Psalms (continued) – Python

Psalms (continued)

Summary. — The conclusion to be drawn even from this brief survey of the origin of the Psalter and the character of the Psalms may be stated thus: — The Psalms as we have received them are sa6red poems that reflect more or less clearly the conditions of the post-exilic Jewish community and express its varying religious feelings and aspirations; in origin some of these Psalms may go back to the pre-exilic period, some may originally have sprung out of circumstances peculiar to an individual; but in consequence of editing by the successive compilers of the post-exilic hymn-books through which the Psalms have come down to us, most of the peculiarly pre-exilic or individual characteristics which may have distinguished them originally have been largely obliterated.

7. Religious value and influence of the Psalter. — Probably no book of the OT has exercised a more profound and extensive influence over succeeding ages than the Psalms. Among the Jews, indeed, the Law has received a more persistent and greater attention; but the place of the Psalms in the history of the Christian Church and in Christian experience is typified by the frequency with which they are quoted in the NT. To trace this influence, or to illustrate it as Mr. Prothero has so excellently done in his volume entitled The Psalms in Human Life, falls outside the scope of this article. All that can be attempted, and even that but very inadequately, is to indicate some of the leading religious ideas, some of the striking religious qualities of the Psalms. And in doing this it is necessary to emphasize clearly the fact that such ideas and qualities are by no means common to all the 150 or more poems which were written by an indefinite number of writers, and were gathered together in our Psalter. What alone is aimed at here is to draw attention to some of the qualities that are at least frequently present, and some of the ideas which frequently or strikingly appear — to the ideas and qualities which have in large measure been the cause of the great and persistent influence which the Psalms have exercised.

(1) The Psalms occupy a peculiar position in the OT literature in consequence of their character. The Law codifies the customs of Israel which had received the approval of Jahweh; the Historical Narratives relate Jahweh’s dealings with Israel; the Prophets deliver Jahweh’s message to Israel, and in the Psalms Israel replies. These distinctions are of course broadly drawn, and we may find, for example, in Jeremiah (e.g. 20:7 ff.) ‘contentions’ with Jahweh that may be somewhat closely paralleled in the Psalms; or, again, the facts that faced the author of the Book of Job are discussed, for example, in Pss 37. 49. 73, though more briefly, and in the case of Pss 37 and 49 less penetratingly. Yet it is true that in the main the Psalter contains the players and praises of Israel, and that they have become classical and stimulating examples for later generations.

(2) But if in the Psalms Israel speaks to God, it speaks as one who has been taught by the Prophets. The Prophets stood alone, or supported by but a small company of disciples, addressing a deaf or gainsaying nation; the Psalmists Identify themselves either with their whole people or at least with a numerous, if oppressed, community. The Prophets upbraid the people with forgetting Jahweh, with forsaking Him for other gods; the Psalmists find difficulty in accounting for the calamities that have come upon their nation, which has not forgotten God, but suffers for its very loyalty to Him (e.g. Psalms 44:20 [render ‘If we had forgotten,’ etc.]). The prophet of the Exile endeavours to awaken Israel to its destiny as a missionary nation (Is 40-55; cf. art. Servant of the Lord); the Israel of many of the Psalms has accepted the r61e (e.g. 47. 51. 100). But a full discussion of the manifold influence of the Prophets on the Psalmists is impossible here.

(3) We turn now to the Psalmists’ belief in God: and here it must suffice to draw attention to two features — the breadth of the conception, and the intensity of the consciousness, of God. The early belief of Israel that other gods besides Jahweh existed has left traces in the Psalter, but is probably nowhere present as a living belief. Some of the Psalmists use phrases that originally sprang from a belief in other gods (e.g. 77:13 95:3). but the mere use of such phrases proves nothing as to the actual belief of a later generation that may continue to employ them; we continue to use them ourselves; and often the Psalmists refer to other gods only in order to emphasize Jahweh’s supremacy (89:6–8 96:4), or to imitate the arguments with which the Deutero-Isaiah had ridiculed the gods of the nations out of existence (e.g. 115. 135). A deeper effect of the earlier belief may probably be seen in what is in any case a conspicuous and permanently influential feature of the Psalms — the intimacy of the consciousness of God. In Israel the monotheistic idea sprang, not from an abstraction of what was common to many gods previously or still worshipped, but from the expansion of the thought of the same one God whom alone Israel had previously worshipped. While Israel believed the gods of other nations to be real beings set over against Jahweh, it was natural for them to feel a peculiarly close relation to Jahweh, to look upon Him as their possession; the belief in other gods perished, the sense of Jahweh as a close and intimate Personality survived ; and not a little of the enduring power of the Psalms is due to the vivid apprehension of God that resulted. Jahweh is the ‘living God’ as opposed to the unrealities that have been taken by other peoples as gods. Supreme in Nature (Pss 8. 104. 93) as in History (and such He is to many at least of the Psalmists), Jahweh nevertheless remembers and visits man (Psalms 8); He abides though all else perishes (e.g. Pss 46. 102) , and to those who possess Him all else sinks into insigniflcance (Psalms 73).

At times, indeed, this sense of possessing Jahweh obscures for the Psalmists the full meaning of Jahweh as the one and only God of the whole world and of all mankind. Not all the imprecatory Psalms, as they are termed, show a sense of the universality of Jahweh’s relations. But in others the universal note rings clear (see, e.g., Pss 47. 65. 67. 100).

(4) This brings us to another feature of the Psalms which has contributed to the influence exercised by them — the hope that is in them, their Messianic outlook. They look beyond the present which for the writers is often full of oppression and affliction, to a future which is sometimes described with some fulness (.e.g. Psalms 72), but is often merely suggested by the call on God to arise, to awalce, to reveal Himself; or by some other brief but pregnant phrase. We cannot here discuss how far the Psalms anticipate a particular Messianic individual; it must suffice to say that the original sense of many passages has been obscured by specific applications to the life of Christ — applications which in some Instances have been built on a very questionable Hebrew text or an illegitimate translation, and that in some Psalms (e.g. Psalms 2) the ° Messiah ‘is perhaps rather the nation of Israel, supreme among the nations of the world (cf. Daniel 7), than an individual ruler or deliverer, whether of Israel or of the world. But where fuller expression is given to the hope, it often takes the form of the establishment of the Kingdom of God, without reference to any other king than God Himself ; the overruling thought is of the manifestation of His supreme sovereignty and the consequent promotion of righteousness and equity among all people (so pre-eminently Pss 96-100). Even in the broadest form of this thought, it is true that Israel occupies a central position and Zion is to become for the whole world what it has long been for Israel — the centre of religion, the place where Jahweh will be worshipped (cf. esp. Psalms 87). No Psalmist has attained to the standpoint of our Lord’s teaching in John 4:

(5) From the thought of the Psalmists about God and their hope in Him. we may turn to their thought of men, which is for the most part primarily of Israel, and in particular to their sense of sin.

Judged by their attitude towards sin, the Psalms fall into two great groups: the extreme representatives of each group are very different in thought, tone, and temper ; the less extreme approximate more or less closely to one another. In the one group the writers claim for themselves, and, so far as they identify themselves with Israel, for their nation, that they are righteous, and in consequence have a claim on God’s righteousness to deliver them from present afflictions (so, e.g., Pss 7. 17. 26. 28. 44. 86). In the other group, confession is made of great iniquity: the appeal for help, if made, can be made to God s mercy and lovingkindness alone (see Pss 25. 32. 40. 51. 65. 85. etc.). The first group stand far removed from the early Prophets; but they have considerable resemblance in thought to Habakkuk; the second group, again, differ from the early Prophets; for though both recognize the sinfulness of Israel, yet the Prophets complain that Israel does not recognize Its sin, whereas these Psalms make confession of sin on behalf of the nation (cf. the late confession in Isaiah 63:7).

(6) The view taken of sin in both groups of Psalms is best appreciated by noticing how, with all their difference, they are yet related. Some sense of sin is perhaps never altogether absent from the Psalms that lay claim to righteousness, and a strong sense of relative righteousness generally accompanies the most fervent confession of sin. Even in such Psalms as the 32nd and the 51st, where the difference is most clearly felt between God’s standard and man’s performance, the sense is also present of a sharp difference between those who. in spite of sin, yet pursue after righteousness, and those who constitute the class of ‘the wicked’ or the transgressors." This attitude towards sin might doubtless without much difficulty become that of the Pharisee in the parable; but it is also closely akin to the highest Christian consciousness, in which the shadow of sin shows darkest in the light of the righteousness and love of God as revealed, In Christ, and which leads the truest followers of Christ, with all honesty, to account themselves the chief of sinners. And it is because the ‘penitential’ Psalms are confessions, not so much of grosser sins open to the rebuke of man, but of the subtler sins which are committed in the sight of and against God only, of the sins which stand in the way of the nation called of God fulfllling its missionary destiny, that these Psalms have played so conspicuous a part in forming the habit and moulding the form of the confession of the Christian man and the Christian Church.

On the poetical form of the Psalms, see Poetry and Acrostic. The first edition of T. K. Cheyne’s Book of PsaZms(1882).withitsfineoriginaUransIationandtersenotes full of insight, is one of the best boolcs the student can use; in 1:he second edition the translation is based on a very radical re-construction of the Hebrew text, which has not obtained general approval. Other translations are Wellhausen-Fumess’s in the Polychrome Bible a,iidS. R. Driver’s Parallel Psalter (Prayer-Book version and a revised version based thereon). The most important Com. in English is by C. A. Briggs (ICC, 1906-7) . Other useful commentaries are W. F. Co 1 independent translation), Kirkpatrick on AV (in Cambridge Bible), and W. T. Davison and T. W. Davies on R V (Century Bible) . The most exhaustive treatise on the Hterary criticism and religious thought of the Psalter is T. K. Cheyne’s Origin of the Psalter (1891: many details implicitly withdrawn or corrected in the author’s later wntings; see, e.g., art. ‘Psalms’ ia EBi). For briefer treatment of the literary questions see W. R. Smith’s chapter (vii.) on the Psalter in OTJC, and S. R. Driver’s LOT.

G. B. Ghat.

Psalms of Solomon

See Apocalyptic Literature,3.

Psaltery

See Music, etc., § 4.

Psychology

The Bible does not contain a science of psychology in the modern sense; but there is a definite and consistent view of man’s nature from the religious standpoint. This being recognized, the old dispute, whether it teaches the bipartite or the tripartite nature of man, loses its meaning, for the distinction of soul and spirit is not a division of man into soul and spirit along with his body or flesh, but a difference of point of view — the one emphasizing man’s individual existence, the other his dependence on God. The account in Genesis 2:7 makes this clear. The breath or spirit of God breathed into the dust of the ground makes the living soul. The living soul ceases when the dust returns to the earth as it was, and the spirit returns to God who gave it’ (Ecclesiastes 12:7). The soul is not, as in Greek philosophy, a separate substance which takes up its abode in the body at birth, and is released from its bondage at death, but is matter animated by God’s breath. Hence no pre-existence of the soul is taught (except in Wisdom 7:19, 20), nor is the future life conceived as that of a disembodied soul. Man is the unity of spirit and matter; hence the hope of immortality involves the belief in the resurrection of the body, even though in St. Paul’s statement of the belief the body raised is described as spiritual (1 Corinthians 15:44). The OT has not. In fact, a term for the body as a whole; the matter to which the spirit gives life is of ten referred to as ■ flesh.’ This term may be used for man as finite earthly creature in contrast with God and His Spirit. Man is flesh,’ or ‘soul,’ or ‘spirit,’ according to the aspect of [his personality it is desired to emphasize. The varied senses in which these terms are used are discussed in the separate articles upon them; here only their relation to one another is dealt with. These are the three principal psychological terms; but there are a few others which claim mention.

Heart is used for the inner life, the principles, motives, purposes (Genesis 6:5. Psalms 51:10, Ezekiel 36:26, Matthew 15:19, 2 Corinthians 3:3), without precise distinction of the intellectual, emotional, or volitional functions; but it can never, as the preceding terms, be used for the whole man. St. Paul, influenced probably by Greek philosophy, uses nous for mind as man’s intellectual activity (Romans 7:23–25). and even contrasts it with the ecstatic state (1 Corinthians 14:14, 15). and adopts other terms used in the Greek schools. Another Greek term, syneidlsis, rendered ‘conscience,’ is used in the NT consistently for what Kant called the practical reason, man’s moral consciousness (Acts 23:1 24:16, Romans 2 9:1 13, 1 Corinthians 8:7, 10, 1 10:25, 27, 2. 89^ 2 Corinthians 1:12 4:2, 1 Ti 1 3:9 4:2, 2 Timothy 1:3, Titus 1:15. Hebrews 9:9, 14 lO^‘13, 1 Peter 2:19 3:16, 21), and is an instance of the influence of the Stoic ethics on’ the moral vocabulary of the civilized world at the time of the Christian era.’ This distinction of the intellectual and the moral functions of personality is the nearest approach in the NT to the modern science; but the analysis is not carried far. It must be observed that in poetic parallelisms ‘soul,’ ‘spirit,’ ‘heart’ are often used as synonymous, in contrast to ‘flesh’ (Psalms 63:1 84:2. Ecclesiastes 11:10 12:7. Ezekiel 44:7, 9). The Bible distinguishes the material and the immaterial, the crea^. turely and the creature, man in his individuality and his dependence on God, but always in the religious interest, that he may recognize his own insufficiency, and his sufficiency in God. Alfeei) E. Gakvie.

Ptolemais

Ptolemais (Acts 21:7). The same as Acco (Judges 1:31). now the port ‘Akka, called in the West, since Crusading times. Acre or St. Jean d’Acre. Acco received the name Ptolemais some time in the 3rd cent. B.C., probably in honour of Ptolemy 11., but although the name was in common use for many centuries, it reverted to its Semitic name after the decline of Greek influence. Although so very casually mentioned in OT and NT, this place has had as varied and tragic a history as almost any spot in Palestine. On a coast peculiarly unfriendly to the mariner, the Bay of ‘Akka is one of the tew spots where nature has lent its encouragement to the building of a harbour; its importance in history has always been as the port of Galilee and Damascus, of the Hauran and Gilead, while in the days of Western domination the Roman Ptolemais and the Crusading St. Jean d’Acre served as the landing-place of governors, of armies, and of pilgrims. So strong a fortress, guarding so fertile a plain, and a port on the highroad to such rich lands to north, east, and south, could never have been overlooked by hostile armies, and so we find the Egyptian Thothmes in., Seti i., and Rameses 11., the Assyrian Sennacherib, Esarhaddon, and Ashurbanipal, and several of the Ptolemys engaged in its conquest or defence. It is much in evidence in the history of the Maccabees, — a queen Cleopatra of Egypt holds it for a time, and here some decades later Herod the Great entertains Ceesar. During the Jewish revolt it is an important base for the Romans, and both Vespasian and Titus visit it. In later times, such warriors as Baldwin i. and Guy de Lusignan, Richard Coeur de Lion and Saladin, Napoleon i. and Ibrahim Pasha are associated with its history.

In the OT it is mentioned only as one of the cities of Asher (Judges 1:31). while in Acts 21:7 it occurs as the port where St. Paul landed, ‘saluted the brethren, and abode with them one day,’ on his way to the new and powerful rival port, Ceesarea, which a few decades previously had sprung up to the south.

The modern ‘Akka (11,000 inhabitants) is a city, much reduced from its former days of greatness, situated on a rocky promontory of land at the N. extremity of the bay to which it gives its name. The sea lies on the W. and S., and somewhat to the E. The ancient harbour lay on the S, and was protected by a mole running E. from the S. extremity, and one running S. from the S.E. corner of the city. Ships of moderate dimensions can approach near the city, and the water is fairly deep. The walls, partially Crusading work, which still surround the city, are in the ruined state to which they were reduced in 1840 by the bombardment by the English fleet under Sir Sidney Smith. Extending from Carmel in the south to the’ Ladder of Tyre’ in the north, and eastward to the foothills of Galilee, is the great and well-watered ‘Plain of Acre,’ a region which, though sandy and sterile close to the sea, is of rich fertility elsewhere. The two main streams of this plain are the Nahr Na’man (R. Bel us), just south of ‘Akka, and the Kishon near Carmel.

Under modern conditions, Haifa, with its better anchorage for modern steamships, and its new railway to Damascus, is likely to form a successful rival to ‘Akka. E. W. G. Masterman.

PTOLEMY V. (Epiphanes). — ‘Ptolemy’ was the dynastic name of the Macedonian kings who ruled over Egypt B.C. 305-31; during the whole of this period Egypt was an independent country; it was not until the great victory of Augustus at Actiura (b.c. 31) that Egypt again lost her independence and became a province, this time under Roman rule. Ptolemy v. reigned B.C. 205-182. He married Cleopatra, the daughter of Antiochus iii. the Great; this matrimonial alliance between the Ptolemys and the Seleucids is alluded to in Daniel 2. During his reign Palestine and Coele- Syria were lost to Egypt, and were incorporated into the kingdom of Syria under Antiochus in.; this is probably what is alluded to in Daniel 11:13–16) gee Jos. Ant. XII. iii. 3, iv. 11. W. O. E. Oesteblbt.

PTOLEMY VI. (VII.) (Philometor),— Son of the foregoing, who reigned b.c. 182-146; in 170 the kingdom was divided between him and his brother Ptolemy vii. (Physcon); peace was made between them by the Romans, and they continued as joint kings. In the year 170, while Ptolemy vi. was still sole king, he attempted to reconquer the Syrian, provinces which had been lost during his father’s reign; the attempt was, however, abortive, and he was defeated by Antiochus iv. It was only through the intervention of the Romans that Antiochus was prevented from following up this victory by further conquests. References to Philometor are to be found in 1 Maccabees 1:18 10:51 ff. ll’-i* IS’^-‘", Dn ll«-8i>; and see Job. Ant. xiii. iv. 5-9.

W. O. E. Oesteklet.

Puah

1. One of the Hebrew midwives (Exodus 1:15). 2. Father of Tola (Judges 10:1). In Genesis 46:13, Numbers 26) [Puvah], 1 Chronicles 7:1. he is Tola’s brother.

Publican

This term is a transliteration of a Latin word, which strictly meant a member of one of the great Roman financial companies, which farmed the taxes of the provinces of the Roman Empire. The Roman State during the Republic relieved itself of the trouble and expenseof collectingthe taxes of the provinces by putting up the taxes of each in a lump to auction. The auctioneer was the censor, and the buyer was one of the above companies, composed mainly of members of the equestrian order, who made the best they could out of the bargain. The abuses to which this system gave rise were terrible, especially as the governors could sometimes be bribed to wink at extortion; and in one particular year the provincials of Asia had to pay the taxes three times over. These companies required officials of their own to do the business of collection. The publicans of the Gospels appear to have been agents of the Imperial procurator of Judaea, with similar duties (during the Empire there was State machinery for collecting the taxes, and the Emperor had a procurator in each province whose business it was to supervise the collection of revenue). They were employed in collecting the customs dues on exports. Some Jews found it profitable to serve the Roman State in this way, and became objects of detestation to such of their fellow-countrymen as showed an impotent hatred of the Roman supremacy. The Gospels show clearly that they were coupled habitually with ‘sinners,’ a word of the deepest contempt. A. Souter.

PUBLIUS, or PopliuS.— The ‘first man’ of Malta, whose father was cured by St. Paul of fever and dysentery by laying on of hands (Acts 28:7 f.). The title PrStos (‘first man’) at Malta is attested by inscriptions; it occurs also at Pisidian Antioch (Acts 13, cf. 25:2).

A. J. Maclean.

Pudens

Mentioned by St. Paul as sending greetings from Rome to Timothy (2 Timothy 4:21: ‘Pudens and Linus and Claudia’). For the suggested relationship of these persons and identification of the first and of the last, see art. CLAnDiA. Pudens is a common Roman lame. A. J. Maclean.

Pul

1. See Assyria and Babylonia, p. 66". 2. In Isaiah 66:19 Pid is prob. a slip for Put (wh. see).

Pulse

Pulse (zerS’lm, Daniel 1:12; elrB’nim, vM RVm ‘herbs,’ cf. Isaiah 61:11 EV ‘tilings tiiat are sown’) may have been any garden produce. The Eng. word ‘pulse’ belongs to leguminous grains specially, but it is doubtful whether the meaning of the Heb. can be so restricted. In 2 S 17 ‘pulse’ is supplied after ‘parched,’ but ‘grain’ would be better. See also Food, § 3.

E. W. G. Mastebman.

Punishments

See Crimes and Punishmento, §§ 8-11,

Punites

The gentilic name from Puvah, Numbers 26:23. See PuAH, No. 2.

Punon

A station of the Israelites (Numbers 33:42, 43). Cf. sSso art. Pinon.

Pur

See Puhim.

Purah

Gideon’sservant or armour-bearer Jg(7’i").

Purge

Tobit 9:11 f. in AV is simply to ‘cleanse or purify,’ as Psalms 51:7 ‘Purge me with hyssop and I shall be clean’; Mark 7:19 ‘purging all meats,’ i.e. making all food ceremonially clean.

Purification

See Clean and Unclean.

Purdh

1. In the OT.— On the 14th and 15th of the month Adar (March) fell the celebration of the Feast of Purim or Lots. Ttiis commemorated the deliverance of the Jews from Haman, who in b.c 473 had plotted their extermination throughout the Persian empire (Esther 3:7 9:15–32). In 2 Maccabees 15:36 it is called ‘Mordecai’s day,’ The observance of this festival was probably not at first universal, but Josephus mentions its occurrence, and it held an established position before the time of Christ. At first no special religious services were enjoined to mark it, nor was there any prohibition of labour. It was a time of feasting and joy, of the giving of presents and alms. In later times it was celebrated by a synagogue meeting on the evening of the 13th and the morning of the 14th, when the Book of Esther was read through, special prayers and thanks were offered, and the congregation ejaculated curses on Hamah and blessings on Esther and Mordecai. The rest of the feast was given up to good cheer and boisterous enjoyment of an almost Bacchanalian character. In 1 Maccabees 7:49 and 2 Maccabees 15:36, as also in Josephus, the 13th of Adar is recorded as a feast-day in commemoration of the defeat of the Syrian general Nicanor in B.C. 161. But later ages observed it as the Fast of Esther (cf. Esther 9:31 4:3). the celebration taking place on the 11th, if the 13th happened to be a Sabbath.

The origin of the Purim feast is a matter of dispute. It isdiCBcult to identify any known Persian word with pur (Esther 3:7 9™), which gave the festival its name. Various theories have been put forward, of which the most noteworthy are: (a) that which derives it from a Persian spring festival; (6) that which regards it as a transformation of an old Zoroastrian festival of the dead; (c) that which traces its origin to a Babylonian New Year’s festival.

2. In the NT. — Some have supposed that the nameless feast mentioned in John 5:1 was Purim. But this is not convincing, for (a) Purim was never one of the great national solemnities which called for attendance at Jerusalem: it was observed locally and not only at the capital; (6) Christ would naturally go up for the Passover in the next month. And it is more probable that the Passover is the feast here intended. Cf. art. Chronology of NT, I. § 2. A. W. F. Blunt.

Purity

1. Ceremonial purity is acquired by the due observance of external rites. The Jewish law prescribed various regulations by means of which outward defilement might be removed and the ‘unclean’ person be restored to fellowship with God. But the OT recognizes that moral purity is essential to acceptable worship of the Holy God (Psalms 24:4) the question of Eliphaz expresses the conviction of those who know how absolute is the Divine holiness: ‘Shall a man be pure before his Maker?’ (Job 4:17 RVm); only to the man who ‘purifies himself can such a God reveal His glory (Psalms 18, the verb is reflexive). The writer of the Ep. to the Hebrews reminds Christians who were familiar with the OT ceremonial of purification that the voluntary sacrifice of the Son of God is the means of purification under the new and better Covenant;’ the blood of Christ’ removes the inward defilement which unfits sinful men for the service of the living God (9:13 f.).

■2. In the NT ‘pure’ has the more restricted meaning of ‘chaste’ in a few passages. Underlying the true reading of 2 Corinthians 11:3, ‘the simplicity and the purity that is toward Christ,’ is the metaphor of v. 2 (RV), ‘I espoused you to one husband, that I might present you as a pure virgin to Christ’ (cf. Titus 2:5, 1 Peter 3:2). The same noun is tr. ‘pureness’ in 2 Corinthians 6:6 (RV); cf. 1 Timothy 4:12 S*; also, for the wider meaning of the verb, James 4:8. 1 Peter 1:22, 1 John 3:3) and of the adjective, Philippians 4:8, 1 Timothy 5:22. James 3:17. See, further, art. Holiness. J. G. Taskeb.

Purple

See Colours, § 6.

Purse

See Bag.

Put, Phut

A people counted amongst the sons of Ham (Genesis 10:6, 1 Chronicles 1:8), and frequently mentioned in the prophets as an ally of Egypt (Jeremiah 46:9, Ezekiel 27:10 30:5 38, Nahum 3:9). It has been suggested that it represents(1) the people of Punt (rather Pwone in Egyp.), i.e. the African coast of the Red Sea with Somaliland, etc.: warriors may perhaps have been obtained thence for Egypt; or (2) Libya, whose people were called by the Egyptians Paiat (in the times of the Hebrew prophets the Libyans were the backbone of the seminative army); or (3) the bow-bearing allies pidati (?); (4) being generally associated with Lud =Lydians (once in Nah. Lubim), it is thought that Put may be a name for the Carians or other pre-Hellenic peoples of Asia Minor or the iEgaean islands. F. Ll. Griffith.

Puteoli

(modern Pozzuoli). In ancient times an important harbour and emporium, especially for Eastern trade, on the W. coast of Italy near Naples. It was founded by Greeks at a very early period. Such cities were specially sought by Jews and other foreigners, and Christians would early be living there, as St. Paul and his party found them on reaching this port at the end of their voyage from the East (Acts 28:13). A. Souter.

Puthites

A family of Kiriath-jearim (1 Chronicles 2:53).

Putiel

The father-in-law of Eleazar (Exodus 6:25).

Puvah

See Puah.

Pygarg

(.dlshBn). A ‘clean’ animal, Deuteronomy 14:5 only. From its associates in the same verse it may be inferred that it was a deer of some kind. The LXX tr. is, on what grounds is not known, pygargos, I.e. ‘whiterumped’ (hence the Eng. ‘pygarg’). This description and a process of exclusion — the hart, roebuck, etc., all being otherwise accounted for — make it probable that the dlshSn was the addax (.A . nasomaculatus) , an antelope with a white tail and long, backward-curved, twisted horns. It is rare in Palestine to-day, but is known to the Bedouin. E. W. G. Masterman.

Pyrrhus

A man of Beroea, father of Sopater, according to the best text (Acts 20:4 RV). For the unusual insertion of the patronymic, see art. Sopater.

A. J. Maclean.

Python

In Acts 16:16 we read of a young girl at Philippi who had ‘a spirit, a Python’ (this is the reading of all the best MSS). Pytho was a district close to Delphi; and Python was the serpent at that place slain by Apollo, who therefore was called ‘the Pythian.’ Hence the priestess at Delphi was called ‘the Pythian.’ This seems to be the connexion of the name with divination. Plutarch says that ventriloquists in his day (1st cent. A.D.) were called ‘Pythons.’ Their powers were considered to be due to spiritual influence, and to include prediction. The girl at Philippi, then, was probably a ventriloquist, who brought her masters gain by soothsaying. She proclaimed aloud for many days that Paul and his companions were slaves of the Most High God, and the Apostle at last drove out the spirit ‘in the name of Jesus Christ.’ Her masters thereupon, having lost their source of profit, denounced Paul and Silas to the magistrates. A. J. Maclean.

Q

QUAIL {selaw, Exodus 16:13, Numbers 11:31 f.; Psalms 105:40). This bird (Cotumix communis), the smallest of the partridge family, migrates annually from Africa to Europe, crossing the Sinaitic peninsula and Palestine en route; it reaches the latter about March. It migrates in vast numbers, always flying with the wind, and often settling, after a long flight, especially across the sea, in such an exhausted condition as to be easy of capture. The flesh is fatty, and apt to disagree if taken to excess, especially if inefflciently preserved.

E. W. G. Mastekman.