Pentecost – Perga

Pentecost

pen'-te-kost:

1. In the Old Testament:

As the name indicates (pentekoste), this second of the great Jewish national festivals was observed on the 50th day, or 7 weeks, from the Paschal Feast, and therefore in the Old Testament it was called "the feast of weeks." It is but once mentioned in the historical books of the Old Testament (2 Chronicles 8:12,2 Chronicles 8:13), from which reference it is plain, however, that the people of Israel, in Solomon's day, were perfectly familiar with it: "offering according to the commandment of Moses, on the sabbaths, and on the new moons, and on the set feasts, three times in the year, even in the feast of unleavened bread, and in the feast of weeks, and in the feast of tabernacles." The requirements of the three great festivals were then well understood at this time, and their authority was founded in the Mosaic Law and unquestioned. The festival and its ritual were minutely described in this Law. Every male in Israel was on that day required to appear before the Lord at the sanctuary (Exodus 34:22,Exodus 34:23). It was the first of the two agrarian festivals of Israel and signified the completion of the barley-harvest (Leviticus 23:15,Leviticus 23:16; Deuteronomy 16:9,Deuteronomy 16:10), which had begun at the time of the waving of the first ripe sheaf of the first-fruits (Leviticus 23:11). Pentecost, or the Feast of Weeks, therefore fell on the 50th day after this occurrence. The wheat was then also nearly everywhere harvested (Exodus 23:16; Exodus 34:22; Numbers 28:26), and the general character of the festival was that of a harvest-home celebration. The day was observed as a Sabbath day, all labor was suspended, and the people appeared before Yahweh to express their gratitude (Leviticus 23:21; Numbers 28:26). The central feature of the day was the presentation of two loaves of leavened, salted bread unto the Lord (Leviticus 23:17,Leviticus 23:20; Exodus 34:22; Numbers 28:26; Deuteronomy 16:10). The size of each loaf was fixed by law. It must contain the tenth of an ephah, about three quarts and a half, of the finest wheat flour of the new harvest (Leviticus 23:17). Later Jewish writers are very minute in their description of the preparation of these two loaves (Josephus, Ant, III, x, 6). According to the Mishna (Menachoth, xi.4), the length of the loaf was 7 handbreadths, its width 4, its depth 7 fingers. Leviticus 23:18 describes the additional sacrifices required on this occasion. It was a festival of good cheer, a day of joy. Free-will offerings were to be made to the Lord (Deuteronomy 16:10), and it was to be marked by a liberal spirit toward the Levite, the stranger, and orphans and widows (Deuteronomy 16:11,Deuteronomy 16:14). Perhaps the command against gleaning harvest-fields has a bearing on this custom (Leviticus 23:22).

The Old Testament does not give it the historical significance which later Jewish writers have ascribed to it. The Israelites were admonished to remember their bondage on that day and to reconsecrate themselves to the Lord (Deuteronomy 16:12), but it does not yet commemorate the giving of the Law at Sinai or the birth of the national existence, in the Old Testament conception (Exodus 19:1–25). Philo, Josephus, and the earlier Talmud are all ignorant of this new meaning which was given to the day in later Jewish history. It originated with the great Jewish rabbi Maimonides and has been copied by Christian writers. And thus a view of the Jewish Pentecost has been originated, which is wholly foreign to the scope of the ancient institution.

2. In the New Testament:

The old Jewish festival obtained a new significance, for the Christian church, by the promised outpouring of the Holy Spirit (John 16:7,John 16:13). The incidents of that memorable day, in the history of Christianity, are told in a marvelously vivid and dramatic way in the Ac of the Apostles. The old rendering of sumplerousthai (Acts 2:1) by "was fully come" was taken by Lightfoot (Her. Heb.) to signify that the Christian Pentecost did not coincide with the Jewish, just as Christ's last meal with His disciples was considered not to have coincided with the Jewish Passover, on Nisan 14. The bearing of the one on the other is obvious; they stand and fall together. the Revised Version (British and American) translates the obnoxious word simply "was now come." Meyer, in his commentary on the Acts, treats this question at length. The tradition of the ancient church placed the first Christian Pentecost on a Sunday. According to John, the Passover that year occurred on Friday, Nisan 14 (18:28). But according to Matthew, Mark, and Luke, the Passover that year occurred on Thursday, Nisan 14, and hence, Pentecost fell on Saturday. The Karaites explained the shabbath of Leviticus 23:15 as pointing to the Sabbath of the paschal week and therefore always celebrated Pentecost on Sunday. But it is very uncertain whether the custom existed in Christ's day, and moreover it would be impossible to prove that the disciples followed this custom, if it could be proved to have existed. Meyer follows the Johannic reckoning and openly states that the other evangelists made a mistake in their reckoning. No off-hand decision is possible, and it is but candid to admit that here we are confronted with one of the knottiest problems in the harmonizing of the Gospels.

See CHRONOLOGY OF THE NEW TESTAMENT.

The occurrences of the first pentecostal day after the resurrection of Christ set it apart as a Christian festival and invested it, together with the commemoration of the resurrection, with a new meaning. We will not enter here upon a discussion of the significance of the events of the pentecostal day described in Ac 2. That is discussed in the article under TONGUES (which see). The Lutherans, in their endeavor to prove the inherent power of the Word, claim that "the effects then exhibited were due to the divine power inherent in the words of Christ; and that they had resisted that power up to the day of Pentecost and then yielded to its influence." This is well described as "an incredible hypothesis" (Hodge, Systematic Theology, III, 484). The Holy Spirit descended in answer to the explicit promise of the glorified Lord, and the disciples had been prayerfully waiting for its fulfillment (Acts 1:4,Acts 1:14). The Spirit came upon them as "a power from on high." God the Holy Spirit proved on Pentecost His personal existence, and the intellects, the hearts, the lives of the apostles were on that day miraculously changed. By that day they were fitted for the arduous work that lay before them. There is some difference of opinion as to what is the significance of Pentecost for the church as an institution. The almost universal opinion among theologians and exegetes is this: that Pentecost marks the rounding of the Christian church as an institution. This day is said to mark the dividing line between the ministry of the Lord and the ministry of the Spirit. The later Dutch theologians have advanced the idea that the origin of the church, as an institution, is to be found in the establishment of the apostolate, in the selection of the Twelve. Dr. A. Kuyper holds that the church as an institution was founded when the Master selected the Twelve, and that these men were "qualified for their calling by the power of the Holy Spirit." He distinguishes between the institution and the constitution of the church. Dr. H. Bavinck says: "Christ gathers a church about Himself, rules it directly so long as He is on the earth, and appoints twelve apostles who later on will be His witnesses. The institution of the apostolate is an especially strong proof of the institutionary character which Christ gave to His church on the earth" (Geref. Dogm., IV, 64).

Whatever we may think of this matter, the fact remains that Pentecost completely changed the apostles, and that the enduement with the Holy Spirit enabled them to become witnesses of the resurrection of Christ as the fundamental fact in historic Christianity, and to extend the church according to Christ's commandment. Jerome has an especially elegant passage in which Pentecost is compared with the beginning of the Jewish national life on Mt. Sinai (Ad Tabiol, section 7): "There is Sinai, here Sion; there the trembling mountain, here the trembling house; there the flaming mountain, here the flaming tongues; there the noisy thunderings, here the sounds of many tongues; there the clangor of the ramshorn, here the notes of the gospel-trumpet." This vivid passage shows the close analogy between the Jewish and Christian Pentecost.

3. Later Christian Observance:

In the post-apostolic Christian church Pentecost belonged to the so-called "Semestre Domini," as distinct from the "Semestre Ecclesiae" the church festivals properly so called. As yet there was no trace of Christmas, which began to appear about 360 AD. Easter, the beginning of the pentecostal period, closed the "Quadragesima," or "Lent," the entire period of which had been marked by self-denial and humiliation. On the contrary, the entire pentecostal period, the so-called "Quinquagesima," was marked by joyfulness, daily communion, absence of fasts, standing in prayer, etc. Ascension Day, the 40th day of the period, ushered in the climax of this joyfulness, which burst forth in its fullest volume on Pentecost. It was highly esteemed by the Fathers. Chrysostom calls it "the metropolis of the festivals" (De Pentec., Hom. ii); Gregory of Nazianzen calls it "the day of the Spirit" (De Pentec., Orat. 44). All the Fathers sound its praises. For they fully understood, with the church of the ages, that on that day the dispensation of the Spirit was begun, a dispensation of greater privileges and of a broader horizon and of greater power than had hitherto been vouchsafed to the church of the living God. The festival "Octaves," which, in accordance with the Jewish custom, devoted a whole week to the celebration of the festival, from the 8th century, gave place to a two days' festival, a custom still preserved by the Roman church and such Protestant bodies as follow the ecclesiastical year. The habit of dressing in white and of seeking baptism on Pentecost gave it the name "Whitsunday," by which it is popularly known all over the world.

Henry E. Dosker

Penuel

pe-nu'-el, pen'-u-el.

See PENIEL.

Penury

pen'-u-ri (machcor): In Proverbs 14:23, with sense of "poverty," "want": "The talk of the lips tendeth only to penury." In the New Testament the word in Luke 21:4 (husterema) is in the Revised Version (British and American) translated "want" (of the widow's mites).

People

pe'-p'-l: In English Versions of the Bible represents something over a dozen Hebrew and Greek words. Of these, in the Old Testament, `am, is overwhelmingly the most common (about 2,000 times), with le'om, and goy, next in order; but the various Hebrew words are used with very little or no difference in force (e.g. Proverbs 14:28; but, on the other hand, in Psalms 44:1–26 contrast verses 12 and 14). Of the changes introduced by the Revised Version (British and American) the only one of significance (cited explicitly in the Preface to the English Revised Version) is the frequent use of the plural "peoples" (strangely avoided in the King James Version except Revelation 10:11; Revelation 17:15), where other nations than Israel are in question. So, for instance, in Psalms 67:4; Isaiah 55:4; Isaiah 60:2, with the contrast marked in Psalms 33:10 and 12; Psalms 77:14 and 15, etc. In the New Testament, laos, is the most common word, with ochlos, used almost as often in the King James Version. But in the Revised Version (British and American) the latter word is almost always rendered "multitude," "people" being retained only in Luke 7:12; Acts 11:24,Acts 11:26; Acts 19:26, and in the fixed phrase "the common people" (ho polus ochlos) in Mark 12:37; John 12:9,John 12:12 margin (the retention of "people" would have been better in John 11:42, also), with "crowd" (Matthew 9:23,Matthew 9:25; Acts 21:35). The only special use of "people" that calls for attention is the phrase "people of the land." This may mean simply "inhabitants," as Ezekiel 12:19; Ezekiel 33:2; Ezekiel 39:13; but in 2 Kings 11:14, etc., and the parallel in 2 Chronicles, it means the people as contrasted with the king, while in Jeremiah 1:18, etc., and in Ezekiel 7:27; Ezekiel 22:29; Ezekiel 46:3,Ezekiel 46:9, it means the common people as distinguished from the priests and the aristocracy. A different usage is that for the heathen (Genesis 23:7,Genesis 23:12,Genesis 23:13; Numbers 14:9) or half-heathen (Ezra 9:1,Ezra 9:2; Ezra 10:2,Ezra 10:11; Nehemiah 10:28–31) inhabitants of Palestine. From this last use, the phrase came to be applied by some rabbis to even pure-blooded Jews, if they neglected the observance of the rabbinic traditions (compare John 7:49 the King James Version). For "people of the East" see CHILDREN OF THE EAST.

Burton Scott Easton

Peor

pe'-or (ha-pe`or; Phogor):

(1) A mountain in the land of Moab, the last of the three heights to which Balaam was guided by Balak in order that he might curse Israel (Numbers 23:28). It is placed by Eusebius, Onomasticon on the way between Livias and Heshbon, 7 Roman miles from the latter. Buhl would identify it with Jebel el-Mashaqqar, on which are the ruins of an old town, between Wady A`yun Musa and Wady Chesban.

(2) A town in the Judean uplands added by Septuagint (Phagor) to the list in Joshua 15:9. It may be identical with Khirbet Faghur to the South of Bethlehem.

(3) Peor, in Numbers 25:18; Numbers 31:16; Joshua 22:17, is a divine name standing for "Baal-peor."

(4) In Genesis 36:39, Septuagint reads Phogor for "Pau" (Massoretic Text), which in 1 Chronicles 1:50 appears as "Pai."

W. Ewing

Peraea

pe-re'-a (he Peraia, Peraios, Peraites):

1. The Country:

This is not a Scriptural name, but the term used by Josephus to denote the district to which the rabbis habitually refer as "the land beyond Jordan." This corresponds to the New Testament phrase peran tou Iordanou (Matthew 4:15; Matthew 19:1, etc.). The boundaries of the province are given by Josephus (BJ, III, iii, 3). In length it reached from Pella in the North to Macherus in the South, and in breadth from the Jordan on the West to the desert on the East. We may take it that the southern boundary was the Arnon . The natural boundary on the North would be the great gorge of the Yarmuk. Gadara, Josephus tells us (BJ, IV, vii, 3, 6), was capital of the Peraea. But the famous city on the Yarmuk was a member of the Decapolis, and so could hardly take that position. More probably Josephus referred to a city the ruins of which are found at Jedur--a reminiscence of the ancient name--not far from es-SalT. The northern Gadara then holding the land on the southern bank of the Yarmuk, the northern boundary of the Peraea would run, as Josephus says, from Pella eastward. For the description of the country thus indicated see GILEAD, 2.

In the time of the Maccabees the province was mainly gentile, and Judas found it necessary to remove to Judea the scattered handful of Jews to secure their safety (1 Macc 5:45).

2. History:

Possibly under Hyrcanus Jewish influence began to prevail; and before the death of Janneus the whole country owned his sway (HJP, I, i, 297, 306). At the death of Herod the Great it became part of the tetrarchy of Antipas (Ant., XVII, vii, 1). The tetrarch built a city on the site of the ancient Beth-haram (Joshua 13:27) and called it Julias in honor of the emperor's wife (Ant., XVIII, ii, 1; BJ, II, ix 1). Here Simon made his abortive rising (Ant., XVII, x, 6; BJ, II, iv, 2). Claudius placed it under the government of Felix (BJ, II, xii, 8). It was finally added to the Roman dominions by Placidus (BJ, IV, vii, 3-6). Under the Moslems it became part of the province of Damascus.

Peraea, "the land beyond Jordan," ranked along with Judea and Galilee as a province of the land of Israel. The people were under the same laws as regarded tithes, marriage and property.

Peraea lay between two Gentileprovinces on the East, as Samaria between two Jewish provinces on the West of the Jordan. The fords below Beisan and opposite Jericho afforded communication with Galilee and Judea respectively. Peraea thus formed a link connecting the Jewish provinces, so that the pilgrims from any part might go to Jerusalem and return without setting foot on Gentilesoil. And, what was at least of equal importance, they could avoid peril of hurt or indignity which the Samaritans loved to inflict on Jews passing through Samaria (Luke 9:52 f; Ant, XX, vi, 1; Vita, 52).

It seems probable that Jesus was baptized within the boundaries of the Peraea; and hither He came from the turmoil of Jerusalem at the Feast of the Dedication (John 10:40). It was the scene of much quiet and profitable intercourse with His disciples (Matthew 19:1–30; Mark 10:1–31; Luke 18:15–30). These passages are by many thought to refer to the period after His retirement to Ephraim (John 11:54). It was from Peraea that He was summoned by the sisters at Bethany (John 11:3).

Peraea furnished in Niger one of the bravest men who fought against the Romans (BJ, II, xx, 4; IV, vi, 1). From Bethezob, a village of Peraea, came Mary, whose story is one of the most appalling among the terrible tales of the siege of Jerusalem (BJ, VI, iii, 4). Josephus mentions Peraea for the last time (BJ, VI, v, 1), as echoing back the doleful groans and outcries that accompanied the destruction of Jerusalem.

W. Ewing

Perazim, Mount

per'-a-zim, pe-ra'-zim (har-peratsim): "Yahweh will rise up as in mount Perazim" (Isaiah 28:21). It is usually considered to be identical with BAAL-PERAZIM (which see), where David obtained a victory over the Philistines (2 Samuel 5:20; 1 Chronicles 14:11).

Perdition

per-dish'-un (apoleia, "ruin" or "loss," physical or eternal): The word "perdition" occurs in the English Bible 8 times (John 17:12; Philippians 1:28; 2 Thessalonians 2:3; 1 Timothy 6:9; Hebrews 10:39; 2 Peter 3:7; Revelation 17:11,Revelation 17:18). In each of these cases it denotes the final state of ruin and punishment which forms the opposite to salvation. The verb apolluein, from which the word is derived, has two meanings:

(1) to lose;

(2) to destroy.

Both of these pass over to the noun, so that apoleia comes to signify:

(1) loss;

(2) ruin, destruction.

The former occurs in Matthew 26:8; Mark 14:4, the latter in the passages cited above. Both meanings had been adopted into the religious terminology of the Scriptures as early as the Septuagint. "To be lost" in the religious sense may mean "to be missing" and "to be ruined," The former meaning attaches to it in the teaching of Jesus, who compares the lost sinner to the missing coin, the missing sheep, and makes him the object of a seeking activity (Matthew 10:6; Matthew 15:24; Matthew 18:11; Luke 15:4,Luke 15:6,Luke 15:8,Luke 15:24,Luke 15:32; Luke 19:10). "To be lost" here signifies to have become estranged from God, to miss realizing the relations which man normally sustains toward Him. It is equivalent to what is theologically called "spiritual death." This conception of "loss" enters also into the description of the eschatological fate of the sinner as assigned in the judgment (Luke 9:24; Luke 17:33), which is a loss of life. The other meaning of "ruin" and "destruction" describes the same thing from a different point of view. Apoleia being the opposite of soteria, and soteria in its technical usage denoting the reclaiming from death unto life, apoleia also acquires the specific sense of such ruin and destruction as involves an eternal loss of life (Philippians 1:28; Hebrews 10:39). Perdition in this latter sense is equivalent to what theology calls "eternal death." When in Revelation 17:8,Revelation 17:11 it is predicated of "the beast," one of the forms of the world-power, this must be understood on the basis of the Old Testament prophetic representation according to which the coming judgment deals with powers rather than persons.

The Son of Perdition is a name given to Judas (John 17:12) and to the Antichrist (2 Thessalonians 2:3). This is the well-known Hebrew idiom by which a person typically embodying a certain trait or character or destiny is called the son of that thing. The name therefore represents Judas and the Antichrist (see MAN OF SIN) as most irrecoverably and completely devoted to the final apoleia.

Geerhardus Vos

Peres

pe'-rez.

See MENE.

Peresh

pe'-resh (peresh, "dung"): Son of Machir, grandson of Manasseh through his Aramitish concubine (1 Chronicles 7:14,1 Chronicles 7:16).

Perez-Uzza

pe-rez-uz'-za.

See UZZA.

Perez; Pharez

pe'-rez, fa'-rez (perets, "breach"): One of the twins born to Judah by Tamar, Zerah's brother (Genesis 38:29,Genesis 38:30). In the King James Version Matthew 1:3 and Luke 3:33, he is called "Phares," the name in 1 Esdras 5:5. He is "Pharez" in the King James Version Genesis 46:12; Numbers 26:20,Numbers 26:21; Ruth 4:12,Ruth 4:18; 1 Chronicles 2:4,1 Chronicles 2:5; 1 Chronicles 4:1; 1 Chronicles 9:4. In the King James Version and the Revised Version (British and American) 1 Chronicles 27:3; Nehemiah 11:4,Nehemiah 11:6, he is "Perez." He is important through the fact that by way of Ru and Boaz and so through Jesse and David his genealogy comes upward to the Saviour. The patronymic "Pharzite" occurs in Numbers 26:20 the King James Version.

Perezites (Numbers 16:20, the King James Version "Pharzites"). The patronymic of the name Perez.

Henry Wallace

Perfect; Perfection

pur'-fekt, per-fek'-shun (shalem, tamim; teleios, teleiotes):

1. In the Old Testament:

"Perfect" in the Old Testament is the translation of shalem, "finished," "whole," "complete," used (except in Deuteronomy 25:15, "perfect weight") of persons, e.g. a "perfect heart," i.e. wholly or completely devoted to Yahweh (1 Kings 8:61, etc.; 1 Chronicles 12:38; Isaiah 38:3, etc.); tamim, "complete," "perfect," "sound or unblemished," is also used of persons and of God, His way, and law ("Noah was a just man and perfect," the Revised Version margin "blameless" (Genesis 6:9); "As for God, his way is perfect" (Psalms 18:30); "The law of Yahweh is perfect" (Psalms 19:7), etc.); tam, with the same, meaning, occurs only in Job, except twice in Psalms (Job 1:1,Job 1:8; Job 2:3, etc.; Psalms 37:37; Psalms 64:4); kalil, "complete," and various other words are translated "perfect."

Perfection is the translation of various words so translated once only: kalil (Lamentations 2:15); mikhlal, "completeness" (Psalms 50:2); minleh, "possession" (Job 15:29, the King James Version "neither shall the prolong the perfection thereof upon the earth," the American Standard Revised Version "neither shall their possessions be extended on the earth," margin "their produce bend to the earth"; the English Revised Version reverses this text and margin); tikhlah, "completeness," or "perfection (Psalms 119:96); takhlith (twice), "end," "completeness" (Job 11:7, "Canst thou find out the Almighty unto perfection?" 28:3, "searcheth out all the Revised Version (British and American) the King James Version, the Revised Version (British and American) "to the furthest bound"; compare Job 26:10, "unto the confines of light and darkness"); tom, "perfect," "completeness" (Isaiah 47:9, the King James Version "They shall come upon thee in their perfection," the Revised Version (British and American) "in their full measure"). the Revised Version margin gives the meaning of "the Urim and the Thummim" (Exodus 28:30 etc.) as "the Lights and the Perfections."

2. In the New Testament:

In the New Testament "perfect" is usually the tr of teleios, primarily, "having reached the end," "term," "limit," hence, "complete," "full," "perfect" (Matthew 5:48, "Ye therefore shall be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect"; Matthew 19:21, "if thou wouldst be perfect; Ephesians 4:13, the King James Version "till we all come .... unto a perfect man," the Revised Version (British and American) "full-grown"; Philippians 3:15, "as many as are perfect," the American Revised Version margin "full-grown"; 1 Corinthians 2:6; Colossians 1:28, "perfect in Christ"; 4:12; James 3:2 margin, etc.).

Other words are teleioo. "to perfect," "to end," "complete" (Luke 13:32, "The third day I am perfected," the Revised Version margin "end my course"; John 17:23, "perfected into one"; 2 Corinthians 12:9; Philippians 3:12, the Revised Version (British and American) "made perfect"; Hebrews 2:10, etc.); also epiteleo, "to bring through to an end" (2 Corinthians 7:1, "perfecting holiness in the fear of God"; Galatians 3:3, "Are ye now made perfect by the flesh?" the King James Version, the Revised Version (British and American) "perfected in the flesh," margin "Do ye now make an end in the flesh?"); katartizo "to make quite ready," "to make complete," is translated "perfect," "to perfect" (Matthew 21:16, "perfected praise"; Luke 6:40, "Every one when he is perfected shall be as his teacher"; 1 Corinthians 1:10; 2 Corinthians 13:11, "be perfected"; 1 Thessalonians 3:10; 1 Peter 5:10, the Revised Version margin "restore"); akribos, "accurately," "diligently," is translated "perfect" (Luke 1:3, "having had perfect understanding," the Revised Version (British and American) "having traced .... accurately"; Acts 18:26 the King James Version, the Revised Version (British and American) "more accurately"). We have also artios, "fitted," "perfected" (2 Timothy 3:7, the Revised Version (British and American) "complete"); pleroo, "to fill," "to make full" (Revelation 3:2, the American Standard Revised Version "perfected," the English Revised Version "fulfilled"); katartismos, "complete adjustment," "perfecting" (Ephesians 4:12, "for the perfecting of the saints").

Perfection is the translation of katartisis "thorough adjustment," "fitness" (2 Corinthians 13:9, the Revised Version (British and American) "perfecting"); of teleiosis (Hebrews 7:11); of teleiotess (Hebrews 6:1, the Revised Version margin "full growth"); it is translated "perfectness" (Colossians 3:14); "perfection" in Luke 8:14 is the translation of telesphoreo, "to bear on to completion or perfection." In Apocrypha "perfect," "perfection," etc., are for the most part the translation of words from telos, "the end," e.g. The Wisdom of Solomon 4:13; Ecclesiasticus 34:8; 44:17; 45:8, suntelia "full end"; 24:28; 50:11.

The Revised Version (British and American) has "perfect" for "upright" (2 Samuel 22:24,2 Samuel 22:26 twice); for "sound" (Psalms 119:80); for "perform" (Philippians 1:16); for "undefiled" (Psalms 119:1, margin "upright in way"); for "perfect peace, and at such a time" (Ezra 7:12), "perfect and so forth"; for "He maketh my way perfect" (2 Samuel 22:33), "He guideth the perfect in his way," margin "or, `setteth free.' According to another reading, `guideth my way in perfectness'"; "shall himself perfect," margin "restore," for, "make you perfect" (1 Peter 5:10); "perfecter" for "finisher" (Hebrews 12:2); "perfectly" is omitted in the Revised Version (British and American) (Matthew 14:36); "set your hope perfectly on" for the King James Version "hope to the end for" (1 Peter 1:13).

3. The Christian Ideal:

Perfection is the Christian ideal and aim, but inasmuch as that which God has set before us is infinite--"Ye therefore shall be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect" (Matthew 5:48)--absolute perfection must be forever beyond, not only any human, but any finite, being; it is a divine ideal forever shining before us, calling us upward, and making endless progression possible. As noted above, the perfect man, in the Old Testament phrase, was the man whose heart was truly or wholly devoted to God. Christian perfection must also have its seat in such a heart, but it implies the whole conduct and the whole man, conformed thereto as knowledge grows and opportunity arises, or might be found. There may be, of course, a relative perfection, e.g. of the child as a child compared with that of the man. The Christian ought to be continually moving onward toward perfection, looking to Him who is able to "make you perfect in every good thing (or work) to do his will, working in us that which is well-pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen (Hebrews 13:21).

W. L. Walker

Perform

per-form' (Fr. parfournir, "to furnish completely," "to complete" "finish entirely"): In modern English, through a mistaken connection with "form," "perform" usually suggests an act in its continuity, while the word properly should emphasize only the completion of the act. the King James Version seems to have used the word in order to convey the proper sense (compare Romans 15:28; 2 Corinthians 8:11; Philippians 1:6, where the Revised Version (British and American) has respectively "accomplish," "complete," "perfect"), but usually with so little justification in the Hebrew or Greek that "do" would have represented the original even better. the Revised Version (British and American) has rarely changed the word in the Old Testament, and such changes as have been made (Deuteronomy 23:23; Esther 1:15, etc.) seem based on no particular principle. In the New Testament the word has been kept only in Matthew 5:33 and Romans 4:21, but in neither verse does the Greek accent the completion of the act, in the former case apodidomi, literally, "to give back," in the latter poieo, "to make," "to do," being used.

Performance is found in the King James Version Sirach 19:20 (the Revised Version (British and American) "doing"); 2 Macc 11:17 (inserted needlessly and omitted by the Revised Version (British and American)); Luke 1:45 (the Revised Version (British and American) "fulfilment"); 2 Corinthians 8:11 (the Revised Version (British and American) "completion").

Burton Scott Easton

Perfume-Making

See CRAFTS, II, 14.

Perfume; Perfumer

pur'-ium, per-fum' (qeToreth qaTar literally, "incense"): The ancients were fond of sweet perfumes of all kinds (Proverbs 27:9), and that characteristic is still especially true of the people of Bible lands. Perfumed oils were rubbed on the body and feet. At a feast in ancient Egypt a guest was anointed with scented oils, and a sweet-smelling water lily was placed in his hand or suspended on his forehead. In their religious worship the Egyptians were lavish with their incense. Small pellets of dried mixed spices and resins or resinous woods were burned in special censers. In the preparation of bodies for burial, perfumed oils and spices were used. Many Biblical references indicate the widespread use of perfumes. Song of Songs 7:8 suggests that the breath was purposely scented; clothing as well as the body was perfumed (Psalms 45:8; Song of Songs 3:6; Song of Songs 4:11); couches and beds were sprinkled with savory scents (Proverbs 7:17); ointments were used in the last rites in honor of the dead (2 Chronicles 16:14; Luke 24:1; John 19:39). The writer has in his collection a lump of prepared spices and resins taken from a tomb dating from the lst or 2nd century AD, which was apparently fused and run into the thoracic cavity, since an impression of the ribs has been made on the perfume. Its odor is similar to that of the incense used today, and it perfumes the whole case where it is kept. The above collection also contains a small glass vial in which is a bronze spoon firmly held in some solidified ointment, probably formerly perfumed oil. Perfumes were commonly kept in sealed alabaster jars or cruses (Luke 7:38). Thousands of these cruses have been unearthed in Palestine and Syria.

Perfumes were mixed by persons skilled in the article In the King James Version these are called "apothecaries" (raqqach). The Revised Version (British and American) "perfumer" is probably a more correct rendering, as the one who did the compounding was not an apothecary in the same sense as is the person now so designated (Exodus 30:25,Exodus 30:35; Exodus 37:29; Ecclesiastes 10:1).

Today incense is used in connection with all religious services of the oriental Christian churches. Although there is no direct mention of the uses of incense in the New Testament, such allusions as Paul's "a sacrifice to God for an odor of a sweet smell" (Ephesians 5:2; Philippians 4:18) would seem to indicate that it was used by the early Christians.

The delight of the people of Syria in pleasant odors is recorded in their literature. The attar of roses (from Arabic `iTr, "a sweet odor") was a wellknown product of Damascus. The guest in a modern Syrian home is not literally anointed with oil, but he is often given, soon after he enters, a bunch of aromatic herbs or a sweet-smelling flower to hold and smell. During a considerable portion of the year the country air is laden with the odor of aromatic herbs, such as mint and sage. The Arabic phrase for taking a walk is shemm el-hawa', literally, "smell the air."

See INCENSE; OIL; OINTMENT.

James A. Patch

Perga

pur'-ga (Perge):

1. Location and History:

An important city of the ancient province of Pamphylia, situated on the river Cestris, 12 miles Northeast of Attalia. According to Acts 13:13, Paul, Barnabas and John Mark visited the place on their first missionary journey, and 2 years later, according to Acts 14:24,Acts 14:25, they may have preached there. Though the water of the river Cestris has now been diverted to the fields for irrigating purposes, in ancient times the stream was navigable, and small boats from the sea might reach the city. It is uncertain how ancient Perga is; its walls, still standing, seem to come from the Seleucidan period or from the 3rd century BC. It remained in the possession of the Seleucid kings until 189 BC, when Roman influence became strong in Asia Minor. A long series of coins, beginning in the 2nd century BC, continued until 286 AD, and upon them Perga is mentioned as a metropolis. Though the city was never a stronghold of Christianity, it was the bishopric of Western Pamphylia, and several of the early Christians were martyred there. During the 8th century under Byzantine rule the city declined; in 1084 Attalia became the metropolis, and Perga rapidly fell to decay. While Attalia was the chief Greek and Christian city of Pamphylia, Perga was the seat of the local Asiatic goddess, who corresponded to Artemis or Diana of the Ephesians, and was locally known as Leto, or the queen of Perga. She is frequently represented on the coins as a huntress, with a bow in her hand, and with sphinxes or stags at her side.

2. The Ruins:

The ruins of Perga are now called Murtana. The walls, which are flanked with towers, show the city to have been quadrangular in shape. Very broad streets, running through the town, and intersecting each other, divided the city into quarters. The sides of the streets were covered with porticos, and along their centers were water channels in which a stream was always flowing. They were covered at short intervals by bridges. Upon the higher ground was the acropolis, where the earliest city was built, but in later times the city extended to the South of the hill, where one may see the greater part of the ruins. On the acropolis is the platform of a large structure with fragments of several granite columns, probably representing the temple of the goddess Leto; others regard it as the ruin of an early church. At the base of the acropolis are the ruins of an immense theater which seated 13,000 people, the agora, the baths and the stadium. Without the walls many tombs are to be seen. E. J. Banks