I looked in the Bible for quite a while (even asked AI for help—*gasp*), and I couldn’t find a single moment in Scripture where someone who is not a Christian or an Israelite becomes a prophet for God.
Except one: Balaam.
We do need to define our terms, though. Nebuchadnezzar, the pagan king of Babylon, receives a dream from God in Daniel 4. But that dream is interpreted by Daniel (Daniel 4:7-9), which makes Nebuchadnezzar the conduit for God’s Word.
The same goes for Abimelech in Genesis 20, who was visited by God in a dream and told explicitly what to do. That doesn’t count, either. He didn’t have to interpret anything. The wise men from the east weren’t following God either—they saw a star and went looking for God.
Balaam is the only tried and true pagan prophet in the entire Bible (disclaimer: That I know of; as with everything else, feel free to check and email me if you disagree).
And as if we weren’t aware of who he was by this point in Numbers 24:3, he “opens up his discourse” by introducing himself as Balaam, the son of Beor, “the man whoses eye is opened.”
It’s a fitting statement both in word and in place. Unlike the previous two oracles, Balaam doesn’t have to run off into the woods to seek an omen from God. This time (and next time), he receives them from God directly (“the Spirit of God came upon him”).
Also unlike the previous two oracles, he is in full view of the camp of Israel. He sees them caping “tribe by tribe,” which must’ve been awe-inspiring for him, and terrifying for Balak.
With his eyes opened fully, he has no problem expressing what he now knows about God. The third oracle of Balaam describes Israel as a garden that is camped beside the water, allowed to grow and blossom because it is nourished by a constant source. It’s the same way the psalmist alludes to a child of God, watered by the stream of righteousness (Psalm 1:3).
It sounds like a generic victory oracle—Israel wins, God is with them, they’ll crush all their enemies—-but the specifics are what give this oracle its extra little oomph.
Agag is specifically mentioned, which is odd, considering he’s the enemy of Saul (1 Samuel 15:8). There is a thought that Agag is a title rather than a name, which allows for its usage in both places.
More interestingly, the Septuagint actually translates this word as “Gog,” which should sound familiar to anyone who has read Revelation 20:8. There, as in Ezekiel 38:2, that name is used as a metaphor for the ruthless enemies of God.
Which is exactly what the Amalekites—the kingdom that Agag rules—mean to the Israelites. They are Israel’s antagonists, and in this passage, Balaam claims that Israel will be established above even them.
Balaam also seizes the moment to remind Balak that it was God who brought the nation out of Egypt. They didn’t do it themselves, which may or may not have been Balak’s assumption in Numbers 22:5.
If Israel can leave Egypt and become more powerful than the Amalekites, than the Midianite and Moabite coalition stands no chance. Balaam sees it, the Canaanites dread it (Joshua 2:9), yet Balak still remains in denial. He’ll get the picture soon enough.