out. It is only to this
that the words, "A star goeth out of Jacob, and a sceptre riseth out of
Israel," can refer,--according to the analogy of Gen. xvii. 6: "Kings
shall come out of thee;" ver. 16: "And she shall become nations,
_kings_ of people shall be of her;" and xxxv. 11: "Kings shall come out
of thy loins." 2. The reference to a single king would be against the
_analogy_ of _Balaam's_ prophecies, inasmuch as these nowhere refer
to a single individual. 3. The _sceptre_ does not, in itself, lead
us to think of an individual, since it does not designate a ruler,
but dominion in general. But that which especially militates against
the reference [Pg 101] to an individual is the comparison with the
fundamental passage, Gen. xlix. 10, in which Judah, and in him all
Israel, does not receive the promise of a single king, but of the
kingdom which shall at last be consummated in the Shiloh. 4. In favour
of this general interpretation is also ver. 19, in which the words,
"And dominion shall come out of Jacob," or literally, "They shall rule
out of Jacob," may be considered as just a commentary on the words, "A
sceptre riseth out of Israel." So also is ver. 7, "More elevated than
Agag be his king," where the king of Israel is an _ideal_ person--the
personification of the kingdom. Agag, _i.e._, the fiery one, is not
a proper name, but a surname of all Amalekite kings. The Amalekite
kingdom--which here represents the world's power, opposed to the
kingdom of God, because at the time of the Seer the Amalekites were the
most powerful among the people who were hostile to Israel (compare ver.
20, where they are called the _beginning_ of the heathen nations,
_i.e._, the most powerful of them)--is here put in opposition to the
Israelitish kingdom, and the latter will show itself superior to all
worldly power.

The arguments which thus prove the reference of Balaam's prophecy to an
Israelitish kingdom, disprove also, not only the exclusive reference to
David, but also the exclusive reference to Christ; although they imply
at the same time that the prophecy, in its final reference, has Christ
for its subject. The Israelitish kingdom, indeed, attained to the full
height of its destiny only in and with the Messiah; without the
Messiah, the Israelitish kingdom is a trunk without a head. The
prophecy thus centres in Christ. We are, however, not entitled to
suppose that the prophet himself was not aware of this; on the
contrary, we cannot