Part 15
religious thought, though not specifically of Philo's. Baptism, regeneration, and kindred expressions of fundamental thoughts in the Christian system, are terms not absolutely new (cf Deutsch, art. "Talmud," Literary Remains). The parable was employed both in the OT and in contemporaneous Jewish literature (cf e.g. 2 S 12 1-4; Isa 6 1-6; 28 24-28, and for details see Koenig's art.. I.e.). Jewish and other non-Bib. parables are discussed and illustrated by examples in Trench's Notes on
the Parables of Our Lord, introd. essay, ch iv: "On Other Parables besides Those in the Scriptures."
The one and only teacher of parables in the NT is Christ Himself. The Epp., although they often employ rhetorical allegories and similes,
Edgar J. Goodspbed PAPYRUS, VESSELS OF. See Ships and Boats, II, 2, (1).
3. Christ's make absolutely no use of the parable. Use of so common in Christ's pedagogical Parables methods. The distribution of these in the Canonical Gospels is unequal, and they are strictly confined to the three Synoptic Gospels. Mark again has only one peculiar to this book, namely, the Seed Growing in Secret (Mk 4
PARABLE, par'a-b'l:
1. Name 2. Historical Data 3. Clirist's Use of Parables 4. Purpose of Ctirist in Using Parables 5. Interpretation of the Parables 6. Doctrinal Value of the Parables Etymologically the word "parable" [Tvapa^iWu
26), and he gives only three others that are found
also in Mt and Lk, namely the Sower, the Mustard Seed, and the Wicked Husbandman, so that the bulk of the parables are found in the First and the Third Gospels. Two are common to Mt and Lk, namely the Leaven (Mt 13 33; Lk 13 21) and the Lost Sheep (Mt 18 12; Lk 15 3ff). Of the remaining parables, 18 are found only in Lk and 10 only in Mt. Lk's 18 include some of the finest, viz. the Two Debtors, the Good Samaritan, the Friend at Midnight, the Rich Fool, the Watchful Servants, the Barren Fig Tree, the Chief Seats, the Great Supper, the Rash Builder, the Rash King, the Lost Coin, the Lost Son, the Unrighteous Steward, the Rich Man and Lazarus, the Unprofitable Servants, the Unrighteous Judge, the Pharisee and Publican, and the Pounds. The 10 peculiar to Mt are the Tares, the Hidden Treasure, the Pearl of Great
parabdllo) signifies a placing of two or more objects
together, usually for the purpose of
1. Name a comparison. In this widest sense of the term there is practically no difference between parable and simile (see Thayer, Did. of NT Or,s.v.). This is also what substan-
tially some of Christ's parables amount to, which
consist of only one comparison and in a single verse (cf Mt 13 33.44-46). In the more usual and technical sense of the word, "parable" ordi-
narily signifies an imaginary story, yet one that in
its details could have actually transpired, the purpose of the story being to illustrate and inculcate some higher spiritual truth. These features differ-
entiate it from other and similar figurative narra-
Price, the Draw Net, the Unmerciful Servant, the Laborers in the Vineyard, the Two Sons, the Mar-
tives as also from actual history. The similarity between the last-mentioned and a parable is sometimes so small that exegetes have differed in the
riage of the King's Son, the Ten Virgins, and the Talents. There is some uncertainty as to the exact number of parables we have from Christ, as the Marriage of the King's Son is sometimes regarded as a different recension of the Great Supper, and the Talents of the Pounds. Other numberings are suggested by Trench, Jiihcher and others.
interpretation of certain pericopes. A character-
istic example of this uncertainty is the story of Dives and Lazarus in Lk 16 19-31. The problem
is of a serious nature, as those who regard this as
actual history are compelled to interpret each and
every statement, including too the close proximity
It is evident from such passages as Mt 13 10 ff
of heaven and hell and the possibility of speaking from one place to the other, while those who regard
(cf Mk 4 10Lk 8 9) that Christ did not in the beginning of His career employ the
it as a parable can restrict their interpretation to
4. Purpose parable as a method of teaching, but
the features that constitute the substance of the
of Christ introduced it later. This took place in Using evidently during the 2d year of His Parables public ministry, and is closely connected with the changes which about that time He made in His attitude toward the people
story. It differs again from the fable, in so far
as the latter is a story that could not actually have
occurred (e.g. Jgs 9 8ff; 2 K 14 9; Ezk 17 2f). The parable is often described as an extended meta-
phor. The etymological features of the word, as
in general. It evidently was Christ's purpose at the outset to win over, if possible, the nation as a whole
well as the relation of parables to other and kmdred
devices of style, are discussed more fully by Ed.
to His cause and to the gospel; when it appeared
Koenig, in HDB, III, 660 ff
that the leaders and the great bulk of the people
Although Christ emploved the parable as a means
Parable Paraclete THE INTERNATIONAL STANDARD BIBLE ENCYCLOPAEDIA 2244
would not accept Him for what He wanted to be and clung tenaciously to their carnal Messianic ideas and ideals, Christ ceased largely to appeal to the masses, and, by confining His instructions chiefly to His disciples and special friends, saw the necessity of organizing an ecclesiola in ecclesia, which was eventually to develop into the world-conquering church. One part of this general withdrawal of Christ from a proclamation of His gospel to the whole nation was this change in His method of teaching and the adoption of the parable. On that subject He leaves no doubt, according to Mt 13 11 ff; Mk 4 12; Lk 8 10. The purpose of the parable is both to reveal and to conceal the truth. It was to serve the first purpose in the case of the disciples, the second in the case of the undeserving Jews. Psychologically this difference, notwithstanding the acknowledged inferiority in the training and education of the disciples, esp. as compared with the scribes and lawyers, is not hard to understand. A simple-minded Christian, who has some understanding of the truth, can readily understand figurative illustrations of this truth, which would be absolute enigmas even to an educated Hindu or Chinaman. The theological problem involved is more difficult. Yet it is evident that we are not dealing with those who have committed the sin against the Holy Ghost, for whom there is no possibility of a return to grace, according to He 6 4-10; 10 26 (cf Mt 12 31.32; Mk 3 28-30), and who accordingly could no longer be influenced by an appeal of the gospel, and we have rather before us those from whom Christ has determined to withdraw the offer of redemption—whether temporarily or definitely and finally, remaining an open question—according to His policy of not casting pearls before the swine. The proper sense of these passages can be ascertained only when we remember that in Mk 4 13 and Lk 8 10, the im, Una, need not express pui']50se, but that this particle is used here to express mere result only, as is clear too from the passage in Mt 13 13, where the Sti, hdti, is found. The word is to be withheld from these people, so that this preaching would not bring about the ordinary results of conversion and forgiveness of sins. Hence Christ now adopts a method of teaching that will hide the truth from all those who have not yet been imbued by it, and this new method
between what the older interpreters called the body
(corpus) and the soul (imima) of the story; or, to use other expressions, between the shell or bark
(cortex) and the marrow (medulla). Whatever serves only the purpose of the story is the "ornamentation" of the parable, and does not belong to the substance. The former does not call for interpretation or higher spiritual lesson; the latter does. This distinction between those parts of the parable that are intended to convey spiritual meanings and those which are to be ignored in the interpretation
is based on Christ's own interpretation of the socalled parabolae perfectae. Christ Himself, in Mt 13 18 fi', interprets the parable of the Sower, yet a number of data, such as the fact that there are four, and not more or fewer kinds of land, and others, are discarded in this explanation as without meaning. Again in His interpretation of the Tares among the Wheat in Mt 13 36 ff, a number of details of the original parable are discarded as meaningless.
Just which details are significant and which are meaningless in a parable is often hard, sometimes impossible to determine, as the liistory of their exegesis amply shows. In general it can be laid down as a rule, that those features which illustrate the scope of the parable belong to its substance, and those which do not, belong to the ornamentation. But even with this rule there remain many exegetical cTuces or difficulties. Certain, too, it is that not all of the details are capable of interpretation. Some are added of a nature that indeed illustrate the story as a story, but, from the standpoint of Christian morals, are more than objectionable. The Unjust Steward in using his authority to make the bills of the debtors of his master smaller may be a model, in the shrewd use of this world's goods for his purpose, that the Christian may follow in making use of his goods for his purposes, but the action of the steward itself is incapable of defence. Again, the man v/ho finds in somebody else's property a pearl of great price but conceals this fact from the owner of the land and quietly buys this ground may serve as an example to show how much the kingdom of God is worth, but from an ethical standpoint his action cannot be sanctioned. In general, the parable, like all other forms of figurative expression, has a meaning only as far as the terlium comqiarationis goes, that is, the third thing which is common to the two things compared. But all this still leaves a large debatable ground in many parables. In the Laborers in the Vineyard does the "penny" mean anything, or is it an ornament? The history of the debate on this subject is long. In the Prodigal Son do all the details of his sufi'erings, such as eating the husks intended for swine, have a spiritual meaning?
is that of the parable.
The principles for the interpretation of the para-
bles, which are all intended primarily and in the
first place for the disciples, are fur-
5. Internished by the nature of the parable pretation itself and by Christ's own method of
of the interpreting some of them. The first Parables and foremost thing to be discovered is the scope or the particular spiritual truth which the parable is intended to convey. Just what this scope is may be stated in so many words, as is done, e.g., by the introductory words to that of the Pharisee and the Publican. Again the scope may be learned from the occasion of the parable, as the question of Peter in Mt 18 21 gives the scope of the following parable, and the real purpose of the Prodigal Son parable in Lk 15 11 ff is not the story of this young man himself, but is set over against the murmuring of the Pharisees because Christ received publicans and sinners, in vs
The interpreters of former generations laid down the rule, theologia parabolica non est argumentativa,
i.e. the parables, very rich in mission 6. Doctrinal thoughts, do not furnish a basis for Value of the doctrinal argument. Like all figuraParables five expressions and forms of thought, the parables too contain elements of doubt as far as their interpretation is concerned. They illustrate truth but they do not prove or demonstrate truth. Omnia similia daudicunt, "all comparisons limp," is applicable here also. No point of doctrine can be established on figurative passages of Scripture, as then all elements of doubt would not be eliminated, this doubt being based on the nature of language itself. The argumentative or doctrmal value of parables is found in this, that they may, in accordance with the analogy of Scripture, illustrate truth already clearly expressed elsewhere. Cf esp. Trench, introd. essay, in Notes on the Parables of Oar Lord, ch iii, 30-43; and Terry,
1 and 2, to exemplify the all-forgiving love of the Father. Not the Son but the Father is in the foreground in this parable, which fact is also the connecting link between the two parts. _ Sometimes the scope can be learned only from an examination of the details of the parable itself and then may be
all the more uncertain.
A second principle of the interpretation of the parables is that a sharp distinction must be made
2245 THE INTERNATIONAL STANDARD BIBLE ENCYCLOPAEDIA Parable Paraclete
If now we raise th? question what is the best tr of the term "Paraclete" in the NT, we have a choice
Biblical Hermeneulics, Part II, ch vi: "Interpretation of Parables," 188-213, in which work a full bibliography is given. Cf also art. "Parabel" in RE. G. H. SCHODDE
of several words. Lot us glance at
5. The Best them in order. The tr "Comforter" Translation contains an element of the meaning of the word as employed in the Gospels, and harmonizes with the usage in connection with
PARACLETE, par'a-klet: This word occurs 5 t in the NT, all in the writings
of John. Four instances are in the Gospel and one
its cognates, but it is too narrow in meaning to be an adequate tr. Dr. J. Hastings in an otherwise excellent article on the Paraclete in HDB says the Paraclete was not sent to comfort the disciples, since prior to His actual coming and after Christ's promise the disciples' sorrow was turned into joy. Dr. Hastings thinks the Paraclete was sent to cure the unbelief or half-belief of the disciples. But this conceives the idea of comfort in too limited a way. No doubt in the mind of Jesus the comforting aspect
in the First Ep. In the Gospel the
1. Where passages are 14 16.26; 15 26; 16 7; Used in the Ep., 2 1. "Paraclete" is simply the Gr word transferred into Eng. The tr of the word in EV is "Comforter" in the Gospel, and "Advocate" in the Ep. The Gr word
is irapdKXTjTos, pardkUtos, from the vb. trapaKoKiui, parakaleo. The word for "Paraclete" is passive in form, and etymologically signifies "called to one's side." The active form of the word is wapaKX-riToip,
of the Spirit's work applied to all their future sorrows and trials, and not merely to comfort for their personal loss in the going of Christ to the Father. Nevertheless there was more in the work of the Para-
paraklitor, not found in the NT but found in LXX in Job 16 2 in the pi., and means "comforters," in the saying of Job regarding the "miserable comforters" who came to him in his distress.
clete than comfort in sorrow. "Intercessor" comes nearer the root idea of the term and contains an essential part of the meaning. "Advocate" is a closely related word, and is also suggestive of the work of the Spirit. Perhaps there is no Eng. word broad enough to cover all the significance of the word "Paraclete" except the word "Helper."^ The
In general the word sigTiifies (1) a legal advocate, or counsel for defence, (2) an intercessor, (3) a helper, generally. The first, or tech-
2. General nical, judicial meaning is that which Meaning predomiBates in classical usage, corresponding to our word "advocate," "counsel," or "attorney." The corresponding Lat word is advocatus, "advocate," the word applied to Christ in EV in the tr of the Gr word parakletos,
Spirit helps the disciples in all the above-indicated ways. Of course the objection to this tr is that it is too indefinite. The specific Christian conception is
in 1 Jn 2 1. There is some question whether the tr "Comforter" in the passages of John's Gospel in AV and RV is warranted by the meaning of the word. It is certain that the meaning "comforter" is not the primary signification, as we have
lost in the comprehensiveness of the term. Our conclusion, therefore, is that the term "Paraclete"
itself would perhaps be the best designation of the
^ It would thus become a proper name for the Spirit and the various elements of meaning would come to be associated with the words which are found in the context of the Gospel.
Spirit in the passage in John's Gospel.
seen. It is very probably, however, a secondary meaning of the word, and some of its cognates clearly convey the idea of comfort in certain connections, both in LXX and in the NT (Gen 37 35; Zee 1
Christianity introduced many new ideas into the world for which current terms were inadequate media of expression. In some cases it is best to adopt the Christian term itself, in our translations, and let the word slowly acquire its own proper significance in our thought and life. If, however, instead of translating we simply transfer the word
13; Mt 5 4; 2 Cor 1 3.4). In the passage in 2 Cor the word in one form or another is used 5 t and
in each means "comfort." In none of these in-
tances, however, do we find the noun "Paraclete," which we are now considering.
Among Jewish writers the word "Paraclete" came to have a number of meanings. A good deed was called a paraclete or advocate, and
"Paraclete" as a designation of the Holy Spirit in the Gospel passages, we would need then to translate
3. In the a transgression was an accuser. ReTahnud and pentance and good works were called Targiuns paracletes: "The works of benevo-
it in the passage in the Ep. where it refers to Christ. But this would offer no serious difficulty. For fortunately in the Ep. the word may very clearly be
lence and mercy done by the people
tr'' "Advocate" or "Intercessor."
We look next at the contents of the word as employed by Jesus in reference to the Holy Spirit. In Jn 14 16 the Paraclete is promised
of Israel in this world become agents of peace and intercessors [paracletes] between them and
their Father in heaven." The sin offering is a
paraclete; the paraclete created by each good deed
6. Christ's as one who is to take the place of Jesus. Use of the It is declared elsewhere by Jesus that Word it is expedient that He go away, for unless He go away the Paraclete will not come (Jn 16 7). Is the Paraclete, then, the successor or the substitute for Christ as He is sometimes called? The answer is that He is both and
is called an angel {Jew Enc, IX, 514-15, art.
"Paraclete").
Philo employs the word in several Instances. Usually he does not use it in the legal, technical sense. Joseph
is represented as bestowing forgiveness 4 As Emon Ills brethren who had wronged him and
, . declaring that they needed "no one else ployea Dy ^^ paraclete." or intercessor (De Joseph PhilO c. 40). In his ii/e o/ Moses, iii. 14. is a remarkable passage which indicates Philo's spiritualizing methods of interpreting Scripture as well as reflects his philosophic tendency. At the close of a somewhat elaborate account of the emblematic signiflcance of the vestments of the high priest and their jeweled decorations, his words are: " The twelve stones arranged on the breast in four rows of three stones each, namely, the logeum, being also an emblem of that reason which holds together and regulates the universe. For it was indispensable [a.va.yKalov , anagkaion] that the man who was consecrated to the Father of the world should have, as a paraclete, his son, the being most perfect in all virtue to procure the forgiveness of sins, and a supply
neither. He is the successor of Christ historically, but not in the sense that Christ ceases to act in the church. He is the substitute for Christ's physical presence, but only in order that He may make vital and actual Christ's spiritual presence. As we have
seen, the Paraclete moves only in the range of truths conveyed in and through Christ as the historical manifestation of God. A "Kingdom of the Spirit,"
therefore, is impossible in the Christian sense, save
as the historical Jesus is made the basis of the
Spirit's action in history. The promise of Jesus
in 14 18, "I come unto," is parallel and equivalent
of unlimited blessings." This is rather a striking verbal or formal parallel to the statement in 1 Jn 2 1 where Christ is our Advocate with the Father, although of course Philo's conceptions of the Divine "reason" and "son" are by no means the Christian conceptions.
in meaning with the preceding promise of the Para-
clete. The following are given as the specific forms
of activity of the Holy Spirit : (1) to show them the
Paradise Parchment THE INTERNATIONAL STANDARD BIBLE ENCYCLOPAEDIA 2246
In the apocryphal and pseudepigraphical lit. the word is extensively used in a spiritual and symbol; c.
things of Christ, (2) to teach them things to como,
(3) to teach them all things, (4) to quicken their memories for past teaching, (5) to bear witness to Christ, (6) to dwell in believers, (7) other things shown in the context such as "greater works" than those of Christ (see Jn 14 16.17), (8) to convict of
sense, signalizing the place of happi-
2. Use in ness to be inherited by the righteous Jewish Litin contrast to Gehenna, the place of
erature punishment to which the wicked were
to be assigned. In the later Jewish lit.
sin, of righteousness and judgment. It is possible to range the shades of meaning outlined above under these various forms of the Spirit's activity. As Comforter His work would come under (1), (2),
"Sheol" is represented as a place where preliminary rewards and pimishments are bestowed previous to
the final judgment (see Apocalyptic Literature; EscHATOLOGT OF THE OT; and of 2 Esd 2 19;
(3 ) and (6) ; as Advocate and Intercessor under (6)
8 52). But the representations in this lit. are often vague and conflicting, some holding that there were
(7), (S); as Helper and Teacher under (1), (2), (3),
(4), (5), (6), (7), (8). The manner of the sending of the Paraclete is of
4 divisions in Sheol, one for those who were martyred
for righteousness' sake, one for sinners who on earth had paid the penalty for their sins, one for the just who had not suffered martyrdom, and one for sin-
interest. In Jn 14 16 the Paraclete comes in answer to Christ's prayer. The Father will give the Spirit whom the world cannot receive. In 14 26 the Father will send the Spirit in Christ's name. Yet in 15 26 Christ sa^'s, "I will send [him] unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth," and
ners who had not been punished on earth (En 102
15). But among the Alexandrian Jews the view
prevailed that the separation of the righteous from
the wicked took place immediately after death (see Wisd 3 14; 4 10; 5 5.17; Jos, Ant, XVIII, i, 3; BJ, II, viii, 14). This would seem to be the idea underlying the use of the word in the NT where
in 16 7, "If I go, I will send him unto you." See Holy Spirit.
It remains to notice the passage in 1 Jn 2 1 where the term "Paraclete" is applied to Christ: "If any man sin, we have an Advocate
it occurs only 3 t, and then in a sense remarkably
free from sensuous suggestions.
7. As with the Father, Jesus Christ the Applied righteous"; ver 2 reads: "and he is
Christ uses the word but once (Lk 23 43), when He said to the penitent thief, "To-day shalt thou be
to Christ the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for the whole world." Here the meaning is quite clear and spe-
with me in Paradise" (see Abra-
3. Used by ham's Bosom [cf Hades]). This was Christ no time to choose words with dialectical
cific. Jesus Christ the righteous is represented as our Advocate or Intercessor with the Father. His righteousness is set over against our sin. Here the Paraclete, Christ, is He who, on the basis of His propitiatory offering for the sins of men, intercedes for them with God and thus averts from them the penal consequences of their transgressions. The sense in which Paraclete is here applied to Christ is found nowhere in the passages we have
precision. The consolation needed by the penitent thief suffering from thirst and agony and shame was such as was symbolized by the popular conception of paradise, which, as held by the Essenes, consisted of "habitations beyond the ocean,
in a region that is neither oppressed with storms
of rain, or snow, or with intense heat, but that
this place is such as is refreshed by the gentle breathing of a west wind, that is perpetually blowing from the ocean" (Jos, BJ, II, viii, 11). See EschatolOGY OF THE NT.
cited from the Gospel. The Holy Spirit as Paraclete
is Intercessor or Advocate, but not in the sense here indicated. The Spirit as Paraclete convicts the world of sin, of righteousness and judgment. Jesus Christ as Paraclete vindicates behevers before God.
Nowhere in His public teaching did Christ use the word "Paradise." He does indeed, when speaking in parables, employ the figure of the
4. Other marriage supper, and of new wine, and Forms and elsewhere of Abraham's bosom, and of Uses houses not made by hands, eternal in the heavens; but all these references are in striking contrast to the prevailing sensuous representations of the times (see 2 Esd 2 19; 8
LiTBRATUHE.—Grimm-Thayer, Gr-Eng. Lexicon of the NT: Cremer, Biblico-Theol. Lexicon; HDB. art. "Paraclete"; DCG. art. "Paraclete"; EB, art. "Paraclete"; Jew Enc, art. "Paraclete"; Hare, Mission of the Comforter; Pearson, On the Creed; Taylor. Sayings
of the Jewish Fathers; various comms., Westcott, Godet and others. See list of books appended to art. on Holt Spirit.
52), and such as have been introduced into Mohammedan lit. Likewise St. Paul (2 Cor 12 4) speaks of having been "caught up into Paradise" where he "heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter." See Eschatology OF THE NT. But in ver 2 this is referred to more vaguely as "the third heaven." In Rev 2 7 it is said to the members of the church at Ephesua who should overcome, "I [will] give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the Paradise of God," where the Eden of Gen 2 8 is made the symbol of the abode of the righteous, more fully described without the words in the last chapter of the book. The reticence of the sacred writers respecting this subject is in striking contrast to the profuseness and crudity both of rabbinical writers before Christ and of apocryphal writers and Christian commentators at a later time. "Where the true Gospels are most reticent, the mythical are most exuberant" (Perowne). This is esp. noticeable in the Gospel of Nicodemus, the Ada
E. Y. MULLINS PARADISE, par'a-dis (D'I'IS
, pardes; irapcuSti-
o-os, parddeisos) : A word probably of Pers origin meaning a royal park. See Garden.
1. Origin The word occurs in the Heb Scriptures and but 3 t: Cant 4 13, where it is tr"^ Meaning "an orchard"; Neh 2 8, where it is tr'i"a forest" (RVm "park")- Ecol 2 5, where it is in the pi. number (AV "orchards," RV "parks"). But it was early introduced into the Gr language, being made specially familiar by Xenophon upon his return from the expedition of Cyrus the Younger to Babylonia (see Anab. i.2, §
7; 4, §9; Cyrop. i.3, §14). In LXX the word is of frequent use in translating other terms of kindred
significance. The Garden of Eden became "the paradise of pleasure or luxury" (Gen 2 IS; 3 23; Joel 2 3). The valley of the Jordan became 'the paradise of God' (Gen 13 10). In Ezk 31 8.9, according to LXX, there is no tree in the 'paradise
of God' equal to that which in the prophet's vision symbolizes the glory of Assyria. The figures in the
Philippi, the writings of TertuUian (De Idol. c. 13; De Anim. c. 55; Tertulhan's treatise De Paradiso is lost), Clement of Alexandria (Frag. 51), and John of Damascus {De Orthod. Fid., ii, 11). In modem lit. the conception of Paradise ia
first 9 verses of this chapter may well have been suggested by what the prophet had himself seen of parks in the Pers empire.
2247 THE INTERNATIONAL STANDARD BIBLE ENCYCLOPAEDIA
effectually sublimated and spiritualized in Faber's familiar hymn:
"Nathan-mclech" is described, and the tr, "in the colonnades," .should, if the above origin is accepted, be more correct than EV. It is difficult to understand the occurrence of a Pers word at this time, and it has been suggested {EB, col 3.585) that the word is a description of the office of Nathan-melech, ba-parwdrim being a misreading for ha-p'rddhim, meaning "who was over the mules."
"O Paradise, O Paradise,
I greatly long to seo The special place my dearest Lord
Is destining for me; Where loyal hearts and true
Stand ever in the light. All rapture thro' and thro',
In God's most holy sight." Literature.—The articles in the great Diets., esp. Herzog, RE; IIDB; Alger, Critical History of the Doctrine of a Future Life; Schodde, Book of En: Lightfoot, Hor. Heb. on Lk 23 4:i; Salmond, The Christian Doctrine of Immortality. 340 It. For a good account of Jewish and patristic speculation on Paradise, see Professor Plumptre's art. in Smith's DB, II, 704 ft.
E. W. G. Masterman PARCEL, piir'sel: Properly "a little part," in Elizabethan Eng. being u.sed in almost any sen.se. In AV of Cien 33 19; Josh 24 32; Ruth 4 3; 1 Ch 11 13.14 it is the tr of Hpbn , helkah; Jn 4 5 of
xuplov, chorion—both the Gr and Heb words meaning a "piece of land." RV writes "plot" in 1 Ch 11 13.14, but if the change was needed at all, it should have been made throughout.
G. F. Wright PARAH, pa'ra, par'a (iTlBn , ha-pardh; B, ^ap6., Phard, A, 'Acfxip, Aphdr) : A city named as in the territory of Benjamin between Avvim and Ophrah
(Josh 18 23). It may with some confidence be identified with Fdrah on Wddy Fdrah, which runs into Wddy Suweinit, about 3 miles N.E. of 'Andta.
PARCHED, parcht: Four different root words have been tr'^ "parched" in EV:
(1) nbjP, J;aZa/i, "roasted." This word is applied to com or pulse. It is a common practice in Pal and Syria to roast the nearly ripe wheat for eating as a delicacy. A handful of heads of fully developed grain, with the stalks still attached, are gathered and bound together and then, holding the bunch by the lower ends of the stalks, the heads are toasted over a fire of straw or thorn bush. By the time moat of the sheaths are blackened the grain is toasted, and, after rubbing off the husks between the hands, is ready to eat (Lev 2 14). A form of pulse ia toasted in the same way and is more sought after than the grain. In the larger towns and
PARALYSIS, pa-ral'i-sis, PARALYTIC, par-a-
lit'ik. See Palsy.-
PARAMOUR, par'a-mobr (in53S
, pilleghesh, "a concubine," masc. or fern.): A term apphed in Ezk 23 20 to the male lover, but elsewhere tr'' "concubine."
PARAN, pa'ran, EL-PARAN (TJXS , pd'rdn, ^^?^ b''N, 'el-pdWan; "i>apdv, Phardn):
(1) El-paran (Gen 14 G) was the point farthest
S. reached by the kings. LXX renders b^'X by
cities, venders go about the streets selling bunches of toasted chick-peas. The Bible references, however, are probably to another form of roasted grain. The threshed wheat or pulse is roasted over a fire on an iron pan or on a flat stone, being kept in constant motion with a stirrer until the operation is finished. The grain thus prepared is a marketable
Tepi^tvdos, terehinthos, and reads, "unto the terebinth of Paran." The evidence is slender, but it is not unreasonable to suppose that this is the place elsewhere (Dt 2 8; 1 K 9 26, etc) called Elath
or Eloth (b^X with fem. termination), a seaport town which gave its name to the Aelanitio Gulf (modern Gulf of 'Akaba), not far from the wilderness of Paran (2).
article. Parched grain is not now so commonly met with as the pulse, which either roasted or unroasted is called hommo^ (from Arab, "to roast" or "parch"). Parched pulse is eaten not only plain, but is often made into confection by coating the seeds with sugar. In Bible times parched wheat or pulse was a common food, even taking the place of bread (Lev 23 14; Josh 5 11; Ruth 2 14). It was a useful food supply for armies, as it required no further cooking (1 S 17 17). It was frequently included in gifts or hostages (1 S 25 18; 2 S 17 28).
(2) Many places named in the narrative of the wanderings lay within the Wilderness of Paran (Nu 10 12; 13 21; 27 14; cf 13 3.26, etc). It
is identified with the high limestone plateau of Et-
Tih, stretching from the S.W. of the Dead Sea to Sinai along the west side of the Arabah. This wilderness offered hospitality to Ishmael when driven from his father's tent (Gen 21 21). Hither
also came David when bereaved of Samuel's protection (1 S 25 1).
(2) Tin, harer, "burned" or "parched" (cf Arab.
(3) Mount Paran (Dt 33 2; Hab 3 3) may be either Jehel Makrah, 29 miles S. of 'Ain Kadis (Kadesh-bamea), and 130 miles N. of Sinai (Palmer, Desert of the Exodus, 510) ; or the higher and more imposing range of mountains W. of the Gulf of 'Akaha. This is the more probable if El-paran is rightly identified with Elath.
harik, "burned"), is used in the sense of dried up or arid in Jer 17 6.
(3) nn2, Qiheh, is used in Isa 5 13, AV "dried up," RV' "parched"; nninS
, fo/iT/ia/i, in Ps 68 6, AV "dry," RV "parched."
(4) 'yy^ , shdrabh, rendered "parched" in AV, is "glowing" in RV. The word implies the peculiar wavy effect of the air above parched ground, usually accompanied by mirages (cf Arab, serab, "mirage")
(4) Some place named Paran would seem to be
referred to in Dt 1 1; but no trace of such a city has yet been found. Paran in 1 K 11 18 doubtless
refers to the district W. of the Arabah.
(Isa 35 7; 49 10). In predicting a happy future
W. EwiNG PARBAR, par'bar ("I3")S
for Zion the prophet could have chosen no greater contrast than that the hot glowing sands which produce illusive water effects should be changed
, parhar [1 Ch 26 18], and D'^II'lS, parwdrlm, iv^ "precincts" [AV "sub-
urbs" in 2 K 23 11]; LXX <|>apoDpe(|i, p/iaroMreiTO) In 1 Ch 26 18 reference is made to the position
into real pools. See Mirage. James A. Patch
PARCHED, parcht, CORN. See Food.
of the gatekeepers, "for Parbar westward, four at the causeway, and two at Parbar." The word is supposed to be of Pera origin, connected with Par-
PARCHMENT, parch'ment (litiippava, niembrdna
[2 Tim 4 13]) : Theword "parchment," which occurs only once (2 Tim 4 13), is derived from Lat pergamena (Gr nepyapepr/, Pergament), i.e. pertaining
wAr, meaning "possessing light," and hence the meaning has been suggested of "colonnade" or
"portico," some place open to the light. In the pi. form (2 K 23 11) the situation of the house of
to Pergamum, the name of an ancient city in Asia
Parchments Parousia THE INTERNATIONAL STANDARD BIBLE ENCYCLOPAEDIA 2248
the Rom authorities took place at that city, and that it was tile suddenness of his arrest that caused hira to be unable to carry his books and parchments and the cloak with liim. "The police had not even allowed him time to find his overcoat or necessary documents" (Workman, op.cit., 39:sce p. 1S86, 14).
Minor where, it ia believed, parchment was first used. Parchment is made from the slvins of sheep, goats or young calves. The hair and fleshy portions of the skin are removed as in tanning by first soaking
in lime and then dehairing, scraping and washing. The skin is then stretched on a frame and treated with powdered chalk, or other absorptive agent, to remove the fatty substances, and is then dried. It
Be this as it may, he desired to have them now. His well-disciplined mind, even in the near prospect of death by public execution, could And the most joyous labor in the work of the gospel, wherever his influence reached, and could also find relaxation among "the books, esp. tlie parchments."
is finally given a smooth surface by rubbing with powdered pumice. Parchment was extensively used at the time of the early Christians for scrolls, legal documents, etc, having replaced papyrus for that purpose. It was no doubt used at even a much
John Rutherfdrd PARDON, par'd'n, par'dun. See Forgiveness.
PARE, par (THE NAILS) (nto? , ^asah, "to fix," "manipulate"): The word, which in Heb has a very wide range of application, and which is of very frequent occurrence in the Heb Bible, is found in the above meaning in but one passage of EV (Dt 21 12; see Nail). In a similar sense it is found in 2 S 19 24, where it is used to express the dressing
earlier time. The roll mentional in Jer 36 may have been of parchment. Scrolls were later replaced by codices of the same material. After the Arabs introduced paper, parchment was still used for centuries for the book bindings. Diplomas printed on "sheepskins," still issued by many uni-
versities, represent the survival of an ancient use of parchment. See following article.
of the feet and the trimming of the beard.
James A. Patch PARCHMENTS, parch'ments ((ifiippAvai, membrdnai, "membranes," "parchments," "vellum"): The skins, chiefly of sheep, lambs, goats and calves, prepared so as to be used for writing on (2 Tim 4 13).
PARENT, p4r'ent. See Children; Crimes; Education; Family; Punishments.
, parde?; LXX irapdStKros,
PARK, park (CI"]?
parddeisos; cf Arab. qu.OvJ , firdaus): "I made me gardens and parks," AV "orchards" (Eccl 2 5); "Asaph the keeper of the king's forest," RVm "park" (Neh 2 8). The same word occurs in Cant 4 13, "Thy shoots are an orchard [RVm "paradise"] of pomegranates." According to Liddell and Scott, paradeisos occurs first in Xenophon, who always uses it of the parks of Pers kings and noblemen. Like many other quadriliterals the word is undoubtedly of eastern origin. It seems to connote an inclosure. It is used in LXX of the Garden of Eden. Cf Lk 23 43; 2 Cor 12 4; Rev 2 7. See Paradise. Alfred Ely Day
In Gr and Rom times parchment was much employed as a writing material. "At Rome, in the 1st cent. BC, and the 1st and 2d cents. AD, there is evidence of the use of vellum, but only for noteboolis and for rough drafts or inferior copies of literary works A fragment of a vellum MS, wliich may belong to this period, is preserved in Brit. Mus. Add. MS 34,473, consisting of two leaves of Demosthenes, De Fals. Leg., in a small hand, which appears to bo of the 2d cent." (F. G. Kenyon in HDB, IV, 947).
Paul directs Timothy that, when he comes from Ephesus to Rome, he is to bring "the books, esp. the parchments." These, as well as the "cloak," which is also mentioned, had evidently been "left at Troas with Carpus." What were these parchments? They are distinguished from "the books," which were probably a few choice volumes or rolls, some portions of the Scriptures of the OT, some volumes of the Law of Moses or of the Prophets or of the Pss. Among "the books" there might also be Jewish exegetical works, or heathen writings, with which, as is made evident by references in his Epp., Paul was well acquainted.
PARLOR, par'ler: This word in AV, occurring in Jgs 3 20-25; 1 S 9 22; 1 Ch 28 11, is in every instance changed in RV: in Jgs into "upper room," in 1 S into "guest-chamber," in 1 Ch into "chambers," representing as many Heb words. See House.
PARMASHTA, par-mash'ta (Snipa-jB, par7nashta' ; LXX Mapixao-ijid, Marmasimd, or Map-
The parchments were different from these, and were perhaps notebooks, in which the apostle had, from time to time, written what he had observed and wished to preserve as specially worthy of remembrance, facts which he had gathered in his study of the OT or of other books. These notes may have been the result of many years' reading and study, and he wished Timothy to bring them to him.
(j.a<ri.|ivA, Marmasimnd) : One of the sons of Haman (Est 9 9).
PARMENAS, par'm5-nas (Hapiievas, Parmends): A Gr name, an abbreviated form of Parmenides. Parmenas was one of "the seven" chosen by the people and appointed by the apostles to superintend the daily distribution to the Christian poor of Jerus (Acts 6 5). Tradition states that he was martyred at Philippi, in the reign of Trajan, but his name does not appear again in Scripture.
Various conjectures have been made in regard to the contents of "the parchments." It has been suggested by Kenyon {HDB, III, 673) that they contained the OT in Gr; by Farrar, that the parchments were a diploma of Paul's Rom citizenship; by Bull, that they were his commonplace books; by Latham, that the parchments were a copy of the Orundschrift of the Gospels, a volume containing the all-important narrative of the Saviour's life and cross and resurrection. Workman (Persecution in the Early Church, 39) writes: "By tan membranas I understand the proofs of his citizenship."
PARNACH, par'nak (t;;-)?
, parnakh, "gifted"): Father of Elizaphan, the prince of Zobulun (Nu 34 25).
PAROSH, pa'rosh, par'osh (W'S
, par'osh, "flea" [leap]) : A family that in part returned under Zerubbabel (Ezr 2 3; Neh 7 8); and in part under Ezra (Ezr 8 3; there spelt "Pharosh," AV). Some of the family had foreign wives (Ezr 10 25). One descendant, Pedaiah (see Pedaiah, [3]), helped to rebuild the city walls (Neh 3 25), and others were among those who "sealed" the covenant of Nehemiah (Neh 10 1.14). In 1 Eid 5 9; 8 309 26, "Phoros."
Whatever their contents may have been, they were of such value that Paul wished to have them with him in his prison at Rome, so that, if life were spared for even a few weeks or months, the books and parchments might be at hand for reference. Perhaps in the fact that the books and the parchments and the cloak had been loft at Troas with Carpus, there may be a hint that hi.s final arrest by
2249 THE INTERNATIONAL STANDARD BIBLE ENCYCLOPAEDIA Parchments Parousia
PAROUSIA, pa-roo'zhi-a:
doctrine can be paralleled directly from the Jewish sources. The following summary does not begin to give complete references to even such Jewish material as is extant, but enough is presented to show how closely allied are the esohatologiea of Judaism and of early Christianity.
I. The Apostolic Doctrine 1. Terms 2. Data and Sources 3. Consistency 4. Meaning of ttie Symbolism II. The Tbachino of Jesus 1. Critical Problems 2. Summary 3. Fall of Jerusalem 4. Time III. St. John's Evaluation 1. Solution of Problem 2. The Church a Divine Quantity Literature
The end is not to be expected instantly. There are still signs to come to pass (2 Thess 2 3), and
in especial the determined number of martyrs must be filled up (Rev 6 11; cf 2 Esd 4 3.5.36). There
is need of patience (Jas 5 7, etc; cf 2 Esd 4 34; Bar 83 4). But it is at hand (1 Pet 4 7; Rev
/. The Apostolic Doctrins.—The Second Coming of Christ (a phrase not founi in the Bible) is expressed by the apostles in the following
1 3; 22 10; cf 2 Esd 14 17). "Yet a little while" (He 10 37.25), "The night is far spent" (Rom 13
12), "The Lord is at hand" (Phil 4 5). "We that are alive" expect to see it (1 'Thess 4 15; 1 Cor 15 51; cf Bar 76 5); the time is shortened henceforth
1. Terms special terms: (1) "Parousia" (ira-
pova-la, parousia), a word fairly common in Gr, with the meaning "presence" (2 Cor 10 10; Phil 2 12). More esp. it may mean "presence after absence," "arrival" (but not "return," unless this is given by the context), as in
(1 Cor 7 29; cf Bar 20 1; 2 Esd 4 26, and the comms. on 1 Cor). Indeed, there is hardly time for repentance even (Rev 22 11, ironical), certainly there is no time left for self-indulgence
1 Cor 16 17; 2 Cor 7 6.7; Phil 1 26. And still more particularly it is applied to the Coming of Christ in 1 Cor 15 23; 1 Thess 2 19; 3 13; 4 15; 5 23; 2 Thess 2 1.8; Jas 5 7.8; 2 Pet 1 16; 3 4.12; 1 Jn 2 28—in all 13 t, besides 2 Thess 2 9, where it denotes the coming of Antichrist. This word for Christ's Second Coming passed into the early Patristic lit. (Diognetus, vii.6,
(1 Thess 5 3; 1 Pet 4 2; 2 Pet 3 11; Rev 3 3; cf Bar 83 5), and watchfulness ia urgently demanded (1 Thess 5 6; Rev 3 3). An outpouring of the Spirit is a sign of the end (Acts 2 17.18; cf XII P, Test. Levi 18 11; Sib Or 4 46, always after the consummation in the Jewish sources) But the world is growing steadily worse, for the godly and intense trials are coming (passim), although those esp. favored may be spared suffering (Rev 3 10; cf Bar 29 2). This is the beginning of Judgment (1 Pet 4 17; cf En 99 10). Iniquity increases and false teachers are multiplied (Jude ver 18; 2 Pet 3 3; 2 Tim 3, esp. ver 13; cf En 80 7; Bar 70 5; 2 Esd 5 9.10). Above all there
e.g.), but its use in this sense ia not invariable. For instance the word in Ignatius, Philadelphians, ix.2, means the Incarnation. Or the Incarnation is called the first Parousia, as in Justin, Trypho, xiv. But in modern theology it means invariably the Second Coming. Recent archaeological discoveries have explained why the word received such general Christian use in the special sense. In Hellenistic Gr it was used for the arrival of a ruler at a place, as is evidenced by inscriptions in Eg3'pt, Asia Minor, etc. Indeed, in an Epidaurua inscription
is to be an outburst of diabolic malevolence in the Antichrist (1 Jn 2 18.22; 4 3; 2 Jn ver 7; 2 Thess 2 8-10; Rev 19 19; cf Bar 36 8-10; Sib Or 3 63-70, and see Antichrist), who will gather all nations to his ensign (Rev 19 19; 2 Thess 2 10 cf 2 Esd 13 5; En 56). Plagues fall upon men (Rev, passim; cf esp. Philo, Execr.), and natural portents occur (Acts 2 19.20; Rev, passim; cf 2 Esd 5 4.5; En 80 5-8). But the conversion of the Jews (Rom 11 26) is brought about by these plagues
of the 3d cent. BC (Dittenberger, Syiloge^, No. 803, 34), "Parousia" is apphed to a manifestation of Aesculapius. Consequently, the adoption by the Gr-speaking Christians of a word that already contained full regal and even Divine concepts was perfectly natural. (The evidence ia well summarized
(Rev 11 13; in the Jewish sources, naturally, conversion of Gentiles, as in Sib Or 3 616-623; En 10 21). Then Christ is manifested and Antichrist is slain or captured (2 Thess 2 8; Rev 19 20; cf 2 Esd 13 10.11). In Rev 20 3 the Millennium follows (cf 2 Esd 7 28; 12 34; Bar .40 3, and often in rabbinical lit.; the "millennium" in Slavic En, ch 33, is of very dubious existence), but other traces of millennial doctrine in the NT are of the vaguest (cf the comms. to 1 Cor 15 24, for instance, esp. Schmiedel, J. Weiss, and Lietzmann, and see Millennium). The general resurrection follows (see Resurrection for details). The Father holds the Judgment in He 10 30; 12 23; 13 4; Jas 4 11.12; 1 Pet 1 17; Rev 14
in Deissmann, Light from the Ancient Easl^, 372-
78, Ger. ed, 281-87.) (2) "Epiphany" (^7ri0dma,
epiphdneia), "manifestation," used of the Incarnation in 2 Tim 1 10, but of the Second Coming in 2 Thess 2 8; 1 Tim 6 14; 2 Tim 4 1.8; Tit 2 13. The word was used like Parousia in Hellenistic Gr to denote the ceremonial arrival of rulers; cf Deissmann, as above. (3) "Apocalypse" (diroKdXufis, apokdlupsis), "revelation, denotes the Second Coming in 1 Cor 1 7; 2 Thess 17; 1 Pet 1 7.
13; 4 13. (4) "Day of the Lord," more or less modified, but referring to Christ in 1 Cor 1 8; 5 5; 2 Cor 1 14; Phil 1 6.10; 2 16; 1 Thess 5 2; 2 Thess 2 2. The phxase is used of the Father in the strict OT sense in Acts 2 20; 2 Pet 3 12; Rev 16 14, and probably in 2 Pet 3 10. Besides, as in the OT and the intermediate lit., "day of wrath," "last day," or simply "day" are used very frequently. See Day of the Lord.
7; 20 11, and probably in Jude vs 14.15. Christ
is Judge in Acts 10 42; 2 Cor 5 10; 2 Tim 4 1. The two concepts are interwoven in Rom 14 9.10. God mediates judgment through Christ in Acts 17 31; Rom 2 16, and probably in Rom 2 2-6; 3 6. In 2 Thess Christ appears as the executor of punishment. For similar uncertainties in the Jewish schemes, cf, for instance, 2 Esd 7 33 and En 45 3. For the fate of the wicked see EecHATOLOGY; Hell; St. Paul, rather curiously, has very little to say about this (Rom 2 3; 1 Cor 3 17; 2 Thess 1 8.9). Then all Nature is renewed (Rom 8 21; En 45 4.5) or completely destroyed (1 Cor 7 31; He 12 27; Rev 21 1; cf En 1 6; 2 Esd 7 30); by fire in 2 Pet 3 10 (cf Sib Or 4 172-77), so as to leave only the eternal verities (He 12 27; cf 2 Esd 7 30[?]), or to be replaced with a new heaven and
Of the first three of the above terms, only Parousia
is found in the Gospels, 4 t, all in Mt 24 (vs 3.27.37.39), and in the last three of these all In the set phrase "so shall be the Parousia of the Son of Man." As Christ spoke in Aram., the use of "Parousia" here is of course due to Matthew's adoption of the current Gr word.
The last of the 4 terms above brings the apostolic doctrine of the Parousia into connection with the
eschatology (Messianic or otherwise)
2. Data and of the OT and of the intermediate Sources writings. But the connection is far closer than that supplied by this single term only, for nearly every feature in the apostolic
Parousia Parthians THE INTERNATIONAL STANDARD BIBLE ENCYCLOPAEDIA 2250
"Messianic work," "coming of the Kingdom," and "Parousia" are only three titles for one and the same thing, while the addition of "Son of Man" to them merely involves their being taken in the most transcendental form possible. In fact, this is
a new. earth (Rev 21 1; cfSlavicEn 33 1-2). And the righteous receive the New Jerus (Gal 4 26; He 12 22; Rev 3 12; 21 2.10; of Bar 4 2-6; 2 Esd 7 26). It is of course possible, as in the older works on dogmatics, to reconcile the slight divergences of the above details and to fit them all 3. Coninto a single scheme. But the prosistency priety of such an undertaking is more than dubious, for the traditional nature of these details is abundantly clear—a tradition that is not due solely to the fact that the Christian and the Je^\'ish schemes have a common OT basis. That the Jewish writers realized that the eschatological details were merely symbolic is made obvious by the contradictions that every apocalypse contains—the contradictions that are the despair of the beginner in apooalyptics. No writer seems to have thought it worth while to reconcile his details, for they were purely figures of dimly comprehended forces. And the Christian symbolism must be interpreted on the same principle. No greater injustice, for instance, could be done St. Paul's thought than to suppose he would have been in the least disturbed by St. John's interpretation of the Antichrist as many persons and all of them ordinary human beings (1 Jn 2 18.19). The symbolism, then, in which the Parousia is described was simply that held by the apostles in
^ Christ
the state of affairs found in the Synoptists.
predicts the coming of the Kingdom. He claims the
title of its king (or Regent under the Father). The
realization of this expectation He placed on the
other side of the grave, i.e. in a glorified state. And in connection with this evidence we find His
use of the title Son of Man. From all this the
doctrine of the Parousia follows immediately, even apart from the passages in which the regular apocalyptic symbohsm is used. The contention may be made that this symbolism in the Gospels has been drawn out of other sources by the evan-
gelists (the so-called "Little Apocalypse" of Mk 13 7-9.14-20.24-27.30-31 is the usual point of
attack), but, even if the contention could be made out (and agreement in this regard is anything but
attained), no really vital part of the case would be touched. Of course, it is possible to begin with the a priori assumption that "no sane man could con-
ceive of himself as an apocalyptic being walking the earth incognito," and to refer to later tradition everything in the Gospels that contraclicts this assumption. But then there are difficulties. The various concepts involved are mentioned directly so often that the number of passages to be removed grows alarmingly large. Then the concepts interlock in such a way as to present a remarkably firm resistance to the critical knife; the picture is much too consistent for an artificial product. Thus there are a number of indirect references (the title on the Cross, the "Pahn-Sunday" procession, etc) that contradict all we know of later growths. And,
their pre-Christian days. This sym4. Meaning bohsm, to be sure, has been thoroughly of the purified from such puerilities as the Symbolism feast on Leviathan and Behemoth of Bar 29, or the "thousand children" of En 10 17, a fact all the more remarkable as 2dcent. Christianity has enough of this and to spare
(e.g. Irenaeus, v. 33). What is more important is that the symbolism of the Parousia is simply in the Jewish sources the symbolism of the coming of the Messiah (or of God in such schemes as have no Messiah). Now it is to be observed that among the apostles the Kingdom of God is almost uniformly regarded as a future quantity (1 Cor 6 9.10; 15 50;
finally, the most undeterred critic finds himself confronted with a last stubborn difficulty, the unwavering conviction of the earliest church that Christ made the eschatological claims. It is conceivable that the apostles may have misunderstood Christ in other matters, but an error in this central point of all (as the apostles appraised things) is hardly in the realms of critical possibility. On the whole, such an attempt to force a way through the evidence of the documents would seem something surprisingly like the violence done to history by the most perverse of the older dogmatists.
Gal 5 21; Eph 5 5; 2 Tim 4 1.18; 2 Pet 1 11; Rev 11 15; 12 10), with a definitely present idea only in Col 1 13. Remembering again that the term "Messiah" means simply "the Bringer of the Kingdom," the case becomes entirely clear. No apostle, of course, ever thought of Christ as anything but the Messiah. But neither did they think of His Messianic work as completed, or, if the most exact terminology be pressed, of the strict Messianic work as done at all. Even the Atonement belonged to the preliminary acts, viewed perhaps somewhat as En 39 6 views the preexistent Messiah's residence among the "church expectant." This could come to pass more readily as the traditions generally were silent as to what the Messiah was to do before He brought the Kingdom, while they all agreed that He was not to be created only at that moment. Into this blank, esp. with the aid of Isa 53, etc. Our Lord's earthly life and Passion fitted naturally, leaving the fact of His Second Coming to be identi-
The number of relevant passages involved is so large and the critical problems so intricate that any
detailed discussion is prohibited here. 2. Summary Moreover, the symbohsm presents nothing novel to the student familiar with the usual schemes. Forces of evil increase in the world, the state of the righteous grows harder, distress and natural portents follow, at the climax Christ appears suddenly with His angels, bringing the Kingdom of God, gathers the elect into the Kingdom, and dismisses the wicked into outer darkness (or fire). The Father is the Judge in Mt 10 32.33, but the Son in the |1 Lk 12 8.9, and in Mt 13 41; 16 27; 25 32; probably in Mt 24 50
jl Lk 12 46; Mk 8 38 and its || Lk 9 26 are uncertain. At all events, the eternal destiny of each man depends on Christ's attitude, possibly with the Father's (invariable) ratification considered. How far Christ connected the Parousia and the fall of Jerus, it is not easy to say. Various sayings of Christ about the future were certainly 3. Fall of grouped by the evangelists; cf Mt Jerusalem 24 with Mk 13 and Lk 17 20-37; or Lk 17 31 with Mk 13 15.16 (noting the inappropriateness of Lk 17 31 in its present context). The critical discussions of Mk 13 are familiar and those of Lk 21 (a still more complex problem) only less so. Remembering what the
fied with the coming of the Messiah as originally conceived.
//. The Teaching of Jesus.—It mil be found help-
ful, in studying the bitter controversies that have
raged around Christ's teaching about
1. Critical the future, to remember that the aposProblems folic idea of the word "Messiah" is the only definition that the word has; that,
for instance, "Messiah" and "Saviour of the world" are not quite convertible terms, or that a redefini-
tion of the Messiah as a moral teacher or an expounder of the will of God does not rest on a
"spiritualizing" of the term, but on a destruction of
itin favor of "prophet." Now the three expressions.
2251 THE INTERNATIONAL STANDARD BIBLE ENCYCLOPAEDIA Parousia Parthians
quantity, through which a Divine Head works, whose reaction on men settles their eternal destiny,
fall of Jerus or its immediate prospect would have meant to the apostles, the tendency to group the statements of Christ will be realized. Consequently, not too much stress should be laid on the connection of this with the Parousia, and in no case can the fall of Jerus be considered to exhaust the meaning of the Parousia.
and within which the life of heaven is
2. The begun definitely. The force in this Church a body is felt at the crises of human hisDivine tory, perhaps esp. after the catastrophe Quantity that destroyed Jerus and set Christianity free from the swaddling clothes of the primitive community. This conception of the church as a Divine quantity, as, so to speak, a part of heaven extended into earth, is faithful to the essentials of the predictions. Nor is it a rationalization of them, if the idea of the church
The most debated question is that of the time of the Parousia. Here Mk 13 30 [] Lk 21 32 |1 Mt 24 34 place it within Christ's generation, 4. Time Mk 9 1 11 Lk 9 27 |1 Mt 16 28 within the lifetime of some of His hearers, Mt 10 23 before all the cities of Judaea are closed to Christ's apostles. (Only the first of these contains any reference to the fall of Jerus.) Then there is "ye shall see" of Mk 14 62; Lk 13 35 |! Mt 23 39. Agreeing with this are the exhortations to watchfulness (Mk 13 33-37; Lk 12 40 I Mt 24 44, etc, with many parables, such as the Ten Virgins). Now Mk 13 32 1| Mt 24 36 do not quite contradict this, for knowledge of the generation is quite consistent with ignorance of the day and hour; "It will be within your generation, but nothing more can be told you, so watch!" The real difficulty lies in Mk 13 10 || Mt 24 14, the necessity of all Gentiles hearing the gospel (Lk 21 24 is hardly relevant). To leave the question here, as most conservative scholars do, is unsatisfactory, for Mk 13 10 is of no deep value for apologetic service and this value is far outweighed by the real contradiction with the other passages. The key, probably, lies in Mt 10 18, from which Mk 13 10 differs only in insisting on all Gentiles, perhaps Tsath the apostles' thought that "world" and "Rom Empire" were practically coextensive. With this assumption the data yield a uniform result.
itself be not rationalized. With this conception
all realms of Christian activity take on a transcendental significance, both in Ufe and (esp.) death, giving to the individual the confidence that he is building better than he knows, for even the apostles could not realize the full significance of what they were doing. Generally speaking, the details in the symbolism must not be pressed. The purpose of revelation is to minister to life, not to curiosity, and, in teaching of the future, Christ simply taught with the formal language of the schools of the day, with the one change that in the supernatural process He Himself was to be the central figure.
Still, the end is not yet. "The hour cometh, in which all that are in the tombs shall hear his voice"
(Jn 5 28; cf 6 40; 21 23; 1 Jn 2 28). In Christ human destiny is drawing to a climax that can be expressed only in spiritual terms that transcend our conceptions. See, further, Eschatology of THE NT.
Literature.—This is overwhelming. For the presuppositions, GJV^ {HJP is antiquated); Volz, Judische Eschatologie; Bousset, Religion des Judentums^. General discussions: Mathews. The Messianic Hope in the NT (best in Eng.); Sanday, The Life of Christ in Recent Research; Holtznaann, Das messianische BewussCsein Jesu (a classic); von Dobschiitz, The Eschaloloov of the Gospels (popular, but very sound). Eschatological extreme: Schweitzer, The Quest of the Historical Jesus {Von Reimarus zu PTrede) , is quite indispensable; Tyrrell, Christianitu at the Cross Roads (perverse, but valuable in parts); Loisy, Gospel and the Church (cf his Evangiles synopliques). Anti-eschatological: Sharman, The Teaching of Jesus about the Future (minute criticism, inadequate preniises, some astounding exegesis) ; Bacon, The Beginnings of Gospel Story (based on Wellhausen). For the older literature see Schweitzer, Sanday, Holtzmann, as above, and cf Fairweather. The Background of the Gospels, and Brown, "Parousia," in HDB. III.
///. St. John's Evaluation.—It appears, then, that Christ predicted that shortly after His death an
event would occur of so transcendental
1. Solution a nature that it could be expressed of Problem only in the terms of the fullest eschatological symbolism. St. John has a clear interpretation of this. In place of the long Parousia discourses in the Synoptists, we have,
in the corresponding part of the Fourth Gospel, chs 13-17, dealing not only with the future in general but concretely with Christ's coming and the Judgment. Christ indeed came to His own (Jn 14 18), and not He only but the Spirit also (14 16), and even the Father (14 23). When the disciples are so equipped, their presence in the world subjects the world to a continual sifting process of judgment
Burton Scott Easton PARSHANDATHA, par-shan-da'tha, par-shan'- da-tha (SH'IIIIJ'IS
, parshandatha' ; LXX ^opo-dv, Pharsdn, or "l>ap<rav€<rT(iv, Pharsanestdn; perhaps from the Pers fragna-data, "given by prayer"): One of the sons of Haman (Est 9 7).
(16 11). The fate of men by this process is to be etemallyfixed (3 18), while the disciples newly made are assured that they have already entered into their eternal condition of blessedness (11 25.26; 5 24; 10 28; 17 2.3). Equally directly the presence
PART, part: As a vb. is no longer in good use (except in a few special phrases, cf Ruth 1 17), but
is obscure only in Prov 18 18, where the meaning
of Christ is conceived in Rev 3 20. So in St. Paul, the glorified Christ has returned to His own to dwell
is "break up their quarrel" (cf 2 S 14 6). RV has not changed AV's usage, except (strangely) in
in them (Rom 8 9.10, etc), uniting them into a body vitally connected with Him (Col 1 18), so supernatural that it is the teacher of 'angels'^ (Eph 3 10), a body whose members are already in the Kingdom (Col 1 13), who even sit already in heavenly places (Eph 2 6). The same thought is found in such synoptic passages (Lk 7 28 || Mt 11 11; Lk 17 21[?]; see Kingdom of God) as represent the Kingdom as -present. Already the eschatological promises were realized in a small group of men, even though they still lacked the transforming influence of the Spirit. Compare the continuous coming of Mt 26 64 (Lk 22 69).
1 S 30 24, where "share" is written. For the noun see Portion.
PARTHIANS, par'thi-anz (Iliipeoi,, Pdrthoi): A people mentioned in Acts 2 9 only, in connection with other strangers present at Jerus
1. Country at Pentecost, from which we infer that and Early they were Jews or proselytes from the History regions included in the Parthian em-
pire. This empire stretched from the Euphrates to the confines of India and the Oxus, and for centuries was the rival of Rome, and more than once proved her match on the battlefield. The Parthians are not mentioned in the OT, but are
It is on these lines of the church as a supernatural quantity (of course not to be confused with any
frequently in Jos, and they had an important con-
particular denomination) that the immediate realiza-
nection with the history of the Jews, on account of
tion of the Parousia promises is to be sought. Into human history has been "injected" a supernatural
the large colonies of the latter in Mesopotamia, and
Parthians Partition THE INTERNATIONAL STANDARD BIBLE ENCYCLOPAEDIA 2252
attempt of the Seleucid kings to subdue Parthia, and it was acknowledged as the dominant power in Western Asia. But Phraates fell in conflict with the Scyths, whom he called in to aid him in his war with Sidetes, and his successor likewise, and it was only on the accession of Mithridates in 124 BC that
the interference of the Parthians in the affairs of Judaea, once making it a vassal state.
Parthia proper was a small territory to the S.E. of the Caspian Sea, about 300 miles long by 120 wide, a fertile though mountainous region, bordering on the desert tract of Eastern Persia. The
these barbarians were checked. The king then turned his attention toward Armenia, which he probably tjrought under his control, but its king Tigranes recovered its independence and even attacked the Parthians, and took from them two provinces in Mesopotamia.
Not long after, the power of Rome came into con-
tact with Armenia and Parthia. In 66 BC when,
after subduing Mithridates of Pontus,
3. In ConPompey came into Syria, Phraates III
tact with made an alliance with him against Rome Armenia, but was offended by the way in which he was treated and thought
of turning against his ally, but refrained for the time being. It was only a question of time when the two powers would come to blows, for Parthia had become an empire and could ill brook the intrusion of Rome into Western Asia. It was the ambition and greed of Crassus that brought about the clash of Rome and Parthia. When he took the East as his share of the Rom world as apportioned among the triumvirs, he determined to rival Caesar in fame and wealth by subduing Parthia, and advanced across the Euphrates on his ill-fated expedition in S3 BC. The story of his defeat and death and the destruction of the army and loss of the Rom eagles is familiar to all readers of Rom history. It revealed Parthia to the world as the formidable rival of Rome, which she continued to be for nearly 3 centuries. After the death of Crassus, the Parthians crossed the Euphrates and ravaged Northern Syria, but retired the following year without securing any portion of the country, and thus ended the first war with Rome. In 40 BC, after the battle of Philippi, Pacorus, who was then king, invaded Syria a second time and took possession of it together with all Pal, Tyre alone escaping subjection. He set Antigonus on the throne of Judaea, deposing Hyrcanus for the purpose. Syria and Pal remained in the hands of Parthia for 3 years, but the coming of Ventidius gave a new turn to affairs. He drove the Parthians out of Syria, and when they returned the following year, he defeated them again and Pacorus was slain. Parthia had to retire within her own borders and remain on the defensive. Antony's attempt to subdue them proved abortive, and his struggle with Octavian compelled him to relinquish the project. The Parthians were unable to take advantage of the strife in the Rom empire on account of troubles at home. An insurrection led by Tiridates drove the king Phraates IV from the throne, but he recovered it by the aid of the Scyths, and Tiridates took refuge in Syria with the youngest son of the king. Augustus afterward restored him without ransom, and obtained the lost standards of Crassus, and thus peace was established between the rival empires. Each had learned to respect the power of the other, and, although contention arose regarding the suzerainty of Armenia, peace was not seriously disturbed between them for about 130 years, or until the reign of Trajan. Parthia was not at peace with herself, however. Dynastic troubles were frequent, and the reigns of the kings short. Artabanus III, who reigned 16-42 AD, was twice expelled from his kmgdom and twice recovered his throne. In his days occurred a terrible massacre of Jewish colonists in Mesopotamia, as narrated by Jos (Ant, XVIII, ix). The contest with Rome over Armenia was settled in the days of Nero in a manner satisfactory to both parties, so that peace was not broken for