Peor (Place)

A mountain east of the Jordan River and north of the Dead Sea. This is where King Balak took Balaam in a final attempt to make him curse the Israelites (Numbers 23:28). From this mountain, they could see the Israelite camp at Shittim (24:2). At this location, the Israelites began to have sexual relations with Moabite women and worshiped the false god Baal (25:1–13). We are not certain of the exact location of this mountain. However, the early Christian scholars Eusebius and Jerome wrote that it was located across from Jericho on the way to Heshbon. Because of this, most people believe Peor was near Mount Nebo in the Abarim mountain range.

The name of a place mentioned in the Septuagint (an ancient Greek translation of the Old Testament) in Joshua 15:59. This place is not mentioned in the Hebrew manuscripts of the Bible. Today, scholars identify Peor with the modern location called Khirbet Faghur, which is southwest of Bethlehem.