1187. Baal Peor
Lexical Summary
Baal Peor: Baal of Peor

Original Word: בַּעַל פְּעוֹר
Part of Speech: Proper Name Masculine
Transliteration: Ba`al P`owr
Pronunciation: bah'-al peh-ore'
Phonetic Spelling: (bah'-al peh-ore')
KJV: Baal-peor
NASB: Baal-peor, Baal of Peor
Word Origin: [from H1168 (בַּעַל - Baal) and H6465 (פְּעוֹר - Peor)]

1. Baal of Peor
2. Baal-Peor, a Moabitish deity

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
Baal-peor

From Ba'al and p'owr; Baal of Peor; Baal-Peor, a Moabitish deity -- Baal-peor.

see HEBREW Ba'al

see HEBREW p'owr

NAS Exhaustive Concordance
Word Origin
from Baal and Peor
Definition
"Baal of Peor," a Moabite god
NASB Translation
Baal of Peor (2), Baal-peor (4).

Brown-Driver-Briggs
בַּ֫עַל מְּעוֺר proper name, masculine Numbers 25:3,5; Deuteronomy 4:3 (twice in verse); Psalm 106:28; Hosea 9:10, Baal of Peor (VB) i.e. worshipped at מְּעוֺר q. v.; or Baal-P. (whence Peor as proper name, of a location); compare Di Numbers 25:3 BaudStud. ii. 233 BaeRel 14, 210.

Topical Lexicon
Name and Setting

Baal Peor (“lord of Peor”) designates both a Canaanite–Moabite fertility deity and the location on Mount Peor where his cult was practiced east of the Jordan River, opposite Jericho. The site lay within Moab’s territory, near the plains where Israel camped before crossing into Canaan (Numbers 25:1; Numbers 33:48–49).

Occurrences in Scripture

1. Numbers 25:3, 25:5
2. Deuteronomy 4:3
3. Psalm 106:28
4. Hosea 9:10

Each passage recalls the same historical crisis: Israel’s seduction into idolatry and immorality at Baal Peor shortly before entering the promised land.

Historical Background

After Balaam’s failed attempts to curse Israel (Numbers 22–24), Moabite and Midianite women enticed Israelite men to attend sacrificial feasts to Baal Peor, involving ritual prostitution and the eating of idol-meats (Numbers 25:1–2; Revelation 2:14). The incident provoked divine wrath, and “the anger of the LORD burned against them” (Numbers 25:3). A plague killed twenty-four thousand until Phinehas’s zealous act halted the judgment (Numbers 25:7–9).

Nature of the Cult

Baal worship featured:
• Licentious rites meant to stimulate agricultural fertility.
• Sacrificial meals eaten before the idol (Psalm 106:28).
• Participation that bound worshipers to the deity (“yoked,” Numbers 25:3; Psalm 106:28).

Peor (“open, gape”) may hint at obscene rituals. Hosea later labels the god “shame” (Hosea 9:10), underscoring the moral degradation of the cult.

Israel’s Apostasy and Its Aftermath

The judicial purge commanded by Moses—“Each of you must kill any of your men who have yoked themselves to Baal of Peor” (Numbers 25:5)—and Phinehas’s spear (Numbers 25:7–8) checked the contagion of idolatry, preserved the nation’s purity, and secured the covenant of perpetual priesthood for Phinehas’s line (Numbers 25:10–13). Moses later used the episode as a warning: “the LORD your God destroyed from among you all who followed the Baal of Peor” (Deuteronomy 4:3).

Prophetic and Poetic References

Psalm 106:28–29 recounts the incident to illustrate Israel’s recurrent unfaithfulness, while Hosea 9:10 invokes Baal Peor to rebuke the northern kingdom’s later plunge into similar idolatry: “They became as vile as the thing they loved”.

Theological Significance

1. Holiness of God: The severity of the plague and executions reveals God’s uncompromising demand for exclusive worship.
2. Covenant Faithfulness: Baal Peor stands as the antithesis of Deuteronomy’s call to love the LORD with undivided heart (Deuteronomy 6:4–5).
3. Zeal for Purity: Phinehas foreshadows the Messiah’s zeal for His Father’s house (John 2:17) and sets a pattern for decisive action against sin within the covenant community (1 Corinthians 5:1–13).
4. Spiritual Adultery: The “yoke” imagery warns believers against any alliance that compromises fidelity to Christ (2 Corinthians 6:14–18; James 4:4).

Lessons for Ministry Today

• Guard against syncretism: Cultural accommodations that dilute biblical truth replicate Baal Peor’s compromise.
• Maintain moral integrity: Sexual immorality and idolatry frequently intertwine; vigilance is required in both realms.
• Teach historical warnings: Rehearsing Israel’s failures equips the church to avoid them (1 Corinthians 10:6–11).
• Exercise corrective discipline: Loving, decisive action protects the flock and honors God’s holiness.

Baal Peor thus serves as a sobering memorial: God’s people must abhor idolatry, preserve covenant purity, and remain wholly devoted to the Lord who redeemed them.

Forms and Transliterations
פְּע֑וֹר פְּע֔וֹר פְּע֗וֹר פְּעֽוֹר׃ פעור פעור׃ pə‘ōwr pə·‘ō·wr peor
Links
Interlinear GreekInterlinear HebrewStrong's NumbersEnglishman's Greek ConcordanceEnglishman's Hebrew ConcordanceParallel Texts
Englishman's Concordance
Numbers 25:3
HEB: יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל לְבַ֣עַל פְּע֑וֹר וַיִּֽחַר־ אַ֥ף
NAS: joined themselves to Baal of Peor, and the LORD
KJV: joined himself unto Baalpeor: and the anger
INT: joined Israel to Baal was kindled and the anger

Numbers 25:5
HEB: הַנִּצְמָדִ֖ים לְבַ֥עַל פְּעֽוֹר׃
NAS: who have joined themselves to Baal of Peor.
KJV: that were joined unto Baalpeor.
INT: who have joined to Baal

Deuteronomy 4:3
HEB: יְהוָ֖ה בְּבַ֣עַל פְּע֑וֹר כִּ֣י כָל־
NAS: has done in the case of Baal-peor, for all
KJV: did because of Baalpeor: for all the men
INT: has done God of Baal-peor for for all

Deuteronomy 4:3
HEB: אַחֲרֵ֣י בַֽעַל־ פְּע֔וֹר הִשְׁמִיד֛וֹ יְהוָ֥ה
NAS: followed Baal-peor, the LORD
KJV: that followed Baalpeor, the LORD
INT: along after that Baal-peor has destroyed God

Psalm 106:28
HEB: וַ֭יִּצָּ֣מְדוּ לְבַ֣עַל פְּע֑וֹר וַ֝יֹּאכְל֗וּ זִבְחֵ֥י
NAS: They joined themselves also to Baal-peor, And ate
KJV: They joined themselves also unto Baalpeor, and ate
INT: joined to Baal-peor and ate sacrifices

Hosea 9:10
HEB: בָּ֣אוּ בַֽעַל־ פְּע֗וֹר וַיִּנָּֽזְרוּ֙ לַבֹּ֔שֶׁת
NAS: [season]. [But] they came to Baal-peor and devoted
KJV: [but] they went to Baalpeor, and separated
INT: like came to Baal-peor and devoted to shame

6 Occurrences

Strong's Hebrew 1187
6 Occurrences


pə·‘ō·wr — 6 Occ.

1186
Top of Page
Top of Page