Note 52 — Chapter I · THE HEBREW PATRIARCHS

It is stated in Deut. xxiii. 4 that Balaam was hired from ‘Pethor of Aram Naharaim,’ not only by the Moabites, but by the Ammonites as well (though it is true that in the Hebrew text the word sâkar, ‘hired,’ is in the singular). It may be noted that the mother of Rehoboam, whose name is compounded with that of Am or Ammi (compare Rehab-iah, 1 Chron. xxiii. 17), was an Ammonitess (1 Kings xiv. 21). For a full discussion of the name of ’Ammi or ’Ammu, and the historical conclusions which may be deduced from it, see Hommel, The Ancient Hebrew Tradition, pp. 89 sqq.