Pelican – Persis

Pelican

Pelican iqa’ath, prob. from root ‘to vomit’). — One of the ‘unclean’ birds (Leviticus 11:18. Deuteronomy 14:17) inhabiting the ruins of Nineveh (Zephaniah 2:14. where AV haa ‘coTmorant’), and desolate Idumaea (Isaiah 34:11). ‘A pelican in the wilderness’ is referred to in Psalms 102 If in these two last qa’ath is really ‘pelican,’ it is a poetical and conventional reference, for this bird’s habitat is always near pools of water or the sea; the creature’s attitude after a plentiful gorge, when he sits with his head sunk on his breast, is supposed to suggest melancholy. In Palestine two species are known, of which the white pelican <,Pelicanus onocrotalus) is plentiful in the more retired parts of the Jordan lakes, especially in the Huleh. It is nearly 6 feet from beak to end of tail, and is remarkable chiefly for its pouch, in which it collects fish for feeding itself and its young. The other species is P. criapus, the Dalmatian pelican. E. W. G. Mastbbman.

Pelonite

A designation applied to two of David’s heroes (1 Chronicles 11:27, 36). For the former see Paltite. In the second case ‘Pelonite’ is prob. a scribal error for ■ Gilonite.’

Pen

See Writing, 6.

Pencil

See Arts and Crafts, 1; Line, 6.

Pendants

See Amulets, Ornaments, § 2.

Peniel

See Penuel.

Peninnah

The second wife of Elkanah (1 Samuel 1:2 f.).

Penknife

Mentioned only in Jeremiah 36:23. Orientals use a reed pen in writing, and always carry a knife for the purpose of mending it.

Penny

See Money, §§ 6, 7.

Pension

Only AV of 1 Esdras 4 (AVm ‘portions of land,’ RV ‘lands’). This archaism is first found in the Geneva version, and is used in the original sense of ‘payment’ (Lat. pensio).

Pentateuch

See Hexateuch.

PENTEOOST. FEAST OF.-l. Inthe OT.— The offering of a barley-sheaf during the Feast of Unleavened Bread opened the reaping season, which lasted officially for 49 days, a week of weeks. On the 50th day took place the Feast of Pentecost, also called the Feast of Weeks (Exodus 34:22. Deuteronomy 16:10). the Feastof Harvest (Exodus 23:16). and the Day of First-fruits (Numbers 28:26). It thus took place at the end of the reaping season, when all the wheat and barley had been cut and gathered, and marked especially the termination of the wheat harvest (wheat being the last of the cereals to ripen in Palestine) . The festival was held at the central sanctuary (Deuteronomy 16:11). whither the people were expected to repair for the celebration; it cannot, therefore, have existed before the settlement in Canaan.

The proper method by which to compute the date of Pentecost was a matter of controversy. In Leviticus 23:11 the terminus a quo is given as the day after the Sabbath during the Feast of Unleavened Bread. In Christ’s time the Jews understood this to mean 16th Nisan, treating the first day of Unleavened Bread as a Sabbath, since it was a day of holy convocation. On this computation Pentecost would fall on 6th Sivan (June). But some theorists maintained that the Sabbath referred to was the ordinary Sabbath during the days of Unleavened Bread, whenever it chanced to fall. The objection to this view was that if 14th or 21st Nisan was a Sabbath, the sheaf-waving would occur outside the Unleavened Bread festival, of which it certainly appears to form a part. Anyhow, whatever be the correct interpretation of the disputed passage in Lev., the Jews usually celebrated the sheaf-waving on 16th Nisan and Pentecost on 6th Sivan.

The feast was probably originally a nature-festival, fixed in later times at a specified date. It always retained its agricultural character in Biblical ages, but some later Rabbinical writers treated it also as a commemoration of the delivery of the Law on Sinai — an event which was supposed to have taken place SO days after the Exodus (Exodus 19:1). though this idea is not found in Philo or Josephus; and the tact that the reading of the Law in the Sabbatical year took place at the Feast of Tabernacles and not at Pentecost, points to the late origin of this tradition.

The festival lasted for one day (though the later Jews allowed two days for it, because in the Dispersion it was difficult to determine accurately the Palestinian month); it was a day of holy convocation, and no servile work might be done. Two leavened loaves of wheaten flour were waved before the Lord; two yearling Iambs were also waved as a peace-offering; seven lambs, one bullock, and two rams were offered as a burnt-offering, and one kid of the goats as a sin-offering (Leviticus 23:17–21). In Numbers 28:27 the burnt-offerings are given as two bullocks, one ram, and seven lambs. These, perhaps, were supplementary to the offerings prescribed in Leviticus 23, where possibly only the sacrifices connected with the loaves are specified. Leviticus 23:22 also prescribes freewill offerings for the poor and the stranger, whilst Deuteronomy 16:10, 11 ordains a freewill offering for the sanctuary, and states that the festal joy is to be shared by all classes. It is probable that this latter offering is referred to in Deuteronomy 26:2–11. and the form of confession and thanksgiving there dictated was so used at this period.

2. In the Christian Church Pentecost was the occasion on which the outpouring of the Holy Spirit occurred (Acts 2). The presence of multitudes at Jerusalem shows the generality of the observance which the Jews paid to this feast. It became one of the Church’s great festivals, as the anniversary of the spiritual first-fruits procured through Jesus Christ’s sacrifice. By the close of the 2nd cent, it was established as an occasion of Christian rejoicing. No fasting or kneeling in prayer was allowed during its duration, and it was especially used as a season for baptisms. Under the old dispensation Pentecost had been distinctly connected with the Feast of Unleavened Bread. So in Christian times its dependence on the Passover sacrifice of Christ, which led to the gift of the Holy Ghost, is unmistakable.

A. W. F. Blunt.

Penuel

(once, Genesis 32:30, Peniel). A place E. of Jordan, and near the Jabbok, at which Jacob wrestled with the angel (Genesis 32:24 ff.). and said (v. 30) to be called Peniel (or Penuel), i.e. ‘Face of God,’ because Jacob said, ‘I have seen God face to face, and yet my life is preserved.’ (The mention of the ‘face of God" in SS’" makes it possible that another explanation of the origin of the name is there alluded to.) There was, however, in Phoenicia, a little S. of Tripolis, a headland called Theou prosSpon, ‘God’s face’; and it is thought by some scholars that ‘Penuel’ really derived its name from some projecting rock in whose contour a face was seen. Penuel is mentioned also in the history of Gideon, as a place with a strong tower or castle which Gideon destroyed (Judges 8:8, 9, 17); it may be inferred from this passage that Penuel was a little E. of Succoth (v. 6). and also on a higher elevation (‘went up,’ V.8). Many years later, Penuel was fortified by Jeroboam (1 Kings 12) so that it must have been a place of some strategic importance. The site is not more certain than that of Succoth; see under Succoth some account of the data upon which its settlement depends, and a suggestion for it. Merrill identifies Penuel with TiUvl edh-Dhahab (‘the hills of gold,’ so called from the yellow metalliferous sandstone of which they are composed), two conical hills, about 250 ft. high, round which the Jabbok winds, about 6 miles E. of Deir ‘Aha (which Merrill identifies with Succoth), up the valley, with ancient ruins on the top; and Conder identifies it with Jebel Osha, a mountain 3597 ft. high, with a fine view, 8 miles S. of the Jabbok. But to each of these identifications there are grave objections: as regards Merrill’s site, it is expressly declared by other travellers that the banks of the Jabbok for many miles above TulQl edh-Dhahab are on both sides so lofty and precipitous as to afford no way for either the Midianites or Gideon to pass along them (see ExpT. xiii. [1902] 457 ff., or more briefly the writer’s Genesis, p. 300 ff.). S. R. Deiveb.

People

This is the translation used in AV for a large number of Hebrew and Greek terms. In some cases ambiguity occurs, as the pi. ‘peoples’ is not used in AV except in Revelation 10:11 17:15. Thus ‘people’ is used sometimes of the people of Israel, and often of heathen nations. RV uses ‘peoples’ freely, and this makes the meaning much clearer in such passages as Psalms 67:4. Isaiah 55:4 60:2 etc. (see art. NATroNS, also preface to RV).

A special phrase ‘the people of the land’ occurs frequently in the OT, especially in Jeremiah, Ezekiel, 2 K., and 2 Ch. In most of these cases it means the general body of the people, the common people as opposed to the courtiers or the ruling class. In Genesis 23:7, 12, 1, Numbers 14:9 the term is applied to non-Israelites. In the Books of Ezra and Nehemiah the ‘people of the land’ are the half-heathen, half-Jewish population with whom the less scrupulous Jews intermarried, but who were avoided by the stricter party represented by Ezra and Nehemiah (Ezra 10:2, 11. Nehemiah 10:30, 31; cf. 9:1 Nehemiah 9:30). The same phrase was used by the Rabbis to describe the common people, who were lax in observing the Mosaic law (John 7:49). W. F. Boyd.

Peor

1. A mountain E. of the Jordan to which Balals led Balaam (Numbers 23:28). It looked down upon the desert. The Onomasticon (s.ii. ‘Fogor’) places it 7 miles from Heshbon, above Livias, one of the heights of the Nebo group. Conder suggests for it the peak above ‘Ain eUMinyeh, about 5 miles W. of Ma’ In. Buhl (.GAP) thinks it may be el-Mushakkar, flanked by Wady Hesban and WBdy ‘AyUn MOsa. 2. In Numbers 25:18 31:16, Joshua 22:17. Peor is the god Baal-Peor. 3. LXX places a Peor (Phagor) in Judah not far from Bethlehem, which is evidently the modern Khirbet Faghur, to the S. of the town. W. Ewinq.

Perdition

The word is used several times in the NT in the ordinary sense of ‘destruction,’ with special reference to the destruction of the soul (Philippians 1:28. 1 Timothy 6:9, Hebrews 10:39. 2 Peter 3:7, Revelation 17:8, 11). It is found twice in the phrase son of perdition— a Heb. expression denoting close connexion between product and producer (cf. ‘sons of thunder,’ ‘sons of light,’ etc.). In John 17:12 the phrase is applied to Judas Iscariot, while in 2 Thessalonians 2:3 it is used of the ‘man of sin,’ or Antichrist. In the latter context a great deal of discussion has centred round the meaning of the reference (see art. Antichrist). It will suflice here to point out that the phrase in 2 Thessalonians 2:3, ‘the son of perdition,’ combined with’certain passages in the Apocalypse (ch. 13), points to a constant tradition in the Christian Church of the Apostolic Age, which appears, from the passages alluded to, to have conceived not of a foreign potentate alien to the Church, but rather of a false Messiah who should be ‘sent to them that are perishing’ (namely, the Jews), and was expected to make his appearance at Jerusalem. The phrase ‘son of perdition’ suggest not so much the power of destruction exerted upon those coming under the sphere of the evil influence, as the effect of wickedness upon the soul of the individual to whom the phrase in each case, is applied.

T. A. MoxoN. PERESH.— A ‘son’ of Machir (1 Chronicles 7:16).

Perez

Son of Judah and Tamar, and twin-brother of Zarah (Genesis 38:29; in 1 Esdras 5 Phares; patronymic Perezites, Numbers 26:20). His importance consists in his being the ancestor of David through Boaz and Ruth, and then of Jesus Christ. His descendants were in all probability the most numerous among the families of Judah; hence the blessing of the elders on Boaz; ‘Let thy house be like the house of Perez’ (Ruth 4:12). According to Genesis 46:12, Perez had two sons, Hezron and Hamul. From Hezron, according to 1 Chronicles 2, came Jerahmeel and Ram and Caleb, and through Ram was traced the line of the royal house o^^ David. W. F. Cobb.

Perezites

See Perez.

PEREZ -tJZZA(H).— See Uzza, 3.

Perfection

The various Biblical terms connoting ‘perfection’ differ in shade of meaning between wholeness, the attaining of an end or ideal, complete adjustment, full equipment in fltness for an appointed task. They are sparingly applied to God; in OT His way, work, knowledge, law are ‘perfect’ (Psalms 18:30, Deuteronomy 32:4, Job 37:16. Psalms 19:7) ; in NT the same term is used of His will. His gifts. His law (Romans 12:2. James 1:17, 25). while Christ describes the Father in heaven as ‘perfect,’ and therefore as the source and pattern of moral ideals (Matthew 5:48). The sense in which perfection is attributed to or urged upon men must naturally vary according to the moral conceptions of the time.

1. In OT. — In the sharp moral contrasts which are presented in the successive kings of Judah, right doing and loyalty to Jehovah are expressed in the phrase " a perfect heart’ (.e.g. 1 Kings 8:61; cf. 11:4 IS’- ‘). It is clear from what is contrasted with the ‘perfect heart’ — idolatry, abominable sin — that the phrase has regard only to general tendencies of religious attitude and moral conduct, and its ethical depth is not perhaps greatly increased by the addition ‘with the Lord his God,’ for in the case of Amaziah a contrast is drawn between the two phrases; ‘he did that which was right in the eyes of the Lord, but not with a perfect heart’ (2 Chronicles 25:2). In a similar sense the term ‘perfect’ is applied to Noah, Abraham, and Job: its meaning is to be gathered from the synonyms which are linked with it — ‘righteous and perfect,’ ‘perfect and upright,’ ‘fearing God and eschewing evil’ (Genesis 6:9 17:1. Job 1:1, 8 2:3; cf. Proverbs 2:21 11). It is noteworthy that in a number of passages in RV ‘perfect’ has displaced AV ‘upright,’ with greater fidelity of translation but little difference of meaning (e.g. Psalms 18:23, 25 19:13 37:18).

2. In NT. — The idea of moral perfection is carried up to an immeasurably higher level by the saying of Christ — the climax of His contrast between evangelical and Pharisaic righteousness — ‘Ye therefore shall be (imperatival future) perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect’ (Matthew 5:48). This may be regarded as our Lord’s re-statement of the OT law, ‘Ye shall be holy: for I the Lord your God am holy’ (Leviticus 19:2, cf. 11:44). but the immediate context of the two paissages is sufficient to indicate the infinite difference between the old law and the new. Infinite, because in place of precepts of ritual purity there is now set up an absolute moral ideal in the perfect love of God.

Moral conduct may indeed involve observance of prohibitions and positive commands, but the morality does not consist in the observance: it must come first, aa the spring of action, and will issue in an obedience very different from that of the current ethical code. It is the disposition that counts: all duty springs from a love to God, working from within outwards, seeking to realize itself in free and boundless aspiration after His perfection. Hence the characteristic’ thou shalt not’ of the Jewish law, with its possibility of evasion under seeming compliance, gives place to a positive’ thou shalt’ of limitless content, because inspired by a limitless ideal (Matthew 5:17–48 T-‘18:21, 22). When the man came to Christ with his eager question about’ eternal life,’ though he could claim to have kept all the commandments from his youth, he is bidden, if he would be ‘perfect,’ strip himself of all worldly possessions and follow Christ; doubtless because only through such sacrifice could he come to discern and attain the moral reahties revealed by simple dependence on God (Matthew 19:21; of. Mark 10:17–31, Luke 18)). The similar question of the lawyer is met with the same’teaching of love to God aa the one source of that ‘doing’ in which is life Luke 10:28).

In the teaching of St. Paul the moral lite of the Christian is often dwelt upon, and In some passages is summarized in glowing ideals (.e.g. Romans 12, 1 Corinthians 13, Galatians 5:22. Ephesians 3:14–19. Philippians 4:4–9, Colossians 1:9–23. 1 Thessalonians 5:14–23). Once the ideal is compressed into a phrase which reminds us of Matthew 5:48. ‘Be ye imitators of God’ (Ephesians 5:1). There is constant insistence on love as the supreme source and manifestation of the moral life (Romans 12:9 13:8–10. 1 Corinthians 13); it is the bond which binds all other virtues into ‘perfection’(Col 3:14) the motive power is to be found in faith in Christ, and in the energies of the indwelling Spirit of God (Romans 8:9. 2 Corinthians 5:17. Galatians 5:24, 25, Ephesians 3:20).

But though St. Paul often uses the word ‘perfect,’ he hardly connects it with the attainment of the moral ideal in the sense of Matthew 5:48. He avails himself of a meaning of the Greek term as applied to men, ‘full-grown,’ ‘mature,’ and uses it to mark advance from the earlier stage of Christian life and experience, at which, in contrast, he describes men as ‘babes.’ ‘To his immature Corinthian converts he writes,’ we speak wisdom among the perfect’; complains, ‘I could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, as unto babes in Christ ‘; and bids them’ be not children in mind: howbeit in malice be ye babes, but in mind be perfect ‘(1 Corinthians 2:6 3:1 14). The same metaphor is used by the author of Hebrews (5:11) where’ perfect’ and ‘perfection’ connote a Christian manhood which can receive and assimilate advanced Christian teaching. In the later Pauline Epistles the word implies a similar stress on intellectual maturity, possibly with a side glance at the technical meaning of ‘fully initiated’ into the Greek ‘mysteries.’ In protest against the Colossian gnosis, arrogated by a few, St. Paul, by unrestricted teaching of the whole gospel to every man, would present every man ‘perfect in Christ’ (Col !•" 4:12). So, too, the attainment of the ideal corporate unity of all Christians is expressed in the’phrase’ unto a perfect (i.e. full-grown) man ‘(Ephesians 4:13). . It is characteristic of St. Paul’s thought that this unity exists (Ephesians 4:3–5), yet is to be attained; similarly, without sense of contradiction, he can write of himself as’ perfect’ (Philippians 3), and in the same context as not ‘perfected’ (S’^).

The great Christian verities themselves, and also their implication for the lives of all who believe, are conceived by him as equally real, yet his assertion of them is joined with an appeal for their realization {e.g. Romans 5:12–21 6:1–11). The facts are there, whatever contradictions may seem to be given to them by the imperfect lives which, if indeed real, they might be supposed to fashion into more complete accord. It follows that he is able without misgiving to set before his converts so lofty an ideal of moral perfection as that contained in the passages already cited, the gulf between ideal and visible attainment being bridged by his faith in the spiritual forces at work (Romans 7:24, 25. 1 Corinthians 1:8, 9. Ephesians 3:20. Philippians 1:6 2:13 4:13; cf. 1 Peter 1:5). Any doctrine, therefore, of Christian ‘perfection’ must reckon at once with St. Paul’s sense of its reality, and at the same time of the present difference between real and actual.

The idea of perfection appears also in James 1:4. ‘that ye may be perfect and entire, lacking in nothing’ (cf. 3:2). In Hebrews special stress is laid upon the ‘perfecting’ of Christ by His humiliation and suffering, not in moral excellence but in fitness for His work of redeeming man (2:10 5:9 7) through his sacrifice the ‘perfection’ unattainable under the old covenant (7 9) is secured for the believer (lO"; cf. IV 12 13).

The idea of perfection in the sense of complete adjustment and equipment (from a different Gr. root) occurs in 1 Corinthians 1:10, 2 Corinthians 13:11, 2 Timothy 3:17. S. W. Green.

Peefumeb

The Oriental liking for odoriferous substances has always rendered the function of the perfumer an important one. The materials used in Bible times were gums, resins, roots, barks, leaves; and these were variously combined according to the skill and fancy of the perfumer. In Nehemiah 3:8 we read of a guild of perfumers. ‘Perfumers’ ought in every instance to be substituted for AV apothecaries as well as for confectionaries of 1 Samuel 8. Cf. art. Apothecary.

Perga

An inland city of Pamphylia about 12 miles from Attalia on the coast, but possessing a river harbour of its own on the Cestrus 5 miles away. Its walls date from the 3rd century b.c. It was the chief native city of Pamphylia, and never seems to have come much under Greek influence, but it had a coinage of its own from the 2nd cent. b.c. to a.d. 276. ‘Artemis of Perga’ was the chief object of worship, and she resembled ‘Diana of the Ephesians " in her rites and images, being sometimes represented like the Greek Artemis as goddess of the chase, but more often by a pillar of stone, the top of which was rounded or roughly carved to represent a head. Her worship was more Asiatic than Greek. Her temple probably possessed the right of sanctuary.

St. Paul passed through Perga twice on his first missionary journey. See Pamphylia. But Christianity did not take root there easily. Perga is not mentioned in early martyrologies. When the Empire became Christian, it was the seat of a metropolitan bishop, but after the blow suffered by the Byzantine Empire at the battle of Manzikert, a.d. 1071, Perga seems to have fallen into the hands of the Turks. In A.D. 1084 we find Attalia made a metropolitan bishopric, and it is the only bishopric in Pamphylia now. The modem name of the site of Perga is Murtana.

A. E. HiLLAHD.

FEBGAHTHVI, or FERGAHTTS, was an ancient city of Mysia, the seat of an independent kingdom from about B.C. 280 to B.C. 133, and the capital of the Roman province of Asia from b.c. 133 until the 2nd cent. a.d. It lay in the Caicus valley about 15 miles from the sea, and its acropolis rose between two tributary streams 3 miles N. of the Caicus. As the capital of a kingdom, Pergamus had acquired a somewhat factitious importance. It stood on no great trade route, and under the Romans it slowly lost all but the official pre-eminence in the province. Its kings had been champions of Greek civilization and arts, and it still remained a centre of conservative culture. But Ephesus was now the centre of trade, and it was at Ephesus that West and East met together, creating a medley of all philosophies and all religions. At Pergamus there were splendid temples of Zeus and Athene, where these gods were worshipped in the ordinary Greek way, but others also of Dionysos and Asklepios.

The only allusion to Pergamus in the NT is In the Apocalypse, where (1" 2") it is included among the seven churches of Asia. The message to it speaks of Pergamus as the place ‘where Satan’s seat is.’ While it is possible that this refers to it as the chief seat of heathen worship in general, it is more probable that it refers to the worship of Rome and Augustus, participation in which had become a test of loyalty, and therefore a frequent ground of Christian martyrdom. Christians would be brought to Fergamus for trial from any northern part of the province, and the mention of one martyr, Antipas, as having suffered there does not prove that he belonged to Fergamus. The Church at Fergamus is charged with having ‘them that hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balak to cast a stumbling-block before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit fornication’; and also ‘them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans.’ We must gather from this that a definite section of the church at Fergamus maintained that, inasmuch as heathen ceremonies ‘meant nothing’ (cf. Co 8’ 10""), they were at liberty to join in idolatrous feasts, and thus to maintain their social position and justify their loyalty in the sight of the law. The allusion in 2" to ‘a white stone, and in the stone a new name written,’ may be an allusion to a practice of keeping secret a new name taken at baptism in a place where it was dangerous to be known as a Christian. From its official and religious character there can be little doubt that Antipas was but one of many martyred at Fergamus.

Fergamus was the seat of a bishopric, but its subsequent history is obscure. It retains its name in the form Bergama. The German Government has been conducting excavations on the site since 1878, and in 1901 a Fergamon Museum was opened in Berlin. The name of Fergamus survives in the word ‘parclunent,* i.e. Fergamena. It is said that king Eumenea, the founder of the library, invented the use of this preparation of sheep-skin or goat-skin for the purposes of writing. A. E. Hilijihd.

Perida

A family of ‘Solomon’s servants,’ Nehemiah 7:57 = Ezra 2 Feruda, 1 Esdras 5:33 Pharida.

Perizzites

According to the frequently recurring list of the Deuteronomic editors, one of the pre-Israelitish nations of Falestine (cf. Exodus 3:8, 17 23:23 33:2 34:11. Deuteronomy 20:17. Joshua 3:10 24:11). The Ferizzites, however, do not appear anywhere definitely in the history. Because in Genesis 15:20 and Joshua 17:15 they are mentioned with the Rephaim, some have inferred that they were one of the pre-Semitic tribes of Palestine. In the J document the Ferizzites are three times mentioned with the Canaanites (Genesis 13:7 34:30. Judges 1:4). The name ‘Perizzite’ (in AV and RV of 1 Esdras 8:69. 2 Esdras 1:21. and AV of Judith 5:16 Fherezite(B)) is in Hebrew almost identical with a word meaning ‘dweller in an unwalled village,’ hence Moore (on Judges 1:5) has suggested that they were Canaanite agriculturists, living in unwalled towns, and not a separate tribe. This view is most probable.

George A. Bahton.

Perjury

See Chimes and Funishments, § 5.

Persecution

Jesus Christ frequently warned His disciples that persecution would be the lot of all who followed Him (John 15:18, 20). So far from being dismayed at this, it should be a cause of rejoicing (Matthew 5:11, 12). The early Church had not long to wait for the fulfilment of these words. The martyrdom of Stephen was the signal tor a fierce outburst of persecution against the Christians of Jerusalem, by which they were scattered in all directions. Saul of Tarsus was the moving spirit in this matter, until, on his road to Damascus to proceed against the Christians there, ‘Christ’s foe became His soldier.’ The conversion of Saul seems to have stayed the persecution. The attempt of Caligula to set up his statue in the Temple at Jerusalem also diverted the attention of the Jews from all else. Hence ‘the churches had rest’ (Acts 9:31).

The next persecution was begun by Herod, who put to death the Apostle St. James, and would ha ve done the same to St. Peter had he not been delivered. Herod’s motive was probably to gain a cheap popularity, but the persecution was ended by his own sudden and terrible death.

After this the history of persecution becomes more the history of the sufferings of certain individuals, such as St. Paul, though passages in the Epistles show us that the spirit of persecution was alive even if the details of what took place are hidden from us (1 Thessalonians 2:14. He 10. 1 p 2). Finally, in the Revelation of St. John, the seer makes frequent reference to the persecution and martyrdom of the saints as the lot of the Church in all ages. Mohley Stevenson.

Persepolis

The chief capital of the ancient kings of Persia, chosen as such by Darius Hystaspis (B.C. S21-486). Imposing ruins still mark its site about 30 miles north-east of Shiraz. It is named in 2 Maccabees 9:2 in connexion with the unsuccessful attempt of Antiochus Epiphanes to plunder its temples and palaces.

J. F. M’CUBDY.

Perseus

‘King of Chittim,’ i.e. Macedonia (1 Mac 8>). His kingdom was brought to an end with his defeat by the Romans at Fydna (b.o. 168).

Persia, Persians

The Persians, when they appeared first in history, were the southern branch of the Iranians who had migrated, in the 10th or 9th cent. B.C., from the tableland of Turkestan westward and southward. They were for long subject to the more numerous and powerful northern branch (see Medes), from whom, however, they were separated by the country of Elam, through their settlement in the district later called Fersis, east of the Persian Gulf. Southern Elam they acquired before B.C. 600. Their prince, Cyrus, the second of that name among the ruling family of the Achsemenides, threw oCE the Median yoke and deposed his sovereign Astyages in B.C. 650. In 645 the kingdom of Lydia fell to him by the capture of Sardis under its king Croesus. In 639 Babylon surrendered to his troops without fighting, after a two weeks’ campaign, and became thenceforth one of the Persian capitals. Thus the Babylonian empire was added to the Medo- Persian. Cf. Isaiah 13. 14. 21 (where in v. 6 ‘Elam’ stands for Persia, into which it was incorporated; see above) 41. 44-47, Jeremiah 50. 51.

Thus was founded the greatest W. Asian empire of antiquity, whose power, moreover, was upon the whole consistently employed for the protection of the subject peoples, including in the great satrapy ‘beyond the River’ the Hebrew community in Palestine which was re-established by the generosity of Cyrus himself (see Ezra and Neh. passim). Of the kings who succeeded Cyrus there are named in OT, Darius Hystaspis (b.c. 621-486), his son Xerxes (486-465, the ‘Ahasuerus’ of Esther), Artaxerxes i. (465-424). See these names in their alphabetic places. To them is possibly to be added Cambyses, son of Cyrus the Great, made king of Babylon in 538, and thus corresponding to the misnomer ‘Darius the Mede’ of Daniel 6:1 ff. 9:1 11:1. J. F. M’Cotidy.

Persis

A Christian woman saluted in Romans 6:12.