Biblical Encyclopedia: P

Paarai

(revelation of God) (2 Sam. 23:35)—one of David’s mighty and valiant warriors, an Arbite. He is called Naarai in 1 Chronicles 11:37.

Pachon

(3 Macc. 6:35)—the name of the ninth Egyptian-Alexandrian month, corresponding to April in the Julian calendar. From the end of this month and for forty days, a census was taken of the Jews who had been miraculously saved from destruction in the days of Ptolemy Philopator.

Paddan-aram

(field, or plain, of Syria) (Gen. 24:10; 25:20)—a geographical term denoting the upper, or more northerly, part of Mesopotamia, watered by the Tigris and Euphrates. See Aram and Mesopotamia.

Padon

(Ezra 2:44; Neh. 7:47)—an ancestor of Temple servants who returned with Zerubbabel. First Esdras preserves a variant form, Phaleas.

Pagiel

(prayer of God) (Num. 1:13; 2:27)—a man of the tribe of Asher, son of Ocran, who was prince of the tribe when the Israelites were numbered in the wilderness of Sinai under Moses.

Pahath-moab

(governor of Moab)—a person frequently mentioned in Ezra and Nehemiah. His descendants returned from Babylon and took part in rebuilding the wall of Jerusalem (Ezra 2:6; 8:4; 10:30; Neh. 3:11; 7:11; 10:14).

Pahath-moab

(1 Esdras 5:11; Ezra 2:6; Neh. 7:11)—the ancestor or clan designation of a large family whose members returned from exile with Zerubbabel and, later, with Ezra.

Paint, dye

- the Bible names distinct colors of paint or dye: white (Jer 18:14), black (Song 1:5), red (Gen 25:25, 30), scarlet or purple (Exod 26:1; Dan 5:7), and green (Isa 37:27 and elsewhere). Purple and scarlet dyes were especially prized in antiquity.

Painting and drawing among the Israelites.

Concerning these arts among the Hebrews, Holy Scripture in general says little. The prophet Jeremiah, for instance, mentions the painting of palace walls with red color (22:14). There were, however, artists among the Hebrews who knew how to depict various figures on carpets. Thus, on the coverings and veil of the tabernacle, cherubim were skillfully worked in by them (Exod. 26:1–31, and elsewhere). Of the actual adornment of walls with carved and painted

Palace

(Prov. 30:28)—a royal or official residence. The Old Testament mentions the palaces of Israelite, Judean, and foreign rulers, including Solomon’s extensive palace complex, built over thirteen years and incorporating the House of the Forest of Lebanon (1 Kings 7:1-12), and the palace at Susa described in Esther (Esth. 1:5-7). In the Passion narratives the Greek word praitorion refers to the Roman governor’s headquarters, where soldiers brought Jesus (Mark 15:16; John 18:28, 33). The exact Jerusalem building meant by the term remains debated.

Palaestra

(2 Macc. 4:12–14; 1 Macc. 1:14)—a public school in which young men practiced gymnastic exercises. The high priest Jason deliberately established such a school in Jerusalem beneath the citadel in order to gratify the Gentiles, spread pagan customs among his people, and foster an inclination toward Hellenism. The games of the palaestra became so attractive that the priests ceased to be zealous in the service of the altar; despising the temple and neglecting the sacrifices, they hurried to take part in the unlawful games when the signal of the discus called them.

Palal Phalach

(Neh. 3:25)—son of Uzai, who repaired part of Jerusalem’s wall near the projecting tower of the royal palace.

Palestine

—the general name for the land of the Hebrews (Gen. 40:15), also called the land of the LORD (Hos. 9:3), the Holy Land (Zech. 2:12), the land of Israel (Ezek. 7:2), and the Promised Land (Heb. 11:9). At first the name was used only for the coastal territory occupied by the Philistines (Ex. 15:14; Isa. 14:29, 31; Joel 3:4). In this single sense the Hebrew name Pelesheth, corresponding to Palestine, is used in the Old Testament and rendered the land of the Philistines or Philistia (Ps. 87:4; 108:9).

Paliah

(1 Esdras 9:48)—a Levite who helped explain the Law to the people in Ezra’s time; the parallel in Nehemiah 8:7 reads Pelaiah.

Pallu

(Gen. 46:9; 1 Chron. 5:3)—the second son of Reuben and ancestor of the Palluite clan (Num. 26:5).

Palm

(Ex. 15:27; Lev. 23:40; Judg. 4:5; John 12:13; Rev. 7:9)—one of the noblest woody perennial plants of the palm family. There are extraordinarily many kinds; some writers have counted as many as a thousand. Palms grow abundantly in Arabia, Egypt, and southern Asia from the Indus to the Nile. In the source’s day they were not nearly so common in Palestine as was often supposed, though in earlier times they had been widespread there. Only a few in the gardens of Jerusalem, several at Nablus and in the Valley of Jezreel, and more in the coastal valleys of Philistia and Phoenicia and along the lower Euphrates remained.

Palti (Paltiel)

(God delivers)—the name of two persons. (1) (1 Sam. 25:44; 2 Sam. 3:15–16) Palti or Paltiel son of Laish, to whom Saul gave Michal after she had been married to David; Ish-bosheth later returned her to David. (2) (Num. 13:9) Palti son of Raphu, the Benjaminite representative sent to spy out Canaan.

Paltite Kelothite Iras

(the LORD is deliverance) (2 Sam. 23:26)—an uncertain designation applied to Helez, one of David’s mighty warriors. There may have been a city of similar name from which Helez was called the Paltite.

Pamphylia

(1 Macc. 15:23; Acts 2:10 and elsewhere)—a rather mountainous province of Asia Minor lying north of the Mediterranean Sea, between Cilicia, Lycia, and Pisidia. On Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit descended upon the apostles, Pamphylians together with other peoples heard the apostles proclaim the wonderful works of God in their native language (Acts 2:10). On his way to Pisidian Antioch the Apostle Paul visited Perga, one of its cities. In the first Christian centuries Pamphylia was more populous and flourishing than in the source’s day, when the ruins of many cities still remained. The source places it within the Ottoman province of Anatolia and the pashalik of Adalia.

Paphos

(Acts 13:6)—a well-known city in western Cyprus, called Baffa in the source’s day. There Bar-jesus, or Elymas the sorcerer, was struck blind, and there Sergius Paulus was converted to Christianity by the Apostle Paul. Paphos was especially famous for the worship of the goddess Venus, whose renowned temple stood nearby. The church founded there continued to flourish for a considerable time. Several remains of ancient churches and other buildings survived in the city.

Papyrus

(Ex. 2:3). See Reed.

Papyrus boats

—small vessels distinguished by their remarkable lightness and speed.

Parables of Christ

(Matt. 13:3–23; Mark 4:2–11; Luke 8:4–18 and elsewhere)—instructions drawn from analogies in surrounding nature or from examples of ordinary human life, which the Lord Jesus Christ often gave to His disciples and the people for teaching and edification.

Paradise

(Gen. 2:8; Joel 2:3; Luke 23:42–43; 2 Cor. 12:4). The word is Persian in origin and signifies a garden. It first denotes Eden, the blessed dwelling of the first human beings before the Fall, in which their bodily surroundings and their spiritual communion with God formed one harmonious blessedness. It also denotes the blessed dwelling of the righteous and the renewed creation after the Last Judgment. See Eden.

Parah Phara

(Josh. 18:23)—a town allotted to the tribe of Benjamin. It is commonly associated with Khirbet Farah northeast of Jerusalem, though exact ancient-site identifications require caution.

Paralytic; Paralysis

(Matt. 4:24; 9:2)—a person deprived wholly or partly of voluntary movement by illness or injury. Ancient terms gathered several neurological conditions that modern medicine distinguishes, so the Gospel designation should not be forced into a single diagnosis such as stroke, spinal injury, or muscular contraction. Jesus healed paralytics and, in the healing of the man brought on a mat, joined bodily restoration with the authoritative forgiveness of sins (Matt. 9:1-8). The narrative does not teach that every disability results from a particular personal sin.

Paran

(Gen. 21:21; Num. 10:12; Deut. 1:1; Hab. 3:3)—a broad wilderness region associated with the Sinai Peninsula and the country south of Canaan. Hagar and Ishmael lived in the Wilderness of Paran; Israel camped and traveled there after leaving Sinai, and the spies set out from the wilderness toward Canaan (Gen. 21:21; Num. 10:12; 12:16; 13:3). David also withdrew toward Paran after Samuel’s death according to the traditional text of 1 Samuel 25:1.

Parmashta Marmasima

(Esth. 9:9)—a Persian name perhaps meaning the highest, or supreme being; one of the sons of Haman, the enemy of the Jews, killed by them at Susa in the reign of Ahasuerus, called Artaxerxes in the source.

Parmenas

(Acts 6:5)—one of the Seventy Apostles and one of the seven deacons chosen by the apostles. According to one tradition he suffered martyrdom. His memory is kept on January 4 and July 28.

Parosh

—the name of the following persons:

Parshandatha Delphon

(Esth. 9:7), a Persian name meaning given in answer to prayer—one of the sons of Haman, the royal official, killed by the Jews at Susa in the reign of Ahasuerus, called Artaxerxes in the source.

Parthia and the Parthians

—the inhabitants of Parthia (Acts 2:9), which originally lay in the eastern part of Media, between the Persian Gulf and the Tigris River. The Parthians belonged to the Iranian peoples, not to the Scythians as some have supposed. They were a warlike nation, skillful horsemen, and excellent archers. In the opinion of some, the Magi who came with gifts to worship the newborn divine Child were from Parthia. At the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the apostles, the Parthians are named first among the peoples then present in Jerusalem, followed by Medes, Elamites, and others.

Partridge

(1 Sam 26:20; Jer 17:11; Sirach 11:30) - a familiar game bird with gray or partly reddish plumage, short wings, and a small head. It runs swiftly and flies well, though it seldom rises high, and inhabits the Old World except its far north. Scripture names it only in the three cited passages. David, pursued by Saul through the hills and rocks of the wilderness of Ziph, bitterly says that it is unworthy for the king to hunt him 'as when one doth hunt a partridge in the mountains' (1 Sam 26:20).

Paruah Phuasud

(flourishing) (1 Kings 4:17)—the father of Jehoshaphat, one of Solomon’s officers appointed to provide monthly for the royal table. He lived in the territory of Issachar.

Parvarim (Parbar)

(2 Kings 23:11; 1 Chron. 26:18)—a term associated with the western side of the Temple precincts and the gate of Shallecheth on the ascending road. It may denote an outer precinct, colonnade, or structure; its exact sense and the source’s proposed stables cannot be established securely.

Pas-dammim Phasodamin

(boundary of blood; 1 Chron. 11:13)—a place in Judah between Socoh and Azekah, apparently the same as Ephes-dammim (1 Sam. 17:1). See Ephes-dammim.

Pasach Phasec

(to cut off, separate, or pass through or by something) (1 Chron. 7:33)—the first son of Japhlet, son of Heber, of the descendants of Asher.

Pashhur

(freedom, deliverance)—the name of several persons mentioned in Holy Scripture:

Pashhur

(1 Esdras 9:22)—a priestly family represented among those who had married foreign women in Ezra’s time. The parallel text reads Pashhur (Ezra 10:22).

Passah

(lame; according to others, paschal, one born at Passover)—the name of the following three persons:

Pasture

(Isa. 65:10)—land on which flocks and herds graze. In the biblical world pasture often lay in sparsely settled steppe or “wilderness,” on hill slopes, valleys, and plains where seasonal moisture produced grass. Shepherds moved their animals according to water, heat, and winter conditions; tribal territories included recognized grazing grounds, though rights of use varied. Sharon and the Valley of Achor become images of restored abundance in Isaiah 65:10. Scripture also uses pasture figuratively for God’s care of his people, and Christ is called the Chief Shepherd who brings the flock to life (Ps. 23; John 10; 1 Pet. 5:4).

Patara

(Acts 21:1)—a city on the coast of Lycia in Asia Minor, once famous for a temple and oracle of Apollo. Its ruins were repeatedly visited and described by modern travelers. The city retained its ancient name into the source’s day and preserved many traces of its former greatness, including a theater, a small temple, city walls, and several tombs with Latin and Greek inscriptions. Classical references to Patara are numerous. Ptolemy Philadelphus, who adorned the city, named it Arsinoe in honor of his wife Arsinoe.

Pathros

and Pathrusim (the southern land, that is, Egyptian) (Isa. 11:11; Jer. 44:1, 15; Ezek. 30:14)—the southern or upper part of Egypt, the Thebaid of the ancient Greeks, called Saʿid in later usage. Some of the Jews withdrew to this country and there gave themselves to idolatry, but the prophet Jeremiah foretold a terrible judgment of God upon them for it. The Pathrusim, inhabitants and early settlers of Pathros, were descendants of Mizraim, son of Ham (Gen. 10:14).

Patience (Endurance)

—the virtue by which affliction, sorrow, temptation, and delay are borne with steadfast faith and hope. God is called “the God of patience and consolation” (Rom. 15:5). Job is remembered as an example of endurance under trial (James 5:11), while Christ is its supreme pattern: He endured the cross, despised its shame, and is seated at the right hand of God (Heb. 12:1–3). Christian patience is not passivity but persevering obedience sustained by confidence in God.

Patmos

(Rev. 1:9)—a small rocky island lying southwest of Samos, not far from it. According to Pliny, it was thirty miles in circumference. The English scholar Bochart supposed that the island’s name was Semitic in origin and meant terebinth tree. Patmos is mentioned in Revelation 1:9: “I John, who also am your brother, and companion in tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was in the isle that is called Patmos, for the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ.”

Patrobas

(following his father) (Rom. 16:14)—one of the most zealous companions and fellow laborers of the Apostle Paul and one of the Seventy Apostles. According to tradition he was bishop in Naples and Puteoli and suffered for the name of Christ. The Church commemorates him on November 5 and January 4.

Patroclus

(glory of the father) (2 Macc. 8:9)—the father of Nicanor, one of the commanders of King Antiochus.

Pau Phogor

(depth) (Gen. 36:39; 1 Chron. 1:50)—a city in the land of Edom. Hadar son of Bedad, the last king named in the chronicle’s list of the kings of Edom, made his residence there.

Paul the Apostle

(the name means small) (Acts 13:9, 13, 16, 43, 46, 50; 14:9 and elsewhere). The Apostle Paul first bore the Hebrew name Saul, meaning asked for or prayed for, and only some time after his conversion to Christ came to be called Paul. He was a native of Tarsus, the chief city of Cilicia (Acts 9:11; 21:39), which was then renowned for the learning of its inhabitants, and he possessed the rights of Roman citizenship (Acts 22:28–29). By descent he was a Hebrew of the tribe of Benjamin; by upbringing and confession he belonged, like his father, to the celebrated sect of the Pharisees.

Peacock

(1 Kings 10:22; 2 Chron. 9:21)—a domestic bird of the pheasant family and the order of gallinaceous birds, celebrated for its magnificent plumage. The sapphire-colored feathers glowing upon its neck, back, and wings, together with the iridescent golden and emerald feathers of its train, produce an inimitable play and beauty of color. Peacocks were brought to Solomon from India in his ships together with precious stones, gold, and ivory.

Pearl

(Prov. 8:11; 31:10; Matt. 7:6; 1 Tim. 2:9) is a product of mollusks, or pearl-bearing sea shells, gathered in ancient times in the Indian Ocean, the Red Sea, and especially in the Persian Gulf. In Holy Scripture the kingdom of Christ is likened to a precious pearl which a merchant buys, selling all that he had (Matt. 13:46). The glorious estate of the saints in heaven is likewise depicted under the image of twelve gates, each fashioned from a single precious pearl (Rev. 21:21).

The Lord Jesus Christ forbids His disciples to cast pearls before swine, that is, to enter into disputes over the sacred truths of the Gospel with stubborn, unbelieving, and blasphemous people. The most precious pearls have from time immemorial been gathered, and still are gathered, in the Persian Gulf, and from earliest antiquity, as now, they have been especially favored as an adornment by the rulers and sovereigns of the East, as well as by women (1 Tim. 2:9; Rev. 18:16). The modest luster of the pearl and its simple beauty apparently pleased the peoples of the East far more than the dazzling brilliance of diamonds, other gems, and precious stones.

Pearl

. See Coral.

Peas

(dried grain) (Lev. 23:14; 1 Sam. 17:17; 2 Sam. 17:28) (in Hebrew: kali) — dried, or boiled, or roasted grain, such as wheat, or barley, or beans, or lentils, used for food in antiquity. In Palestine, Syria, and Egypt, roasted grain still forms a very pleasant dish to this day.

Pedaiah

(the LORD has redeemed)—the name of several persons. (1) (2 Kings 23:36) the father of Zebidah, mother of King Jehoiakim. (2) (1 Chron. 3:18–19) a son of Jeconiah and, in Chronicles, the father of Zerubbabel; other biblical books call Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel. Ancient kinship terminology, adoption, levirate relationship, or textual history may be involved, but Scripture does not supply a certain resolution (Ezra 3:2; Hag. 1:1; Matt. 1:12; Luke 3:27). (3) (1 Chron. 27:20) the father of Joel, leader of half the tribe of Manasseh.

(4) (Neh. 3:25) a son of Parosh who helped repair Jerusalem’s wall. (5) (Neh. 8:4) one of those standing beside Ezra when the Law was read. (6) (Neh. 11:7) a Benjaminite ancestor of Sallu. (7) (Neh. 13:13) one of the treasurers appointed over the storerooms.

Pediah

. See 2 Esdras 9:34; in Ezra 10:35 the name is read Bedeiah.

Peg; Nail

(Ezra 9:8)—a figure of secure continuance: God had given the returned exiles “a peg in his holy place,” allowing them to take root again after exile. In ancient construction a substantial wooden or metal peg could be fixed firmly into a wall as it was built and support garments, vessels, or other objects. This background illuminates the image of reliable support in Isaiah 22:23-25 and the ruler from Judah described as a tent peg in Zechariah 10:4.

Pekah Phakee

(2 Kings 15:25–31; 2 Chron. 28:6; Isa. 7:1)—son of Remaliah and king of Israel. While serving as an officer under Pekahiah, he conspired against and killed the king, then seized the throne. Scripture characterizes his reign as evil. In alliance with Rezin of Damascus, Pekah attacked Judah in the Syro-Ephraimite war but failed to capture Jerusalem; Isaiah addressed King Ahaz during this crisis.

Pekahiah Phakesias

(2 Kings 15:22–26)—son and successor of Menahem, and king of Israel for two years. He continued the sins attributed to the northern monarchy and was assassinated in the royal citadel at Samaria by Pekah, one of his officers, with a group of Gileadites.

Pekod Phacuc

(Ezek. 23:23). See Koa.

Pelaiah

(the LORD has distinguished)—the name of several persons. (1) (1 Chron. 3:24) a son of Elioenai in David’s line. (2) (Neh. 8:7) a Levite who helped the people understand the Law; First Esdras gives a variant form. (3) (Neh. 10:10) a Levite who sealed the covenant.

Pelaliah Phalalia

(the LORD has judged; Neh. 11:12)—a priestly ancestor named in the genealogy of Adaiah, a resident of postexilic Jerusalem.

Pelatiah

or Paltiah (God delivers; God is deliverer) (Ezek. 11:1–13)—son of Benaiah, a prince of the people whom Ezekiel saw in a vision standing with twenty-four others at the eastern gate of the temple. They gave the people wicked counsel not to believe the words of God spoken by the prophet. Pelatiah died while Ezekiel was pronouncing his terrible prophecy against those who had incited the people to rebellion against the Lord.

Pelatiah

(Ezek. 11:1, 13)—son of Benaiah and one of the leaders seen by Ezekiel at the east gate of the Temple. They gave wicked counsel in Jerusalem. Pelatiah died while Ezekiel prophesied, prompting the prophet to intercede for the remnant of Israel.

Pelatiah

(the LORD delivers)—the name of several persons. (1) (1 Chron. 3:21) a descendant in the line of David, son of Hananiah. (2) (1 Chron. 4:42) a Simeonite leader in the expedition against the surviving Amalekites of Mount Seir. (3) (Neh. 10:22) a leader who sealed the covenant. (4) (Ezek. 11:1, 13) the son of Benaiah seen by Ezekiel among Jerusalem’s corrupt leaders. See Pelatiah.

Peleg

(division; Gen. 10:25; 11:16–19; Luke 3:35)—a son of Eber and ancestor in the genealogy leading to Abraham. His name is explained by the statement that “in his days was the earth divided.” The wording may refer to the division or dispersion of peoples described around the Table of Nations and the tower of Babel, but Scripture does not specify a separate event with certainty.

Pelet

(deliverance) (1 Chron. 2:47)—one of the sons of Jahdai, a descendant of Judah son of the patriarch Jacob.

Pelet

(escape; 1 Chron. 12:3)—a Benjaminite warrior who joined David at Ziklag.

Peleth Phaleth

(haste, flight) (1 Chron. 2:33)—one of the sons of Jonathan, of the tribe of Judah.

Pelethites

(2 Sam. 8:18)—a body of royal retainers regularly named with the Cherethites under David and later Solomon. They probably served as an elite guard and carried out special royal commands. Proposed derivations such as “runners,” “couriers,” or an ethnic connection with Philistines remain uncertain.

Pelican

(Deut. 14:17; Lev. 11:18; Isa. 34:11; Ps. 102:6)—this remarkable bird is found in large numbers on the lakes and broad rivers of western Asia, especially on the Dead Sea and the Seas of Galilee and Antioch. It lives chiefly among coastal shrubs and reeds. Sometimes, after fishing all day, pelicans gather in flocks toward evening and fly to an island or open plain where the grass is low. There they form circles with their heads pointing outward, keeping watch against jackals and other beasts of prey.

Pelonite

. See Paltite.

Pen; Stylus

—ancient writing instruments varied with the material. An iron stylus could incise stone or metal (Job 19:24; Jer. 17:1), while a pointed implement wrote on wax tablets and a cut reed pen carried ink on papyrus or parchment. The “scribe’s knife” that King Jehoiakim used to cut Jeremiah’s scroll was likely a tool for trimming reed pens and preparing writing materials (Jer. 36:23). Judges 5:14 probably refers to a commander’s or muster-master’s staff rather than an ordinary writing pen, so the source’s treatment of that verse as writing equipment is uncertain.

Peninnah

(1 Sam. 1:2, 4–7)—one of Elkanah’s two wives and the mother of his sons and daughters. Because Hannah was childless, Peninnah repeatedly provoked and distressed her, especially when the household went to worship at Shiloh. The narrative prepares for Hannah’s prayer and the birth of Samuel.

Pentecost

—the Feast of Weeks, also called the Feast of Harvest (Ex. 34:22). See Hebrew Feasts. At this feast, besides prayers and sacrifices, passages were read especially from the Law of Moses and other sacred books, and in later Jewish practice also from the Talmud and Zohar.

Penuel

(face of God)—the name of a city and of two persons:

Penuel

(face of God; 1 Chron. 8:25)—a son of Shashak in a Benjaminite genealogy.

People of Chemosh Chamos

(Jer. 48:46)—a designation for the Moabites. See Chemosh.

People-Pleasing

—a sin against the first commandment in which a person seeks human approval so completely that obedience to God is neglected. Paul writes, “If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ” (Gal. 1:10).

Peor and Baal-peor

(opening; Num. 23:28; 25:3)—Peor was a Moabite height from which Balak showed Balaam Israel’s encampment. It belonged to the Abarim region opposite Jericho and was remembered in connection with Israel’s sin at Baal-peor (Num. 23:28; 25:1–9; Deut. 3:29; 4:3). Baal-peor denotes the local Baal and the worship associated with that place. Hosea recalls that Israel “consecrated themselves to shame” there (Hos. 9:10). The source’s equation of Baal-peor with the Greco-Roman Priapus is an obsolete comparison, not a demonstrated historical identity.

Perez (Pharez)

(breach; Gen. 38:29; Matt. 1:3)—the twin son of Judah and Tamar and brother of Zerah. His birth supplied the explanation of his name: “What a breach you have made for yourself!” His descendants formed the Perezite clan, and his house became a proverbial image of fruitfulness in the blessing over Ruth and Boaz (Num. 26:20; Ruth 4:12). Perez stands in the genealogy of David and of the Lord Jesus Christ (Ruth 4:18–22; Matt. 1:3; Luke 3:33).

Perez-uzza Breach Oza

(breach of Uzza) (2 Sam. 6:8; 1 Chron. 13:11)—the place David so named because Uzza stretched out his hand to steady the Ark while it was being carried to Jerusalem and was struck dead by God. It apparently lay not far from Kiriath-jearim on the road to Jerusalem.

Perga

(Acts 13:13–14)—the chief city of Pamphylia in Asia Minor. Paul visited it after leaving Paphos and again in company with Barnabas, when they preached the word of God there. Perga stood on the banks of the Cestrus River and was important not only commercially but also for its temple of Artemis, or Diana, which stood on a hill near the city and was the site of vile idolatrous festivals. Its ruins remained considerable in the source’s day, five hours from the coastal city of Attalia in the same province. The Turks then called it Eski Kalessi.

Pergamum

(Rev. 1:11)—a city mentioned in the Revelation of the Apostle John the Theologian, called Bergama in the source’s day. It was once the capital of Mysia in Asia Minor. One of the seven churches of Asia to which St. John addresses himself in Revelation stood there (Rev. 2:12). The apostle says that Satan’s throne was in Pergamum, perhaps referring to the famous pagan temple of Aesculapius there.

Perizzites

(Gen. 13:7)—one of the peoples repeatedly named among the inhabitants of Canaan. They lived in several parts of the land, including hill country near Shechem and territory later associated with Ephraim and Judah (Gen. 34:30; Josh. 17:15; Judg. 1:4–5). Their name may be related to inhabitants of unwalled villages, but their precise ethnic origin and later history are obscure. They resisted Israel’s settlement and were later placed under forced labor by Solomon together with other surviving Canaanite groups (Josh. 9:1; 11:3; 1 Kings 9:20–21).

Persepolis

(2 Macc. 9:2)—a famous ancient city of the Persian kingdom, once the capital of Persia in the strict sense—that is, the part inhabited by the Persian tribe. Darius made it his capital around 515 BC and called it Parsa. He built a magnificent palace there; it soon burned and was rebuilt by Artaxerxes II. Its well-preserved ruins could still be seen in the source’s day: columns, palace walls with windows and doors, bas-reliefs with cuneiform inscriptions, and more.

Perseus

(1 Macc. 8:5)—son of Philip II of Macedon [as printed; historically Philip V] and the last king of Macedonia.

Persia

(Ezek. 27:10)—an ancient Asian kingdom whose limits and boundaries changed considerably at different times. The Persian Empire, in the form in which the source says it continued into its own day, was founded by Cyrus. In ancient times the country and its inhabitants were called Elamites after their ancestor Elam, son of Shem; in later times they were called Parthians. The Median and Persian thrones were united under Cyrus in 536 BC (cf. Dan. 6:8–12), and the whole country from Egypt to the Ganges was brought together in what was then called the Persian Empire.

Persis

(Rom. 16:12)—a devout Roman Christian woman whom the Apostle Paul greets in his Epistle to the Romans, calling her beloved and saying that she labored much in the Lord. From her name one might suppose that she was a native of Persia. Her name, however, is not found in the Orthodox calendars consulted by the source.

Peruda (Perida)

(division; Ezra 2:55; Neh. 7:57)—an ancestor of Solomon’s servants whose descendants returned from Babylon. First Esdras has the variant Pharira.

Peter the Apostle

(rock, stone) (John 1:40)—son of Jonah and brother of Andrew. He was a native of Bethsaida and was originally called Simon. The name Cephas, a Syriac word meaning rock, was given to him when he was called to the apostolic ministry (John 1:42; Matt. 16:18). His family lived at Capernaum (Matt. 8:14; Mark 1:29; Luke 4:38), and by occupation he was a fisherman (Luke 5:1–3).

Pethahiah

(God opens) (Ezra 10:23)—one of the Levites who had foreign wives in the days of Ezra and Nehemiah. In 2 Esdras 9:22 the name is read Nabei.

Pethahiah

(God opens, releases)—the name of the following persons:

Pethor

(interpretation of dreams) (Num. 22:5)—a city or district near the Euphrates in Mesopotamia where the prophet Balaam lived. Its position is unknown, though it apparently lay in Aram, or Mesopotamia, “between the eastern mountains” (Num. 23:7).

Petra

(2 Kings 14:7; Isa. 16:1; Judg. 1:36)—the chief city of Edom. See Sela.

Peulthai

(work of the Lord, reward of the Lord) (1 Chron. 26:5)—the eighth and youngest son of Obed-edom.

Phaassur

(1 Esdras 5:25)—a priestly ancestor whose descendants returned with Zerubbabel. The parallel lists read Pashhur (Ezra 2:38; Neh. 7:41).

Phagor

(Josh. 15:59, Septuagint tradition)—a town in the hill country of Judah near Bethlehem. It has been associated with ruins southwest of Bethlehem, but the identification is not certain; the name is absent from the corresponding verse in the Masoretic Text.

Phalaris

(3 Macc. 5:12, 27)—the notorious ruler of Acragas in Sicily, traditionally remembered for extreme cruelty and the story of a bronze bull used as an instrument of execution. Third Maccabees invokes him as a comparison for Ptolemy IV Philopator. The bronze-bull narrative belongs to later Greek historical tradition and cannot be verified in all its details.

Phaldeus Phaldaius

(1 Esdras 9:44)—a figure present when the Law was read and explained in Ezra’s time, corresponding to Pedaiah in Nehemiah 8:4 in many textual comparisons.

Phaleas

(1 Esdras 5:29)—an ancestor of Temple servants who returned with Zerubbabel; the parallel lists give Padon.

Phanuel

(Luke 2:36)—the father of Anna the prophetess, of the tribe of Asher, who recognized and proclaimed the infant Jesus in the Temple.

Pharacam

(1 Esdras 5:31)—an ancestor of Temple servants who returned with Zerubbabel. The name has no exact equivalent in the shorter parallel list of Ezra 2 and may represent a textual variant.

Pharaoh

(Gen. 12:15; Exod. 1:11; Rom. 9:17, and elsewhere)—the royal title used for the kings of ancient Egypt. Scripture applies it to several rulers, often without giving a personal name: the pharaohs in the narratives of Abraham, Joseph, Israel’s oppression, and the Exodus; Solomon’s Egyptian father-in-law; Shishak, who invaded Judah under Rehoboam; So, with whom Hoshea sought an alliance; Necho, who defeated and killed Josiah at Megiddo; and Hophra, named by Jeremiah (Gen. 12:10–20; 41; Exod. 1–14; 1 Kings 3:1; 14:25–26; 2 Kings 17:4; 23:29; Jer. 44:30; 47:1).

Pharira

(1 Esdras 5:33)—an ancestor of Solomon’s servants whose descendants returned from exile with Zerubbabel. The parallel lists have Peruda or Perida (Ezra 2:55; Neh. 7:57).

Pharisees

(Matt. 3:7; 23:26, and elsewhere)—an influential Jewish movement of the late Second Temple period. Their name is commonly connected with a Hebrew or Aramaic root meaning “separate,” though its original application is uncertain. They emphasized fidelity to the Torah together with inherited interpretations of its observance. Unlike the Sadducees, they affirmed resurrection, angels, spirits, and future recompense (Acts 23:8).

Pharpar Pharphar

(swift; 2 Kings 5:12)—one of the rivers of Damascus praised by Naaman together with the Abana. It is often identified with the Awaj, which flows eastward south of Damascus, but the identification is not certain.

Phaselis Aradus

(1 Macc. 15:23)—an important maritime city of Lycia on the Pamphylian Gulf, east of Myra. It appears among the places to which Rome sent a letter supporting the Jewish people. Its extensive ruins remain near the coast of present-day Turkey.

Phasiron

(1 Macc. 9:66)—a leader of tent-dwelling people near Bethbasi in the account of Jonathan’s campaign. The precise identity of the group is uncertain.

Phelerus

(1 Esdras 5:37). See Tel-harsha.

Philadelphia

(brotherly love; Rev. 3:7–13)—a city of Lydia in western Asia Minor, southeast of Sardis, founded by the Attalid kings and named for royal brotherly loyalty. It stood in an earthquake-prone region and was repeatedly rebuilt. The modern Turkish city at the site is Alaşehir. The message in Revelation praises the church’s patient faithfulness, sets before it an open door, and contains no word of rebuke. Christ promises that the conqueror will be made “a pillar in the temple of My God” and will bear the name of God and of the new Jerusalem (Rev. 3:12).

Philemon

(loving; Philem. 1)—a prominent Christian associated with Colossae and the recipient of Paul’s short letter concerning Onesimus. A church met in his house; Paul addresses Apphia as “our sister” and Archippus as “our fellow soldier” (Philem. 1–2; compare Col. 4:9, 17). Paul speaks of Philemon’s love, faith, and hospitality and appeals to him to receive Onesimus no longer merely as a bondservant but as a beloved brother. Later tradition numbers Philemon among the Seventy Apostles, makes him bishop of Colossae, and remembers him as a martyr; those details lie outside the New Testament.

Philetus

(beloved; 2 Tim. 2:17–18)—a teacher named with Hymenaeus whose word spread “like gangrene.” They departed from the truth by saying that the resurrection had already taken place and thereby upset the faith of some. The text does not identify them as Nicolaitans or give a complete account of their teaching; it likely concerns a spiritualizing denial of the future bodily resurrection.

Philip

(lover of horses)—the name of several persons. (1) (1 Macc. 1:1; 6:2) Philip II of Macedon, father of Alexander the Great, who reigned from 359 to 336 BC. (2) (1 Macc. 8:5) Philip V, son of Demetrius II and king of Macedon from 221 to 179 BC; the source incorrectly calls him Philip III. (3) (1 Macc. 6:14, 55–63) a trusted friend of Antiochus IV Epiphanes, appointed to supervise the young Antiochus V; he later struggled with Lysias for control. (4) (Luke 3:1; Matt. 16:13; Mark 8:27) Philip the tetrarch, son of Herod the Great and Cleopatra of Jerusalem.

He ruled Iturea, Trachonitis, and neighboring northeastern territories under Roman sovereignty, rebuilt Paneas as Caesarea Philippi, and refounded Bethsaida as Julias. His reign of about thirty-seven years was generally peaceful, and he died without an heir. (5) (Matt. 14:3; Mark 6:17) Herod Philip, a different son of Herod the Great and the first husband of Herodias, by whom he had a daughter, Salome; he held no tetrarchy. (6) (Acts 6:5; 8:4–40; 21:8–9) Philip the Evangelist, one of the Seven appointed in Jerusalem.

He preached Christ in Samaria, instructed and baptized the Ethiopian court official from Isaiah 53, evangelized from Azotus to Caesarea, and later received Paul in his home. His four unmarried daughters prophesied. Later tradition calls him bishop of Tralles; Orthodox tradition commemorates him on October 11 and January 4.

Philip the Apostle

(John 1:43–48; Matt. 10:3; Acts 1:13)—one of the Twelve, from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. When Jesus called him, “Follow Me,” Philip found Nathanael and announced that the One foretold by Moses and the prophets had been found. At the feeding of the multitude Jesus tested Philip by asking where bread could be bought; Philip calculated that two hundred denarii would not be enough (John 6:5–7). When Greeks wished to see Jesus, they approached Philip, who consulted Andrew, and the two brought the request to the Lord (John 12:20–22).

At the Last Supper Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us,” eliciting Christ’s teaching that whoever has seen Him has seen the Father (John 14:8–11).

Philip the Phrygian

(2 Macc. 5:22)—an official from Phrygia whom Antiochus IV Epiphanes appointed over Jerusalem. Second Maccabees describes him as harsher than his master toward the inhabitants.

Philippi

(Acts 16:12)—a Macedonian city formerly called Krenides, enlarged by Philip II and named after him in the fourth century BC. It lay inland from Neapolis on the Via Egnatia. After the decisive battle nearby in 42 BC, it became a Roman colony whose civic privileges explain several details in Acts.

Philistines

(Gen. 10:14; Ps. 60:8)—a people who occupied the southern coastal plain of Canaan, especially the five-city confederation of Gaza, Ashkelon, Ashdod, Gath, and Ekron (Josh. 13:3). Biblical tradition associates them with Caphtor (Deut. 2:23; Amos 9:7; Jer. 47:4), commonly related to Crete or the Aegean world. Their precise origins and relationship to the genealogical notice in Genesis 10 remain debated.

Philologus

(lover of learning; Rom. 16:15)—a Christian in Rome greeted by Paul together with Julia, Nereus and his sister, Olympas, and the saints with them. Later tradition numbers Philologus among the Seventy Apostles and associates him with Sinope under the Apostle Andrew; these details are not found in Romans. He is commemorated in Orthodox tradition on January 4 and November 5.

Philosophy

(love of wisdom; Col. 2:8; Acts 17:18)—the disciplined search for wisdom and for the principles of reality, knowledge, and moral life. Scripture commends wisdom, understanding, and the faithful use of the mind (Prov. 3:13–18; 8:10–11; Wis. 6:20; Sir. 6:18–37). Christ uses the images of sight and light to call hearers from darkness into truth, while also exposing false confidence and ignorance of Scripture (Luke 11:33–36; John 12:35–46; Matt. 15:14; 22:29). The apostles urge maturity of understanding and discerning love (1 Cor. 14:20; Phil. 1:9–10).

Phinehas

—the name of three persons. (1) (Exod. 6:25; Num. 25:7–13) the son of Eleazar and grandson of Aaron. During Israel’s apostasy at Baal-peor he killed Zimri, a Simeonite leader, and Cozbi, a Midianite woman, and the plague ceased. The narrative commends his zeal for the covenant and records God’s covenant of perpetual priesthood with his line; it describes a particular act within Israel’s theocratic judgment and is not a general authorization for private religious violence. Phinehas later accompanied the force sent against Midian and led the delegation that investigated the altar built by the Transjordan tribes, where his zeal was joined to patient inquiry and reconciliation (Num. 31:6–8; Josh. 22:13–34).

He succeeded Eleazar as high priest (Judg. 20:28). The priesthood later passed through Eli’s line of Ithamar before Solomon established Zadok, a descendant of Eleazar, in the high priesthood (1 Kings 2:27, 35).

Phinoe Phinees

(1 Esdras 5:31)—an ancestor of Temple servants who returned from exile with Zerubbabel. The parallel lists have Paseah (Ezra 2:49; Neh. 7:51).

Phlegon

(burning; Rom. 16:14)—a Christian in Rome greeted by Paul together with Asyncritus, Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas, and the brothers and sisters with them. Later tradition numbers Phlegon among the Seventy Apostles and calls him a bishop in the region of Thrace; these details are not stated in Romans. Orthodox tradition commemorates him on April 8 and with the Seventy on January 4.

Phoebe

(bright; Rom. 16:1–2)—a deacon or minister of the church at Cenchreae, the eastern port of Corinth. Paul commends her to the Christians in Rome and asks them to receive her in the Lord and assist her, because she had been a benefactor or patron of many, including Paul himself. She was probably entrusted with carrying Paul’s Epistle to the Romans; the source mistakenly attributes that epistle to Luke. Saint John Chrysostom praises the honor Paul gives her. Orthodox tradition commemorates her on September 3.

Phoenicia

(1 Esdras 2:17; 2 Macc. 3:5; Acts 11:19; 15:3)—the ancient coastal region of the eastern Mediterranean whose leading cities included Tyre and Sidon. In its narrower use it denoted a relatively thin strip between the sea and the Lebanon ranges; broader administrative usage could include a much longer Syrian coast. Matthew calls the woman who appealed to Jesus a Canaanite, while Mark calls her Syrophoenician, reflecting overlapping regional and cultural designations (Matt. 15:22; Mark 7:26).

Phoenix (Phoenice)

(Acts 27:12)—a harbor on the southern coast of Crete. Because Fair Havens was unsuitable for wintering, the majority aboard Paul’s ship wished to reach Phoenix and spend the winter there. A violent wind prevented them from making the harbor. The wording that describes the harbor’s orientation has been interpreted in more than one way, and its exact identification remains debated.

Phogor

(Josh. 22:17)—a form of the name Peor, associated both with a Moabite height and with the worship of Baal-peor. See Peor and Baal-peor.

Phoros

—the name represented by Parosh in the parallel Hebrew lists. (1) (1 Esdras 5:9) an ancestral head whose descendants returned with Zerubbabel (Ezra 2:3; Neh. 7:8). (2) (1 Esdras 8:30) the family designation of Zechariah, who returned with Ezra (Ezra 8:3). (3) (1 Esdras 9:26) a family whose members were among those who had married foreign women (Ezra 10:25).

Phrygia

(Acts 2:10; 16:6; 18:23)—a broad inland region of Asia Minor whose borders varied considerably over time. Cities associated with its wider geographical sphere included Colossae, Laodicea, and Hierapolis. Visitors from Phrygia were present in Jerusalem at Pentecost, and Paul traveled through the Phrygian region during his missionary journeys.

Phygelus

(2 Tim. 1:15)—an Asian Christian named with Hermogenes among those who turned away from Paul. The verse does not say that Phygelus had accompanied Paul in Rome or specify the circumstances, so the source’s reconstruction of the event is left uncertain.

Phylacteries

(Matt. 23:5)—small leather boxes containing parchment passages from the Torah, bound with leather straps to the arm and the head during weekday morning prayer. The four passages traditionally enclosed are Exodus 13:1–10, Exodus 13:11–16, Deuteronomy 6:4–9, and Deuteronomy 11:13–21. The practice responds to commands that God’s words be a sign upon the hand and as frontlets between the eyes.

Pi-hahiroth

(according to Egyptian, a place of grass or reeds; according to Hebrew, mouth of the caves) (Ex. 14:2, 9)—an encampment of the Hebrews in the wilderness shortly after their departure from Egypt. It stood near the northern gulf of the Red Sea and east of Baal-zephon. Some investigators identified it with Ajrud, or Agroud, a small fortress with a bitter spring on the road from Cairo to Mecca, about four hours northwest of Suez.

Pilate

—Pontius Pilate was appointed Roman governor, or procurator, of Judea about AD 29. He ordinarily resided at Caesarea but came to Jerusalem at appointed times to collect taxes and administer judgment in the praetorium.

Pildash Melcha Nachor

(Gen. 22:22)—a son of Nahor and Milcah.

Pilha Aloes Phalai Sobec

(Neh. 10:24)—one of the chiefs of Israel who signed the covenant of faithfulness to God in Nehemiah’s time.

Pillar of Cloud and Fire

(Exod. 13:21–22)—the visible sign by which the LORD led Israel from Egypt: a pillar of cloud by day and of fire by night. At the Red Sea it moved behind the camp, bringing darkness to the Egyptians and light to Israel, and from it the LORD troubled Pharaoh’s army (Exod. 14:19–24). The cloud rested upon the Tabernacle; when it lifted, Israel journeyed, and when it remained, the camp stayed in place (Num. 9:15–23).

Piltai

(Neh. 12:17)—a priest and head of the house of Moadiah in the days of Joiakim the high priest.

Pine

(Isa. 44:14)—one of the trees named in a passage ridiculing the making of idols from timber. The precise species represented by the Hebrew botanical term is uncertain. Pines and related conifers were valued for durable timber and fuel and grew in Lebanon and parts of Palestine. The encyclopedia’s observations about nineteenth-century groves near Beirut, Carmel, and Hebron belong to its period’s natural history.

Pine (pevg)

(Isa. 60:13). In the Hexaemeron of Basil the Great, translated from Greek into Church Slavonic, pine stands in place of pevg; thus one species of pine, a familiar needle-bearing and resinous tree, is meant. Some, however, understand a distinct kind of cedar, and others a kind of cypress. The pevg is plainly a stately and majestic tree, and for that reason the word is used in the cited verse as an image of the Church’s flourishing state: “The glory of Lebanon shall come unto thee”—that is, Jerusalem—“the fir tree, the pine tree, and the box together.”

Pinnacle of the Temple

(Matt. 4:5)—the high point or projecting edge of the Temple complex where the devil set Jesus during the temptation and urged him to throw himself down. The exact architectural location cannot be identified with certainty. The source’s precise height and equation with a perimeter railing are therefore treated as conjecture; the narrative’s point is the temptation to demand a spectacular sign by misusing Scripture.

Pinon

(Gen. 36:41; 1 Chron. 1:52)—an Edomite chief. Some identify the name with Punon, a place of copper mines between Petra and Zoar, and suppose it was his residence.

Piram Phidon

(Josh. 10:3, 5, 23)—king of Jarmuth and one of the five Amorite kings allied with Adoni-zedek of Jerusalem against Gibeon. Joshua defeated the coalition, captured its kings, and put them to death.

Pirathon Pharathon

(1 Macc. 9:50; Judg. 12:13–15)—a place in the hill country of Ephraim, associated with Abdon the judge and “the hill country of the Amalekites.” It is commonly identified with modern Far‘ata southwest of Nablus, though the equation remains a geographical proposal.

Pirathonite

—a designation applied to the following two persons:

Pisgah

(Num. 21:20; Deut. 3:27)—a ridge or summit in Moab associated with the Abarim range. Balak brought Balaam to a field on Pisgah, and from the summit Moses viewed the Promised Land before his death (Num. 23:14; Deut. 3:27; 34:1). Pisgah appears to be connected with Mount Nebo, though the terms need not name precisely the same summit.

Pishon

(Gen. 2:11)—one of the four rivers flowing from the river of Eden. It is said to wind through the whole land of Havilah, where there are gold, bdellium, and onyx. Neither the river nor the land can now be identified securely. The source’s preference for the Ganges is one among many historical proposals, not an established conclusion.

Pisidia

(Acts 13:14)—a region of Asia Minor north of Pamphylia. Antioch of Pisidia stood within it. Paul and Barnabas preached there, Christianity took root at an early date, and the region had its own bishops.

Pispa Phaspha

(1 Chron. 7:38)—a son of Jether in a genealogy of Asher.

Pistachio Nuts

(Gen. 43:11)—among the choice products that Jacob instructed his sons to take to Egypt as a gift. The Hebrew term is commonly understood to mean pistachio nuts, the fruit of Pistacia vera, though older interpreters sometimes confused this tree with the terebinth. Its edible kernels are greenish and enclosed in hard shells. Claims in the source about the precise history of the tree’s cultivation in Egypt and Europe are not needed to identify the biblical gift.

Pithom Pitho

(Ex. 1:11)—one of the store cities built for Pharaoh by the oppressed Israelites, in the eastern Nile Delta near Wadi Tumilat. Travelers of the source’s era proposed Abassieh or Tell Abu Suleiman as its site.

Pithon Micha Phithon

(1 Chron. 8:35)—a son of Micah, of the tribe of Benjamin, and a grandson of Merib-baal, or Mephibosheth.

Plague

—the pestilence, called by Europeans the Oriental plague. This terrible, deadly disease has in every age been a fearsome scourge of Palestine, as of the whole East. Besides this, Palestine is subject to other, less malignant epidemics, arising partly from the crowding and uncleanliness in Hebrew houses, and partly from the poverty and meagerness of their sustenance.

Plague and other diseases of the Hebrews.

In the sacred books of the Old and New Testaments the following diseases are mentioned: wasting or consumption (Lev. 26:16, Deut. 28:22), fever, ague, inflammation, leprosy, hemorrhoids, scab, itch, madness, blindness, and failing of heart (Lev. 26:16, 25, Deut. 28:22, 27, 28, 32:24). Besides these are mentioned: pain in the belly (Acts 28:8), rage or madness (Zech. 12:4), plague, burning wind (Hab. 3:5), tumors (1 Sam. 5:6–9), issue of seed, withered hand (Matt. 12:10), leprosy (Num. 12:10), pestilence (1 Kings 8:37), palsy or paralysis of limbs (1 Kings 13:37 [as cited], John 5:3–5), sunstroke (2 Kings 4:18–20), dropsy (Luke 14:2), issue of blood (Matt. 9:20), gangrene (2 Tim. 2:17), sores or festering wounds (Is. 1:6), stammering (Mark 7:32), lameness (2 Sam. 4:4), deafness (Mark 7:32), blindness (Lev. 19:14 [as cited]), and certain others.

There were also extraordinary and incurable diseases against which every remedy was of no avail, such as, for instance, Job’s leprosy (Job 2:7), the long-standing infirmity of the man at Bethesda (John 5:5), the man born blind (John 9:1), the disease of Jehoram with the falling out of his bowels (2 Chron. 21:12–15), the mental illness of Saul (1 Sam. 16:14–15), the madness of Nebuchadnezzar (Dan. 4:13, 5:18), the being eaten by worms of Antiochus (2 Macc. 9:9) and of Herod Agrippa (Acts 22:23 [as cited]).

Of a particular kind of sufferer were the demon-possessed (see Demon-possessed). The Lord Jesus Christ, during His earthly life, healed people afflicted with incurable diseases in the twinkling of an eye, by His divine word alone, or by the touch of His hand, or even through the touching of His garment, and He raised the dead. Healing Himself, He also gave that same power and authority to the apostles: to heal every sickness and every disease (Matt. 11:1 [as cited]). Concerning the nature of most of these diseases, unfortunately, very little can be said, owing to the brevity with which they are indicated in Holy Scripture.

Nevertheless it is not without foundation to suppose that the predominant epidemic diseases in Palestine from the most ancient times remain the same as those to which this country is still subject. They may be divided into the following four classes:

Plague; Pestilence

(Exod. 9:3)—a severe contagious and deadly disease. The pestilence among Egypt’s livestock was one of the plagues by which God humbled Pharaoh and displayed the impotence of Egypt’s gods. Biblical writers also use the word broadly for devastating epidemic disease (1 Kings 8:37). A three-day pestilence came upon Israel after David’s proud census (2 Sam. 24). The source describes an “Eastern plague” with acute fever and large swellings, evidently reflecting nineteenth-century accounts of bubonic plague; biblical pestilence is not always medically identifiable with that single disease.

Plain

(Deut. 1:1; 2:8). Palestine is mountainous and therefore contains relatively few broad plains. The most notable are: (1) the Plain of Jezreel, or Esdraelon; (2) the coastal plain along the Mediterranean from Carmel to the Brook of Egypt; (3) the Jordan plain on both sides of the river; (4) the plain of Judah around Jericho, also called the Plain of Jericho; (5) the plain east of the Jordan, known in the source’s day as Belka, celebrated for rich meadows and pastureland, whose fertility became proverbial (Isa. 16:9–10); and (6) the great fertile rolling plain of Hauran, which formed the ancient kingdom of Bashan and whose chief city was Bostra.

Plain of Salim

(Jdt. 4:4)—identified by some with the Plain of Sharon, but more commonly with a part of the Jordan Valley containing a village called Salim, which Jerome placed eight miles south of Scythopolis.

Plane tree

(Sirach 24:14) - a beautiful spreading tree of the plane-tree family, growing throughout the East and also in Russia. It is an expressive image of fresh strength and life, glory and magnificence. Ezekiel uses it in connection with Assyria, and Sirach as a symbol of God's great wisdom. Its wood serves for shipbuilding and many carpentry and cabinetmaking purposes.

Plane Tree

(Sir. 24:16)—a broad-leaved tree of the East. The source describes a celebrated plane tree near Smyrna said to be thirteen sazhen high and twenty in circumference, with a hollow ten sazhen around; tradition claimed that Emperor Caligula and ninety-eight companions once dined within it.

Plane Tree

(Gen. 30:37; Isa. 41:19; Sir. 24:14)—a large tree growing across western Asia, Turkey, Greece, and the Caucasus, with a strong, straight trunk useful for carpentry and capable of attaining great height and girth. The source groups the biblical terms under the Oriental plane or chenar. Modern translations vary: Genesis 30:37 commonly has poplar, Isaiah 41:19 may refer to cypress, pine, or plane, and Sirach 24:14 explicitly compares Wisdom with a plane tree. The several Hebrew and Greek terms should not be assumed to denote one species in every passage.

Plants

. Scripture often uses plants figuratively. The children of God-fearing parents, developing in the freshness of youth, are compared with flourishing plants (Ps. 128:3; 144:12). The godly person is like a tree planted by streams of water, bringing forth fruit in season and retaining its leaf (Ps. 1:1–3). Pagan customs and morals are compared with foreign plantings or slips from a strange vine not planted by God (Isa. 17:10–11). In the New Testament the Lord says, “Every plant, which my heavenly Father hath not planted, shall be rooted up” (Matt. 15:13).

Pledge

(Ezek. 33:15) — anything given as security for a condition or contract. In the legislation of the Jews were contained many wise and useful provisions concerning the giving and terms of pledges. Thus, for example, it is said in the book of Exodus: “If thou at all take thy neighbour’s raiment to pledge, thou shalt deliver it unto him by that the sun goeth down” (22:26), since the outer garment formed the customary covering of the inhabitants of the East. “When thou dost lend thy brother any thing,” it is said in the book of Deuteronomy, “thou shalt not go into his house to fetch his pledge.

Thou shalt stand abroad, and the man to whom thou dost lend shall bring out the pledge abroad unto thee” (24:10, 11). One was never to take the upper or the lower millstone in pledge, for, it is further explained, “he taketh a man’s life to pledge” (24:6). Every kind of oppression with regard to pledges was strongly condemned (Job 22:6; 24:3, 7). A Jew who was forced to give his own garments in pledge for a loan of money, and who then saw them worn by pagans as they reclined at every altar, was deeply disturbed and offended by this sight (Amos 2:8).

Pleiades

(Hebrew Kimah, as noted in the Russian Bible) (Job 9:9; 38:31; Amos 5:8)—a group of stars of which seven are visible to the unaided eye, represented on modern star charts near the constellation Taurus. Greek and Roman writers regarded their morning rising before sunrise as a sign of returning spring; the source associates it with the latter half of April.

Plow

(Luke 9:62). Cultivation with the plow is mentioned as early as the days of Job. Scripture distinguishes the plowshare and cutting blade, and the prophets speak of beating swords into plowshares and, in the opposite image, plowshares into swords (Isa. 2:4; Joel 3:10). The Savior’s saying assumes that the plowman must look steadily forward: “No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God” (Luke 9:62).

Pochereth-hazzebaim

(hunter of gazelles, or gazelle-catcher) (Ezra 2:57). The sons of Pochereth were numbered among the descendants of Solomon’s servants who returned from captivity with Zerubbabel.

Pochereth-hazzebaim

(1 Esdras 5:34; Ezra 2:57; Neh. 7:59)—the name of an ancestor or family among Solomon’s servants who returned from exile. First Esdras preserves a substantially different form.

Podir (High-Priestly Robe)

(Sir. 45:10; Rev. 1:13 and elsewhere)—the long garment of Jewish high priests and kings, shaped like an under-robe, with an opening for the head and, as is supposed, without sleeves. According to Exodus it was made entirely of blue cloth. Around its hem were embroidered forms like apples or pomegranates, with golden bells between them, so that those outside the sanctuary could hear when the high priest entered before the Lord (Ex. 28:31–35).

Poison

(Deut. 29:18; 32:24, 33; Hos. 10:4; Ps. 140:3)—a substance of animal, mineral, or vegetable origin capable of destroying organic life. Scripture also uses poison figuratively for bitter and injurious words, a malicious tongue, and a corrupt heart. The whisperer’s words penetrate deeply while an enemy may disguise hatred with gracious speech (Prov. 26:22-25). James calls the untamed tongue “a restless evil, full of deadly poison” (Jas. 3:8), and Paul says, “The poison of asps is under their lips” (Rom. 3:13). The image describes the destructive moral force of speech.

Pontus

(Acts 2:9; 18:2; 1 Pet. 1:1)—a province of Asia Minor bounded on the north by the Black Sea, on the south by Cappadocia, on the east by Armenia and Colchis, and on the west by Galatia and Paphlagonia. The source identifies it broadly with the later region of Trebizond.

Pool of Shelah

(outflow of water) (Neh. 3:15)—a reservoir in Jerusalem opposite the king’s garden and therefore near the spring of Siloam. The source reports a large ancient reservoir near the spring, covered with soil, trees, and grass, and identifies it tentatively with Nehemiah’s pool. The royal gardens lay nearby to the east.

Poor, poverty.

Poverty is called that condition of a person in which he is not able to satisfy the necessary needs of life. Although the Promised Land, conquered by the Hebrews, according to the words of the sacred writer, flowed with milk and honey, yet the poor and needy were always found among Israel, by the word of the prophet (Deut. 15:4, 6; John 12:8). The causes of poverty were quite various: increase of population, ruinous wars, physical calamities of the land, moral causes, the increase of vice, the growth of luxury, and so on.

But all the poor among Israel, widows and orphans, were not only under the defense and protection of the law and enjoyed the charity of private persons, but the law itself made certain provisions in their favor, such as: every poor person was permitted, to satisfy hunger, to gather grapes in another’s vineyard, to pluck ears of grain in another’s field, only it was not permitted to carry away a whole cluster of grapes in a vessel, or to reap ears with a sickle (Deut. 23, 24, and so on).

At harvest time it was required not to reap to the very edge of the field, and not to gather up a forgotten sheaf in the field; the remaining ears and fruits were left for the poor, the widow, the orphan, and the stranger (Lev. 19:9 and following; Deut. 24:19). Ruth went to glean ears of grain in the reaped fields (Ruth 2:2, 3). A special provision concerning the poor and strangers was made for the sabbatical year and the jubilee, when their hereditary lands were returned to them, and they again entered into their lawful rights.

Under threat of the terrible punishment of God, the law also warns the Israelites against the oppression and afflicting of strangers and the poor (Exod. 22:21, 22; Lev. 19:33, 34), and especially against oppression and injustice in judgment (Exod. 23:3–6; Lev. 19:15). At the feast of unleavened bread, of weeks, and of tabernacles, three times a year, the Jews, by the law, were obligated to share their family celebration with slaves, strangers, widows, and orphans, each according to his ability (Deut. 16:10–17).

In later times, however, the poor and needy among the Jews were very numerous; they could be seen everywhere along the roads and in the streets. The praiseworthy deed of charity to the poor is especially depicted in the Book of Tobit (2:14), and in Sirach (3:30 and others). “Water will quench a flaming fire,” says the latter, “and alms maketh an atonement for sins.”

Poplar

(Gen. 30:37; Hos. 4:13)—a tree named among the rods Jacob peeled and among the shade trees beneath which Israel practiced illicit worship. The Hebrew libneh is commonly understood as white poplar, though storax has also been proposed. The source’s identification should therefore be treated as probable rather than certain.

Poratha Pharadatha

(given by fate) (Esth. 9:8)—one of Haman’s sons killed at Susa in the reign of Ahasuerus, called Artaxerxes in the source.

Porcius Festus

(Acts 24:27)—procurator of Judea and successor to Felix. At the Jews’ demand Paul had been imprisoned at Caesarea for two years under Felix, who hoped Paul would give him money for release and who left him bound to please the Jews.

Porcius Festus

(Acts 24:27–26:32)—the Roman procurator who succeeded Felix, probably about AD 60. Soon after his arrival Paul’s accusers renewed their case. Festus offered a hearing at Jerusalem, but Paul, fearing an unjust transfer and exercising his right as a Roman citizen, appealed to Caesar (Acts 25:9–12). Festus then presented the case to Herod Agrippa II and Bernice; Paul’s defense before them occupies Acts 26. Josephus describes Festus as acting vigorously against disorder. He died after a comparatively short administration, probably in AD 62.

Posidonius

(2 Macc. 14:19)—one of the envoys whom Nicanor, commander of the Syrian king Demetrius, sent to the Jews with proposals of peace in the days of Judas Maccabeus.

Potiphar

(belonging to the sun) (Gen. 37:36; 39:1)—an officer of Pharaoh and captain of the royal guard. He showed Joseph special confidence and entrusted his whole household to him, but because of his wife’s slander he cast Joseph into prison. See Joseph.

Potiphera Petephres

(Gen. 41:45), a name of the same meaning as Potiphar—the priest of On, or Heliopolis, where a famous temple of the sun stood in antiquity. Pharaoh gave his daughter Asenath to Joseph as wife.

Poverty of Spirit

(Matt. 5:3)—the humble recognition that human beings possess no spiritual sufficiency apart from God’s mercy and grace. “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” does not praise despair, self-hatred, or material destitution as ends in themselves. Saint John Chrysostom interprets the phrase as humility: even the wealthy may be poor in spirit when they know that visible riches are perishable and cannot replace the gifts of God. Spiritual poverty receives rather than boasts, repents rather than excuses itself, and depends upon God without denying the dignity he gives to his creatures.

Praetorium

(Matt. 27:27; Mark 15:16 and elsewhere). In Jerusalem in Pilate’s time, the praetorium was the governor’s residence and headquarters. The governors of Judea ordinarily lived in Caesarea, but at the great feasts, when the crowds required special precautions, they came to Jerusalem and occupied spacious, splendid quarters.

Praise

(Ps. 33:2)—the acknowledgment and proclamation of God’s goodness, glory, works, and saving mercy. In Scripture praise often accompanies thanksgiving, song, prayer, testimony, and congregational worship. The Psalms summon instruments, voices, nations, and all creation to praise the LORD. Biblical praise is not flattery meant to supply a divine need; it is the truthful and joyful response of creatures to the God from whom every good gift comes.

Prayer

, in general, is the lifting up of mind and heart to God, expressed in the reverent word of man to God. The model for all prayers, the common Christian prayer, must undoubtedly be called the Lord’s Prayer: Our Father, and so on (Matt. 6:9–13), which our Lord Jesus Christ taught the apostles and which they passed on to all believers. It is divided into the invocation, seven petitions, and the doxology.

Prayer for divine help.

The source affirms that miracles continue in the Church, though less abundantly than in apostolic times, and points to healings associated with saints’ relics, wonderworking icons, and the prayers of God’s servants. Its counsel is devotional: seek God’s help with earnest prayer, deep faith, humility, and awareness of one’s unworthiness—“I believe; help my unbelief” (Mark 9:24). This is an expression of Orthodox faith, not a claim that every reported healing has been historically or medically verified.

Preaching, or the Proclamation of the Word of God

(Isa. 61:1). From the most ancient times preaching has been the chief instrument by which the knowledge of faith was spread (2 Pet. 2:5; Jude 14–15), and it continues to serve the same purpose (1 Cor. 1:21). Nehemiah 8 gives an example of preaching in ancient Israel.

Precious stones

— are frequently mentioned in the books of Holy Scripture, especially the Old Testament. The Queen of Sheba came to Jerusalem to see Solomon with various gifts, precious stones among them (1 Kings 10:2); the servants of Hiram and the servants of Solomon brought gold from Ophir, as well as precious stones (2 Chron. 9:10); Solomon’s Temple was adorned for beauty with costly stones (2 Chron. 3:6); mysterious Babylon, according to Revelation, was decked with gold, precious stones, and pearls (Rev. 18:16); the foundation of the wall of the heavenly Jerusalem, according to Revelation, was adorned with every kind of precious stone (Rev. 21:19), and so on. For each precious stone individually, see under its own name.

Precious stones

(Exod 28:11-20; Job 28:6, 13; 1 Kgs 10:2; Rev 21:18-21) - precious stones are often mentioned in Scripture. The queen of Sheba brought Solomon great wealth, gold, and precious stones. Hiram's and Solomon's servants brought stones with gold and algum wood from Ophir (2 Chr 9:10), and Solomon's temple was adorned with costly stones for beauty (2 Chr 3:6). Mystery Babylon is pictured adorned with gold, precious stones, and pearls (Rev 18:16), while the foundations of heavenly Jerusalem's wall are adorned with every precious stone (Rev 21:19). The Hebrews appear to have valued precious stones, and stones generally, very highly. See the individual entries for particular stones.

Presbyters or Priests

(Acts 14:23). The Greek word presbyter means elder. In the apostolic Church, presbyters and bishops were sometimes called by these names without strict distinction, and the apostles themselves were called presbyters or elders (1 Pet. 5:1; 3 John 1).

Priest

. See Presbyter.

Priest in the Old Testament

—a man consecrated to minister before God in Israel’s sanctuary. Aaron and his sons were set apart for the priesthood, and ordinary priests were drawn from Aaron’s descendants within the tribe of Levi (Exod. 28-29; Num. 18). The high priest occupied a distinct office. Priests were consecrated through washing, vesting, anointing, sacrifice, and the filling of their hands for service (Lev. 8). Bodily qualifications and rules of marriage, mourning, purity, and sacred food guarded the symbolic wholeness of sanctuary service (Lev. 21-22).

Priesthood in the Church

—the ordained ministry through which Christ shepherds, teaches, and sanctifies his people in the Church. In Orthodox teaching, Holy Orders is a sacrament conferred by a bishop through prayer and the laying on of hands. The apostolic Church appointed ministers, entrusted them with pastoral authority, and established leaders in local churches (Acts 6:1-6; 14:23; 20:28; 1 Tim. 4:14; 5:22; Titus 1:5). Ordination is a gift and responsibility for service, not a claim of private spiritual superiority.

Prison

—a place of confinement. Imprisonment was less prominent as a penalty in the Mosaic law than corporal punishment, restitution, exile, or death, but custody was used while a divine or judicial decision was awaited (Lev. 24:12; Num. 15:34). In Egypt Joseph was confined in “the place where the king’s prisoners were bound” under the captain of the guard, and he remained there until Pharaoh summoned him (Gen. 39:20–23; 41:1, 14).

Prison Gate

(Neh. 12:39)—a gate near the royal or guard court in Jerusalem, passed in the dedication procession. Its exact location and relation to other named gates remain uncertain.

Prochorus

(leader of a chorus) (Acts 6:5)—one of the seven deacons of the apostolic Church ordained by the apostles. According to tradition, he was a disciple of the Apostle Peter and a companion and scribe of the holy Apostle and Evangelist John the Theologian. He became bishop of Nicomedia and suffered martyrdom at Antioch. The Church commemorates him on July 28 and January 4.

Prophet

. The word prophet may mean, first, one who foretells the future and, second, one who by a special inspiration of the Holy Spirit speaks to others a word of edification, exhortation, and comfort (1 Cor. 14:3). Scripture tells of the labors and sayings of many prophets: Enoch, Noah, Abraham and the other patriarchs; Moses, Aaron, and Miriam; Deborah; Samuel, Gad, Nathan, Asaph, Jeduthun, Heman, David, Solomon, Ahijah, Joel the seer, the man of God from Judah, Huldah, Azariah, Hanani, Elijah, Elisha, Jonah, Amos, Hosea, Joel, Isaiah, Micah, Obadiah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, Haggai, Baruch, Zechariah, Malachi, Zechariah the father of the Forerunner, Simeon the God-receiver, Anna, John the Baptist, Agabus, and others.

Prophetess

(Ex. 15:20). The word may mean not only a prophet’s wife (Isa. 8:3) but also a woman possessing the gift of prophecy. The best-known prophetesses include Miriam, Deborah, Hannah the mother of Samuel, Huldah, and Anna the prophetess, daughter of Phanuel.

Proselyte

(Acts 2:10 and elsewhere) (sojourner, foreigner)—the name Jews gave to persons converted from paganism to the Jewish faith (Matt. 23:15). The corresponding Hebrew word is rendered in the Old Testament as foreigner, stranger, or sojourner.

Proverbs of Solomon

. See Solomon.

Psalter

(praise, thanksgiving, or song of praise; in Hebrew, Book of Praises)—one of the Old Testament’s instructional books. It is so called because most of its psalms contain praise and thanksgiving to God. The name also reflects the Greek verb psallo, “to sing” or “to play,” since the psalms were sung in Jewish worship with musical instruments.

Ptolemais

(3 Macc. 7:15)—a city in Middle Egypt between Arsinoe and Heracleopolis. The district was still known in the source’s day for abundant rose plantations from which costly rose essence, renowned throughout the East, was prepared.

Ptolemy

—a name borne by several kings of Egypt after the death of Alexander the Great and by various other persons. The source enumerates the following:

Puah

(Exod. 1:15–21)—one of the two Hebrew midwives named with Shiphrah. Fearing God, they refused Pharaoh’s command to kill the newborn Hebrew boys. God dealt well with the midwives and gave them households because they feared Him.

Puah (source form: Thua)

(Judg. 10:1)—father of Tola, the judge of Israel, from the tribe of Issachar.

Publican

(Luke 18:10)—a collector of Roman taxes and duties. The chief collectors of these taxes enjoyed great influence and trust, but their assistants were often noted for extortion and embezzlement and were regarded as oppressors, sinners, and thieves, so that the Jews often did not allow these latter even to enter the temple or the synagogues or to take part in public prayers and worship. For the collection of duties, the Romans set up and maintained special houses, corresponding in some measure to our customs offices.

The chief collectors, having taken the right of tax collection on lease, passed on their rights to others, and these hired various people of the lower class and entrusted the collection to them, whereby various injustices, deceptions, and acts of violence arose. Among the Hebrews the concepts “sinner,” “pagan,” and “publican” meant almost the same thing. In the days of the Savior there were many publicans in Judea. Zacchaeus was one of the chief collectors, and was therefore called the chief of the publicans.

The Apostle Matthew, otherwise Levi, also belonged to the class of publicans. The Jews reproached the Lord Jesus for being “a friend of publicans and sinners,” eating and drinking with them (Luke 7:34).

Publius

(Acts 28:7)—the chief man of Melita, or Malta, perhaps serving as legate of the Sicilian praetor, to whose province Malta belonged. During Paul’s stay on the island, the apostle healed Publius’s father, who suffered from fever and dysentery. According to Western tradition, Publius later became bishop of Malta.

Pudens

(2 Tim. 4:21). According to tradition, one of the Seventy Apostles; his house served as a church while the Apostles Peter and Paul were in Rome. He suffered under Nero and was beheaded. The Church commemorates him on January 4 and April 15.

Pul

(a word of unknown origin) (Isa. 66:19)—a country or people situated between Tarshish and Lud. Some understand the name as an African people; Bochart identified it with the island of Philae in the Nile near Syene, where imposing ruins remain.

Pul

(2 Kings 15:19; 1 Chron. 5:26)—an Assyrian king who invaded Israel in the reign of Menahem. Menahem paid him one thousand talents of silver to secure his support. Pul is commonly understood as Pulu, the Babylonian throne name of Tiglath-pileser III, rather than an otherwise unknown Assyrian predecessor.

Punon Phino

(according to Fürst, mine or miner; according to Gesenius, darkness) (Num. 33:42–43)—one of Israel’s encampments in the wilderness journey, between Zalmonah and Oboth. It has been identified with Pinon, an Edomite city later known for copper mines to which criminals were condemned for hard labor. The station may instead have been named for Pinon, one of the chiefs of Edom (Gen. 36:41).

Purah

(Judg. 7:10–11)—Gideon’s servant, who accompanied him by night to the edge of the Midianite camp before the battle.

Purification from uncleanness and defilement

. Under the Mosaic Law the unclean included lepers, those with discharges, women after childbirth, newborn children, and everything dead; uncleanness passed by contact from them to other persons and objects (Lev. 12:2–6; 15:2; Num. 5:2–3). As a chosen and holy people, the Israelites were to remain apart from all such uncleanness. Various regulations and purification sacrifices were established in the Law for cleansing from them. See Baths, Bathing, and the separate entries Water of purification, Water of jealousy, and others.

Purim

(lots) (Esth. 9:26)—the Jewish feast on the fourteenth and fifteenth days of Adar, established in remembrance of the Jews’ deliverance from Haman. See Adar, Haman, Esther, and Feasts.

Purple

(Luke 16:19). Purple dye, widespread in the East, was extensively used in ancient Babylon (Jer. 10:9; Ezek. 23:15). The temple veil and some priestly garments were made of cloth dyed purple (Ex. 25:4; 2 Chron. 3:14). Royal garments and those of other important persons were likewise made of purple cloth (Judg. 8:26; Esth. 8:15; Dan. 5:7; 1 Macc. 10:20).

Purple

. See Porphyry.

Put and the Putites

—(1) (Gen. 10:6) a son of Ham, named with Cush, Mizraim, and Canaan. (2) (Jer. 46:9; Ezek. 27:10; Nah. 3:9; Judith 2:23) a people or land associated with Africa and with military service. Put is commonly located in Libya or elsewhere in North Africa, although the limits of the name may have changed.

Puteoli

(Acts 28:13)—a city of Campania in southern Italy on the Bay of Naples. Paul stopped there on his way to Rome and, after the repeated dangers of his difficult voyage, found brethren with whom he remained seven days. The harbor was a convenient anchorage where ships from Egypt and other Eastern lands commonly stopped and unloaded. The city’s modern name is Pozzuoli; it is especially notable for its ruins and historical associations.

Puthites Esthaam

(1 Chron. 2:53)—a clan associated with Kiriath-jearim in Judah.

Putiel Phutiel

(Exod. 6:25)—the father-in-law of Eleazar, Aaron’s son, and maternal grandfather of Phinehas.

Putites and Ludites

(Judith 2:23)—peoples named among the forces or territories affected by Holofernes’s campaign. The forms correspond to Put and Lud in other biblical lists; their precise application in Judith is uncertain. See Put; Lud.

Puvah (Puah)

—the name of two persons. (1) (Gen. 46:13; 1 Chron. 7:1) a son of Issachar and ancestor of the Punite clan (Num. 26:23). (2) (Judg. 10:1) the father of Tola the judge.