A mountain in Moab from which Balaam, under the pay of Balak, attempted for a second time to curse Israel as the latter passed through the TransJordan land (Num 23:28). Here Peor is described as "overlooking the wasteland"; which provides little information for ascertaining its location. The Onomasticon placed it 7 Roman miles from Heshbon.
Baal Peor, literally 'lord of Peor,' was clearly a local deity of the Moabites, described as one of the "lifeless gods" in Psm 106:28 and as "that shameful idol" and "vile" in Hos 9:10. While at Shittim, in the vicinity of Peor, some of the Israelite men joined in the religious orgy with the Moabite women, which resulted in a great plague and slaughter (Num 25:1-9). When one of the men blatantly brought one of the women into his tent, Phinehas, Aaron's grandson, took a spear and followed them into the tent and killed them, and helped put an end to the plague. In honour of his zealousness for God, the Lord made "a covenant of a lasting priesthood" with him and his descendants (25:13).
The relationship between Beth Peor, literally 'house of Peor' and Peor is more uncertain. If we take as our guide similar practices reported elsewhere in the OT, we would assume that Beth Peor referred to a temple dedicated to Baal Peor. Deut 34:6 & Jos 13:20 suggest it was located across from the valley on Mount Nebo where Moses was buried.
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