Why Balak Was Named for the Dog That Laps Israel's Blood

"And Balak saw." And why was his name called Balak? This teaches that he came to lap up (la-luk) the blood of Israel like a dog. Another interpretation: on account of "She is empty, and void, and waste" (Nahum 2:11), for he sought to lay waste (li-vlok) Israel. "All that Israel had done to the Amorites" — to Sihon and to Og. They said: These, who are mighty men and giants, could not stand before them; we, how much more so.