We find a somewhat surprising use
of repentance (niḥam) in Numbers
23:19:
God is not a human being, that he
should lie, or a mortal, that he should change his mind [niḥam]. Has he promised, and will he not do it? Has he spoken, and
will he not fulfill it? (NRSV)
The contradiction appears to be
with passages such as Genesis 6:6, which readily describes God as repenting (niḥam). What, then, is the meaning of
Numbers 23:19, which states that God does not
repent (niḥam)? The passage is not a
contradiction of Genesis 6:6 but rather shows that God is faithful in a way
that human beings are not. Although God can and will change his mind (Gen 6:6, niḥam) about things relating to human
beings and their particular attitudes and actions, there are some things about
which God would never change his mind. For example, God is committed to the
house of David (1 Sam 15:29; 2 Sam 7:8–17). Another example is God’s commitment
to Israel via his initial covenant with Abraham (Gen. 12:1–3). It is God’s
nonnegotiable commitment to Israel that is in mind here. God may change his
mind about other things, but to this issue he will not. The context of Numbers
23:19 is the speeches of Balaam, who is attempting to curse Israel at the wish
of Balak, king of the Moabites (Num 22:1–4). Balaam is unable to bring a curse
and instead proclaims that he can only bless Israel (Num 23:20). God’s blessing
of Israel is therefore seen to be irrevocable, and this immediately following
the wanderings and the rebellions in the wilderness recorded throughout the
book of Numbers. In this way, God is shown to be faithful to his covenant in a
way that Israel was not, as witnessed in the golden calf incident of Exodus
32–34. In other words, God will not repent of those things to which he has made
covenant commitments. (J. R. Soza, “Repentance,” in Dictionary of the Old Testament: Pentateuch,
ed. T. Desmond Alexander and David W. Baker [Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity
Press, 2003], 686, emphasis in bold added)
