Poor King Balak of Moab. His name, Balak (בָּלָק), means “he devastated”. But he never devastates any person or any land in the Torah; instead, Balak himself feels devastated.
The situation
Balak already rules a diminished country. During the reign of the previous king, the Amorites conquered the northern half of Moab.
… Sichon, king of the Amorites, himself had waged war against the former [king] of Moab, and had taken all his land from his hand, as far as the Arnon. (Numbers 21:26)
Next, a horde of Israelites march through the wilderness east of Moab at the end of last week’s Torah portion, Chukat, avoiding settled lands until they have crossed the Arnon River. Then they turn west, heading for the land of Canaan. Since they must pass through King Sichon’s city-state of Cheshbon to reach the Jordan River, they ask Sichon for permission to travel on the king’s highway, promising they will not use any well water or go off the road into fields or vineyards. But the king refuses and attacks the Israelites east of his border. They conquer his entire country. (See my post Chukat: Respect versus Belligerence.)
Encouraged by their victory, the Israelites begin conquering more Amorite land to the north, until the army of King Og of Bashan confronts them at Edre-ii.
And they [the Israelites] struck him and his sons and all his people, until there was no survivor left to him, and they took possession of his land. Then the Israelites journeyed on, and camped on the Plains of Moab, across the Jordan from Jericho. (Numbers 21:35-22:1)
The Torah still calls the area where they camp, near Mount Nebo, “the Plains of Moab”, even though Moab has not owned the land since King Sichon captured it.
When this week’s Torah portion (Balak, Numbers 22:2-25:9) begins, the conquering Israelites have come south again, and are camping right across the Arnon River from the remaining kingdom of Moab. King Balak does not know that the Israelites’ next target for conquest is the land of Canaan. It would be just as easy for them to continue south and ford the Arnon River as it would be for them to turn east and cross the Jordan.
This week’s portion begins:
Balak son of Tzipor saw everything that Israel had done to the Amorites. And Moab1 felt very intimidated on account of the people, because there were so many; and Moab felt dread on account of the Israelites. (Numbers 22:2-3)
I think that King Balak, who never does devastate any person or place, feels devasted at the sight of the Israelites across the Arnon. (If their campsite is within view of Jericho, it would actually be almost 60 miles, or 100 km, from the Arnon, but the Torah is more interested in a good story than in geographic precision.)
A confident and thoughtful king might feel relieved that the Israelites had skirted his own country and conquered his enemy to the north instead. He might make inquiries, and learn that the Israelites had asked permission to cross through the land of Cheshbon peacefully, since their real destination was Canaan. He might realize that the Israelites are, in fact, no threat to the present kingdom of Moab.
But Balak is consumed by anxiety. The Israelites are so numerous, and so successful in battle, how could they not be a threat? Balak knows his own army could never defeat them unaided.
The search for help
A king of Moab looking for allies might consider the kingdom of Ammon to the northeast, or the kingdom of Edom on Moab’s southern border. Instead Balak calls on Midianites, who live mostly south of Edom, near the Gulf of Aqaba and the Sinai Peninsula. I will discuss this oddity in my post two weeks from now, about the Torah portion Matot.
And Moab said to the elders of Midian: “Now the assembly [of Israelites] will lick up everything around us, like an ox licks up the green plants of the field!” (Numbers 22:4)
Balak then decides that help from the Midianites will not be enough; what he really needs is magic.
“Israel’s mere presence and the wondrous victories they had already achieved had worked such a spell on his people that they had lost all confidence in the ordinary powers of nations … the spell had to be broken. It had to be countered with an equally mysterious power, one that acts secretly in the dark, before Balak could dare to lead his people into battle against Israel, or before he could even hope to succeed in doing so.” (Hirsch)2
So Balak sends dignitaries to Bilam (often spelled Balaam in English), a famous sorcerer who lives even farther away than the Midianites: by the Euphrates in Mesopotamia. The dignitaries deliver their king’s message:
“Hey! A people went out from Egypt; hey! It covers the sight of the land! And it is dwelling in front of me! And now go, please, and curse this people for me, because it is too numerous for me! Perhaps we will be able to strike them and drive them from the land. Because I know that whomever you bless is blessed, and whomever you curse is cursed.” (Numbers 22:5-6)
I think that Balak feels so powerless, he cannot believe that his army could drive back the Israelites even if Bilam blessed every Moabite. What he needs is a curse that will cripple the Israelites so they cannot fight in the first place.
The king’s dignitaries spend the night at Bilam’s house, while Bilam waits for God to speak to him. In the morning Bilam says:
“Go back to your land, because Y-H-V-H refuses to let me go with you.” (Numbers 22:13)
Bilam knows that he is a prophet, not a sorcerer, and his blessings and curses come true only because God puts the words in his mouth. His use of the same personal name for God as the Israelites indicates to readers that he is a real prophet.
When the dignitaries return to King Balak, they say:
“Bilam refused to go with us.” (Numbers 22:14)
“They suspected him of being a liar, accusing him of desiring more honor than what Balak had shown him thus far.” (Or HaChayim)3
Balak refuses to take no for an answer; he cannot bear to give up the idea of being rescued by magic. So he sends a larger and more impressive delegation, with a pleading message that offers Bilam great honor—i.e., ample remuneration:
“Please don’t hold back from going to me! Because I really will honor you very much. And anything that you say to me, I will do. So please go and curse this people for me!” (Numbers 22:16-17)
The failure of magic
Bilam goes, hoping against hope that God will let him curse the Israelites and collect the reward. When he arrives in Moab, the king’s first words to him are not royal commands, but subservient whining:
“Didn’t I actually send for you, to invite you? Why didn’t you go to me? Am I actually not able to honor you?” (Numbers 22:37)
Balak’s insecurity is showing. Meanwhile, Bilam has had a harrowing experience involving an angel and a talking donkey (see my post Balak: Prophet and Donkey). He answers with the truth:
“Hey! I’ve come to you now. Am I actually able to speak anything? I must speak the word that God puts in my mouth.” (Numbers 22:38)
King Balak takes Bilam to three different spots overlooking the Israelite camp, and at each place, he builds altars and sacrifices animals according to Bilam’s instructions. At each place, Bilam goes off by himself, then returns to King Balak and recites a poem extolling the Israelites. Bilam’s second poem includes the lines:
“For there is no magic in Jacob,
and no divination in Israel.” (Numbers 23:23)
Unlike Balak, the people of Israel do not need magic, because they know God is blessing them.
After the third time Balak and Bilam go through their routine, the king of Moab finally gives up on magic.
Then Balak’s nose burned in anger toward Bilam, and he slapped his hands together. Balak said to Bilam: “I invited you to pronounce a curse on my enemies, and hey! You repeatedly blessed them these three times! So now, run away back to your own place. I said I would certainly honor you, but hey! God held you back from honor!” (Numbers 24:10-11)
Poor King Balak. Since he is ruled by fear, he never does find out that the Israelites have no intention of attacking Moab.
It is easy for us to see that Balak should have sent his dignitaries to the Israelites first, and learned their intentions. But things look different when anxiety unhinges you.
How can we face threats, real or apparent, with equanimity? How can we avoid being devastated? The clue in the Torah is that there is no magic in Israel; people who know they have God’s blessing do not seek magic. Our task is to focus on our blessings instead of our fears.
Balak could have thought about how the conquering Israelites had already passed up opportunities to attack his kingdom, and investigated why. I could think about all the ways my life is good right now, while preparing as best I can for a future in a world that seems more uncertain than ever. I know that magic is of no avail, but it helps to remember that I have led a worthwhile life.
- Elsewhere in the Hebrew Bible the name of a kingdom is also used as the name of its king; for example, in Numbers 20:18, the king of Edom is called “Edom”.
- Samson Raphael Hirsch, The Hirsch Chumash: Sefer Bemidbar, English translation by Daniel Haberman, Feldheim Publishers, Jerusalem, 2007.
- Chayim ibn Attar, Or Hachayim, 18th century, translation in www.sefaria.org.
Questioning Torah 