The Story of Balaam’s She-Ass (Numbers 22:21–35): A New Literary Insight

The presence of the she-ass episode in the Balaam pericope (Numbers 22–24) raises a number of questions, in part because it seems to result in inconsistencies and redundancies. Based on an integrated reading of the biblical text that looks for the elements shared by the episode and the broader story and examines the former in expanding contextual circles, the present article argues that Num 22:21–35 plays an important role by presenting the relationship between Balaam and his donkey as analogous to his relationship with the Israelites.