Patience – Pau

Patience

pa'-shens (hupomone, makrothumia): "Patience" implies suffering, enduring or waiting, as a determination of the will and not simply under necessity. As such it is an essential Christian virtue to the exercise of which there are many exhortations. We need to "wait patiently" for God, to endure uncomplainingly the various forms of sufferings, wrongs and evils that we meet with, and to bear patiently injustices which we cannot remedy and provocations we cannot remove.

The word "patience" does not occur in the Old Testament, but we have "patiently" in Psalms 40:1 as the translation of qawah, "to wait," "to expect," which word frequently expresses the idea, especially that of waiting on God; in Psalms 37:7, "patiently" ("wait patiently") is the translation of qul, one of the meanings of which is "to wait" or "to hope for" or "to expect" (of Job 35:14); "patient" occurs (Ecclesiastes 7:8) as the translation of 'erekh ruach, "long of spirit," and (Job 6:11) "that I should be patient" (ha'arikh nephesh). Compare "impatient" (Job 21:4).

"Patience" occurs frequently in the Apocrypha, especially in Ecclesiasticus, e.g. 2:14; 16:13; 17:24; 41:2 (hupomone); 5:11 (makrothumia); 29:8 (makrothumeo, the Revised Version (British and American) "long suffering"); in The Wisdom of Solomon 2:19, the Greek word is anexikakia.

In the New Testament hupomone carries in it the ideas of endurance, continuance (Luke 8:15; Luke 21:19; Romans 5:3,Romans 5:4, the American Standard Revised Version "stedfastness"; Romans 8:25, etc.).

In all places the American Revised Version margin has "stedfastness," except James 5:11, where it has "endurance"; makrothumia is translated "patience" (Hebrews 6:12; James 5:10); makrothumeo, "to bear long" (Matthew 18:26,Matthew 18:29; James 5:7; See LONGSUFFERING); the same verb is translated "be patient" (1 Thessalonians 5:14, the Revised Version (British and American) "longsuffering"; James 5:7,James 5:8, the King James Version and the Revised Version (British and American) "patient"); makrothumos, "patiently" (Acts 26:3); hupomeno (1 Peter 2:20); anexikakos is translated "patient" (2 Timothy 2:4, the Revised Version (British and American), the King James Version margin, "forbearing"); epieikes, "gentle" (1 Timothy 3:3, the Revised Version (British and American) "gentle"); hupomeno (Romans 12:12, "patient in tribulation"). For "the patient waiting for Christ" (2 Thessalonians 3:5), the Revised Version (British and American) has "the patience of Christ."

Patience is often hard to gain and to maintain, but, in Romans 15:5, God is called "the God of patience" (the American Revised Version margin "stedfastness") as being able to grant that grace to those who look to Him and depend on Him for it. It is in reliance on God and acceptance of His will, with trust in His goodness, wisdom and faithfulness, that we are enabled to endure and to hope stedfastly.

See also GOD.

W. L. Walker

Patmos

pat'-mos (Patomos; Italian: San Giovanni di Patino): A Turkish island of the group Sporades, Southwest of Samos, mentioned once in the Bible, Revelation 1:9, "I, John .... was in the isle that is called Patmos, for the word of God and the testimony of Jesus" (dia ton logon tou theou kai ten marturian Iesou). The island is 10 miles long, and about 6 broad along the northern coast. It is for the most part rocky. The highest part is Mount Elias, which rises to a height of over 800 ft. As in Greece, and in the adjacent mainland of Asia Minor, the land is treeless. Near the city of Patmos there is a good harbor. A famous monastery, Christodulos, was founded on the island in 1088. Near this is a thriving school, attended by students from all parts of the Archipelago. The population of the island numbers 3,000, almost entirely Greek. The ancient capital was on an isthmus between the inlets of La Scala and Merika. Many ruins can still be seen. The huge walls of Cyclopean masonry, similar to those at Tiryns, attest their great age. In Roman times Patmos was one of the many places to which Rome banished her exiles. In 95 AD, according to a tradition preserved by Irenaeus, Eusebius, Jerome and others, John was exiled here--in the 14th year of the reign of Domitian--whence he returned to Ephesus under Nerva (96 AD). The cave in which he is said to have seen his visions is still pointed out to the traveler. Only a small part of the once valuable library in the monastery of Christodulos is left. Just 100 years ago (1814) Mr. E.D. Clark purchased here the manuscript of Plato which is now in the Bodleian Library, the celebrated Clarkianus, a parchment written in the year 895, and admittedly the best of all for the 1st of the 2 volumes into which the works of Plato were divided for convenience. Patmos is mentioned by Thucydides (iii.33), by Pliny (NH, iv.23), and by Strabo (x.5).

See also JOHN, THE APOSTLE; REVELATION OF JOHN.

LITERATURE.

Tozer, The Islands of the Aegean (1890), 178-95; Walpole, Turkey (London, 1820), II, 43; E.D. Clark, Travels (London, 1818), VI, 2; Ross, Reisen (Stuttgart, 1840), II; Guerin, Description de l'Ile de Patmos (Paris, 1856).

J. E. Harry

Patriarch; Patriachs

pa'-tri-ark, patriarches). The word occurs in the New Testament in application to Abraham (Hebrews 7:4), to the sons of Jacob (Acts 7:8,Acts 7:9), and to David (Acts 2:29). In Septuagint it is used as the equivalent of the head of the fathers' house, or of a tribe (1 Chronicles 24:31; 1 Chronicles 27:32; 2 Chronicles 26:12). Commonly now the term is used of the persons whose names appear in the genealogies and covenant-histories in the periods preceding Moses (Genesis 5:1–32; Genesis 11:1–32, histories of Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, etc.; compare "patriarchal dispensation"). The problems connected with the longevity ascribed to the patriarchs in the genealogies and narratives in Ge are dealt with in special articles.

See ANTEDILUVIAN PATRIARCHS; ANTEDILUVIANS (GENEALOGY).

James Orr

Patrimony

pat'-ri-mo-ni (ha-'abhoth, "the fathers"): A word occurring once in English Versions of the Bible (Deuteronomy 18:8), meaning literally, "the fathers," which, however, is obscure, probably by reason of abbreviation for some phrase, e.g. "house of the fathers." It may indicate "some private source of income possessed by the Levite (who has come up from a country district to the central sanctuary) distinct from what he receives as a priest officiating at the central sanctuary" (Driver, "Deuteronomy," ICC, in the place cited.). Beyond this one occurrence of the word the same idea is conveyed often by other words or phrases: "He divided unto them his living" (Luke 15:13); "Teacher, bid my brother divide the inheritance with me" (Luke 12:13). Full and specific directions were given in the Law for the division of the patrimony (Numbers 27:1–23; Deuteronomy 21:1–23, etc.) and for its redemption (Ruth 4:1–12). The idea was frequently used with figurative and spiritual application: the land of Canaan was Israel's patrimony, being inherited from Yahweh (Psalms 105:11); salvation because of its origin in grace was the believer's patrimony (Galatians 3:26–4:7). Contrariwise Israel was Yahweh's inheritance (Isaiah 19:25; Isaiah 63:14; compare Psalms 33:12; and the whole earth is the Messiah's patrimony, inherited from His Eternal Father (Psalms 2:8).

See BIRTHRIGHT; FAMILY; INHERITANCE; PROPERTY.

Edward Mack

Patrobas

pat'-ro-bas (Patrobas): The name of a member of the Christian community at Rome to whom Paul sent greetings (Romans 16:14). The name is an abbreviated form of "Patrobius." There was a wealthy freedman of Nero of the same name who was put to death by Galba (Tacitus, History i.49; ii.95). The Patrobas of Paul may have been a dependent of his.

Patroclus

pa-tro'-klus (Patroklos): The father of the Syrian general Nicanor (2 Macc 8:9).

Pattern

pat'-ern (tabhnith, "model," mar'eh, "a vision" or "view"): The Old Testament words translated "pattern" do not necessarily indicate a drawing such as a modern constructor begins with, or the patterns made from these drawings for the guidance of workmen. In Exodus 25:9,Exodus 25:40 the word "idea" or "suggestion" would possibly indicate more distinctly than "pattern" what Moses received in regard to the building of the tabernacle, etc. It is doubtful if any architect's drawing was ever made of the temple. It is not the custom in Palestine and Syria today to work from any pattern more concrete than an idea. A man who wants a house calls the builder and says he wants to build so many rooms of such and such dimensions with, for example, a court 10 drahs (arm's lengths) wide and 15 drahs long, made of sandstone and plastered inside and out. With these meager instructions the builder starts. The details are worked out as the building proceeds. When a piece of iron or brass work is to be made, the customer by gestures with his hands outlines the form the piece should take. "I want it haik wa haik" ("thus and thus"), he says, and leaves the metal worker to conceive the exact form. It is probable that directions similar to these were given by David to Solomon. "Then David gave Solomon his son the pattern (his conception) of the porch of the temple," etc. (1 Chronicles 28:11). The above does not apply to Greek and Roman work in Syria. Their workmen, probably mostly native, were trained to work from models. Williams in the Architect, January, 1913, says of the works at Baalbek and Palmyra, "There is a machine-like resemblance betokening slavish copying." At the present time native workmen coming under the influence of foreigners are beginning to work from models and plans, but they show little tendency to create models of their own.

Three Greek words have been translated in the New Testament: tupos, "type," occurs in Titus 2:7 and Hebrews 8:5. In the first instance the Revised Version (British and American) reads "ensample." hupotuposis, "outline," has been similarly translated in 1 Timothy 1:16, but "pattern" in 2 Timothy 1:13. In Hebrews 9:24 the American Standard Revised Version. antitupos, is rendered "like in pattern." hupodeigma, the King James Version "pattern," is translated in the American Standard Revised Version "copy" (Hebrews 8:5), "copies" (Hebrews 9:23). At the time of the translation of the King James Version the word "pattern" meant either the thing to be copied or the copy.

James A. Patch

Pau

pa'u.

See PAI.