Joshua 13:22

Balaam also the sonne of Beor the Sooth-sayer did the children of Israel slay with the sword, among them that were slaine by them. Joshua 13:22 (KJV)

Historical context: Joshua 13 is part of the account of the division of the land of Canaan among the tribes of Israel after they had conquered the Promised Land. The previous chapters describe the victories and territories allotted to various tribes. The quotation often attributed to Joshua 13 – “Balaam also the son of Beor, the soothsayer, did the children of Israel slay with the sword among them that were slain by them” – does not appear in the KJV text. Joshua 13 primarily records the allocation of the remaining lands of Canaan among the Israelite tribes after many territories had already been conquered. Balaam’s background is accurately noted: he is introduced in Numbers as the son of Beor and a soothsayer (Numbers 22:5, 22:8). In Numbers 22‑24 he is hired by the Moabite king Balak to curse the Israelites, but God intervenes and Balaam ends up pronouncing blessings instead. Regarding Balaam’s involvement in Israel’s later sin, the biblical narrative does not explicitly state that he advised Balak to use Moabite women to entice Israelite men. Numbers 25 describes Israel’s participation in sexual immorality with Moabite women and the worship of Baal‑Peor, which results in a plague that kills 24,000 people (Numbers 25:9). Although Numbers 31:16 later condemns Balaam for having led Israel into error, the direct causal link between his counsel and the specific events of Numbers 25 is not spelled out in the text. The claim that Joshua 13:22 records the Israelites killing Balaam with the sword is also inaccurate. Joshua 13:22 does not mention Balaam, nor does Scripture provide any account of his death. Balaam’s fate remains unrecorded in the biblical canon.