Definition

Bilam, a Mesopotamian prophet; also a place in Palestine

Etymology

probably from H1077 (בַּל) and H5971 (עַם); not (of the) people, i.e. foreigner;

Where the KJV renders it

• Balaam
• Bileam

Every distinct English word the King James Version uses to translate this Hebrew term. The variety shows what readers in English receive across many different surface words — the same underlying word, scattered across the English Bible under different names.

What the first audience heard

A deep-dive treatment of this word is in the works. The featured chapter above carries the long form of what this word meant to its first audience.