Limitless Word
Now Balak son of Zippor saw all that Israel had done to the Amorites,
Numbers 22:2 · Berean Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB Balak the son of Zippor saw all that Israel had done to the Amorites.
  • KJV And Balak the son of Zippor saw all that Israel had done to the Amorites.
  • NKJV Now Balak the son of Zippor saw all that Israel had done to the Amorites.
  • NASB Now Balak the son of Zippor saw all that Israel had done to the Amorites.
  • NLT Balak son of Zippor, the Moabite king, had seen everything the Israelites did to the Amorites.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Quick answer

Balak king of Moab observes Israel's victories over the Amorites and grows alarmed. His fear drives the plot to hire Balaam against Israel.

Overview

Balak rightly perceives that Israel is a formidable people, but he interprets their strength as a threat rather than seeing the hand of God. His response is to seek spiritual weapons against them through cursing. This sets in motion God's demonstration that no human scheme can overturn His blessing on His people.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 3

  • Judg 11:25Are you now so much better than Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab? Did he ever contend with Israel or fight against them?
  • Num 21:20–35and from Bamoth to the valley in Moab where the top of Pisgah overlooks the wasteland.
  • Num 21:3And the LORD heard Israel’s plea and delivered up the Canaanites. Israel devoted them and their cities to destruction; so they named the place Hormah.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (1)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Numbers videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Numbers 22:2YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on NumbersMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

In the wilderness Christ is the water from the rock, the bronze serpent lifted up that the dying might look and live (John 3:14), and the star and scepter that Balaam saw rising out of Jacob.

How Numbers 22:2 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Original language

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.