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Padan-Aram – Perfumes
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Padan-Aram
The plains of Aram or Syria, ; ; , or simply PADAN, , the plain, in distinction from the "mountains" of Aram . See MESOPOTAMIA, and SYRIA.
Palestine
Denotes, in the Old Testament, the country of the Philistines, which was that part of the land of promise extending along the Mediterranean Sea on the varying western border of Simeon, Judah, and Dan, ; ,; . Palestine, taken in later usage in a more general sense, signifies the whole country of Canaan, as well beyond as on this side of the Jordan; though frequently it is restricted to the country on this side that river; so that in later times the words Judea and Palestine were synonymous. We find also the name of Syria-Palestina given to the land of promise, and even sometimes this province is comprehended in Coele-Syria, or the Lower Syria. Herodotus is the most ancient writer known who speaks of SyriaPalestina. He places it between Phoenicia and Egypt. See CANAAN.
Palm-Tree
. This tree is called in Hebrew tamar, from its straight upright, branchless growth, for which it seems more remarkable than any other tree; it sometimes rises to the height of a hundred feet.
The palm is one of the most beautiful trees of the vegetable kingdom. The stalks are generally full of rugged knots, which render it comparatively easy to climb to the top for the fruit, , . These projections are the vestiges of the decayed leaves; for the trunk is not solid like other trees, but its center is filled with pith, round which is a tough bark, full of strong fibers when young, which, as the tree grows old, hardens and becomes ligneous. To this bark the leaves are closely joined, which in the center rise erect, but after they are advanced above the sheath that surrounds them, they expand very wide on every side the stem, and as the older leaves decay, the stalk advances in height. With its ever verdant and graceful crown continually aspiring towards heaven, it is an apt image of the soul growing in grace, . The leaves, when the tree has grown to a size for bearing fruit, are six to eight feet long, are very broad when spread out, and are used for covering the tops of houses, and similar purposes.
The fruit, from which the palm is often called the date-tree, grows below the leaves in clusters sometimes weighing over fifteen pounds, and is of a sweet and agreeable taste. The diligent natives, says Mr. Gibbon, celebrate, either in verse or prose, the three hundred and sixty uses to which the trunk, the branches or long leaf-stalks, the leaves, fibers, and fruit of the palm are skillfully applied. A considerable part of the inhabitants of Egypt, of Arabia, and Persia, subsist almost entirely on its fruit. They boast also of its medicinal virtues. Their camels feed upon the date stone. From the leaves they make couches, baskets, bags, mats, and brushes: from the branches or stalks, cages for their poultry, and fences for their gardens; from the fiber of the trunk, thread, ropes, and rigging; from the sap is prepared a spirituous liquor; and the body of the tree furnishes fuel: it is even said that from one variety of the palm-tree, the phoenix farinifera, meal has been extracted, which is found among the fibers of the trunk, and has been used for food.
Several parts of the Holy Land, no less than of Idumea, that lay contiguous to it, are described by the ancients to have abounded with date-trees. Judea particularly is typified in several coins of Vespasian by a desconsolate woman sitting under a palm-tree, with the inscription, JUDEA CAPTA. In , Jericho is called the "city of palm-trees;" and several of these trees are still found in that vicinity; but in general they are now rare in Palestine. Palm wreaths, and branches waved in the air or strown on the road, are associated not only with the honors paid to ancient conquerors in the Grecian games and in war, but with the triumphant entry of the King of Zion into Jerusalem, , and with his more glorious triumph with his people in heaven, .
Palmer-Worm
This old English term, meaning pilgrim-worm, is used in ; ; , like "canker-worm" and "caterpillar," for the locust in one of another of its various species or transitions. These insects are very destructive even before they reach the winged state. See LOCUST.
Palsy
Or paralysis, strikes sometimes one side or portion of the body, and sometimes the whole; affecting the power of motion, or the power of sensation, or both. It is one of the least curable of diseases; but the Savior healed it with a word, ; ; . The "withered hand," , was probably an effect of the palsy. There is also a palsy of the soul, which the Great Physician can heal, and he alone.
Pamphylia
A province of Asia Minor, having Cilicia east. Lycia west, Pisidia north, and the Mediterranean south. It is opposite to Cyprus, and the sea between the coast and the island is called the "sea of Pamphylia." The chief city of Pamphylia was Perga, where Paul and Barnabas preached, ; .
Pannag
In , is the Hebrew word for some unknown product of Palestine, which the Jews sold to the Tyrians. It is variously understood to mean millet, sweetmeats, a delicate spice, etc.
Paper, Papyrus
See BOOK.
Paphos
A maritime city on the western extremity of the isle of Cyprus. It had a tolerable harbor, and was the station of a Roman proconsul.
About sixty furlongs from the city was the celebrated temple of Venus, who was hence often called the "Paphian goddess." The infamous rites in honor of this goddess continued to be practiced hundreds of years after Paul and Barnabas introduced the gospel here, though their labors were blessed with some fruits, . See ELYMAS.
Parable
Derived from a Greek word, which signifies, to compare things together, to form a parallel or similitude of them with other things.
What we call the Proverbs of Solomon, which are moral maxims and sentences, the Greeks call the Parables of Solomon. In like manner, when Job answers his friends, it is said he took up his "parable," ; . In the New Testament the word parable denotes sometimes a true history, or an illustrative sketch from nature; sometimes a proverb or adage, ; a truth darkly or figuratively expressed, ; a type, ; or a similitude, . The parabolical, enigmatical, figurative, and sententious way of speaking, was the language of the Eastern sages and learned men, ; ; and nothing was more insupportable than to hear a fool utter parables, .
The prophets employed parables the more strongly to impress prince and people with their threatening or their promises. Nathan reproved David under the parable of a rich man who had taken away and killed the lamb of a poor man, . See also ; . Our Savior frequently addressed the people in parables, thereby verifying the prophecy of , that the people should see without knowing, and hear without understanding, in the midst of instructions. This result, however, only proved how inveterate were their hardness of heart and blindness of mind; for in no other way could he have offered them instruction more invitingly, clearly, or forcibly, than by this beautiful and familiar mode. The Hebrew writers made great use of it; and not only the Jews, but the Arabs, Syrians, and all the nations of the east were and still are admirers of this form of discourse.
In the interpretation of a parable, its primary truth and main scope are chiefly to be considered. The minute particulars are less to be regarded than in a sustained allegory; and serious errors are occasioned by pressing every detail, and inventing for it some spiritual analogy.
The following parables of our Lord are recorded by the evangelists.
Wise and foolish builders, .
Children of the bride-chamber, .
New cloth and old garment, .
New wine and old bottles, .
Unclean spirit, .
Sower, ,; ,.
Tares, ,.
Mustard-seed, ; .
Leaven, .
Treasure hid in a field, .
Pearl of great price, .
Net cast into the sea, .
Meats defiling not, .
Unmerciful servant, .
Laborers hired, .
Two sons, .
Wicked husbandmen, .
Marriage-feast, .
Fig tree leafing, .
Man of the house watching, .
Faithful and evil servants, .
Ten virgins, .
Talents, .
Kingdom divided against itself, .
House divided against itself, .
Strongman armed, ; .
Seed growing secretly, .
Lighted candle, ; .
Man taking a far journey, .
Blind leading the blind, .
Beam and mote, .
Tree and its fruit, .
Creditor and debtors, .
Good Samaritan, .
Importunate friend, .
Rich fool, .
Cloud and wind, .
Barren fig tree, .
Men bidden to a feast, .
Builder of a tower, ,.
King going to war, .
Savor of salt, .
Lost sheep, .
Lost piece of silver, .
Prodigal son, .
Unjust steward, .
Rich man and Lazarus, .
Importunate widow, .
Pharisee and publican, .
Pounds, .
Good shepherd, .
Vine and branches, .
Paradise
A Greek word signifying a park, or garden with trees. The Hebrew word GAN, garden, issued in a similar way, ; ; .
The Septuagint uses the word Paradise when speaking of the Garden of Eden, in which the Lord placed Adam and Eve. This famous garden is indeed commonly known by the name of "the terrestrial paradise," and there is hardly any part of the world in which it has not been sought. See EDEN.
In the New Testament, "paradise" is put, in allusion to the paradise of Eden, for the place where the souls of the blessed enjoy happiness. Thus our Savior tells the penitent thief on the cross, "Today shalt thou be with me in paradise;" that is, in the state of the blessed, . Paul speaking of himself in the third person, says, "I knew a man that was caught up into paradise, and heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter," . And in ; , the natural features of the scene where innocence and bliss were lost, are used to depict the world where these are restored perfectly and forever.
Paran, Or El-Paran
, a large tract of desert country lying south of Palestine, and west of the valley El Arabah, which runs from the Dead Sea to the Gulf of Akaba. It was in and near this desert region that the Israelites wandered thirty-eight years. See EXODUS. It extended on the south to within three days’ journey of Sinai, ,; , if not to Sinai itself, ; . On the north, it included the deserts of Kadesh and Zin, ,,.
Here Hagar and Ishmael dwelt, ,; and hither David, and afterwards Hadad, retired for a time, ; . Burckhardt found it a dreary expanse of calcareous soil, covered with black flints. Some cities and cultivated grounds, however, and considerable patches of pasturelands, were anciently found in this region. The northeast part is traversed from east to west by ranges of hills.
Parched Ground
In , translated by Lowth "the glowing sand," by Henderson "the vapory illusion," and in German sand-mer and wasserschein, sand-sea and water-show, is understood to refer to the mirage, an optical illusion described by almost all travelers in tropical deserts. The inexperienced wanderer sees at a distance what he thinks is an beautiful sheet of water; and imagination clothes the farther shore with herbage, shrubbery, buildings, etc.; but on hasting towards it he finds the delightful vision recede and at length disappear, and nothing remains but the hot sands. Quintus Curtius long ago gave an account of this wonder in his Life of Alexander the Great. It is thus described in St. John’s "Egypt and Nubia:"
"I had been riding along in a revery, when chancing to raise my head, I thought I perceived, desertwards, a dark strip on the far horizon. What could it be? My companion, who had very keen sight, was riding in advance of me, and with a sudden exclamation, he pulled up his dromedary, and gazed in the same direction. I called to him, and asked him what he thought of yonder strip, and whether he could make out anything in it distinctly. He answered, that water had all at once appeared there; that he saw the motion of the waves, and tall palms and other trees bending up and down over them, as if tossed by a strong wind. This, then, was the mirage. My companion galloped towards it, and we followed him, though the Arabs tried to prevent us; and ere long I could with my own eyes discern something of this strange phenomenon. It was, as my friend had reported, a broad sheet of water, with fresh green trees along its banks; and yet there was nothing actually before us but parched yellow sand."
"Far as we rode in the direction of the apparition, we never came any nearer to it; the whole seemed to recoil, step for step, with our advance. We halted, and remained long in contemplation, of the magic scene, until whatever was unpleasant in its strangeness ceased by degrees to affect us. Never had I seen any landscape so vivid as this seeming one; never water so bright or trees so softly green, so tall and stately. We returned lowly to our Arabs, who had not stirred from the spot where we left them. Looking back once more into the desert, we saw the apparition gradually becoming fainter, until at last it melted away into a dim band, not unlike a thin mist sweeping over the face of a field."
The same phenomenon may be alluded to in the expression, "waters that fail," . It is ascribed to the unequal refraction of the rays of light, caused in some way by excessive heat. The Savior and his proffered blessings are not, like earthly hopes, a deception and a mockery, but true waters of eternal life.
Parchment
See BOOK.
Parmenas
One of the first seven deacons, .
Parthia
Is supposed to have been originally a province of Media, on its eastern side, which was raised into a distinct kingdom by Arsaces, B. C. 250. It soon extended itself over a great part of the ancient Persian Empire, and is frequently put for that empire in Scripture, and other ancient writings. Parthia maintained itself against all aggressors for nearly five hundred years, and was not subjugated even by the Romans; but in A. D. 226, one of the descendants of the ancient Persian kings united it to his empire, and Persia resumed it former name and dynasty.
The Parthians were celebrated, especially by the poets, for a peculiarity of their mode of fighting on horseback, which consisted in discharging their arrows while they fled. They would seem to have borne no very distant resemblance to the modern Cossacks. It is said the Parthians were either refugees or exiles from the Scythian nations. Jews and proselytes from among them were present at Jerusalem at the Pentecost, .
Partition
. See the various courts under TEMPLE.
Partridge
A well-known bird, three varieties of which are found in Palestine. Saul’s hunting of David like a partridge upon the mountain, , may be illustrated by an occasional practice of the Arabs, who, observing that this bird becomes languid on being started several times in quick succession, at length rush suddenly in upon it and knock it over with their clubs. In , we may best render, as the partridge gathereth eggs which she hath not laid; the meaning being that she loses her toil since the young birds, when hatched, forsake her.
Parvaim
, the region of fine gold; probably Ophir; according to Gesenius, the East.
Pashur
1. The son of Immer, a priest and a chief officer in the temple; he violently opposed the prophet Jeremiah, and persecuted him even with blows and confinement in the stocks; but all recoiled on his own head, .
2. The son of Malchiah, an enemy of Jeremiah, and active in securing his imprisonment, ; . Many descendants of this Pashur returned from captivity at Babylon, ; .
Passion
, suffering; the last sufferings and death of Christ. In ; , "like passions" is nearly equivalent to "the same human nature."
Passover
Hebrew PESACH, Greek PASCHA, a passing over, a name given to the festival established and to the victim offered in commemoration of he coming forth out of Egypt, ; because the night before their departure, the destroying angel, who slew the firstborn of the Egyptians, passed over the houses of the Hebrews without entering them, they being marked with the blood of the lamb, which for this reason was called he Passover, ,; , or the paschal lamb.
The month of the exodus from Egypt, called Abib by Moses, and afterwards named Nisan, was ordained to be thereafter the first month of the sacred or ecclesiastical year. On the fourteenth day of this month, between the two evenings, (See EVENING,) they were to kill the paschal lamb, and to abstain from leavened bread. The day following, being the fifteenth, reckoned from six o’clock of the preceding evening, was the grand feast of the Passover, which continues seven days, usually called "the days of unleavened bread," or "the Passover," ; but only the first and the seventh day were peculiarly solemn, ; ,; . They were days of rest, and were called Sabbaths by the Jews. The slain lamb was to be without defect, a male, and of that year. If no lamb could be found, they might take a kid. They killed a lamb or a kid in each family; but if any family was not large enough to eat the lamb, they might associate another small family with them. The Passover was to be slain and eaten only at Jerusalem, though the remainder of the festival might be observed in any place. The lamb was to be roasted entire, and eaten the same night, with unleavened bread and bitter herbs; not a bone of it was to be broken; and all that was not eaten was to be consumed by fire, ; . If any one was unable to keep the Passover at the time appointed, he was to observe it on the second month; he that willfully neglected it, forfeited the covenant favor of God; while on the other hand resident foreigners were admitted to partake of it, ; . The direction to eat the Passover in the posture and with the equipments of travelers seems to have been observed only on the first Passover. Besides the private family festival, there were public and national sacrifices offered on each of the seven days of unleavened bread, . On the second day also the first fruits of the barley harvest were offered in the temple, .
Jewish writers give us full descriptions of the Passover feast, from which we gather a few particulars. Those who were to partake having performed the required purification and being assembled at the table, the master of the feast took a cup of unfermented wine, and blessed God for the fruit of the vine, of which all ten drank. This was followed by a washing of hands. The paschal lamb was then brought in, with unleavened cakes, bitter herbs, and a sauce or fruit-paste. The master of the feast then blessed God for the fruits of the earth, and gave the explanations prescribed in ,, specifying each particular. After a second cup, with a second washing of hands, an unleavened cake was broken and distributed, and a blessing pronounced upon the Giver of Bread. When all had eaten sufficiently of the food before them, a third cup of thanksgiving, for deliverance from Egypt and for the gift of the law, was blessed and drunk, ; ; this was called "the cup of blessing." The repast was usually closed by a fourth cup and psalms of praise, ; ; .
Our Savior partook of the Passover for the last time, with his disciples, on the evening with which the day of his crucifixion commenced, ; ; . The following day, commencing with the sunset three hours after his death, was the Jewish Sabbath, and was also observed as "a Passover," ; ; ,. Compare .
This sacred festival was both commemorative and typical in its nature and design; the deliverance which it commemorated was a type of the great salvation it foretold. The Savior identified himself with the paschal lamb as its great Antitype, in substituting the Lord’s supper for the Passover. "Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us," ; and as we compare the innocent lamb slain in Egypt with the infinite lamb of God, the contrast teaches us how infinite is the perdition which He alone can cause to "pass over" us, and how essential it is to be under the shelter of his sprinkled blood, before the night of judgment and ruin overtakes us.
The modern Jews also continue to observe the Passover. With those who live in Palestine the feast continues a week; but the Jews out of Palestine extend it to eight days, according to an ancient custom, by which the Sanhedrin sent two men to observe the first appearance of the new moon, who immediately gave notice of it to the chief of the council. For fear of error, they dept two days of the festival.
As to the Christian Passover, the Lord’s supper, it was instituted by Christ when, at the last Passover supper he ate with his apostles, he gave them a symbol of his body to eat, and a symbol of his blood to drink, under the form of bread and wine; prefiguring that he should give up his body to the Jews and to death. The paschal lamb, which the Jews killed, tore to pieces, and ate, and whose blood preserved them from the destroying angel, was a type, and figure of our Savior’s death and passion, and of his blood shed for the salvation of the world.
Pastor
Shepherd, one whose office it is to feed and guard the flock of Christ, ; . See SHEPHERD.
Pasturage
See SHEPHERD.
Patara
A maritime city of Lycia in Asia Minor, at the mouth of the river Xanthus, celebrated for an oracle of Apollo, who was supposed to reside here during the six winter months, and the rest of the year at Delos. Paul, in passing from Philippi to Jerusalem, found here a ship for Phoenicia, in which he embarked, .
Pate
, an obsolete word for head, or top of the head.
Pathros
; ,; ; , one of the three ancient divisions of Egypt, namely, Upper or Southern Egypt, which Ezekiel speaks of as distinct from Egypt, and the original abode of the Egyptians; as indeed Ethiopia and Upper Egypt really were. Its early inhabitants called Pathrusim, were descendants of Mizraim, . See EGYPT.
Patmos
An island of the Aeagean sea, to which the apostle and evangelist John was banished by Domitian, A. D. 95, . It is a rocky and desolate island, about twenty-eight miles in circumference, with a bold and deeply indented shore; and was used by the Romans as a place of banishment for many criminals. It lies between Samos and Naxos, about forty miles west by south from the promontory of Miletus; and contains at present some four thousand inhabitants, mostly Greeks. Its principal port is a deep bay on the northeast side; the town lying on a high and steep hill, the summit of which is crowned by the old and castle-like monastery of St. John. Half way down the hill is a natural grotto, now covered by a Greek chapel, school, etc. In this cave, over-looking the sea and its islands towards his beloved Ephesus, tradition says that John saw and recorded his prophetic visions. The island is now called Patino; and the port Patmo, or San Giovanni di Patino.
Paul
The distinguished "apostle of the Gentiles;" also called SAUL, a Hebrew name. He is first called Paul in ; and as some think, assumed this Roman name according to a common custom of Jews in foreign lands, or in honor of Sergius Paulus, , his friend and an early convert. Both names however may have belonged to him in childhood. He was born at Tarsus in Cilicia, and inherited from his father the privileges of a Roman citizen. His parents belonged to the tribe of Benjamin, and brought up their son as "a Hebrew of the Hebrews," . Tarsus was highly distinguished for learning and culture, and the opportunities for improvement it afforded were no doubt diligently improved by Paul. At a suitable age he was sent to Jerusalem to complete his education in the school of Gamaliel, the most distinguished and right-minded of the Rabbis of that age. It does not appear that he was in Jerusalem during the ministry of Christ; and it was perhaps after his return to Tarsus that he learned the art of tent-making, in accordance with a general practice among the Jews, and their maxim, "He that does not teach his son a useful handicraft, teaches him to steal," ; ; .
We next find him at Jerusalem, apparently about thirty years of age, high in the confidence of the leading men of the nation. He had profited by the instructions of Gamaliel, and became learned in the law; yielding himself to the strictest discipline of the sect of the Pharisees, he had become a fierce defender of Judaism and a bitter enemy of Christianity, ; . After his miraculous conversion, of which we have three accounts, ,, Christ was all in all to him. It was Christ who revealed himself to his soul at Damascus, ; ; to Christ he gave his whole heart, and soul, mind, might, and strength; and thenceforth, living or dying, he was "the servant of Jesus Christ." He devoted all the powers of his ardent and energetic mind to the defense and propagation of the gospel of Christ, more particularly among the Gentiles. His views of the pure and lofty spirit of Christianity, in its worship and in its practical influence, appear to have been peculiarly clear and strong; and the opposition which he was thus led to make to the rites and ceremonies of the Jewish worship, exposed him everywhere to the hatred and malice of his countrymen. On their accusation, he was at length put in confinement by the Roman officers and after being detained for two years or more at Caesarea, he was sent to Rome for trial, having himself appealed to the emperor.
There is less certainty in respect to the accounts, which are given of Paul afterwards by the early ecclesiastical writers. Still it was a very generally received opinion in the earlier centuries, that the apostle was acquitted and discharged from his imprisonment at the end of two years; and that he afterwards returned to Rome, where he was again imprisoned and put to death by Nero.
Paul appears to have possessed all the learning which was then current among the Jews, and also to have been acquainted with Greek literature; as appears from his mastery of the Greek language, his frequent discussions with their philosophers, and his quotations from their poets-Aratus, ; Meander, ; and Epimenides, . Probably, however a learned Greek education cannot with propriety be ascribed to him. But the most striking trait in his character is his enlarged view of the universal design and the spiritual nature of the religion of Christ, and of its purifying and ennobling influence upon the heart and character of those who sincerely profess it. From the Savior himself he had caught the flame of universal love, and the idea of salvation for all mankind, .
Most of the other apostles and teachers appear to have clung to Judaism, to the rites, ceremonies, and dogmas of the religion in which they had been educated, and to have regarded Christianity as intended to be engrafted upon the ancient stock, which was yet to remain as the trunk to support the new branches. Paul seems to have been among the first to rise above this narrow view, and to regard Christianity in its light, as a universal religion. While others were for Judaizing all those who embraced the new religion by imposing on them the yoke of Mosaic observances, it was Paul’s endeavor to break down the middle wall of separation between Jews and Gentiles, and show them that they were all "one in Christ." To this end all his labors tended; and, ardent in the pursuit of this great object, he did not hesitate to censure the time-serving Peter, and to expose his own life in resisting the prejudices of is countrymen. Indeed, his five years’ imprisonment as Jerusalem, Caesarea, and Rome arose chiefly from this cause.
These various journeys of St. Paul, many of them made on foot, should be studied through on a map; in connection with the inspired narrative, in Acts, and with his own pathetic description of his labors, , wherein nevertheless the half is not told. When we review the many regions he traversed and evangelized, the converts he gathered, and the churches he founded, the toils, perils, and trials he endured, the miracles he wrought, and the revelations he received, the discourses, orations, and letters in which he so ably defends and unfolds Christianity, the immeasurable good which God by him accomplished, his heroic life, and his martyr death, he appears to us the most extraordinary of men.
The character of Paul is most fully portrayed in his epistles, by which, as Chrysostom says he, "still lives in the mouths of men throughout the whole world. By them, not only is own converts, but all the faithful even unto this day, yea, and all the saints who are yet to be born until Christ’s coming again, both have been and shall be blessed." In them we observe the transforming and elevating power of grace in one originally turbulent and passionate-making him a model of many and Christian excellence; fearless and firm, yet considerate, courteous, and gentle; magnanimous, patriotic, and selfsacrificing; rich in all noble sentiments and affections.
EPISTLES OF PAUL. -There are fourteen epistles in the New Testament usually ascribed to Paul, beginning with that to the Romans, and ending with that to the Hebrews. Of these the first thirteen have never been contested; as to the latter, many good men have doubted whether Paul was the author, although the current of criticism is in favor of this opinion. These epistles, in which the principles of Christianity are developed for all periods, characters, and circumstances, are among the most important of the primitive documents of the Christian religion, even apart from their inspired character; and although they seem to have been written without special premeditation, and have reference mostly to transient circumstances and temporary relations, yet they everywhere bear the stamp of the great and original mind of the apostle, as purified, elevated, and sustained by the influences of the Holy Spirit.
It is worthy of mention here, that an expression of Peter respecting "our beloved brother Paul" is often a little misunderstood. The words "in which" in , are erroneously applied to the "epistles" of Paul; and not to "these things" immediately preceding, that is, the subjects of which Peter was writing, as the Greek shows they should be. Peter finds no fault, either with Paul, or with the doctrines of revelation.
The arrangement of Hug is somewhat different; and some critics who find evidence that Paul was released from his first imprisonment and lived until the spring of A. D. 68, assign the epistles Hebrews, 1Timothy, Titus, and 2Timothy to the last year of his life. See TIMOTHY.
Pavement
See GABBATHA.
Peacocks
Appear not to have been known in Palestine, until imported in the navy of Solomon, ; . See TARSHISH.
Pearls
Were ranked by the ancients among the most precious substances, , and were highly valued as ornaments for women. Their modest splendor still charms the Orientals, and a string of pearls is a favorite decoration of eastern monarchs. The kingdom of heaven is compared to a goodly pearl, so superior to all others that the pearl merchant sold all others that he could obtain for it the highest price, ,. The gates of heaven are described as consisting of pearls; "every several gate was one pearl," . The Savior forbade his apostles to cast their pearls before swine, ; that is, to expose the precious truths of the gospel unnecessarily to those who reject them with scorn and violence.
Pearls are a stony concretion in a species of oyster, found in the Persian gulf, on the coast of Ceylon, Java, Sumatra, etc., and in smaller quantities in various other places in both hemispheres. It is not known whether the pearl is a natural deposit, or the consequence of disease, or of the lodging of some foreign body, as a grain of sand, within the shells. The pearl oyster grows in clusters, on rocks in deep water; and is brought up by trained divers, only during a few weeks of calm weather in spring. The shell itself yields the well- known "mother of pearl."
Peep
In , denotes the stifles, piping voice of necromancers.
Pekah
Son of Remaliah, and general of the army of Pekahiah king of Israel. He conspired against his master, attacked him in the tower of his royal palace of Samaria, and having slain him, B. C. 758, he reigned in his place twenty years. In the latter part of his evil reign he formed an alliance with the Syrians of Damascus, and they attacked Ahaz king of Judah, who in turn sought the aid of Assyria. The result was, that Damascus was taken by Tiglath-Pileser king of Assyria, and with it all the lands of Israel east of the Jordan and north of the Sea of Galilee, their inhabitants being carried captive. Shortly afterwards Hoshea son of Elah conspired against Pekah, slew him, and reigned in his stead, ; ; :9; 17:1-14.
Pekahiah
Son and successor of Menahem king of Israel, was a wicked prince, and reigned but two years. Pekah, son of Remaliah, conspired against him, and killed him in his own palace, .
Peleg
Son of Eber, and fourth in descent from Shem. He was called Peleg, division, because in his time the earth was divided, ; .
Pelethites
Are always mentioned together with the Cherethites, as constituting the king’s bodyguard, ; . The word, if not the name of a Jewish or a Philistine family, is supposed to signify runners; and thus they would seem to have been the royal messengers; just as the Cherethites, from a Hebrew word signifying to cut off, were the king’s executioners. See CHERETHITES.
Pelican
, sometimes translated cormorant, ; ; a voracious waterfowl, somewhat gregarious and migratory, frequenting tropical climates, and still found on the waters of Egypt and Palestine. It fully equals the swan in size, and resembles it in shape and color. Its plumage is of a grayish white, except the long feathers, which are black. Its great peculiarity is its broad, flat bill, fifteen inches long; and the pouch of the female under the bill, used for the temporary storage of food, and said to be able to hold fifteen quarts. When empty, this pouch is not seen; but when full, it presents a very singular appearance. The pelican is a dull, indolent, and melancholy bird; and its voice is harsh and dissonant, . Its Hebrew name is probably derived from its habit of emptying its pouch of the food stored in it, by compressing it against its breast. The young then receive their food from their mother’s bill; and the current tradition that she tears her own breast to feed them with her blood, may have this origin. The pelican’s bill also, terminating in a strong, curved, crimson tip and resting on the white breast might seem to be tinged with blood.
Pen
The ancient pen was a stylus of hardened iron, , sometimes pointed with diamond, for writing on hard substances, like metallic plates; when waxen tablets were used, the stylus had one end made broad and smooth, for erasing errors, . For parchment, cloth, and similar substances, a reed pen was used, or a fine hair pencil, with ink, ; ; ; ; .
Peniel Or Penuel
A town beyond the Jordan, and near the Jabbok; defended by a strong tower, which Gideon broke down because the men of Penuel refused to aid him against the Midianites, . It was restored by Jeroboam I, . It received its name, the face of God, from Jacob’s they’re wrestling with the Angel Jehovah face to face, .
Peninnah
The second wife of Elkanah the father of Samuel. See HANNAH. Their story illustrates the evils of polygamy, .
Penny
The Greek drachma, or Roman denarious, equivalent to about fourteen cents. In reading the Scripture passage in which this word, occurs, we should consider that the real value of money, to purchase labor or commodities, was far greater then that now; and also that even the nominal value of the drachma would be better expressed by "shilling," or "franc," than by "penny." Thus, "two hundred shillings’ worth of bread would not suffice," ; "he took out two francs and gave them to the host," . So in , "a measure of wheat for a penny" expresses to the English reader the idea of great plenty; whereas the original indicates a distressing scarcity. A drachma in Christ’s time was good wages for a day’s labor in a vineyard, .
Pentateuch
The five books the books of Moses; that is, Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy. See articles on those books, and also MOSES.
Pentecost
The fiftieth, a feast celebrated the fiftieth day after the sixteenth of Nisan, which was the second day of the feast of the Passover, . The Hebrews call it the "feast of weeks," , because it was kept seen weeks after the Passover. They then offered the first fruits of their wheat harvest, which at that time was completed, . These first fruits consisted in two loaves of leavened bread, of five pints of meal each, . Besides this offering, there were special sacrifices prescribed for this festival, .
The feast of Pentecost was instituted, first, to oblige the Israelites to repair to the temple of the Lord, and there acknowledge his dominion over their country and their labors, by offering to him the first fruits of all their harvests. Secondly, to commemorate, and to render thanks to God for the law given from Mount Sinai, on the fiftieth day after their coming out of Egypt. It was on the day of Pentecost, that the Holy Spirit as first poured out upon the apostles and the Christian church, . On this occasion, as on the Passover seven weeks before, Judaism was at the same time honored and gloriously superseded by Christianity. The paschal lamb gave place to "Christ our Passover;" and the Jewish feast in memory of the giving of the law, to the gift of the Holy Spirit for "every nation under heaven," . This gift was for the whole period of the gospel dispensation; and the mighty effects then produced foreshow the yet greater works the Spirit will perform in answer to prayer.
Peor
A mountain of Moab, from which Balaam surveyed the camp of Israel, . It probably lay a few miles northeast of the Dead Sea, but is not now recognized. This name and vicinity are also associated with an idol of the Moabites, . See BAAL.
Perez-Uzzah
. See UZZAH.
Perfumes
The use of perfumes was common among the Hebrews and the Orientals generally, before it was known to the Greeks and Romans. Moses also speaks of the art of the perfumer, in the English Bible "apothecary;" and gives the composition of two perfumes, of which one was to be offered to the Lord on the golden altar, . And the other to be used for anointing the high priest and his sons, the tabernacle, and the vessels of divine service, .
The Hebrews had also perfumes for embalming their dead. The composition is note exactly known, but they used myrrh, aloes, and other strong and astringent drugs proper to prevent infection and corruption. See EMBALMING, and OINTMENT.