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Balak 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 (Numbers 22:1-5). A famous but enigmatic scene when Balaam talk with a speaking donkey ensues (Numbers 22:21-35). According to Numbers 22:2, and Joshua 24:9, Balak was the son of Zippor. In the preceding chapter of Numbers,〔Numbers 21〕 the Israelites, seeking the Promised Land following their Exodus from Egypt, had defeated the Canaanites at a place named Hormah, the Amorites and the people of Bashan, and next approached Moab. The biblical narrative stresses the fears of the people of Moab, who were 'exceedingly afraid' and 'sick with dread' (NKJV) or 'terrified (GNT) (Numbers 22:3). Their fears appear to relate to the size of the Israelite population and the consequent resource depletion which could be expected if they were permitted to occupy Moabite land. Balak initially conferred with his Midianite allies 〔Numbers 22:4〕 in order to block Israelite settlement, before sending his elders to seek Balaam's curse on them. The Midianites appear to have been co-located with the Moabites - according to the Targum of Jonathan, they were one alliance of people at this time 〔Gill's Exposition of the Bible http://biblehub.com/numbers/22-4.htm accessed 24 June 2015〕 and therefore had a common interest in preventing Israelite settlement of the area. After his mission with Balaam to curse Israelites was vain, Balak decided to ally with Midianite to gather their maid in order to lead Israelites men astray in adultery. Other sources detailing the story of Balak: * * - This is the only time in the Bible that Balak is not mentioned in direct conjunction with Balaam. * According to the Pulpit Commentary, Balak seems to be mentioned by name on a papyrus in the British Museum.〔http://biblehub.com/commentaries/pulpit/numbers/22.htm accessed 21 June 2015〕 ==New Testament== Revelation 2:12 - 2:14 also refers to Balak: :12 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Balak」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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