Beor’s son, a prophet or soothsayer from northern Mesopotamia hired by the Moabite king, Balak, to curse the Israelites.
After 40 years of wandering, the Israelites had arrived in the Jordan Valley opposite Jericho. They had defeated the Amorites (Numbers 21:21–25). Balak was terrified of the Israelites (22:3). Curses and blessings were considered permanent (Genesis 27:34–38). So, Balak believed that if he could hire a prophet to curse the Israelites in the name of their God, Yahweh, he could defeat them. He sent messengers to Pethor, where Balaam lived. The town is believed to have been near Haran on the Habur River. He gave Balaam a substantial offer to curse the Israelites.
The Lord initially warned Balaam not to go to Moab. Despite this, Balak persisted and sent more messengers with greater offers of wealth and honor. Balaam’s desire for wealth led him to ask the Lord again if he should go. His words to the messengers, however, were very pious: “If Balak were to give me his house full of silver and gold, I could not do anything small or great to go beyond the command of the LORD my God” (Numbers 22:18). Though God allowed Balaam to go, He instructed Balaam to say only what He commanded.
Balak had sent “the fees for divination” with his messengers (Numbers 22:7). This shows that he saw Balaam as a pagan diviner (someone who practiced seeking knowledge of the future by supernatural means). This was forbidden for Israelites (Deuteronomy 18:10–11). A true prophet would not have considered Balak's offer. God's permission for Balaam to go was meant to frustrate Balak's plans and protect His people.
As Balaam traveled, God became angry and sent an angel with a drawn sword to block his path (Numbers 22:22). Balaam's donkey saw the angel and refused to move, prompting Balaam to beat the donkey. Miraculously, the donkey spoke to Balaam, complaining about the beatings (Numbers 22:28–30).
On the surface, the story in Numbers 22 presents Balaam as simply following what the Lord allowed him to do. But Deuteronomy 23:5 reveals that the Lord did not listen to Balaam and turned his intended curse into a blessing. When the Lord opened Balaam’s eyes to see the angel, he fell on his face (Numbers 22:31). Balaam acknowledged his sin, and agreed to say only what the Lord put in his mouth. Balaam’s poems in Numbers 23 and 24 are written in archaic Hebrew. They describe God’s past blessings on His people and predict future blessings for Israel.
Balaam spoke only blessings for Israel and never a curse. The Moabite king, Balak, tried to get Balaam to curse Israel from different viewing locations overlooking the Jordan Valley. When Balaam still did not curse them, Balak, infuriated, sent Balaam away without any reward.
Numbers 25 recounts how the Moabite king almost succeeded in leading the Israelites astray. At Peor, Israelite men engaged in immoral behavior with Moabite women, possibly involving temple prostitution, based on Balaam's advice to weaken Israel (Numbers 31:14–16). Balaam was later killed by the Israelites during their campaign against Midian (Numbers 31:8; Joshua 13:22).