Or HaChaim on Numbers 24:5/אור החיים על במדבר כ״ד:ה׳

1 מה טובו אהליך יעקב, "How goodly are your tents O Jacob," etc. Bileam addresses both categories of Israelites in this verse. Concerning the average Israelite who studies Torah only occasionally, relatively briefly, Bileam spoke of the "tents of Jacob," i.e. temporary dwellings. Concerning the elite of the Israelites, the ones who make Torah the mainstay of their daily lives, Bileam spoke of the משכנות, the permanent residences. In the homes of the צדיקים Torah finds a permanent home.

2Bileam may also have alluded to two different time frames when distinguishing between "tents" and "residences," respectively. In Exodus 26,7 the Torah speaks of the coverings of the Tabernacle making a tent of it. When Bileam spoke of the "tents of Jacob," he referred to this element the Tabernacle represented. In Kings I 8,1 where Solomon dedicates the Holy Temple, he describes G'd as taking up residence in a permanent home, using the word לשכון for residing somewhere permanently. When Bileam spoke of the משכנות ישראל, he referred to the time when the permanent Temple would be built. The reason Bileam spoke of either dwelling in the plural i.e. אהליך and משכנותיך is that both the Tabernacle and the Holy Temple consisted of different levels of holiness in that the Holy of Holies was more sacred than the Sanctuary in front of the dividing curtain.