Heresy of Peor - Biblical Account

Biblical Account

The story proceeds from that of the prophet Balaam, in which he ascends the mountain of Pe‘or, and makes sacrifices to God from atop it. Having finished his sacrifices, Balaam views the Israelites on the plain below, and although hired to curse them, pronounces a blessing over them, prophesying their blessed nature and destruction of Moab. When the narrative focus returns to the point of view of the Israelites, the contrast between Balaam's voiced opinion of them, and their actual behaviour, is distinctly noticeable.

According to the Torah, the Israelites, after spending a short time in the plain of Moab, begin to involve themselves with the Moabite women. Consequently, under the influence of Moabite culture, the Israelites begin whoring after the Moabite gods, and join themselves to Baal Peor (Hebrew בעל פעור Ba‘al Pə‘ôr), in the Septuagint Beelphegôr, a baal associated with Mount Pe‘or.

YHWH orders Moses to gather the chiefs of the people and hang up the idolaters before Yahweh to turn away Yahweh's anger. The scene then abruptly shifts from concerns about Moabites to those about Midianites. A man — Israelite Zimri, the son of Salu — brings a Midianite woman Cozbi into the camp in the sight of Moses, where the people are weeping. Phinehas, grandson of Aaron, thereupon rises up with a spear, follows the man into the chamber and thrusts the spear through both the man and woman, who were evidently in the act of copulation. The plague, from which 24,000 had died, then ceased to take life. A war with Midian follows later.

The New Testament writer in Corinthians discusses Balaam. He reveals that Balaam taught the Israelites to sin as the canaanites did. There is an inference that after Balaam failed to curse the Israelites directly, he instructed King Balak as to how Moab could persuade the Israelites to curse themselves.