Person Old and New Testament
Balak
Also known as Balak =ESV, NIV; Balac =KJV
Balak, son of Zippor, was the king of Moab who tried to curse Israel through Balaam. Mentioned in 41 verses across 5 books, first at Numbers 22:2.
Why it matters. King of Moab who hired Balaam to curse Israel.
- Primary passages
- Last reviewed
- 2026-08-30 by the FaithGraph team
About Balak
Balak was the king of Moab during the time when the Israelites were approaching the Promised Land (Num.22.4). Fearing the large number of Israelites, Balak hired the pagan prophet Balaam to curse them (Num.22.5-6). Despite Balak's repeated attempts and offerings, Balaam could only bless Israel as God commanded (Numbers 23-24). Balak became angry with Balaam for not cursing Israel and sent him away (Num.24.10-11). Balak is mentioned in the farewell speeches of Joshua (Jos.24.9) and Jephthah (Jdg.11.25) as an example of how God protected Israel from their enemies. The prophet Micah also refers to Balak's story as a reminder of God's righteousness (Mic.6.5). In Rev.2.14, Balak is associated with Balaam's scheme to entice Israel into idolatry and immorality. Balak's actions demonstrate the futility of opposing God's plan and people.
Description from STEPBible TIPNR (Tyndale House, Cambridge), CC BY 4.0, lightly reformatted. This is background reference material, not Scripture and not a FaithGraph editorial claim.
Connections
No reviewed connections yet.
Family
Family links from STEPBible TIPNR (CC BY 4.0). Where the dataset marks an identification as uncertain, the mark is kept. Matthew and Luke give different genealogies for Jesus; see the Lineage page, which never merges them.
- Parents
- Zippor
Appears in Scripture
Named in 41 verses across 5 books. Occurrence data from STEPBible TIPNR (CC BY 4.0); references only, no translation text.