The Appearance of the Archangel to Balaam

Balak, the king of Moab invited the Prophet Balaam to visist him and pronounce a curse upon the nation of Israel, which set up camp in the steppe near the Jordan River. When Balaam went to the king, his donkey saw the angel and stood out of the path. The prophet didn’t see the angel himself and began to beat the donkey. The donkey fell on knees and asked him about the reason of beating it. Only then he saw Michael the Archangel. Namely the episode of the appearance of the archangel to Balaam, who stops the prophet with a gesture, is depicted in the fresco. Willed by God, Balaam didn’t curse the Israelites, but blessed them three times.