Definitions
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- proper noun A
diviner in theTorah . - noun slang, archaic, journalism A
paragraph describing somethingwonderful , used to fill out anewspaper column .
Etymologies
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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BALAAM ([Hebrew: BIL ` AM] Bil ` am; [Greek: Balaam]; Vg. _Balaam_; the etymology of the name is uncertain), a prophet in the Bible.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 3, Part 1, Slice 2 "Baconthorpe" to "Bankruptcy" Various
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Now, when I decided to tell the story of Balaam, I knew from experience that if I mentioned an "ass," that animal would require all kinds of tedious explanation, which would probably result in needless mystification and consequent suspicion; so I boldly plunged into the story of _Balaam and his_ KANGAROO!
The Adventures of Louis De Rougemont Louis de Rougemont 1884
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It's wholly appropriate that Balaam's legacy -- at least to the few Bible enthusiasts who even know who he is -- is likely to evoke the expression "Balaam's ass."
Menachem Wecker: Balaam Sculpture Sheds Light On Differing Christian And Jewish Views Of Prophecy Menachem Wecker 2011
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It's wholly appropriate that Balaam's legacy -- at least to the few Bible enthusiasts who even know who he is -- is likely to evoke the expression "Balaam's ass."
Menachem Wecker: Balaam Sculpture Sheds Light On Differing Christian And Jewish Views Of Prophecy Menachem Wecker 2011
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It's wholly appropriate that Balaam's legacy -- at least to the few Bible enthusiasts who even know who he is -- is likely to evoke the expression "Balaam's ass."
Menachem Wecker: Balaam Sculpture Sheds Light On Differing Christian And Jewish Views Of Prophecy Menachem Wecker 2011
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It's wholly appropriate that Balaam's legacy -- at least to the few Bible enthusiasts who even know who he is -- is likely to evoke the expression "Balaam's ass."
Menachem Wecker: Balaam Sculpture Sheds Light On Differing Christian And Jewish Views Of Prophecy Menachem Wecker 2011
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We studied Balaam, and Balaam is a curious chap. He was some kind of wizard that truly had dealings with the Living God.
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So Balaam is invited a second time, with more allurements, he gets a reply from God that no longer has any explanation and seems to border on sarcasm, he finds he can accept.
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Clearly Balaam is missing something (the explanation from the first reply is absolute), and that is what the episode of the talking donkey illumines.
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Against these, Balaam is ridiculous, and that he is ridiculous appears to be the whole point of his journey.
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