Belphegor: Difference between revisions

Lord of the opening, a god of the Moabites (Numbers 25:3; 31:16; Joshua 22:17), worshipped by obscene rites. So called from Mount Peor, where this worship was celebrated, the Baal of Peor. In Rabbinical Literature, Baal-Peor is the name of a Canaanitish god. Peor was a mountain in Moab , whence the special locality Beth-peor (Deut. iii. 29, etc.) was designated. The god is himself also called "Peor" by abbreviation . It is commonly held that this form of Ba'al-worship especially called for sensual indulgence. The context seems to favor his view, on account of the shameful licentiousness into which many of the Israelites were there enticed.<ref>http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/2246-baal-peor Baalpeor</ref>