Christianity Knowledge Base
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Balak (Hebrew: "devastator," "empty," or "wasting") was a King of Moab described in the Book of Numbers in the Hebrew Bible, where his dealings with the prophet Balaam are recounted. Balak tried to engage Balaam for the purpose of cursing the migrating Israelite community. On his journey, he met the princes of Moab, Balaam is stopped by an angel of the Lord after beating his donkey. He tells the angel he will return home: "I have sinned, for I did not know that you stood against me on the road." The angel instructs Balaam to attend the meeting with the princes of Moab but to "say only what I tell you." According to Numbers 22:2, and Joshua 24:9, Balak was the son of Zippor.

PD-icon.svg This entry incorporates text from the public domain Easton's Bible Dictionary, originally published in 1897.

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