Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

BETH-PEOR

(Heb. bêṯ pĕʿôr)

A site in NW Moab that served as a cult center for the worship of Baal-peor, a deity who resided on Mt. Peor. It was located across a valley below Mt. Peor, opposite Moses’ unspecified burial place (Deut 34:1-6). It eventually fell within the territory assigned to the tribe of Reuben (Josh. 13:20).

In the Onomasticon Eusebius located Beth-peor (Bethphogor) opposite Jericho, 9.6 km. (6 mi.) above Livias and 11 km. (7 mi.) from Esbus, a location that corresponds almost perfectly with Khirbet el-Maḥaṭṭa (= Khirbet esh-Sheik Jayil) on the Mushaqqar ridge, just N of Jebel en-Nebu, an identification that most modern scholars have endorsed. Oswald Henke, however, believes the identification of this site “migrated” during Roman times and prefers to identify OT Beth-peor with Khirbet ʿAyûn Mûsā (220131), a site at which Iron I pottery has been found (the earliest sherds at Khirbet el-Maḥaṭṭa were Iron II/Persian). None of the arguments for any of the identifications, however, can presently be considered conclusive.

Randall W. Younker

Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

BETH-PEOR

Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible (2000)