Easton's Bible Dictionary

Phanuel — Pulse

Phanuel

Phanuel — face of God, father of the prophetess Anna (q.v.), Luke 2:36.

Pharaoh

Pharaoh — the official title borne by the Egyptian kings down to the time when that country was conquered by the Greeks. (See EGYPT.) The name is a compound, as some think, of the words Ra, the “sun” or “sun-god,” and the article phe, “the,” prefixed; hence phera, “the sun,” or “the sun-god.” But others, perhaps more correctly, think the name derived from Perao, “the great house” = his majesty = in Turkish, “the Sublime Porte.”

(1.) The Pharaoh who was on the throne when Abram went down into Egypt (Genesis 12:10-20) was probably one of the Hyksos, or “shepherd kings.” The Egyptians called the nomad tribes of Syria Shasu, “plunderers,” their king or chief Hyk, and hence the name of those invaders who conquered the native kings and established a strong government, with Zoan or Tanis as their capital. They were of Semitic origin, and of kindred blood accordingly with Abram. They were probably driven forward by the pressure of the Hittites. The name they bear on the monuments is “Mentiu.”

(2.) The Pharaoh of Joseph’s days (Genesis 41) was probably Apopi, or Apopis, the last of the Hyksos kings. To the old native Egyptians, who were an African race, shepherds were “an abomination;” but to the Hyksos kings these Asiatic shepherds who now appeared with Jacob at their head were congenial, and being akin to their own race, had a warm welcome (Genesis 47:5, Genesis 47:6). Some argue that Joseph came to Egypt in the reign of Thothmes III., long after the expulsion of the Hyksos, and that his influence is to be seen in the rise and progress of the religious revolution in the direction of monotheism which characterized the middle of the Eighteenth Dynasty. The wife of Amenophis III., of that dynasty, was a Semite. Is this singular fact to be explained from the presence of some of Joseph’s kindred at the Egyptian court? Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Thy father and thy brethren are come unto thee: the land of Egypt is before thee; in the best of the land make thy father and brethren to dwell” (Genesis 47:5, Genesis 47:6).

(3.) The “new king who knew not Joseph” (Exodus 1:8-22) has been generally supposed to have been Aahmes I., or Amosis, as he is called by Josephus. Recent discoveries, however, have led to the conclusion that Seti was the “new king.”

For about seventy years the Hebrews in Egypt were under the powerful protection of Joseph. After his death their condition was probably very slowly and gradually changed. The invaders, the Hyksos, who for some five centuries had been masters of Egypt, were driven out, and the old dynasty restored. The Israelites now began to be looked down upon. They began to be afflicted and tyrannized over. In process of time a change appears to have taken place in the government of Egypt. A new dynasty, the Nineteenth, as it is called, came into power under Seti I., who was its founder. He associated with him in his government his son, Rameses II., when he was yet young, probably ten or twelve years of age.

Note, Professor Maspero, keeper of the museum of Bulak, near Cairo, had his attention in 1870 directed to the fact that scarabs, i.e., stone and metal imitations of the beetle (symbols of immortality), originally worn as amulets by royal personages, which were evidently genuine relics of the time of the ancient Pharaohs, were being sold at Thebes and different places along the Nile. This led him to suspect that some hitherto undiscovered burial-place of the Pharaohs had been opened, and that these and other relics, now secretly sold, were a part of the treasure found there. For a long time he failed, with all his ingenuity, to find the source of these rare treasures. At length one of those in the secret volunteered to give information regarding this burial-place. The result was that a party was conducted in 1881 to Dier el-Bahari, near Thebes, when the wonderful discovery was made of thirty-six mummies of kings, queens, princes, and high priests hidden away in a cavern prepared for them, where they had lain undisturbed for thirty centuries. “The temple of Deir el-Bahari stands in the middle of a natural amphitheatre of cliffs, which is only one of a number of smaller amphitheatres into which the limestone mountains of the tombs are broken up. In the wall of rock separating this basin from the one next to it some ancient Egyptian engineers had constructed the hiding-place, whose secret had been kept for nearly three thousand years.” The exploring party being guided to the place, found behind a great rock a shaft 6 feet square and about 40 feet deep, sunk into the limestone. At the bottom of this a passage led westward for 25 feet, and then turned sharply northward into the very heart of the mountain, where in a chamber 23 feet by 13, and 6 feet in height, they came upon the wonderful treasures of antiquity. The mummies were all carefully secured and brought down to Bulak, where they were deposited in the royal museum, which has now been removed to Ghizeh.

Among the most notable of the ancient kings of Egypt thus discovered were Thothmes III., Seti I., and Rameses II. Thothmes III. was the most distinguished monarch of the brilliant Eighteenth Dynasty. When this mummy was unwound “once more, after an interval of thirty-six centuries, human eyes gazed on the features of the man who had conquered Syria and Cyprus and Ethiopia, and had raised Egypt to the highest pinnacle of her power. The spectacle, however, was of brief duration. The remains proved to be in so fragile a state that there was only time to take a hasty photograph, and then the features crumbled to pieces and vanished like an apparition, and so passed away from human view for ever.” “It seems strange that though the body of this man,” who overran Palestine with his armies two hundred years before the birth of Moses, “mouldered to dust, the flowers with which it had been wreathed were so wonderfully preserved that even their colour could be distinguished” (Manning’s Land of the Pharaohs).

Seti I. (his throne name Merenptah), the father of Rameses II., was a great and successful warrior, also a great builder. The mummy of this Pharaoh, when unrolled, brought to view “the most beautiful mummy head ever seen within the walls of the museum. The sculptors of Thebes and Abydos did not flatter this Pharaoh when they gave him that delicate, sweet, and smiling profile which is the admiration of travellers. After a lapse of thirty-two centuries, the mummy retains the same expression which characterized the features of the living man. Most remarkable of all, when compared with the mummy of Rameses II., is the striking resemblance between the father and the son. Seti I. is, as it were, the idealized type of Rameses II. He must have died at an advanced age. The head is shaven, the eyebrows are white, the condition of the body points to considerably more than threescore years of life, thus confirming the opinions of the learned, who have attributed a long reign to this king.”

(4.) Rameses II., the son of Seti I., is probably the Pharaoh of the Oppression. During his forty years’ residence at the court of Egypt, Moses must have known this ruler well. During his sojourn in Midian, however, Rameses died, after a reign of sixty-seven years, and his body embalmed and laid in the royal sepulchre in the Valley of the Tombs of Kings beside that of his father. Like the other mummies found hidden in the cave of Deir el-Bahari, it had been for some reason removed from its original tomb, and probably carried from place to place till finally deposited in the cave where it was so recently discovered.

In 1886, the mummy of this king, the “great Rameses,” the “Sesostris” of the Greeks, was unwound, and showed the body of what must have been a robust old man. The features revealed to view are thus described by Maspero: “The head is long and small in proportion to the body. The top of the skull is quite bare. On the temple there are a few sparse hairs, but at the poll the hair is quite thick, forming smooth, straight locks about two inches in length. White at the time of death, they have been dyed a light yellow by the spices used in embalmment. The forehead is low and narrow; the brow-ridge prominent; the eye-brows are thick and white; the eyes are small and close together; the nose is long, thin, arched like the noses of the Bourbons; the temples are sunk; the cheek-bones very prominent; the ears round, standing far out from the head, and pierced, like those of a woman, for the wearing of earrings; the jaw-bone is massive and strong; the chin very prominent; the mouth small, but thick-lipped; the teeth worn and very brittle, but white and well preserved. The moustache and beard are thin. They seem to have been kept shaven during life, but were probably allowed to grow during the king’s last illness, or they may have grown after death. The hairs are white, like those of the head and eyebrows, but are harsh and bristly, and a tenth of an inch in length. The skin is of an earthy-brown, streaked with black. Finally, it may be said, the face of the mummy gives a fair idea of the face of the living king. The expression is unintellectual, perhaps slightly animal; but even under the somewhat grotesque disguise of mummification there is plainly to be seen an air of sovereign majesty, of resolve, and of pride.”

Both on his father’s and his mother’s side it has been pretty clearly shown that Rameses had Chaldean or Mesopotamian blood in his veins to such a degree that he might be called an Assyrian. This fact is thought to throw light on Isaiah 52:4.

(5.) The Pharaoh of the Exodus was probably Menephtah I., the fourteenth and eldest surviving son of Rameses II. He resided at Zoan, where he had the various interviews with Moses and Aaron recorded in the book of Exodus. His mummy was not among those found at Deir el-Bahari. It is still a question, however, whether Seti II. or his father Menephtah was the Pharaoh of the Exodus. Some think the balance of evidence to be in favour of the former, whose reign it is known began peacefully, but came to a sudden and disastrous end. The “Harris papyrus,” found at Medinet-Abou in Upper Egypt in 1856, a state document written by Rameses III., the second king of the Twentieth Dynasty, gives at length an account of a great exodus from Egypt, followed by wide-spread confusion and anarchy. This, there is great reason to believe, was the Hebrew exodus, with which the Nineteenth Dynasty of the Pharaohs came to an end. This period of anarchy was brought to a close by Setnekht, the founder of the Twentieth Dynasty.

“In the spring of 1896, Professor Flinders Petrie discovered, among the ruins of the temple of Menephtah at Thebes, a large granite stela, on which is engraved a hymn of victory commemorating the defeat of Libyan invaders who had overrun the Delta. At the end other victories of Menephtah are glanced at, and it is said that ‘the Israelites (I-s-y-r-a-e-l-u) are minished (?) so that they have no seed.’ Menephtah was son and successor of Rameses II., the builder of Pithom, and Egyptian scholars have long seen in him the Pharaoh of the Exodus. The Exodus is also placed in his reign by the Egyptian legend of the event preserved by the historian Manetho. In the inscription the name of the Israelites has no determinative of ‘country’ or ‘district’ attached to it, as is the case with all the other names (Canaan, Ashkelon, Gezer, Khar or Southern Palestine, etc.) mentioned along with it, and it would therefore appear that at the time the hymn was composed, the Israelites had already been lost to the sight of the Egyptians in the desert. At all events they must have had as yet no fixed home or district of their own. We may therefore see in the reference to them the Pharaoh’s version of the Exodus, the disasters which befell the Egyptians being naturally passed over in silence, and only the destruction of the ‘men children’ of the Israelites being recorded. The statement of the Egyptian poet is a remarkable parallel to Exodus 1:10-22.”

(6.) The Pharaoh of 1 Kings 11:18-22.

(7.) So, king of Egypt (2 Kings 17:4).

(8.) The Pharaoh of 1 Chronicles 4:18.

(9.) Pharaoh, whose daughter Solomon married (1 Kings 3:1; 1 Kings 7:8).

(10.) Pharaoh, in whom Hezekiah put his trust in his war against Sennacherib (2 Kings 18:21).

(11.) The Pharaoh by whom Josiah was defeated and slain at Megiddo (2 Chronicles 35:20-24; 2 Kings 23:29, 2 Kings 23:30). (See NECHO.)

(12.) Pharaoh-hophra, who in vain sought to relieve Jerusalem when it was besieged by Nebuchadnezzar (q.v.), 2 Kings 25:1-4; comp. Jeremiah 37:5-8; Ezekiel 17:11-13. (See ZEDEKIAH.)

Pharaoh’s daughters

Pharaoh’s daughters — Three princesses are thus mentioned in Scripture: (1.) The princess who adopted the infant Moses (q.v.), Exodus 2:10. She is twice mentioned in the New Testament (Acts 7:21: Hebrews 11:24). It would seem that she was alive and in some position of influence about the court when Moses was compelled to flee from Egypt, and thus for forty years he had in some way been under her influence. She was in all probability the sister of Rameses, and the daughter of Seti I. Josephus calls her Thermuthis. It is supposed by some that she was Nefert-ari, the wife as well as sister of Rameses. The mummy of this queen was among the treasures found at Deir-el-Bahari.

(2.) “Bithiah the daughter of Pharaoh, which Mered took (1 Chronicles 4:18).

(3.) The wife of Solomon (1 Kings 3:1). This is the first reference since the Exodus to any connection of Israel with Egypt.

Pharez

Pharez — breach, the elder of the twin sons of Judah (Genesis 38:29). From him the royal line of David sprang (Ruth 4:18-22). “The chief of all the captains of the host” was of the children of Perez (1 Chronicles 27:3; Matthew 1:3).

Pharisees

Pharisees — separatists (Heb. persahin, from parash, “to separate”). They were probably the successors of the Assideans (i.e., the “pious”), a party that originated in the time of Antiochus Epiphanes in revolt against his heathenizing policy. The first mention of them is in a description by Josephus of the three sects or schools into which the Jews were divided (B.C. 145). The other two sects were the Essenes and the Sadducees. In the time of our Lord they were the popular party (John 7:48). They were extremely accurate and minute in all matters appertaining to the law of Moses (Matthew 9:14; Matthew 23:15; Luke 11:39; Luke 18:12). Paul, when brought before the council of Jerusalem, professed himself a Pharisee (Acts 23:6-8; Acts 26:4, Acts 26:5).

There was much that was sound in their creed, yet their system of religion was a form and nothing more. Theirs was a very lax morality (Matthew 5:20; Matthew 15:4, Matthew 15:8; Matthew 23:3, Matthew 23:14, Matthew 23:23, Matthew 23:25; John 8:7). On the first notice of them in the New Testament (Matthew 3:7), they are ranked by our Lord with the Sadducees as a “generation of vipers.” They were noted for their self-righteousness and their pride (Matthew 9:11; Luke 7:39; Luke 18:11, Luke 18:12). They were frequently rebuked by our Lord (Matthew 12:39; Matthew 16:1-4).

From the very beginning of his ministry the Pharisees showed themselves bitter and persistent enemies of our Lord. They could not bear his doctrines, and they sought by every means to destroy his influence among the people.

Pharpar

Pharpar — swift, one of the rivers of Damascus (2 Kings 5:12). It has been identified with the ‘Awaj, “a small lively river.” The whole of the district watered by the ‘Awaj is called the Wady el-’Ajam, i.e., “the valley of the Persians”, so called for some unknown reason. This river empties itself into the lake or marsh Bahret Hijaneh, on the east of Damascus. One of its branches bears the modern name of Wady Barbar, which is probably a corruption of Pharpar.

Phebe

Phebe — a “deaconess of the church at Cenchrea,” the port of Corinth. She was probably the bearer of Paul’s epistle to the Romans. Paul commended her to the Christians at Rome; “for she hath been,” says he, “a succourer of many, and of myself also” (Romans 16:1, Romans 16:2).

Phenice

Phenice — properly Phoenix a palm-tree (as in the R.V.), a town with a harbour on the southern side of Crete (Acts 27:12), west of the Fair Havens. It is now called Lutro.

Phenicia

Phenicia — (Acts 21:2) = Phenice (Acts 11:19; Acts 15:3; R.V., Phoenicia), Gr. phoinix, “a palm”, the land of palm-trees; a strip of land of an average breadth of about 20 miles along the shores of the Mediterranean, from the river Eleutherus in the north to the promotory of Carmel in the south, about 120 miles in length. This name is not found in the Old Testament, and in the New Testament it is mentioned only in the passages above referred to.

“In the Egyptian inscriptions Phoenicia is called Keft, the inhabitants being Kefa; and since Keft-ur, or ‘Greater Phoenicia,’ was the name given to the delta of the Nile from the Phoenician colonies settled upon it, the Philistines who came from Caphtor or Keft-ur must have been of Phoenician origin” (comp. Deuteronomy 2:23; Jeremiah 47:4; Amos 9:7)., Sayce’s Bible and the Monuments.

Phoenicia lay in the very centre of the old world, and was the natural entrepot for commerce with foreign nations. It was the “England of antiquity.” “The trade routes from all Asia converged on the Phoenician coast; the centres of commerce on the Euphrates and Tigris forwarding their goods by way of Tyre to the Nile, to Arabia, and to the west; and, on the other hand, the productions of the vast regions bordering the Mediterranean passing through the Canaanite capital to the eastern world.” It was “situate at the entry of the sea, a merchant of the people for many isles” (Ezekiel 27:3, Ezekiel 27:4). The far-reaching commercial activity of the Phoenicians, especially with Tarshish and the western world, enriched them with vast wealth, which introduced boundless luxury and developed among them a great activity in all manner of arts and manufactures. (See TYRE.)

The Phoenicians were the most enterprising merchants of the old world, establishing colonies at various places, of which Carthage was the chief. They were a Canaanite branch of the race of Ham, and are frequently called Sidonians, from their principal city of Sidon. None could “skill to hew timber like unto the Sidonians” (1 Kings 5:6). King Hiram rendered important service to Solomon in connection with the planning and building of the temple, casting for him all the vessels for the temple service, and the two pillars which stood in the front of the porch, and “the molten sea” (1 Kings 7:21-23). Singular marks have been found by recent exploration on the great stones that form the substructure of the temple. These marks, both painted and engraved, have been regarded as made by the workmen in the quarries, and as probably intended to indicate the place of these stones in the building. “The Biblical account (1 Kings 5:17, 1 Kings 5:18) is accurately descriptive of the massive masonry now existing at the south-eastern angle (of the temple area), and standing on the native rock 80 feet below the present surface. The Royal Engineers found, buried deeply among the rubbish of many centuries, great stones, costly and hewed stones, forming the foundation of the sanctuary wall; while Phoenician fragments of pottery and Phoenician marks painted on the massive blocks seem to proclaim that the stones were prepared in the quarry by the cunning workmen of Hiram, the king of Tyre.” (See TEMPLE.)

The Phoenicians have been usually regarded as the inventors of alphabetic writing. The Egyptians expressed their thoughts by certain symbols, called “hieroglyphics”, i.e., sacred carvings, so styled because used almost exclusively on sacred subjects. The recent discovery, however, of inscriptions in Southern Arabia (Yemen and Hadramaut), known as Hemyaritic, in connection with various philogical considerations, has led some to the conclusion that the Phoenician alphabet was derived from the Mineans (admitting the antiquity of the kingdom of Ma’in, Judges 10:12; 2 Chronicles 26:7). Thus the Phoenician alphabet ceases to be the mother alphabet. Sayce thinks “it is more than possible that the Egyptians themselves were emigrants from Southern Arabia.” (See MOABITE STONE.)

“The Phoenicians were renowned in ancient times for the manufacture of glass, and some of the specimens of this work that have been preserved are still the wonder of mankind … In the matter of shipping, whether ship-building be thought of or traffic upon the sea, the Phoenicians surpassed all other nations.” “The name Phoenicia is of uncertain origin, though it may be derived from Fenkhu, the name given in the Egyptian inscriptions to the natives of Palestine. Among the chief Phoenician cities were Tyre and Sidon, Gebal north of Beirut, Arvad or Arados and Zemar.”

Phicol

Phicol — great, the chief captain of the army of Abimelech, the Philistine king of Gerar. He entered into an alliance with Abraham with reference to a certain well which, from this circumstance, was called Beersheba (q.v.), “the well of the oath” (Genesis 21:22, Genesis 21:32; Genesis 26:26).

Philadelphia

Philadelphia — brotherly love, a city of Lydia in Asia Minor, about 25 miles south-east of Sardis. It was the seat of one of the “seven churches” (Revelation 3:7-12). It came into the possession of the Turks in A.D. 1392. It has several times been nearly destroyed by earthquakes. It is still a town of considerable size, called Allahshehr, “the city of God.”

Philemon

Philemon — an inhabitant of Colosse, and apparently a person of some note among the citizens (Colossians 4:9; Philemon 2). He was brought to a knowledge of the gospel through the instrumentality of Paul (Philemon 19), and held a prominent place in the Christian community for his piety and beneficence (Philemon 4-7). He is called in the epistle a “fellow-labourer,” and therefore probably held some office in the church at Colosse; at all events, the title denotes that he took part in the work of spreading a knowledge of the gospel.

Philemon, Epistle to

Philemon, Epistle to — was written from Rome at the same time as the epistles to the Colossians and Ephesians, and was sent also by Onesimus. It was addressed to Philemon and the members of his family.

It was written for the purpose of interceding for Onesimus (q.v.), who had deserted his master Philemon and been “unprofitable” to him. Paul had found Onesimus at Rome, and had there been instrumental in his conversion, and now he sends him back to his master with this letter.

This epistle has the character of a strictly private letter, and is the only one of such epistles preserved to us. “It exhibits the apostle in a new light. He throws off as far as possible his apostolic dignity and his fatherly authority over his converts. He speaks simply as Christian to Christian. He speaks, therefore, with that peculiar grace of humility and courtesy which has, under the reign of Christianity, developed the spirit of chivalry and what is called ‘the character of a gentleman,’ certainly very little known in the old Greek and Roman civilization” (Dr. Barry). (See SLAVE.)

Philetus

Philetus — amiable, with Hymenaeus, at Ephesus, said that the “resurrection was past already” (2 Timothy 2:17, 2 Timothy 2:18). This was a Gnostic heresy held by the Nicolaitanes. (See ALEXANDER [4].)

Philip

Philip — lover of horses. (1.) One of the twelve apostles; a native of Bethsaida, “the city of Andrew and Peter” (John 1:44). He readily responded to the call of Jesus when first addressed to him (John 1:43), and forthwith brought Nathanael also to Jesus (John 1:45,John 1:46). He seems to have held a prominent place among the apostles (Matthew 10:3; Mark 3:18; John 6:5-7; John 12:21, John 12:22; John 14:8, John 14:9; Acts 1:13). Of his later life nothing is certainly known. He is said to have preached in Phrygia, and to have met his death at Hierapolis.

(2.) One of the “seven” (Acts 6:5), called also “the evangelist” (Acts 21:8, Acts 21:9). He was one of those who were “scattered abroad” by the persecution that arose on the death of Stephen. He went first to Samaria, where he laboured as an evangelist with much success (Acts 8:5-13). While he was there he received a divine command to proceed toward the south, along the road leading from Jerusalem to Gaza. These towns were connected by two roads. The one Philip was directed to take was that which led through Hebron, and thence through a district little inhabited, and hence called “desert.” As he travelled along this road he was overtaken by a chariot in which sat a man of Ethiopia, the eunuch or chief officer of Queen Candace, who was at that moment reading, probably from the Septuagint version, a portion of the prophecies of Isaiah (Isaiah 53:6,Isaiah 53:7). Philip entered into conversation with him, and expounded these verses, preaching to him the glad tidings of the Saviour. The eunuch received the message and believed, and was forthwith baptized, and then “went on his way rejoicing.” Philip was instantly caught away by the Spirit after the baptism, and the eunuch saw him no more. He was next found at Azotus, whence he went forth in his evangelistic work till he came to Caesarea. He is not mentioned again for about twenty years, when he is still found at Caesarea (Acts 21:8) when Paul and his companions were on the way to Jerusalem. He then finally disappears from the page of history.

(3.) Mentioned only in connection with the imprisonment of John the Baptist (Matthew 14:3; Mark 6:17; Luke 3:19). He was the son of Herod the Great, and the first husband of Herodias, and the father of Salome. (HEROD PHILIP I.)

(4.) The “tetrarch of Ituraea” (Luke 3:1); a son of Herod the Great, and brother of Herod Antipas. The city of Caesarea-Philippi was named partly after him (Matthew 16:13; Mark 8:27). (See HEROD PHILIP II.)

Philippi

Philippi — (1.) Formerly Crenides, “the fountain,” the capital of the province of Macedonia. It stood near the head of the Sea, about 8 miles north-west of Kavalla. It is now a ruined village, called Philibedjik. Philip of Macedonia fortified the old Thracian town of Crenides, and called it after his own name Philippi (B.C. 359-336). In the time of the Emperor Augustus this city became a Roman colony, i.e., a military settlement of Roman soldiers, there planted for the purpose of controlling the district recently conquered. It was a “miniature Rome,” under the municipal law of Rome, and governed by military officers, called duumviri, who were appointed directly from Rome. Having been providentially guided thither, here Paul and his companion Silas preached the gospel and formed the first church in Europe. (See LYDIA.) This success stirred up the enmity of the people, and they were “shamefully entreated” (Acts 16:9-40; 1 Thessalonians 2:2). Paul and Silas at length left this city and proceeded to Amphipolis (q.v.).

(2.) When Philip the tetrarch, the son of Herod, succeeded to the government of the northern portion of his kingdom, he enlarged the city of Paneas, and called it Caesarea, in honour of the emperor. But in order to distinguish it from the Caesarea on the sea coast, he added to it subsequently his own name, and called it Caesarea-Philippi (q.v.).

Philippians, Epistle to

Philippians, Epistle to — was written by Paul during the two years when he was “in bonds” in Rome (Philippians 1:7-13), probably early in the year A.D. 62 or in the end of 61.

The Philippians had sent Epaphroditus, their messenger, with contributions to meet the necessities of the apostle; and on his return Paul sent back with him this letter. With this precious communication Epaphroditus sets out on his homeward journey. “The joy caused by his return, and the effect of this wonderful letter when first read in the church of Philippi, are hidden from us. And we may almost say that with this letter the church itself passes from our view. To-day, in silent meadows, quiet cattle browse among the ruins which mark the site of what was once the flourishing Roman colony of Philippi, the home of the most attractive church of the apostolic age. But the name and fame and spiritual influence of that church will never pass. To myriads of men and women in every age and nation the letter written in a dungeon at Rome, and carried along the Egnatian Way by an obscure Christian messenger, has been a light divine and a cheerful guide along the most rugged paths of life” (Professor Beet).

The church at Philippi was the first-fruits of European Christianity. Their attachment to the apostle was very fervent, and so also was his affection for them. They alone of all the churches helped him by their contributions, which he gratefully acknowledges (Acts 20:33-35; 2 Corinthians 11:7-12; 2 Thessalonians 3:8). The pecuniary liberality of the Philippians comes out very conspicuously (Philippians 4:15). “This was a characteristic of the Macedonian missions, as 2 Corinthians 8 and 2 Corinthians 9 amply and beautifully prove. It is remarkable that the Macedonian converts were, as a class, very poor (2 Corinthians 8:2); and the parallel facts, their poverty and their open-handed support of the great missionary and his work, are deeply harmonious. At the present day the missionary liberality of poor Christians is, in proportion, really greater than that of the rich” (Moule’s Philippians, Introd.).

The contents of this epistle give an interesting insight into the condition of the church at Rome at the time it was written. Paul’s imprisonment, we are informed, was no hindrance to his preaching the gospel, but rather “turned out to the furtherance of the gospel.” The gospel spread very extensively among the Roman soldiers, with whom he was in constant contact, and the Christians grew into a “vast multitude.” It is plain that Christianity was at this time making rapid advancement in Rome.

The doctrinal statements of this epistle bear a close relation to those of the Epistle to the Romans. Compare also Philippians 3:20 with Ephesians 2:12, Ephesians 2:19, where the church is presented under the idea of a city or commonwealth for the first time in Paul’s writings. The personal glory of Christ is also set forth in almost parallel forms of expression in Philippians 2:5-11, compared with Ephesians 1:17-23; Ephesians 2:8; and Colossians 1:15-20. “This exposition of the grace and wonder of His personal majesty, personal self-abasement, and personal exaltation after it,” found in these epistles, “is, in a great measure, a new development in the revelations given through St. Paul” (Moule). Other minuter analogies in forms of expression and of thought are also found in these epistles of the Captivity.

Philistia

Philistia — =Palestine (q.v.), “the land of the Philistines” (Psalm 60:8; Psalm 87:4; Psalm 108:9). The word is supposed to mean “the land of wanderers” or “of strangers.”

Philistines

Philistines — (Genesis 10:14, R.V.; but in A.V., “Philistim”), a tribe allied to the Phoenicians. They were a branch of the primitive race which spread over the whole district of the Lebanon and the valley of the Jordan, and Crete and other Mediterranean islands. Some suppose them to have been a branch of the Rephaim (2 Samuel 21:16-22). In the time of Abraham they inhabited the south-west of Judea, Abimelech of Gerar being their king (Genesis 21:32, Genesis 21:34; Genesis 26:1). They are, however, not noticed among the Canaanitish tribes mentioned in the Pentateuch. They are spoken of by Amos (Amos 9:7) and Jeremiah (Jeremiah 47:4) as from Caphtor, i.e., probably Crete, or, as some think, the Delta of Egypt. In the whole record from Exodus to Samuel they are represented as inhabiting the tract of country which lay between Judea and Egypt (Exodus 13:17; Exodus 15:14, Exodus 15:15; Joshua 13:3; 1 Samuel 4).

This powerful tribe made frequent incursions against the Hebrews. There was almost perpetual war between them. They sometimes held the tribes, especially the southern tribes, in degrading servitude (Judges 15:11; 1 Samuel 13:19-22); at other times they were defeated with great slaughter (1 Samuel 14:1-47; 1 Samuel 17). These hostilities did not cease till the time of Hezekiah (2 Kings 18:8), when they were entirely subdued. They still, however, occupied their territory, and always showed their old hatred to Israel (Ezekiel 25:15-17). They were finally conquered by the Romans.

The Philistines are called Pulsata or Pulista on the Egyptian monuments; the land of the Philistines (Philistia) being termed Palastu and Pilista in the Assyrian inscriptions. They occupied the five cities of Gaza, Ashkelon, Ashdod, Ekron, and Gath, in the south-western corner of Canaan, which belonged to Egypt up to the closing days of the Nineteenth Dynasty. The occupation took place during the reign of Rameses III. of the Twentieth Dynasty. The Philistines had formed part of the great naval confederacy which attacked Egypt, but were eventually repulsed by that Pharaoh, who, however, could not dislodge them from their settlements in Palestine. As they did not enter Palestine till the time of the Exodus, the use of the name Philistines in Genesis 26:1 must be proleptic. Indeed the country was properly Gerar, as in ch. Genesis 20.

They are called Allophyli, “foreigners,” in the Septuagint, and in the Books of Samuel they are spoken of as uncircumcised. It would therefore appear that they were not of the Semitic race, though after their establishment in Canaan they adopted the Semitic language of the country. We learn from the Old Testament that they came from Caphtor, usually supposed to be Crete. From Philistia the name of the land of the Philistines came to be extended to the whole of “Palestine.” Many scholars identify the Philistines with the Pelethites of 2 Samuel 8:18.

Phinehas

Phinehas — mouth of brass, or from old Egypt, the negro. (1.) Son of Eleazar, the high priest (Exodus 6:25). While yet a youth he distinguished himself at Shittim by his zeal against the immorality into which the Moabites had tempted the people (Numbers 25:1-9), and thus “stayed the plague” that had broken out among the people, and by which twenty-four thousand of them perished. For his faithfulness on that occasion he received the divine approbation (Numbers 25:10-13). He afterwards commanded the army that went out against the Midianites (Numbers 31:6-8). When representatives of the people were sent to expostulate with the two and a half tribes who, just after crossing Jordan, built an altar and departed without giving any explanation, Phinehas was their leader, and addressed them in the words recorded in Joshua 22:16-20. Their explanation follows. This great altar was intended to be all ages only a witness that they still formed a part of Israel. Phinehas was afterwards the chief adviser in the war with the Benjamites. He is commemorated in Psalm 106:30, Psalm 106:31. (See ED.)

(2.) One of the sons of Eli, the high priest (1 Samuel 1:3; 1 Samuel 2:12). He and his brother Hophni were guilty of great crimes, for which destruction came on the house of Eli (1 Samuel 2:31). He died in battle with the Philistines (1 Samuel 4:4, 1 Samuel 4:11); and his wife, on hearing of his death, gave birth to a son, whom she called “Ichabod,” and then she died (1 Samuel 4:19-22).

Phlegon

Phlegon — burning, a Roman Christian to whom Paul sent salutations (Romans 16:14).

Phoenicia

Phoenicia — (Acts 21:2). (See PHENICIA.)

Phrygia

Phrygia — dry, an irregular and ill-defined district in Asia Minor. It was divided into two parts, the Greater Phrygia on the south, and the Lesser Phrygia on the west. It is the Greater Phrygia that is spoken of in the New Testament. The towns of Antioch in Pisidia (Acts 13:14), Colosse, Hierapolis, Iconium, and Laodicea were situated in it.

Phut

Phut — Phut is placed between Egypt and Canaan in Genesis 10:6, and elsewhere we find the people of Phut described as mercenaries in the armies of Egypt and Tyre (Jeremiah 46:9; Ezekiel 30:5; Ezekiel 27:10). In a fragment of the annuals of Nebuchadrezzar which records his invasion of Egypt, reference is made to “Phut of the Ionians.”

Phygellus

Phygellus — fugitive, a Christian of Asia, who “turned away” from Paul during his second imprisonment at Rome (2 Timothy 1:15). Nothing more is known of him.

Phylacteries

Phylacteries — (Gr. phulakteria; i.e., “defences” or “protections”), called by modern Jews tephillin (i.e., “prayers”) are mentioned only in Matthew 23:5. They consisted of strips of parchment on which were inscribed these four texts: (1.) Exodus 13:1-10; (2.) Exodus 13:11-16; (3.) Deuteronomy 6:4-9; (4.) Deuteronomy 11:18-21, and which were enclosed in a square leather case, on one side of which was inscribed the Hebrew letter shin, to which the rabbis attached some significance. This case was fastened by certain straps to the forehead just between the eyes. The “making broad the phylacteries” refers to the enlarging of the case so as to make it conspicuous. (See FRONTLETS.)

Another form of the phylactery consisted of two rolls of parchment, on which the same texts were written, enclosed in a case of black calfskin. This was worn on the left arm near the elbow, to which it was bound by a thong. It was called the “Tephillah on the arm.”

Physician

Physician — Asa, afflicted with some bodily malady, “sought not to the Lord but to the physicians” (2 Chronicles 16:12). The “physicians” were those who “practised heathen arts of magic, disavowing recognized methods of cure, and dissociating the healing art from dependence on the God of Israel. The sin of Asa was not, therefore, in seeking medical advice, as we understand the phrase, but in forgetting Jehovah.”

Pi-beseth

Pi-beseth — (Ezekiel 30:17), supposed to mean. “a cat,” or a deity in the form of a cat, worshipped by the Egyptians. It was called by the Greeks Bubastis. The hieroglyphic name is “Pe-bast”, i.e., the house of Bast, the Artemis of the Egyptians. The town of Bubasts was situated on the Pelusian branch, i.e., the easternmost branch, of the Delta. It was the seat of one of the chief annual festivals of the Egyptians. Its ruins bear the modern name of Tel-Basta.

Pieces

Pieces — (1) of silver. In Psalm 68:30 denotes “fragments,” and not properly money. In 1 Samuel 2:36 (Heb. agorah, properly a “small sum” as wages, weighed rather than coined. Joshua 24:32 (Heb. kesitah, q.v.), supposed by some to have been a piece of money bearing the figure of a lamb, but rather simply a certain amount. (Comp. Genesis 33:19).

(2.) The word pieces is omitted in many passages, as Genesis 20:16; Genesis 37:28; Genesis 45:22, etc. The passage in Zechariah 11:12, Zechariah 11:13 is quoted in the Gospel (Matthew 26:15), and from this we know that the word to be supplied is “shekels.” In all these omissions we may thus warrantably supply this word.

(3.) The “piece of money” mentioned in Matthew 17:27 is a stater=a Hebrew shekel, or four Greek drachmae; and that in Luke 15:8, Luke 15:9, Acts 19:19, a Greek drachma=a denarius. (See PENNY.)

Piety

Piety — Lat. pietas, properly honour and respect toward parents (1 Timothy 5:4). In Acts 17:23 the Greek verb is rendered “ye worship,” as applicable to God.

Pigeon

Pigeon — Pigeons are mentioned as among the offerings which, by divine appointment, Abram presented unto the Lord (Genesis 15:9). They were afterwards enumerated among the sin-offerings (Leviticus 1:14; Leviticus 12:6), and the law provided that those who could not offer a lamb might offer two young pigeons (Leviticus 5:7; comp. Luke 2:24). (See DOVE.)

Pi-hahiroth

Pi-hahiroth — place where the reeds grow (LXX. and Copt. read “farmstead”), the name of a place in Egypt where the children of Israel encamped (Exodus 14:2, Exodus 14:9), how long is uncertain. Some have identified it with Ajrud, a fortress between Etham and Suez. The condition of the Isthmus of Suez at the time of the Exodus is not exactly known, and hence this, with the other places mentioned as encampments of Israel in Egypt, cannot be definitely ascertained. The isthmus has been formed by the Nile deposits. This increase of deposit still goes on, and so rapidly that within the last fifty years the mouth of the Nile has advanced northward about four geographical miles. In the maps of Ptolemy (of the second and third centuries ) the mouths of the Nile are forty miles further south than at present. (See EXODUS.)

Pilate, Pontius

Pilate, Pontius — probably connected with the Roman family of the Pontii, and called “Pilate” from the Latin pileatus, i.e., “wearing the pileus”, which was the “cap or badge of a manumitted slave,” as indicating that he was a “freedman,” or the descendant of one. He was the sixth in the order of the Roman procurators of Judea ( 26-36). His headquarters were at Caesarea, but he frequently went up to Jerusalem. His reign extended over the period of the ministry of John the Baptist and of Jesus Christ, in connection with whose trial his name comes into prominent notice. Pilate was a “typical Roman, not of the antique, simple stamp, but of the imperial period, a man not without some remains of the ancient Roman justice in his soul, yet pleasure-loving, imperious, and corrupt. He hated the Jews whom he ruled, and in times of irritation freely shed their blood. They returned his hatred with cordiality, and accused him of every crime, maladministration, cruelty, and robbery. He visited Jerusalem as seldom as possible; for, indeed, to one accustomed to the pleasures of Rome, with its theatres, baths, games, and gay society, Jerusalem, with its religiousness and ever-smouldering revolt, was a dreary residence. When he did visit it he stayed in the palace of Herod the Great, it being common for the officers sent by Rome into conquered countries to occupy the palaces of the displaced sovereigns.”

After his trial before the Sanhedrin, Jesus was brought to the Roman procurator, Pilate, who had come up to Jerusalem as usual to preserve order during the Passover, and was now residing, perhaps, in the castle of Antonia, or it may be in Herod’s palace. Pilate came forth from his palace and met the deputation from the Sanhedrin, who, in answer to his inquiry as to the nature of the accusation they had to prefer against Jesus, accused him of being a “malefactor.” Pilate was not satisfied with this, and they further accused him (1) of sedition, (2) preventing the payment of the tribute to Caesar, and (3) of assuming the title of king (Luke 23:2). Pilate now withdrew with Jesus into the palace (John 18:33) and examined him in private (John 18:37,John 18:38); and then going out to the deputation still standing before the gate, he declared that he could find no fault in Jesus (Luke 23:4). This only aroused them to more furious clamour, and they cried that he excited the populace “throughout all Jewry, beginning from Galilee.” When Pilate heard of Galilee, he sent the accused to Herod Antipas, who had jurisdiction over that province, thus hoping to escape the difficulty in which he found himself. But Herod, with his men of war, set Jesus at nought, and sent him back again to Pilate, clad in a purple robe of mockery (Luke 23:11, Luke 23:12).

Pilate now proposed that as he and Herod had found no fault in him, they should release Jesus; and anticipating that they would consent to this proposal, he ascended the judgment-seat as if ready to ratify the decision (Matthew 27:19). But at this moment his wife (Claudia Procula) sent a message to him imploring him to have nothing to do with the “just person.” Pilate’s feelings of perplexity and awe were deepened by this incident, while the crowd vehemently cried out, “Not this man, but Barabbas.” Pilate answered, “What then shall I do with Jesus?” The fierce cry immediately followed. “Let him be crucified.” Pilate, apparently vexed, and not knowning what to do, said, “Why, what evil hath he done?” but with yet fiercer fanaticism the crowd yelled out, “Away with him! crucify him, crucify him!” Pilate yielded, and sent Jesus away to be scourged. This scourging was usually inflicted by lictors; but as Pilate was only a procurator he had no lictor, and hence his soldiers inflicted this terrible punishment. This done, the soldiers began to deride the sufferer, and they threw around him a purple robe, probably some old cast-off robe of state (Matthew 27:28; John 19:2), and putting a reed in his right hand, and a crowd of thorns on his head, bowed the knee before him in mockery, and saluted him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” They took also the reed and smote him with it on the head and face, and spat in his face, heaping upon him every indignity.

Pilate then led forth Jesus from within the Praetorium (Matthew 27:27) before the people, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe, saying, “Behold the man!” But the sight of Jesus, now scourged and crowned and bleeding, only stirred their hatred the more, and again they cried out, “Crucify him, crucify him!” and brought forth this additional charge against him, that he professed to be “the Son of God.” Pilate heard this accusation with a superstitious awe, and taking him once more within the Praetorium, asked him, “Whence art thou?” Jesus gave him no answer. Pilate was irritated by his continued silence, and said, “Knowest thou not that I have power to crucify thee?” Jesus, with calm dignity, answered the Roman, “Thou couldest have no power at all against me, except it were given thee from above.”

After this Pilate seemed more resolved than ever to let Jesus go. The crowd perceiving this cried out, “If thou let this man go, thou art not Caesar’s friend.” This settled the matter. He was afraid of being accused to the emperor. Calling for water, he washed his hands in the sight of the people, saying, “I am innocent of the blood of this just person.” The mob, again scorning his scruples, cried, “His blood be on us, and on our children.” Pilate was stung to the heart by their insults, and putting forth Jesus before them, said, “Shall I crucify your King?” The fatal moment had now come. They madly exclaimed, “We have no king but Caesar;” and now Jesus is given up to them, and led away to be crucified.

By the direction of Pilate an inscription was placed, according to the Roman custom, over the cross, stating the crime for which he was crucified. Having ascertained from the centurion that he was dead, he gave up the body to Joseph of Arimathea to be buried. Pilate’s name now disappears from the Gospel history. References to him, however, are found in the Acts of the Apostles (Acts 3:13; Acts 4:27; Acts 13:28), and in 1 Timothy 6:13. In 36 the governor of Syria brought serious accusations against Pilate, and he was banished to Vienne in Gaul, where, according to tradition, he committed suicide.

Pillar

Pillar — used to support a building (Judges 16:26, Judges 16:29); as a trophy or memorial (Genesis 28:18; Genesis 35:20; Exodus 24:4; 1 Samuel 15:12, A.V., “place,” more correctly “monument,” or “trophy of victory,” as in 2 Samuel 18:18); of fire, by which the Divine Presence was manifested (Exodus 13:2). The “plain of the pillar” in Judges 9:6 ought to be, as in the Revised Version, the “oak of the pillar”, i.e., of the monument or stone set up by Joshua (Joshua 24:26).

Pine tree

Pine tree — Heb. tidhar, mentioned along with the fir-tree in Isaiah 41:19; Isaiah 60:13. This is probably the cypress; or it may be the stone-pine, which is common on the northern slopes of Lebanon. Some suppose that the elm, others that the oak, or holm, or ilex, is meant by the Hebrew word. In Nehemiah 8:15 the Revised Version has “wild olive” instead of “pine.” (See FIR.)

Pinnacle

Pinnacle — a little wing, (Matthew 4:5; Luke 4:9). On the southern side of the temple court was a range of porches or cloisters forming three arcades. At the south-eastern corner the roof of this cloister was some 300 feet above the Kidron valley. The pinnacle, some parapet or wing-like projection, was above this roof, and hence at a great height, probably 350 feet or more above the valley.

Pipe

Pipe — (1 Samuel 10:5; 1 Kings 1:40; Isaiah 5:12; Isaiah 30:29). The Hebrew word halil, so rendered, means “bored through,” and is the name given to various kinds of wind instruments, as the fife, flute, Pan-pipes, etc. In Amos 6:5 this word is rendered “instrument of music.” This instrument is mentioned also in the New Testament (Matthew 11:17; 1 Corinthians 14:7). It is still used in Palestine, and is, as in ancient times, made of different materials, as reed, copper, bronze, etc.

Piram

Piram — like a wild ass, a king of Jarmuth, a royal city of the Canaanites, who was conquered and put to death by Joshua (Joshua 10:3, Joshua 10:23, Joshua 10:26).

Pirathon

Pirathon — prince, or summit, a place “in the land of Ephraim” (Judges 12:15), now Fer’on, some 10 miles south-west of Shechem. This was the home of Abdon the judge.

Pirathonite

Pirathonite — (1.) Abdon, the son of Hillel, so called, Judges 12:13, Judges 12:15.

(2.) Benaiah the Ephraimite (2 Samuel 23:30), one of David’s thirty heroes.

Pisgah

Pisgah — a part, a mountain summit in the land of Moab, in the territory of Reuben, where Balak offered up sacrifices (Numbers 21:20; Numbers 23:14), and from which Moses viewed the promised land (Deuteronomy 3:27). It is probably the modern Jebel Siaghah. (See NEBO.)

Pisidia

Pisidia — a district in Asia Minor, to the north of Pamphylia. The Taurus range of mountains extends through it. Antioch, one of its chief cities, was twice visited by Paul (Acts 13:14; Acts 14:21-24).

Pison

Pison — Babylonian, the current, broad-flowing, one of the “four heads” into which the river which watered the garden of Eden was divided (Genesis 2:11). Some identify it with the modern Phasis, others with the Halys, others the Jorak or Acampis, others the Jaab, the Indus, the Ganges, etc.

Pit

Pit — a hole in the ground (Exodus 21:33, Exodus 21:34), a cistern for water (Genesis 37:24; Jeremiah 14:3), a vault (Jeremiah 41:9), a grave (Psalm 30:3). It is used as a figure for mischief (Psalm 9:15), and is the name given to the unseen place of woe (Revelation 20:1, Revelation 20:3). The slime-pits in the vale of Siddim were wells which yielded asphalt (Genesis 14:10).

Pitch

Pitch — (Genesis 6:14), asphalt or bitumen in its soft state, called “slime” (Genesis 11:3; Genesis 14:10; Exodus 2:3), found in pits near the Dead Sea (q.v.). It was used for various purposes, as the coating of the outside of vessels and in building. Allusion is made in Isaiah 34:9 to its inflammable character. (See SLIME.)

Pitcher

Pitcher — a vessel for containing liquids. In the East pitchers were usually carried on the head or shoulders (Genesis 24:15-20; Judges 7:16, Judges 7:19; Mark 14:13).

Pithom

Pithom — Egyptian, Pa-Tum, “house of Tum,” the sun-god, one of the “treasure” cities built for Pharaoh Rameses II. by the Israelites (Exodus 1:11). It was probably the Patumos of the Greek historian Herodotus. It has now been satisfactorily identified with Tell-el-Maskhuta, about 12 miles west of Ismailia, and 20 east of Tel-el-Kebir, on the southern bank of the present Suez Canal. Here have recently (1883) been discovered the ruins of supposed grain-chambers, and other evidences to show that this was a great “store city.” Its immense ruin-heaps show that it was built of bricks, and partly also of bricks without straw. Succoth (Exodus 12:37) is supposed by some to be the secular name of this city, Pithom being its sacred name. This was the first halting-place of the Israelites in their exodus. It has been argued (Dr. Lansing) that these “store” cities “were residence cities, royal dwellings, such as the Pharaohs of old, the Kings of Israel, and our modern Khedives have ever loved to build, thus giving employment to the superabundant muscle of their enslaved peoples, and making a name for themselves.”

Plague

Plague — a “stroke” of affliction, or disease. Sent as a divine chastisement (Numbers 11:33; Numbers 14:37; Numbers 16:46-49; 2 Samuel 24:21). Painful afflictions or diseases, (Leviticus 13:3, Leviticus 13:5, Leviticus 13:30; 1 Kings 8:37), or severe calamity (Mark 5:29; Luke 7:21), or the judgment of God, so called (Exodus 9:14). Plagues of Egypt were ten in number.

(1.) The river Nile was turned into blood, and the fish died, and the river stank, so that the Egyptians loathed to drink of the river (Exodus 7:14-25).

(2.) The plague of frogs (Exodus 8:1-15).

(3.) The plague of lice (Heb. kinnim, properly gnats or mosquitoes; comp. Psalm 78:45; Psalm 105:31), “out of the dust of the land” (Exodus 8:16-19).

(4.) The plague of flies (Heb. arob, rendered by the LXX. dog-fly), Exodus 8:21-24.

(5.) The murrain (Exodus 9:1-7), or epidemic pestilence which carried off vast numbers of cattle in the field. Warning was given of its coming.

(6.) The sixth plague, of “boils and blains,” like the third, was sent without warning (Exodus 9:8-12). It is called (Deuteronomy 28:27) “the botch of Egypt,” A.V.; but in R.V., “the boil of Egypt.” “The magicians could not stand before Moses” because of it.

(7.) The plague of hail, with fire and thunder (Exodus 9:13-33). Warning was given of its coming. (Comp. Psalm 18:13; Psalm 105:32, Psalm 105:33).

(8.) The plague of locusts, which covered the whole face of the earth, so that the land was darkened with them (Exodus 10:12-15). The Hebrew name of this insect, arbeh, points to the “multitudinous” character of this visitation. Warning was given before this plague came.

(9.) After a short interval the plague of darkness succeeded that of the locusts; and it came without any special warning (Exodus 10:21-29). The darkness covered “all the land of Egypt” to such an extent that “they saw not one another.” It did not, however, extend to the land of Goshen.

(10.) The last and most fearful of these plagues was the death of the first-born of man and of beast (Exodus 11:4, Exodus 11:5; Exodus 12:29,Exodus 12:30). The exact time of the visitation was announced, “about midnight”, which would add to the horror of the infliction. Its extent also is specified, from the first-born of the king to the first-born of the humblest slave, and all the first-born of beasts. But from this plague the Hebrews were completely exempted. The Lord “put a difference” between them and the Egyptians. (See PASSOVER.)

Plain

Plain — (1.) Heb. ‘abel (Judges 11:33), a “grassy plain” or “meadow.” Instead of “plains of the vineyards,” as in the Authorized Version, the Revised Version has “Abel-cheramim” (q.v.), comp. Judges 11:22; 2 Chronicles 16:4.

(2.) Heb. ‘elon (Genesis 12:6; Genesis 13:18; Genesis 14:13; Genesis 18:1; Deuteronomy 11:30; Judges 9:6), more correctly “oak,” as in the Revised Version; margin, “terebinth.”

(3.) Heb. bik’ah (Genesis 11:2; Nehemiah 6:2; Ezekiel 3:23; Daniel 3:1), properly a valley, as rendered in Isaiah 40:4, a broad plain between mountains. In Amos 1:5 the margin of Authorized Version has “Bikathaven.”

(4.) Heb. kikar, “the circle,” used only of the Ghor, or the low ground along the Jordan (Genesis 13:10-12; Genesis 19:17, Genesis 19:25, Genesis 19:28, Genesis 19:29; Deuteronomy 34:3; 2 Samuel 18:23; 1 Kings 7:46; 2 Chronicles 4:17; Nehemiah 3:22; Nehemiah 12:28), the floor of the valley through which it flows. This name is applied to the Jordan valley as far north as Succoth.

(5.) Heb. mishor, “level ground,” smooth, grassy table-land (Deuteronomy 3:10; Deuteronomy 4:43; Joshua 13:9, Joshua 13:16, Joshua 13:17, Joshua 13:21; Joshua 20:8; Jeremiah 48:21), an expanse of rolling downs without rock or stone. In these passages, with the article prefixed, it denotes the plain in the tribe of Reuben. In 2 Chronicles 26:10 the plain of Judah is meant. Jerusalem is called “the rock of the plain” in Jeremiah 21:13, because the hills on which it is built rise high above the plain.

(6.) Heb. ‘arabah, the valley from the Sea of Galilee southward to the Dead Sea (the “sea of the plain,” 2 Kings 14:25; Deuteronomy 1:1; Deuteronomy 2:8), a distance of about 70 miles. It is called by the modern Arabs the Ghor. This Hebrew name is found in Authorized Version (Joshua 18:18), and is uniformly used in the Revised Version. Down through the centre of this plain is a ravine, from 200 to 300 yards wide, and from 50 to 100 feet deep, through which the Jordan flows in a winding course. This ravine is called the “lower plain.”

The name Arabah is also applied to the whole Jordan valley from Mount Hermon to the eastern branch of the Red Sea, a distance of about 200 miles, as well as to that portion of the valley which stretches from the Sea of Galilee to the same branch of the Red Sea, i.e., to the Gulf of Akabah about 100 miles in all.

(7.) Heb. shephelah, “low ground,” “low hill-land,” rendered “vale” or “valley” in Authorized Version (Joshua 9:1; Joshua 10:40; Joshua 11:2; Joshua 12:8; Judges 1:9; 1 Kings 10:27). In Authorized Version (1 Chronicles 27:28; 2 Chronicles 26:10) it is also rendered “low country.” In Jeremiah 17:26, Obadiah 19, Zechariah 7:7, “plain.” The Revised Version renders it uniformly “low land.” When it is preceded by the article, as in Deuteronomy 1:7, Joshua 11:16; Joshua 15:33, Jeremiah 32:44; Jeremiah 33:13, Zechariah 7:7, “the shephelah,” it denotes the plain along the Mediterranean from Joppa to Gaza, “the plain of the Philistines.” (See VALLEY.)

Plain of Mamre

Plain of Mamre — (Genesis 13:18; Genesis 14:13; R.V., “oaks of Mamre;” marg., “terebinths”). (See MAMRE ; TEIL-TREE.)

Plane tree

Plane tree — Heb. ‘armon (Genesis 30:37; Ezekiel 31:8), rendered “chesnut” in the Authorized Version, but correctly “plane tree” in the Revised Version and the LXX. This tree is frequently found in Palestine, both on the coast and in the north. It usually sheds its outer bark, and hence its Hebrew name, which means “naked.” (See CHESTNUT.)

Pledge

Pledge — See LOAN.

Pleiades

Pleiades — Heb. kimah, “a cluster” (Job 9:9; Job 38:31; Amos 5:8, A.V., “seven stars;” R.V., “Pleiades”), a name given to the cluster of stars seen in the shoulder of the constellation Taurus.

Plough

Plough — first referred to in Genesis 45:6, where the Authorized Version has “earing,” but the Revised Version “ploughing;” next in Exodus 34:21 and Deuteronomy 21:4. The plough was originally drawn by oxen, but sometimes also by asses and by men. (See AGRICULTURE.)

Poetry

Poetry — has been well defined as “the measured language of emotion.” Hebrew poetry deals almost exclusively with the great question of man’s relation to God. “Guilt, condemnation, punishment, pardon, redemption, repentance are the awful themes of this heaven-born poetry.”

In the Hebrew scriptures there are found three distinct kinds of poetry, (1) that of the Book of Job and the Song of Solomon, which is dramatic; (2) that of the Book of Psalms, which is lyrical; and (3) that of the Book of Ecclesiastes, which is didactic and sententious.

Hebrew poetry has nothing akin to that of Western nations. It has neither metre nor rhyme. Its great peculiarity consists in the mutual correspondence of sentences or clauses, called parallelism, or “thought-rhyme.” Various kinds of this parallelism have been pointed out:

(1.) Synonymous or cognate parallelism, where the same idea is repeated in the same words (Psalm 93:3; Psalm 94:1; Proverbs 6:2), or in different words (Psalm 22, Psalm 23, Psalm 28, Psalm 114, etc.); or where it is expressed in a positive form in the one clause and in a negative in the other (Psalm 40:12; Proverbs 6:26); or where the same idea is expressed in three successive clauses (Psalm 40:15, Psalm 40:16); or in a double parallelism, the first and second clauses corresponding to the third and fourth (Isaiah 9:1; Isaiah 61:10, Isaiah 61:11).

(2.) Antithetic parallelism, where the idea of the second clause is the converse of that of the first (Psalm 20:8; Psalm 27:6, Psalm 27:7; Psalm 34:11; Psalm 37:9, Psalm 37:17, Psalm 37:21, Psalm 37:22). This is the common form of gnomic or proverbial poetry. (See Proverbs 10-15.)

(3.) Synthetic or constructive or compound parallelism, where each clause or sentence contains some accessory idea enforcing the main idea (Psalm 19:7-10; Psalm 85:12; Job 3:3-9; Isaiah 1:5-9).

(4.) Introverted parallelism, in which of four clauses the first answers to the fourth and the second to the third (Psalm 135:15-18; Proverbs 23:15, Proverbs 23:16), or where the second line reverses the order of words in the first (Psalm 86:2).

Hebrew poetry sometimes assumes other forms than these. (1.) An alphabetical arrangement is sometimes adopted for the purpose of connecting clauses or sentences. Thus in the following the initial words of the respective verses begin with the letters of the alphabet in regular succession: Proverbs 31:10-31; Lamentations 1, Lamentations 2, Lamentations 3, Lamentations 4; Psalm 25, Psalm 34, Psalm 37, Psalm 145. Psalm 119 has a letter of the alphabet in regular order beginning every eighth verse.

(2.) The repetition of the same verse or of some emphatic expression at intervals (Psalm 42, Psalm 107, where the refrain is in verses, Psalm 107:8, Psalm 107:15, Psalm 107:21, Psalm 107:31). (Comp. also Isaiah 9:8-10:4; Amos 1:3, Amos 1:6, Amos 1:9, Amos 1:11, Amos 1:13; Amos 2:1, Amos 2:4, Amos 2:6.)

(3.) Gradation, in which the thought of one verse is resumed in another (Psalm 121).

Several odes of great poetical beauty are found in the historical books of the Old Testament, such as the song of Moses (Exodus 15), the song of Deborah (Judges 5), of Hannah (1 Samuel 2), of Hezekiah (Isaiah 38:9-20), of Habakkuk (Habakkuk 3), and David’s “song of the bow” (2 Samuel 1:19-27).

Poison

Poison — (1.) Heb. hemah, “heat,” the poison of certain venomous reptiles (Deuteronomy 32:24, Deuteronomy 32:33; Job 6:4; Psalm 58:4), causing inflammation.

(2.) Heb. rosh, “a head,” a poisonous plant (Deuteronomy 29:18), growing luxuriantly (Hosea 10:4), of a bitter taste (Psalm 69:21; Lamentations 3:5), and coupled with wormwood; probably the poppy. This word is rendered “gall”, q.v., (Deuteronomy 29:18; Deuteronomy 32:33; Psalm 69:21; Jeremiah 8:14, etc.), “hemlock” (Hosea 10:4; Amos 6:12), and “poison” (Job 20:16), “the poison of asps,” showing that the rosh was not exclusively a vegetable poison.

(3.) In Romans 3:13 (comp. Job 20:16; Psalm 140:3), James 3:8, as the rendering of the Greek ios.

Pomegranate

Pomegranate — i.e., “grained apple” (pomum granatum), Heb. rimmon. Common in Egypt (Numbers 20:5) and Palestine (Numbers 13:23; Deuteronomy 8:8). The Romans called it Punicum malum, i.e., Carthaginian apple, because they received it from Carthage. It belongs to the myrtle family of trees. The withering of the pomegranate tree is mentioned among the judgments of God (Joel 1:12). It is frequently mentioned in the Song of Solomon (Song of Solomon 4:3, Song of Solomon 4:13, etc.). The skirt of the high priest’s blue robe and ephod was adorned with the representation of pomegranates, alternating with golden bells (Exodus 28:33,Exodus 28:34), as also were the “chapiters upon the two pillars” (1 Kings 7:20) which “stood before the house.”

Pommels

Pommels — (2 Chronicles 4:12, 2 Chronicles 4:13), or bowls (1 Kings 7:41), were balls or “rounded knobs” on the top of the chapiters (q.v.).

Pontius Pilate

Pontius Pilate — See PILATE.

Pontus

Pontus — a province of Asia Minor, stretching along the southern coast of the Euxine Sea, corresponding nearly to the modern province of Trebizond. In the time of the apostles it was a Roman province. Strangers from this province were at Jerusalem at Pentecost (Acts 2:9), and to “strangers scattered throughout Pontus,” among others, Peter addresses his first epistle (1 Peter 1:1). It was evidently the resort of many Jews of the Dispersion. Aquila was a native of Pontus (Acts 18:2).

Pool

Pool — a pond, or reservoir, for holding water (Heb. berekhah; modern Arabic, birket), an artificial cistern or tank. Mention is made of the pool of Gibeon (2 Samuel 2:13); the pool of Hebron (2 Samuel 4:12); the upper pool at Jerusalem (2 Kings 18:17; 2 Kings 20:20); the pool of Samaria (1 Kings 22:38); the king’s pool (Nehemiah 2:14); the pool of Siloah (Nehemiah 3:15; Ecclesiastes 2:6); the fishpools of Heshbon (Song of Solomon 7:4); the “lower pool,” and the “old pool” (Isaiah 22:9,Isaiah 22:11).

The “pool of Bethesda” (John 5:2,John 5:4, John 5:7) and the “pool of Siloam” (John 9:7, John 9:11) are also mentioned. Isaiah (Isaiah 35:7) says, “The parched ground shall become a pool.” This is rendered in the Revised Version “glowing sand,” etc. (marg., “the mirage,” etc.). The Arabs call the mirage “serab,” plainly the same as the Hebrew word sarab, here rendered “parched ground.” “The mirage shall become a pool”, i.e., the mock-lake of the burning desert shall become a real lake, “the pledge of refreshment and joy.” The “pools” spoken of in Isaiah 14:23 are the marshes caused by the ruin of the canals of the Euphrates in the neighbourhood of Babylon.

The cisterns or pools of the Holy City are for the most part excavations beneath the surface. Such are the vast cisterns in the temple hill that have recently been discovered by the engineers of the Palestine Exploration Fund. These underground caverns are about thirty-five in number, and are capable of storing about ten million gallons of water. They are connected with one another by passages and tunnels.

Pools of Solomon

Pools of Solomon — the name given to three large open cisterns at Etam, at the head of the Wady Urtas, having an average length of 400 feet by 220 in breadth, and 20 to 30 in depth. These pools derive their chief supply of water from a spring called “the sealed fountain,” about 200 yards to the north-west of the upper pool, to which it is conveyed by a large subterranean passage. They are 150 feet distant from each other, and each pool is 20 feet lower than that above it, the conduits being so arranged that the lowest, which is the largest and finest of the three, is filled first, and then in succession the others. It has been estimated that these pools cover in all a space of about 7 acres, and are capable of containing three million gallons of water. They were, as is generally supposed, constructed in the days of Solomon. They are probably referred to in Ecclesiastes 2:6. On the fourth day after his victory over the Ammonites, etc., in the wilderness of Tekoa, Jehoshaphat assembled his army in the valley of Berachah (“blessing”), and there blessed the Lord. Berachah has been identified with the modern Bereikut, some 5 miles south of Wady Urtas, and hence the “valley of Berachah” may be this valley of pools, for the word means both “blessing” and “pools;” and it has been supposed, therefore, that this victory was celebrated beside Solomon’s pools (2 Chronicles 20:26).

These pools were primarily designed to supply Jerusalem with water. From the lower pool an aqueduct has been traced conveying the water through Bethlehem and across the valley of Gihon, and along the west slope of the Tyropoeon valley, till it finds its way into the great cisterns underneath the temple hill. The water, however, from the pools reaches now only to Bethlehem. The aqueduct beyond this has been destroyed.

Poor

Poor — The Mosaic legislation regarding the poor is specially important. (1.) They had the right of gleaning the fields (Leviticus 19:9, Leviticus 19:10; Deuteronomy 24:19,Deuteronomy 24:21).

(2.) In the sabbatical year they were to have their share of the produce of the fields and the vineyards (Exodus 23:11; Leviticus 25:6).

(3.) In the year of jubilee they recovered their property (Leviticus 25:25-30).

(4.) Usury was forbidden, and the pledged raiment was to be returned before the sun went down (Exodus 22:25-27; Deuteronomy 24:10-13). The rich were to be generous to the poor (Deuteronomy 15:7-11).

(5.) In the sabbatical and jubilee years the bond-servant was to go free (Deuteronomy 15:12-15; Leviticus 25:39-42, Leviticus 25:47-54).

(6.) Certain portions from the tithes were assigned to the poor (Deuteronomy 14:28, Deuteronomy 14:29; Deuteronomy 26:12, Deuteronomy 26:13).

(7.) They shared in the feasts (Deuteronomy 16:11, Deuteronomy 16:14; Nehemiah 8:10).

(8.) Wages were to be paid at the close of each day (Leviticus 19:13).

In the New Testament (Luke 3:11; Luke 14:13; Acts 6:1; Galatians 2:10; James 2:15, James 2:16) we have similar injunctions given with reference to the poor. Begging was not common under the Old Testament, while it was so in the New Testament times (Luke 16:20, Luke 16:21, etc.). But begging in the case of those who are able to work is forbidden, and all such are enjoined to “work with their own hands” as a Christian duty (1 Thessalonians 4:11; 2 Thessalonians 3:7-13; Ephesians 4:28). This word is used figuratively in Matthew 5:3; Luke 6:20; 2 Corinthians 8:9; Revelation 3:17.

Poplar

Poplar — Heb. libneh, “white”, (Genesis 30:37; Hosea 4:13), in all probability the storax tree (Styrax officinalis) or white poplar, distinguished by its white blossoms and pale leaves. It is common in the Anti-Libanus. Other species of the poplar are found in Palestine, such as the white poplar (P. alba) of our own country, the black poplar (P. nigra), and the aspen (P. tremula). (See WILLOW.)

Porch, Solomon’s

Porch, Solomon’s — a colonnade on the east of the temple, so called from a tradition that it was a relic of Solomon’s temple left standing after the destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonians. (Comp. 1 Kings 7:6.) The word “porch” is in the New Testament the rendering of three different Greek words:

(1.) Stoa, meaning a portico or veranda (John 5:2; John 10:23; Acts 3:11; Acts 5:12).

(2.) Pulon, a gateway (Matthew 26:71).

(3.) Proaulion, the entrance to the inner court (Mark 14:68).

Porcius Festus

Porcius Festus — See FESTUS.

Porter

Porter — a gate-keeper (2 Samuel 18:26; 2 Kings 7:10; 1 Chronicles 9:21; 2 Chronicles 8:14). Of the Levites, 4,000 were appointed as porters by David (1 Chronicles 23:5), who were arranged according to their families (1 Chronicles 26:1-19) to take charge of the doors and gates of the temple. They were sometimes employed as musicians (1 Chronicles 15:18).

Post

Post — (1.) A runner, or courier, for the rapid transmission of letters, etc. (2 Chronicles 30:6; Esther 3:13, Esther 3:15; Esther 8:10, Esther 8:14; Job 9:25; Jeremiah 51:31). Such messengers were used from very early times. Those employed by the Hebrew kings had a military character (1 Samuel 22:17; 2 Kings 10:25, “guard,” marg. “runners”). The modern system of postal communication was first established by Louis XI. of France in A.D. 1464.

(2.) This word sometimes also is used for lintel or threshold (Isaiah 6:4).

Potiphar

Potiphar — dedicated to Ra; i.e., to the sun-god, the Egyptian to whom the Ishmaelites sold Joseph (Genesis 39:1). He was “captain of the guard”, i.e., chief, probably, of the state police, who, while they formed part of the Egyptian army, were also largely employed in civil duties (Genesis 37:36; marg., “chief of the executioners”). Joseph, though a foreigner, gradually gained his confidence, and became overseer over all his possessions. Believing the false accusation which his profligate wife brought against Joseph, Potiphar cast him into prison, where he remained for some years. (See JOSEPH.)

Potipherah

Potipherah — a priest of On, whose daughter Asenath became Joseph’s wife (Genesis 41:45).

Potsherd

Potsherd — a “shred”, i.e., anything severed, as a fragment of earthenware (Job 2:8; Proverbs 26:23; Isaiah 45:9).

Pottage

Pottage — Heb. nazid, “boiled”, a dish of boiled food, as of lentils (Genesis 25:29; 2 Kings 4:38).

Potters field

Potters field — the name given to the piece of ground which was afterwards bought with the money that had been given to Judas. It was called the “field of blood” (Matthew 27:7-10). Tradition places it in the valley of Hinnom. (See ACELDAMA.)

Pottery

Pottery — the art of, was early practised among all nations. Various materials seem to have been employed by the potter. Earthenware is mentioned in connection with the history of Melchizedek (Genesis 14:18), of Abraham (Genesis 18:4-8), of Rebekah (Genesis 27:14), of Rachel (Genesis 29:2, Genesis 29:3, Genesis 29:8, Genesis 29:10). The potter’s wheel is mentioned by Jeremiah (Jeremiah 18:3). See also 1 Chronicles 4:23; Psalm 2:9; Isaiah 45:9; Isaiah 64:8; Jeremiah 19:1; Lamentations 4:2; Zechariah 11:13; Romans 9:21.

Pound

Pound — (1.) A weight. Heb. maneh, equal to 100 shekels (1 Kings 10:17; Ezra 2:69; Nehemiah 7:71, Nehemiah 7:72). Gr. litra, equal to about 12 oz. avoirdupois (John 12:3; John 19:39).

(2.) A sum of money; the Gr. mna or mina (Luke 19:13, Luke 19:16, Luke 19:18, Luke 19:20, Luke 19:24, Luke 19:25). It was equal to 100 drachmas, and was of the value of about $3, 6s. 8d. of our money. (See MONEY.)

Praetorium

Praetorium — The Greek word (praitorion) thus rendered in Mark 15:16 is rendered “common hall” (Matthew 27:27, marg., “governor’s house”), “judgment hall,” (John 18:28, John 18:33, marg., “Pilate’s house”, John 19:9; Acts 23:35), “palace” (Philippians 1:13). This is properly a military word. It denotes (1) the general’s tent or headquarters; (2) the governor’s residence, as in Acts 23:35 (R.V., “palace”); and (3) the praetorian guard (See PALACE ), or the camp or quarters of the praetorian cohorts (Acts 28:16), the imperial guards in immediate attendance on the emperor, who was “praetor” or commander-in-chief.

Prayer

Prayer — is converse with God; the intercourse of the soul with God, not in contemplation or meditation, but in direct address to him. Prayer may be oral or mental, occasional or constant, ejaculatory or formal. It is a “beseeching the Lord” (Exodus 32:11); “pouring out the soul before the Lord” (1 Samuel 1:15); “praying and crying to heaven” (2 Chronicles 32:20); “seeking unto God and making supplication” (Job 8:5); “drawing near to God” (Psalm 73:28); “bowing the knees” (Ephesians 3:14).

Prayer presupposes a belief in the personality of God, his ability and willingness to hold intercourse with us, his personal control of all things and of all his creatures and all their actions.

Acceptable prayer must be sincere (Hebrews 10:22), offered with reverence and godly fear, with a humble sense of our own insignificance as creatures and of our own unworthiness as sinners, with earnest importunity, and with unhesitating submission to the divine will. Prayer must also be offered in the faith that God is, and is the hearer and answerer of prayer, and that he will fulfil his word, “Ask, and ye shall receive” (Matthew 7:7, Matthew 7:8; Matthew 21:22; Mark 11:24; John 14:13, John 14:14), and in the name of Christ (John 16:23, John 16:24; John 15:16; Ephesians 2:18; Ephesians 5:20; Colossians 3:17; 1 Peter 2:5).

Prayer is of different kinds, secret (Matthew 6:6); social, as family prayers, and in social worship; and public, in the service of the sanctuary.

Intercessory prayer is enjoined (Numbers 6:23; Job 42:8; Isaiah 62:6; Psalm 122:6; 1 Timothy 2:1; James 5:14), and there are many instances on record of answers having been given to such prayers, e.g., of Abraham (Genesis 17:18, Genesis 17:20; Genesis 18:23-32; Genesis 20:7, Genesis 20:17, Genesis 20:18), of Moses for Pharaoh (Exodus 8:12, Exodus 8:13, Exodus 8:30, Exodus 8:31; Exodus 9:33), for the Israelites (Exodus 17:11, Exodus 17:13; Exodus 32:11-14, Exodus 32:31-34; Numbers 21:7, Numbers 21:8; Deuteronomy 9:18, Deuteronomy 9:19, Deuteronomy 9:25), for Miriam (Numbers 12:13), for Aaron (Deuteronomy 9:20), of Samuel (1 Samuel 7:5-12), of Solomon (1 Kings 8; 2 Chronicles 6), Elijah (1 Kings 17:20-23), Elisha (2 Kings 4:33-36), Isaiah (2 Kings 19), Jeremiah (Jeremiah 42:2-10), Peter (Acts 9:40), the church (Acts 12:5-12), Paul (Acts 28:8).

No rules are anywhere in Scripture laid down for the manner of prayer or the attitude to be assumed by the suppliant. There is mention made of kneeling in prayer (1 Kings 8:54; 2 Chronicles 6:13; Psalm 95:6; Isaiah 45:23; Luke 22:41; Acts 7:60; Acts 9:40; Ephesians 3:14, etc.); of bowing and falling prostrate (Genesis 24:26, Genesis 24:52; Exodus 4:31; Exodus 12:27; Matthew 26:39; Mark 14:35, etc.); of spreading out the hands (1 Kings 8:22, 1 Kings 8:38, 1 Kings 8:54; Psalm 28:2; Psalm 63:4; Psalm 88:9; 1 Timothy 2:8, etc.); and of standing (1 Samuel 1:26; 1 Kings 8:14, 1 Kings 8:55; 2 Chronicles 20:9; Mark 11:25; Luke 18:11, Luke 18:13).

If we except the “Lord’s Prayer” (Matthew 6:9-13), which is, however, rather a model or pattern of prayer than a set prayer to be offered up, we have no special form of prayer for general use given us in Scripture.

Prayer is frequently enjoined in Scripture (Exodus 22:23, Exodus 22:27; 1 Kings 3:5; 2 Chronicles 7:14; Psalm 37:4; Isaiah 55:6; Joel 2:32; Ezekiel 36:37, etc.), and we have very many testimonies that it has been answered (Psalm 3:4; Psalm 4:1; Psalm 6:8; Psalm 18:6; Psalm 28:6; Psalm 30:2; Psalm 34:4; Psalm 118:5; James 5:16-18, etc.).

“Abraham’s servant prayed to God, and God directed him to the person who should be wife to his master’s son and heir (Genesis 24:10-20).

“Jacob prayed to God, and God inclined the heart of his irritated brother, so that they met in peace and friendship (Genesis 32:24-30; Genesis 33:1-4).

“Samson prayed to God, and God showed him a well where he quenched his burning thirst, and so lived to judge Israel (Judges 15:18-20).

“David prayed, and God defeated the counsel of Ahithophel (2 Samuel 15:31; 2 Samuel 16:20-23; 2 Samuel 17:14-23).

“Daniel prayed, and God enabled him both to tell Nebuchadnezzar his dream and to give the interpretation of it (Daniel 2:16-23).

“Nehemiah prayed, and God inclined the heart of the king of Persia to grant him leave of absence to visit and rebuild Jerusalem (Nehemiah 1:11; Nehemiah 2:1-6).

“Esther and Mordecai prayed, and God defeated the purpose of Haman, and saved the Jews from destruction (Esther 4:15-17; Esther 6:7, Esther 6:8).

“The believers in Jerusalem prayed, and God opened the prison doors and set Peter at liberty, when Herod had resolved upon his death (Acts 12:1-12).

“Paul prayed that the thorn in the flesh might be removed, and his prayer brought a large increase of spiritual strength, while the thorn perhaps remained (2 Corinthians 12:7-10).

“Prayer is like the dove that Noah sent forth, which blessed him not only when it returned with an olive-leaf in its mouth, but when it never returned at all.”, Robinson’s Job.

Predestination

Predestination — This word is properly used only with reference to God’s plan or purpose of salvation. The Greek word rendered “predestinate” is found only in these six passages, Acts 4:28; Romans 8:29, Romans 8:30; 1 Corinthians 2:7; Ephesians 1:5, Ephesians 1:11; and in all of them it has the same meaning. They teach that the eternal, sovereign, immutable, and unconditional decree or “determinate purpose” of God governs all events.

This doctrine of predestination or election is beset with many difficulties. It belongs to the “secret things” of God. But if we take the revealed word of God as our guide, we must accept this doctrine with all its mysteriousness, and settle all our questionings in the humble, devout acknowledgment, “Even so, Father: for so it seemed good in thy sight.”

For the teaching of Scripture on this subject let the following passages be examined in addition to those referred to above; Genesis 21:12; Exodus 9:16; Exodus 33:19; Deuteronomy 10:15; Deuteronomy 32:8; Joshua 11:20; 1 Samuel 12:22; 2 Chronicles 6:6; Psalm 33:12; Psalm 65:4; Psalm 78:68; Psalm 135:4; Isaiah 41:1-10; Jeremiah 1:5; Mark 13:20; Luke 22:22; John 6:37; John 15:16; John 17:2, John 17:6, John 17:9; Acts 2:28; Acts 3:18; Acts 4:28; Acts 13:48; Acts 17:26; Romans 9:11, Romans 9:18, Romans 9:21; Romans 11:5; Ephesians 3:11; 1 Thessalonians 1:4; 2 Thessalonians 2:13; 2 Timothy 1:9; Titus 1:2; 1 Peter 1:2. (See DECREES OF GOD ; ELECTION.)

Hodge has well remarked that, “rightly understood, this doctrine (1) exalts the majesty and absolute sovereignty of God, while it illustrates the riches of his free grace and his just displeasure with sin. (2.) It enforces upon us the essential truth that salvation is entirely of grace. That no one can either complain if passed over, or boast himself if saved. (3.) It brings the inquirer to absolute self-despair and the cordial embrace of the free offer of Christ. (4.) In the case of the believer who has the witness in himself, this doctrine at once deepens his humility and elevates his confidence to the full assurance of hope” (Outlines).

Presidents

Presidents — Three presidents are mentioned, of whom Daniel was the first (Daniel 6:2-7). The name in the original is sarkhin, probably a Persian word meaning perfects or ministers.

Priest

Priest — The Heb. kohen, Gr. hierus, Lat. sacerdos, always denote one who offers sacrifices.

At first every man was his own priest, and presented his own sacrifices before God. Afterwards that office devolved on the head of the family, as in the cases of Noah (Genesis 8:20), Abraham (Genesis 12:7; Genesis 13:4), Isaac (Genesis 26:25), Jacob (Genesis 31:54), and Job (Job 1:5).

The name first occurs as applied to Melchizedek (Genesis 14:18). Under the Levitical arrangements the office of the priesthood was limited to the tribe of Levi, and to only one family of that tribe, the family of Aaron. Certain laws respecting the qualifications of priests are given in Leviticus 21:16-23. There are ordinances also regarding the priests’ dress (Exodus 28:40-43) and the manner of their consecration to the office (Exodus 29:1-37).

Their duties were manifold (Exodus 27:20, Exodus 27:21; Exodus 29:38-44; Leviticus 6:12; Leviticus 10:11; Leviticus 24:8; Numbers 10:1-10; Deuteronomy 17:8-13; Deuteronomy 33:10; Malachi 2:7). They represented the people before God, and offered the various sacrifices prescribed in the law.

In the time of David the priests were divided into twenty-four courses or classes (1 Chronicles 24:7-18). This number was retained after the Captivity (Ezra 2:36-39; Nehemiah 7:39-42).

“The priests were not distributed over the country, but lived together in certain cities [forty-eight in number, of which six were cities of refuge, q.v.], which had been assigned to their use. From thence they went up by turns to minister in the temple at Jerusalem. Thus the religious instruction of the people in the country generally was left to the heads of families, until the establishment of synagogues, an event which did not take place till the return from the Captivity, and which was the main source of the freedom from idolatry that became as marked a feature of the Jewish people thenceforward as its practice had been hitherto their great national sin.”

The whole priestly system of the Jews was typical. It was a shadow of which the body is Christ. The priests all prefigured the great Priest who offered “one sacrifice for sins” “once for all” (Hebrews 10:10, Hebrews 10:12). There is now no human priesthood. (See Epistle to the Hebrews throughout.) The term “priest” is indeed applied to believers (1 Peter 2:9; Revelation 1:6), but in these cases it implies no sacerdotal functions. All true believers are now “kings and priests unto God.” As priests they have free access into the holiest of all, and offer up the sacrifices of praise and thanksgiving, and the sacrifices of grateful service from day to day.

Prince

Prince — the title generally applied to the chief men of the state. The “princes of the provinces” (1 Kings 20:14) were the governors or lord-lieutenants of the provinces. So also the “princes” mentioned in Daniel 6:1, Daniel 6:3, Daniel 6:4, Daniel 6:6, Daniel 6:7 were the officers who administered the affairs of the provinces; the “satraps” (as rendered in R.V.). These are also called “lieutenants” (Esther 3:12; Esther 8:9; R.V., “satraps”). The promised Saviour is called by Daniel (Daniel 9:25) “Messiah the Prince” (Heb. nagid; compare Acts 3:15; Acts 5:31. The angel Micheal is called (Daniel 12:1) a “prince” (Heb. sar, whence “Sarah,” the “princes”).

Priscilla

Priscilla — the wife of Aquila (Acts 18:2), who is never mentioned without her. Her name sometimes takes the precedence of his (Romans 16:3; 2 Timothy 4:19). She took part with Aquila (q.v.) in insturcting Apollos (Acts 18:26).

Prison

Prison — The first occasion on which we read of a prison is in the history of Joseph in Egypt. Then Potiphar, “Joseph’s master, took him, and put him into the prison, a place where the king’s prisoners were bound” (Genesis 39:20-23). The Heb. word here used (sohar) means properly a round tower or fortress. It seems to have been a part of Potiphar’s house, a place in which state prisoners were kept.

The Mosaic law made no provision for imprisonment as a punishment. In the wilderness two persons were “put in ward” (Leviticus 24:12; Numbers 15:34), but it was only till the mind of God concerning them should be ascertained. Prisons and prisoners are mentioned in the book of Psalms (Psalm 69:33; Psalm 79:11; Psalm 142:7). Samson was confined in a Philistine prison (Judges 16:21, Judges 16:25). In the subsequent history of Israel frequent references are made to prisons (1 Kings 22:27; 2 Kings 17:4; 2 Kings 25:27, 2 Kings 25:29; 2 Chronicles 16:10; Isaiah 42:7; Jeremiah 32:2). Prisons seem to have been common in New Testament times (Matthew 11:2; Matthew 25:36, Matthew 25:43). The apostles were put into the “common prison” at the instance of the Jewish council (Acts 5:18, Acts 5:23; Acts 8:3); and at Philippi Paul and Silas were thrust into the “inner prison” (Acts 16:24; comp. Acts 4:3; Acts 12:4, Acts 12:5).

Prophecy

Prophecy — or prediction, was one of the functions of the prophet. It has been defined as a “miracle of knowledge, a declaration or description or representation of something future, beyond the power of human sagacity to foresee, discern, or conjecture.” (See PROPHET.)

The great prediction which runs like a golden thread through the whole contents of the Old Testament is that regarding the coming and work of the Messiah; and the great use of prophecy was to perpetuate faith in his coming, and to prepare the world for that event. But there are many subordinate and intermediate prophecies also which hold an important place in the great chain of events which illustrate the sovereignty and all-wise overruling providence of God.

Then there are many prophecies regarding the Jewish nation, its founder Abraham (Genesis 12:1-3; Genesis 13:16; Genesis 15:5; Genesis 17:2, Genesis 17:4-6, etc.), and his posterity, Isaac and Jacob and their descendants (Genesis 12:7; Genesis 13:14, Genesis 13:15, Genesis 13:17; Genesis 15:18-21; Exodus 3:8, Exodus 3:17), which have all been fulfilled. The twenty-eighth chapter of Deuteronomy contains a series of predictions which are even now in the present day being fulfilled. In the writings of the prophets Isaiah (Isaiah 2:18-21), Jeremiah (Jeremiah 27:3-7; Jeremiah 29:11-14), Ezekiel (Ezekiel 5:12; Ezekiel 8), Daniel (Daniel 8; Daniel 9:26, Daniel 9:27), Hosea (Hosea 9:17), there are also many prophecies regarding the events which were to befall that people.

There is in like manner a large number of prophecies relating to those nations with which the Jews came into contact, as Tyre (Ezekiel 26:3-5, Ezekiel 26:14-21), Egypt (Ezekiel 29:10, Ezekiel 29:15; Ezekiel 30:6, Ezekiel 30:12, Ezekiel 30:13), Ethiopia (Nahum 3:8-10), Nineveh (Nahum 1:10; Nahum 2:8-13; Nahum 3:17-19), Babylon (Isaiah 13:4; Jeremiah 51:7; Isaiah 44:27; Jeremiah 50:38; Jeremiah 51:36, Jeremiah 51:39, Jeremiah 51:57), the land of the Philistines (Jeremiah 47:4-7; Ezekiel 25:15-17; Amos 1:6-8; Zephaniah 2:4-7; Zechariah 9:5-8), and of the four great monarchies (Daniel 2:39, Daniel 2:40; Daniel 7:17-24; Daniel 8:9).

But the great body of Old Testament prophecy relates directly to the advent of the Messiah, beginning with Genesis 3:15, the first great promise, and extending in ever-increasing fulness and clearness all through to the very close of the canon. The Messianic prophecies are too numerous to be quoted. “To him gave all the prophets witness.” (Comp. Micah 5:2; Haggai 2:6-9; Isaiah 7:14; Isaiah 9:6, Isaiah 9:7; Isaiah 11:1, Isaiah 11:2; Isaiah 53; Isaiah 60:10, Isaiah 60:13; Psalm 16:11; Psalm 68:18.)

Many predictions also were delivered by Jesus and his apostles. Those of Christ were very numerous. (Comp. Matthew 10:23,Matthew 10:24; Matthew 11:23; Matthew 19:28; Matthew 21:43, Matthew 21:44; Matthew 21:24; Matthew 25:31-46; Matthew 26:17-35, Matthew 26:46, Matthew 26:64; Mark 9:1; Mark 10:30; Mark 13; Mark 11:1-6, Mark 11:14; Mark 14:12-31, Mark 14:42, Mark 14:62; Mark 16:17, etc.)

Prophet

Prophet — (Heb. nabi, from a root meaning “to bubble forth, as from a fountain,” hence “to utter”, comp. Psalm 45:1). This Hebrew word is the first and the most generally used for a prophet. In the time of Samuel another word, ro˒eh, “seer”, began to be used (1 Samuel 9:9). It occurs seven times in reference to Samuel. Afterwards another word, hozeh, “seer” (2 Samuel 24:11), was employed. In 1 Chronicles 29:29 all these three words are used: “Samuel the seer (ro’eh), Nathan the prophet (nabi’), Gad the seer” (hozeh). In Joshua 13:22 Balaam is called (Heb.) a kosem “diviner,” a word used only of a false prophet.

The “prophet” proclaimed the message given to him, as the “seer” beheld the vision of God. (See Numbers 12:6, Numbers 12:8.) Thus a prophet was a spokesman for God; he spake in God’s name and by his authority (Exodus 7:1). He is the mouth by which God speaks to men (Jeremiah 1:9; Isaiah 51:16), and hence what the prophet says is not of man but of God (2 Peter 1:20, 2 Peter 1:21; comp. Hebrews 3:7; Acts 4:25; Acts 28:25). Prophets were the immediate organs of God for the communication of his mind and will to men (Deuteronomy 18:18, Deuteronomy 18:19). The whole Word of God may in this general sense be spoken of as prophetic, inasmuch as it was written by men who received the revelation they communicated from God, no matter what its nature might be. The foretelling of future events was not a necessary but only an incidental part of the prophetic office. The great task assigned to the prophets whom God raised up among the people was “to correct moral and religious abuses, to proclaim the great moral and religious truths which are connected with the character of God, and which lie at the foundation of his government.”

Any one being a spokesman for God to man might thus be called a prophet. Thus Enoch, Abraham, and the patriarchs, as bearers of God’s message (Genesis 20:7; Exodus 7:1; Psalm 105:15), as also Moses (Deuteronomy 18:15; Deuteronomy 34:10; Hosea 12:13), are ranked among the prophets. The seventy elders of Israel (Numbers 11:16-29), “when the spirit rested upon them, prophesied;” Asaph and Jeduthun “prophesied with a harp” (1 Chronicles 25:3). Miriam and Deborah were prophetesses (Exodus 15:20; Judges 4:4). The title thus has a general application to all who have messages from God to men.

But while the prophetic gift was thus exercised from the beginning, the prophetical order as such began with Samuel. Colleges, “schools of the prophets”, were instituted for the training of prophets, who were constituted, a distinct order (1 Samuel 19:18-24; 2 Kings 2:3, 2 Kings 2:15; 2 Kings 4:38), which continued to the close of the Old Testament. Such “schools” were established at Ramah, Bethel, Gilgal, Gibeah, and Jericho. The “sons” or “disciples” of the prophets were young men (2 Kings 5:22; 2 Kings 9:1, 2 Kings 9:4) who lived together at these different “schools” (2 Kings 4:38-41). These young men were taught not only the rudiments of secular knowledge, but they were brought up to exercise the office of prophet, “to preach pure morality and the heart-felt worship of Jehovah, and to act along and co-ordinately with the priesthood and monarchy in guiding the state aright and checking all attempts at illegality and tyranny.”

In New Testament times the prophetical office was continued. Our Lord is frequently spoken of as a prophet (Luke 13:33; Luke 24:19). He was and is the great Prophet of the Church. There was also in the Church a distinct order of prophets (1 Corinthians 12:28; Ephesians 2:20; Ephesians 3:5), who made new revelations from God. They differed from the “teacher,” whose office it was to impart truths already revealed.

Of the Old Testament prophets there are sixteen, whose prophecies form part of the inspired canon. These are divided into four groups:

(1.) The prophets of the northern kingdom (Israel), viz., Hosea, Amos, Joel, Jonah.

(2.) The prophets of Judah, viz., Isaiah, Jeremiah, Obadiah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah.

(3.) The prophets of Captivity, viz., Ezekiel and Daniel.

(4.) The prophets of the Restoration, viz., Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi.

Propitiation

Propitiation — that by which God is rendered propitious, i.e., by which it becomes consistent with his character and government to pardon and bless the sinner. The propitiation does not procure his love or make him loving; it only renders it consistent for him to execise his love towards sinners.

In Romans 3:25 and Hebrews 9:5 (A.V., “mercy-seat”) the Greek word hilasterion is used. It is the word employed by the LXX. translators in Exodus 25:17 and elsewhere as the equivalent for the Hebrew kapporeth, which means “covering,” and is used of the lid of the ark of the covenant (Exodus 25:21; Exodus 30:6). This Greek word (hilasterion) came to denote not only the mercy-seat or lid of the ark, but also propitation or reconciliation by blood. On the great day of atonement the high priest carried the blood of the sacrifice he offered for all the people within the veil and sprinkled with it the “mercy-seat,” and so made propitiation.

In 1 John 2:2; 1 John 4:10, Christ is called the “propitiation for our sins.” Here a different Greek word is used (hilasmos). Christ is “the propitiation,” because by his becoming our substitute and assuming our obligations he expiated our guilt, covered it, by the vicarious punishment which he endured. (Comp. Hebrews 2:17, where the expression “make reconciliation” of the A.V. is more correctly in the R.V. “make propitiation.”)

Proportion of faith

Proportion of faith — (Romans 12:6). Paul says here that each one was to exercise his gift of prophecy, i.e., of teaching, “according to the proportion of faith.” The meaning is, that the utterances of the “prophet” were not to fluctuate according to his own impulses or independent thoughts, but were to be adjusted to the truth revealed to him as a beliver, i.e., were to be in accordance with it.

In post-Reformation times this phrase was used as meaning that all Scripture was to be interpreted with reference to all other Scripture, i.e., that no words or expressions were to be isolated or interpreted in a way contrary to its general teaching. This was also called the “analogy of faith.”

Proselyte

Proselyte — is used in the LXX. for “stranger” (1 Chronicles 22:2), i.e., a comer to Palestine; a sojourner in the land (Exodus 12:48; Exodus 20:10; Exodus 22:21), and in the New Testament for a convert to Judaism. There were such converts from early times (Isaiah 56:3; Nehemiah 10:28; Esther 8:17). The law of Moses made specific regulations regarding the admission into the Jewish church of such as were not born Israelites (Exodus 20:10; Exodus 23:12; Exodus 12:19, Exodus 12:48; Deuteronomy 5:14; Deuteronomy 16:11, Deuteronomy 16:14, etc.). The Kenites, the Gibeonites, the Cherethites, and the Pelethites were thus admitted to the privileges of Israelites. Thus also we hear of individual proselytes who rose to positions of prominence in Israel, as of Doeg the Edomite, Uriah the Hittite, Araunah the Jebusite, Zelek the Ammonite, Ithmah and Ebedmelech the Ethiopians.

In the time of Solomon there were one hundred and fifty-three thousand six hundred strangers in the land of Israel (1 Chronicles 22:2; 2 Chronicles 2:17, 2 Chronicles 2:18). And the prophets speak of the time as coming when the strangers shall share in all the privileges of Israel (Ezekiel 47:22; Isaiah 2:2; Isaiah 11:10; Isaiah 56:3-6; Micah 4:1). Accordingly, in New Testament times, we read of proselytes in the synagogues, (Acts 10:2, Acts 10:7; Acts 13:42, Acts 13:43, Acts 13:50; Acts 17:4; Acts 18:7; Luke 7:5). The “religious proselytes” here spoken of were proselytes of righteousness, as distinguished from proselytes of the gate.

The distinction between “proselytes of the gate” (Exodus 20:10) and “proselytes of righteousness” originated only with the rabbis. According to them, the “proselytes of the gate” (half proselytes) were not required to be circumcised nor to comply with the Mosaic ceremonial law. They were bound only to conform to the so-called seven precepts of Noah, viz., to abstain from idolatry, blasphemy, bloodshed, uncleaness, the eating of blood, theft, and to yield obedience to the authorities. Besides these laws, however, they were required to abstain from work on the Sabbath, and to refrain from the use of leavened bread during the time of the Passover.

The “proselytes of righteousness”, religious or devout proselytes (Acts 13:43), were bound to all the doctrines and precepts of the Jewish economy, and were members of the synagogue in full communion.

The name “proselyte” occurs in the New Testament only in Matthew 23:15; Acts 2:10; Acts 6:5; Acts 13:43. The name by which they are commonly designated is that of “devout men,” or men “fearing God” or “worshipping God.”

Proverb

Proverb — a trite maxim; a similitude; a parable. The Hebrew word thus rendered (mashal) has a wide signification. It comes from a root meaning “to be like,” “parable.” Rendered “proverb” in Isaiah 14:4; Habakkuk 2:6; “dark saying” in Psalm 49:4, Numbers 12:8. Ahab’s defiant words in answer to the insolent demands of Benhadad, “Let not him that girdeth on his harness boast himself as he that putteth it off,” is a well known instance of a proverbial saying (1 Kings 20:11).

Proverbs, Book of

Proverbs, Book of — a collection of moral and philosophical maxims of a wide range of subjects presented in a poetic form. This book sets forth the “philosophy of practical life. It is the sign to us that the Bible does not despise common sense and discretion. It impresses upon us in the most forcible manner the value of intelligence and prudence and of a good education. The whole strength of the Hebrew language and of the sacred authority of the book is thrown upon these homely truths. It deals, too, in that refined, discriminating, careful view of the finer shades of human character so often overlooked by theologians, but so necessary to any true estimate of human life” (Stanley’s Jewish Church).

As to the origin of this book, “it is probable that Solomon gathered and recast many proverbs which sprang from human experience in preceeding ages and were floating past him on the tide of time, and that he also elaborated many new ones from the material of his own experience. Towards the close of the book, indeed, are preserved some of Solomon’s own sayings that seem to have fallen from his lips in later life and been gathered by other hands’ (Arnot’s Laws from Heaven, etc.)

This book is usually divided into three parts: (1.) Consisting of ch. Proverbs 1-9, which contain an exhibition of wisdom as the highest good.

(2.) Consisting of ch. Proverbs 10-24.

(3.) Containing proverbs of Solomon “which the men of Hezekiah, the king of Judah, collected” (ch. Proverbs 25-29).

These are followed by two supplements, (1) “The words of Agur” (ch. Proverbs 30); and (2) “The words of king Lemuel” (ch. Proverbs 31).

Solomon is said to have written three thousand proverbs, and those contained in this book may be a selection from these (1 Kings 4:32). In the New Testament there are thirty-five direct quotations from this book or allusions to it.

Providence

Providence — literally means foresight, but is generally used to denote God’s preserving and governing all things by means of second causes (Psalm 18:35; Psalm 63:8; Acts 17:28; Colossians 1:17; Hebrews 1:3). God’s providence extends to the natural world (Psalm 104:14; Psalm 135:5-7; Acts 14:17), the brute creation (Psalm 104:21-29; Matthew 6:26; Matthew 10:29), and the affairs of men (1 Chronicles 16:31; Psalm 47:7; Proverbs 21:1; Job 12:23; Daniel 2:21; Daniel 4:25), and of individuals (1 Samuel 2:6; Psalm 18:30; Luke 1:53; James 4:13-15). It extends also to the free actions of men (Exodus 12:36; 1 Samuel 24:9-15; Psalm 33:14, Psalm 33:15; Proverbs 16:1; Proverbs 19:21; Proverbs 20:24; Proverbs 21:1), and things sinful (2 Samuel 16:10; 2 Samuel 24:1; Romans 11:32; Acts 4:27, Acts 4:28), as well as to their good actions (Philippians 2:13; Philippians 4:13; 2 Corinthians 12:9, 2 Corinthians 12:10; Ephesians 2:10; Galatians 5:22-25).

As regards sinful actions of men, they are represented as occurring by God’s permission (Genesis 45:5; Genesis 50:20. Comp. 1 Samuel 6:6; Exodus 7:13; Exodus 14:17; Acts 2:3; Acts 3:18; Acts 4:27, Acts 4:28), and as controlled (Psalm 76:10) and overruled for good (Genesis 50:20; Acts 3:13). God does not cause or approve of sin, but only limits, restrains, overrules it for good.

The mode of God’s providential government is altogether unexplained. We only know that it is a fact that God does govern all his creatures and all their actions; that this government is universal (Psalm 103:17-19), particular (Matthew 10:29-31), efficacious (Psalm 33:11; Job 23:13), embraces events apparently contingent (Proverbs 16:9, Proverbs 16:33; Proverbs 19:21; Proverbs 21:1), is consistent with his own perfection (2 Timothy 2:13), and to his own glory (Romans 9:17; Romans 11:36).

Psalms

Psalms — The psalms are the production of various authors. “Only a portion of the Book of Psalms claims David as its author. Other inspired poets in successive generations added now one now another contribution to the sacred collection, and thus in the wisdom of Providence it more completely reflects every phase of human emotion and circumstances than it otherwise could.” But it is specially to David and his contemporaries that we owe this precious book. In the “titles” of the psalms, the genuineness of which there is no sufficient reason to doubt, 73 are ascribed to David. Peter and John (Acts 4:25) ascribe to him also the second psalm, which is one of the 48 that are anonymous. About two-thirds of the whole collection have been ascribed to David.

Psalm 39, Psalm 62, and Psalm 77 are addressed to Jeduthun, to be sung after his manner or in his choir. Psalm 50 and Psalm 73-83 are addressed to Asaph, as the master of his choir, to be sung in the worship of God. The “sons of Korah,” who formed a leading part of the Kohathite singers (2 Chronicles 20:19), were intrusted with the arranging and singing of Psalm 42, Psalm 44-49, Psalm 84, Psalm 85, Psalm 87, and Psalm 88.

In Luke 24:44 the word “psalms” means the Hagiographa, i.e., the holy writings, one of the sections into which the Jews divided the Old Testament. (See BIBLE.)

None of the psalms can be proved to have been of a later date than the time of Ezra and Nehemiah, hence the whole collection extends over a period of about 1,000 years. There are in the New Testament 116 direct quotations from the Psalter.

The Psalter is divided, after the analogy of the Pentateuch, into five books, each closing with a doxology or benediction:

(1.) The first book comprises the first 41 psalms, all of which are ascribed to David except Psalm 1, Psalm 2, Psalm 10, and Psalm 33, which, though anonymous, may also be ascribed to him.

(2.) Book second consists of the next 31 psalms (Psalm 42-72), 18 of which are ascribed to David and 1 to Solomon (the Psalm 72nd). The rest are anonymous.

(3.) The third book contains 17 psalms (Psalm 73-89), of which the Psalm 86th is ascribed to David, the Psalm 88th to Heman the Ezrahite, and the Psalm 89th to Ethan the Ezrahite.

(4.) The fourth book also contains 17 psalms (Psalm 90-106), of which the Psalm 90th is ascribed to Moses, and the Psalm 101st and Psalm 103rd to David.

(5.) The fifth book contains the remaining psalms, 44 in number. Of these, 15 are ascribed to David, and the Psalm 127th to Solomon.

Psalm 136 is generally called “the great hallel.” But the Talmud includes also Psalm 120-135. Psalm 113-118, inclusive, constitute the “hallel” recited at the three great feasts, at the new moon, and on the eight days of the feast of dedication.

“It is presumed that these several collections were made at times of high religious life: the first, probably, near the close of David’s life; the second in the days of Solomon; the third by the singers of Jehoshaphat (2 Chronicles 20:19); the fourth by the men of Hezekiah (2 Chronicles 29, 2 Chronicles 30, 2 Chronicles 31); and the fifth in the days of Ezra.”

The Mosaic ritual makes no provision for the service of song in the worship of God. David first taught the Church to sing the praises of the Lord. He first introduced into the ritual of the tabernacle music and song.

Divers names are given to the psalms. (1.) Some bear the Hebrew designation shir (Gr. ode, a song). Thirteen have this title. It means the flow of speech, as it were, in a straight line or in a regular strain. This title includes secular as well as sacred song.

(2.) Fifty-eight psalms bear the designation (Heb.) mitsmor (Gr. psalmos, a psalm), a lyric ode, or a song set to music; a sacred song accompanied with a musical instrument.

(3.) Psalm 145, and many others, have the designation (Heb.) tehillah (Gr. hymnos, a hymn), meaning a song of praise; a song the prominent thought of which is the praise of God.

(4.) Six psalms (Psalm 16, Psalm 56-60) have the title (Heb.) michtam (q.v.).

(5.) Psalm 7 and Habakkuk 3 bear the title (Heb.) shiggaion (q.v.).

Psaltery

Psaltery — a musical instrument, supposed to have been a kind of lyre, or a harp with twelve strings. The Hebrew word nebhel, so rendered, is translated “viol” in Isaiah 5:12 (R.V., “lute”); Isaiah 14:11. In Daniel 3:5, Daniel 3:7, Daniel 3:10, Daniel 3:15, the word thus rendered is Chaldaic, pesanterin, which is supposed to be a word of Greek origin denoting an instrument of the harp kind.

Ptolemais

Ptolemais — a maritime city of Galilee (Acts 21:7). It was originally called “Accho” (q.v.), and received the name Ptolemais from Ptolemy Soter when he was in possession of Coele-Syria.

Puah

Puah — splendid. (1.) One of the two midwives who feared God, and refused to kill the Hebrew male children at their birth (Exodus 1:15-21).

(2.) A descendant of Issachar (Judges 10:1).

Publican

Publican — one who farmed the taxes (e.g., Zacchaeus, Luke 19:2) to be levied from a town or district, and thus undertook to pay to the supreme government a certain amount. In order to collect the taxes, the publicans employed subordinates (Luke 5:27; Luke 15:1; Luke 18:10), who, for their own ends, were often guilty of extortion and peculation. In New Testament times these taxes were paid to the Romans, and hence were regarded by the Jews as a very heavy burden, and hence also the collectors of taxes, who were frequently Jews, were hated, and were usually spoken of in very opprobrious terms. Jesus was accused of being a “friend of publicans and sinners” (Luke 7:34).

Publius

Publius — “the chief man of the island” of Malta (Acts 28:7), who courteously entertained Paul and his shipwrecked companions for three days, till they found a more permanent place of residence; for they remained on the island for three months, till the stormy season had passed. The word here rendered “chief man” (protos) is supposed by some to be properly a Maltese term, the official title of the governor.

Pudens

Pudens — bashful, a Christian at Rome, who sent his greetings to Timothy (2 Timothy 4:21). (See CLAUDIA.)

Pul

Pul — (1.) An Assyrian king. It has been a question whether he was identical with Tiglath-pileser III. (q.v.), or was his predecessor. The weight of evidence is certainly in favour of their identity. Pul was the throne-name he bore in Babylonia as king of Babylon, and Tiglath-pileser the throne-name he bore as king of Assyria. He was the founder of what is called the second Assyrian empire. He consolidated and organized his conquests on a large scale. He subdued Northern Syria and Hamath, and the kings of Syria rendered him homage and paid him tribute. His ambition was to found in Western Asia a kingdom which should embrace the whole civilized world, having Nineveh as its centre. Menahem, king of Israel, gave him the enormous tribute of a thousand talents of silver, “that his hand might be with him” (2 Kings 15:19; 1 Chronicles 5:26). The fact that this tribute could be paid showed the wealthy condition of the little kingdom of Israel even in this age of disorder and misgovernment. Having reduced Syria, he turned his arms against Babylon, which he subdued. The Babylonian king was slain, and Babylon and other Chaldean cities were taken, and Pul assumed the title of “King of Sumer [i.e., Shinar] and Accad.” He was succeeded by Shalmanezer IV.

(2.) A geographical name in Isaiah 66:19. Probably = Phut (Genesis 10:6; Jeremiah 46:9, R.V. “Put;” Ezekiel 27:10).

Pulpit

Pulpit — (Nehemiah 8:4). (See EZRA.)

Pulse

Pulse — (Daniel 1:12, Daniel 1:16), R.V. “herbs,” vegetable food in general.