Person Old Testament
Zippor
Zippor was the father of Balak, the king of Moab who hired Balaam to curse Israel. Mentioned in 7 verses across 3 books, first at Numbers 22:2.
Why it matters. Father of Balak, king of Moab
- Primary passages
- Last reviewed
- 2026-08-30 by the FaithGraph team
About Zippor
Zippor was the father of Balak, the king of Moab who opposed the Israelites during their journey through the wilderness. He is mentioned several times in the account of Balak's attempts to curse Israel through the prophet Balaam (Numbers 22-24). Zippor's name, which means "bird" or "sparrow," is consistently used in conjunction with Balak's name, emphasizing his role as the king's father. Although little is known about Zippor's life, his son Balak's actions suggest that he may have shared the same hostility towards the Israelites. In Jos.24.9 and Jdg.11.25, Zippor is mentioned in the context of recounting Israel's past conflicts with Moab, further highlighting the significance of his son's opposition to Israel. Some scholars speculate that Zippor may have been the "former king of Moab" mentioned in Num.21.26, but this is not explicitly stated in the text.
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.
- Children
- Balak
Appears in Scripture
Named in 7 verses across 3 books. Occurrence data from STEPBible TIPNR (CC BY 4.0); references only, no translation text.