Βαλαάμ
Balaam
Thayer's lists 2 entries for ‘Balaam’ fuller range ↓
Full lexicon entry — Thayer's Greek Lexicon
From Thayer's Greek Lexicon
Where this word appears
Every verse where G903 appears in the Book of Revelation — 1 distinct verse. Click any verse to open its interlinear word-by-word view. Verse text shown in the World English Bible for context — . Each verse’s Greek form is shown with its reference; the English is not keyword-highlighted, since the data carries no word-level English alignment. Use “Compare translations” on any verse to read it across multiple English versions. This concordance covers the Greek New Testament; Septuagint (Greek Old Testament) occurrences of this word are not indexed here.
Revelation
About this entry
At a glance — auto-summarized from this page’s data, not written by a person. Every figure links to its source below. This summary describes the numbers; it doesn’t interpret them.
At its core, Βαλααμ (Balaám) means “Balaam.” A scarce word — 3 verses in all of the Greek New Testament. The word gravitates to 2 Peter (33%), then Jude and Revelation. First canonically at 2 Peter 2:15, it enters the text early. Dig into 3-verse concordance and the renderings breakdown below.
Gloss history
Strong's 1890 vs modern scholarship
About this word
Strong's G903 catalogs a Greek word from the Greek New Testament.
These counts are not copied from any lexicon or concordance. They are computed here, from the morphology-tagged Greek New Testament. What Lemma adds →
- 3
- distinct verses
- The word appears in 3 distinct verses.
- 3 / 27
- NT books
- The word appears in 3 of 27 New Testament books.
- #2,203
- by frequency
- Top 2500 most frequent Greek words (rank 2,203 of 5,347 Greek words by occurrence).
View all 3 occurrences in the concordance →
Most concentrated in
- 2 Peter 1 verse 33%
- Jude 1 verse 33%
- Revelation 1 verse 33%
By section of the New Testament
By traditional corpus
Conventional, traditional groupings — biblical authorship is debated, so this is a traditional corpus grouping, not an authorship claim. Some books belong to more than one corpus (Luke is in both the Gospels and the Lukan corpus, and so on), so these shares overlap and need not total 100%. Each figure is a share of the word’s 3 distinct verses.
- General (Catholic) Epistles 2 verses · 67%
- Johannine 1 verse · 33%
- Revelation 1 verse · 33%
How translations render this word
Counts come from each version’s own published word-to-Strong’s tagging or interlinear alignment — an approximate guide to how each version renders this word, not a word-level alignment the data otherwise carries. Because each total is that version’s own tagged count, the per-version totals vary from one another and need not match the appearance or distinct-verse counts above. These counts may also differ from a printed concordance because Lemma counts each distinctly tagged rendering and does not collapse phrase taggings into a single head-word total. This is a fixed set of word-tagged versions (KJV, ASV, BSB, ULT) and does not change with the reading translation you choose elsewhere. Each version’s license is shown beside its name below (and on Sources).
- King James Version: Balaam 3×
- American Standard Version: Balaam 3×
- Berean Standard Bible: Balaam 3×
- unfoldingWord Literal Text: Balaam 3×
King James Version Public Domain
Renders G903 across 3 tagged occurrences — most commonly:
American Standard Version Public Domain
Renders G903 across 3 tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Berean Standard Bible Public Domain
Renders G903 across 3 tagged occurrences — most commonly:
unfoldingWord Literal Text CC BY-SA 4.0
Renders G903 across 3 tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Senses in Thayer's
The 2 senses Thayer's distinguishes for this word, in lexicon order (not ranked by frequency or importance). The full entry — with sub-senses — is in the Lexicon Entry tab.
- Balaam meaning "perhaps"
- A native of Pethor a city in Mesopotamia…
Word origin
Derived from בלעם (Bilʻâm) (H1109) — Balaam.
Of hebrew origin [ H1109 ]; Balaam a mesopotamian (symbolic of a false teacher): - Balaam.
— Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance (1890), public domain.
Forms in the corpus
The 2 distinct written forms G903 takes in the Greek New Testament, most frequent first — each parse links to that case’s occurrences in the concordance.
| Form | Parsing | Example | Uses |
|---|---|---|---|
| Βαλαὰμ Balaàm | Noun, Proper, indeclinable | 2 Peter 2:15 | 2 |
| Βαλαάμ Balaám | Noun, Proper, indeclinable | Revelation 2:14 | 1 |
Bible dictionary
Public-domain dictionary articles matched to this entry by name (Balaam). A biblical name can be shared by more than one person or place, so an article may treat several.
Easton's Bible Dictionary · M. G. Easton, 1897
Lord of the people; foreigner or glutton, as interpreted by others, the son of Beor, was a man of some rank among the Midianites (Num. 31:8; comp. 16). He resided at Pethor (Deut. 23:4), in Mesopotamia (Num. 23:7). It is evident that though dwelling among idolaters he had some knowledge of the true God; and was held in such reputation that it was supposed that he whom he blessed was blessed, and he whom he cursed was cursed. When the Israelites were encamped on the plains of Moab, on the east of Jordan, by Jericho, Balak sent for Balaam "from Aram, out of the mountains of the east," to curse them; but by the remarkable interposition of God he was utterly unable to fulfil Balak's wish, however desirous he was to do so. The apostle Peter refers (2 Pet. 2:15, 16) to this as an historical event. In Micah 6:5 reference also is made to the relations between Balaam and Balak. Though Balaam could not curse Israel, yet he suggested a mode by which the divine displeasure might be caused to descend upon them (Num. 25). In a battle between Israel and the Midianites (q.v.) Balaam was slain while fighting on the side of Balak (Num. 31:8).
The "doctrine of Balaam" is spoken of in Rev. 2:14, in allusion to the fact that it was through the teaching of Balaam that Balak learned the way by which the Israelites might be led into sin. (See NICOLAITANES.) Balaam was constrained to utter prophecies regarding the future of Israel of wonderful magnificence and beauty of expression (Num. 24:5-9, 17).
Smith's Bible Dictionary · William Smith, 1863
(B.C. 1451), the son of beor, a man endowed with the gift of prophecy. (Numbers 22:5) He is mentioned in conjunction with the five kings of Midian, apparently as a person of the same rank. (Numbers 31:8) cf. Numb 31:16 He seems to have lived at Pethor, (23:4; Numbers 22:5) on the river Euphrates, in Mesopotamia. Such was his reputation that when the Israelites were encamped in the plains of Moab, Balak, the king of Moab, sent for Balaam to curse them. Balaam at first was prohibited by God from going. He was again sent for by the king and again refused, but was at length allowed to go. He yielded to the temptations of riches and honor which Balak set before him; but God's anger was kindled at this manifestation of determined self-will, and the angel of the Lord stood in the way for an adversary against him. See (2 Peter 2:16) Balaam predicted a magnificent career for the people whom he was called to curse, but he nevertheless suggested to the Moabites the expedient of seducing them to commit fornication. The effect of this is recorded in (Numbers 25:1) ... A battle was afterwards fought against the Midianites, in which Balaam sided with them, and was slain by the sword of the people whom he had endeavored to curse. (Numbers 31:8)
Hitchcock's Bible Names Dictionary · Roswell D. Hitchcock, 1869
the ancient of the people; the destruction of the people
Classic public-domain reference works; full attribution on Sources.
Septuagint usage
The same Greek word Βαλααμ appears 61 times in the Greek Old Testament (Septuagint), across 56 verses in 5 books.
- 61
- LXX occurrences
- Tagged occurrences of this Greek word in the Septuagint.
- 56
- verses
- Distinct Septuagint verses containing this word.
- 5 / 39
- OT books
- The word appears in 5 of the 39 Old Testament books.
Sample Septuagint occurrences
- Numbers 22:5 βαλααμ
- Deuteronomy 23:5 βαλααμ
- Joshua 13:22 βαλααμ
- Ezra 23:2 βαλααμ
- Micah 6:5 βαλααμ
Septuagint occurrences (same lexeme)
Every verse where the same Strong’s number (G903) appears in the Greek Septuagint — showing the first 50 of 56. Verse text shown in the World English Bible for context; the Greek form is the matched word — the English is not keyword-highlighted.
- Numbers 22:5 βαλααμ He sent messengers to Balaam the son of Beor, to Pethor, which is by the River, to the land of the children of his people, to call him, saying, Behold, there is a people come out from Egypt: behold, they cover the surface of the earth, and they abide over against me.
- Numbers 22:7 βαλααμ The elders of Moab and the elders of Midian departed with the rewards of divination in their hand; and they came to Balaam, and spoke to him the words of Balak.
- Numbers 22:8 βαλααμ He said to them, Lodge here this night, and I will bring you word again, as Yahweh shall speak to me: and the princes of Moab abode with Balaam.
- Numbers 22:9 βαλααμ God came to Balaam, and said, What men are these with you?
- Numbers 22:10 βαλααμ Balaam said to God, Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, has sent to me, [saying],
- Numbers 22:12 βαλααμ God said to Balaam, You shall not go with them; you shall not curse the people; for they are blessed.
- Numbers 22:13 βαλααμ Balaam rose up in the morning, and said to the princes of Balak, Get you into your land; for Yahweh refuses to give me leave to go with you.
- Numbers 22:14 βαλααμ The princes of Moab rose up, and they went to Balak, and said, Balaam refuses to come with us.
- Numbers 22:16 βαλααμ They came to Balaam, and said to him, Thus says Balak the son of Zippor, Please let nothing hinder you from coming to me:
- Numbers 22:18 βαλααμ Balaam answered the servants of Balak, If Balak would give me his house full of silver and gold, I can't go beyond the word of Yahweh my God, to do less or more.
- Numbers 22:20 βαλααμ God came to Balaam at night, and said to him, If the men are come to call you, rise up, go with them; but only the word which I speak to you, that shall you do.
- Numbers 22:21 βαλααμ Balaam rose up in the morning, and saddled his donkey, and went with the princes of Moab.
- Numbers 22:25 βαλααμ The donkey saw the angel of Yahweh, and she thrust herself to the wall, and crushed Balaam's foot against the wall: and he struck her again.
- Numbers 22:27 βαλααμ The donkey saw the angel of Yahweh, and she lay down under Balaam: and Balaam's anger was kindled, and he struck the donkey with his staff.
- Numbers 22:28 βαλααμ Yahweh opened the mouth of the donkey, and she said to Balaam, What have I done to you, that you have struck me these three times?
- Numbers 22:29 βαλααμ Balaam said to the donkey, Because you have mocked me, I would there were a sword in my hand, for now I had killed you.
- Numbers 22:30 βαλααμ The donkey said to Balaam, Am I not your donkey, on which you have ridden all your life long to this day? was I ever wont to do so to you? and he said, No.
- Numbers 22:31 βαλααμ Then Yahweh opened the eyes of Balaam, and he saw the angel of Yahweh standing in the way, with his sword drawn in his hand; and he bowed his head, and fell on his face.
- Numbers 22:34 βαλααμ Balaam said to the angel of Yahweh, I have sinned; for I didn't know that you stood in the way against me: now therefore, if it displease you, I will get me back again.
- Numbers 22:35 βαλααμ The angel of Yahweh said to Balaam, Go with the men; but only the word that I shall speak to you, that you shall speak. So Balaam went with the princes of Balak.
- Numbers 22:36 βαλααμ When Balak heard that Balaam was come, he went out to meet him to the City of Moab, which is on the border of the Arnon, which is in the utmost part of the border.
- Numbers 22:37 βαλααμ Balak said to Balaam, Didn't I earnestly send to you to call you? why didn't you come to me? am I not able indeed to promote you to honor?
- Numbers 22:38 βαλααμ Balaam said to Balak, Behold, I have come to you: have I now any power at all to speak anything? the word that God puts in my mouth, that shall I speak.
- Numbers 22:39 βαλααμ Balaam went with Balak, and they came to Kiriath Huzoth.
- Numbers 22:40 βαλααμ Balak sacrificed oxen and sheep, and sent to Balaam, and to the princes who were with him.
- Numbers 22:41 βαλααμ It happened in the morning, that Balak took Balaam, and brought him up into the high places of Baal; and he saw from there the utmost part of the people.
- Numbers 23:1 βαλααμ Balaam said to Balak, Build me here seven altars, and prepare me here seven bulls and seven rams.
- Numbers 23:2 βαλααμ Balak did as Balaam had spoken; and Balak and Balaam offered on every altar a bull and a ram.
- Numbers 23:3 βαλααμ Balaam said to Balak, Stand by your burnt offering, and I will go: perhaps Yahweh will come to meet me; and whatever he shows me I will tell you. He went to a bare height.
- Numbers 23:4 βαλααμ God met Balaam: and he said to him, I have prepared the seven altars, and I have offered up a bull and a ram on every altar.
- Numbers 23:5 βαλααμ Yahweh put a word in Balaam's mouth, and said, Return to Balak, and thus you shall speak.
- Numbers 23:11 βαλααμ Balak said to Balaam, What have you done to me? I took you to curse my enemies, and, behold, you have blessed them altogether.
- Numbers 23:12 βαλααμ He answered and said, Must I not take heed to speak that which Yahweh puts in my mouth?
- Numbers 23:15 βαλααμ He said to Balak, Stand here by your burnt offering, while I meet [Yahweh] yonder.
- Numbers 23:16 βαλααμ Yahweh met Balaam, and put a word in his mouth, and said, Return to Balak, and thus shall you speak.
- Numbers 23:25 βαλααμ Balak said to Balaam, Neither curse them at all, nor bless them at all.
- Numbers 23:26 βαλααμ But Balaam answered Balak, Didn't I tell you, saying, All that Yahweh speaks, that I must do?
- Numbers 23:27 βαλααμ Balak said to Balaam, Come now, I will take you to another place; peradventure it will please God that you may curse me them from there.
- Numbers 23:28 βαλααμ Balak took Balaam to the top of Peor, that looks down on the desert.
- Numbers 23:29 βαλααμ Balaam said to Balak, Build me here seven altars, and prepare me here seven bulls and seven rams.
- Numbers 23:30 βαλααμ Balak did as Balaam had said, and offered up a bull and a ram on every altar.
- Numbers 24:1 βαλααμ When Balaam saw that it pleased Yahweh to bless Israel, he didn't go, as at the other times, to meet with enchantments, but he set his face toward the wilderness.
- Numbers 24:2 βαλααμ Balaam lifted up his eyes, and he saw Israel dwelling according to their tribes; and the Spirit of God came on him.
- Numbers 24:3 βαλααμ He took up his parable, and said, Balaam the son of Beor says, The man whose eye was closed says;
- Numbers 24:10 βαλααμ Balak's anger was kindled against Balaam, and he struck his hands together; and Balak said to Balaam, I called you to curse my enemies, and, behold, you have altogether blessed them these three times.
- Numbers 24:12 βαλααμ Balaam said to Balak, Didn't I also tell your messengers who you sent to me, saying,
- Numbers 24:15 βαλααμ He took up his parable, and said, Balaam the son of Beor says, The man whose eye was closed says;
- Numbers 24:25 βαλααμ Balaam rose up, and went and returned to his place; and Balak also went his way.
- Numbers 31:8 βαλααμ They killed the kings of Midian with the rest of their slain: Evi, and Rekem, and Zur, and Hur, and Reba, the five kings of Midian: Balaam also the son of Beor they killed with the sword.
- Numbers 31:16 βαλααμ Behold, these caused the children of Israel, through the counsel of Balaam, to commit trespass against Yahweh in the matter of Peor, and so the plague was among the congregation of Yahweh.
These are occurrences of the same Greek lexeme (G903) in the Septuagint — not a translation of any one Hebrew word. The store carries no word-level Hebrew↔Greek alignment, so no Hebrew original is asserted here. Counts come from the recovered LXX Strong's tagging — high-frequency vocabulary is well covered, while rare or late forms may be untagged — so they reflect tagged occurrences and may slightly undercount.
