2 Peter 2:15

The false prophet Balaam counseled Balak, the king of Moab, to invite the Israelites to participate with his people in a feast to honor Moab’s gods (Numbers 31:16). The best textual evidence suggests that Peter wrote, "Balaam the son of Bosor," Bosor being a play on the Hebrew word basar, "flesh." Thus Peter indicated Balaam’s immoral character by calling him the "son of flesh." [Note: Ibid., pp. 267-68.] The Moabite worship included sacred prostitution (cf. Numbers 25:1-3). Balaam is "the classic example of the false teacher who leads people astray for his own personal gain." [Note: David H. Wheaton, "2 Peter," in The New Bible Commentary, Revised, p. 1256. Cf. McGee, 5:740; and Charles H. Savelle, "Canonical and Extra canonical Portraits of Balaam," Bibliotheca Sacra 166:664 (Octover-December 2009):387-404.]

The false teachers Peter referred to were also trying to get the Christians to participate in idolatry and immoral practices. They urged the faithful to wander from the narrow path of righteousness back onto the broad way that leads to destruction (cf. Isaiah 53:6; Revelation 2:14). Balaam’s motive was greed, as was the false teachers’. By advocating unrighteousness they gained followers and profited personally.