Peor

Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible

PEOR. 1. A mountain E. of the Jordan to which Balak led Balaam ( Numbers 23:28 ). It looked down upon the desert. The Onomasticon ( s.v . ‘Fogor’) places it 7 miles from Heshbon, above Livias, one of the heights of the Nebo group. Conder suggests for it the peak above ’Ain el-Minyeh , about 5 miles W. of Ma‘în . Buhl ( GAP [Note: AP Geographie des alten Paiastina.] ) thinks it may be et-Mushakkar , flanked by Wâdy Hesbân and Wâdy ’Ayûn Mûsa . 2. In Numbers 25:18; Numbers 31:16 , Joshua 22:17 , Peor is the god Baal-Peor. 3. LXX [Note: Septuagint.] places a Peor (Phagor) in Judah not far from Bethlehem, which is evidently the modern Khirbel Faghûr , to the S. of the town.

W. Ewing.

Fausset's Bible Dictionary

The mountain top to which Balak brought Balaam, for his last conjurations, from the lower Pisgah on its S. (Numbers 23:28.) A little to the N.E. of the Dead Sea. Bethpeer adjoined the "ravine" (gai ) connected with Israel's camp and Moses' burial place (Deuteronomy 3:29; Deuteronomy 4:46; Deuteronomy 34:6). The ravine of Bethpeor was that which runs down from near Heshbon eastward past Beth-ram; at its upper end are a town's ruins, Naur or Taur. "The Peor" faced Jeshimon. (On Peor, contracted for Baalpeor Numbers 25:18; Numbers 31:16; Joshua 22:17). (See BAALPEOR).)

Smith's Bible Dictionary

Pe'or. (cleft). A mountain peak in Moab, belonging to the Abarim range, and near Pisgah, to which, after having ascended Pisgah, the prophet Balaam was conducted by Balak, that he might look upon the whole host of Israel, and curse them. Numbers 23:14; Numbers 23:28 . In four passages - Numbers 25:18, twice; Numbers 31:16; Joshua 22:17 - Peor occurs as a contraction for Baal-peor. See Baal).

Easton's Bible Dictionary

A Moabite divinity, called also "Baal-peor" (Numbers 25:3,5,18; Compare Deuteronomy 3:29 ).

Copyright StatementThese dictionary topics are from M.G. Easton M.A., D.D., Illustrated Bible Dictionary, Third Edition, published by Thomas Nelson, 1897. Public Domain.

Bibliography InformationEaston, Matthew George. Entry for 'Peor'. Easton's Bible Dictionary. https://www.studylight.org/dictionaries/eng/ebd/p/peor.html. 1897.

Morrish Bible Dictionary

1. A peak in the mountain range of Moab, to which Balaamwas taken to curse Israel. It 'looked toward' or was 'opposite' Jeshimon; but it cannot be identified. Numbers 23:28 .

2. A contraction of BAAL-PEOR:it refers to the fornication and idolatry of the Israelites in connection with the Midianites. Numbers 25:18; Numbers 31:16; Joshua 22:17 .

Holman Bible Dictionary

Numbers 23:28Numbers 24:22Numbers 25:18Numbers 31:16Joshua 22:17Joshua 15:59

American Tract Society Bible Dictionary

A mountain of Moab, from which Balaam surveyed the camp of Israel, Numbers 23:28 . It probably lay a few miles northeast of the Dead Sea, but is not now recognized. This name and vicinity are also associated with an idol of the Moabites, Deuteronomy 4:8 . See BAAL.

People's Dictionary of the Bible

Peor. Numbers 23:28. See Pisgah.

Hawker's Poor Man's Concordance And Dictionary

The word means opening, from Pahar. See Baal-Peor

Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature

(Heb. Peor i', פְּעוֹר , cleft, always with the art. when speaking of the mountain, but without it of the idol; Sept. Φογώρ ), the name of a hill and of a heathen deity; perhaps also of a town.

1. A mountain on the plateau of Moab, to the top of which Balak led Balaam that he might see the whole host of Israel and curse them (Numbers 23:28). It appears to have been one of the ancient high places of Moab dedicated to the service of Baal (Numbers 22:41; Numbers 23:13; Numbers 23:27). Its position is described as "looking to the face of Jeshimon;" that is, the wilderness on either side of the Dead Sea. (See Desert).

If it were in sight of the Arabah of Moab, on the east bank of the Jordan, where the Israelites were then encamped, it must have been one of those peaks on the western brow of the plateau which are seen between Heshbon and the banks of the Arnon (comp. Josephus, Ant. 4:6,4). Two other incidental notices of the sacred writers tend to fix its position. There can be little doubt that it was connected with the town of Beth-Peor, which is described as "over against" the site of the Israelitish camp (Deuteronomy 3:29; comp. 34:6). (See Beth-Peor).

Josephus says it was sixty stadia distant from the camp (Ant. 4:6, 4); Eusebius states that it lay above Livias (the ancient Beth-aran), six miles distant from it, and opposite Jericho; and Jerome mentions Mount Phogor as situated between Livias and Heshbon (Onomast. s.v. Fogor and Araboth Moab). It would seem, therefore, that this mountain was one of those peaks on the south side of Wady Heshbon commanding the Jordan valley. A place named Fuichatr(h is mentioned in the list of towns south of Es-Salt in the appendix to the first edition of Dr. Robinson's Bib. Res. (vol. iii, Append. p. 169), and this is placed by Van de Velde at the head of the Wady Eshteh, eight miles north-east of Hesban. Professor Paine, however, recently contends that it is one of the summits of the present Jebel Neba. (See Pisgah).

2. "The matter of Peor" (דבר פ 8) mentioned in Numbers 25:18; Numbers 31:16; and the "iniquity of Peor" (עין פ 8), spoken of by Joshua (Joshua 22:17), refer to the Midianitish deity Baal-peor, and not to the mountain. By following the counsels of Balaam, the Midianites seduced the Israelites to take part in their worship, and the licentious revels by which it appears to have been accompanied; and thus they brought upon them the divine vengeance (Numbers 31:16; Numbers 25:1 sq.). The temple or shrine of Baal-peor probably stood on the top of the mountain; and the town of Beth-peor may have been situated at its base. Gesenius (Thesaur. p. 1119 a) gives it as his opinion that Baal-peor derived its name from the mountain, not the mountain from him. (See Baal-Peor).

3. A Peor, under its Greek garb of Φαγώρ, appears among the eleven names added by the Sept. to the list of the allotment to Judah, between Bethlehem and Aitan (Etham). It was known to Eusebius and Jerome, and is mentioned by the latter in his translation of the Onomasticon as Phaoa. It probably still exists under the name of Beit Faghur or Kirbet Faghur, five miles south-west of Bethlehem, barely a mile to the left of the road from Hebron (Reland, Palaest. p. 643; Robinson, Bib. Res. 3:275; Tobler, Dritte Wanderung, p. 92).

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

pē´or ( הפּעור , ha - pe‛ōr  ; Φογώρ , Phogṓr ):

(1) A mountain in the land of Moab, the last of the three heights to which Balaam was guided by Balak in order that he might curse Israel (Numbers 23:28 ). It is placed by Eusebius, Onomasticon on the way between Livias and Heshbon, 7 Roman miles from the latter. Buhl would identify it with Jebel el - Mashaḳḳar , on which are the ruins of an old town, between Wâdy A‛yūn Mūsa and Wâdy Ḥesbān .

(2) A town in the Judean uplands added by Septuagint ( Φαγώρ , Phagṓr ) to the list in Joshua 15:9 . It may be identical with Khirbet Fāghūr to the South of Bethlehem.

(3) Peor, in Numbers 25:18; Numbers 31:16; Joshua 22:17 , is a divine name standing for "Baal-peor."

(4) In Genesis 36:39 , Septuagint reads Phogor for "Pau" (Massoretic Text), which in 1 Chronicles 1:50 appears as "Pai."

Kitto's Popular Cyclopedia of Biblial Literature

Peor, 1

Pe´or, a mountain in the land of Moab . Eusebius places it between Livias and Esbus, over against Jericho; which shows that it was not supposed to be east of the Dead Sea as usually stated. It has not in modern times been recognized.

Peor, 2

Peor, an idol. [BAAL PEOR]