Numbers 22:21-23

Amplified Bible

²¹So Balaam got up in the morning and ^[a]saddled his donkey and went with the leaders of Moab.

The Angel and Balaam

²²But God’s anger was kindled because ^[b]he was going, and the ^[c]Angel of the Lord took His stand in the way as an adversary against him. Now he was riding on his donkey, and his two servants were with him. ²³When the donkey saw the Angel of the Lord standing in the way and His drawn sword in His hand, the donkey turned off the path and went into the field; but Balaam struck the donkey to turn her back toward the path.

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Footnotes

Numbers 22:21 The ancient rabbis saw in this action an indication that Balaam was eager to go with the messengers, because it was not considered appropriate for a man of importance to saddle his own mount.
Numbers 22:22 Balaam went with God’s permission, but his motives were in opposition to God’s will.
Numbers 22:22 “Angel” has been capitalized here to reflect the likelihood that it is God appearing in a visible form (see note Gen 16:7).