Pethor

Article summary

Pethor or Petor (פְּתוֹר) in the Hebrew Bible is the home of the prophet Balaam. In the Book of Numbers, Pethor is described as being located "by the river of the land of the children of his people". The Bible usually uses the name "the River" to the Euphrates; the rest of the description is somewhat vague and perhaps corrupted. In Deuteronomy, Balaam is from "Pethor of Aram-Naharaim" in Upper Mesopotamia. It is widely accepted that Pethor is the town Pitru, which is mentioned in ancient Assyrian records. The Hebrew root of the name Pethor is , which corresponds to the Aramaic root . Both roots refer, as verbs and nouns, to dream interpretation. This raises the possibility that Pethor is not the name of a town but rather a description of Balaam's occupation. Indeed, the Peshitta translates into Aramaic "to Pethor" in Numbers as , which means "the interpreter". The Vulgata translates "Pethor" by "ariolum", which means a fortuneteller. The Targum Neofiti translates "Pethor" as "dream interpreter." In Deuteronomy, Balaam is "from Pethor, Aram-Naharain." The Vulgata and the Septuaginta omit "Pethor," and the Neofiti translates it, like in Numbers, "dream interpreter." The Deir Alla inscription, dated to 880–770 BCE, describes a vision of "Bal'am son of Be'or," which seems to be the same figure described in the Bible. However, there is no mention of the town he lives in.…

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