As we read Parshat Balak in shul this week, something I thought was interesting...
Balaam Ben Beor, the prophet-villain of this week's portion, is the only character from the Torah whose identity has been corroborated by archeological sources. (Apparently, 53 characters from the books of Neviim and Ktuvim have been confirmed archeologically.
See this article for the list.)
The Deir 'Alla Inscription, which was discovered in Deir 'Alla, Jordan, in 1967, is a story relating to the visions of the seer of the gods Bal'am, son of Be'or. Like in the Torah's narrative, Bal'am gets his prophetic visions at night, and while he speaks with numerous "gods", among them are the names "el" and "Shaddayin", very similar linguistically to the Hebrew names of G-d. The location of the pagan temple is exactly in the region where Balaam is said to come from, and
there is a possibility that Deir Alla may be identified as "Pethor", where the Torah says he was based when Balak called to him.
Skeptics note that the wall inscription is dated to 700 BCE, while the biblical story would place him 600 - 800 years earlier. And the whole relationship in general between archeology and the bible is muddled with so many opinions, agendas, and poor science that it is nearly impossible for the layman to reach any sort of clarity. But it seems that there is a strong case here that scholars take very seriously and is worth thinking about.
