Then Israel sang this song: The conjunction Then may wrongly suggest that the singing here was the next event in the travel sequence after verse 16. However, the Hebrew adverb rendered Then (ʾaz) indicates that this singing is closely connected to the earlier report of the LORD’s providing water for the Israelites at Beer and came as a direct response to that miracle. So Then is better translated “At that time” (Good News Translation, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch; similarly De Nieuwe Bijbelvertaling), “There” (New Living Translation), or “On that occasion.” Contemporary English Version renders this clause as “That’s also the same well the Israelites sang about in this song,” which makes the connection between the song and the well very clear.

The Hebrew of verses 17b-18a contains a number of parallelisms or repetitions, so we advise translators to present the song as poetry, or to use some other type of marked discourse that would be appropriate for the joyous occasion in view here. Wells and water have been popular themes in Arabic poetry.

Spring up, O well!: At the beginning the song the Israelites address the well directly. If such personified speech is not natural in the language, it may be better to express this clause as a wish, such as “May this well produce its water.”

Sing to it!: Here the Israelites encourage each other to sing to the well. The Hebrew imperative verb for Sing is plural, referring to them. In languages where such a sudden change of addressee (the people, not the well) would not enhance the poetry, it may be better to say “And we will greet it with a song” (Good News Translation).

The well which the princes dug: The Hebrew term for princes (sar) can mean “chieftains” (New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh), “leaders” (New Revised Standard Version), or “officers” (see A Handbook on Numbers at Exo 18.21, where it is rendered “rulers”).

Which the nobles of the people delved: The Hebrew word for nobles (nadib) refers to people who are able and willing to contribute wealth, so it may be rendered “honorable people,” “important people,” or “well-known people.” Delved means “dug.”

With the scepter and with their staves: A scepter is a decorated rod that is used by a ruler to symbolize his or her authority. It can be made of wood, precious metal, or both. Here scepter has a collective sense since more than one leader is in view, so Contemporary English Version says “royal scepters.” The Hebrew word for staves refers to handheld staffs made of wood or metal, which had a variety of uses. The Hebrew word for ass (ʾathon) refers specifically to a saddle donkey or a donkey used for riding. A saddle donkey is usually a large strong female donkey since the males are too difficult to control when they are near a female in heat. As noted in the comments on 16.15, ass is better rendered “donkey” in English. In languages that do not distinguish between male and female donkeys, or those that do not have a precise word for “donkey” at all, it is not essential to convey that this donkey was female. The narrator introduces here a donkey as a “character” who will be important in the following episode.

And went with the princes of Moab: The second episode of the Balaam story concludes as did the first one (see verse 14), with the Moabite officials returning home, only this time, by way of contrast, Balaam went with them. For the Hebrew word rendered princes (sar), see verse 8 and 21.18.

Revised Standard Version starts a new paragraph with verse 21, while Good News Translation starts another paragraph (actually a new section) at verse 22. We prefer the paragraph break in Good News Translation, since verse 21 brings the narrative to a close in a conventional way: in verse 21 Balaam simply carried out God’s instructions of verse 20 (so Levine, page 153). Although verse 21 involves a change of place, it is only in verse 22 that Balaam began to face opposition from God. This way of understanding the structure of this narrative corresponds with the wording and interpretation of verse 14, which is viewed as concluding the first episode.

Quoted with permission from de Regt, Lénart J. and Wendland, Ernst R. A Handbook on Numbers. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2016. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .