*Minor differences ignored. Grouped by changes, with first version listed as example.
How goodly are thy tents, O Jacob! The internal condition of prosperity enjoyed by the people is described by various similitudes akin to each other, and expressive of the same thing. He compares them to valleys and well-watered gardens, and then to trees which were rendered succulent by abundance of moisture, and finally to fields whose seeds imbibe fatness from the waters. The word we translate "valleys spread forth," some prefer to render "streams;" and the Hebrew word signifies both; but the course of the metaphors requires that valleys should be rather understood. For the same reason I have given the translation "aloe-trees;" for, although the word 'hlym ohelim, often means "tabernacles," I have no doubt but that it here refers to trees, so as to correspond with what follows as to the cedars. They are called trees "which the Lord hath planted," as surpassing the ordinary growth of nature in their peculiar excellency, and exhibiting something more noble than the effect of human labor and skill. In the concluding similitude the interpreters have erred, in nay opinion. Some translate it, "His seed (is) many waters;" others, "on many waters;" but [1] the literal translation which I have given runs far better, viz., that he is like a rich and fertile field, whose seed is steeped in much water. Thus far Balaam has been speaking of God's blessing, which shall enrich the people with an abundance of all good things.
1 - Ainsworth says: "This seed may be understood, as before, of children; and many waters, of many peoples, as in Revelation 17:15; Isaiah 57:19; Psalm 144:7. Or seed may mean corn sown in watery, moist, and fruitful places, to bring forth much increase; as Isaiah 32:20." C.'s own translation is, after all, equivocal; however, his opinion may incline to the literal meaning of the word seed.
How goodly are thy tents, O Jacob,.... Not that the matter of which they were made was so rich, or their structure so admirable, but the order in which they were placed was so beautiful and agreeable:
and thy tabernacles, O Israel; which is the same thing in other words, and which may be applied figuratively to the church of God, which often goes by the names of Jacob and Israel; and agrees with particular congregations and assemblies of saints, where they dwell as in tents in a movable state, like pilgrims and sojourners; and which are the dwelling places of Father, Son, and Spirit, and of the people of God with one another; and are goodly, pleasant, and delightful, because of the presence of God with them, and on account of the provisions there made for them, and the company they there enjoy; see Psalm 84:1.
How goodly are thy tents, . . . O Israel!--a fine burst of admiration, expressed in highly poetical strains. All travellers describe the beauty which the circular area of Bedouin tents impart to the desert. How impressive, then, must have been the view, as seen from the heights of Abarim, of the immense camp of Israel extended over the subjacent plains.
"How beautiful are thy tents, O Jacob! thy dwellings, O Israel! Like valleys are they spread out, like gardens by the stream, like aloes which Jehovah has planted, like cedars by the waters. Water will flow out of his buckets, and his seed is by many waters. And loftier than Agag be his king, and his kingdom will be exalted." What Balaam had seen before his ecstasy with his bodily eyes, formed the substratum for his inward vision, in which the dwellings of Israel came before his mental eye adorned with the richest blessing from the Lord. The description starts, it is true, from the time then present, but it embraces the whole future of Israel. In the blessed land of Canaan the dwellings of Israel will spread out like valleys. נחלים does not mean brooks here, but valleys watered by brooks. נטּה, to extend oneself, to stretch or spread out far and wide. Yea, "like gardens by the stream," which are still more lovely than the grassy and flowery valleys with brooks. This thought is carried out still further in the two following figures. אהלים are aloe-trees, which grow in the East Indies, in Siam, in Cochin China, and upon the Moluccas, and from which the aloe-wood was obtained, that was so highly valued in the preparation of incense, on account of its fragrance. As the aloes were valued for their fragrant smell, so the cedars were valued on account of their lofty and luxuriant growth, and the durability of their wood. The predicate, "which Jehovah hath planted," corresponds, so far as the actual meaning is concerned, to מים עלי, "by water;" for this was "an expression used to designate trees that, on account of their peculiar excellence, were superior to ordinary trees" (Calvin; cf. Psalm 104:16).
*More commentary available at chapter level.