To seek for enchantments— In the margin, to the meeting of enchantments; by which is meant the same as he calls, meeting the Lord, in the 3rd and 15th verses of the last chapter. It is difficult to understand what is meant by these words. "Interpreters," says Mr. Saurin, "think they have found some passages in Scripture, where the verb, from which the word enchantment is derived, is taken in a good sense, and denotes the knowledge of futurity. See Genesis 5:15. They conclude from this criticism, that the word enchantment signifies no more than the revelations which Balaam desired of God concerning the destiny of the Israelites. It is certain, that the sacred historian says nothing throughout his whole narration, capable of convincing us that Balaam used enchantments on the first of the two high places: I am apt to suspect that this man, abandoned to covetousness; not being able to find any thing to his purpose in the divine inspirations, would at length have betaken himself to magical arts; but that the spirit of God restrained him." Mr. Saurin here seems not to have attended with his usual accuracy to the text; from which it is plain, that Balaam only omitted to do now, what he had done before; for it is said, he went not, as at other times, to seek for enchantments; so that whatever the phrase may imply, it is unquestionable, that he had done, at his two former meetings with the Lord, what he now omitted to do, from a full persuasion that any further inquiries into the will of the Lord upon this subject would be fruitless: and I am very strongly of opinion, that the phrase implies no more, than the meeting the Lord for information as to his will; and, perhaps, it might not improperly be rendered, He went not as before, for the meeting, or obtaining divinations: i.e. for information into future things from the Lord; for which purpose he retired, as we have observed on ch. Numbers 23:3. Houbigant is of the same opinion; who says, that the word נחשׁים nechashim, auguries, is here understood in a good sense; for Balaam interpreted the will of the true God, not of the God of Moab, from these auguries. The meaning of the passage seems no more than this; that Balaam, convinced that it was perfectly in vain to retire any more, after the sacrifices, to meet God and receive his commands, accordingly no more retired to the high and secret place, but without any ceremony delivered the divine oracles. Le Clerc explains it briefly thus: He judged it superfluous to inquire further into the mind of God, as God had sufficiently declared his purpose to bless the Israelites.
He set his face toward the wilderness— We have had occasion more than once before to observe, that any large and extensive champaign country, even though it may happen to have villages in it, is called in the Scripture, wilderness. It is evident from the 2nd verse, that wilderness here means the plains of Moab, where the Israelites lay encamped, ch. Numbers 22:1.