Tanach · Rishonim on Tanach · Ramban · Torah
Ramban on Numbers 22:5/רמב"ן על במדבר כ״ב:ה׳
אאֶרֶץ בְּנֵי עַמּוֹ – שֶׁל בָּלָק, מִשָּׁם הָיָה, וְזֶה הָיָה מִתְנַבֵּא וְאוֹמֵר לוֹ: עָתִיד אַתָּה לִמְלֹךְ, לְשׁוֹן רַשִׁ״י (רש״י על במדבר כ״ב:ה׳) מִדִּבְרֵי אַגָּדָה (במדב״ר כ ז). וּפְשׁוּטוֹ - אֶרֶץ בְּנֵי עַמּוֹ שֶׁל בִּלְעָם, כִּי שָׁם נוֹלַד וְשָׁם יִחוּסוֹ. וְהַטַּעַם לְהַזְכִּיר כֵּן, מִפְּנֵי שֶׁהָיָה קוֹסֵם מִן הָאָרֶץ שֶׁכָּל עַמָּהּ קוֹסְמִים, כְּעִנְיָן שֶׁכָּתוּב: ״כִּי מָלְאוּ מִקֶּדֶם וְעוֹנְנִים כַּפְּלִשְׁתִּים״ (ישעיהו ב ו):
1THE LAND OF THE CHILDREN OF HIS PEOPLE — “[the people] of Balak, for he [Balak] came from there [i.e., from Pethor which is by the river], and this man [Balaam] had prophesied and told him, ‘You are destined to be king.’” This is Rashi’s language, taken from an Agadic explanation.29 20. But the plain meaning of Scripture is [that the land of the children of ‘his people’ is a reference to] Balaam’s people’s land [and not Balak’s], for there he [Balaam] was born and there was his family background. The reason for [Scripture] mentioning this is [to indicate] that he [Balaam] was a diviner, from the land where all the people were diviners, similar to that which is written, for they are replenished from the east, and with soothsayers like the Philistines.30