אור החיים — ותהי עליו רוח אלהים

Q — Before Bilaam's third blessing, the verse notes he no longer went toward omens but set his face to the wilderness, and 'a spirit of God came upon him' (ותהי עליו רוח אלהים). Rashbam and Ramban read this as a spiritual elevation — Bilaam resolved to bless wholeheartedly, so the Shechinah rested on him in love.

A — Or HaChaim disagrees sharply. He holds that 'all of Bilaam's words are a blessing whose inner core is a curse,' including the third utterance. Bilaam was wicked from start to finish and his entire intent was to curse Israel. Once he saw there was 'no hope from God to agree to harm Israel,' he abandoned his usual recourse to omens and sought some other way to curse them where he stood. 'רוח אלהים' on this reading does not mark a genuine change of heart.