Numbers 22:9 - Ellicott's Commentary On The Whole Bible

What men are these with thee? — This inquiry, like that addressed to Elijah, “What doest thou here?” (1 Kings 19:9), or that to Hezekiah, “What said these men? and from whence came they unto thee?” and “What have they seen in thine house?” (Isaiah 39:3-4) was calculated to arouse the slumbering conscience of Balaam, and to open his eyes to a perception of his sin and of his danger.