Sigil of Balam
At a glance
- Entry
- 51 of 72
- Rank
- King
- Legions
- 40 in the text
- Also written
- Balaam
Description in the text
Balam is said to give truthful answers about the past, present, and future. The entry also attributes wit and invisibility to him.
Read entry 51 on page 38 of the 1916 edition
Appearance
A three-headed figure with bull, human, and ram faces, a serpent tail, and flaming eyes, riding a bear.
Topics attributed to this entry
- Divination
- Wit
- Invisibility
Reading this entry
Balam, or Balaam, is a king with the heads of a bull, man, and ram, serpent tail, and burning eyes. He rides a fierce bear and carries a goshawk. The figure recalls Asmoday’s three heads but differs in mount, bird, and offices. Balam answers questions about past, present, and future and is credited with making people invisible and witty. His hoarse voice is a further identifying detail.
The passage does not explain why the same three kinds of heads appear elsewhere in the catalogue or imply that the two kings are identical. Keeping the bear and hawk in view avoids that confusion. Balam commands 40 legions and has a seal. The entry is a good example of how composite bodies serve as distinct textual portraits even when they share individual components.
Read entry 51 on page 38 of the 1916 edition or compare the 1904 transcription.
A closer reading of entry 51
What the numbered text says
Balam’s three heads are explicitly bull, human, and ram, while serpent tail, burning eyes, bear mount, and hawk complete an unusually detailed portrait. The source then gives a hoarse voice and a concise set of offices: answers across past, present, and future, invisibility, and wit. Those few attributed outcomes should not be expanded simply because the body is elaborate. The alternate name Balaam belongs to the same king and forty-legion entry.
About the printed seal
The 1916 frontispiece 4 numbers Balam’s sign 51. The graphic symbol is a separate witness from the composite body described in words; no passage maps its strokes to the three heads, bear, or hawk.
Compare another entry
Compare entry 32: Asmoday. Asmoday is another three-headed mounted figure, but rides a dragon and receives a much wider teaching and treasure office. Balam’s bear, hawk, invisibility, and concise time-knowledge claim distinguish him. The repeated three-head motif is a comparison point, not an identity.