Balak the son of Zippor saw all that Israel had done to the Amorites.
The Ohr Hachaim asks a few questions here. Why does the Torah tell us that Balak saw and not that the entire Mo’av saw? This was a national problem, not something relevant to the king alone. Additionally, why was only Moav afraid and not Midyan? The truth is, Midyan was in greater danger than Mo’av, as we see at the end, where Midyan was destroyed, and Mo’av was not. Did their guardian angel not know this?
The Ohr Hachaim quotes a Medrash that Balak was one of the princes of Midyan, who he did not belong in Mo’av at all. But he was appointed king due to their fear of Klal Yisroel. By describing Balak’s fear, the possuk is essentially describing Midyan’s fear. Balak was a prince of Midyan, and his fear represented the fear of Midyan, not that of Mo’av.
The next possuk וַיָּגָר מוֹאָב מִפְּנֵי הָעָם מְאֹד כִּי רַב הוּא – and Moav was very fearful of the nation, for it was great, describes the fear of Mo’av.
These two fears caused the two great nations to form a peace treaty between them. The Medrash says that the Mo’avites and the Midyanites were constantly at war with each other, as the possuk (Bereishis 36:35) says דַדְבָּן בֶּן בַּדַּד הוּא הַמַּכֶּה אֶת מִדְיָן בִּשְדֵה מוֹאָב - and Hadad son of Badad reigned in his place, the one who smote Midyan in the field of Mo’av. However, when they saw Klal Yisroel increasing in power and their victory against the mighty Sichon and Og, they made peace with each other to fight their common enemy. We see that both were afraid of Klal Yisroel and a peace solution was necessary.
Mo’av were the ones who ended up blinking first, accepting a Midyan king over them. They knew that Moshe grew up in Midyan and that they were more knowledgeable about his personality, abilities, and tactics.
The Ohr Hachaim continues asking, why does the Torah say that Balak saw what had happened? He was not there during the war, he heard about it from others. It should say that he heard what had happened. The Medrash says that sometimes, hearing is seeing. As the possuk (Shemos 20:15) says וְכָל הָעָם רֹאִים אֶת הַקּוֹלוֹת – and the entire nation saw the voices. However, another Medrash reads that possuk at the Giving of the Torah as literally. Here, Mo’av did not see the voices he heard.
The Ohr Hachaim asks further, why do we need to know that Balak’s father’s name was Tzippor? Another question is, why did the Torah double the expression אֵת כָּל – all that? If the Torah would have written one of them, we would know that it means all of that which Klal Yisroel did to the Emori?
He also has two questions on the second possuk וַיָּגָר מוֹאָב מִפְּנֵי הָעָם מְאֹד כִּי רַב הוּא וַיָּקָץ מוֹאָב מִפְּנֵי בְּנֵי יִשְרָאֵל – and Mo’av was very fearful of the nation, for he is many, and Mo’av was fed up with the children of Yisroel. What do the two expressions – fearful and fed up - וַיָּגָר and וַיָּקָץ signify?
Also, why are they first called ‘the nation’ and afterward called ‘the children of Yisroel’?
The Zohar writes that Balak was a greater sorcerer than Bilam, and he would perform his magic with a bird that is called the ‘yadoa’ bird. Balak saw, through his being the son of Tzippor. His magical powers of sight were a product of his being the son of Tzippor – a bird. He used the bird-like powers of sorcery. The Tzippor was his father and teacher, and that taught him all that Klal Yisroel did to the Emori. He did not need newspapers, emissaries, or scouts to tell him what happened; he knew himself.
The Ohr Hachaim then attempts another explanation of the pessukim, setting the scene for everything that happened in the parsha until the end.
וַיַרְא בָּלָק בֶּן צִפּוֹר – and Balak saw through powers of his being the son of Tzipor and having the abilities of this tzipor sorcery. He saw אֵת כָּל - a double expression. He also saw the future, that Klal Yisroel will destroy the entire nation of Emori as well as another nation. This was Midyan, who was destroyed by Klal Yisroel. It is possible that he also saw that Mo’av was safe from any attack from Klal Yisroel because Hashem forbade it.
All of these visions were through Balak, because his powers of prophecy, magic, and vision were greatest.
This vision of Balak’s was the cause of his calling Bil’am, which caused a cascade of events until Klal Yisroel’s aveiros, as we shall see in the parsha.
The next possuk וַיָּגָר מוֹאָב מִפְּנֵי הָעָם מְאֹד כִּי רַב הוּא is not a continuation of the previous possuk, and their fear was not a product of Mo’av’s vision in the first possuk.
Mo’av was scared of the nation. Klal Yisroel was great and strong, and they were a danger to Mo’av. But even though they were so strong, Mo’av had a solution for their problem. They could have hired mercenaries or created alliances with other countries and fought against them. The Torah says that they had another problem. וַיָּקָץ מוֹאָב מִפְּנֵי בְּנֵי יִשְרָאֵל – and Mo’av was distressed because of the children of Yisroel. They were distressed because this was Klal Yisroel they were talking about, and regular solutions were insufficient. Klal Yisroel has abilities that nobody else has, and none of the regular methods of warfare would be effective. This was why Mo’av and Midyan made peace and sent for Bil’am. The outcome was a disaster, with a great plague befalling Klal Yisroel and the death of some leaders.
If Balak would not have been such a great sorcerer, he would not have known what would occur to him and his nation in Midyan, and he would never have agreed to join with Mo’av to fight Klal Yisroel. He may have called Bil’am to curse Klal Yisroel, but the idea to cause Klal Yisroel to sin through the daughters of Mo’av would never have taken place. This is because Bil’am told him at the end of his journey to Mo’av that they would only be destroyed at the end of days. Mo’av knew they had time, and they sent their daughters to make Klal Yisroel stumble and fall. This caused a terrible plague, killing more than 20,000 of Bnei Yisroel. Midyan was indeed too scared to send anyone to make Klal Yisroel stumble, because they had no such promise of survival till the end of days. And they were indeed destroyed by Klal Yisroel.
