22:38 Balaam said to Balak, “Look, I have come to you. Now, am I able53 to speak54 just anything? I must speak55 only the word that God puts in my mouth.”
tn The verb is אוּכַל (’ukhal) in a question—“am I able?” But emphasizing this is the infinitive absolute before it. So Balaam is saying something like, “Can I really say anything?”
54
tn The Piel infinitive construct (without the preposition) serves as the object of the verb “to be able.” The whole question is rhetorical—he is saying that he will not be able to say anything God does not allow him to say.
55
tn The imperfect tense is here taken as an obligatory imperfect.