Bible Word of the Day

Bamah, Bamoth, Bamoth Baal (Places of Idolatry and Demon Worship)

Meaning
All of these are Hebrew words. The word Bamah means “height” or “elevation” and the word Bamoth means “high places.” The word Bamah does not refer to a specific location, but is used as a general word for something tall, such as a pole or a tree. However, it’s also a common term which can refer to “high places” in general. And it can be used to describe something in either a physical or metaphorical sense. And though not always used this way, it was used at times to refer to groves or patches of trees, used as places of idolatry. Places where the people worshipped the Canaanite false gods. But the word Bamoth is used to refer to a specific “high place” which is located north of the Arnon River near Mount Nebo also called Pisgah.

This was one of the stops the Israelites made as they journeyed out of Egypt during the Exodus. Many scholars believe that Bamoth is also synonymous with “Bamoth Baal” since both share the same name and are said to be located in the same geographical area. If not the exact same mountain they are next to each other in the same geographical area. Bamoth Baal is the location where king Balak of Moab took Balaam the prophet to look down on the Hebrew people during the Exodus and curse them. However Balaam was unable to curse and instead God forced him to bless the Israelites. This blessing obviously upset king Balak, who tried a couple of more times to curse Israel, all of which failed. And in the end this region along with part of the cities of Hesbon, were given the Israelite tribe of Reuben by Moses as instructed by God.