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King Balak of Moab Hires Balaam To Curse Israel

2-3 When King Balak[a] of Moab and his people heard how many Israelites there were and what they had done to the Amorites, he and the Moabites were terrified and panicked. They said to the Midianite leaders, “That huge mob of Israelites will wipe out everything in sight, like a bull eating grass in a field.”

So King Balak (A) sent a message to Balaam son of Beor who lived among his relatives in the town of Pethor near the Euphrates River. It said:

I need your help. A large group of people has come here from Egypt and settled near my territory.

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Footnotes

  1. 22.2,3 Balak: Hebrew “Balak son of Zippor.”

and Moab was terrified because there were so many people. Indeed, Moab was filled with dread(A) because of the Israelites.

The Moabites(B) said to the elders of Midian,(C) “This horde is going to lick up everything(D) around us, as an ox licks up the grass of the field.(E)

So Balak son of Zippor, who was king of Moab at that time, sent messengers to summon Balaam son of Beor,(F) who was at Pethor, near the Euphrates River,(G) in his native land. Balak said:

“A people has come out of Egypt;(H) they cover the face of the land and have settled next to me.

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