Why the Angel Waited for Balaam in the Vineyard Lane

Midrash Tanchuma Buber, Balak 12:1

Curated by Arthur·Translated by Maggid (Beta)·

(Numbers 22:24:) THEN THE ANGEL OF THE LORD STOOD IN A LANE BETWEEN THE VINEYARDS. And could he not have gone after him into the field? Rather, such is the way of the Holy One, blessed be He. A king of flesh and blood sends an executioner to kill a person; he goes after him many days, and the one who has become liable to death eats and drinks while the executioner pursues him from place to place. But before the Holy One, blessed be He, it is not so. Rather, the executioner is in his place, and the one who has become liable to death comes to him on his own feet. So that the angel would not be troubled to go after Balaam, he went ahead of him on the road, for thus it is written: AND THE ANGEL OF THE LORD STOOD IN A LANE BETWEEN THE VINEYARDS, etc. He said to him: Shall the vineyards be sold for foxes?

Themes

Divine JusticeAngelsProvidence

Biblical References

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