2 Peter - Verse-by-Verse Biblical Exegesis

God’s people. And last, Balak king of Moab wanted Balaam to curse, not bless, the Israelites
… Balaam, althought driven by greed, was fully aware that the Israelites were God’s chosen
people whom God Himself protected. But because he joined forces with God’s enemies, he
received “the wages of wickedness.” Balaam was driven by a love for material rewards, not
by a love for God and His people. Within a short period of time, Israel’s army killed Balaam
in the battle against the Midianites. (S. Kistemaker) “Way,” here is a road, metaphorically,
“a course of conduct, a way of thinking, feeling, deciding.” (K. Wuest) The story of Balaam
(Num. 22-25) shows the fearful lengths to which men will go for reward, even in the face of
divine displeasure. They are lower than the brute beasts in their rejection of God’s revealed
will, if it leads to preferment or pecuniary advantage. (A. Knoch) Balaam is the prototype of
the false teacher who seeks good rewards or popularity by persuading people that God’s
standards can be lowered. (D. Wheaton) The right or straight standard (way of truth) is a
common OT metaphor for obedience to God. (M. Green)
“The way of Balaam” is the covetousness of one who does religious work for personal profit.
(J. McGee) Here the author relies on the comparison of the two ways Judaism used to
describe the ethical walk (Prov. 2:16): the righteous way of obedience to God and the wicked
way of disobedience to God. (D. Watson) Walking after the “flesh” is by no means confined
to this sphere of conduct, for it extends also to the sphere of creed, namely, what men believe
… The teachers about whom Peter is writing leave one way to follow another, and the way
they left most certainly is the “way of truth.” Consequently, they now follow the way of
Balaam to its bitter end. In each case the way is made up of a system of articles men call a
creed. In some cases these are written, but in most cases it is a mental system held alone in
the memory. Through these verses, it is Peter’s purpose to identify the way of Balaam, to
indict it, and to point out how false teachers introduce it to others. The identification of their
creed is marked by four different things with which it is described: (1) it is a perilous way,
for it is a forsaking of the right way and a going astray; (2) it is a covetous way, for they
followed the way of Balaam, who loved the wages of unrighteousness; (3) it is a lawless
way, for this is the type of inquity for which Balaam was rebuked – being a law unto
himself; and (4) it is a senseless way, for only through the instrument of a dumb ass was God
able to deter Balaam from the way. (H. Hoyt)
2 Peter 2:15 Abandoning (katalei,pw, PAPtc.NMP, Progressive,
Modal) the straight (Compl. Acc.) way of life (Acc. Dir.
Obj.; protocol plan of God), they wandered astray (plana,w,
API3P, Ingressive; were misled, deluded, into the cosmic
system) by following (evxakolouqe,w, AAPtc.NMP, Constative,
Means) Balaam’s (Poss. Gen.) way of life (Dat. Disadv.), the
son (ellipsis) of Bosor (Gen. Rel.), who (Nom. Appos.) held
in high regard (avgapa,w, AAI3S, Constative; regard highly,
love, priority value) the wages (Acc. Dir. Obj.; occupation,
reward) of unrighteousness (Adv. Gen. Ref.; monetary
reversionism),
BGT 2 Peter 2:15 katalei,pontej euvqei/an o`do.n evplanh,qhsan( evxakolouqh,santej th/| o`dw/| tou/
Balaa.m tou/ Boso,r( o]j misqo.n avdiki,aj hvga,phsen