The name "Balak" means "devastator", "empty", or "wasting". The name apparently derives from the sparsely used Hebrew verb (balak), "waste or lay waste." There are no derivations of this verb besides this name.

In this week's Parsha, we can read that King Balak of Moab sends for the sorcerer Balaam to curse the Hebrew people. However, instead of curses, only blessings come out of his mouth—including prominent prophecies concerning the Messianic redemption. Balaam taught Balak how to trick the Israelites using moabite women to entice the Israelites to sin, resulting in a plague amongst the Jews. Phinehas zealously kills two of the high-ranking offenders and it ends the plague.

This parsha tells of the Menorah in the Tabernacle, the consecration of the Levites and the institution of the second Passover. 

It also narrated how a cloud and fire led the Israelites, the instruction to make two silver trumpets and how the Israelites set out on their journeys.  It also recorded the complaining by the Israelites and how Miriam and Aaron questioned Moses. ​