Balak and Balaam: the Curse That Became a Blessing
The king of Moab hires the seer Balaam to curse Israel, but blessings come out of his mouth; Balaam then gives different advice, and the camp falls at Peor.
Having defeated Sihon king of the Amorites and Og king of Bashan, Israel camped in the plains of Moab opposite Jericho. Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab, decided to fight not with weapons but with words, and sent for Balaam son of Beor, a famous seer whose blessings and curses were held to come true. Balaam hesitated, haggled, asked permission twice and went. On the road his donkey saw an angel with a drawn sword and turned aside three times; Balaam beat her until she spoke: what have I done to you that you strike me these three times? Then his own eyes were opened. Three times Balak took him to a new summit and built seven altars there, and three times a blessing came out instead of a curse; the fourth oracle Balaam spoke unbidden, with no altars at all. One of them opens the Jewish morning service: how goodly are your tents, Jacob. Leaving empty-handed, Balaam gave Balak advice that worked: Moabite and Midianite women drew Israel to the idol of Peor, and a plague killed twenty-four thousand before Phinehas stopped it.