BAAL-MEON

ba'-al-me'-on ba`al me`on; Beelmeon: A town built by the children of Reuben along with Nebo, "their names being changed" (Numbers 32:38), identical with Beon of Numbers 32:3. As Beth-baal-meon it was given by Moses to the tribe of Reuben (Joshua 13:17). Mesha names it as fortified by him (MS, L. 9). It appears in Jeremiah 48:23 as Beth-meon, one of the cities of Moab. Eusebius, Onomasticon speaks of it as a large village near the hot springs, i.e. Callirrhoe, in Wady Zerka Ma`in, 9 miles from Heshbon. This points to the ruined site of Ma`in, about 4 miles Southwest of Madeba. The ruins now visible however are not older than Roman times.

W. Ewing

From the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
Edited by James Orr, published in 1939 by Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.