<Table> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> This article needs additional citations for verification . Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources . Unsourced material may be challenged and removed . (January 2010) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) </Td> </Tr> </Table> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> This article needs additional citations for verification . Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources . Unsourced material may be challenged and removed . (January 2010) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) </Td> </Tr> <P> Balaam / ˈbeɪlæm / (Hebrew: בִּלְעָם ‬, Standard Bilʻam Tiberian Bilʻām) is a diviner in the Torah, his story begins in Chapter 22 in the Book of Numbers (Hebrew: במדבר ‬). Every ancient reference to Balaam considers him a non-Israelite, a prophet, and the son of Beor, though Beor is not clearly identified . Though some sources may only describe the positive blessings he delivers upon the Israelites, he is reviled as a "wicked man" in both Torah and its commentaries, as well as in the New Testament . Balaam refused to speak what God did not speak and would not curse the Israelites, even though King Balak of Moab offered him money to do so (Numbers 22--24). But Balaam's error and the source of his wickedness came from sabotaging the Israelites as they entered the Promised Land . According to Revelation 2: 14, Balaam told King Balak how to get the Israelites to commit sin by enticing them with sexual immorality and food sacrificed to idols . The Israelites fell into transgression due to these traps and God sent a deadly plague to them as a result (Numbers 31: 16). </P> <P> The main story of Balaam occurs during the sojourn of the Israelites in the plains of Moab, east of the Jordan River, at the close of 40 years of wandering, shortly before the death of Moses and the crossing of the Jordan . The Israelites have already defeated two kings in Transjordan: Sihon, king of the Amorites, and Og, king of Bashan . Balak, king of Moab, consequently becomes alarmed, and sends elders of Midian and his Moabite messengers, to Balaam, son of Beor, to induce him to come and curse Israel . Balaam's location, Pethor, is simply given as "which is by the river of the land of the children of his people" in the Masoretic Text and the Septuagint, though the Samaritan Pentateuch, Vulgate, and Peshitta all identify his land as Ammon . </P>

Where is the talking donkey in the bible