BEELPHEGOR (Hebr. Ba'al-Pe'ôr). - It was originally the name of a divinity, BA'ALBEK (v.), which took various titles from the places where it was worshipped. It is therefore the divinity worshipped near Phegor (or Pe'ôr), Moab (v.) opposite the northern extremity of the Dead Sea, facing the mouth of the Jordan (Num. 23, 28). It is also the locality itself, the seat of the cult of the divinity. In this sense it is also called Bethphegor (Deut. 3, 29; 4; 46; 34,6), apparently corresponding to bèth (“fanum”) of the Ba'al of Pe'ôr.
B. was a centre of orgiastic and indecent worship. For this reason s. Girolamo (Lib. de sit. et nom.: PL 23, 879) held that Phegor was the Hebrew form of Priapus; elsewhere he identified it with Chamos (Hebr. Kémōf; in Is. 15,2: PL 24,168).
The Jews, coming from Sinai, allowed themselves to be seduced by the Moabite women and “were initiated” into the infamous cult of B. By order of Mosè, the collective impure sacrilege was punished by the killing of 24,000 Israelites, chiefly through the action of Finees (v. cf. Num. 25; Ps. 105,28; Os. 9,10).