Peor
Encyclopedia
Peor is either
In John Milton's "Paradise Lost," 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.
- The name of a mountain peak (Num. 23:28) to which BalakBalakBalak was king of Moab around 1200 BC. According to Book of Numbers 22:2, and the Book of Joshua 24:9, Zippor was the father of Balak.Book of Revelation 2:12 - 2:14 says about Balak:...
led BalaamBalaamBalaam is a diviner 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...
as a last effort to induce him to pronounce a curse upon Israel. 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). Peor is similar to the Egyptian Pi-Hor ("House of Horus"). - A reference to a divinity who was worshipped at that mountain peak, and, biblically, was the subject of the heresy of PeorHeresy of PeorThe heresy of Peor is an event related in the Torah at Numbers 25:1-15. Back references to the event occur in Numbers 25:18 and 31:16, Deuteronomy 4:3, Joshua 22:17, Hosea 9:10; Psalm 106:28...
. The divinity, worshipped by the Moabites, is biblically referred to as Baal-peor (Num. 25:3,5, 18; comp. Deut. 3:29), literally meaning the BaalBaalBaʿal is a Northwest Semitic title and honorific meaning "master" or "lord" that is used for various gods who were patrons of cities in the Levant and Asia Minor, cognate to Akkadian Bēlu...
of Peor. An ancient Aramaic inscription, found at Dier Alla, identifies Balaam as a prophet of ShamashShamashShamash was a native Mesopotamian deity and the sun god in the Akkadian, Assyrian and Babylonian pantheons. Shamash was the god of justice in Babylonia and Assyria, corresponding to Sumerian Utu...
, a semiticSemiticIn linguistics and ethnology, Semitic was first used to refer to a language family of largely Middle Eastern origin, now called the Semitic languages...
sun-god, and consequently, it could well be the case that the unidentified Baal of Peor is Shamash. If Peor's connection to Pi-Hor is factual, then the Baal of Peor may be the Egyptian god HorusHorusHorus is one of the oldest and most significant deities in the Ancient Egyptian religion, who was worshipped from at least the late Predynastic period through to Greco-Roman times. Different forms of Horus are recorded in history and these are treated as distinct gods by Egyptologists...
.
In John Milton's "Paradise Lost," 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.