The Bible's Greatest Sorcerer Used to Be a King

Most people know Balaam as the prophet with the talking donkey, hired to curse Israel and forced by God to bless them instead (Numbers 22-24). The Torah tells us almost nothing about who he was before that episode. The Midrash fills in the gaps, and what it reveals is far darker than the biblical text suggests. Before Balaam was a prophet-for-hire, he was a king. Before he advised Balak, he advised Pharaoh to drown Israelite babies. And before his donkey spoke to him, he had already spent decades trying to destroy the people he would be compelled to bless.

According to Legends of the Jews (2,650 texts), compiled by Louis Ginzberg from hundreds of rabbinic sources, Balaam was not always a wandering sorcerer for hire. He was a king. And his fall from royalty to mercenary prophet is one of the great untold origin stories in Jewish tradition.

Balaam the King

Balaam Was Once a King Who Escaped a Siege Through Sorcery tells the full story. Before the events of the Torah, Balaam ruled a city (some sources say a kingdom) in the ancient Near East. He was a sovereign who combined political power with magical ability. But his kingdom was besieged by enemies, and Balaam faced destruction.

Rather than fight or surrender, Balaam did something that established his reputation forever. He used sorcery to fly through the air and escape the besieged city. The midrash describes him lifting himself above the walls, above the enemy armies, and soaring away while his kingdom fell behind him. He lost everything: his throne, his territory, his subjects. But he kept the one thing that mattered: his supernatural abilities. From that moment on, Balaam was a prophet without a country. A sorcerer for hire, offering his powers to the highest bidder.

This backstory reframes the entire biblical narrative. When King Balak summons Balaam to curse Israel (Numbers 22:5-6), he is not hiring some roadside fortune-teller. He is engaging a former king who once wielded both political and magical authority, a figure whose reputation was built on escaping the impossible through dark arts. Balak knows exactly who Balaam is. That is why he is willing to pay so much.

Balaam's Three Identities

The midrashic tradition gives Balaam not one but three separate identities across different periods of biblical history. Balaam Was Really Laban the Deceiver Reborn records the tradition that Balaam was a reincarnation, or in some versions a direct continuation, of Laban, the cunning Aramean who deceived Jacob by substituting Leah for Rachel on their wedding night (Genesis 29:23-25). The connection is linguistic and thematic: both Laban and Balaam are Aramean, both are associated with deception and manipulation, and both ultimately fail in their schemes against Israel.

Balaam Told Pharaoh to Drown the Babies as Measure for Measure and Balaam Advised Pharaoh to Slaughter Israelite Babies reveal an even darker chapter. According to the Talmud in Sotah 11a and Sanhedrin 106a, Balaam was one of three advisors to Pharaoh when the Egyptians decided to enslave and kill the Israelites. The three advisors were Balaam, Jethro, and Job. Balaam advised Pharaoh to drown the Israelite babies. Jethro protested and fled. Job remained silent. Balaam was punished with death for his advice. Jethro was rewarded: his descendants became priests. Job's silence earned him suffering.

This means that by the time Balak hires Balaam in the book of Numbers, Balaam already has a long history of trying to destroy Israel. He advised Pharaoh to kill their babies. He was a king who lost his throne. He is the recurring antagonist, the enemy who keeps returning in different forms across the generations.

How Did Balaam's Sorcery Work?

The Torah is blunt about Balaam's methods. (Numbers 24:1) says that Balaam "went not, as at other times, to seek for enchantments." The Hebrew word is nechashim (נחשים), which means divination through omens, specifically through serpents. The root nachash (נחש) means both "serpent" and "to practice divination." Balaam's magic was snake magic, a practice widespread in the ancient Near East and explicitly banned by the Torah.

Parashat Shoftim, which this post accompanies, contains the Torah's most comprehensive prohibition against sorcery. (Deuteronomy 18:10-12) lists every forbidden practice: "There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or daughter pass through the fire, one who practices divination (kosem kesamim, קסם קסמים), a soothsayer (me'onen, מעונן), an enchanter (menachesh, מנחש), a sorcerer (mekhasheif, מכשף), one who casts spells (chover chaver, חובר חבר), one who consults the dead (doresh el hametim, דורש אל המתים)." The passage concludes: "For all who do these things are an abomination to the Lord."

Balaam practiced virtually every item on this list. The Midrash says he consulted the dead, read omens in birds and serpents, and used incantations to manipulate spiritual forces. His aerial escape from his besieged kingdom was not flight by divine miracle. It was flight by dark enchantment. Balaam Betrayed the King of Ethiopia and Seized His Capital describes another episode where Balaam used his sorcery for military purposes, fortifying a city with magical barriers that could only be penetrated by someone who knew the counter-spells.

What Made Balaam's Prophecy Different From Moses's?

The Talmud in Sanhedrin 105b makes a startling claim: Balaam's prophetic ability was equal to Moses's. Among the nations, there was no greater prophet than Balaam, just as among Israel there was no greater prophet than Moses. Both spoke directly with God. Both delivered oracles that shaped nations. The difference was not in the power of their prophecy but in how they used it.

Moses used prophecy to liberate, to teach, to bring Torah. Balaam used prophecy to curse, to manipulate, to serve his own greed. The same divine gift, directed toward opposite purposes. It is a question worth sitting with: if God speaks through the corrupt as readily as through the righteous, what does that say about the source of any inspiration you cannot explain? The Balaam the Prophet and the Hiddenness of God from the Tikkunei Zohar explores this paradox. God spoke through Balaam not because Balaam deserved it, but because God can use any vessel, even a corrupt one. Balaam's blessings over Israel (Numbers 24:5: "How goodly are your tents, O Jacob") were not Balaam's words. They were God's words, forced through Balaam's mouth against his will.

Balaam Fled to Egypt After Failing to Curse Israel describes the aftermath. After being compelled to bless Israel three times instead of cursing them, Balaam lost his reputation and his fee. He had failed the assignment. But he did not give up. According to the midrash (Numbers Rabbah 20:23 and Sanhedrin 106a), Balaam gave Balak one final piece of advice: if you cannot curse Israel through magic, corrupt them through seduction. This advice led to the incident at Baal-Peor (Numbers 25), where Moabite women lured Israelite men into idolatry and immorality. Twenty-four thousand Israelites died in the resulting plague. Balaam's sorcery failed, but his cunning succeeded.

Balaam's Death and the Torah's Warning

Balaam's end came during Israel's war against Midian (Numbers 31:8). He was killed by the sword. The rabbis say it was because he had lived by the tongue (prophecy and incantation) and was therefore punished by the sword, inverting his own weapon. The Talmud in Sanhedrin 106b says Balaam was 33 years old when he died, though other sources give his age as much older.

Balaam Reminded the King of a Terrifying Old Dream and Balak Begs Balaam to Curse Israel Before It Is Too Late fill in the diplomatic intrigue that preceded the cursing attempt. Balak was not just any king. He was a former vassal who had risen to power specifically because of the Israelite threat. His desperation drove him to Balaam. And Balaam, the fallen king turned sorcerer, saw an opportunity to regain influence and wealth.

Parashat Shoftim's prohibition against sorcery is, in the midrashic reading, a direct response to figures like Balaam. The Torah is saying: you have seen what sorcery produces. You have seen a king who traded his throne for dark powers, who advised genocide, who corrupted a nation through seduction when his spells failed. Do not follow that path. Instead, the parsha immediately pivots to the promise of legitimate prophecy (Deuteronomy 18:15): "A prophet from among you, from your brothers, like me [Moses], the Lord your God will raise up for you, and to him you shall listen." The alternative to Balaam is not no prophecy. It is prophecy channeled through Torah, through community, through a covenant with God rather than a contract with the highest bidder.

Explore the full Balaam tradition: Balaam Was Once a King Who Escaped a Siege Through Sorcery, Balaam Was Really Laban the Deceiver Reborn, Balaam Advised Pharaoh to Slaughter Israelite Babies, and Balaam Betrayed the King of Ethiopia and Seized His Capital. Search for Balaam across our database of over 18,000 texts to discover the full scope of this extraordinary character.