Place Old Testament
Peor
Peor was a mountain in Moab where Balak brought Balaam to curse Israel, and where the Israelites later engaged in idolatry and immorality with the Moabites. Mentioned in 4 verses across 2 books, first at Numbers 23:28.
Why it matters. A mountain in Moab associated with idolatry
- Primary passages
- Location
- 31.765, 35.719 (approximate, within about 2 km)
Coordinates from STEPBible TIPNR (palopenmaps.org link). Approximate; not independently verified.
- Last reviewed
- 2026-08-30 by the FaithGraph team
About Peor
Peor was a mountain located in the land of Moab, east of the Jordan River. It is mentioned in the context of Balak, the king of Moab, who sought to curse Israel through the prophet Balaam (Num. 23:28). Balak brought Balaam to the top of Peor, hoping that from there, Balaam would be able to curse the Israelites. However, God intervened and caused Balaam to bless Israel instead (Num. 23:29-24:9).
Later, when the Israelites were camped in the plains of Moab, they began to engage in idolatry and sexual immorality with the Moabites (Num. 25:1-3). This incident became known as the "matter of Peor" (Num. 25:18; 31:16) and resulted in a plague that killed 24,000 Israelites (Num. 25:9). The Israelites' sin at Peor was remembered as a cautionary tale, warning against the dangers of idolatry and foreign influences (Josh. 22:17; Ps. 106:28-29). The events at Peor highlight the importance of remaining faithful to God and resisting the temptations of surrounding pagan cultures.
Description from STEPBible TIPNR (Tyndale House, Cambridge), CC BY 4.0, lightly reformatted. This is background reference material, not Scripture and not a FaithGraph editorial claim.
Connections
No reviewed connections yet.
Appears in Scripture
Named in 4 verses across 2 books. Occurrence data from STEPBible TIPNR (CC BY 4.0); references only, no translation text.