Balaam

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A prophet in the Hebrew Bible who was hired to curse the Israelites but whose donkey was said to speak ; a person whose advice or prophecy is bought for personal profit
2. The seer from the Book of Numbers who was paid to pronounce a curse and was rebuked by a talking donkey ; someone who lends their influence or words to whoever pays them
3. An Old Testament diviner famed for the speaking ass that rebuked him ; a figure of speech for a mercenary who offers counsel or predictions in exchange for money

Etymology: Balaam is a figure from the Hebrew Bible: a seer hired to curse the Israelites, who instead blessed them. The name, borrowed into English from Hebrew "bil'am", is the name of that prophet, and the word has come to mean a gratuitous, pointless remark, the sort of filler that adds nothing to a conversation. The surprising part is the story behind it. In the Book of Numbers, Balaam's donkey sees an angel blocking the road and refuses to move, and when Balaam beats it, the animal speaks, asking why he has been struck three times. That miracle of a talking ass is the reason the name later came to be attached to a certain kind of talk. Anyone who has heard someone "talking out of their ass" has, in effect, been reminded of that donkey.

Synonyms: filler, padding