“A star will come forth from Jacob”
I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near. A star will come forth from Jacob, and a scepter will arise from Israel. (Numbers 24:17 BSB)
What it sounds like today
A poetic line about a star and a king, from a strange source.
The cultural key
Hired to curse Israel, the pagan seer Balaam is compelled instead to bless, and here foresees a royal figure: 'a star will come forth from Jacob, a scepter will arise from Israel.' Star and scepter are ancient emblems of kingship, and the oracle was read as pointing to a coming ruler, David first, and beyond him the Messiah. Its pull was enormous: when Simon led Judea's revolt against Rome in AD 132, Rabbi Akiva hailed him as 'Bar Kokhba,' 'son of the star,' from this verse. Many Christian readers connect it to the star the Magi followed to the newborn king.
Recovered meaning
Even a mercenary prophet is overruled to announce a coming king rising like a star out of Israel. The verse became one of Judaism's great messianic hopes and, for Christians, a shadow of the star that led wise men to Bethlehem.