Owl

(1.) Heb. bath-haya’anah, “daughter of greediness” or of “shouting.” In the list of unclean birds (Lev. 11:16; Deut. 14:15); also mentioned in Job 30:29; Isa. 13:21; 34:13; 43:20; Jer. 50:39; Micah 1:8. In all these passages the Revised Version translates “ostrich” (q.v.), which is the correct rendering. (2.) Heb. yanshuph, rendered “great owl” in Lev. 11:17; Deut. 14:16, and “owl” in Isa. 34:11. This is supposed to be the Egyptian eagle-owl (Bubo ascalaphus), which takes the place of the eagle-owl (Bubo maximus) found in Southern Europe. It is found frequenting the ruins of Egypt and also of the Holy Land. “Its cry is a loud, prolonged, and very powerful hoot. I know nothing which more vividly brought to my mind the sense of desolation and loneliness than the re-echoing hoot of two or three of these great owls as I stood at midnight among the ruined temples of Baalbek” (Tristram). The LXX. and Vulgate render this word by “ibis”, i.e., the Egyptian heron. (3.) Heb. kos, rendered “little owl” in Lev. 11:17; Deut. 14:16, and “owl” in Ps. 102:6. The Arabs call this bird “the mother of ruins.” It is by far the most common of all the owls of Palestine. It is the Athene persica, the bird of Minerva, the symbol of ancient Athens. (4.) Heb. kippoz, the “great owl” (Isa. 34:15); Revised Version, “arrow-snake;” LXX. and Vulgate, “hedgehog,” reading in the text, kippod, instead of kippoz. There is no reason to doubt the correctness of the rendering of the Authorized Version. Tristram says: “The word [i.e., kippoz] is very possibly an imitation of the cry of the scops owl (Scops giu), which is very common among ruins, caves, and old walls of towns...It is a migrant, returning to Palestine in spring.” (5.) Heb. lilith, “screech owl” (Isa. 34:14, marg. and R.V., “night monster”). The Hebrew word is from a root signifying “night.” Some species of the owl is obviously intended by this word. It may be the hooting or tawny owl (Syrnium aluco), which is common in Egypt and in many parts of Palestine. This verse in Isaiah is “descriptive of utter and perpetual desolation, of a land that should be full of ruins, and inhabited by the animals that usually make such ruins their abode.”

A number of species of the owl are mentioned in the Bible, (Leviticus 11:17; 14:16; Isaiah 14:23; 34:15; Zephaniah 2:14) and in several other places the same Hebrew word is used where it is translated ostrich. (Job 30:29; Jeremiah 50:39) Some of these species were common in Palestine, and, as is well known, were often found inhabiting ruins. (Isaiah 34:11,13-15)


Ox

Heb. bakar, “cattle;” “neat cattle”, (Gen. 12:16; 34:28; Job 1:3, 14; 42:12, etc.); not to be muzzled when treading the corn (Deut. 25:4). Referred to by our Lord in his reproof to the Pharisees (Luke 13:15; 14:5).

There was no animal in the rural economy of the Israelites, or indeed in that of the ancient Orientals generally, that was held in higher esteem than the ox and deservedly so, for the ox was the animal upon whose patient labors depended all the ordinary operations of farming. Oxen were used for ploughing, (22:10; 1 Samuel 14:14) etc.; for treading out corn, (25:4; Hosea 10:11) etc.; for draught purposes, when they were generally yoked in pairs, (Numbers 7:3; 1 Samuel 6:7) etc.; as beasts of burden, (1 Chronicles 12:40) their flesh was eaten, (14:4; 1 Kings 1:9) etc.; they were used in the sacrifices; cows supplied milk, butter, etc. (32:14; 2 Samuel 17:29; Isaiah 7:22) Connected with the importance of oxen in the rural economy of the Jews is the strict code of laws which was mercifully enacted by God for their protection and preservation. The ox that threshed the corn was by no means to be muzzled; he was to enjoy rest on the Sabbath as well as his master. (Exodus 23:12; 5:14) The ox was seldom slaughtered. (Leviticus 17:1-6) It seems clear from (Proverbs 15:17) and 1Kin 4:23 That cattle were sometimes stall-fed though as a general rule it is probable that they fed in the plains or on the hills of Palestine. The cattle that grazed at large in the open country would no doubt often become fierce and wild, for it is to be remembered that in primitive times the lion and other wild beasts of prey roamed about Palestine. Hence the force of the Psalmist’s complaint of his enemies. (Psalms 22:13)


Ox goad

Mentioned only in Judg. 3:31, the weapon with which Shamgar (q.v.) slew six hundred Philistines. “The ploughman still carries his goad, a weapon apparently more fitted for the hand of the soldier than the peaceful husbandman. The one I saw was of the ‘oak of Bashan,’ and measured upwards of ten feet in length. At one end was an iron spear, and at the other a piece of the same metal flattened. One can well understand how a warrior might use such a weapon with effect in the battle-field” (Porter’s Syria, etc.). (See GOAD.)


Ozem

Strong. (1.) One of David’s brothers; the sixth son of Jesse (1 Chr. 2:15). (2.) A son of Jerahmeel (1 Chr. 2:25).

(power).


Ozias

Son of Joram (Matt. 1:8); called also Uzziah (2 Kings 15:32, 34).

(strength from the Lord).


Ozni

Hearing, one of the sons of Gad; also called Ezbon (Gen. 46:16; Num. 26:16).

(hearing), one of the sons of Gad (Numbers 26:16) and founder of the family of the Oznites. (Numbers 26:16)


Paarai

Opening of the Lord, “the Arbite,” one of David’s heroes (2 Sam. 23:35); called also Naarai, 1 Chr. 11:37.

In the list of (2 Samuel 23:35) “Paarai the Arbite” is one of David’s men. In (1 Chronicles 11:37) he is Naarai the son of Ezbai.” (B.C. 1015.)


Padan

A plain, occurring only in Gen. 48:7, where it designates Padan-aram.

(field). Padan-aram. (Genesis 48:7)


Padan-aram

The plain of Aram, or the plain of the highlands, (Gen. 25:20; 28:2, 5-7; 31:18, etc.), commonly regarded as the district of Mesopotamia (q.v.) lying around Haran.


Padanaram

By this name, which signifies the table-land of Aram, i.e. Syriac, the Hebrews designated the tract of country which they otherwise called the Aram-naharaim, “Aram of the two of rivers,” the Greek Mesopotamia, (Genesis 24:10) and “the field (Authorized Version,’country’) of Syria.” (Hosea 12:13) The term was perhaps more especially applied to that portion which bordered on the Euphrates, to distinguish if from the mountainous districts in the north and northeast of Mesopotamia. It is elsewhere called Padan simply. (Genesis 48:7) Abraham obtained a wife for Isaac from Padan-aram. (Genesis 25:20) Jacob’s wives were also from Padan-aram, (Genesis 28:2,5,6,7; 31:1-8; 33:18)


Padon

(deliverance) the ancestor of a family of Nethinim who returned with Zerubbabel. (Ezra 2:41; Nehemiah 7:47) (B.C. before 529.)


Pagiel

God allots, a prince of the tribe of Asher (Num. 1:13), in the wilderness.

(God allots) the son of Ocran and chief of the tribe of Asher at the time of the exodus. (Numbers 1:13; 2:27; 7:72,77; 10:26) (B.C. 1491.)


Pahath-moab

Governor of Moab, a person whose descendants returned from the Captivity and assisted in rebuilding Jerusalem (Ezra 2:6; 8:4; 10:30).


Pahathmoab

(governor of Moab), head of one of the chief houses of the tribe of Judah. Of the individual or the occasion of his receiving so singular a name nothing is known certainty but as we read in (1 Chronicles 4:22) of a family of Shilonites, of the tribe of Judah, who in very early times “had dominion in Moab,” it may be conjectured that this was the origin of the name.


Pai

(blessing). [Pau]


Paial

(judge), the son of Uzai who assisted in restoring the walls of Jerusalem in the time of Nehemiah, (Nehemiah 3:25) (B.C. 446.)


Paint

Jezebel “painted her face” (2 Kings 9:30); and the practice of painting the face and the eyes seems to have been common (Jer. 4:30; Ezek. 23:40). An allusion to this practice is found in the name of Job’s daughter (42:14) Kerenhappuch (q.v.). Paintings in the modern sense of the word were unknown to the ancient Jews.

(as a cosmetic). The use of cosmetic dyes has prevailed in all ages in eastern countries. We have abundant evidence of the practice of painting the eyes both in ancient Egypt and in Assyria; and in modern times no usage is more general. It does not appear, however, to have been by any means universal among the Hebrews. The notices of it are few; and in each instance it seems to have been used as a meretricious art, unworthy of a woman of high character. The Bible gives no indication of the substance out of which the dye was formed. The old versions agree in pronouncing the dye to have been produced from antimony. Antimony is still used for the purpose in Arabia and in Persia, but in Egypt the kohl is a root produced by burning either a kind of frankincense or the shells of almonds. The dye-stuff was moistened with oil and kept in a small jar. Whether the custom of staining the hands and feet, particularly the nails, now so prevalent in the past, was known to the Hebrews is doubtful. Painting as an art was not cultivated by the Hebrews, but they decorated their buildings with paint.


Palace

Used now only of royal dwellings, although originally meaning simply (as the Latin word palatium, from which it is derived, shows) a building surrounded by a fence or a paling. In the Authorized Version there are many different words so rendered, presenting different ideas, such as that of citadel or lofty fortress or royal residence (Neh. 1:1; Dan. 8:2). It is the name given to the temple fortress (Neh. 2:8) and to the temple itself (1 Chr. 29:1). It denotes also a spacious building or a great house (Dan. 1:4; 4:4, 29: Esther 1:5; 7:7), and a fortified place or an enclosure (Ezek. 25:4). Solomon’s palace is described in 1 Kings 7:1-12 as a series of buildings rather than a single great structure. Thirteen years were spent in their erection. This palace stood on the eastern hill, adjoining the temple on the south. In the New Testament it designates the official residence of Pilate or that of the high priest (Matt. 26:3, 58, 69; Mark 14:54, 66; John 18:15). In Phil. 1:13 this word is the rendering of the Greek praitorion, meaning the praetorian cohorts at Rome (the life-guard of the Caesars). Paul was continually chained to a soldier of that corps (Acts 28:16), and hence his name and sufferings became known in all the praetorium. The “soldiers that kept” him would, on relieving one another on guard, naturally spread the tidings regarding him among their comrades. Some, however, regard the praetroium (q.v.) as the barrack within the palace (the palatium) of the Caesars in Rome where a detachment of these praetorian guards was stationed, or as the camp of the guards placed outside the eastern walls of Rome. “In the chambers which were occupied as guard-rooms,” says Dr. Manning, “by the praetorian troops on duty in the palace, a number of rude caricatures are found roughly scratched upon the walls, just such as may be seen upon barrack walls in every part of the world. Amongst these is one of a human figure nailed upon a cross. To add to the ‘offence of the cross,’ the crucified one is represented with the head of an animal, probably that of an ass. Before it stands the figure of a Roman legionary with one hand upraised in the attitude of worship. Underneath is the rude, misspelt, ungrammatical inscription, Alexamenos worships his god. It can scarcely be doubted that we have here a contemporary caricature, executed by one of the praetorian guard, ridiculing the faith of a Christian comrade.”

Palace in the Bible, in the singular and plural, is the rendering of several words of diverse meaning. (1 Chronicles 29:1; Ezra 4:14; Amos 4:3) etc. It often designates the royal residence, and usually suggests a fortress or battlemented house. The word occasionally included the whole city as in (Esther 9:12) and again, as in (1 Kings 16:18) it is restricted to a part of the royal apartments. It is applied, as in (1 Chronicles 29:1) to the temple in Jerusalem. The site of the palace of Solomon was almost certainly in the city itself on the brow opposite to the temple, and overlooking it and the whole city of David. It is impossible, of course, to be at all certain what was either the form or the exact disposition of such a palace; but, as we have the dimensions of the three principal buildings given in the book of Kings and confirmed by Josephus, we may, by taking these as a scale, ascertain pretty nearly that the building covered somewhere about 150,000 or 160,000 square feet. Whether it was a square of 400 feet each way, or an oblong of about 550 feet by 300, must always be more or less a matter of conjecture. The principal building situated within the palace was, as in all eastern palaces, the great hall of state and audience, called “the house of the forest of Lebanon,” apparently from the four rows of cedar pillars by which it was supported. It was 100 cubits (175 feet) long, 50 (88 feet) wide, and 30 (52 feet) high. Next in importance was the hall or “porch of judgment,” a quadrangular building supported by columns, as we learn front Josephus, which apparently stood on the other side of the great court, opposite the house of the forest of Lebanon. The third edifice is merely called a “porch of pillars.” Its dimensions were 50 by 30 cubits. Its use cannot be considered as doubtful, as it was an indispensable adjunct to an eastern palace. It was the ordinary place of business of the palace, and the reception-room when the king received ordinary visitors, and sat, except on great state occasions, to transact the business of the kingdom. Behind this, we are told, was the inner court, adorned with gardens and fountains, and surrounded by cloisters for shade; and there were other courts for the residence of the attendants and guards, and for the women of the harem. Apart from this palace, but attached, as Josephus tells us, to the hall of judgment, was the palace of Pharaoh’s daughter-too proud and important a personage to be grouped with the ladies of the harem, and requiring a residence of her own. The recent discoveries at Nineveh have enabled us to understand many of the architectural details of this palace, which before they were made were nearly wholly inexplicable. Solomon constructed an ascent from his own house to the temple, “the house of Jehovah,” (1 Kings 10:5) which was a subterranean passage 250 feet long by 42 feet wide, of which the remains may still be traced.


Palestina And Palestine

(land of strangers). These two forms occur in the Authorized Version but four times in all, always in poetical passages; the first in (Exodus 15:14) and Isai 14:29 The second (Joel 3:4) In each case the Hebrew is Pelesheth, a word found, besides the above, only in (Psalms 60:8; 83:7; 87:4) and Psal 108:9 In all which our translators have rendered it by “Philistia” or “Philistines.” Palestine in the Authorized Version really means nothing but Philistia. The original Hebrew word Pelesheth to the Hebrews signified merely the long and broad strip of maritime plain inhabited by their encroaching neighbors; nor does it appear that at first it signified more to the Greeks. As lying next the sea, and as being also the high road from Egypt to Phoenicia and the richer regions no of it, the Philistine plain became sooner known to the western world than the country farther inland, and was called by them Syria Palestina-Philistine Syria. From thence it was gradually extended to the country farther inland, till in the Roman and later Greek authors, both heathen sad Christian, it became the usual appellation for the whole country of the Jews, both west and east of Jordan. The word is now so commonly employed in our more familiar language to destinate the whole country of Israel that although biblically a misnomer, it has been chosen here as the most convenient heading under which to give a general description of THE HOLY LAND, embracing those points which have not been treated under the separate headings of cities or tribes. This description will most conveniently divide itself Into three sections:— I. The Names applied to the country of Israel in the Bible and elsewhere. II. The Land; its situation, aspect, climb, physical characteristics in connection with its history, its structure, botany and natural history. III. The History of the country is so fully given under its various headings throughout the work that it is unnecessary to recapitulate it here. I. [THE Names].—Palestine, then, is designated in the Bible by more than one name.


Palestine

Originally denoted only the sea-coast of the land of Canaan inhabited by the Philistines (Ex. 15:14; Isa. 14:29, 31; Joel 3:4), and in this sense exclusively the Hebrew name Pelesheth (rendered “Philistia” in Ps. 60:8; 83:7; 87:4; 108:9) occurs in the Old Testament. Not till a late period in Jewish history was this name used to denote “the land of the Hebrews” in general (Gen. 40:15). It is also called “the holy land” (Zech. 2:12), the “land of Jehovah” (Hos. 9:3; Ps. 85:1), the “land of promise” (Heb. 11:9), because promised to Abraham (Gen. 12:7; 24:7), the “land of Canaan” (Gen. 12:5), the “land of Israel” (1 Sam. 13:19), and the “land of Judah” (Isa. 19:17). The territory promised as an inheritance to the seed of Abraham (Gen. 15:18-21; Num. 34:1-12) was bounded on the east by the river Euphrates, on the west by the Mediterranean, on the north by the “entrance of Hamath,” and on the south by the “river of Egypt.” This extent of territory, about 60,000 square miles, was at length conquered by David, and was ruled over also by his son Solomon (2 Sam. 8; 1 Chr. 18; 1 Kings 4:1, 21). This vast empire was the Promised Land; but Palestine was only a part of it, terminating in the north at the southern extremity of the Lebanon range, and in the south in the wilderness of Paran, thus extending in all to about 144 miles in length. Its average breadth was about 60 miles from the Mediterranean on the west to beyond the Jordan. It has fittingly been designated “the least of all lands.” Western Palestine, on the south of Gaza, is only about 40 miles in breadth from the Mediterranean to the Dead Sea, narrowing gradually toward the north, where it is only 20 miles from the sea-coast to the Jordan. Palestine, “set in the midst” (Ezek. 5:5) of all other lands, is the most remarkable country on the face of the earth. No single country of such an extent has so great a variety of climate, and hence also of plant and animal life. Moses describes it as “a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and depths that spring out of valleys and hills; a land of wheat, and barley, and vines, and fig trees, and pomegranates; a land of oil olive, and honey; a land wherein thou shalt not eat bread without scarceness, thou shalt not lack any thing in it; a land whose stones are iron, and out of whose hills thou mayest dig brass” (Deut. 8:7-9). “In the time of Christ the country looked, in all probability, much as now. The whole land consists of rounded limestone hills, fretted into countless stony valleys, offering but rarely level tracts, of which Esdraelon alone, below Nazareth, is large enough to be seen on the map. The original woods had for ages disappeared, though the slopes were dotted, as now, with figs, olives, and other fruit-trees where there was any soil. Permanent streams were even then unknown, the passing rush of winter torrents being all that was seen among the hills. The autumn and spring rains, caught in deep cisterns hewn out like huge underground jars in the soft limestone, with artificial mud-banked ponds still found near all villages, furnished water. Hills now bare, or at best rough with stunted growth, were then terraced, so as to grow vines, olives, and grain. To-day almost desolate, the country then teemed with population. Wine-presses cut in the rocks, endless terraces, and the ruins of old vineyard towers are now found amidst solitudes overgrown for ages with thorns and thistles, or with wild shrubs and poor gnarled scrub” (Geikie’s Life of Christ). From an early period the land was inhabited by the descendants of Canaan, who retained possession of the whole land “from Sidon to Gaza” till the time of the conquest by Joshua, when it was occupied by the twelve tribes. Two tribes and a half had their allotments given them by Moses on the east of the Jordan (Deut. 3:12-20; comp. Num. 1:17-46; Josh. 4:12-13). The remaining tribes had their portion on the west of Jordan. From the conquest till the time of Saul, about four hundred years, the people were governed by judges. For a period of one hundred and twenty years the kingdom retained its unity while it was ruled by Saul and David and Solomon. On the death of Solomon, his son Rehoboam ascended the throne; but his conduct was such that ten of the tribes revolted, and formed an independent monarchy, called the kingdom of Israel, or the northern kingdom, the capital of which was first Shechem and afterwards Samaria. This kingdom was destroyed. The Israelites were carried captive by Shalmanezer, king of Assyria, B.C. 722, after an independent existence of two hundred and fifty-three years. The place of the captives carried away was supplied by tribes brought from the east, and thus was formed the Samaritan nation (2 Kings 17:24-29). Nebuchadnezzar came up against the kingdom of the two tribes, the kingdom of Judah, the capital of which was Jerusalem, one hundred and thirty-four years after the overthrow of the kingdom of Israel. He overthrew the city, plunde


Pallu

Separated, the second son of Reuben (1 Chr. 5:3); called Phallu, Gen. 46:9. He was the father of the Phalluites (Ex. 6:14; Num. 26:5, 8).

(distinguished), the second son of Reuben, father of Eliab, (Isaiah 6:14; Numbers 26:5,8; 1 Chronicles 5:3) and founder of the family of Palluites.


Palluites

(descendants of Pullu), The. (Numbers 26:5)


Palm tree

(Heb. tamar), the date-palm characteristic of Palestine. It is described as “flourishing” (Ps. 92:12), tall (Cant. 7:7), “upright” (Jer. 10:5). Its branches are a symbol of victory (Rev. 7:9). “Rising with slender stem 40 or 50, at times even 80, feet aloft, its only branches, the feathery, snow-like, pale-green fronds from 6 to 12 feet long, bending from its top, the palm attracts the eye wherever it is seen.” The whole land of Palestine was called by the Greeks and Romans Phoenicia, i.e., “the land of palms.” Tadmor in the desert was called by the Greeks and Romans Palmyra, i.e., “the city of palms.” The finest specimens of this tree grew at Jericho (Deut. 34:3) and Engedi and along the banks of the Jordan. Branches of the palm tree were carried at the feast of Tabernacles (Lev. 23:40). At our Lord’s triumphal entrance into Jerusalem the crowds took palm branches, and went forth to meet him, crying, “Hosanna: Blessed is the King of Israel that cometh in the name of the Lord” (Matt. 21:8; John 12:13). (See DATE.)

(Heb. tamar). Under this generic term many species are botanically included; but we have here only to do with the date palm, the Phoenix dactylifera of Linnaeus. While this tree was abundant generally in the Levant, it was regarded by the ancients as peculiarly characteristic of Palestine and the neighboring regions, though now it is rare. (“The palm tree frequently attains a height of eighty feet, but more commonly forty to fifty. It begins to bear fruit after it has been planted six or eight years, and continues to be productive for a century. Its trunk is straight, tall and unbroken, terminating in a crown of emerald-green plumes, like a diadem of gigantic ostrich-feathers; these leaves are frequently twenty feet in length, droop slightly at the ends, and whisper musically in the breeze. The palm is, in truth, a beautiful and most useful tree. Its fruit is the daily food of millions; its sap furnishes an agreeable wine; the fibres of the base of its leaves are woven into ropes and rigging; its tall stem supplies a valuable timber; its leaves are manufactured into brushes, mats, bags, couches and baskets. This one tree supplies almost all the wants of the Arab or Egyptian.”—Bible Plants.) Many places are mentioned in the Bible as having connection with palm trees; Elim, where grew three score and ten palm trees, (Exodus 15:27) and Elath. (2:8) Jericho was the city of “palm trees.” (31:3) Hazezon-tamar, “the felling of the palm tree,” is clear in its derivation. There is also Tamar, “the palm.” (Ezekiel 47:19) Bethany means the “house of dates.” The word Phoenicia, which occurs twice in the New Testament— (Acts 11:19; 15:3)—is in all probability derived from the Greek word for a palm. The, striking appearance of the tree, its uprightness and beauty, would naturally suggest the giving of Its name occasionally to women. (Genesis 38:6; 2 Samuel 13:1; 14:27) There is in the Psalms, (Psalms 92:12) the familiar comparison, “The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree.” which suggests a world of illustration whether respect be had to the orderly and regular aspect of the tree, its fruitfulness, the perpetual greenness of its foliage, or the height at which the foliage grows, as far as possible from earth and as near as possible to heaven. Perhaps no point is more worthy of mention, we wish to pursue the comparison, than the elasticity of the fibre of the palm and its determined growth upward even when loaded with weights. The passage in (Revelation 7:9) where the glorified of all nations are described as “clothed with white robes and palms in their hands,” might seem to us a purely classical image; but palm branches were used by the Jews in token of victory and peace. (To these points of comparison may be added, its principle of growth: it is an endogen, and grows from within; its usefulness; the Syrians enumerating 360 different uses to which it may be put; and the statement that it bears its best fruit in old age.—ED.) It is curious that this tree, once so abundant in Judea, is now comparatively rare, except in the Philistine plain and in the old Phoenicia about Beyrout .


Palm trees, The city of

The name given to Jericho (q.v.), Deut. 34:3; Judg. 1:16; 3:13.


Palmer-worm

(Heb. gazam). The English word may denote either a caterpillar (as rendered by the LXX.), which wanders like a palmer or pilgrim, or which travels like pilgrims in bands (Joel 1:4; 2:25), the wingless locusts, or the migratory locust in its larva state.


Palmerworm

(Heb. gazam) occurs (Joel 1:4; 2:25; Amos 4:9) It is maintained by many that gazam denotes some species of locust. but it is more probably a caterpillar.


Palsy

A shorter form of “paralysis.” Many persons thus afflicted were cured by our Lord (Matt. 4:24; 8:5-13; 9:2-7; Mark 2:3-11; Luke 7:2-10; John 5:5-7) and the apostles (Acts 8:7; 9:33, 34).

(contracted from paralysis). The loss of sensation or the power of motion, or both, in any part of the body. The infirmities included under this name in the New Testament were various:—


Palti

Deliverance from the Lord, one of the spies representing the tribe of Benjamin (Num. 13:9).

(whom Jehovah delivers), the Benjamite spy, son of Raphu. (Numbers 13:9) (B.C.1490.)


Paltiel

Deliverance of God, the prince of Issachar who assisted “to divide the land by inheritance” (Num. 34:26).

(whom God delivers), the son of Azzan and prince of the tribe of Issachar. (Numbers 34:26) He was one of the twelve appointed to divide the land of Canaan among the tribes west of Jordan. (B.C. 1450.)


Paltite

The designation of one of David’s heroes (2 Sam. 23:26); called also the Pelonite (1 Chr. 11:27).


Pamphylia

Paul and his company, loosing from Paphos, sailed north-west and came to Perga, the capital of Pamphylia (Acts 13:13, 14), a province about the middle of the southern sea-board of Asia Minor. It lay between Lycia on the west and Cilicia on the east. There were strangers from Pamphylia at Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost (2:10).

(of every tribe), one of the coast-regions in the south of Asia Minor, having Cilicia on the east and Lycia on the west. In St. Paul’s time it was not only a regular province, but the emperor Claudius had united Lycia with it, and probably also a good part of Pisidia. It was in Pamphylia that St. Paul first entered Asia Minor, after preaching the gospel in Cyprus. He and Barnabas sailed up the river Cestrus to Perga. (Acts 13:13) The two missionaries finally left Pamphylia by its chief seaport Attalia. Many years afterward St. Paul sailed near the coast. (Acts 27:5)


Pan

A vessel of metal or earthenware used in culinary operations; a cooking-pan or frying-pan frequently referred to in the Old Testament (Lev. 2:5; 6:21; Num. 11:8; 1 Sam. 2:14, etc.). The “ash-pans” mentioned in Ex. 27:3 were made of copper, and were used in connection with the altar of burnt-offering. The “iron pan” mentioned in Ezek. 4:3 (marg., “flat plate ” or “slice”) was probably a mere plate of iron used for baking. The “fire-pans” of Ex. 27:3 were fire-shovels used for taking up coals. The same Hebrew word is rendered “snuff-dishes” (25:38; 37:23) and “censers” (Lev. 10:1; 16:12; Num. 4:14, etc.). These were probably simply metal vessels employed for carrying burning embers from the brazen altar to the altar of incense. The “frying-pan” mentioned in Lev. 2:7; 7:9 was a pot for boiling.

Of the six words so rendered in the Authorized Version, two seem to imply a shallow pan or plate, such as is used by the Bedouine and Syrians for baking or dressing rapidly their cakes of meal, such as were used in legal oblations; the others, a deeper vessel or caldron for boiling meat, placed during the process on three stones.


Pannag

(Ezek. 27:17; marg. R.V., “perhaps a kind of confection”) the Jews explain as the name of a kind of sweet pastry. Others take it as the name of some place, identifying it with Pingi, on the road between Damascus and Baalbec. “Pannaga” is the Sanscrit name of an aromatic plant (comp. Gen. 43:11).

(sweet), an article of commerce exported from Palestine to Tyre, (Ezekiel 27:17) the nature of which is a pure matter of conjecture, as the term occurs nowhere else. A comparison of the passage in Ezekiel with (Genesis 43:11) leads to the supposition that pannag represents some of the spices grown in Palestine.


Paper

The expression in the Authorized Version (Isa. 19:7), “the paper reeds by the brooks,” is in the Revised Version more correctly “the meadows by the Nile.” The words undoubtedly refer to a grassy place on the banks of the Nile fit for pasturage. In 2 John 1:12 the word is used in its proper sense. The material so referred to was manufactured from the papyrus, and hence its name. The papyrus (Heb. gome) was a kind of bulrush (q.v.). It is mentioned by Job (8:11) and Isaiah (35:7). It was used for many purposes. This plant (Papyrus Nilotica) is now unknown in Egypt; no trace of it can be found. The unaccountable disappearance of this plant from Egypt was foretold by Isaiah (19:6, 7) as a part of the divine judgment on that land. The most extensive papyrus growths now known are in the marshes at the northern end of the lake of Merom.

[Writing]


Paphos

The capital of the island of Cyprus, and therefore the residence of the Roman governor. It was visited by Paul and Barnabas on their first missionary tour (Acts 13:6). It is new Paphos which is here meant. It lay on the west coast of the island, about 8 miles north of old Paphos. Its modern name is Baffa.

(boiling, or hot), a town at the west end of Cyprus, connected by a react with Salamis at the east end. It was founded B.C. 1184 (during the period of the judges in Israel). Paul and Barnabas travelled, on their first missionary expedition, “through the isle” from the latter place to the former, (Acts 13:6) The great characteristic of Paphos was the worship of Aphrodite or Venus, who was fabled to have here risen from the sea. Her temple, however, was at “Old Paphos” now called Kuklia . The harbor and the chief town were at “New Paphos,” ten miles to the northwest. The place is still called Baffa .


Parable

(Gr. parabole), a placing beside; a comparison; equivalent to the Heb. mashal, a similitude. In the Old Testament this is used to denote (1) a proverb (1 Sam. 10:12; 24:13; 2 Chr. 7:20), (2) a prophetic utterance (Num. 23:7; Ezek. 20:49), (3) an enigmatic saying (Ps. 78:2; Prov. 1:6). In the New Testament, (1) a proverb (Mark 7:17; Luke 4:23), (2) a typical emblem (Heb. 9:9; 11:19), (3) a similitude or allegory (Matt. 15:15; 24:32; Mark 3:23; Luke 5:36; 14:7); (4) ordinarily, in a more restricted sense, a comparison of earthly with heavenly things, “an earthly story with a heavenly meaning,” as in the parables of our Lord. Instruction by parables has been in use from the earliest times. A large portion of our Lord’s public teaching consisted of parables. He himself explains his reasons for this in his answer to the inquiry of the disciples, “Why speakest thou to them in parables?” (Matt. 13:13-15; Mark 4:11, 12; Luke 8:9, 10). He followed in so doing the rule of the divine procedures, as recorded in Matt. 13:13. The parables uttered by our Lord are all recorded in the synoptical (i.e., the first three) Gospels. The fourth Gospel contains no parable properly so called, although the illustration of the good shepherd (John 10:1-16) has all the essential features of a parable. (See List of Parables in Appendix.)

(The word parable is in Greek parable (parabole) which signifies placing beside or together, a comparison, a parable is therefore literally a placing beside, a comparison, a similitude, an illustration of one subject by another.—McClintock and Strong. As used in the New Testament it had a very wide application, being applied sometimes to the shortest proverbs, (1 Samuel 10:12; 24:13; 2 Chronicles 7:20) sometimes to dark prophetic utterances, (Numbers 23:7,18; 24:3; Ezekiel 20:49) sometimes to enigmatic maxims, (Psalms 78:2; Proverbs 1:6) or metaphors expanded into a narrative. (Ezekiel 12:22) In the New Testament itself the word is used with a like latitude in (Matthew 24:32; Luke 4:23; Hebrews 9:9) It was often used in a more restricted sense to denote a short narrative under which some important truth is veiled. Of this sort were the parables of Christ. The parable differs from the fable (1) in excluding brute and inanimate creatures passing out of the laws of their nature and speaking or acting like men; (2) in its higher ethical significance. It differs from the allegory in that the latter, with its direct personification of ideas or attributes, and the names which designate them, involves really no comparison. The virtues and vices of mankind appear as in a drama, in their own character and costume. The allegory is self-interpreting; the parable demands attention, insight, sometimes an actual explanation. It differs from a proverb in that it must include a similitude of some kind, while the proverb may assert, without a similitude, some wide generalization of experience.—ED.) For some months Jesus taught in the synagogues and on the seashore of Galilee as he had before taught in Jerusalem, and as yet without a parable. But then there came a change. The direct teaching was met with scorn unbelief hardness, and he seemed for a time to abandon it for that which took the form of parables. The worth of parables as instruments of teaching lies in their being at once a test of character and in their presenting each form of character with that which, as a penalty or blessing, is adapted to it. They withdraw the light from those who love darkness. They protect the truth which they enshrine from the mockery of the scoffer. They leave something even with the careless which may be interpreted and understood afterward. They reveal on the other hand, the seekers after truth. These ask the meaning of the parable, and will not rest until the teacher has explained it. In this way the parable did work, found out the fit hearers and led them on. In most of the parables it is possible to trace something like an order.


Paradise

A Persian word (pardes), properly meaning a “pleasure-ground” or “park” or “king’s garden.” (See EDEN.) It came in course of time to be used as a name for the world of happiness and rest hereafter (Luke 23:43; 2 Cor. 12:4; Rev. 2:7). For “garden” in Gen. 2:8 the LXX. has “paradise.”

This is a word of Persian origin, and is used in the Septuagint as the translation of Eden. It means “an orchard of pleasure and fruits,” a “garden” or “pleasure ground,” something like an English park. It is applied figuratively to the celestial dwelling of the righteous, in allusion to the garden of Eden. (2 Corinthians 12:4; Revelation 2:7) It has thus come into familiar use to denote both that garden and the heaven of the just.


Parah

The heifer, a town in Benjamin (Josh. 18:23), supposed to be identical with the ruins called Far’ah, about 6 miles north-east of Jerusalem, in the Wady Far’ah, which is a branch of the Wady Kelt.

(heifer-town) one of the cities in the territory allotted to Benjamin, named only in the lists of the conquest. (Joshua 18:23)


Paran

Abounding in foliage, or abounding in caverns, (Gen. 21:21), a desert tract forming the north-eastern division of the peninsula of Sinai, lying between the ‘Arabah on the east and the wilderness of Shur on the west. It is intersected in a north-western direction by the Wady el-‘Arish. It bears the modern name of Badiet et-Tih, i.e., “the desert of the wanderings.” This district, through which the children of Israel wandered, lay three days’ march from Sinai (Num. 10:12, 33). From Kadesh, in this wilderness, spies (q.v.) were sent to spy the land (13:3, 26). Here, long afterwards, David found refuge from Saul (1 Sam. 25:1, 4).


Paran, Elparan

(peace of caverns), a desert or wilderness, bounded on the north by Palestine, on the east by the valley of Arabah, on the south by the desert of Sinai, and on the west by the wilderness of Etham, which separated it from the Gulf of Suez and Egypt. The first notice of Paran is in connection with the invasion of the confederate kings. (Genesis 14:6) The detailed itinerary of the children of Israel in (Numbers 33:1) ... does not mention Paran because it was the name of a wide region; but the many stations in Paran are recorded, chs. 17-36. and probably all the eighteen stations were mentioned between Hazeroth and Kadesh were in Paran. Through this very wide wilderness, from pasture to pasture as do modern Arab tribes, the Israelites wandered in irregular lines of march. This region through which the Israelites journeyed so long is now called by the name it has borne for ages—Bedu et-Tih, “the wilderness of wandering.” (“Bible Geography,” Whitney.) “Mount” Paran occurs only in two poetic passages, (33:2); Habb 3:3 It probably denotes the northwestern member of the Sinaitic mountain group which lies adjacent to the Wady Teiran . (It is probably the ridge or series of ridges lying on the northeastern part of the desert of Paran, not far from Kadesh.—ED.)


Paran, Mount

Probably the hilly region or upland wilderness on the north of the desert of Paran forming the southern boundary of the Promised Land (Deut. 33:2; Hab. 3:3).


Parbar

(1 Chr. 26:18), a place apparently connected with the temple, probably a “suburb” (q.v.), as the word is rendered in 2 Kings 23:11; a space between the temple wall and the wall of the court; an open portico into which the chambers of the official persons opened (1 Chr. 26:18).

(open apartment), a word occurring in Hebrew and Authorized Version only in (1 Chronicles 26:18) It would seem that Parbar was some place on the west side of the temple enclosure, probably the suburb mentioned by Josephus as lying in the deep valley which separated the west wall of the temple from the city opposite it.


Parched ground

(Isa. 35:7), Heb. sharab, a “mirage”, a phenomenon caused by the refraction of the rays of the sun on the glowing sands of the desert, causing them suddenly to assume the appearance of a beautiful lake. It is called by the modern Arabs by the same Hebrew name serab.


Parchment

A skin prepared for writing on; so called from Pergamos (q.v.), where this was first done (2 Tim. 4:13).

[Writing]


Pardon

The forgiveness of sins granted freely (Isa. 43:25), readily (Neh. 9:17; Ps. 86:5), abundantly (Isa. 55:7; Rom. 5:20). Pardon is an act of a sovereign, in pure sovereignty, granting simply a remission of the penalty due to sin, but securing neither honour nor reward to the pardoned. Justification (q.v.), on the other hand, is the act of a judge, and not of a sovereign, and includes pardon and, at the same time, a title to all the rewards and blessings promised in the covenant of life.


Parlor

a word in English usage meaning the common room of the family, and hence probably in Authorized Version denoting the king’s audience-chamber, so used in reference to Eglon. (Judges 3:20-25)


Parlour

(from the Fr. parler, “to speak”) denotes an “audience chamber,” but that is not the import of the Hebrew word so rendered. It corresponds to what the Turks call a kiosk, as in Judg. 3:20 (the “summer parlour”), or as in the margin of the Revised Version (“the upper chamber of cooling”), a small room built on the roof of the house, with open windows to catch the breeze, and having a door communicating with the outside by which persons seeking an audience may be admitted. While Eglon was resting in such a parlour, Ehud, under pretence of having a message from God to him, was admitted into his presence, and murderously plunged his dagger into his body (21, 22). The “inner parlours” in 1 Chr. 28:11 were the small rooms or chambers which Solomon built all round two sides and one end of the temple (1 Kings 6:5), “side chambers;” or they may have been, as some think, the porch and the holy place. In 1 Sam. 9:22 the Revised Version reads “guest chamber,” a chamber at the high place specially used for sacrificial feasts.


Parmashta

Strong-fisted, a son of Haman, slain in Shushan (Esther 9:9).

(superior), one of the ten sons of Haman slain by the Jews in Shushan. (Esther 9:9) (B.C. 473.)


Parmenas

Constant, one of the seven “deacons” (Acts 6:5).

(abiding), one of the seven deacons, “men of honest report, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom.” (Acts 8:5) There is a tradition that he suffered martyrdom at Philippi in the reign of Trajan.


Parnaeh

(delicate), father or ancestor of Elizaphan prince of the tribe of Zebulun. (Numbers 34:25) (B.C. before 1452.)


Parshandatha

An interpreter of the law, the eldest of Haman’s sons, slain in Shushan (Esther 9:7).

(given by prayer), the eldest of Haman’s ten sons who were slain by the Jews in Shushan. (Esther 9:7) (B.C. 473.)


Parthians

Were present in Jerusalem at Pentecost (Acts 2:9). Parthia lay on the east of Media and south of Hyrcania, which separated it from the Caspian Sea. It corresponded with the western half of the modern Khorasan, and now forms a part of Persia.

This name occurs only in (Acts 2:9) where it designates Jews settled in Parthia. Parthia proper was the region stretching along the southern flank of the mountains which separate the great Persian desert from the desert of Kharesm. It lay south of Hyrcania, east of Media and north of Sagartia. The ancient Parthians are called a “Scythic” race, and probably belonged to the great Turanian family. After being subject in succession to the Persians and the Seleucidae, they revolted in B.C. 256. and under Arsaces succeeded in establishing their independence. Parthia, in the mind of the writer of the Acts, would designate this empire, which extended from India to the Tigris and from the Chorasmian desert to the shores of the Southern Ocean; hence the prominent position of the name Parthians in the list of those prevent at Pentecost. Parthia was a power almost rivalling Rome—the only existing power which had tried its strength against Rome and not been worsted in the encounter. The Parthian dominion lasted for nearly five centuries, commencing in the third century before and terminating in the third century after our era. The Parthians spoke the Persian language.


Partridge

(Heb. kore, i.e., “caller”). This bird, unlike our own partridge, is distinguished by “its ringing call-note, which in early morning echoes from cliff to cliff amidst the barrenness of the wilderness of Judea and the glens of the forest of Carmel” hence its Hebrew name. This name occurs only twice in Scripture. In 1 Sam. 26:20 “David alludes to the mode of chase practised now, as of old, when the partridge, continuously chased, was at length, when fatigued, knocked down by sticks thrown along the ground.” It endeavours to save itself “by running, in preference to flight, unless when suddenly started. It is not an inhabitant of the plain or the corn-field, but of rocky hill-sides” (Tristram’s Nat. Hist.). In Jer. 17:11 the prophet is illustrating the fact that riches unlawfully acquired are precarious and short-lived. The exact nature of the illustration cannot be precisely determined. Some interpret the words as meaning that the covetous man will be as surely disappointed as the partridge which gathers in eggs, not of her own laying, and is unable to hatch them; others (Tristram), with more probability, as denoting that the man who enriches himself by unjust means “will as surely be disappointed as the partridge which commences to sit, but is speedily robbed of her hopes of a brood” by her eggs being stolen away from her. The commonest partridge in Palestine is the Caccabis saxatilis, the Greek partridge. The partridge of the wilderness (Ammo-perdix heyi) is a smaller species. Both are essentially mountain and rock birds, thus differing from the English partridge, which loves cultivated fields.

(Heb. kore) occurs only (1 Samuel 26:20) and Jere 17:11 The “hunting this bird upon the mountains,” (1 Samuel 26:20) entirely agrees with the habits of two well-known species of partridge, viz. Caccabis saxatilis, the Greek partridge (which is the commonest partridge of the holy land), and Ammoperdix heyii . Our common partridge, Perdix cinerea, does not occur in Palestine. (The Greek partridge somewhat resembles our red-legged partridge in plumage, but is much larger. In every part of the hill country it abounds, and its ringing call-note in early morning echoes from cliff to cliff alike amid the barrenness of the hills of Judea and in the glens of the forest of Carmel. Tristram’s Nat. Hist. of Bible . The flesh of the partridge and the eggs are highly esteemed as food, and the search for the eggs at the proper time of the year is made a regular business.-ED.)


Paruah

Flourishing, the father of Jehoshaphat, appointed to provide monthly supplies for Solomon from the tribe of Issachar (1 Kings 4:17).

(flourishing), the father of Jehoshaphat, Solomon’s commissariat officer in Issachar. (1 Kings 4:17) (B.C. about 1017.)


Parvaim

The name of a country from which Solomon obtained gold for the temple (2 Chr. 3:6). Some have identified it with Ophir, but it is uncertain whether it is even the name of a place. It may simply, as some think, denote “Oriental regions.”

(Oriental regions), the name of an unknown place or country whence the gold was procured for the decoration of Solomon’s temple. (2 Chronicles 3:6) We may notice the conjecture that it is derived from the Sanscrit purva, “eastern,” and is a general term for the east.


Pas-dammim

The border of blood = Ephes-dammim (q.v.), between Shochoh and Azekah (1 Sam. 17:1; 1 Chr. 11:13).


Pasach

Clearing, one of the sons of Japhlet, of the tribe of Asher (1 Chr. 7:33).

(cut off), son of Japhlet, of the tribe of Asher. (1 Chronicles 7:33)


Pasdammim

(boundary of blood). [EPHES-DAMMIM]


Paseah

(lame).


Pashur

Release. (1.) The son of Immer (probably the same as Amariah, Neh. 10:3; 12:2), the head of one of the priestly courses, was “chief governor [Heb. paqid nagid, meaning “deputy governor”] of the temple” (Jer. 20:1, 2). At this time the nagid, or “governor,” of the temple was Seraiah the high priest (1 Chr. 6:14), and Pashur was his paqid, or “deputy.” Enraged at the plainness with which Jeremiah uttered his solemn warnings of coming judgements, because of the abounding iniquity of the times, Pashur ordered the temple police to seize him, and after inflicting on him corporal punishment (forty stripes save one, Deut. 25:3; comp. 2 Cor. 11:24), to put him in the stocks in the high gate of Benjamin, where he remained all night. On being set free in the morning, Jeremiah went to Pashur (Jer. 20:3, 5), and announced to him that God had changed his name to Magor-missabib, i.e., “terror on every side.” The punishment that fell upon him was probably remorse, when he saw the ruin he had brought upon his country by advising a close alliance with Egypt in opposition to the counsels of Jeremiah (20:4-6). He was carried captive to Babylon, and died there. (2.) A priest sent by king Zedekiah to Jeremiah to inquire of the Lord (1 Chr. 24:9; Jer. 21:1; 38:1-6). He advised that the prophet should be put to death. (3.) The father of Gedaliah. He was probably the same as (1).

(freedom).


Passage

Denotes in Josh. 22:11, as is generally understood, the place where the children of Israel passed over Jordan. The words “the passage of” are, however, more correctly rendered “by the side of,” or “at the other side of,” thus designating the position of the great altar erected by the eastern tribes on their return home. This word also designates the fords of the Jordan to the south of the Sea of Galilee (Judg. 12:5, 6), and a pass or rocky defile (1 Sam. 13:23; 14:4). “Passages” in Jer. 22:20 is in the Revised Version more correctly “Abarim” (q.v.), a proper name.

Used in the plural, (Jeremiah 22:20) probably to denote the mountain region of Abarim on the east side of Jordan. It also denotes a river ford or mountain gorge or pass.


Passion

Only once found, in Acts 1:3, meaning suffering, referring to the sufferings of our Lord.


Passover

The name given to the chief of the three great historical annual festivals of the Jews. It was kept in remembrance of the Lord’s passing over the houses of the Israelites (Ex. 12:13) when the first born of all the Egyptians were destroyed. It is called also the “feast of unleavened bread” (Ex. 23:15; Mark 14:1; Acts 12:3), because during its celebration no leavened bread was to be eaten or even kept in the household (Ex. 12:15). The word afterwards came to denote the lamb that was slain at the feast (Mark 14:12-14; 1 Cor. 5:7). A detailed account of the institution of this feast is given in Ex. 12 and 13. It was afterwards incorporated in the ceremonial law (Lev. 23:4-8) as one of the great festivals of the nation. In after times many changes seem to have taken place as to the mode of its celebration as compared with its first celebration (comp. Deut. 16:2, 5, 6; 2 Chr. 30:16; Lev. 23:10-14; Num. 9:10, 11; 28:16-24). Again, the use of wine (Luke 22:17, 20), of sauce with the bitter herbs (John 13:26), and the service of praise were introduced. There is recorded only one celebration of this feast between the Exodus and the entrance into Canaan, namely, that mentioned in Num. 9:5. (See JOSIAH.) It was primarily a commemorative ordinance, reminding the children of Israel of their deliverance out of Egypt; but it was, no doubt, also a type of the great deliverance wrought by the Messiah for all his people from the doom of death on account of sin, and from the bondage of sin itself, a worse than Egyptian bondage (1 Cor. 5:7; John 1:29; 19:32-36; 1 Pet. 1:19; Gal. 4:4, 5). The appearance of Jerusalem on the occasion of the Passover in the time of our Lord is thus fittingly described: “The city itself and the neighbourhood became more and more crowded as the feast approached, the narrow streets and dark arched bazaars showing the same throng of men of all nations as when Jesus had first visited Jerusalem as a boy. Even the temple offered a strange sight at this season, for in parts of the outer courts a wide space was covered with pens for sheep, goats, and cattle to be used for offerings. Sellers shouted the merits of their beasts, sheep bleated, oxen lowed. Sellers of doves also had a place set apart for them. Potters offered a choice from huge stacks of clay dishes and ovens for roasting and eating the Passover lamb. Booths for wine, oil, salt, and all else needed for sacrifices invited customers. Persons going to and from the city shortened their journey by crossing the temple grounds, often carrying burdens...Stalls to change foreign money into the shekel of the temple, which alone could be paid to the priests, were numerous, the whole confusion making the sanctuary like a noisy market” (Geikie’s Life of Christ).

the first of the three great annual festivals of the Israelites celebrated in the month Nisan (March-April, from the 14th to the 21st. (Strictly speaking the Passover only applied to the paschal supper and the feast of unleavened bread followed, which was celebrated to the 21st.) (For the corresponding dates in our month, see Jewish calendar at the end of this volume.) The following are the principal passages in the Pentateuch relating to the Passover: (Exodus 12:1-51; 13:3-10; 23:14-19; 34:18-26; Leviticus 23:4-14; Numbers 9:1-14; 28:16-25; 16:1-6) Why instituted .—This feast was instituted by God to commemorate the deliverance of the Israelites from Egyptian bondage and the sparing of their firstborn when the destroying angel smote the first-born of the Egyptians. The deliverance from Egypt was regarded as the starting-point of the Hebrew nation. The Israelites were then raised from the condition of bondmen under a foreign tyrant to that of a free people owing allegiance to no one but Jehovah. The prophet in a later age spoke of the event as a creation and a redemption of the nation. God declares himself to be “the Creator of Israel.” The Exodus was thus looked upon as the birth of the nation; the Passover was its annual birthday feast. It was the yearly memorial of the dedication of the people to him who had saved their first-born from the destroyer, in order that they might be made holy to himself. First celebration of the Passover .—On the tenth day of the month, the head of each family was to select from the flock either a lamb or a kid, a male of the first year, without blemish. If his family was too small to eat the whole of the lamb, he was permitted to invite his nearest neighbor to join the party. On the fourteenth day of the month he was to kill his lamb, while the sun was setting. He was then to take blood in a basin and with a sprig of hyssop to sprinkle it on the two side-posts and the lintel of the door of the house. The lamb was then thoroughly roasted, whole. It was expressly forbidden that it should be boiled, or that a bone of it should be broken. Unleavened bread and bitter herbs were to be eaten with the flesh. No male who was uncircumcised was to join the company. Each one was to have his loins girt, to hold a staff in his hand, and to have shoes on his feet. He was to eat in haste, and it would seem that he was to stand during the meal. The number of the party was to be calculated as nearly as possible, so that all the flesh of the lamb might be eaten; but if any portion of it happened to remain, it was to be burned in the morning. No morsel of it was to be carried out of the house. The lambs were selected, on the fourteenth they were slain and the blood sprinkled, and in the following evening, after the fifteenth day of the had commenced the first paschal meal was eaten. At midnight the firstborn of the Egyptians were smitten. The king and his people were now urgent that the Israelites should start immediately, and readily bestowed on them supplies for the journey. In such haste did the Israelites depart, on that very day, (Numbers 33:3) that they packed up their kneading troughs containing the dough prepared for the morrow’s provisions, which was not yet leavened. Observance of the Passover in later times .—As the original institution of the Passover in Egypt preceded the establishment of the priesthood and the regulation of the service of the tabernacle. It necessarily fell short in several particulars of the observance of the festival according to the fully-developed ceremonial law. The head of the family slew the lamb in his own house, not in the holy place; the blood was sprinkled on the doorway, not on the altar. But when the law was perfected, certain particulars were altered in order to assimilate the Passover to the accustomed order of religious service. In the twelfth and thirteenth chapters of Exodus there are not only distinct references to the observance of the festival in future ages (e.g.) (Exodus 12:2,14,17,24-27,42; 13:2,5,8-10) but there are several injunctions which were evidently not intended for the first Passover, and which indeed could not possibly have been observed. Besides the private family festival, there were public and national sacrifices offered each of the seven days of unleavened bread. (Numbers 28:19) On the second day also the first-fruits of the barley harvest were offered in the temple. (Leviticus 23:10) In the latter notices of the festival in the books of the law there are particulars added which appear as modifications of the original institution. (Leviticus 23:10-14; Numbers 28:16-25; 16:1-6) Hence it is not without reason that the Jewish writers have laid great stress on the distinction between “the Egyptian Passover” and “the perpetual Passover.” Mode and order of the paschal meal .—All work except that belonging to a few trades connected with daily life was suspended for some hours before the evening of the 14th Nisan. It was not lawful to


Patara

A city on the south-west coast of Lycia at which Paul landed on his return from his third missionary journey (Acts 21:1, 2). Here he found a larger vessel, which was about to sail across the open sea to the coast of Phoenicia. In this vessel he set forth, and reached the city of Tyre in perhaps two or three days.

(city of Patarus), a Lycian city situated on the southwestern shore of Lycia, not far from the left bank of the river Xanthus. The coast here is very mountainous and bold. Immediately opposite is the island of Rhodes. Patara was practically the seaport of the city of Xanthus, which was ten miles distant. These notices of its position and maritime importance introduce us to the single mention of the place in the Bible— (Acts 21:1,2)


Pathros

The name generally given to Upper Egypt (the Thebaid of the Greeks), as distinguished from Matsor, or Lower Egypt (Isa. 11:11; Jer. 44:1, 15; Ezek. 30:14), the two forming Mizraim. After the destruction of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar, colonies of Jews settled “in the country of Pathros” and other parts of Egypt.

(region of the south), a part of Egypt, and a Mizraite tribe whose people were called Pathrusim. In the list of the Mizraites the Pathrusim occur after the Naphtuhim and before the Caluhim; the latter being followed by the notice of the Philistines and by the Caphtorim. (Genesis 10:13,14; 1 Chronicles 1:12) Pathros is mentioned in the prophecies of Isaiah, (Isaiah 11:11) Jeremiah (Jeremiah 44:1,15) and Ezekiel. (Ezekiel 29:14; 30:13-18) It was probably part or all of upper Egypt, and we may trace its name in the Pathyrite name, in which Thebes was situated.


Pathrusim

people of Pathros. [Pathros]


Patmos

A small rocky and barren island, one of the group called the “Sporades,” in the AEgean Sea. It is mentioned in Scripture only in Rev. 1:9. It was on this island, to which John was banished by the emperor Domitian (A.D. 95), that he received from God the wondrous revelation recorded in his book. This has naturally invested it with the deepest interest for all time. It is now called Patmo. (See JOHN.)

(Revelation 1:9) a rugged and bare island in the AEgean Sea, 20 miles south of Samos and 24 west of Asia Minor. It was the scene of the banishment of St. John in the reign of Domitian, A.D. 95. Patmos is divided into two nearly equal parts, a northern and a southern, by a very narrow isthmus where, on the east side are the harbor and the town. On the hill to the south, crowning a commanding height, is the celebrated monastery which bears the name of “John the Divine.” Halfway up the descent is the cave or grotto where tradition says that St. John received the Revelation.


Patriarch

A name employed in the New Testament with reference to Abraham (Heb. 7:4), the sons of Jacob (Acts 7:8, 9), and to David (2:29). This name is generally applied to the progenitors of families or “heads of the fathers” (Josh. 14:1) mentioned in Scripture, and they are spoken of as antediluvian (from Adam to Noah) and post-diluvian (from Noah to Jacob) patriachs. But the expression “the patriarch,” by way of eminence, is applied to the twelve sons of Jacob, or to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. “Patriachal longevity presents itself as one of the most striking of the facts concerning mankind which the early history of the Book of Genesis places before us...There is a large amount of consentient tradition to the effect that the life of man was originally far more prolonged than it is at present, extending to at least several hundred years. The Babylonians, Egyptians, and Chinese exaggerated these hundreds into thousands. The Greeks and Romans, with more moderation, limited human life within a thousand or eight hundred years. The Hindus still farther shortened the term. Their books taught that in the first age of the world man was free from diseases, and lived ordinarily four hundred years; in the second age the term of life was reduced from four hundred to three hundred; in the third it became two hundred; in the fourth and last it was brought down to one hundred” (Rawlinson’s Historical Illustrations).

(father of a tribe), the name given to the head of a family or tribe in Old Testament times. In common usage the title of patriarch is assigned especially to those whose lives are recorded in Scripture previous to the time of Moses, as Adam, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. (“In the early history of the Hebrews we find the ancestor or father of a family retaining authority over his children and his children’s children so long as he lived, whatever new connections they might form when the father died the branch families did not break off and form new communities, but usually united under another common head. The eldest son was generally invested with this dignity. His authority was paternal. He was honored as central point of connection and as the representative of the whole kindred. Thus each great family had its patriarch or head, and each tribe its prince, selected from the several heads of the families which it embraced.”—McClintock and Strong.) (“After the destruction of Jerusalem, patriarch was the title of the chief religious rulers of the Jews in Asia and in early Christian times it became the designation of the bishops of Rome, Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch and Jerusalem.”—American Cyclopedia .)


Patrobas

A Christian at Rome to whom Paul sent salutations (Rom. 16:14).

(paternal), a Christian at Rome to whom St. Paul sends his salutation. (Romans 16:14) Like many other names mentioned in Roma 16 this was borne by at least one member of the emperor’s household. Suet. Galba. 20; Martial, Ep. ii. 32, 3. (A.D. 55.)


Pau

(Gen. 36:39) or Pai (1 Chr. 1:50), bleating, an Edomitish city ruled over by Hadar.

(bleating) (but in (1 Chronicles 1:50) Pai), the capital of Hadar king of Edom. (Genesis 36:39) Its position is unknown.


Paul

=Saul (q.v.) was born about the same time as our Lord. His circumcision-name was Saul, and probably the name Paul was also given to him in infancy “for use in the Gentile world,” as “Saul” would be his Hebrew home-name. He was a native of Tarsus, the capital of Cilicia, a Roman province in the south-east of Asia Minor. That city stood on the banks of the river Cydnus, which was navigable thus far; hence it became a centre of extensive commercial traffic with many countries along the shores of the Mediterranean, as well as with the countries of central Asia Minor. It thus became a city distinguished for the wealth of its inhabitants. Tarsus was also the seat of a famous university, higher in reputation even than the universities of Athens and Alexandria, the only others that then existed. Here Saul was born, and here he spent his youth, doubtless enjoying the best education his native city could afford. His father was of the straitest sect of the Jews, a Pharisee, of the tribe of Benjamin, of pure and unmixed Jewish blood (Acts 23:6; Phil. 3:5). We learn nothing regarding his mother; but there is reason to conclude that she was a pious woman, and that, like-minded with her husband, she exercised all a mother influence in moulding the character of her son, so that he could afterwards speak of himself as being, from his youth up, “touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless” (Phil. 3:6). We read of his sister and his sister’s son (Acts 23:16), and of other relatives (Rom. 16:7, 11, 12). Though a Jew, his father was a Roman citizen. How he obtained this privilege we are not informed. “It might be bought, or won by distinguished service to the state, or acquired in several other ways; at all events, his son was freeborn. It was a valuable privilege, and one that was to prove of great use to Paul, although not in the way in which his father might have been expected to desire him to make use of it.” Perhaps the most natural career for the youth to follow was that of a merchant. “But it was decided that...he should go to college and become a rabbi, that is, a minister, a teacher, and a lawyer all in one.” According to Jewish custom, however, he learned a trade before entering on the more direct preparation for the sacred profession. The trade he acquired was the making of tents from goats’ hair cloth, a trade which was one of the commonest in Tarsus. His preliminary education having been completed, Saul was sent, when about thirteen years of age probably, to the great Jewish school of sacred learning at Jerusalem as a student of the law. Here he became a pupil of the celebrated rabbi Gamaliel, and here he spent many years in an elaborate study of the Scriptures and of the many questions concerning them with which the rabbis exercised themselves. During these years of diligent study he lived “in all good conscience,” unstained by the vices of that great city. After the period of his student-life expired, he probably left Jerusalem for Tarsus, where he may have been engaged in connection with some synagogue for some years. But we find him back again at Jerusalem very soon after the death of our Lord. Here he now learned the particulars regarding the crucifixion, and the rise of the new sect of the “Nazarenes.” For some two years after Pentecost, Christianity was quietly spreading its influence in Jerusalem. At length Stephen, one of the seven deacons, gave forth more public and aggressive testimony that Jesus was the Messiah, and this led to much excitement among the Jews and much disputation in their synagogues. Persecution arose against Stephen and the followers of Christ generally, in which Saul of Tarsus took a prominent part. He was at this time probably a member of the great Sanhedrin, and became the active leader in the furious persecution by which the rulers then sought to exterminate Christianity. But the object of this persecution also failed. “They that were scattered abroad went everywhere preaching the word.” The anger of the persecutor was thereby kindled into a fiercer flame. Hearing that fugitives had taken refuge in Damascus, he obtained from the chief priest letters authorizing him to proceed thither on his persecuting career. This was a long journey of about 130 miles, which would occupy perhaps six days, during which, with his few attendants, he steadily went onward, “breathing out threatenings and slaughter.” But the crisis of his life was at hand. He had reached the last stage of his journey, and was within sight of Damascus. As he and his companions rode on, suddenly at mid-day a brilliant light shone round them, and Saul was laid prostrate in terror on the ground, a voice sounding in his ears, “Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?” The risen Saviour was there, clothed in the vesture of his glorified humanity. In answer to the anxious inquiry of the stricken persecutor, “Who art thou, Lord?” he said, “I am Jesus whom thou persecutest” (Acts 9:5; 22:8; 26:15). This was the moment o

(small, little). Nearly all the original materials for the life St. Paul are contained in the Acts of the Apostles and in the Pauline epistles. Paul was born in Tarsus, a city of Cilicia. (It is not improbable that he was born between A.D. and A.D. 5.) Up to the time of his going forth as an avowed preacher of Christ to the Gentiles, the apostle was known by the name of Saul. This was the Jewish name which he received from his Jewish parents. But though a Hebrew of the Hebrews, he was born in a Gentile city. Of his parents we know nothing, except that his father was of the tribe of Benjamin, (Philemon 3:5) and a Pharisee, (Acts 23:6) that Paul had acquired by some means the Roman franchise (“I was free born,”) (Acts 22:23) and that he was settled in Tarsus. At Tarsus he must have learned to use the Greek language with freedom and mastery in both speaking and writing. At Tarsus also he learned that trade of “tent-maker,” (Acts 18:3) at which he afterward occasionally wrought with his own hands. There was a goat’s-hair cloth called cilicium manufactured in Cilicia, and largely used for tents, Saul’s trade was probably that of making tents of this hair cloth. When St. Paul makes his defence before his countrymen at Jerusalem, (Acts 22:1) ... he tells them that, though born in Tarsus he had been “brought up” in Jerusalem. He must therefore, have been yet a boy when was removed, in all probability for the sake of his education, to the holy city of his fathers. He learned, he says, at the feet of Gamaliel.” He who was to resist so stoutly the usurpations of the law had for his teacher one of the most eminent of all the doctors of the law. Saul was yet “a young man,” (Acts 7:58) when the Church experienced that sudden expansion which was connected with the ordaining of the seven appointed to serve tables, and with the special power and inspiration of Stephen. Among those who disputed with Stephen were some “of them of Cilicia.” We naturally think of Saul as having been one of these, when we find him afterward keeping the clothes of those suborned witnesses who, according to the law, (17:7) were the first to cast stones at Stephen. “Saul,” says the sacred writer significantly “was consenting unto his death.” Saul’s conversion . A.D. 37.—The persecutor was to be converted. Having undertaken to follow up the believers “unto strange cities.” Saul naturally turned his thoughts to Damascus. What befell him as he journeyed thither is related in detail three times in the Acts, first by the historian in his own person, then in the two addresses made by St. Paul at Jerusalem and before Agrippa. St. Luke’s statement is to be read in (Acts 9:3-19) where, however, the words “it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks,” included in the English version, ought to be omitted (as is done in the Revised Version). The sudden light from heaven; the voice of Jesus speaking with authority to his persecutor; Saul struck to the ground, blinded, overcome; the three-days suspense; the coming of Ananias as a messenger of the Lord and Saul’s baptism,—these were the leading features at the great event, and in these we must look for the chief significance of the conversion. It was in Damascus that he was received into the church by Ananias, and here to the astonishment of all his hearers, he proclaimed Jesus in the synagogues, declaring him to be the Son of God. The narrative in the Acts tells us simply that he was occupied in this work, with increasing vigor, for “many days,” up to the time when imminent danger drove him from Damascus. From the Epistle to the Galatians, (Galatians 1:17,18) we learn that the many days were at least a good part of “three years,” A.D. 37-40, and that Saul, not thinking it necessary to procure authority to teach from the apostles that were before him, went after his conversion to Arabia, and returned from thence to us. We know nothing whatever of this visit to Arabia; but upon his departure from Damascus we are again on a historical ground, and have the double evidence of St. Luke in the Acts of the apostle in his Second Epistle the Corinthians. According to the former, the Jews lay in wait for Saul, intending to kill him, and watched the gates of the city that he might not escape from them. Knowing this, the disciples took him by night and let him down in a basket from the wall. Having escaped from Damascus, Saul betook himself to Jerusalem (A.D. 40), and there “assayed to join himself to the disciples; but they were all afraid of him, and believed not he was a disciple.” Barnabas’ introduction removed the fears of the apostles, and Saul “was with them coming in and going out at Jerusalem.” But it is not strange that the former persecutor was soon singled out from the other believers as the object of a murderous hostility. He was, therefore, again urged to flee; and by way of Caesarea betook himself to his native city, Tarsus. Barnabas was sent on a special mission to Antioch. As the work grew under his hands


Pavement

It was the custom of the Roman governors to erect their tribunals in open places, as the market-place, the circus, or even the highway. Pilate caused his seat of judgment to be set down in a place called “the Pavement” (John 19:13) i.e., a place paved with a mosaic of coloured stones. It was probably a place thus prepared in front of the “judgment hall.” (See GABBATHA.)

[Gabbatha]


Pavilion

A tent or tabernacle (2 Sam. 22:12; 1 Kings 20:12-16), or enclosure (Ps. 18:11; 27:5). In Jer. 43:10 it probably denotes the canopy suspended over the judgement-seat of the king.

a temporary movable tent or habitation.


Peace offerings

(Heb. shelamim), detailed regulations regarding given in Lev. 3; 7:11-21, 29-34. They were of three kinds, (1) eucharistic or thanksgiving offerings, expressive of gratitude for blessings received; (2) in fulfilment of a vow, but expressive also of thanks for benefits recieved; and (3) free-will offerings, something spontaneously devoted to God.


Peacock

(Heb. tuk, apparently borrowed from the Tamil tokei). This bird is indigenous to India. It was brought to Solomon by his ships from Tarshish (1 Kings 10:22; 2 Chr. 9:21), which in this case was probably a district on the Malabar coast of India, or in Ceylon. The word so rendered in Job 39:13 literally means wild, tumultuous crying, and properly denotes the female ostrich (q.v.).


Peacocks

(Heb. tuccyyim). Among the natural products which Solomon’s fleet brought home to Jerusalem, mention is made of “peacocks,” (1 Kings 10:22; 2 Chronicles 9:21) which is probably the correct translation. The Hebrew word may be traced to the Talmud or Malabaric togei, “peacock.”


Pearl

(Heb. gabish, Job 28:18; Gr. margarites, Matt. 7:6; 13:46; Rev. 21:21). The pearl oyster is found in the Persian Gulf and the Red Sea. Its shell is the “mother of pearl,” which is of great value for ornamental purposes (1 Tim. 2:9; Rev. 17:4). Each shell contains eight or ten pearls of various sizes.

(Heb. gabish). The Hebrew word in (Job 28:18) probably means “crystal.” Pearls, however are frequently mentioned in the New Testament, (Matthew 13:45; 1 Timothy 2:9; Revelation 17:4; 21:21) and were considered by the ancients among the most precious of gems, and were highly esteemed as ornaments. The kingdom of heaven is compared to a “pearl of great price.” In (Matthew 7:6) pearls are used metaphorically for anything of value, or perhaps more especially for “wise sayings.” (The finest specimens of the pearl are yielded by the pearl oyster (Avicula margaritifera), still found in abundance in the Persian Gulf and near the coasts of Ceylon, Java and Sumatra. The oysters grow in clusters on rocks in deep water, and the pearl is found inside the shell, and is the result of a diseased secretion caused by the introduction of foreign bodies, as sand, etc., between the mantle and the shell. They are obtained by divers trained to the business. March or April is the time for pearl fishing. A single shell sometimes yields eight to twelve pearls. The size of a good Oriental pearl varies from that of a pea to about three times that size. A handsome necklace of pearls the size of peas is worth,000. Pearls have been valued as high as,000 or,000 apiece.—ED.)


Peculiar

As used in the phrase “peculiar people” in 1 Pet. 2:9, is derived from the Lat. peculium, and denotes, as rendered in the Revised Version (“a people for God’s own possession”), a special possession or property. The church is the “property” of God, his “purchased possession” (Eph. 1:14; R.V., “God’s own possession”).


Pedahel

Redeemed of God, the son of Ammihud, a prince of Naphtali (Num. 34:28).

(whom God redeems), the son of Ammihud, and prince of the tribe of Naphtali. (Numbers 34:28)


Pedahzur

Rock of redemption, the father of Gamaliel and prince of Manasseh at the time of the Exodus (Num. 1:10; 2:20).


Pedaiah

Redemption of the Lord. (1.) The father of Zebudah, who was the wife of Josiah and mother of king Jehoiakim (2 Kings 23:36). (2.) The father of Zerubbabel (1 Chr. 3:17-19). (3.). The father of Joel, ruler of the half-tribe of Manasseh (1 Chr. 27:20). (4.) Neh. 3:25. (5.) A Levite (8:4). (6.) A Benjamite (11:7). (7.) A Levite (13:13).

(whom Jehovah redeems).


Pedarhzur

(whom the rock (i.e. God) redeems), father of Gamaliel, the chief of the tribe of Manasseh at the time of the exodus. (Numbers 1:10; 2:20; 7:54,59; 10:23) (B.C. 1491.)


Pekah

Open-eyed, the son of Remaliah a captain in the army of Pekahiah, king of Israel, whom he slew, with the aid of a band of Gileadites, and succeeded (B.C. 758) on the throne (2 Kings 15:25). Seventeen years after this he entered into an alliance with Rezin, king of Syria, and took part with him in besieging Jerusalem (2 Kings 15:37; 16:5). But Tiglath-pilser, who was in alliance with Ahaz, king of Judah, came up against Pekah, and carried away captive many of the inhabitants of his kingdom (2 Kings 15:29). This was the beginning of the “Captivity.” Soon after this Pekah was put to death by Hoshea, the son of Elah, who usurped the throne (2 Kings 15:30; 16:1-9. Comp. Isa. 7:16; 8:4; 9:12). He is supposed by some to have been the “shephard” mentioned in Zech. 11:16.

(open-eyed), son of Remaliah, originally a captain of Pekaiah king of Israel, murdered his master seized the throne, and became the 18th sovereign of the northern kingdom, B.C. 757-740. Under his predecessors Israel had been much weakened through the payment of enormous tribute to the Assyrians (see especially) (2 Kings 15:20) and by internal wars and conspiracies. Pekah seems to have steadily applied himself to the restoration of power. For this purpose he contracted a foreign alliance, and fixed his mind on the plunder of the sister kingdom of Judah. He must have made the treaty by which he proposed to share its spoil with Rezin king of Damascus, when Jotham was still on the throne of Jerusalem (2 Kings 10:37) but its execution was long delayed, probably in consequence of that prince’s righteous and vigorous administration. (2 Chronicles 27:1) ... When however his weak son Ahaz succeeded to the crown of David, the allies no longer hesitated, but entered upon the siege of Jerusalem, B.C. 742. The history of the war is found in 2Kin 13 and 2Chr 28. It is famous as the occasion of the great prophecies in Isai 7-9. Its chief result was the Jewish port of Elath on the Red Sea; but the unnatural alliance of Damascus and Samaria was punished through the complete overthrow of the ferocious confederates by Tiglath-pileser. The kingdom of Damascus. was finally suppressed and Rezin put to death while Pekah was deprived of at least half his kingdom, including all the northern portion and the whole district to the east of Jordan. Pekah himself, now fallen into the position of an Assyrian vassal was of course compelled to abstain from further attacks on Judah. Whether his continued tyranny exhausted the patience of his subjects, or whether his weakness emboldened them to attack him, is not known; but, from one or the other cause, Hoshea the son of Elah conspired against him and put him to death.


Pekahiah

The Lord opened his eyes, the son and successor of Menahem on the throne of Israel. He was murdered in the royal palace of Samaria by Pekah, one of the captains of his army (2 Kings 15:23-26), after a reign of two years (B.C. 761-759). He “did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord.”

(whose eyes Jehovah opened), son and successor of Menahem was the 17th king of the separate kingdom of Israel, B.C. 759-757. After a brief reign of scarcely two years a conspiracy was organized against him by Pekah, who murdered him and seized the throne.


Pekod

Probably a place in Babylonia (Jer. 50:21; Ezek. 23:23). It is the opinion, however, of some that this word signifies “visitation,” “punishment,” and allegorically “designates Babylon as the city which was to be destroyed.”

(visitation), an appellative applied to the Chaldeans. (Jeremiah 50:21; Ezekiel 23:23) Authorities are undecided as to the meaning of the term.


Pelaiah

Distinguished of the Lord. (1.) One of David’s posterity (1 Chr. 3:24). (2.) A Levite who expounded the law (Neh. 8:7).

(distinguished by Jehovah).


Pelaliah

(judged by Jehovah), the son of Amzi and ancestor of Adaiah. (Nehemiah 11:12)


Pelatiah

Deliverance of the Lord. (1.) A son of Hananiah and grandson of Zerubbabel (1 Chr. 3:21). (2.) A captain of “the sons of Simeon” (4:42). (3.) Neh. 10:22. (4.) One of the twenty-five princes of the people against whom Ezekiel prophesied on account of their wicked counsel (Ezek. 11:1-13).

(delivered by Jehovah).


Peleg

Division, one of the sons of Eber; so called because “in his days was the earth divided” (Gen. 10:25). Possibly he may have lived at the time of the dispersion from Babel. But more probably the reference is to the dispersion of the two races which sprang from Eber, the one spreading towards Mesopotamia and Syria, and the other southward into Arabia.

(division, part), son of Eber and brother of Joktan. (Genesis 10:25; 11:16) The only incident connected with his history is the statement that “in his days was the earth divided.” an event embodied in the meaning of his name—“division.” The reference is to a division of the family of Eber himself, the younger branch of which (the Joktanids) migrated into southern Arabia, while the elder remained in Mesopotamia.


Pelet

Deliverance. (1.) A descendant of Judah (1 Chr. 2:47). (2.) A Benjamite who joined David at Ziklag (1 Chr. 12:3).

(liberation),


Peleth

Swiftness. (1.) A Reubenite whose son was one of the conspirators against Moses and Aaron (Num. 16:1). (2.) One of the sons of Jonathan (1 Chr. 2:33).

(swiftness).


Pelethites

Mentioned always along with the Cherethites, and only in the time of David. The word probably means “runners” or “couriers,” and may denote that while forming part of David’s bodyguard, they were also sometimes employed as couriers (2 Sam. 8:18; 20:7, 23;1 Kings 1:38, 44; 1 Chr. 18:17). Some, however, think that these are the names simply of two Philistine tribes from which David selected his body-guard. They are mentioned along with the Gittites (2 Sam. 15:18), another body of foreign troops whom David gathered round him.

(couriers). [Cherethites]


Pelican

(Heb. kaath, sometimes translated “cormorant,” as (Isaiah 34:11; Zephaniah 2:14) though in the margin correctly rendered “pelican”), a voracious waterbird, found most abundantly in tropical regions. It is equal to the swan in size. (It has a flat bill fifteen inches long, and the female has under the bill a pouch capable of great distension. It is capacious enough to hold fish sufficient for the dinner of half a dozen men. The young are fed from this pouch, which is emptied of the food by pressing the pouch against the breast. The pelican’s bill has a crimson tip, and the contrast of this red tip against the white breast probably gave rise to the tradition that the bird tore her own breast to feed her young with her blood. The flesh of the pelican was forbidden to the Jews. (Leviticus 11:18)—ED.) The psalmist in comparing his pitiable condition to the pelican, (Psalms 102:6) probably has reference to its general aspect as it sits in apparent melancholy mood, with its bill resting on its breast.


Pelicans

Are frequently met with at the waters of Merom and the Sea of Galilee. The pelican is ranked among unclean birds (Lev. 11:18; Deut. 14:17). It is of an enormous size, being about 6 feet long, with wings stretching out over 12 feet. The Hebrew name (kaath, i.e., “vomiter”) of this bird is incorrectly rendered “cormorant” in the Authorized Version of Isa. 34:11 and Zeph. 2:14, but correctly in the Revised Version. It receives its Hebrew name from its habit of storing in its pouch large quantities of fish, which it disgorges when it feeds its young. Two species are found on the Syrian coast, the Pelicanus onocrotalus, or white pelican, and the Pelicanus crispus, or Dalmatian pelican.


Pelonite, The

Two of David’s men, Helez and Ahijah, are called Pelonites. (1 Chronicles 11:27,36) (B.C. about 1015.) From (1 Chronicles 27:10) it appears that the former was of the tribe of Ephraim, and “Pelonite” would therefore be an appellation derived from his place of birth or residence. “Ahijah the Pelonite” appears in (2 Samuel 23:34) as “Eliam the son of Ahithophel the Gilonite,” of which the former is a corruption.


Pen

[Writing]


Peniel

(face of God) the name which Jacob gave to the place in which he had wrestled with God: “He called the name of the place ’face of El,’ for I have seen Elohim face to face.” (Genesis 32:30) In (Genesis 32:31) and the other passages in which the name occurs, its form is changed to Penuel. From the narrative it is evident that Peniel lay somewhere on the north bank of the Jabbok, and between that torrent and the fords of the Jordan at Succoth, a few miles north of the glen where the Jabbok falls into the Jordan.


Peninnah

(coral or pearl), one of the two wives of Elkanah. (1 Samuel 1:2) (B.C. 1125.)


Penny

(Gr. denarion), a silver coin of the value of about 7 1/2d. or 8d. of our present money. It is thus rendered in the New Testament, and is more frequently mentioned than any other coin (Matt. 18:28; 20:2, 9, 13; Mark 6:37; 14:5, etc.). It was the daily pay of a Roman soldier in the time of Christ. In the reign of Edward III. an English penny was a labourer’s day’s wages. This was the “tribute money” with reference to which our Lord said, “Whose image and superscription is this?” When they answered, “Caesar’s,” he replied, “Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s; and to God the things that are God’s” (Matt. 22:19; Mark 12:15).


Penny, Pennyworth

In the New Testament “penny,” either alone or in the compound “pennyworth,” occurs as the rendering of the Roman denarius . (Matthew 20:2; 22:10; Mark 6:37; 12:15; Luke 20:24; John 6:7; Revelation 6:6) The denarius was the chief Roman silver coin, and was worth about 15 to 17 cents.


Pentateuch

The five-fold volume, consisting of the first five books of the Old Testament. This word does not occur in Scripture, nor is it certainly known when the roll was thus divided into five portions Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy. Probably that was done by the LXX. translators. Some modern critics speak of a Hexateuch, introducing the Book of Joshua as one of the group. But this book is of an entirely different character from the other books, and has a different author. It stands by itself as the first of a series of historical books beginning with the entrance of the Israelites into Canaan. (See JOSHUA.) The books composing the Pentateuch are properly but one book, the “Law of Moses,” the “Book of the Law of Moses,” the “Book of Moses,” or, as the Jews designate it, the “Torah” or “Law.” That in its present form it “proceeds from a single author is proved by its plan and aim, according to which its whole contents refer to the covenant concluded between Jehovah and his people, by the instrumentality of Moses, in such a way that everything before his time is perceived to be preparatory to this fact, and all the rest to be the development of it. Nevertheless, this unity has not been stamped upon it as a matter of necessity by the latest redactor: it has been there from the beginning, and is visible in the first plan and in the whole execution of the work.”, Keil, Einl. i.d. A. T. A certain school of critics have set themselves to reconstruct the books of the Old Testament. By a process of “scientific study” they have discovered that the so-called historical books of the Old Testament are not history at all, but a miscellaneous collection of stories, the inventions of many different writers, patched together by a variety of editors! As regards the Pentateuch, they are not ashamed to attribute fraud, and even conspiracy, to its authors, who sought to find acceptance to their work which was composed partly in the age of Josiah, and partly in that of Ezra and Nehemiah, by giving it out to be the work of Moses! This is not the place to enter into the details of this controversy. We may say frankly, however, that we have no faith in this “higher criticism.” It degrades the books of the Old Testament below the level of fallible human writings, and the arguments on which its speculations are built are altogether untenable. The evidences in favour of the Mosaic authorship of the Pentateuch are conclusive. We may thus state some of them briefly: (1.) These books profess to have been written by Moses in the name of God (Ex. 17:14; 24:3, 4, 7; 32:7-10, 30-34; 34:27; Lev. 26:46; 27:34; Deut. 31:9, 24, 25). (2.) This also is the uniform and persistent testimony of the Jews of all sects in all ages and countries (comp. Josh. 8:31, 32; 1 Kings 2:3; Jer. 7:22; Ezra 6:18; Neh. 8:1; Mal. 4:4; Matt. 22:24; Acts 15:21). (3.) Our Lord plainly taught the Mosaic authorship of these books (Matt. 5:17, 18; 19:8; 22:31, 32; 23:2; Mark 10:9; 12:26; Luke 16:31; 20:37; 24:26, 27, 44; John 3:14; 5:45, 46, 47; 6:32, 49; 7:19, 22). In the face of this fact, will any one venture to allege either that Christ was ignorant of the composition of the Bible, or that, knowing the true state of the case, he yet encouraged the people in the delusion they clung to? (4.) From the time of Joshua down to the time of Ezra there is, in the intermediate historical books, a constant reference to the Pentateuch as the “Book of the Law of Moses.” This is a point of much importance, inasmuch as the critics deny that there is any such reference; and hence they deny the historical character of the Pentateuch. As regards the Passover, e.g., we find it frequently spoken of or alluded to in the historical books following the Pentateuch, showing that the “Law of Moses” was then certainly known. It was celebrated in the time of Joshua (Josh. 5:10, cf. 4:19), Hezekiah (2 Chr. 30), Josiah (2 Kings 23; 2 Chr. 35), and Zerubbabel (Ezra 6:19-22), and is referred to in such passages as 2 Kings 23:22; 2 Chr. 35:18; 1 Kings 9:25 (“three times in a year”); 2 Chr. 8:13. Similarly we might show frequent references to the Feast of Tabernacles and other Jewish institutions, although we do not admit that any valid argument can be drawn from the silence of Scripture in such a case. An examination of the following texts, 1 Kings 2:9; 2 Kings 14:6; 2 Chr. 23:18; 25:4; 34:14; Ezra 3:2; 7:6; Dan. 9:11, 13, will also plainly show that the “Law of Moses” was known during all these centuries. Granting that in the time of Moses there existed certain oral traditions or written records and documents which he was divinely led to make use of in his history, and that his writing was revised by inspired successors, this will fully account for certain peculiarities of expression which critics have called “anachronisms” and “contradictions,” but in no way militates against the doctrine that Moses was the original author of the whole of the Pentateuch. It is not necessary for us to affir


Pentateuch, The

is the Greek name given to the five books commonly called the “five books of Moses.” This title is derived from “pente”, five, and “teucos”) which, meaning originally “vessel” “instrument,” etc., came In Alexandrine Greek to mean “book” hence the fivefold book. In the time of Ezra and Nehemiah it was called “the law of Moses,” (Ezra 7:6) or “the book of the law of Moses,” (Nehemiah 8:1) or simply “the book of Moses.” (2 Chronicles 25:4; 35:12; Ezra 6:13; Nehemiah 13:1) This was beyond all reasonable doubt our existing Pentateuch. The book which was discovered the temple in the reign of Josiah, and which is entitled, (2 Chronicles 34:14) “a book of the law of Jehovah by the hand of Moses,” was substantially, it would seem the same volume, though it may afterward have undergone some revision by Ezra. The present Jews usually called the whole by the name of Torah, i.e. “the Law,” or Torath Mosheh “the Law of Moses.” The division of the whole work into five parts was probably made by the Greek translators; for the titles of the several books are not of Hebrew but of Greek origin. The Hebrew names are merely taken from the first words of each book, and in the first instance only designated particular sections and not whole books. The MSS. of the Pentateuch form a single roll or volume, and are divided not into books but into the larger and smaller sections called Parshiyoth and Sedarim . The five books of the Pentateuch form a consecutive whole. The work, beginning with the record of creation end the history of the primitive world, passes on to deal more especially with the early history of the Jewish family, and finally concludes with Moses’ last discourses and his death. Till the middle of the last century it was the general opinion of both Jews and Christians that the whole of the Pentateuch was written by Moses, with the exception of a few manifestly later additions,—such as the, 34th chapter of Deuteronomy, which gives the account of Moses death. The attempt to call in question the popular belief was made by Astruc, doctor and professor of medicine in the Royal College at Paris, and court physician to Louis XIV. He had observed that throughout the book of Genesis, and as far as the 6th chapter of Exodus, traces were to be found of two original documents, each characterized by a distinct use of the names of God; the one by the name Elohim, and the other by the name Jehovah. [God] Besides these two principal documents, he supposed Moses to have made use of ten others in the composition of the earlier part of his work. The path traced by Astruc has been followed by numerous German writers; but the various hypotheses which have been formed upon the subject cannot be presented in this work. It is sufficient here to state that there is evidence satisfactory that the main bulk of the Pentateuch, at any rate, was written by Moses, though the probably availed himself of existing documents in the composition of the earlier part of the work. Some detached portions would appear to be of later origin; and when we remember how entirely, during some periods of Jewish history, the law seems to have been forgotten, and again how necessary it would be after the seventy years of exile to explain some of its archaisms, and to add here and there short notes to make it more intelligible to the people, nothing can be more natural than to suppose that such later additions were made by Ezra and Nehemiah. To briefly sum up the results of our inquiry—


Pentecost

I.e., “fiftieth”, found only in the New Testament (Acts 2:1; 20:16; 1 Cor. 16:8). The festival so named is first spoken of in Ex. 23:16 as “the feast of harvest,” and again in Ex. 34:22 as “the day of the firstfruits” (Num. 28:26). From the sixteenth of the month of Nisan (the second day of the Passover), seven complete weeks, i.e., forty-nine days, were to be reckoned, and this feast was held on the fiftieth day. The manner in which it was to be kept is described in Lev. 23:15-19; Num. 28:27-29. Besides the sacrifices prescribed for the occasion, every one was to bring to the Lord his “tribute of a free-will offering” (Deut. 16:9-11). The purpose of this feast was to commemorate the completion of the grain harvest. Its distinguishing feature was the offering of “two leavened loaves” made from the new corn of the completed harvest, which, with two lambs, were waved before the Lord as a thank offering. The day of Pentecost is noted in the Christian Church as the day on which the Spirit descended upon the apostles, and on which, under Peter’s preaching, so many thousands were converted in Jerusalem (Acts 2).

that is, the fiftieth day (from a Greek word meaning fiftieth), or Harvest Feast, or Feast of Weeks, may be regarded as a supplement to the Passover. It lasted for but one day. From the sixteenth of Nisan seven weeks were reckoned inclusively, and the next or fiftieth day was the day of Pentecost, which fell on the sixth of Sivan (about the end of May). (Exodus 23:16; 34:22; Leviticus 23:15,22; Numbers 28) See Jewish calendar at the end of this volume. The Pentecost was the Jewish harvest-home, and the people were especially exhorted to rejoice before Jehovah with their families their servants, the Levite within their gates, the stranger, the fatherless and the widow in the place chosen by God for his name, as they brought a free-will offering of their hand to Jehovah their God. (16:10,11) The great feature of the celebration was the presentation of the two loaves made from the first-fruits of the wheat harvest. With the loaves two lambs were offered as a peace offering and all were waved before Jehovah and given to the priests; the leaves being leavened, could not be offered on the altar. The other sacrifices were, a burnt offering of a young bullock, two, rams and seven lambs with a meat and drink offering, and a kid for a sin offering. (Leviticus 23:18,19) Till the pentecostal leaves were offered, the produce of the harvest might not be eaten, nor could any other firstfruits be offered. The whole ceremony was the completion of that dedication of the harvest to God as its giver, and to whom both the land and the people were holy, which was begun by the offering of the wave-sheaf at the Passover. The interval is still regarded as a religious season. The Pentecost is the only one of the three great feasts which is not mentioned as the memorial of events in the history of the Jews; but such a significance has been found in the fact that the law was given from Sinai on the fiftieth day after the deliverance from Egypt. Comp. Exod 12 and 19. In the exodus the people were offered to God as living first fruits; at Sinai their consecration to him as a nation was completed. The typical significance of the Pentecost is made clear from the events of the day recorded in the Acts of the Apostles. Acts 2. Just as the appearance of God on Sinai was the birthday of the Jewish nation, so was the Pentecost the birthday of the Christian Church.