And he took up his discourse and said: From Aram has Balak brought me, the king of Moav from the mountains of the east: Come, curse Yaakov for me, and come, denounce Israel.
Bamidbar Rabbah 20:18 — opening of the first mashal.
English: “From Aram has Balak brought me” — from the Aram from which Avraham came, as it is said, “And Terach took Avram… and they went out… to go to the land of Canaan.” He sought to curse a nation that came out of Aram.
Geographic-historical irony in the opening of the mashal.
The very land-name Bilam cites is the origin of Israel’s first father — the curse is aimed at the people of Aram’s own departure toward Canaan.