זוהר שמות — דף יז ע”ב

Pharaoh said: the people of the children of Israel is numerous and mighty, not a people of the Lord who would be protected. Pharaoh thought that the Israelites were the people of upper Israel, not a people of the Lord in this world. Balak was a great sorcerer, and sorcerers always take something without suspicion, which is why he said: behold a people that came out of Egypt, not a people of the Lord above them. The practice of sorcerers is not to mention a person's father's name but only the mother's name. Rabbi Yohanan asked why Balak said behold a people came out of Egypt, and Rabbi Yitzhak answered that Balak feared the name of the Lord that was above them.