Who is Balaam, Beaver’s son? Share two

Christ tells his disciples about the final judgment By Christoph Maurer, 1630. Courtesy of the National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC

Balaam is one of the most enigmatic figures in the Hebrew Bible, and one of the earliest to be referenced outside of the biblical text. In the first part of our series on Balaam, we discussed how, within his central pericope (verses 22-24), he is presented as neither friend nor enemy of Israel. However, among later Christian and Jewish writers, this neutral presentation quickly turns into one that is overwhelmingly negative. Yet, at the same time, Balaam’s words took on a life of their own, reinterpreted by both Christian and Jewish writers as an important prophetic text predicting the coming of the Messiah.

This Daily Bible History post is the second in a series that will explore this mysterious figure and what we learn about him from the Bible, texts, and archeology.

Download the eBook

Balaam in the Hebrew Bible

Although the original narrative of Balaam in Numbers is largely obscured by figures, save for his final appearance in Numbers 31, in the Hellenistic and later periods, the figure of Balaam is set to take over as a hated enemy and false prophet. To understand this change, it is important to turn to other references to Balaam in the Hebrew Bible. Although Balaam’s main narrative ends in Numbers 24, he is also mentioned in four other books: Deuteronomy 23:4–5; Joshua 13:22, 24:9–10; Micah 6:5; And Nehemiah 13:2.

Of the four biblical books, only Micah portrays Balaam in a slightly more positive light, where his story is included in the list of God’s saving acts. However, the other three books are much more negative towards data. Although Joshua 13 makes a passing reference to Israel’s enemies as well as the slaying of Balaam, other references go further and interpret the narrative in its entirety. In the original story of Balaam in Numbers 22-24, he is presented as God’s trusted spokesman. However, references to Balaam in Deuteronomy, Joshua 24, and Nehemiah claim that he deliberately set out to curse the people of Israel. It was only God who intervened to actively turn Balaam’s curses into blessings. It is possible that this interpretation flows from its appearance in Numbers 31:16, where it is said that Balaam convinced the Midianite women to seduce Israel into adultery. These later references develop the narrative presented in the numbers, although the development is not straightforward. This is also the case with the two parts of the numbers themselves.

Become a BAS All Access member now!

Read on A Review of Biblical Archaeology Online, explore 50 years Barwatch videos, participate in conversations, and more

Balaam in Jewish and Christian Commentary and Conversation

In later sources, negative depictions of Balaam continue with mentions of Balaam only in the Dead Sea Scrolls, the New Testament, Jewish literature, and the early church fathers. With the exception of references to Balaam’s fourth oracle (Numbers 24:15–19, discussed below), the overwhelming majority of these images can be classified as negative. Within the Dead Sea Scrolls, Balaam is mentioned in two separate non-biblical texts. In both, Balaam is included in a list of false prophets born in ancient Israel.¹ This is consistent with how it is presented in other Jewish texts, including the Targum and the works of Philo of Alexandria.² Also within the commentaries and writings of early church fathers, such as Origen and Augustine.³

New Testament references to Balaam continue this theme, though they add another layer, namely Balaam’s love of money. Both Jude and 2 Peter compare the sinner to Balaam “who loved the wages of wrongdoing” (2 Peter 2:15). These texts seem to refer to and build on the original Numbers account, in which the Mobite king Balak paid Balaam a fee for cursing Israel. While in Numbers 22-24, Balaam rejects the offer and insists that he will only speak the words that God has given him, this instead reinterprets the narrative in light of the later Hebrew biblical text of the New Testament, which states that Balak hired Balaam. Revelation adds another element, pointing out that the church in Pergamum participated in idolatry and adultery by holding to the “teaching of Balaam” (Revelation 2:14), echoing Numbers 31:16 and Balaam’s involvement in the incident at Peror.

An important part of our website, blog and email newsletter Society of Biblical ArchaeologyNonprofit Educational Mission

It will cost a lot of money and resources, but we don’t charge you 100% to cover any of these costs.

If you’d like to help make it possible for us to continue Bible history daily, biblicalarchaeology.org, and our email newsletter, please donate. Even $5 helps:

Balaam’s prophecy of the Messiah?

Despite the increasingly negative views of Balaam son of Beaver in later literature, there was one feature of Balaam’s narrative that was recovered in a positive light. Although Balaam was seen as a false prophet, his fourth oracle (Numbers 24:17) is often interpreted in later writings as a foretaste of the coming of the Messiah. “I see it, but not now; I see it, but not near – a star shall go forth from Jacob, and a ruler shall go forth from Israel.” This oracle appears in three separate Dead Sea Scrolls, the first being 4QTESTIMONIAwhich links it to other prophecies predicting a future Christian figure. It does so by connecting Balaam’s “star” and “rapture” to the future Messiah. This is also the case in popular The Damascus Documentst. Battle scroll also presents this oracle as a Messianic prophecy, where it concludes the battle hymn, and establishes this figure as the Messiah who will crush Israel’s enemies.⁴

Decoration of Magi By Giovanni di Paolo, 1450. Courtesy of the National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC

The early church fathers similarly gravitate to the oracle of Balaam, connecting it to the messianic figure of Jesus. One particular way the Church Fathers did this was to connect it to the story of Jesus’ birth and the miraculous star seen by the Magi in Matthew 2:1–12. For example, Irenaeus, writing in the second century, connected the star of the Magi mentioned by Balaam and suggested that the Magi were Balaam’s descendants.⁵

Balaam in the reception history

Although Balaam’s main pericope within the book of books presents it as a complex, but neutral, figure, later traditions and interpretations. Instead, in the Hebrew Bible, the New Testament, and later Jewish and Christian writings, Balaam is portrayed as an inherently villainous character. Despite this, however, Balaam’s oracles lead a surprisingly different life, the reformation of which has been described as Christian prophecies. Although both Christian and Jewish writers were aware of this dichotomy, they did not change this new theological interpretation, thus leading to the multifaceted and contradictory character of Balaam son of Beaver that persists today.

Read Part One “Examining the Figures of Balaam in the Bible” and Part Three “Examining the Figures of Balaam in Archeology”.

Related reading

Note

1 Florentino García Martínez, “Balaam in the Dead Sea Scrolls,” in George H. Van Koten and Jacques Van Rotten, eds. The Prestige of the Pagan Prophet Balaam in Judaism, Early Christianity, and Islam (Boston: Brill, 2008), pp. 71–82.

2 George H. Van Koten, “Balaam as Sophist Equal excellence Philo in Alexandria: A Preface to Philo’s Prompt Contemporary Debate on the Pentateuchal Narrative of Moses The Prestige of the Pagan Prophet Balaam in Judaism, Early Christianity, and Islam (Boston: Brill, 2008), pp. 131–162.

3 Tord Forenberg, “Balaam and 2 Peter 2:15: ‘They Have Followed in the Steps of Balaam'” (Jude 11), in George H. Van Cotten and Jacques Van Rotten, eds. The Prestige of the Pagan Prophet Balaam in Judaism, Early Christianity, and Islam (Boston: Brill, 2008), pp. 265–274.

4 See note 1.

5 John Lemmens, “‘For blessing with mouth bent over cursing’: Patristic Interpretations of Balaam (No. 24:17), in George H. Van Koten and Jacques Van Roten eds. The Prestige of the Pagan Prophet Balaam in Judaism, Early Christianity, and Islam (Boston: Brill, 2008), pp. 287–299.

In related reading Bible History Daily

Who is Balaam, Beaver’s son? Part one

Who is Balaam, Beaver’s son? Part three

All Access Members, read more at BAS Library

Before the Tea Leaf: Differentiation in Ancient Babylon

Fragments of the Book of Balaam were found at Deer Allah

83 Real Bible People