Quoted By:
>BASON
>The second King under the King of the West is Bason, who is also called Balam, Barron, Abali, and Abalam. He appears as a terrible, great, and powerful king riding on a wild, furious bear and has three heads, which may be those either of a dog, a man, and a raven or a bull, a man, and a ram. He has a hoarse voice, flaming eyes, fiery breath, and a serpent for a tail, bears a goshawk on his arm, and can reveal treasure, make one invisible, witty, and wise, grant one knowledge of the past, present, and future, and can give one lordships and dignities
>The name Bason, alternatively spelled Barson, appears to have its origins in the name of the spirit Baron from the Book of Oberon, who is alternatively named Barachin and Baraham. The most common thread in all of these names is the Hebrew בערה —Ba'arah —denoting “burning”, “consuming”, and “conflagration”, which, when combined with the Greek suffix -on, transforms it into a proper noun pertaining to “the Burning One”. The later transition of this name into Balam may be a deliberate attempt to connect him to the Mesopotamian sorcerer Balaam (בלעם) of the Old Testament. The etymology of the name Balaam is uncertain, but as a soothsayer who went on to lead the Israelites into idolatry with the Ba'al of Peor, there is a possibility that the name is a rendering of Ba'al (בעל) with the suffix עם (a'am) denoting one who is “with Ba'al”
>As seen in the case of the Witch of Endor, someone named as a soothsayer in the Bible was actually a necromancer who called upon the spirits of the underworld to do their bidding by means of the power of Aub. This connection is one that the Deir 'Alla inscription discovered in Western Jordan in 1967 appears to confirm as far as the historical Balaam is concerned
