Editing Balaam (section)

==In Josephus, Philo, and Christian sources==
Balaam is mentioned in several places in the [[New Testament]],<ref>{{bibleverse|2 Peter 2:15, Jude 1:11, Revelation 2:14|multi=yes}}; {{bibleverse|Revelation|2:14}}</ref> where he is cited as a type of avarice; for example in [[Book of Revelation]] 2:14 we read of false teachers at Pergamum who held the "teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to cast a stumbling-block before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols, and to commit fornication". Balaam has attracted much interest, alike from Jews, Christians, and Muslims. [[Josephus]] paraphrases the story more so, and speaks of Balaam as the best prophet of his time, but with a disposition ill-adapted to resist [[temptation]].<ref>[[Josephus]], ''[[Antiquities of the Jews]]'', iv. 6, § 2</ref> [[Philo]] describes him as a great magician in the ''Life of Moses'';<ref>[[Philo]], ''De Vita Moysis'', i. 48: "a man renowned above all men for his skill as a diviner and a prophet, who foretold to the various nations important events, abundance and rain, or droughts and famine, inundations or pestilence."</ref> elsewhere he speaks of "the [[sophist]] Balaam, being," i.e. symbolizing "a vain crowd of contrary and warring opinions" and again as "a vain people", both phrases being based on a mistaken etymology of the name Balaam.

A man also named Balaam also figures as an example of a false prophet motivated by greed or avarice in both [[2 Peter]] 2:15 and in [[Jude the Apostle|Jude]] 1:11. This Balaam is listed as the son of Bezer, which is usually identified as Beor.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=87bKBAAAQBAJ ''Who's Who of the Bible: Everything You Need to Know about Everyone Named in the Bible''] by Martin H. Manser and Debra Reid, Lion Books, 3 Jan 2013, [https://books.google.com/books?id=87bKBAAAQBAJ&dq=balaam%20%22beor%22%20bezer&pg=PA89 p.53]</ref><ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=SuBUAAAAcAAJ ''The Proper Names of the Bible; Their Orthography, Pronunciation, and Signification, Etc''] by John Farrar, John Mason, 1839, [https://books.google.com/books?id=SuBUAAAAcAAJ&dq=balaam%20beor%20bezer&pg=PA58 p.58]</ref><ref name="Smith">[https://books.google.com/books?id=541JAAAAMAAJ ''A Dictionary of the Bible, Comprising Its Antiquities, Biography, Geography, and Natural History''] by William George Smith, S.S. Scranton & Company, 1896, [https://books.google.com/books?id=541JAAAAMAAJ&dq=balaam%20%22beor%22%20bezer&pg=PA123 p.123]</ref><ref name="Baker">[https://books.google.com/books?id=5Qv2AAAAQBAJ ''Jude and 2 Peter'' (Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament)] by Gene Green, Baker Academic, 1 Nov 2008, [https://books.google.com/books?id=5Qv2AAAAQBAJ&dq=balaam%20beor%20bezer&pg=PA289 p.289]</ref> Some authors claim that Bezer was the Aramaic pronunciation of Beor,<ref name="Smith" /> while others hold that the author was attempting to play off the Hebrew word ''basar'' or "flesh" to insult Balaam. Later Jewish tradition similarly played with Balaam's name to call him corrupt and imply bestiality.  Still other authors hold that Bezer and Beor are distinct, while still identifying the Balaams of the Old and New Testaments, claiming that Beor is Balaam's father and Bezer is Balaam's home town.<ref name="Baker" />

The story is also referred to in chapter 10 of [[Meqabyan#Second Book of Ethiopian Maccabees (2 Meqabyan)|2 Meqabyan]], a book considered [[Orthodox Tewahedo biblical canon|canonical]] in the [[Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://torahofyeshuah.blogspot.com/2015/07/book-of-meqabyan-i-iii.html|title=Torah of Yeshuah: Book of Meqabyan I - III}}</ref>

In his commentary on [[Matthew's Gospel]], Dale Allison associates the [[Biblical Magi|magi]] who visited the [[infant Jesus]] (Matthew 2) with Balaam, in that both Balaam and the magi were "from the east": thus "Matthew's magi are Balaam's successors".<ref>Allison, D., ''56. Matthew'', in Barton, J. and Muddiman, J. (2001), [https://b-ok.org/dl/946961/8f5f43 The Oxford Bible Commentary], p. 849</ref>