- verses
- 41
- first named
- Numbers 22:2
- last named
- Revelation 2:14
- period
- Egypt and Wilderness
- tribe
- Moab
Description
Who was 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.
Relations
Direct connections
Every entity the graph places in a stated relation with this one, grouped by the kind of link. Each relation is authored once and its inverse derived, so both ends always agree. Rows marked “registry” come from the identity spine rather than from a verse, and a row marked “which bearer is the source’s decision” is one where the name could have meant more than one person. The last group is not a relation at all — it counts the events two entities stand in together.
The 10 best-attested of 12 are drawn. All 12 are listed below.
Child of
- ZipporregistryNumbers 22:4Numbers 22:2Numbers 22:10 +4
Stands in the same events as
- Balaam36 events
- Israel8 events
- Altar2 events
- Ram2 events
- Bull2 events
- Bamoth-baal2 events
- LORD1 event
- Arnon1 event
- Paddan1 event
- Pisgah1 event
- Summoning of Balaam and Words Of Balak1 event
- Pethor1 event
and 2 more, ordered by how many events they share.
Places
Where this happens
The places the claims about this person reach, drawn where the gazetteer locates them. A point is where a row puts them and never where tradition does; no line joins two points, because the rows state where and not in what order.
The pattern
Where Balak is named
Every book of the corpus in the order it is read, each as wide as the chapters it holds. A bar is the verses of that book which write the name, and the flat stretches are as much of the answer as the bars.
41 verses across 5 of 66 books; 61 write the name nowhere. Named in Numbers (37), Joshua (1), Judges (1), Micah (1) and Revelation (1).
Read it
Where to read it
Every verse of the text carried here that names this entity — 41, across 5 books. The name is written 44 times in them.
Onward
Where this page goes
Nothing in the graph stands one hop from this entity yet. These are the best-connected entities of the same type, so the page still ends somewhere. Descriptions by STEPBible TIPNR.
Where they appear
Chapter by chapter
Atlas's reading of each chapter this person appears in, in canonical order. One line per chapter, and each leads to the whole of it.
- Numbers 22Balak sees Israel’s strength, summons Balaam to curse them, meets him at the Arnon border, and brings him up to Bamoth-baal.
- Numbers 23Balak builds the altars, offers the animals, moves Balaam from place to place, and keeps asking for a curse on Israel.
- Numbers 24Balak hears Israel blessed for the third time, strikes his hands together over the lost reward, and goes on his way.
- Joshua 24Balak sets out to fight Israel and sends for Balaam to curse them.
- Judges 11Balak was recalled as the king of Moab who never contended with Israel.
- Micah 6Balak king of Moab counseled concerning Israel.
- Revelation 2Balak is the one Balaam teaches to place a stumbling block before the Israelites.
Sources