In his first message from God, Balaam reviewed why he had come to Moab (23:5, 16). He explained how Balak had called him. He also stressed that God had a special relationship with Israel. Balaam made clear that he could not harm Israel because God was protecting them.
These messages are written as poetry. Hebrew poetry often uses parallelism. Parallelism places two similar lines together. The second line repeats or strengthens the first line in a clear and ordered way.
Aram: This refers to Aram-naharaim. This name describes North Mesopotamia, where Balaam’s hometown of Pethor was located (Numbers 22:5).
the mountains of the east: This refers to a mountain range in North Syria.