Therefore he sent elders of Moab, and of Midian, to Balaam ( apparently a powerful and respected prophet ), son of Beor ( Bible ), to induce him to come and curse the Israelites.

Every ancient reference to Balaam considers him a non-Israelite, a prophet, and the son of Beor, though Beor is not so clearly identified.

Balak, king of Moab ( Numbers 22: 2 ), consequently becomes alarmed, and sends elders of Midian and his messengers ( Numbers 22: 4-5 ), to Balaam, son of Beor, to induce him to come and curse Israel.

It is often supposed that the name given for a king of Edom, Bela, son of Beor, is a corruption of Balaam, and that, therefore, this reference actually points to Balaam as having once been an Edomite king.

The Moabites were to be excluded from the assembly of worshipers, because: “ They did not come to meet you with food and drink when you were on your way out of Egypt, and even hired Balaam, son of Beor, to oppose you by cursing you .” ( Deuteronomy 23: 3-5 ) The Israelites were allowed to harass Moab, but were forbidden to wage war on them, so they defeated Midian as a result of the advice that Balaam gave that led to a plague in punishment for the worship of idols at Baal Peor.

While Balaam is described as a son of Beor, Beor is never himself identified, and the close phonetic similarity to Peor is noticeable.

If Beor and Peor are one and the same, then son of Beor merely identifies Balaam as being a prophet of Baal Peor.

Balaam, though still a son of Beor, in this narrative is a prophet of Shamash, the Semitic sun god ( The word " shemesh " is still the Hebrew word for " sun ," which in Arabic is " shams ").

* And they slew the kings of Midian, beside the rest of them that were slain ; namely, Evi, and Rekem, and Zur, and Hur, and Reba, five kings of Midian: Balaam also the son of Beor they slew with the sword.

The capitals of the columns depict Lazarus coming out of his tomb between Martha and Mary ; Abraham about to sacrifice his son ; and Balaam on his ass being stopped by a sword-wielding angel.

In rabbinic literature Balaam is represented as one of seven gentile prophets ; the other six being Beor ( Balaam's father ), Job, and Job's four friends ( Talmud, B.

Zoroaster, the founder and first prophet of that religion, who is said to have told his people how to recognize the Saviour at the right moment, is identified with Balaam.

The Talmud speaks of this counsellor of David as " a man, like Balaam, whose great wisdom was not received in humility as a gift from heaven, and so became a stumbling-block to him " ( Num.

Where the Masoretic describes Yahweh as a " man of war " (), the Samaritan has " hero of war ", a phrase applied to spiritual beings, and in, the Samaritan reading " The Angel of God found Balaam " replaces the Masoretic " And God met Balaam.

In the letter, Joseph Smith further likens M ' Lellin to the biblical magician Balaam whose donkey (" ass ") refused to help Balaam curse the leadership of the ancient Israelite church, in the era of Moses.

" It was this incident that made Balaam so evil in the eyes of some Jews and Israelis ; specifically, St. Jude claimed that the way of Balaam was an error and the same as murdering one's brother, as Cain had done ( Jude 1: 11 ).

St. John, while prophesying from the isle of Patmos, had this to say of Balaam: " There are some among you who hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to entice the Israelites to sin so that they ate food sacrificed to idols and committed sexual immorality.

Balaam is pictured as blind of one eye and lame in one foot ( Talmud Sanhedrin 105a ); and his disciples ( followers ) are distinguished by three morally corrupt qualities, supposedly the very opposite of those characterizing the disciples of Abraham ( Ab.

The tribes of Israel are described as being visible from the peak, but nevertheless, Balaam refused to curse them, and continued to offer blessings ( 24: 1-9 ).

B ' alam, Balam, Balaam, B ' ahlam, Bahlam, Bahlum or Bolom are variant spellings which may refer to:

In Plaistow are Newham Leisure Centre, Balaam Street Leisure Centre and Newham University Hospital.

They are called the sons of Balaam, the unwitting prophet of Peor.

Among the productions of Northcote's later years are the " Entombment " and the " Agony in the Garden ," besides many portraits, and several animal subjects, such as " Leopards ", " Dog and Heron ", and " Lion "; these were more successful than the artist's efforts in the higher departments of art, as was indicated by Fuseli's caustic remark on examining the " Angel opposing Balaam " --" Northcote, you are an angel at an ass, but an ass at an angel.

Balak met with Balaam at Kirjath-huzoth, and they went to the high places of Baal, and offered sacrifices at seven altars, leading to Balaam being given a prophecy by God, which Balaam relates to Balak.

At first the angel is seen only by the donkey Balaam is riding, which tries to avoid the otherwise invisible angel.

Balak meets with Balaam at Kirjat Huzoth, and they go to the high places of Baal ( Biblical Hebrew: בעל ), and offer sacrifices on seven altars, leading to Balaam being given a prophecy by Yahweh, which he speaks to Balak.

While St. Peter claimed that Balaam loved the wages of wickedness, which caused him to wander from the straight path ( 2 Peter 2: 15 ).

With God's protection taken from him, Balaam is later listed amongst the Midianites who were killed in revenge for the " matter of Peor ", which is where Balaam showed King Balak how to trap the Israelites so that God might destroy them.

Thus the Elohist describes Balaam constructing giving two blessings, making sacrifices on seven altars, at the high places of Baal, before each, then deciding not to seek enchantments after the third set of sacrifices, but to set his face upon the wilderness, which Balak views as a third blessing, and so Balaam then gives the three final predictions of fate.

An archaeological discovery in 1967 uncovered references to a Book of Balaam, from which these poems may have originally been taken.

In this literature, Balaam gradually acquired a position among the non-Jews, which was exalted as much as that of Moses among the Jews ( Midrash Numbers Rabbah 20 ); at first being a mere interpreter of dreams, but later becoming a magician, until finally the spirit of prophecy descended upon him ( ib.

According to a negative view of Balaam in the Talmud, Balaam possessed the gift of being able to ascertain the exact moment during which God is wroth — a gift bestowed upon no other creature.

Due to his behavior with the Midianites, the Rabbis interpret Balaam as responsible for the behavior during the Heresy of Peor, which they consider to have been unchastity, and consequently the death of 24, 000 victims of the plague which God sent as punishment.

These references harken to the Old Testament account of Balaam in Numbers 22 – 24 in which King Balak hires the renowned Balaam to curse his enemies ( Israel ).

According to another story which al-Tabari gives, Balaam was a renegade Israelite who knew the Most Sacred Name and, to gain the things of this world, went over to the Canaanites.

23: 28 ) to which Balak led Balaam as a last effort to induce him to pronounce a curse upon Israel.

Places of interest in the area include the Plaistow Park ( known as Balaam () Street Recreation Ground from its opening in 1894 to its renaming in 1999 ), and the Memorial Park which merges into the East London Cemetery.

The Talmud also recounts a more positive view of Balaam, stating that when the Law was given to Israel, a mighty voice shook the foundations of the earth, so much so that all kings trembled, and in their consternation turned to Balaam, inquiring whether this upheaval of nature portended a second deluge ; the prophet assured them that what they heard was the voice of God, giving the sacred law to the Israelites ( Talmud, Zeb.

However, the prophecy blesses Israel ; Balak remonstrated, but Balaam reminded him that he can only speak the words put in his mouth, so Balak taook him to another high place at Pisgah, to try again.

However, the prophecy blesses Israel ; Balak remonstrates, but Balaam reminds him that he can only speak the words put in his mouth, so Balak takes him to another high place at Pisgah, to try again.

Balaam sent back word that he could only do what God commands, and God has, via a dream, told him not to go.

Moab consequently sent higher ranking priests and offers Balaam honours, and so God tells Balaam to go with them.

The spirit of God came upon Balaam and he delivered a third positive prophecy concerning Israel.

The story of Balaam in Numbers 22, describes a non-Jewish prophet who honors God and refuses to curse Israel and who is generally presented favorably.

Balaam refused to speak what God didn't speak and would not curse the Israelites, even though King Balak of Moab offered him money to do so.

Balaam sends back word that he can only do what YHWH commands, and God has, via a nocturnal dream, told him not to go.

Moab consequently sends higher ranking priests and offers Balaam honours ; Balaam, in his coveteousness, continues to press God, and God finally gives him over to his greed and permits him to go but with instructions to say only what he commands.

Balaam thus, without being asked again, sets out in the morning with the princes of Moab and God becomes angry that he went, and the Angel of the Lord ( Numbers 22: 22 ) is sent to prevent him.

The Spirit of God comes upon Balaam and he delivers a third positive prophecy concerning Israel.

" ( Revelation 2: 14 ) Evidently, Balaam returned to King Balak and explained how he was unable to curse the Israelites due to God having control of his tongue, but instead explained to the king on how he could get the Israelites to curse themselves, thereby removing the protection God had on them.

Conversely, in the Jahwist source, Balaam arrives, the spirit of God comes upon him, and he simply delivers a blessing and a prophecy, in succession.