Parshat Balak: The King

Then Balak said to [Balaam], “Come with me to another place from which you can see them [Israel]—you will see only part of them, not all—and curse them for me from there.” (Numbers 23:13)

King Balak of Moab is in a quandary.  Threatened by Israel’s approach near his territory, he sought out a sorcerer and hired him to curse them.    But instead of a sorcerer, he  finds himself stuck with a diviner, one who can read the future but cannot control it.

Balak has spared no expense to obtain his divine maledictions, and is as puzzled as he is frustrated when they are not forthcoming.  All he can do is schlep Balaam to another vantage point, hoping that a partial view of Israel’s encampment will make them appear more vulnerable.  When that results in another blessing for Israel, Balak fumes, “don’t curse them and don’t bless them” (23:25); in other words, if you can’t say something calamitous about somebody, don’t say it.

In seeking to divert divine power to his own military ends, Balak discovers that divine power has a Mind of its own.   Enroll him in the list with Ahab, Oedipus, Macbeth, and other ancient kings who think they’re manipulating the oracle while all the time the oracle is overmastering them.

Parshat Balak: The Seer

Balaam said to Balak, “And now that I have come to you, can I speak freely?  I will only utter what God puts in my mouth.” (Numbers 22:38)

Balaam, who has been hired to curse Israel, stands in sharp contrast with Balak.* He “can only utter what God puts into [his] mouth.”  He is, however, no mere neutral observer, but a witness, increasingly attracted to the God’s-eye view of Israel he is privileged to receive.  “May I die the death of the upright,” declares Balaam.  “May my fate be like theirs.” (23:10)

*That is, Balaam as he appears in this section of the story, 22:39-23:36.  The episode with the ass (22:21-35) interposes negative elements into what is otherwise a positive portrait.  Milgrom persuasively argues that two different traditions have been combined in the final version of the Book of Numbers.

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