Balaam - The stories

Balaam (Hebrew בִּלְעָם, Standard Hebrew Bilʻam, Tiberian Hebrew Bilʻām) is a prophet in the torah, his story occurring towards the end of the Book of Numbers. The etymology of his name is uncertain, and discussed below. Every ancient reference to Balaam considers him a non-Israelite, a prophet, and the son of Beor, though Beor is not so clearly identified. Despite, in the main story concerning him, the apparantly positive blessings he delivers upon the Israelites, Jewish writing reviles B ...

Including:

• Balaam - The stories
• Balaam - Balaam and Balak
• Balaam - Balaam and the Midianites
• Balaam - Balaam and the donkey
• Balaam - The Poems
• Balaam - Balaam in rabbinic literature
• Balaam - Balaam in the New Testament
• Balaam - Etymology
• Balaam - Balaam and other gods

Read more here: » Balaam: Encyclopedia - Balaam

There are two fairly separate accounts of Balaam in the Bible: Balaam and Balak, containing a brief aside concerning Balaam and the donkey Balaam and the Midianites Balaam - Balaam and Balak. The main story of Balaam occurs during the sojourn of the Israelites in the plains of Moab, east of the Jordan River, at the close of forty years of wandering, shortly before the death of Moses, and the crossing of the Jordan. The Israelites have already defeated two kings on this side of ...

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Balaam, Balaam - The stories, Balaam - Balaam and Balak, Balaam - Balaam and the Midianites, Balaam - Balaam and the donkey, Balaam - The Poems, Balaam - Balaam in rabbinic literature, Balaam - Balaam in the New Testament, Balaam - Etymology, Balaam - Balaam and other gods

Read more here: » Balaam: Encyclopedia II - Balaam - The stories

In 1967, an archaeological mission found in Deir Alla, Jordan, an ancient Aramaic (Ammonite dialect) inscription written in red and black ink on plaster walls, telling about a hitherto unknown prophecy from a Book of Balaam, foretelling destruction for disobedience to the gods. In this narrative, though still son of Beor, Balaam is a prophet of Shamash, the Semitic sun god. Since Balaam is described as being a prophet of El, in the text of the Torah, and though El is usually translated God, it can also mean a god. The biblical narrative itself may in fact appreciate that Balaam ...

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Balaam, Balaam - The stories, Balaam - Balaam and Balak, Balaam - Balaam and the Midianites, Balaam - Balaam and the donkey, Balaam - The Poems, Balaam - Balaam in rabbinic literature, Balaam - Balaam in the New Testament, Balaam - Etymology, Balaam - Balaam and other gods

Read more here: » Balaam: Encyclopedia II - Balaam - Balaam and other gods

The etymology of the name Balaam is uncertain, and several Jewish, and Christian, sources translate it either glutton, or foreigner. The rabbis, playing on the name, call him Belo 'Am, meaning without people, more explicitely meaning that he is without a share with the people in the world to come, or call him Billa' 'Am, meaning one that ruined a people. This deconstruction of his name into B--l Am is supported by many modern biblical critics, which considers his name to simply be derived from Baal Am ...

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Balaam, Balaam - The stories, Balaam - Balaam and Balak, Balaam - Balaam and the Midianites, Balaam - Balaam and the donkey, Balaam - The Poems, Balaam - Balaam in rabbinic literature, Balaam - Balaam in the New Testament, Balaam - Etymology, Balaam - Balaam and other gods

Read more here: » Balaam: Encyclopedia II - Balaam - Etymology

All the prophecies that Balaam makes take the form of (Hebrew) poems: The first, Numbers 23:7-10, prophesies the unique exhaltation of the Kingdom of Israel, and its countless numbers. The second, Numbers 23:18-24, celebrates the moral virtue of Israel, its monarchy, and military conquests. The third, Numbers 24:3-9, celebrates the glory and conquests of Israel's monarchy. The fourth, Numbers 24:14-19, announces the coming of a king who will conquer Edom and Moab The fifth, Numbers 24:20, conc ...

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Balaam, Balaam - The stories, Balaam - Balaam and Balak, Balaam - Balaam and the Midianites, Balaam - Balaam and the donkey, Balaam - The Poems, Balaam - Balaam in rabbinic literature, Balaam - Balaam in the New Testament, Balaam - Etymology, Balaam - Balaam and other gods

Read more here: » Balaam: Encyclopedia II - Balaam - The Poems

While speaking animals are a common feature of folklore, the only other case in the Old Testament is that of the serpent in Eden. Classical Jewish commentators, such as Saadia Gaon, and Maimonides, taught that a reader should not take this part of the story literally. Rather, they explained, it should be read as an account of a prophetic experience, which are experienced as dreams, or as visions, and consequently, the donkey did not actually speak. Rabbi Joseph H. Hertz, one of the great Jewish biblical commentators of the 20th century, writ ...

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Balaam, Balaam - The stories, Balaam - Balaam and Balak, Balaam - Balaam and the Midianites, Balaam - Balaam and the donkey, Balaam - The Poems, Balaam - Balaam in rabbinic literature, Balaam - Balaam in the New Testament, Balaam - Etymology, Balaam - Balaam and other gods

Read more here: » Balaam: Encyclopedia II - Balaam - Balaam and the donkey

In rabbinic literature Balaam is represented as one of seven gentile prophets; the other six being Beor (Balaam's father), Job, and Balaam's four friends (Talmud, B. B. 15b). 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 fi ...

See also:

Balaam, Balaam - The stories, Balaam - Balaam and Balak, Balaam - Balaam and the Midianites, Balaam - Balaam and the donkey, Balaam - The Poems, Balaam - Balaam in rabbinic literature, Balaam - Balaam in the New Testament, Balaam - Etymology, Balaam - Balaam and other gods

Read more here: » Balaam: Encyclopedia II - Balaam - Balaam in rabbinic literature