Illustration created for this project.
Balak
The king of Moab who hired the seer Balaam to curse Israel, only to have him bless them.
What we know — and how we know it
Bible — stated in scripture (with verse) · 1
Scholarly — supported scholarly belief · 2
Life, role & deeds
BibleThe king of Moab who hired Balaam to curse Israel, only to hear blessing pronounced instead.
Numbers 22:1–6
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Balaam
ScholarlySome scholars have proposed reading the Moabite king's name in line 31 of the ninth-century Mesha Stele as 'Balak,' but this reconstruction of the damaged text is contested; the older and still widely defended reading of that line is 'House of David.'
Mesha Stele (Louvre); disputed 2019 reading by Israel Finkelstein, Nadav Na'aman and Thomas Romer proposing 'Balak,' challenged by Andre Lemaire and Michael Langlois who defend the 'House of David' reading.
Name & titles
ScholarlyThe name Balak (Hebrew Balaq), son of Zippor, derives from the root b-l-q meaning to 'lay waste' or 'devastate,' fitting his role as the Moabite king who sought to have Israel cursed.
Hebrew onomastic analysis of the root b-l-q (e.g. BDB / HALOT lexical entries).
Where in scripture
NumbersJoshuaJudgesMicahRevelation
Numbers 22:2Numbers 22:4Numbers 24:10Numbers 24:12Numbers 24:13Numbers 24:25Joshua 24:9Judges 11:25Micah 6:5Revelation 2:14
Family
In their own words — 8 recorded sayings
“So he sent men to Balaam, son of Beor, at Pethor by the River in the land of the children of his people, saying to him, See, a people has come out of Egypt, covering all the face of the earth, and they have put up their tents opposite to me: Come now, in answer to my prayer, and put a curse on this people, for they are greater than I: and then I may be strong enough to overcome them and send them out of the land: for it is clear that good comes to him who has your blessing, but he on whom you put your curse is cursed.” — Numbers 22:5-6
“And Balak said to Balaam, Did I not send to you, requesting you with all my heart to come to me? why did you not come? am I not able to give you a place of honour?” — Numbers 22:37
“Then Balak said to Balaam, What have you done to me? I sent for you so that my haters might be cursed, and see, you have given them a blessing.” — Numbers 23:11
“And Balak said to him, Come with me now into another place from which you will not be able to see them all, but only the outskirts of them; and you will send curses on them from there.” — Numbers 23:13
“So he came to him where he was waiting by his burned offering with the chiefs of Moab by his side. And Balak said to him, What has the Lord said?” — Numbers 23:17
“Then Balak said to Balaam, If you will not put a curse on them, at all events do not give them a blessing.” — Numbers 23:25
“Then Balak said to Balaam, Come now, I will take you to another place; it may be that God will let you put a curse on them from there.” — Numbers 23:27
“Then Balak was full of wrath against Balaam, and angrily waving his hands he said to Balaam, I sent for you so that those who are against me might be cursed, but now, see, three times you have given them a blessing. Go back quickly to the place you came from: it was my purpose to give you a place of honour, but now the Lord has kept you back from honour.” — Numbers 24:10-11
Speaker attribution: Clear Bible MACULA (CC BY 4.0). Wording: Bible in Basic English (public domain).