BAHURIM, a place not far from Jerusalem, beyond the Mount of Olives, on the road to the Jordan, where Shimei cursed and threw stones at David (2 Sam. xvi. 5 ; Joseph. Antig. vii. 9. 4). [Here also was the house in the court of which was the well where Jonathan and Ahimaaz were concealed from the servants of Absalom (2 Sam. xvii. is) ; and here Phaltiel took leave of his wife Michal when she was claimed from him by David (iii. 16). All the notices we have of the place are thus connected with the history of David. It is also contained in the word Barhumite (2 Sam.
xxiii. 3I). [AZMAVETH.] BAJITH (11.pn). This word occurs Is. xv. 2.
It does not appear that there was any place of this name. The Targum and Syriac V. connect this with the following word, omitting the copula, and read Beth-Dibon, and this is approved by Lowth and others ; but for such an alteration of the text there is no authority. The Vulg. treats the word as an appellative, and, translates damns; and this is followed by Vatablus, Pagnini, and others of the older interpreters, and by Gesenius, Zunz, Henderson, Knobel, etc., among the more recent. In this case it means the temple of some Moabitish idol, probably Chemosh, their great deity. In favour of this is the use of the definite article before 11'2, and the mention of Inn.: in the paral lelism, as well as the reference to the ' high place,' whither Moab had gone, in ch. xvi. 12. Ewald, however, takes the word as a proper name, and so does Vitringa and several of the older inter. preters. On the ground of the conjunction of Dibon and Nebo with Beth•Diblathaim, in Jer. xlviii. 22, some have fixed on this as the Beth here mentioned ; but this is purely conjectural, and very precarious.—W. L. A.
BALAAM (03hZ ; Sept. and Philo, ; Josephus, BaXakcos). The name is derived by Vitringa from and lz), lord of the people; but by Simonis from jb; and bp, destruction of the people—an allusion to his supposed supernatural powers. His father's name ivm comes likewise from a root which means to consume or devour. It is deserving of notice that IbM, the first king of the Edomites, was also the son of a 113n Beor (Gen. xxxvi. 32). In 2 Peter ii. 15, Balaam is called the Son of Bosor, which Gesenius attributes to an early corruption of the text, but Dr. Lightfoot considers it to be a Chaldaism, and infers from the apostle's use of it, that he was then at Babylon. (Works, vol. vii. p. So : Sermon on the way of Balaanz.) In Rev. ii. 14, IS> ' those that hold the doctrine of Balaam' are evidently distinguished from the Nico laitans. [NICOLAITANS.] The first mention of
this remarkable person is in Numbers xxii. 5, where we are informed that Balak sent messen gers unto Balaam the son of Beor to Pethor, which is by the river of the land of the children of his people.' Twelve Hebrew MSS. examined by Dr. Kennicott, two of De Rossi's, the Sama ritan text, with the Syriac and Vulgate versions, instead of 11D)) children of his people,' read 1101) 'JZ children of Ammon.' This is approved by Houbigant and Kennicott, but is inconsistent with Deut. xxiii. 4, which informs us that Pethor was in Mesopotamia ; for the Ammonites, as Rosenmiiller observes, never extended so far as the Euphrates, which must be the river alluded to. If the received reading be correct, it intimates that Pethor was situated in Balaam's native country, and that he was not a mere sojourner in Mesopotamia, as the Jewish patriarchs were in Canaan. In Joshua xiii. 22, Balaam is termed the Sooth sayer' =rip, a word which, with its cognates, is used almost without exception in an unfavourable sense. Josephus calls him istivrts dpuros, an emi nent diviner (Antiq. iv. 6, sec. 2) ; and what is to be understood by this appellation may be perhaps best learned from the following description by Philo There was a man at that time celebrated for divination, who lived in Mesopotamia, and was an adept in all the forms of the divining art ; but in no branch was he more admired than in augury; to many persons and on many occasions he gave great and astounding proofs of his skill. For to some he foretold storms in the height of summer ; to others drought and heat in the depth of winter ; to some scarcity succeeding a fruitful year, and then again abundance after scarcity ; to others the over flowing and the drying up of rivers ; and the reme dies of pestilential diseases, and a vast multitude of other things, each of which he acquired great fame for predicting' (Vita Illoysis, sec. 48). Origen speaks of Balaam as famous for his skill in magic, and the use of noxious incantations, but denies that he had any power to bless, for which he gives the following reason Ars cairn magica nescit benedi cere quid nec damones scinnt benelacere.' (In NIIM. Hom. xiii.) Balak's language, I wot he whom thou blessest is blessed' (Numb. xxii. 6), he con siders as only designed to flatter Balaam, and ren der him compliant with his wishes.