The Hyperlinked Bible
Intertextuality Pair
Allusion
Later text
They have left the straight way and wandered off to follow the way of Balaam son of Beor, who loved the wages of wickedness. But he was rebuked for his transgression by a donkey, otherwise without speech, that spoke with a man’s voice and restrained the prophet’s madness.
Earlier text
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Peter warns that false teachers "have left the straight way and wandered off to follow the way of Balaam son of Beor, who loved the wages of wickedness" (2:15). This alludes to the Balaam narrative of Numbers 22-24, where Balaam was hired by Balak to curse Israel but was rebuked by his own donkey (Num 22:28-30). Peter's emphasis on Balaam's love of "wages" (misthos adikias) draws on the tradition that Balaam was motivated by greed (Num 22:7, 17; 24:11). The phrase "madness of the prophet" (paraphronia tou prophētou) characterizes Balaam's persistent pursuit of payment despite divine prohibition. Peter applies this analogically to false teachers who exploit believers for financial gain (2:3, 14). The Balaam tradition appears in all three of the NT's strongest warnings against false teachers (2 Pet 2:15; Jude 11; Rev 2:14), establishing Balaam as the paradigmatic type of the mercenary prophet.