And Moab said unto the elders of Midian. — It has been thought that Balak was a Midianite. who had been imposed upon the Moabites as their king by their Amoritish conquerors. (Comp. Numbers 21:26.) The concluding words of the verse may be understood as denoting a recent change in the dynasty.
As the ox licketh up the grass of the field. — The comparison is one which well accords with the occupation of the Moabites as a pastoral people.