of silver" of (Proverbs 25:11) were probably well surfaces or cornices with carvings.

of silver" of (Proverbs 25:11) were probably well surfaces or cornices with carvings.

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country or people of Africa, and, it must be added, probably not far from Egypt. (Isaiah 66:19; Jeremiah 46:9; Ezekiel 27:10; 30:5; 38:5; Nahum 3:9) Some identify it with Libya, in the northern part Africa near the Mediterranean Sea; others, as Mr. Poole, with Nubia, south of Egypt. Phuvah

(mouth), one of the sons of Issachar, (Genesis 46:13) and founder of the family of the Punites. Phygellus

(fugitive). [Hermogenes] Phygelus

Used in the Revised Version in (2 Timothy 1:15) for Phygellus. Phylactery

[Frontlets, Or Phylacteries] Pibeseth

a town of lower Egypt, mentioned in (Ezekiel 30:17) the same as Bubastis, so named from the goddess Bubastis. It was situated on the west bank of the Pelusiac branch of the Nile, about 40 miles front Memphis. It was probably a city of great importance when Ezekiel foretold its doom. Picture

In two of the three passages in which "picture" is used in the Authorized Version it denotes idolatrous representations, either independent images or more usually stones "portrayed," i.e. sculptured in low relief, or engraved and colored. (Ezekiel 23:14) Layard, Nin. and Rob. ii. 306, 308. Moveable pictures, in the modern sense, were doubtless unknown to the Jews. The "pictures of silver" of (Proverbs 25:11) were probably well surfaces or cornices with carvings. Piece Of Gold

The rendering "pieces of gold," as in (2 Kings 5:5) is very doubtful; and "shekels of gold") as designating the value of the whole quantity, not individual pieces is preferable. Coined money was unknown in Palestine till the Persian period. Piece Of Silver

I. In the Old Testament the word "pieces" is used in the Authorized Version for a word understood in the Hebrew (if we except) (Psalms 68:30) The phrase is always "a thousand," or the like, "of silver." (Genesis 20:16; 37:28; 45:28; Judges 9:4; 16:5; 2 Kings 6:25; Hosea 3:2; Zechariah 11:12,13) In similar passages the word "shekels" occurs in the Hebrew. There are other passages in which the Authorized Version supplies the word "shekels" instead of "pieces," (22:19,29; Judges 17:2,3,4,10; 2 Samuel 18:11,12) and of these the first two require this to be done. The shekel, be it remembered, was the common weight for money, and therefore most likely to be understood in an elliptical phrase. The "piece" or shekel of silver weighed 220 grains, or about half an ounce, and was worth a little more than half a dollar (55 cents). II. In the New Testament two words are rendered by the phrase "piece of silver:" •Drachma, (Luke 15:8,9) which was a Greek silver coin, equivalent, at the time of St. Luke, to the Roman denarias (15 or 16 cents). •Silver occurs only in the account of the betrayal of our Lord for "thirty pieces of silver." (Matthew 26:15; 17:3,5,6,9) It is difficult to ascertain what coins are here intended. If the most common silver pieces be meant, they would be denarii. The parallel passage in Zachariah, (Zechariah 11:12,13) must, however, be taken into consideration where shekels (worth about 55 cents) must be understood. It is more probable that the thirty pieces of silver were tetradrachms than that they were denarii (80 cents).

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Piety

This word occurs but once in the Authorized Version: "Let them learn first to show piety at home," better "toward their own household" or family. (1 Timothy 5:4) The choice of this word here instead of the more usual equivalents -of "godliness," "reverence," and the like, was probably determined by the special sense of pietas, as "erga parentes," i.e. toward parents. Pigeon

[TURTLE-DOVE] Pihahiroth

a place before or at which the Israelites encamped, at the close of the third march from Rameses (the last place before they crossed the Red Sea), when they went out of Egypt. (Exodus 14:2,9; Numbers 35:7,8) It is an Egyptian word, signifying "the place where sedge grows." Pilate

(armed with a spear), Pontius. Pontius Pilate was the sixth Roman procurator of Judea, and under him our Lord worked, suffered and died, as we learn not only from Scripture, but from Tacitus (Ann. xv. 44). was appointed A.D. 25-6, in the twelfth year of Tiberius. His arbitrary administration nearly drove the Jews to insurrection on two or three occasions. One of his first acts was to remove the headquarters of the army from Caesarea to Jerusalem. The soldiers of course took with them their standards, bearing the image of the emperor, into the holy city. No previous governor had ventured on such an outrage. The people poured down in crowds to Caesarea, where the procurator was then residing, and besought him to remove the images. After five days of discussion he gave the signal to some concealed soldiers to surround the petitioners and put them to death unless they ceased to trouble him; but this only strengthened their determination, and they declared themselves ready rather to submit to death than forego their resistance to aa idolatrous innovation. Pilate then yielded, and the standards were by his orders brought down to Caesarea. His slaughter of certain Galileans, (Luke 13:1) led to some remarks from our Lord on the connection between sin and calamity. It must have occurred at some feast at Jerusalem, in the outer court of the temple. It was the custom for the procurators to reside at Jerusalem during the great feasts, to preserve order, and accordingly, at the time of our Lord's last Passover, Pilate was occupying his official residence in Herod's palace. The history of his condemnation of our Lord is familiar to all. We learn from Josephus that Pilate's anxiety to avoid giving offence to Caesar did not save him from political disaster. The Samaritans were unquiet and rebellious Pilate led his troops against them, and defeated them enough. The Samaritans complained to Vitellius, then president of Syria, and he sent Pilate to Rome to answer their accusations before the emperor. When he reached it he found Tiberius dead and Caius (Caligula) on the throne A,D, 36. Eusebius adds that soon afterward "wearied with misfortunes," he killed himself. As to the scene of his death there are various traditions. One is that he was banished to Vienna Allobrogum (Vienne on the Rhone), where a singular monument—a pyramid on a quadrangular base, 52 feet high—is called Pontius Pilate"s tomb, An other is that he sought to hide his sorrows on the mountain by the lake of Lucerne, now called Mount Pilatus; and there) after spending years in its recesses, in remorse and despair rather than penitence, plunged into the dismal lake which occupies its summit. Pildash

(flame of fire), one of the eight sons of Nahor, Abraham's brother by Iris wife and niece, Milcah. (Genesis 22:22) (B.C. 1900.) Pileha

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(worship), the name of one of the chief of the people, probably a family, who signed the covenant with Nehemiah. (Nehemiah 10:24) (B.C. 410.) Pillar

The notion of a pillar is of a shaft or isolated pile either supporting or not supporting a roof. But perhaps the earliest application of the pillar was the votive or monumental, This in early times consisted of nothing but a single stone or pile of stones. (Genesis 28:18; 31:40) etc. The stone Ezel, (1 Samuel 20:19) was probably a terminal stone or a way-mark. The "place" set up by Saul (1 Samuel 15:12) is explained by St, Jerome to be a trophy. So also Jacob set up a pillar over Rachel's grave. (Genesis 36:20) The monolithic tombs and obelisks of Petra are instances of similar usage. Lastly, the figurative use of the term "pillar," in reference to the cloud and fire accompanying the Israelites on their march or as in (Song of Solomon 3:6) and Reve 10:1 Is plainly derived from the notion of an isolated column not supporting a roof. Pillar, Plain Of The

or rather "oak of the pillar" (that being the real signification of the Hebrew word elon), a tree which stood near Shechem and at which the men of Shechem and the house of Millo assembled to crown Abimelech the son of Gideon. (Judges 9:6) Pilled

(Genesis 30:37,38) "peeled," Isai 18:2; Ezek 29:28 The verb "to pill" appears in old English as identical in meaning with "to peel, to strip." Piltai, Or Piltai

(my deliverances), the representative of the priestly house of Moadiah or Maadiah, in the time of Joiakim the son of Jeshua. (Nehemiah 12:17) (B.C. 445.) Pine Tree

Heb. tidhar . (Isaiah 41:19; 60:13) What tree is intended is not certain: but the rendering "pine," seems least probable of any. •

•Shemen, (Nehemiah 8:16) is probably the wild olive. Pinnacle

(of the temple), (Matthew 4:5; Luke 4:9) The Greek word ought to be rendered not a pinnacle, but the pinnacle. The only part of the temple which answered to the modern sense of pinnacle was the golden spikes erected on the roof to prevent birds from settling there. Perhaps the word means the battlement ordered by law to be added to every roof. (According to Alford it was the roof of Herod's royal portico of the temple,"which overhung the ravine of Kedron from a dizzy height"—600 or 700 feet.-ED.) Pinon

(darkness), one of the "dukes" of Edom,—that is, head or founder of a tribe of that nation. (Genesis 38:41; 1 Chronicles 1:52) Pipe

(Heb. chalil). The Hebrew word so rendered is derived from a root signifying "to bore, perforate" and is represented with sufficient correctness by the English "pipe" or "flute," as in the margin of (1 Kings 1:40) The pipe was the type of perforated wind instruments, as the harp was of stringed instruments. It was made of reed, bronze or copper. It is one of the simplest, and therefore probably one of the oldest, of musical Instruments. It is associated with the tabret as an instrument of a peaceful and social character. The pipe and tabret were used at the banquets of the Hebrews, (Isaiah 5:12) and accompanied the simpler religious services when the young prophets, returning from the

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high place, caught their inspiration from the harmony, (1 Samuel 10:5) or the pilgrims, on their way to the great festivals of their ritual, beguiled the weariness of the march with psalms sung to the simple music of the pipe. (Isaiah 30:29) The sound of the pipe was apparently a soft wailing note, which made it appropriate to be used in mourning and at funerals (Matthew 9:23) and in the lament of the prophet over the destruction of Moab. (Jeremiah 48:36) It was even used in the temple choir, as appears from (Psalms 87:7) In later times the funeral and death-bed were never without the professional pipers or flute-players, (Matthew 9:23) a custom which still exists. In the social and festive life of the Egyptians the pipe played as prominent a part as among the Hebrews. Piram

(like a wild ass; fleet) the Amorite king of Jarmuth at the time of Joshua's conquest of Canaan. (Joshua 10:3) (B.C. 1450.) Pirathon

(princely), "in the land of Ephraim in the mount of the Amalekite," a place in (Judges 12:15) Its site, now called Fer'ata, is about one mile and a half south of the road from Jaffa, by Hableh, to Nablus . Pirathonites are mentioned in (Judges 12:13,15) and 1Chr 27:14 Pirathonite

a native of or dweller in Pirathon. Two such are named in the Bible:— •Abdon ben-Hillel. (Judges 12:13,15) •"Benaiah the Pirathonite of the children of Ephraim," (1 Chronicles 27:14) Pisgah

(section, i.e. peak), (Numbers 21:20; 23:14; 3:27; 34:1) a mountain range or district, the same as or a part of, that called the mountains of Abarim. Comp. (32:49) with Deuteronomy 34:1 It lay on the east of Jordan contiguous to the field of Moab, and immediately opposite Jericho. Its highest point or summit—its "head"—was Mount Nebo. [See Nebo] Pisidia

(pitchy) was a district in Asia Minor north of Pamphylia, and reached to and was partly included in Phrygia. Thus Antioch in Pisidia was sometimes called a Phrygian town. St. Paul passed through Pisidia twice, with Barnabas, on the first missionary journey, i.e., both in going from Perga to Iconium, (Acts 13:13,14,51) and in returning. (Acts 14:21,24,25) comp. 2Tim 3:11 It is probable also that he traversed the northern part of the district, with Silas and Timotheus, on the second missionary journey, (Acts 18:8) but the word Pisidia does not occur except in reference to the former journey. Pison

[Eden] Pit

[Hell] Pitch

The three Hebrew words so translated all represent the same object, viz., mineral pitch or asphalt in its different aspects. Asphalt is an opaque, inflammable substance which bubbles up from subterranean fountains in a liquid state, and hardens by exposure to the air, but readily melts under the influence of heat. In the latter state it is very tenacious, and was used as a cement in lieu of mortar in Babylonia ((Genesis 11:3) as well as for coating the outside of vessels, (Genesis 6:14) and particularly for making the papyrus boats of the Egyptians water-tight. (Exodus 2:3) The jews

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and Arabians got their supply in large quantities from the Dead Sea, which hence received its classical name of Lacus Asphaltites . Pitcher

This word is used in the Authorized Version to denote the earthen water-jars or pitchers with one or two handles, used chiefly by women for carrying water, as in the story of Rebekah. (Genesis 24:15-20) but see Mark 14:13; Luke 22:10 This mode of carrying has been and still is customary the East and elsewhere. The vessels used for the purpose are generally borne on the head or the shoulder. The Bedouin women commonly use skin bottles. Such was the "bottle" carried by Hagar (Genesis 21:14) The same word is used of the pitchers employed by Gideon's three hundred men. (Judges 7:16) Pithom

(the city of justice), one of the store-cites Israelites for the first oppressor, the Pharaoh "which knew not Joseph." (Exodus 1:11) It is probably the Patumus of Herodotus (ii. 1 159), a town on the borders of Egypt, nest which Necho constructed a canal from the Nile to the Arabian Gulf. Pithon

(harmless), one of the four sons of Micah, the son of Mephibosheth. (1 Chronicles 8:36; 9:41) (B.C. 1050.) Plague, The

The plague is considered to be a severe kind of typhus, accompanied by buboes (tumors).—Like the cholera, it is most violent at the first outbreak, causing almost instant death. Great difference of opinion has obtained as to whether it is contagious or not. It was very prevalent in the East, and still prevails in Egypt. Several Hebrew words are translated "pestilence" or "plague" but not one of these words call be considered as designating by its signification the disease now called the plague. Whether the disease be mentioned must be judged from the sense of passages, not from the sense of words. Those pestilences which were sent as special judgments, and were either supernaturally rapid in their effects or were in addition directed against particular culprits are beyond the reach of human inquiry. But we also read of pestilences which, although sent as judgments, have the characteristics of modern epidemics, not being rapid beyond nature nor directed against individuals. (Leviticus 26:25; 28:21) In neither of these passages does,it seem certain that the plague is specified. The notices in the prophets present the same difficulty. Hezekiah's disease has been thought to have been the plague, and its fatal nature, as well as the mention of a boil, makes this not improbable. On the other hand, there Is no mention of a pestilence among his people at the time. Plagues, The Ten

The occasion on which the plagues were sent is described in Exod 3-12. •The plague of blood.When Moses and Aaron came before Pharaoh, a miracle was required of them. Then Aaron's rod became "a serpent (Authorized Version), or rather "a crocodile." Its being changed into an animal reverenced by all the Egyptians, or by some of them, would have been an especial warning to Pharaoh, The Egyptian magicians called by the king produced what seemed to be the same wonder, yet Aaron's rod swallowed up the others. (Exodus 7:3-12) This passage, taken alone would appear to indicate that the magicians succeeded in working wonders, but, if it is compared with the others which relate their opposition on the occasions of the first three plagues, a contrary inference seems more reasonable for the very first time that Moses wrought his miracle without giving previous notice, the magicians "did so with their enchantments," but failed. A

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comparison with other passages strengthens us in the inference that the magicians succeeded merely by juggling. After this warning to Pharaoh, Aaron, at the word of Moses, waved his rod over the Nile, and the river was turned into blood, with all its canals and reservoirs, and every vessel of water drawn from them; the fish died, and the river stank. The Egyptians could not drink of it, and digged around it for water. This plague was doubly humiliating to the religion of the country, as the Nile was held sacred, as well as some kinds of its fish, not to speak of the crocodiles, which probably were destroyed. (Exodus 7:16-25) Those who have endeavored to explain this plague by natural causes have referred to the changes of color to which the Nile is subject, the appearance of the Red Sea, and the so called rain and dew of blood of the middle ages; the last two occasioned by small fungi of very rapid growth. But such theories do not explain why the wonder happened at a time of year when the Nile is most clear nor why it killed the fish and made the water unfit to he drunk. •The plague of frogs .—When seven days had passed after the first plague, the river and all the open waters of Egypt brought forth countless frogs, which not only covered the land but filled the houses, even in their driest parts and vessels, for the ovens and kneading-troughs are specified. This must have been an especially trying judgment to the Egyptians, as frogs were included among the sacred animals. (Exodus 8:1-15) •The plague of lice .—The dry land was now smitten by the rod, and very dust seemed turned into minute noxious insects, so thickly did they swarm on man and beast, or rather "in" them. The scrupulous cleanliness of the Egyptians would add intolerably to the bodily distress of this plague, by which also they again incurred religious defilement. As to the species of the vermin, there seems no reason to disturb the authorized translation of the word. The magicians, who had imitated by their enchantments the two previous miracles, were now foiled. They struck the ground, as Aaron did, and repeated their own incantations. but it was without effect. (Exodus 8:16-19) •The plague of flies .—After the river and the land, the air was smitten, being filled with winged insects, which swarmed in the houses and devoured the land, but Goshen was exempted from the plague. The word translated "swarms of flies" most probably denotes the great Egyptian beetle, Scarabaeus sacer, which is constantly represented in their sculptures. Besides the annoying and destructive habits of its tribe, it was an object of worship, and thus the Egyptians were again scourged by their own superstitions. (Exodus 8:20-32) •The plague of the murrain of beasts .—Still coming closer and closer to the Egyptians, God sent a disease upon the cattle, which were not only their property but their deities. At the precise time of which Moses forewarned Pharaoh, all the cattle of the Egyptians were smitten with a murrain and died, but not one of the cattle of the Israelites suffered. (Exodus 9:1-7) •The plague of boils—From the cattle the hand of God was extended to the persons of the Egyptians. Moses and Aaron were commanded to take ashes of the furnace, and to "sprinkle it toward the heaven in the sight of Pharaoh." It was to become "small dust" throughout Egypt, and "be a boil breaking forth [with] blains upon man and upon beast." (Exodus 9:8-12) This accordingly came to pass. The plague seems to have been the leprosy, a fearful kind of elephantiasis which was long remembered as "the botch of Egypt." (28:27,35) •The plague of hail .—The account of the seventh plague is preceded by a warning which Moses was commanded to deliver to Pharaoh, respecting the terrible nature of the plagues that were to ensue if he remained obstinate. Man and beast were smitten, and the herbs and every tree broken, save in the land of Goshen. The ruin caused by the hail was evidently far greater than that effected

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by any of the earlier plagues. Hail is now extremely rare, but not unknown, in Egypt, and it is interesting that the narrative seems to imply that if sometimes falls there. (Exodus 9:13-34) •The plague of locusts .—The severity of this plague can be well understood by those who have been in Egypt in a part of the country where a flight of locusts has alighted. In this case the plague was greater than an ordinary visitation, since it extended over a far wider space, rather than because it was more intense; for it is impossible to imagine any more complete destruction than that always caused by a swarm of locusts. (Exodus 10:1-20) •The plague of darkness .—"There was a darkness in all the land of Egypt three days;" while "all the children of Israel had light in their dwellings." It has been illustrated by reference to the samoom and the hot wind of the Khamaseen. The former is a sand-storm which occurs in the desert, seldom lasting more than a quarter of an hour or twenty minutes, but for the time often causing the darkness of twilight, and affecting man and beast. The hot wind of the Khamaseen usually blows for three days and nights, and carries so much sand with it that it produces the appearance of a yellow fog. It thus resembles the samoom, though far less powerful and less distressing in its effects. It is not known to cause actual darkness. The plague may have been an extremely severe sandstorm, miraculous in its violence and duration, for the length of three days does not make it natural since the severe storms are always very brief. (Exodus 10:21-29) •The death of the first-born .—Before the tenth plague Moses went to warn Pharaoh: "Thus saith the Lord, about midnight will I go out into the midst of Egypt; and all the first-born in the land of Egypt shall die, from the first-born of Pharaoh that sitteth upon his throne even to the first-born of the maidservant that is behind the mill; and all the first-born of beasts." (Exodus 11:4,5) The clearly miraculous nature of this plague, its falling upon man and in its beast; and the singling out of the firstborn, puts it wholly beyond comparison with any natural pestilence, even the severest recorded in history, whether of the peculiar Egyptian plague or of other like epidemics. The history of the ten plagues strictly ends with the death of the first-born. The gradual increase in severity of the plagues is perhaps the best key to their meaning. They seem to have been sent as warnings to the oppressor, to afford him a means of seeing God's will and an opportunity of repenting before Egypt was ruined. The lesson that Pharaoh's career teaches us seems to be that there are men whom the meet signal judgments do not affect so as to cause any lasting repentance. The following characteristics of the plagues may be specially noticed: (1) Their relation to natural phenomena. Each of the inflictions has a demonstrable connection with Egyptian customs and phenomena; each is directly aimed at some Egyptian superstition all are marvellous, not for the most part as reversing, but as developing, forces inherent in nature, and directing them to a special end.—Canon Cook . (2) Their order. They are divided first into nine and one the last one standing clearly apart from all the others. The nine are arranged in threes. In the first of each three the warning is given to Pharaoh in the morning. In the first and second of each three the plague is announced beforehand in the third, not. At the third the magicians acknowledge the finger of God; at the sixth they cannot stand before Moses; and at the ninth Pharaoh refuses to see the face of Moses any more. The gradation of the severity of these strokes is no less obvious. In the first three no distinction is made among the inhabitants of the land; in the remaining seven a distinction is made between the Israelites, who are shielded from, and the Egyptians who are exposed to, the stroke. -Kurlz, (3) Their duration. It is probable that the plagues extended through a period of several months. The first plague occurred probably during the annual inundation of the Nile, hence about the middle of June (Edersheim). The second, that of the frogs, in September, the time when Egypt often suffers

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in this way. The seventh (hail) came when the barley was in ear, and before the wheat was grown, and hence in February; and the tenth came in the following March or April. (4) Their significance. The first plague was directed against the Nile one of the Egyptian deities, adored as a source of life, not only to the produce of the land, but to its inhabitants. The second plague, that of the frogs, struck also at the idolatry of Egypt; for the frog was an object of worship. The third plague turned the land, which was worshipped, into a source of torment the dust produced a curse. The fourth plague consisted in the torment of either flies of a ravenous disposition, or beetles. If the former, then the air, which was worshipped, was turned into a source of exquisite annoyance; if the latter then the beetle, one of the most common of the Egyptian idols, swarmed with voracious appetite, attacking even man, as the Egyptian beetle still does and inflicting painful wounds. The fifth plague, that of murrain, struck at the cattle-worship for which Egypt was celebrated. The sixth plague, produced by the ashes scattered toward heaven in conformity with an ancient Egyptian rite, as if an invocation of the sun-god, continued the warfare of Jehovah upon Egyptian idolatry; the religious ceremony which was employed to invoke blessing brought disease. The seventh plague, beginning a new series, seems to have been aimed like those which followed, to demonstrate the power of Jehovah over all the elements, and even life itself, in contrast with the impotence of the idols. The storm and the hail came at his bidding. The locusts appeared and departed at his word. The sun itself was veiled at his command. Nay, the angel of death was held and loosed by his hand alone. The tenth plague had an immediate relation to idolatry, since it destroyed not only the first-born of man, but the first-born of beast; so that the sacred animals in the temples were touched by a power higher than those they were supposed to represent. The victory was complete; upon all the gods of Egypt, Jehovah had executed judgment.—Rev. Franklin Johnson . Plains

This one term does duty in the Authorized Version for no less than seven distinct Hebrew words. •Abel . This word perhaps answers more nearly to our word "meadow" than any other. It occurs in the names of Abel-maim Abel-meholah, Abel-shittim and is rendered "plain" in (Judges 11:33)—"plain of vineyards." •Bik'ah . Fortunately we are able to identify the most remarkable of the bik'ahs of the Bible, and thus to ascertain the force of the term. The great plain or valley of Coele-Syria, the "hollow land" of the Greeks, which separates the two ranges of Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon is the most remarkable of them all. Out of Palestine we find denoted by the word bik'ah the "plain of the land of Shiner," (Genesis 11:2) the "plain of Mesopotamia," (Ezekiel 3:22,23; 8:4; 37:1,2) and the "plain in the province of Dura." (Daniel 3:1) •Ha shefelah the invariable designation of the depressed, flat or gently-undulating region which intervened between the highlands of Judah and the Mediterranean, and was commonly in possession of the Philistines. •Elon . Our translators have uniformly rendered this word "plain;" but this is not the verdict of the majority or the most trustworthy of the ancient versions. They regard the word as meaning an "oak" or "grove of oaks," a rendering supported by nearly all the commentators and lexicographers of the present day, The passages in which the word occurs erroneously translated "plain" are as-follows: Plain of Moreh, (Genesis 12:6; 11:30) plain of Mamre, (Genesis 13:18; 14:13; 18:1) plain of Zaanaim, (Judges 4:11) plain of the pillar, (Judges 9:6) plain of Meonenim, (Judges 9:37) plain of Tabor, (1 Samuel 10:5) Pledge

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[Loan] Pleiades

The Hebrew word (cimah) so rendered occurs in (Job 9:9; 38:31; Amos 6:8) In the last passage our Authorized Version has "the seven stars," although the Geneva version translates the word "Pleiades" as in the other cases. The Pleiades are a group of stars situated on the shoulder of the constellation Taurus. The rendering "sweet influences" of the Authorized Version, (Job 38:31) is a relic of the lingering belief in the power which the stars exerted over human destiny. But Schaff thinks the phrase arose from the fact that the Pleiades appear about the middle of April, and hence are associated with the return of spring, the season of sweet influences . Plough

The ploughs of ancient Egypt consisted of a share-often pointed with iron or bronze—two handles and a pole which was inserted into the base of the two handles. Ploughs in Palestine have usually but one handle with a pole joined to it near the ground and drawn by oxen, cows or camels. Pochereth

The children of Pochereth of Zebaim were among the children of Solomon's servants who returned with Zerubbabel. (Ezra 2:57; Nehemiah 7:59) Poetry, Hebrew

Lyrical poetry .—Of the three kinds of poetry which are illustrated by the Hebrew literature, the lyric occupies the foremost place. That literature abounds with illustrations of all forms of Lyrical •

poetry, in its most manifold and wide-embracing compass, from such short ejaculations as the songs of the two Lamechs and Psal 15, 117 and others, to the longer chants of victors and thanksgiving, like the songs of Deborah and David. Judg 5; Psal 18. The Shemitic nations have nothing approaching to an epic poem, and in proportion to this defect the lyric element prevailed more greatly, commencing in the pre-Mosaic times, flourishing in rude vigor during the earlier periods of the judges, the heroic age of the Hebrews, growing with the nation's growth and strengthening with its strength, till it reached its highest excellence in David, the warrior poet, and from thenceforth began slowly to decline. •Gnomic poetry .—The second grand division of Hebrew poetry is occupied by a class of poems which are peculiarly Shemitic, and which represent the nearest approaches made by the people of that race to anything like philosophic thought. Reasoning there is none: we have only results, and those rather the product of observation and reflection than of induction or argumentation. As lyric poetry is the expression of the poet's own feelings and impulses, so gnomic poetry is the form in which the desire of communicating knowledge to others finds vent. Its germs are the floating proverbs which pass current in the mouths of the people, and embody the experiences of many with the wit of one. The utterer of sententious sayings was to the Hebrews the wise man, the philosopher. Of the earlier isolated proverbs but few examples remain. •Dramatic poetry .—It is impossible to assert that no form of the drama existed among the Hebrew people. It is unquestionably true, as Ewald observes, that the Arab reciters of romances will many times in their own persons act out a complete drama in recitation, changing their voice and gestures with the change of person and subject. Something of this kind may possibly have existed among the Hebrews; still there is no evidence that it did exist, nor any grounds for making even a probable conjecture with regard to it. But the mere fact of the existence of these rude exhibitions' among the Arabs and Egyptians of the present day is of no weight when the question to be decided is whether the Song of Songs was designed to be so represented, as a simple pastoral drama, or

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whether the book of Job is a dramatic poem or not. Inasmuch as it represents an action and a progress, it is a drama as truly and really as any poem can be which develops the working of passion and the alter-nations of faith, hope, distrust, triumph and confidence and black despair, in the struggle which it depicts the human mind as engaged in while attempting to solve one of the most intricate problems it can be called upon to regard. It is a drama as life is a drama, the most powerful of all tragedies but that it is a dramatic poem, intended to be represented upon a stage, or capable of being so represented, may be confidently denied. One characteristic of Hebrew poetry, not indeed peculiar to it, but shared by it in common with the literature of other nations, is its intensely national and local coloring. The writers were Hebrews of the Hebrews, drawing their inspiration from the mountains and rivers of Palestine, which they have immortalized in their poetic figures, and even while uttering the sublimest and most universal truths never forgetting their own nationality in its narrowest and intensest form. Examples of this remarkable characteristic the Hebrew poets stand thick upon every page of these writings, and in striking contrast with the vague generalizations of the indian philosophic poetry. About one third of the Old Testament is poetry in the Hebrew—a large part of Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, the Song of Solomon, besides a great part of the prophets. Fragments of poetry are also found in the historical books. (The form which biblical poetry takes is not of rhyme and metre—the rhythm of quantity in the syllables—as with us, but the rhythm of the thought—there usually being two corresponding members to each distich or verse, which is called a parallelism. To some extent there is verbal rhythm. Sometimes there were alliterations, as in the 119th Psalm, which is divided up into sections, one for each letter of their alphabet, and each of the eight verses in a section begins with the same letter in the Hebrew; and chap. 31, vs. 10-31, of the book of Proverbs is an alphabetical acrostic in praise of "the virtuous woman." The poetry of the Hebrews, in its essential poetic nature, stands in the front rank. It abounds in metaphors and images and in high poetic feeling and fervor.—ED.) Pollux

[Castor And Pollux AND POLLUX] Polygamy

[Marriage] Pomegranate

The pomegranate tree, Punicu granatum, derives its name from the Latin pomum granatum, "grained apple." The Romans gave it the name of Punica, as the tree was introduced from Carthage. It belongs to the natural order Myrtaceae (Myrtle), being, however, rather a tall bush than a tree, The foliage is dark green, the flowers are crimson, the fruit, which is about the size of art orange, is red when which in Palestine is about the middle of October. It contains a quantity of juice. Mention is made in (Song of Solomon 8:2) of spiced wine of the juice of the pomegranate. The rind is used in the manufacture of morocco leather, and together with the bark is sometimes used medicinally. Mr. Royle (Kitto's Cyc., art "Rimmon") states that this tree is a native of Asia and is to be traced from Syria through Persia, even to the mountains of northern India. The pomegranate was early cultivated in Egypt; hence the complaint of the Israelites in the wilderness of Zin, (Numbers 20:5) this "is no place of figs, or of vines, or of pomegranates." Carved figures of the pomegranate adorned the tops of the pillars in Solomon's temple, (1 Kings 7:18,20) etc.; and worked representations of this fruit, in blue, purple and scarlet, ornamented the hem of the robe of the ephod. (Exodus 28:33,34) Pommels

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only in (2 Chronicles 4:12,13) In (1 Kings 7:41) "bowls." The word signifies convex projections belonging to the capitals of pillars. Pond

The ponds of Egypt, (Exodus 7:19; 13:5) were doubtless water left by the inundation of the Nile. Ponds for fish mentioned in (Isaiah 19:10) Pontius Pilate

[Pilate] Pontus

a large district in the north of Asia Minor, extending along the coast of the Pontus Euxinus Sea (Pontus), from which circumstance the name was derived. It corresponds nearly to the modern Trebizond. It is three times mentioned in the New Testament— (Acts 2:9; 18:2; 1 Peter 1:1) All these passages agree in showing that there were many Jewish residents in the district. As to the annals of Pontus, the one brilliant passage of its history is the life of the great Mithridates. Under Nero the whole region was made of Roman province, bearing the name of Pontus. It was conquered by the Turks in A.D. 1461, and is still under their dominion. Pool

Pools, like the tanks of India, are in many parts of Palestine and Syria the only resource for water during the dry season, and the failure of them involves drought and calamity. (Isaiah 42:15) Of the various pools mentioned in Scripture, perhaps the most celebrated are the pools of Solomon near Bethlehem called by the Arabs el-Burak, from which an aqueduct was carried which still supplies Jerusalem with wafer. (Ecclesiastes 2:6) Ecclus. 24:30, 31. Poor

The general kindly spirit of the law toward the poor is sufficiently shown by such passages as (15:7) for the reason that (ver. 11) "the poor shall never cease out of the land." Among the special enactments in their favor the following must be mentioned: •The right of gleaning. (Leviticus 19:9,10; 24:19,21) •From the produce of the land in sabbatical years the poor and the stranger were to have their portion. (Exodus 23:11; Leviticus 25:6) •Re-entry upon land in the jubilee year, with the limitation as to town homes. (Leviticus 25:25-30) •Prohibition of usury and of retention of pledges. (Exodus 22:25-27; Leviticus 25:3,5,37) etc. •Permanent bondage forbidden, and manumission of Hebrew bondmen or bondwomen enjoined in the sabbatical and jubilee years. (Leviticus 25:39-42,47-54; 15:12-15) •Portions from the tithes to be shared by the poor after the Levites. (14:28; 26:12,13) •The poor to partake in entertainments at the feasts of Weeks and Tabernacles. (16:11,14) see Nehe 8:10 •Daily payment of wages. (Leviticus 19:13) Principles similar to those laid down by Moses are inculcated in the New Testament, as (Luke 3:11; 14:13; Acts 6:1; Galatians 2:10; James 2:15) Poplar

This is the rendering of the Hebrew word libneh, which occurs in (Genesis 30:37) and Hose 4:13 Several authorities are in favor of the rendering of the Authorized Version and think that "white poplar" (Populus alba) is the tree denoted: others understand the "storax tree" (Styrax officinale, Linn.). Both poplars and storax or styrax trees are common in Palestine, and either would suit the passages where the Hebrew term occurs. Storax is mentioned in Ecclus. 24:15, together

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with other aromatic substances. The Styrax officinale is a shrub from nine to twelve feet high, with ovate leaves, which are white underneath; the flowers are in racemes, and are white or cream-colored. Poratha

one of the ten sons of Haman slain by the Jews in Shushan the palace. (Esther 9:8) Porch

Ulam, or ulam . (1 Chronicles 28:11) • •Misderon ulam, (Judges 3:23) strictly a vestibule, was probably a sort of veranda chamber in the works of Solomon, open in front and at the sides, but capable of being enclosed with awnings or curtains. The porch, (Matthew 26:71) may have been the passage from the street into the first court of the house, in which, in eastern houses, is the mastabah or stone bench, for the porter or persons waiting, and where also the master of the house often receives visitors and transacts business. Porcius Festus

[Festus, Porcius] Porter

This word when used in the Authorized Version does not bear its modern signification of a carrier of burdens, but denotes in every case a gate-keeper, from the Latin portarius, the man who attended to the porta or gate. Possession

[Demoniacs] Post

Probably, as Gesenius argues, the door-case of a door, including the lintel and side posts. The posts of the doors of the temple were of olive wood. (1 Kings 6:33) •

•A courier or carrier of messages, used among other places in (Job 9:25) Pot

The term "pot" is applicable to so many sorts of vessels that it can scarcely be restricted to any one in particular. •Asuc (2 Kings 4:2) the earthen jar, deep and narrow, without handles, probably like the Roman and Egyptian amphora, inserted in a stand of wood or stone. •Cheres, an earthen vessel for stewing or seething. (Leviticus 6:28; Ezekiel 4:9) •Dud, a vessel for culinary purposes, perhaps of smaller size. (1 Samuel 2:14) The "pots" set before the Rachabites, (Jeremiah 35:5) were probably bulging jars or bowls. The water-pots of Cana appear to have been large amphorae, such as are in use at the present day in Syria. These were of stone or hard earthenware. The water-pot of the Samaritan woman may have been a leathern bucket, such as Bedouin women use. Potiphar

an Egyptian name, also written Potipherah, signifies belonging to the sun . Potiphar. with whom the history of Joseph is connected is described as an officer of Pharaoh chief of the executioners, an Egyptian." (Genesis 39:1) comp. Genesis37:36 (B.C. 1728.) He appears to have been a wealthy man. (Genesis 39:4-6) The view we have of Potiphar's household is exactly in accordance with the representations on the monuments. When Joseph was accused, his master contented himself with casting him into prison. (Genesis 39:19,20) After this we hear no more of Potiphar. [Joseph] Potipherah, Or Potipherah

was priest or prince of On, and his daughter Asenath was given Joseph to wife by Pharaoh. (Genesis 41:45,50; 46:20) (B.C. 1715.)

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Potsherd

also in Authorized Version "sherd," a broken piece of earthenware. (Proverbs 26:23) Pottage

[Lentils] Potters Field, The

a piece of ground which, according to the statement of St. Matthew, (Matthew 27:7) was purchased by the Priests with the thirty pieces of silver rejected by Judas, and converted into a burial-place for Jews not belonging to the city. [Aceldama] Pottery

The art of pottery is one of the most common and most ancient of all manufactures. It is abundantly evident, both that the Hebrews used earthenware vessels in the wilderness and that the potter's trade was afterward carried on in Palestine. They had themselves been concerned in the potter's trade in Egypt, (Psalms 81:6) and the wall-paintings minutely illustrate the Egyptian process. The clay, when dug, was trodden by men's feet so as to form a paste, (Isaiah 41:25) Wisd. 15:7; then placed by the potter on the wheel beside which he sat, and shaped by him with his hands. How early the wheel came into use in Palestine is not known, but it seems likely that it was adopted from Egypt. (Isaiah 45:9; Jeremiah 15:3) The vessel was then smoothed and coated with a glaze, and finally burnt in a furnace. There was at Jerusalem a royal establishment of potters, (1 Chronicles 4:23) from whose employment, and from the fragments cast away in the process, the Potter's Field perhaps received its name. (Isaiah 30:11) Pound

A weight. [See Weights And Measures AND Measures] • •A sum of money put in the Old Testament, (1 Kings 10:17; Ezra 2:69; Nehemiah 7:71) for the Hebrew maneh, worth in silver about . In the parable of the ten pounds, (Luke 19:12-27) the reference appears to be to a Greek pound, a weight used as a money of account, of which sixty went to the talent. It was worth to . Praetorium

(in the Revised Version translated palace,) (Matthew 27:27; John 18:28,33; 19:3) the headquarters of the Roman military governor, wherever he happened to be. In time of peace some one of the best buildings of the city which, was the residence of the proconsul or praetor, was selected for this purpose. Thus at Caesarea that of Herod the Great was occupied by Felix, (Acts 23:35) and at Jerusalem the new palace erected by the same prince was the residence of Pilate. After the Roman power was established in Judea, a Roman guard was always maintained in the Antonia. The praetorian camp at Rome, to which St. Paul refers, (Philemon 1:13) was erected by the emperor Tiberius, acting under the advice of Sejanus. It stood outside the walls, at some distance short of the fourth milestone. St. Paul appears to have been permitted, for the space of two years, to lodge, so to speak, "within the rules" of the praetorium, (Acts 28:30) Although still under the custody of a soldier. Praltite, The

Helez "the Paltite" is named in (2 Samuel 23:26) among David's mighty men. (B.C. 1015.) Prayer

The object of this article will be to touch briefly on— •The doctrine of Scripture as to the nature and efficacy of prayer; •Its directions as to time, place and manner of prayer;

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•Its types and examples of prayer. •Scripture does not give any theoretical explanation of the mystery which attaches to prayer. The difficulty of understanding real efficacy arises chiefly from two sources: from the belief that man lives under general laws, which in all cases must be fulfilled unalterably; and the opposing belief that he is master of his own destiny, and need pray for no external blessing. Now, Scripture, while, by the doctrine of spiritual influence it entirely disposes of the latter difficulty, does not so entirely solve that part of the mystery which depends on the nature of God. It places it clearly before us, and emphasizes most strongly those doctrines on which the difficulty turns. Yet while this is so, on the other hand the instinct of prayer is solemnly sanctioned and enforced on every page. Not only is its subjective effect asserted, but its real objective efficacy, as a means appointed by God for obtaining blessing, is both implied and expressed in the plainest terms. Thus, as usual in the case of such mysteries, the two apparently opposite truths are emphasized, because they are needful: to man's conception of his relation to God; their reconcilement is not, perhaps cannot be, fully revealed. For, in fact, it is involved in that inscrutable mystery which attends on the conception of any free action of man as necessary for the working out of the general laws of God's unchangeable will. At the same time it is clearly implied that such a reconcilement exists, and that all the apparently isolated and independent exertions of man's spirit in prayer are in some way perfectly subordinated to the one supreme will of God, so as to form a part of his scheme of providence. It is also implied that the key to the mystery lies in the fact of man's spiritual unity with God in Christ, and of the consequent gift of the Holy Spirit. So also is it said of the spiritual influence of the Holy Ghost on each individual mind that while "we know not what to pray for, "the indwelling" Spirit makes intercession for the saints, according to the will of God." (Romans 8:26,27) Here, as probably in still other cases, the action of the Holy Spirit on the soul is to free agents what the laws of nature are to things inanimate, and is the power which harmonizes free individual action with the universal will of God. •There are no directions as to prayer given in the Mosaic law: the duty is rather taken for granted, as an adjunct to sacrifice, than enforced or elaborated. It is hardly conceivable that, even from the beginning public prayer did not follow every public sacrifice. Such a practice is alluded to in (Luke 1:10) as common; and in one instance, at the offering of the first-fruits, it was ordained in a striking form. (26:12-15) In later times it certainly grew into a regular service both in the temple and in the synagogue. But, besides this public prayer, it was the custom of all at Jerusalem to go up to the temple, at regular hours if possible, for private prayer, see (Luke 18:10; Acts 3:1) and those who were absent were wont to "open their windows toward Jerusalem," and pray "toward" the place of God's presence. (1 Kings 8:46-49; Psalms 5:7; 28:2; 138:2; Daniel 6:10) The regular hours of prayer seem to have been three (see) (Psalms 55:17; Daniel 6:10) "the evening," that is the ninth hour (Acts 3:1; 10:3) the hour of the evening sacrifice, (Daniel 9:21) the "morning," that is, the third hour (Acts 2:15) that of the morning sacrifice; and the sixth hour, or "noonday." Grace before meat would seem to have been a common practice. See (Matthew 15:36; Acts 27:35) The posture of prayer among the Jews seems to have been most often standing, (1 Samuel 1:26; Matthew 6:5; Mark 11:25; Luke 18:11) unless the prayer were offered with especial solemnity and humiliation, which was naturally expressed by kneeling, (1 Kings 8:54) comp. 2Chr 6:13; Ezra 9:5; Psal 95:8; Dani 6:10 Or prostration. (Joshua 7:6; 1 Kings 18:42; Nehemiah 8:6) •The only form of prayer given for perpetual use in the Old Testament is the one in (26:5-15) connected with the offering of tithes and first-fruits, and containing in simple form the important

William Smith Smith's Bible Dictionary

elements of prayer, acknowledgment of God's mercy, self-dedication and prayer for future blessing. To this may perhaps be added the threefold blessing of (Numbers 6:24-26) couched as it is in a precatory form, and the short prayer of Moses, (Numbers 10:35,36) at the moving and resting of the cloud the former of which was the germ of the 68th Psalm. But of the prayers recorded in the Old Testament the two most remarkable are those of Solomon at the dedication of the temple, (1 Kings 8:23-58) and of Joshua the high priest, and his colleagues, after the captivity. (Nehemiah 9:5-38) It appears from the question of the disciples in (Luke 11:1) and from Jewish tradition, that the chief teachers of the day gave special forms of prayer to their disciples as the badge of their discipleship and the best fruits of their learning. All Christian prayer is, of course, based on the Lord's Prayer; but its spirit is also guided by that of his prayer in Gethsemane and of the prayer recorded by St. John, (John 17:1) ... the beginning of Christ's great work of intercession. The influence of these prayers is more distinctly traced in the prayers contained in the epistles, see (Romans 16:25-27; Ephesians 3:14-21; Philemon 1:3-11; Colossians 1:9-15; Hebrews 13:20,21; 1 Peter 5:10,11) etc., than in those recorded in the Acts. The public prayer probably in the first instance took much of its form and style from the prayers of the synagogues. In the record on prayer accepted and granted by God, we observe, as always, a special adaptation to the period of his dispensation to which they belong. In the patriarchal period, they have the simple and childlike tone of domestic application for the ordinary and apparently trivial incidents of domestic life. In the Mosaic period they assume a more solemn tone and a national bearing, chiefly that of direct intercession for the chosen people. More rarely are they for individuals. A special class are those which precede and refer to the exercise of miraculous power. In the New Testament they have a more directly spiritual hearing. It would seem the intention of Holy Scripture to encourage all prayer more especially intercession, in all relations and for all righteous objects. Presents

[Gift] President

(sarac or sareca, only used (Daniel 6:1) ... the Chaldee equivalent for Hebrew shter, probably from sara, Zend. a "head"), a high officer in the Persian court, a chief, a president, used of the three highest ministers. Priest

The English word is derived from the Greek presbyter, signifying an "elder" (Heb. cohen). Origin.—The idea of a priesthood connects itself in all its forms, pure or corrupted, with the consciousness, more or less distinct of sin. Men feel that they have broken a law. The power above them is holier than they are, and they dare not approach it. They crave for the intervention of some one of whom they can think as likely to be more acceptable than themselves. He must offer up their prayers, thanksgivings, sacrifices. He becomes their representative in "things pertaining unto God." He may become also (though this does not always follow) the representative of God to man. The functions of the priest and prophet may exist in the same person. No trace of a hereditary or caste priesthood meets us in the worship of the patriarchal age. Once and once only does the word cohen meet us as belonging to a ritual earlier than the time of Abraham. Melchizedek is "the priest of the most high God." (Genesis 14:18) In the worship of the patriarchs themselves, the chief of the family, as such, acted as the priest. The office descended with the birthright, and might apparently he transferred with it. When established.—The priesthood was first established in the family of Aaron, and all the sons of Aaron were priests. They stood between the high priest on the one hand and the

William Smith Smith's Bible Dictionary

Levites on the other. [HIGH PRIEST; LEVITES] The ceremony of their consecration is described in HIGH PRIEST - 1986 (Exodus 29:1; Leviticus 8:1) ... Dress.—The dress which the priests wore during their ministrations consisted of linen drawers, with a close-fitting cassock, also of linen, white, but with a diamond or chess-board pattern on it. This came nearly to the feet, and was to be worn in its garment shape. Comp. (John 19:23) The white cassock was gathered round the body with a girdle of needle work, in which, as in the more gorgeous belt of the high priest, blue, purple and scarlet were intermingled with white, and worked in the form of flowers. (Exodus 28:39,40; 39:2; Ezekiel 44:17-19) Upon their heads the were to wear caps or bonnets in the form of a cup-shaped flower, also of fine linen. In all their acts of ministration they were to be bare footed. Duties .—The chief duties of the priests were to watch over the fire on the altar of burnt offering, and to keep it burning evermore both by day and night, (Leviticus 6:12; 2 Chronicles 13:11) to feed the golden lamp outside the vail with oil (Exodus 27:20,21; Leviticus 24:2) to offer the morning and evening sacrifices, each accompanied with a meet offering and a drink offering, at the door of the tabernacle. (Exodus 29:38-44) They were also to teach the children of Israel the statutes of the Lord. (Leviticus 10:11; 33:10; 2 Chronicles 15:3; Ezekiel 44:23,24) During the journeys in the wilderness it belonged to them to cover the ark and all the vessels of the sanctuary with a purple or scarlet cloth before the Levites might approach them. (Numbers 4:5-15) As the people started on each days march they were to blow "an alarm" with long silver trumpets. (Numbers 10:1-8) Other instruments of music might be used by the more highly-trained Levites and the schools of the prophets, but the trumpets belonged only to the priests, The presence of the priests on the held of battle, (1 Chronicles 12:23,27; 2 Chronicles 20:21,22) led, in the later periods of Jewish history, to the special appointment at such times of a war priest. Other functions were hinted at in Deuteronomy which might have given them greater influence as the educators and civilizers of the people. They were to act (whether individually or collectively does not distinctly appear) as a court of appeal in the more difficult controversies in criminal or civil cases. (17:8-13) It must remain doubtful however how far this order kept its ground during the storms and changes that followed, Functions such as these were clearly incompatible with the common activities of men. Provision for support .—This consisted— •Of one tenth of the tithes which the people paid to the Levites, i.e. one per cent on the whole produce of the country. (Numbers 18:26-28) •Of a special tithe every third year. (14:28; 26:12) •Of the redemption money, paid at the fixed rate of five shekels a head, for the first-born of man or beast. (Numbers 18:14-19) •Of the redemption money paid in like manner for men or things specially dedicated to the Lord. (Leviticus 27:5) •Of spoil, captives, cattle and the like, taken in war. (Numbers 31:25-47) •Of the shew-bread, the flesh of the burnt offerings, peace offerings, trespass offerings, (Leviticus 6:26,29; 7:6-10; Numbers 18:8-14) and in particular the heave-shoulder and the wave-breast. (Leviticus 10:12-15) •Of an undefined amount of the firstfruits of corn, wine and oil. (Exodus 23:19; Leviticus 2:14; 26:1-10) •On their settlement in Canaan the priestly families had thirteen cities assigned them, with "suburbs" or pasture-grounds for their flocks. (Joshua 21:13-19) These provisions were obviously intended to secure the religion of Israel against the dangers of a caste of pauper priests, needy and dependent,

William Smith Smith's Bible Dictionary

and unable to bear their witness to the true faith. They were, on the other hand as far as possible removed from the condition of a wealthy order. Coarses .—The priesthood was divided into four and twenty "courses" or orders, (1 Chronicles 24:1-19; 2 Chronicles 23:8; Luke 1:5) each of which was to serve in rotation for one week, while the further assignment of special services during the week was determined by lot. (Luke 1:9) Each course appears to have commenced its work on the Sabbath, the outgoing priests taking the morning sacrifice, and leaving that of the evening to their successors. (2 Chronicles 23:8) Numbers—If we may accept the numbers given by Jewish writers as at all trustworthy, the proportion of the priesthood population of Palestine during the last century of their existence as an order, must have been far greater than that of the clergy has ever been in any Christian nation. Over and above those that were scattered in the country and took their turn there were not fewer than 24,000 stationed permanently at Jerusalem,and 12,000 at Jericho. It was almost inevitable that the great mass of the order, under such circumstances, should sink in character and reputation. The reigns of the two kings David and Solomon were the culminating period of the glory of the Jewish priesthood. It will be interesting to bring together the few facts that indicate the position of the priests in the New Testament period of their history. The number scattered throughout Palestine was, as has been stated, very large. Of these the greater number were poor and ignorant. The priestly order, like the nation, was divided between contending sects. In the scenes of the last tragedy of Jewish history the order passes away without honor, "dying as a fool dieth." The high priesthood is given to the lowest and vilest of the adherents of the frenzied Zealots. Other priests appear as deserting to the enemy. The destruction of Jerusalem deprived the order at one blow of all but an honorary distinction. Prince, Princess

The only special uses of the word "prince" are— •"Princes of provinces" (1 Kings 20:14) who were probably local governors or magistrates. •The "princes" mentioned in (Daniel 6:1) (see Esth 1:1) wore the predecessors of the satraps of Darius Hystaspes. The word princess is seldom used in the Bible, but the persons to which it alludes— "daughters of kings" are frequently mentioned. Principality

In several passages of the New Testament the term "principalities and powers" appears to denote different orders of angels,good or bad. See (Ephesians 6:12) Prisca

(ancient), (2 Timothy 4:19) or Priscil'la (a diminutive from Prisca), the wife of Aquila. [Aquila] To what has been said elsewhere under the head of Aquila the following may be added: We find that the name of the wife is placed before that of the husband in (Romans 16:3; 2 Timothy 4:19) and (according to some of the best MSS.) in (Acts 18:26) Hence we should be disposed to conclude that Priscilla was the more energetic character of the two. In fact we may say that Priscilla is the example of what the married woman may do for the general service of the Church, in conJunction with home duties, as Phoebe is the type of the unmarried servant of the Church, or deaconess. Prison

[For imprisonment as a punishment, see Punishments] It is plain that in Egypt special places were used as prisons, and that they were under the custody of a military officer. (Genesis 40:3; 42:17) During the wandering in the desert we read on two occasions of confinement "in ward"— (Leviticus 24:12; Numbers 15:34) but as imprisonment was not directed by the law, so we hear of none till the time of the kings, when the prison appears as an appendage to the palace, or a special

William Smith Smith's Bible Dictionary

part of it. (1 Kings 22:27) Private houses were sometimes used as places of confinement. By the Romans the tower of Antoni, was used as a prison at Jerusalem, (Acts 23:10) and at Caesarea the praetorium of Herod. The royal prisons In those days were doubtless managed after the Roman fashion, and chains, fetters and stocks were used as means of confinement. See (Acts 16:24) One of the readiest places for confinement was a dry or partially-dry wall or pit. (Jeremiah 35:6-11) Prochorus

(leader of the chorus), one of the seven deacons, being the third of the list, and named next after Stephen and Philip. (Acts 6:5) Proconsul

(for, or in place of, the consul). At the division of the provinces by Augustus, in the year B.C. 27, into senatorial and imperial, the emperor assigned to the senate such portions of territory as were peaceable and could be held without force of arms. Those which he retained were called imperial, and were governed by legates and procurators . [Procurator] Over the senatorial provinces the senate appointed by lot yearly an officer, who was called "proconsul" and who exercised purely proconsul, civil functions. The provinces were in consequence called "proconsular." Procurator

The Greek agemon, rendered "governor" in the Authorized Version, is applied in the New Testament to the officer who presided over the imperial province of Judea. It is used of Pontius Pilate, (Matthew 27:1) ... of Felix, Acts 23, 24, and of Festus. (Acts 26:30) It is explained under Proconsul that after the battle of Actium, B.C. 27, the provinces of the Roman empire were divided by Augustus into two portions, giving some to the senate and reserving to himself the rest. The imperial provinces were administered by legali . No quaestor came into the emperor's provinces, but the property and revenues of the imperial treasury were administered by procuratores. Sometimes a province was governed by a procurator with the functions of a legatus. This was especially the case with the smaller provinces an the outlying districts of a larger province; and such is the relation in which Judea stood to Syria. The headquarters of the procurator were at Caesarea, (Acts 23:23) where he had a judgment seat, (Acts 25:6) in the audience chamber, (Acts 25:23) and was assisted by a council (Acts 25:12) whom he consulted in cases of difficulty. He was attended by a cohort as body-guard, (Matthew 27:27) and apparently went up to Jerusalem at the time of the high festivals, and there resided at the palace of Herod, in which was the praetorium or "judgment hall." (Matthew 27:27; Mark 15:16) comp. Acts 23:35 Prophet

The ordinary Hebrew word for prophet is nabi, derived from a verb signifying "to bubble forth" like a fountain; hence the word means one who announces or pours forth the declarations of God. The English word comes from the Greek prophetes (profetes), which signifies in classical Greek one who speaks for another, especially one who speaks for a god, and so interprets his will to man; hence its essential meaning is "an interpreter." The use of the word in its modern sense as "one who predicts" is post-classical. The larger sense of interpretation has not, however, been lost. In fact the English word ways been used in a closer sense. The different meanings or shades of meanings in which the abstract noun is employed in Scripture have been drawn out by Locke as follows: "Prophecy comprehends three things: prediction; singing by the dictate of the Spirit; and understanding and explaining the mysterious, hidden sense of Scripture by an immediate illumination and motion of the Spirit." Order and office .—The sacerdotal order was originally the instrument by which the members of the Jewish theocracy were taught and governed in things spiritual. Teaching

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by act and teaching by word were alike their task. But during the time of the judges, the priesthood sank into a state of degeneracy, and the people were no longer affected by the acted lessons of the ceremonial service. They required less enigmatic warnings and exhortations, under these circumstances a new moral power was evoked the Prophetic Order. Samuel himself Levite of the family of Kohath, (1 Chronicles 6:28) and almost certainly a priest, was the instrument used at once for effecting a reform in the sacerdotal order (1 Chronicles 9:22) and for giving to the prophets a position of importance which they had never before held. Nevertheless it is not to be supposed that Samuel created the prophetic order as a new thing before unknown. The germs both of the prophetic and of the regal order are found in the law as given to the Israelites by Moses, (13:1; 18:20; 17:18) but they were not yet developed, because there was not yet the demand for them. Samuel took measures to make his work of restoration permanent as well as effective for the moment. For this purpose he instituted companies or colleges of prophets. One we find in his lifetime at Ramah, (1 Samuel 19:19,20) others afterward at Bethel, (2 Kings 2:3) Jericho, (2 Kings 2:2,5) Gilgal; (2 Kings 4:38) and elsewhere. (2 Kings 6:1) Their constitution and object similar to those of theological colleges. Into them were gathered promising students, and here they were trained for the office which they were afterward destined to fulfill. So successful were these institutions that from the time of Samuel to the closing of the canon of the Old Testament there seems never to have been wanting due supply of men to keep up the line of official prophets. Their chief subject of study was, no doubt, the law and its interpretation; oral, as distinct from symbolical, teaching being thenceforward tacitly transferred from the priestly to the prophetic order. Subsidiary subjects of instruction were music and sacred poetry, both of which had been connected with prophecy from the time of Moses (Exodus 15:20) and the judges. (Judges 4:4; 5:1) But to belong to the prophetic order and to possess the prophetic gift are not convertible terms. Generally, the inspired prophet came from the college of prophets, and belonged to prophetic order; but this was not always the case. Thus Amos though called to the prophetic office did not belong to the prophetic order. (Amos 7:14) The sixteen prophets whose books are in the canon have that place of honor because they were endowed with the prophetic gift us well as ordinarily (so far as we know) belonging to the prophetic order. Characteristics .—What then are the characteristics of the sixteen prophets thus called and commissioned and intrusted with the messages of God to his people? •They were the national poets of Judea. •They were annalists and historians. A great portion of Isaiah, of Jeremiah, of Daniel of Jonah, of Haggai, is direct or in direct history. •They were preachers of patriotism,—their patriotism being founded on the religious motive. •They were preachers of morals and of spiritual religion. The system of morals put forward by the prophets, if not higher or sterner or purer than that of the law, is more plainly declared, and with greater, because now more needed, vehemence of diction. •They were extraordinary but yet authorized exponents of the law. •They held a pastoral or quasi-pastoral office. •They were a political power in the state. •But the prophets were something more than national poets and annalists, preachers of patriotism moral teachers, exponents of the law, pastors and politicians. Their most essential characteristic is that they were instruments of revealing God's will to man, as in other ways, so specially by predicting future events, and in particular foretelling the incarnation of the Lord Jesus Christ and the redemption effected by him. We have a series of prophecies which are so applicable to the

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person and earthly life of Jesus Christ as to be thereby shown to have been designed to apply to him. And if they were designed to apply to him, prophetical prediction is proved. Objections have, been urged. We notice only one, vis., vagueness. It has been said that the prophecies are too darkly and vaguely worded to be proved predictive by the events which they are alleged to foretell. But to this might be answered, •That God never forces men to believe, but that there is such a union of definiteness and vagueness in the prophecies as to enable those who are willing to discover the truth, while the willfully blind are not forcibly constrained to see it. •That, had the prophecies been couched in the form of direct declarations, their fulfillment would have thereby been rendered impossible or at least capable of frustration. •That the effect of prophecy would have been far less beneficial to believers, as being less adapted to keep them in a state of constant expectation. •That the Messiah of revelation could not be so clearly portrayed in his varied character as God and man, as prophet, priest and king, if he had been the mere teacher." •That the state of the prophets, at the time of receiving the divine revelation, was such as necessarily to make their predictions fragmentary figurative, and abstracted from the relations of time. •That some portions of the prophecies were intended to be of double application, and some portions to be understood only on their fulfillment, Comp. (John 14:29; Ezekiel 36:33) Proselyte

(a stranger, a new comer), the name given by the Jews to foreigners who adopted the Jewish religion. The dispersion of the Jews in foreign countries, which has been spoken of elsewhere [Dispersion, The Jews Of The, THE], enabled them to make many converts to their faith. The converts who were thus attracted joined, with varying strictness, in the worship of the Jews. In Palestine itself, even Roman centurions learned to love the conquered nation built synagogues for them, (Luke 7:5) fasted and prayed, and gave alms after the pattern of the strictest Jews, (Acts 10:2,30) and became preachers of the new faith to the soldiers under them. (Acts 10:7) Such men, drawn by what was best in Judaism were naturally among the readiest receivers of the new truth which rose out of it, and became, in many cases, the nucleus of a Gentile Church. Proselytism had, however, its darker side. The Jews of Palestine were eager to spread their faith by the same weapons as those with which they had defended it. The Idumaeans had the alternative offered them by John Hyrcanus of death, exile or circumcision. The Idumeans were converted in the same way by Aristobulus. Where force was not in their power, they obtained their ends by the most unscrupulous fraud. Those who were most active in proselytizing were precisely those from whose teaching all that was most true and living had departed. The vices of the Jew were engrafted on the vices of the heathen. A repulsive casuistry released the convert from obligations which he had before recognized, while in other things he was bound hand and fool to an unhealthy superstition. It was no wonder that he became "twofold more the child of hell," (Matthew 23:15) than the Pharisees themselves. We find in the Talmud a distinction between proselytes of the gate and proselytes of righteousness, •The term proselytes of the gate was derived from the frequently occurring description in the law the stranger that is within (Exodus 20:10) etc. Converts of thy gates this class were not bound by circumcision and the other special laws of the Mosaic code. It is doubtful however whether the distinction made in the Talmud ever really existed. •The proselytes of righteousness, known also as proselytes of the covenant, were perfect Israelites. We learn from the Talmud that, in addition to circumcision, baptism was also required to complete

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their admission to the faith. The proselyte was placed in a tank or pool up to his neck in water. His teachers, who now acted as his sponsors, repeated the great commandments of the law. The baptism was followed as long as the temple stood, by the offering or corban. Proverbs, Book Of

The title of this book in Hebrew is taken from its first word, mashal, which originally meant "a comparison." It is sometimes translated parable, sometimes proverb as here. The superscriptions which are affixed to several portions of the book, in chs. (Proverbs 1:1; 10:1; 25:1) attribute the authorship of those portions to Solomon the son of David, king of Israel. With the exception of the last two chapters, which are distinctly assigned to other author it is probable that the statement of the superscriptions is in the main correct, and that the majority of the proverbs contained in the book were uttered or collected by Solomon. Speaking roughly, the book consists of three main divisions, with two appendices:— •Chs. 1-9 form a connected didactic Wisdom is praised and the youth exhorted to devote himself to her. This portion is preceded by an introduction and title describing the character and general aim of the book. •Chs. 10-24 with the title "The Proverbs of Solomon," consist of three parts: (Proverbs 10:1-22; Proverbs 10:16) a collection of single proverbs and detached sentences out of the region of moral teaching and worldly prudence; (Proverbs 22:17-24; Proverbs 22:21) a more connected didactic poem, with an introduction, (Proverbs 22:17-22) which contains precepts of righteousness and prudence; (Proverbs 24:23-34) with the inscription "These also belong to the wise," a collection of unconnected maxims, which serve as an appendix to the preceding. Then follows the third division chs. 25-29, which, according to the superscription, professes to be collection of Solomon's proverbs, consisting of single sentences, which the men of the court of Hezekiah copied out. The first appendix, ch. 30, "The words of Agur the son of Jakeh," is a collection of partly proverbial and partly enigmatical sayings; the second, ch. 31, is divided into two parts, "The words of King Lemuel," vs. 1-6, and an alphabetical acrostic in praise of a virtuous woman, which occupies the rest of the chapter. Who was Agur and who was Jakeh, are questions which have been often asked and never satisfactorily answered. All that can be said of the first is that he was an unknown Hebrew sage, the son of an equally unknown Jakeh, and that he lived after the time of Hezekiah. Lemuel, like Agur, is unknown. It is even uncertain whether he is to be regarded as a real personage, or whether the name is merely symbolical. The Proverbs are frequently quoted or alluded to in the New Testament and the canonicity of the book thereby confirmed. The following is a list of the principal passages:— (Proverbs 1:16) compare Roma 3:10,15 (Proverbs 3:7) compare Roma 12:16 (Proverbs 3:11,12) compare Hebr 12:5,6, see also Reve 3:19 (Proverbs 3:34) compare Jame 4:6 (Proverbs 10:12) compare 1Pet 4:8 (Proverbs 11:31) compare 1Pet 4:18 (Proverbs 17:13) compare Roma 12:17; 1The 5:15; 1Pet 3:9 (Proverbs 17:27) compare Jame 1:19 (Proverbs 20:9) compare 1Joh 1:8 (Proverbs 20:20) compare Matt 15:4; Mark 7:10 (Proverbs 22:8) (LXX.), compare 2Cor 9:7 (Proverbs 25:21,22) compare, Roma 12:20 (Proverbs 26:11) compare, 2Pet 2:22 (Proverbs 27:1) compare, Jame 4:13,14 Province

In the Old Testament this word appears in connection with the wars between Ahab and Ben-hadad. (1 Kings 20:14,15,19) The victory of the former is gained chiefly "by the young" probably men of the princes of the provinces the chiefs: of tribes in the Gilead country.

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•More commonly the word is used of the divisions of the Chaldean kingdom. (Daniel 2:49; 3:1,30) and the Persian kingdom. (Ezra 2:1; Nehemiah 7:6; Esther 1:1,22; 2:3) etc. In the New Testament we are brought into contact with the administration of the provinces of the Roman empire. The classification of provinces supposed to need military control and therefore placed under the immediate government of the Caesar, and those still belonging theoretically to the republic and administered by the senate, and of the latter again into proconsular and praetorian, is recognized, more or less distinctly, in the Gospels and the Acts. [Proconsul; Procurator] The strategoi of (Acts 16:22) ("magistrates," Authorized Version), on the other hand were the duumviri or praetors of a Roman colony. The right of any Roman citizen to appeal from a provincial governor to the emperor meets us as asserted by St. Paul. (Acts 25:11) In the council of (Acts 25:12) we recognize the assessors who were appointed to take part in the judicial functions of the governor. Psalms, Book Of

The present Hebrew name of the book is Tehill'im, "Praises;" but in the actual superscriptions of the psalms the word Tehillah is applied only to one, (Psalms 145:1) ... which is indeed emphatically a praise-hymn. The LXX. entitled them psalmoi or "psalms," i.e., lyrical pieces to be sung to a musical instrument. The Christian Church obviously received the Psalter from the Jews not only as a constituent portion of the sacred volume of Holy Scripture, but also as the liturgical hymn-book which the Jewish Church had regularly used in the temple. Division of the Psalms .—The book contains 150 psalms, and may be divided into five great divisions or books, which must have been originally formed at different periods. Book I. is, by the superscriptions, entirely Davidic nor do we find in it a trace of any but David's authorship. We may well believe that the compilation of the book was also David's work. Book II. appears by the date of its latest psalm, (Psalms 46:1) ... to have been compiled in the reign of King Hezekiah. It would naturally comprise, 1st, several or most of the Levitical psalms anterior to that date; and 2d, the remainder of the psalms of David previously uncompiled. To these latter the collector after properly appending the single psalm of Solomon has affixed the notice that "the prayers of David the son of Jesse are ended." (Psalms 72:20) Book III., the interest of which centers in the times of Hezekiah stretches out, by its last two psalms, to the reign of Manasseh: it was probably compiled in the reign of Josiah. It contains seventeen psalms, from Psal 73-89 eleven by Asaph, four by the sons of Horah, one (86) by David, and one by Ethan. Book IV. contains the remainder of the psalms up to the date of the captivity, There are seventeen, from Psal 90-106—one by Moses, two by David, and the rest anonymous. Book V., the psalms of the return, contains forty-four, from Psal 107-180—fifteen by David, one by Solomon and the rest anonymous. There is nothing to distinguish these two books from each other in respect of outward decoration or arrangement and they may have been compiled together in the days of Nehemiah. Connection of the Psalms with Israelitish history .—The psalm of Moses Psal 90, which is in point of actual date the earliest, faithfully reflects the long, weary wanderings, the multiplied provocations and the consequent punishments of the wilderness. It is, however, with David that Israelitish psalmody may be said virtually to commence. Previous mastery over his harp had probably already prepared the way for his future strains, when the anointing oil of Samuel descended upon him, and he began to drink in special measure, from that day forward, of the Spirit of the Lord. It was then that, victorious at home over the mysterious melancholy of Saul and in the held over the vaunting champion of the Philistine hosts, he sang how from even babes and sucklings God had ordained strength because of his enemies. Psal 8. His next psalms are of a different character; his persecutions at the hands of Saul had commenced. When David's reign

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has begun, it is still with the most exciting incidents of his history, private or public, that his psalms are mainly associated. There are none to which the period of his reign at Hebron can lay exclusive claim. But after the conquest of Jerusalem his psalmody opened afresh with the solemn removal of the ark to Mount Zion; and in Psal 24-29 which belong together, we have the earliest definite instance of David's systematic composition or arrangement of psalms for public use. Even of those psalms which cannot be referred to any definite occasion, several reflect the general historical circumstances of the times. Thus Psal 9 is a thanksgiving for the deliverance of the land of Israel from its former heathen oppressors. Psal 10 is a prayer for the deliverance of the Church from the highhanded oppression exercised from within. The succeeding psalms dwell on the same theme, the virtual internal heathenism by which the Church of God was weighed clown. So that there remain very few e.g. Psal 15-17,19,32 (with its choral appendage, 23), 37 of which some historical account may not be given. A season of repose near the close of his reign induced David to compose his grand personal thanksgiving for the deliverances of his whole life, Psal 18 the date of which is approximately determined by the place at which it ia inserted in the history. (2 Samuel 22:1) ... It was probably at this period that he finally arranged for the sanctuary service that collection of his psalms which now constitutes the first book of the Psalter. The course of David's reign was not, however, as yet complete. The solemn assembly convened by him for the dedication of the materials of the future temple, 1Chr 28, 29, would naturally call forth a renewal of his best efforts to glorify the God of Israel in psalms; and to this occasion we doubtless owe the great festal hymns, Psal 65-68, containing a large review of the past history, present position and prospective glories of God's chosen people. The supplications of Psal 69, suit best with the renewed distress occasioned by the sedition of Adonijah. Psal 71 to which Psal 70 a fragment of a former psalm, is introductory, forms David's parting strain. Yet that the psalmody of Israel may not seem finally to terminate with hint, the glories of the future are forthwith anticipated by his son in Psal 72. The great prophetical ode, Psal 45, connects itself most readily with the splendors of Jehoshaphat's reign. Psal 42-44, 74 are best assigned to the reign of Ahaz. The reign of Hezekiah is naturally rich in psalmody, Psal 46,73,75,76 connect themselves with the resistance to the supremacy of the Assyrians and the divine destruction of their host. We are now brought to a series of psalms of peculiar interest, springing out of the political and religious history of the,separated ten tribes. In date of actual composition they commence before the times of Hezekiah. The earliest is probably Psal 80 A supplication for the Israelitish people at the time of the Syrian oppression. All these psalms—80-83— are referred by their superscriptions to the Levite singers, and thus beer witness to the efforts of the Levites to reconcile the two branches of the chosen nation. The captivity of Manasseh himself proved to be but temporary; but the sentence which his sins had provoked upon Judah and Jerusalem still remained to be executed, and precluded the hope that God's salvation could be revealed till after such an outpouring of his judgments as the nation had never yet known. Labor and sorrow must be the lot of the present generation; through these mercy might occasionally gleam, but the glory which was eventually to be manifested must be for posterity alone. The psalms of Book IV.—bear generally the impress of this feeling. We pass to Book V. Psal 107 is the opening psalm of the return, sung probably at the first feast of tabernacles. Ezra 3 A directly historical character belongs to Psal 120-134, styled in our Authorized Version "Songs of Degrees." Internal evidence refers these to the period when the Jews under Nehemiah were, in the very face of the enemy, repairing the walls of Jerusalem and the title may well signify "songs of goings up upon the walls," the psalms being from their brevity, well adapted to be sung by the workmen and guards while

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engaged in their respective duties. Psal 139 is a psalm of the new birth of Israel from the womb of the Babylonish captivity, to a life of righteousness; Psal 140-143 may be a picture of the trials to which the unrestored exiles were still exposed in the realms of the Gentiles. Henceforward, as we approach the close of the Psalter, its strains rise in cheerfulness; and it fittingly terminates with Psal 147-150 which were probably sung on the occasion of the thanksgiving procession of Nehe 12, after the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem had been completed. Moral characteristics of the Psalms .—Foremost among these meets us, undoubtedly, the universal recourse to communion with God. Connected with this is the faith by which the psalmist everywhere lives in God rather than in himself. It is of the essence of such faith that his view of the perfections of God should be true and vivid. The Psalter describes God as he is: it glows with testimonies to his power and providence, his love and faithfulness, his holiness and righteousness. The Psalms not only set forth the perfections of God; they proclaim also the duty of worshipping him by the acknowledgment and adoration of his perfections. They encourage all outward rites and means of worship. Among these they recognize the ordinance of sacrifice as in expression of the worshipper's consecration of himself to God's service. But not the less do they repudiate the outward rite when separated from that which it was designed to express. Similar depth is observable in the view taken by the psalmists of human sin. In regard to the law, the psalmist, while warmly acknowledging its excellence, feels yet that it cannot so effectually guide his own unassisted exertions as to preserve him from error Psal 19. The Psalms bear repeated testimony to the duty of instructing other in the ways of holiness. Psal 32,34, 51 This brings us to notice, lastly, the faith of the psalmists in righteous recompense to all men according to their deeds. Psal 37, etc. Prophetical character of the Psalms .—The moral struggle between godliness and ungodliness, so vividly depicted in the Psalms, culminates in Holy Scripture, in the life of the Incarnate Son of God upon earth. It only remains to show that the Psalms themselves definitely anticipated this culmination. Now there are in the Psalter at least three psalms of which the interest evidently centers in a person distinct from the speaker, and which, since they cannot without violence to the language be interpreted of any but the Messiah, may be termed directly and exclusively Messianic. We refer to Psal 2,45,110, to which may perhaps be added, Psal 72. It would be strange if these few psalms stood, in their prophetical significance absolutely alone among the rest. And hence the impossibility of viewing the psalms generally, notwithstanding the drapery in which they are outwardly clothed, as simply the past devotions of the historical David or the historical Israel. The national hymns of Israel are indeed also prospective; but in general they anticipate rather the struggles and the triumphs of the Christian Church than those of Christ himself. Psaltery

This was a stringed instrument of music to accompany the voice. The Hebrew nabel or nebel is so rendered in the Authorized Version in all passages where if occurs, except in (Isaiah 5:12; 14:11; 22:24), marg.; (Amos 5:23; 6:6) where it is translated viol . The ancient viol was a six-stringed guitar. In the Prayer Book version of the Psalms the Hebrew word is rendered "lute." This instrument resembled the guitar, but was superior in tone, being larger, and having a convex back, somewhat like the vertical section of a gourd, or more nearly resembling that of a pear. These three instruments, the psaltery or sautry, the viol and lute, are frequently associated in the old English poets and were clearly instruments resembling each other though still different. The Greek psalterium (psalterion), from which our word is derived, denotes an instrument played with the fingers instead of a plectrum or quill, the verb being used of twanging the bow-string. It is impossible to say positively with what

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instrument the nebel of the Hebrew exactly corresponded, From the fact that nebel in Hebrew also signifies a wine-bottle or skin it has been conjectured that the term when applied to a musical instrument denotes a kind of bagpipe. The psalteries of David were made of cypress, (2 Samuel 6:5) those of Solomon of algum Or almug trees. (2 Chronicles 9:11) Among the instruments of the band which played before Nebuchadnezzar's golden image on the plains of Dura, we again meet with the psaltery. (Daniel 3:6,10,15) pesanterin . Ptolemaeus, Or Ptolemy

was the common name of the Greek dynasty of Egyptian kings. PTOLEMAEUS I. SOTER, the son of Lagus, a Macedonian of low rank, distinguished himself greatly during the campaigns of Alexander; at whose death he secured for himself the government of Egypt, where he proceeded at once to lay the foundations of a kingdom, B.C. 323. He abdicated in favor of his youngest son, Ptolemy II. Philadelphus, two years before his death which took place in B.C. 283. Ptolemy Soter is described very briefly in Daniel, (Daniel 11:6) as one of those who should receive part of the empire of Alexander when it was "divided toward the four winds of heaven." PTOLEMAEUS II. PHILADELPHUS, B.C. 285-247, the youngest son of Ptolemy I., was made king two years before his father's death, to confirm the irregular succession. The conflict between Egypt and Syria was renewed during his reign in consequence of the intrigue of his half brother Magas. Ptolemy bestowed liberal encouragement on literature and science, founding the great library and museum at Alexandria, and gathered about him many men of learning, as the poet Theocritus, the geometer Euclid and the astronomer Aratua. This reign was a critical epoch for the development of Judaism, as it was for the intellectual history of the ancient world. The critical faculty was called forth in place of the creative, and learning in some sense supplied the place of original speculation. It was impossible on the Jew who was now become us true a citizen of the world as the Greek, should remain passive in the conflict of opinions. It is enough now to observe the greatness of the consequences involved in the union of Greek language with Jewish thought. From this time the Jew was familiarized with the great types of western literature, and in some degree aimed at imitating them. A second time and in new fashion Egypt disciplined a people of God. It first impressed upon a nation the firm unity of a family and then in due time reconnected a matured people with the world from which it had been called out. PTOLEMAEUS III. EUERGETES, B.C. 247-222, was the eldest son of Ptolemy Philadelphus and brother of Berenice the wife of Antiochus II. The repudiation and murder of his sister furnished him with an occasion for invading Syria, cir. B.C. 246. (Daniel 11:7) He extended his conquests as far as Antioch, and then eastward to Babylon, but was recalled to Egypt by tidings of seditions which had broken out there. His success was brilliant and complete. He carried "captives into Egypt their gods of the conquered nations, with their princes and with their precious vessels of silver and of gold." (Daniel 11:8) This capture of sacred trophies earned for the king the name Euergetes— "Benefactor." After his return to Egypt, cir. B.C. 243 he suffered a great part of the conquered provinces to fall again under the power of Seleucus. PTOLEMAEUS IV. PHILOPATOR, B.C. 222-205. After the death of Ptolemy Euergetes the line of the Ptolemies rapidly degenerated. Ptolemy Philopator, his eldest son, who succeeded him, was to the last degree sensual, effeminate and debased. But externally his kingdom retained its power and splendor and when circumstances forced him to action. Ptolemy himself showed ability not unworthy of his race. The description of the campaign of Raphia (B.C. 217) in the book of Daniel gives a vivid description of his character. (Daniel 11:10-12) cf. Macc. 1:1-3. After offering in the temple at Jerusalem sacrifices for the success they achieved, he attempted to enter the sanctuary. A sudden paralysis hindered his design; but

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