a wise man: A wise man does not speak before one who is greater than he in wisdom, And does not break into his fellow’s speech; And is not hasty to answer; He asks what is relevant, and he answers to the point; And he speaks of the first [point] first, and of the last [point] last; And concerning that which he has not heard, he says: I have not heard; And he acknowledges the truth. And the reverse of these [are characteristic] in a clod.
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Notes and References
"... The final saying about the creation of ten things prior to the first evening of Shabbat returns the reader back to the theme of creation in Avot 5:1. Several different lists exist in rabbinic literature concerning the things made right before the first Sabbath at the end of God’s creative activity, indicating a broad interest in this theme. The ten items named concern miraculous acts or special objects that benefitted Israel. The mouth of the earth refers to when the earth opened and swallowed Korach and those who rebelled against Moses (Numbers 16:30-33). The mouth of the well refers to the water that sprang forth from rock after Moses struck it with his staff (Numbers 20:11). The third item is the donkey upon which the Moabite prophet Balaam rode that rebuked him (Numbers 22:28-30). The rainbow that appeared after the flood to Noah is the fourth item (Genesis 9:13). The fifth thing created is the manna that fed Israel in the wilderness after the Exodus. The sixth item is the staff of Moses by which he performed many miracles on behalf of Israel. ..."
Joslyn-Siemiatkoski, Daniel
The More Torah, The More Life: A Christian Commentary on Mishnah Avot
(pp. 235-236) Peeters, 2018
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
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