It is difficult to pin down Bilaam’s character.
From certain pesukim in Parashat Balak it seems that he is a prophet who hears the voice of God and is loyal to Him, and that he has no intention to deviate from God’s path in the slightest. Time and time again we hear him saying – seemingly without embarrassment – that he awaits explicit instruction from God, and that he will speak only what God instructs him to say. Had God not given him permission to do so, he would not have accompanied Balak’s messengers and he was willing to return home when God’s angel stopped him and expressed anger that he was traveling with them. Even at the moment of truth, when he is standing with Balak and is ready to curse Israel, he takes pains to reiterate that all his strength comes from God. He walks back and forth until he receives Divine inspiration, and then he only says exactly what he is commanded to say. Thanks to his efforts, the nation of Israel ultimately is blessed. It would appear that Bilaam is an impressive figure – a gentile possessing the highest level of prophecy and closeness to God.
The rabbinic sages, however, did not see it this way. They spared no criticism in describing Bilaam, characterizing him as physically and spiritually handicapped. Based on a close reading of the language of the pesukim, they suggest that he was blind and lame. They suggest that he spent his life riding an ass, even though he presented himself as someone who had a magnificent horse on which he usually rode. In short, he lived a miserable life. According to the Sages, the ass was also a source of relief for his sexual urges.
When Bilaam states “Though Balak were to give me his house full of silver and gold, I could not do anything, big or little, contrary to the command of the LORD my God,” the sages conclude that he was greedy because it implied that he expected a significant financial reward for his efforts. In Parashat Matot we are told that in the course of the war against Midian, the Israelites killed Bilaam. The Gemara in Sanhedrin (106a) notes that although Bilaam was not, himself, a Midianite, he was in Midian collecting his reward for having brought about 24,000 Israelite casualties, and, so, he found his death there. In a colorful description of the situation, the Gemara in Sanhedrin writes: “Mar Zutra bar Toviya says that Rav says that this is in accordance with the adage that people say: A camel goes to seek horns and the ears that it had are severed from it.” Not only was Bilaam unsuccessful in collecting his fee, he also lost his life.
In Sefer Yehoshua (13:22), when Bilaam’s death is recounted, he receives an additional epithet – he is called “Bilaam the soothsayer” – and the sages conclude that towards the end of his life he took on a new job; from being a prophet who related the word of God he became a “competitor” who claimed that he could divine the future by means of his sorcery. The Gemara )Sandhedrin 106a) describes this by employing metaphors of treachery and prostitution. “Rabbi Yoḥanan says: Initially he was a prophet, but ultimately, he lost his capacity for prophecy and remained merely a diviner. Rav Pappa says that this is in accordance with the adage that people say: This woman was descended from princes and rulers, and was licentious with carpenters.” In other words, a man who was a high-ranking official linked his fate with a problematic group. He "sold his soul to the devil."
While all of these suggestions can find support in the verses, a spontaneous reading of the chapters related to Bilaam does not reveal this layer of interpretation, rather it presents a straightforward, honest man who strives to follow the dictates of God. To reach these conclusions about Bilaam’s character, we must read “between the lines.”
In his book, Philosophical Investigations (1953), Ludwig Wittgenstein argues that to understand language we must read on two different layers of meaning, for aside from the literal meaning of every word, there are also hidden meanings and symbols that have deeper meanings than the words’ dictionary entries. Sensitivity and skill are required to understand this "language game" where words that are carefully selected to describe a particular thing.
According to Wittgenstein, the deep layer of significance can always be found within the simple meaning. In this case, however, it appears that the play between peshat and derash is, itself, the main point. The outcome is that of a complex picture of a person who oozes obedience, deference, and humility, while, in fact, he is a treacherous figure who has no loyalty – neither to ass nor to his Creator. The rabbinic description of Bilaam as a lame, blind person, serves as a metaphor for an unstable and short-sighted person.
Bilaam is a deceptive figure. He belongs to the class of people who can declaim beautiful sermons about the duty of blind obedience and the sacrifice that is required of us to worship God without reservation, while in secret he is performing unspeakable acts. The Torah reveals this figure layer by layer. On the surface he appears to be a prophet to whom God truly revealed Himself, just as He did to Moshe, a person who is willing to admit publicly that it is God Who determines his choices and his daily schedule. Sharp-eyed people, however, can recognize his problematic personality. They recognize him as someone who works hard at creating an image for himself that will serve as “a perfect cover.”
The dissonance involved in understanding an individual whose interior and exterior characteristics are polar opposites of each other, makes it hard to comprehend. It is possible, however, that these actually go hand-in-hand. Turning one’s eyes towards heaven time after time often serves as evidence of a personality of dishonesty and deceit.