Balak | The Book of Bil'am, by Rav Yitzchak Etshalom

Why do Chazal credit Moshe with writing "his book (Torah) and Parashat Bil'am". What is "Parashat Bil'am"?

The story of Bil'am has always inspired consternation. Amongst the mysteries unique to this narrative is one of setting - it is the only story in the Torah since the end of Sefer Bereishit where Am Yisrael is not front and center - in fact, during this entire narrative, Am Yisrael isn't even in the background; they are the target and focus of discussion and attempted spiritual ambush - but we never see or hear them. This oddity likely led Chazal to ascribe "Parashat Bil'am" to Moshe Rabbenu - even though they already credited him with writing most/all of the Torah. There is, however, another way to understand that unusual statement. A Ritb"a suggests, there was a separate book, known as "the book of Bil'am", that Chazal were able to reference - and this is somewhat substantiated by an odd conversation between R. Hanina and a sectarian (BT Sanhedrin 100). where the latter refers to something he read "in Bil'am's log book". These mysterious statements gained more traction with a remarkable find in Tel Dir-'Alah (Biblical Sukkot, on the East Bank of the Jordan) in February 1967 - the mysterious "Book of Bil'am bar B'eor". Enjoy!

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