paddle (pad'al),
a small spade-like tool at the butt end of a spear: it was used for, digging
a hole for one's excrement and
for later burying it: Deut. 23: 13.
paint (pant), n. a dark ointment, probably made of oil and powder of antimony, applied to the eyebrows and eyelashes of women to enhance their beauty. -v. to apply (such an ointment) to the eyes: II Kings 9:30; Ezek. 23:40.
palmerworm (pam'ar-wurm), a variety of locust in the caterpillar stage, harmful to plants: so called because of its wandering habits likened to those of a palmer, or pilgrim: Joel 1:4; 2:25; Amos 4:9.
palsy (pol'ze), pl. palsies, paralysis in any part of the body, particularly the limbs: regarded as an incurable affliction, but many cases were cured by Jesus. Matt. 4:24; Mark 2:10; Luke 5:18.
Pannag (pan'ag), an article of merchandise of unknown kind: Ezek. 27:17. Most speculation classifies it as a type of confection or sweetmeat.
parable (par'a-bal), 1. a short, simple story from which a moral lesson or religious truth may be drawn: Matt. 13:18; Mark 4:13; Luke 12:16. Parables were used by Jesus to reveal truths by means of analogy and illustration and to conceal these same truths from those unwilling to see them or unable to put them to proper use due to a lack of sympathy with the motives which brought about their utterance; furthermore, because of the fixed form and content of the parables they could perpetuate their truths by being repeated through future ages. 2. an obscure or perplexing saying: Ps. 49:4; 78:2. 3. a baffling saying in which a profound truth is disguised; proverb: Matt. 15: 15. 4. an intricate lecture with much poetic and ornamental speech: Job 27:1.
paradise (par'a-dis), a word of Persian origin which literally means "a garden." The garden into which Adam and Eve were placed has been called paradise, which is meant a place of great beauty, perfection, and spiritual bliss. Nowhere in the Old Testament does it refer to a place of future reward. The word "paradise" occurs only three times in the New Testament (Luke 23:43; II Cor. 12: Rev. 2: 7) and in each case it refers to a state of future bliss. The exact location of paradise is uncertain but Paul identifies it with the third heaven into which he had been caught up in a vision (II Cor. 12:4); Jesus used the term to comfort the dying thief on the cross (Luke 23:43.) Traditionally, paradise has been thought of as the heavenly abode of the righteous.
Parbar (par'bar), a building or court attached to the west side of the temple: Chr. 26:18. Some authorities, however consider it to be equivalent to the word translated "suburbs" in II Kings 23:11; therefore, they interpret Parbar to be part of the city of Jerusalem that is connected with the temple.
parched corn, roasted kernels or ears of corn: Ruth 2:14; I Sam. 25:18.
parched ground, the mirage of a pool of water that appears above dry, hot ground: Isa. 35:7. It is an optical illusion caused by the reflection of light through layers of air of different temperatures and densities.
parchment (parch'mant), a manuscript or document written on the skin of an animal especially that of a sheep or goat, prepared for that purpose: before it was ready for use the skin was soaked, shaved, washed, dried, stretched, and smoothed. Parchment was probably used for the more important books since it was less common than papyrus: II Tim. 4:13.
parlour (par'lar),
1. an upper room in a house, probably on the flat roof, where it was cooled
by breezes: Judg. 3:20, 23. 2. a room or chamber in the temple, near the
sanctuary: I Sam. 9:22; I Chr. 28: 11. In American English this word is
spelled
parlor.
Passover (pas'o-var),
the festival commemorating the deliverance of the Hebrews from slavery in
Egypt and the establishment of Israel as a nation of people redeemed and
adopted by God. It was celebrated in the month of Nisan (the
first month of the religious year) on the fourteenth day. Traditionally, the
Passover draws its name from the memory that God passed over the Hebrew
houses in Egypt to spare them when He smote the firstborn of the Egyptians
on the eve of the Exodus: the lintels of the Hebrews' houses had been marked
with the blood of the paschal lamb: Ex. 12. Passover is considered the most
importent Hebrew festival. It is also associated with the betrayal and
crucifixion of Jesus because it was for the celebration of this feast that
He came to Jerusalem (John 2:23). See also feast of unleavened bread under
unleavened.
pastor (pas' tar),
1. a shepherd: used figuratively for a minister whose duty it is to look
after his flock (congregation) and
see that they are fed the proper (spiritual) food: Jer. 2:8; 3.:15; 17:16.
2. a Christian minister in charge of a church or congregation: Eph.4:11.
Pastoral Epistles, Paul's epistles to Timothy and Titus: 'so called because they deal with the care of the church and contain instructions to the pastors, or ministers, for fulfilling this duty.
pate (pat), the head or the top of the head: Ps.7:16.
patriarch (pa 'tri-ark), the father and ruler of a family or tribe, especially one of the founders of the ancient Hebrew families before the time of Moses: Acts 7:8,9; Heb. 7:4. Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Jacob's twelve sons were patriarchs.
pavement (pav'mant), 1. a surface or covering of carefully laid stone work, as in the banquet hall of the Persian king (Esther 1:6) and the border of the court in the temple (Ezek. 40: 17): see also Gabbatha. 2. probably, a stone pedestal or a platform: II Kings 16:17.
pavilion (pa-vil'yan), 1. a large booth or tent like structure: I Kings 20: 12. 2. figuratively, a sheltered place where one in God's favor will be protected: Ps. 27 :5; 31:20. 3. a covering that surrounds and conceals: used by God (Ps.18:11).
pe ( pa ), the seventeenth letter of the Hebrew alphabet: it appears at the beginning of the seventeenth section of Psalm 119.
peace offering,
an offering to God showing gratitude for the enjoyment of God's blessings
and mercies: it consisted of the
sacrifice of an unblemished animal accompanied by a meal or drink offering.
The body of the sacrificial animal was divided into three parts. The first
part belonged to God; it consisted of the blood sprinkled about the altar
and the part burned on the altar. The second portion was the priest's, and
the third portion belonged to the worshipper. The thank offering, freewill
offering, and vow offering are varieties of the peace offering (Lev. 13).
peculiar (pi-kul'yar), particular; unique; special (Ex. 19:5; Eccles. 2:8): used especially in speaking of God's own (or special or chosen) people (Deut. 14:2; 26:18).
peep, to utter a sharp, shrill sound as some birds do; chirp: used in speaking of wizards when they are making sounds that are supposed to come from the dead: Isa. 8:19; 10:14.
pen (pen), 1. a reed, or hollow stem of a coarse grass, trimmed to a point, used for writing with ink on papyrus and parchment: III John 13. 2. an iron tool for engraving or carving letters on stone: Job 19:24; Jer. 17:1. 3. a staff as the symbol of an office, perhaps the office of a scribe: Judg. 5:14.
pence (pens), plural of penny: Matt. 18:28; Mark 14:5.
penknife (pen'nif), a small knife used in sharpening reed pens: Jer.36:23.
penny (pen'e),
the translation of denarius, a Roman silver coin equivalent to the Hebrew
shekel in weight but of varying
value: it is thought to have been the average daily wage of an unskilled or
agricultural worker (Matt. 20:2; Mark 12:15).
Pentateuch (pen'ta-took), the first five books of the Old Testament, called the Books of Moses. The word is derived from the Greek penta meaning "five" and teuchos meaning "implement" or "book."
Pentecost (pen'ti-kost), a Jewish festival celebrating the close of the spring harvest: it was held on the fiftieth day, or at the end of the seventh week, after the feast of unleavened bread (16th of Nisan) which marked the beginning of the harvest season. Pentecost is derived from pentekonta, the Greek word for fifty. Also called the feast of weeks (Ex. 34:22). The Christian festival of Whitsunday (also called Pentecost), celebrating the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles, falls on this day (Acts 2:1; 20:16; I Cor. 16:8).
penury (pen'yoo-re), extreme poverty; destitution: Prov. 14:23; Luke 21:4.
peradventure (per-ad-ven' char), perhaps; possibly; maybe: Gen. 24:39; Ex. 32:30; Rom. 5:7.
perfume (pur'fum), n. a substance producing a pleasing odor, usually an extract of the scent of spices: used in ointments, incense, and in oils, as the holy anointing oil of the high priest (Ex. 30:35,37). Perfumes were probably used primarily to disguise the foul odors so prevalent in a hot climate: Prov. 27:9; Isa. 57:9. -v. to fill or cover with perfume: Provo 7:17; Song 3:6.
pestilence ( pes'ta-lans), a fatal, contagious disease or an epidemic of such a disease, usually coming about as a result of God's judgment: Num. 14:12; I Kings 8:37; Ezek. 33:'27. Pestilence is often associated with famine and the sword as symbols of punishment for disobedience to God: Jer 27:13; Ezek. 6:11.
pestle (pes'al, pes'tal), a tool used to pound or grind substances in a mortar (q.v.): Prov.27:22.
Pharaoh (far'o), the title of the rulers of Egypt until the sixth century B.C.: it is the Hebrew form of an Egyptian term meaning "great house," The title was sometimes prefixed to the personal name of the ruler, as in Pharaoh-nechoh (II Kings 23:29) and Pharaoh-hophra (Jer. 44:30), but it was usually used alone as a proper name: Gen, 12:15; I Kings 3:1; Jer. 37:11.
Pharisee (far'a-se), a member of a Jewish sect that rigidly observed the written law and insisted upon maintaining the Jewish faith free from heathen influences: they sought to restore the oral or traditional law that had grown out of popular usage; they believed in an after-life, a place of punishment for the wicked, and that a Messiah would come to deliver the Jews; however, they refused to allow Jesus' claim of messiahship (John 9:16), and also disagreed with many of His teachings, Jesus in turn upbraided the Pharisees for hypocrisy, overweening pride, covetousness, and impenitence (Matt. 23: 13 ). The Pharisees' refusal to accept anything other than full adherence to the law down to the most minute detail led to their differences with Jesus. Jesus preached that while the law was to be obeyed in substance its purpose was to form an inner spiritual framework that would form the foundation for a life of true piety. It is thought that Pharisees, a term meaning separated ones" was a name given to them by their enemies since they called themselves to Haberim: Matt, 23:26; Mark 8:15; Luke 16:14; John 7:32.
| phylacteries (fi-lak'tar-ez), small leather cases holding slips of parchment inscribed with four scriptural passages of the law (Deut. 11:13-22; Deut. 6:4-9; Ex. 13: 11-16; Ex. 13:1-10): one is fastened with leather thongs to the forehead (see frontlet) and one to the inside of the left arm where it will be near the heart when the wearer bends his arm in prayer. They are worn by Jewish men during the morning prayer: the larger phylactery, the one worn on the forehead, has four compartments; each of the four passages is written on an individual piece of parchment and placed in a separate compartment: the one on the arm has only one compartment designed for just one piece of parchment on which all four passages are written. Jesus denounced the Pharisees for wearing larger phylacteries than the other Jews and thus ostentatiously drawing attention to themselves (Matt. 23:5 ). Phylactery is ultimately derived from the Greek verb phylassein "to defend" or "guard" and, therefore, leads many to the assumption that they were originally worn in the belief that they would protect, or guard, the wearer from harm. |
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pill (pil), to cut or trim away the outer covering of; peel: Gen. 30:37,38.
plague (plag), 1. a deadly contagious disease (Mark 3:10; 5:29): often applied to leprosy (Lev. 13). 2. anything that afflicts or punishes, inflicted as a divine judgment (Ex. 9:14; Num. 11:33; II Chr. 21:14); especially, any of the ten disasters that God inflicted upon the Egyptians because they would not permit the Israelites to leave (Ex. 7:14-12:30). 3. a stroke or blow that inflicts punishment or destruction: Rev. 9:20.
plaister (plas'tar), n. 1. a pasty preparation, as of figs, spread on cloth and applied to the body as a remedy for some affliction: Isa. 38:21. 2. the hard covering on walls and ceilings, possibly covered with lime so that writing could be inscribed on it: Dan. 5:5. -v. to cover, smear, or overlay, as a wall, with a pasty substance, as mud, which hardened when dry: Lev. 14:43,48. Today this word is spelled plaster.
| plaiting (plat'ing, plat'ing), weaving the hair into braids: a fashionable practice among Roman women, but frowned upon as unbecoming to Christians: I Pet. 3:3. |
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plat (plat), a small piece of ground; plot: II Kings 9:26.
pleasant plants,
probably, the quick-growing plants produced by forced growth by members of a
Syrian fertility cult which
worshiped a god of vegetation known in Greece as Adonis: Isa. 17:10. They
are mentioned by Isaiah to demonstrate that
regardless of initial success in tampering with God's patterns the
inevitable outcome will be grief, as, in this case, the plants will languish
at harvest time just as the heathen god himself traditionally wilted under
the summer sun; hence, the futility of turning from faith in God to heathen
religious practices is evident.
Pleiades (ple'a-dez), a large group of stars in the constellation Taurus, six of which are visible and represent, according to Greek mythology, the six daughters of Atlas (the seventh one being lost) placed in the heavens by Zeus: Job 9:9; 38:31.
plummet (plum'it), a cord suspending a stone or metal weight, used in determining whether a wall is vertical: used figuratively by God in measuring the uprightness of His people (II Kings 21: 13; Isa. 28:17). Also plumb line (Amos 7:7,8).
Pollux, see Castor and pollux.
pomegranate (pom'gran"it), 1. a round red, juicy, pulpy fruit with a hard rind and many seeds: Num. 20:5; Deut. 8:8. Figures of the pomegranate were used for decoration in buildings, as at the top of the pillars in Solomon's temple (I Kings 7:18), and on clothing, as on the hem of the high priest's robe (Ex. 28:34). 2. the bush or small tree that bears this fruit: Song 4:13.
pommel (pum'al, pom'al), a globular or bowl-shaped ornament at the top of a pillar: II Chr. 4: 12.
porter ( por'tar), a doorkeeper or gatekeeper; one who guards an entrance: I Chr. 23:5; Neh. 7:73.
| potsherd (pot'shurd), 1. a piece of broken pottery (Job 2:8): often used figuratively, as for something very dry (Prov. 26:23). 2. a piece of pottery: Isa. 45:9. |
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pottage (pot'ij), a kind of stew or thick soup made with or without meat, having lentils as the principal ingredient: Gen. 25:29,30,34; II Kings 4:38.
pourtray (por'tra), an old spelling of portray (to make a picture of): Ezek.4:1; 8:10.
pransing ( prans'ing ), galloping; moving very fast: said of horses (Judg. 5:22; Nah. 3:2). Today this word is spelled prancing and means "swaggering" or "strutting."
prayer (prar),
humble and earnest communion with God for the purpose of seeking some
blessing, for confessing sin, or for acknowledging mercies received: prayers
are made from various bodily positions including kneeling (Acts 9:40), lying
with the face downward (Matt. 26: 39), standing (Matt. 6:5), and raising
one's hands (Ps. 28:2), but the effectiveness of the
prayer is determined only by the gracious will of God and by a person's
sincerity and faith, his spirit of devotion to God, his sense of repentance,
and his willingness to submit to God's will.
predestinate (pre-des'ta-nat),
to establish or arrange beforehand whatever comes to pass; foreordain: said
of God (Rom. 8:29, 30; Eph. 1:5,11). Predestinate has been held to mean that
God has determined from the beginning just what is to take
place in order to fulfill His purpose. This takes into account the order in
which events will take place, which men will perform which deeds, who is to
be saved, etc., all in accordance with His will for the ultimate
accomplishment of good. The
principles behind the term also include God's plan to reconcile man through
the work of Christ and to preserve the redeemed until their eternal
salvation. (See II Thess. 2:13; II Tim. 1:9; I Pet. 1:2).
preparation, day of, the day before the Sabbath or before the celebration of a religious festival, spent in making the, necessary preparations for the event: Matt. 27 :62; Mark 15:42; John 19: 14,31. Also called preparation, preparation day.
presbytery (prez'bi-tar"-e), the group, or body, of elders in a local Christian church: I Tim. 4:14.
pressfat (pres'fat" ), a container into which the juice flowed as the grapes were being pressed: Hag. 2:16.
prick (prik), 1. a small, pointed object, as a thorn: used figuratively of something very painful: Num. 33:55. 2. a sharply pointed stick, as a goad, for driving oxen: used in the phrase kick against the pricks, to fight back against, or resist, superior power with futile and painful results: Acts 11- 9:5; 26:14.
priest (prest), 1. one of a group of men in charge of the religious life of his people, especially one who was to perform various religious rites in the house of God, as the offering of sacrifices, and was to instruct the people in the law: Lev. 21. The body of priests (the priesthood) was founded at the time of the Exodus with God's a appointment of Aaron as the high priest and the selection of his sons as the priests (Ex. 28). See also high priest. 2. originally, the head of a family or the chief of a tribe, who conducted the religious services, as offering sacrifices, building altars, etc.: Gen. 14:18. 3. a person appointed to carry out the religious functions of the Hebrews: Gen. 47:22,26. 4. one who believes in God: I Pet. 2:5; Rev. 1:5.
prince ( prins), a prominent person, usually one with authority; specifically, 1) a leader, usually the father, of a family or a tribe: Num. 1:16; 17:6; 2) the chief representative of a segment of the people, especially a part of the congregation: Num. 31:13; Josh. 9:15; 3) the ruler of a political subdivision, as a province or a city, lower in rank than a king Ezek. 28:2; 32:30; 4) the ruler of a nation, or of a people: I Kings 14:7; 5) anyone of the chief officers of a kingdom Isa. 10:8; Jer. 39:13; 6) the highest ranking priest of a sanctuary: Isa. 43:28; Dan. 11 :22; 7) any person having qualities associated with an admirable leader: I Sam. 2:8; Job 12:21; Eccles. 10:7; 8) the devil as the ruler of this world: John 12:31; 9) the Messiah, Jesus Christ as the ruler of life (Prince of life, Acts 3: 15 ), the leader of the kings of the earth (prince of kings, Rev. 1:5), and the master of peace (Prince of Peace, Isa. 9:6); 10) God as the supreme ruler and master of all: Dan. 8:11.
principality (prin-sa-pal'a-te), pl. principalities, a powerful order or class of angels or demons: Jer. 13:18; Eph. 3:10; Col. 2: 10.
privily (priv'al-e), in a hidden, secret, or quiet manner: I Sam. 24:4; Matt. 1: 19; Gal. 2:4.
profane (pra-fan', pro'fan), adj. 1. showing disregard or contempt for sacred things; irreverent: Lev. 21:7; Ezek. 21:25; Heb. 12:16. 2. not holy or consecrated; unhallowed; ritually unclean: I Tim. 1:9. 3. not concerned with religious matters; secular: Ezek. 22:26; 44:23. -v. to treat sacred things, as the sanctuary, Sabbath, etc.) with disrespect or contempt: Lev. 21:12; Neh. 13:17; Ezek. 36.20.
prophet (prof'it), a person who speaks for God and makes known His will; a divinely inspired seer who has been given an insight into the otherwise unrevealed world of the future: the prophet is a servant of God who conveys His word to man; a messenger who discloses God's plans for the future and describes events which may take place depending upon the thoughts and actions of man in the meantime. The prophets were moral and religious leaders in Israel as they rebuked sin and injustice (Isa. 58:1; Amos 4:1) and proclaimed God's mercy and loving kindness (Isa. 40); they became counselors and reformers who sought to awaken Israel to the dangers of ignoring the demands of God. The prophetic books of the Old Testament are often divided into two classifications; viz, the Major Prophets (Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel) and the Minor Prophets (Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi).
propitiation (pra-pish"i-a'shan), an atoning sacrifice: said of the sacrificial death of Jesus which appeased God and led Him to grant divine forgiveness and be graciously inclined toward man: Rom. 3:25; I John 2:2; 4: 10. (The shed blood of Jesus can be thought of as the means by which sin is covered just as the blood sacrifices in the Old Testament were referred to as covering for sin, thus effecting an atonement: see Lev. 14:18; 17:11.) The fact that Jesus died bearing all sin enabled God to justify the sinner and His own righteousness and made it possible for man to be restored to divine favor.
proselyte (pros'al-it), a person who was not originally a believer in the religion of the Israelites but who either wholly or partly joined the religious life of the nation: a proselyte may have been either a non-Jewish resident of Israel or a foreigner of another race: there were probably two classes of converts: 1) those who lived among the Israelites, accepted most of their customs, observed the Sabbath, renounced idolatry, but refused to observe such practices as circumcision and therefore were not fully identified with the Jewish nation and religion, and 2) those who did subscribe to all of the Mosaic laws including circumcision and were adopted as true Israelites: Matt. 23:15; Acts 2:10; 6:5; 13:43.
provender (prov'an-dar), dry food for livestock, especially barley and oats, often mixed with other substances, as vetch, sour vegetables, etc.: Gen. 42:27; Isa. 30:24.
proverb (prov'arb), 1. a short saying that strikingly expresses some simple truth or familiar experience (Ezek. 16:44; Luke 4:23): the Book Proverbs, containing many of these sayings, is thought of as a guide to practical wisdom and successful living. 2. an enigmatical saying in which a profound truth is cloaked: John 16:25.
pruninghook ( proon'ing-hook ), a tool with a sharp curved blade at one end used for pruning grapevines: Isa. 2:4; Joel 3:10; Mic. 4:3.
psalm (sam), a sacred hymn of praise and worship, to be sung to the accompaniment of stringed instruments: I Chr. 16:9; James 5:13.
psalmist (sam'ist), a writer or composer of psalms: II Sam. 23: 1.
psaltery (so1'tar-e),
a stringed musical instrument played by plucking the strings with the
fingers: I Sam. 10:5; Ps. 144:9;
Dan. 3:5. There is disagreement as to whether it was a kind of harp or a
variety of zither: several passages in Psalms (Ps. 33:2; 57:8; 71:22) in
which both words appear, would seem to favor the latter interpretation but
many modern scholars think that in these verses "psaltery" would the better
translated as "harp" and "harp" as "lyre".
publican (pub'li-kan),
a collector of public revenues, tolls, etc.; tax collector; a local citizen
who purchased or leased the
right to collect local taxes with the understanding that he could keep the
excess over a fixed amount and that he would make good any deficit: these
collectors were under the control of a higher group of officials (also
called publicans) who
were in turn working for the foreign rulers of Israel (in New Testament
days, the Romans). Because of the manner in which the tax collecting system
was set up these collectors had the opportunity of assessing oppressive and
unfair taxes, an opportunity which they did not overlook; hence, the greed
and extortion which they exercised in addition to the fact that they were
native Jews in the employ of the hated Romans caused them to be despised and
considered traitors and apostates; Matt. 9:11; Luke 18:10; 19:2.
Pur (poor, poor), pl. Purim, a lot (Esther 3:7; 9:24): see Purim.
Purim (poo-rem', poor'irn), a Jewish festival commemorating the deliverance of the Jews' by Esther from a general massacre inspired by Haman (Esther 9:21-32), celebrated on the 14th and 15th days of the month of Adar. Haman cast lots ( purim) in order to decide which day he should put into effect the king's decree calling for the extermination of the Jews. Also called Feast of Lots.
purtenance (pur'ta-nans), the internal organs of the body; entrails; viscera, especially of the Passover lamb: Ex. 12:9. putrifying sores, lesions of the skin and tissue, probably gangrenous, that give off the foul-smelling odor of decomposing flesh: Isa. 1:6.
pygarg (pi'garg), probably, a variety of antelope: some authorities think it may be the addax of northern Africa and Arabia, characterized by long, twisted horns: Deut. 14:5.
