Peor, meaning "opening", may refer to: *The name of a mountain peak, mentioned in Numbers , to which

Balak Balak ( ''Bālāq'') was a king of Moab described in the Book of Numbers in the Hebrew Bible, where his dealings with the prophet Balaam are recounted. Balak tried to engage Balaam for the purpose of cursing the migrating Israelite community. On ...

, king of

Moab Moab ''Mōáb''; Assyrian: 𒈬𒀪𒁀𒀀𒀀 ''Mu'abâ'', 𒈠𒀪𒁀𒀀𒀀 ''Ma'bâ'', 𒈠𒀪𒀊 ''Ma'ab''; Egyptian: 𓈗𓇋𓃀𓅱𓈉 ''Mū'ībū'', name=, group= () is the name of an ancient Levantine kingdom whose territo ...

led Balaam in his fourth and final attempt to induce Balaam to pronounce a curse upon the Israelites threatening to occupy his land. The

tribes of Israel The Twelve Tribes of Israel ( he, שִׁבְטֵי־יִשְׂרָאֵל, translit=Šīḇṭēy Yīsrāʾēl, lit=Tribes of Israel) are, according to Hebrew Bible, Hebrew scriptures, the descendants of the biblical Patriarchs (Bible), patriarch ...

were described as being visible from the peak, but Balaam refused to curse them, and continued to offer blessings (). *A reference to a divinity who was worshipped at that mountain peak ( Belphegor) and, biblically, was the subject of the

heresy of Peor Numbers 31 is the 31st Chapters and verses of the Bible, chapter of the Book of Numbers, the fourth book of the Pentateuch (Torah), the central part of the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament), a sacred text in Judaism and Christianity. Scholars such as ...

. The divinity, worshipped by the Moabites, is biblically referred to as ''Baal-peor'' (Num. 25:3,5, 18) and as the "house of peor" (''בית פעור'') (

Deuteronomy Deuteronomy ( grc, Δευτερονόμιον, Deuteronómion, second law) is the fifth and last book of the Torah (in Judaism), where it is called (Hebrew: hbo, , Dəḇārīm, hewords Moses.html"_;"title="f_Moses">f_Moseslabel=none)_and_th ...

3:29), generally meaning ''the Baal of Peor''. *An alternative translation of Phagor, a city of Judah mentioned in the Greek (Septuagint) version of the Book of Joshua (Joshua 15:59). *In John Milton's "

Paradise Lost ''Paradise Lost'' is an epic poem in blank verse by the 17th-century English poet John Milton (1608–1674). The first version, published in 1667, consists of ten books with over ten thousand lines of verse (poetry), verse. A second edition fo ...

", Peor is said to be the other name of the fallen angel Chemos, who "entic'd/Israel in Sittim on thir march from Nile/To do him wanton rites, which cost them woe" (Paradise Lost, I.412-14). His deeds are described in the first book of the epic, as Milton describes Satan's followers who were banished from Heaven, and have pledged themselves as followers of the underworld.

Source

{{eastons, Peor Hebrew Bible mountains Book of Numbers Book of Deuteronomy