Numbers 24:5
New International Version
“How beautiful are your tents, Jacob, your dwelling places, Israel!

New Living Translation
How beautiful are your tents, O Jacob; how lovely are your homes, O Israel!

English Standard Version
How lovely are your tents, O Jacob, your encampments, O Israel!

Berean Standard Bible
How lovely are your tents, O Jacob, your dwellings, O Israel!

King James Bible
How goodly are thy tents, O Jacob, and thy tabernacles, O Israel!

New King James Version
“How lovely are your tents, O Jacob! Your dwellings, O Israel!

New American Standard Bible
How pleasant are your tents, Jacob, Your dwelling places, Israel!

NASB 1995
How fair are your tents, O Jacob, Your dwellings, O Israel!

NASB 1977
How fair are your tents, O Jacob, Your dwellings, O Israel!

Legacy Standard Bible
How fair are your tents, O Jacob, Your dwellings, O Israel!

Amplified Bible
How fair are your tents, O Jacob, And your tabernacles, O Israel!

Christian Standard Bible
How beautiful are your tents, Jacob, your dwellings, Israel.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
How beautiful are your tents, Jacob, your dwellings, Israel.

American Standard Version
How goodly are thy tents, O Jacob, Thy tabernacles, O Israel!

Contemporary English Version
"People of Israel, your camp is lovely.

English Revised Version
How goodly are thy tents, O Jacob, Thy tabernacles, O Israel!

GOD'S WORD® Translation
How beautiful are your tents, Jacob, and the places where you live, Israel.

Good News Translation
The tents of Israel are beautiful,

International Standard Version
Jacob, your tents are so fine, as well as your dwelling places, O Israel!

Majority Standard Bible
How lovely are your tents, O Jacob, your dwellings, O Israel!

NET Bible
How beautiful are your tents, O Jacob, and your dwelling places, O Israel!

New Heart English Bible
How goodly are your tents, Jacob, and your tents, Israel.

Webster's Bible Translation
How goodly are thy tents, O Jacob, and thy tabernacles, O Israel!

World English Bible
How goodly are your tents, Jacob, and your dwellings, Israel!
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
How good have been your tents, O Jacob, "" Your dwelling places, O Israel;

Young's Literal Translation
How good have been thy tents, O Jacob, Thy tabernacles, O Israel;

Smith's Literal Translation
How good thy tents, Jacob, and thy dwellings, Israel!
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
How beautiful are thy tabernacles, O Jacob, and thy tents, O Israel!

Catholic Public Domain Version
‘How beautiful are your tabernacles, O Jacob, and your tents, O Israel!

New American Bible
How pleasant are your tents, Jacob; your encampments, Israel!

New Revised Standard Version
how fair are your tents, O Jacob, your encampments, O Israel!
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
How beautiful are your tents, O Jacob, and your tabernacles, O Israel!

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
“How beautiful your Tabernacle, Yaquuv, and your tents, Israel!
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
How goodly are thy tents, O Jacob, Thy dwellings, O Israel!

Brenton Septuagint Translation
How goodly are thy habitations, Jacob, and thy tents, Israel!

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Balaam's Third Oracle
4the prophecy of one who hears the words of God, who sees a vision from the Almighty, who bows down with eyes wide open: 5How lovely are your tents, O Jacob, your dwellings, O Israel! 6They spread out like palm groves, like gardens beside a stream, like aloes the LORD has planted, like cedars beside the waters.…

Cross References
Psalm 45:2
You are the most handsome of men; grace has anointed your lips; therefore God has blessed you forever.

Psalm 133:1-3
A song of ascents. Of David. Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in harmony! / It is like fine oil on the head, running down on the beard, running down Aaron’s beard over the collar of his robes. / It is like the dew of Hermon falling on the mountains of Zion. For there the LORD has bestowed the blessing of life forevermore.

Isaiah 32:18
Then my people will dwell in a peaceful place, in safe and secure places of rest.

Isaiah 33:20
Look upon Zion, the city of our appointed feasts. Your eyes will see Jerusalem, a peaceful pasture, a tent that does not wander; its tent pegs will not be pulled up, nor will any of its cords be broken.

Isaiah 54:2
“Enlarge the site of your tent, stretch out the curtains of your dwellings, do not hold back. Lengthen your ropes and drive your stakes in deep.

Isaiah 60:13
The glory of Lebanon will come to you—its cypress, elm, and boxwood together—to adorn the place of My sanctuary, and I will glorify the place of My feet.

Jeremiah 31:12
They will come and shout for joy on the heights of Zion; they will be radiant over the bounty of the LORD—the grain, new wine, and oil, and the young of the flocks and herds. Their life will be like a well-watered garden, and never again will they languish.

Ezekiel 36:35
Then they will say, ‘This land that was desolate has become like the garden of Eden. The cities that were once ruined, desolate, and destroyed are now fortified and inhabited.’

Hosea 14:5-7
I will be like the dew to Israel; he will blossom like the lily and take root like the cedars of Lebanon. / His shoots will sprout, and his splendor will be like the olive tree, his fragrance like the cedars of Lebanon. / They will return and dwell in his shade; they will grow grain and blossom like the vine. His renown will be like the wine of Lebanon.

Micah 4:4
And each man will sit under his own vine and under his own fig tree, with no one to frighten him. For the mouth of the LORD of Hosts has spoken.

Zechariah 9:17
How lovely they will be, and how beautiful! Grain will make the young men flourish, and new wine, the young women.

Matthew 5:14-16
You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. / Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a basket. Instead, they set it on a stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. / In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.

Matthew 13:31-32
He put before them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that a man took and planted in his field. / Although it is the smallest of all seeds, yet it grows into the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and nest in its branches.”

John 1:14
The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the one and only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

John 15:4-5
Remain in Me, and I will remain in you. Just as no branch can bear fruit by itself unless it remains in the vine, neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in Me. / I am the vine and you are the branches. The one who remains in Me, and I in him, will bear much fruit. For apart from Me you can do nothing.


Treasury of Scripture

How goodly are your tents, O Jacob, and your tabernacles, O Israel!

as gardens

Genesis 2:8-10
And the LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed…

Genesis 13:10
And Lot lifted up his eyes, and beheld all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered every where, before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, even as the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt, as thou comest unto Zoar.

Song of Solomon 4:12-15
A garden inclosed is my sister, my spouse; a spring shut up, a fountain sealed…

as the trees.

Psalm 1:3
And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.

Jeremiah 17:18
Let them be confounded that persecute me, but let not me be confounded: let them be dismayed, but let not me be dismayed: bring upon them the day of evil, and destroy them with double destruction.

which the

Psalm 104:16
The trees of the LORD are full of sap; the cedars of Lebanon, which he hath planted;

Isaiah 41:19
I will plant in the wilderness the cedar, the shittah tree, and the myrtle, and the oil tree; I will set in the desert the fir tree, and the pine, and the box tree together:

as cedar

Psalm 92:12-14
The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree: he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon…

Ezekiel 31:3,4
Behold, the Assyrian was a cedar in Lebanon with fair branches, and with a shadowing shroud, and of an high stature; and his top was among the thick boughs…

Ezekiel 47:12
And by the river upon the bank thereof, on this side and on that side, shall grow all trees for meat, whose leaf shall not fade, neither shall the fruit thereof be consumed: it shall bring forth new fruit according to his months, because their waters they issued out of the sanctuary: and the fruit thereof shall be for meat, and the leaf thereof for medicine.

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Numbers 24
1. Balaam, leaving divinations, prophesies the happiness of Israel
10. Balak, in anger, dismisses him
15. He prophesies of the Star of Jacob, and the destruction of some nations














How beautiful
The phrase "How beautiful" in Numbers 24:5 is an expression of admiration and wonder. In the Hebrew text, the word used is "מַה־טֹּבוּ" (mah-tovu), which conveys a sense of goodness, pleasantness, and beauty. This expression is often used in the Hebrew Bible to describe something that is not only visually appealing but also morally and spiritually good. In the context of Balaam's prophecy, it reflects a divinely inspired recognition of the blessed state of Israel. The beauty here is not merely physical but encompasses the spiritual and communal harmony of the people of God.

are your tents, O Jacob
The "tents" of Jacob refer to the dwelling places of the Israelites. In the ancient Near Eastern context, tents were the primary form of habitation for nomadic peoples, including the Israelites during their wilderness wanderings. The mention of "Jacob" is significant as it recalls the patriarchal heritage of the Israelites, linking them to the promises given to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The tents symbolize the community and family life of the Israelites, highlighting their unity and the divine order within their society. This imagery evokes a sense of God's provision and protection over His chosen people.

your dwellings, O Israel!
The term "dwellings" (Hebrew: "מִשְׁכְּנֹתֶיךָ" - mishkenotecha) refers to more permanent structures than tents, suggesting a sense of stability and establishment. "O Israel" emphasizes the covenant identity of the people as those who have wrestled with God and prevailed, as seen in the account of Jacob's name change to Israel. This phrase underscores the fulfillment of God's promises to bring His people into a land of their own, where they can settle and thrive. The beauty of their dwellings is a testament to God's faithfulness and the blessings that come from living in accordance with His will. The imagery of beautiful dwellings serves as a metaphor for the spiritual beauty and order that God desires for His people.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
How
מַה־ (mah-)
Interrogative
Strong's 4100: What?, what!, indefinitely what

beautiful
טֹּ֥בוּ (ṭō·ḇū)
Verb - Qal - Perfect - third person common plural
Strong's 2895: To be pleasing or good

are your tents,
אֹהָלֶ֖יךָ (’ō·hā·le·ḵā)
Noun - masculine plural construct | second person masculine singular
Strong's 168: A tent

O Jacob,
יַעֲקֹ֑ב (ya·‘ă·qōḇ)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 3290: Jacob -- a son of Isaac, also his desc

your dwellings,
מִשְׁכְּנֹתֶ֖יךָ (miš·kə·nō·ṯe·ḵā)
Noun - masculine plural construct | second person masculine singular
Strong's 4908: A residence, the Tabernacle

O Israel!
יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃ (yiś·rā·’êl)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 3478: Israel -- 'God strives', another name of Jacob and his desc


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OT Law: Numbers 24:5 How goodly are your tents Jacob (Nu Num.)
Numbers 24:4
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