Editing Belphegor (section)

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{{Short description|One of the seven princes of Hell in demonology}}
{{about|the demon|the Austrian death/black metal band|Belphegor (band)||Belphegor (disambiguation)}}
[[File:Belphegor.jpg|thumb|Depiction of the demon Belphégor, from J.A.S. Collin de Plancy, Dictionnaire Infernal, 1863]]
'''Belphegor''' (or '''Baal Peor''', Hebrew: בַּעַל-פְּעוֹר baʿal-pəʿōr – “''Lord of the Gap''”) is, in [[Christianity]], a [[demon]] associated with one of the seven [[deadly sins]]. According to religious tradition, he helps people make discoveries. He seduces people by proposing incredible inventions that will make them rich. According to some demonologists from the 17th century, his powers are strongest in April. The [[Germans|German]] bishop and witch hunter [[Peter Binsfeld]] (ca. 1540–ca.1600) wrote that Belphegor tempts through laziness. According to Binsfeld's ''Classification of Demons'', Belphegor is the main demon of the deadly sin known as sloth in the Christian tradition. The anonymous author of the [[Lollardy|Lollard]] [[Treatise|tract]] ''The Lanterne of Light'', however, believed Belphegor to embody the sin of gluttony rather than sloth.<ref>Morton W. Bloomfield, ''The Seven Deadly Sins'', Michigan State College Press, 1952, pp. 214–215.</ref>

Belphegor derives from the [[Assyria]]n Baal-Peor, a [[Baal]] worshipped at Mount [[Peor]], to whom the Israelites were associated in [[Abila (Peraea)|Shittim]] ([[Numbers_31#Israelite–Moabite fraternisation at Peor (Numbers_25:1–9)|Numbers 25:3]]) and who was associated with intemperance and orgies. He was worshiped in the form of a phallus. As a demon, he is described in Kabbalistic writings as "the one who quarrels", an enemy of the sixth [[Sefirot]] "beauty". In stories where he was invoked, he bestows wealth, power to make discoveries and make fantastic inventions. His role as a demon was to sow dispute between people, and to lead them to evil through the distribution of wealth.
[[File:Flipart-Oudry-La Fontaine-Belphégor 1.jpg|thumb|''Belphegor'' by [[Jean Jacques Flipart]]]]
The palindrome prime number '''1000000000000066600000000000001''' is known as [[Belphegor's prime]], due to the superstitious significance of the numbers it contains. Belphegor's prime number consists of the number [[Number of the beast|666]], surrounded on both sides by [[Triskaidekaphobia|thirteen zeros]] and finally one one.

According to De Plancy's [[Dictionnaire Infernal]], Belphegor was Hell's ambassador to France. As a result, his enemy is [[St Mary Magdalene]], one of the patron saints of [[France]].