P
P. The designation of the so-called Priestly source of
the first five books of
the Old Testament.
This source has assigned to it most of the liturgical,
genealogical, legal, and technical materials.
PAARAI (פערי, from the
root “open wide”) An Arbite who was a member of the
Mighty Men of David known as the “Thirty.”
PADDAN-ARAM
(רםאפדן , plain of Aram (Syria
archs in northern Mesopotamia , which included Haran
an Aramean population attached
to cities. Some communities were devo-
ted
to foreign trade; recently published Hittites and Ugarit
that the Hebrew patriarchs pursued
trading interest abroad in Canaan and
PADDLE
(יתד (yaw tade), peg) The instrument was to be used to dig a
hole
for latrine purposes, like a spade.
PADON (פדון,
deliverance) A family of temple servants in the
postexilic
period (Ezra 2; Nehemiah 7).
PAGANS
(eqnoV (eth nos), nation) I Corinthian 5 and 10.
PAGIEL
(פגעיאל, event of God) Leader of Asher; son of Ochran. He was one
of 12 tribal leaders or deputies
who assisted Moses in taking a census of
PAHLAVI. Official language of the Sassanian state (225-651 A.D.). See
also
seals; inscriptions from the 200s and 300s A.D.; and fragments of
trans-
lation of the Psalms from the 600s A.D.
The main bulk of Pahlavi language materials is
to be found, how-
ever, in what has been preserved of Sassanian literature. These texts are
written in an alphabet of
Aramaic origin. There exists adequate
evidence
to show that in reading the written text only Pahlavi words were
used.
Aramaic is known to have been
widely used during the Achaemenian Em-
pire (521-330 B.C.) for administrative
purposes. In spite of the existence
of
lists in which the Aramaic and Pahlavi words are given side by side, the
lack
of reliable text editions and translations account for slow progress in
Pahlavi
studies.
In all cases where it is at all possible
to date the existing Pahlavi
books it appears that they were not committed to
actual writing until after
the Muslim conquest of Iran
gious-theological books, there is the
following:
Bundahishn or Zandagahih--a
study on the world’s origin, written
toward the end of the Sassanian period and based on Zoroastrian
scripture
Denkart or Denkard-- a work of theological and philosophical sub-
ject
matter. Originally 9 books, of which 6 still exist, each 100s of
pages long; it is the longest and probably most important collection.
Shkand-gumanik
vicar--an apologetic treatise of
Zoroastrian doc-
trines, comparing it to other religions.
handarz
or pand-namak--collections of
practical wisdom
Shayast-ne-shayast--a collection of ritual regulations and customs
Artay
Viraf Namak--a description of Artay
Viraf’s journey to the
nether world and of heaven and hell.
Zamasp
Namak--prophecies on the end of the
age of Zarathushtra
Madiyan
i hazar datastan, the “record of
thousand verdicts,”
dealing with law and jurisprudence.
Draxt
i asurik--a dispute between the palm
tree and the goat
Husrau
ut retak-a discussion of the luxuries
and elegancies of
Sassanian court life.
Abyatkar
i Zareran--epic of the dealings of
King Vishtaspa and
his general Zarer
Karnamak
i Artaxsher i Papakan--exploits of
king Artaxsher
Shahrastantha
i Eran--a geographical work on the
“cities of Iran
It
appears that Sassanian literary activities extended over the fields of
reli-
gious and secular literature; only a small portion of a once vast
literature
has survived.
P-1
PAINT. For
cosmetic paint, see Cosmetic; Eye
Paint.
Liquid color applied to buildings or articles. The biblical references
to paint and painting
are comparatively few, perhaps because of the prohi-
bition of image-making in
the Decalogue. In Palestine
lithic period (6000-4000 B.C.)
walls of houses in Jericho
in the Chalcolithic period (4000-3200 B.C.) designs and scenes were pain-
ted on house walls. In the descriptions of Solomon’s temple no
painting is
mentioned. In the 2nd
temple, a red line was painted around the altar of
burnt offering, half-way up,
to direct the sprinkling of the blood.
In con-
demning idolatry in Jerusalem
trayed” on
the wall of a secret place in the temple.
The
attackers of Nineveh
was widely practiced in the Near East . In Palestine
signs and figures on pottery became
common in the Early Bronze period.
In
passage on the folly of idolatry the Wisdom of Solomon describes ma-
king an
image and “smearing it with vermilion.”
In a suburb of Jericho
houses of the rich were painted to imitate
marble. Some Galilean syna-
gogues were
painted with figures.
PALACE
(ארמון (‘ah
reh moan), castle; בירה
(be raw), castle, temple; המלך
בית (bet
ha mo lek), house of the king; היכל (hay kawl),
temple; aulh
(aw leh), courtyard, mansion) There's no Hebrew of
Greek word meaning
“palace” in the strict sense. There are some biblical references to foreign
palaces (e.g. Pharaoh (Genesis 12); Nebuchadnezzar (Daniel 1); Belshaz-
zar (Daniel 5); Darius (Daniel 6); Ahasuerus (Esther 1); Artaxerxes
(Ezra 4)). In Palestine
Bronze Age buildings.
Excavations
at Saul’s Gibeah, show strong fortifications, but give
little evidence of
luxurious living quarters. David’s dwelling in Jerusa-
of Tyre
Hiram’s
artisans. The “house of the Forest of
Lebanon” was a hundred
cubits long (45 meters), 50 cubits wide (22 meters), and
30 cubits high
(14 meters). Both David’s and Solomon’s palaces seem to have
sur-
vived, at least in part, the destruction of Jerusalem in 587 B.C.; but so
thorough was the destruction by Titus in 70 A.D. and Hadrian 135 A.D.
that no
remains of these palaces have been found.
In
the northern kingdom of Israel
must have had
palaces. Zimri burnt the king’s house
over him with fire.
Zimri’s successor, Omri, started the building of a palace on the hill of
Samaria, where he founded
his capital. His palace was extended by
his
son Ahab. Excavators have found a large number of ivory inlays from
this palace.
After
the Exile the rulers in Jerusalem
the high priest, at the instigation of Antiochus Epiphanes, built a Greek
gymnasium. The Hasmoneans had their
palace in Jerusalem
temple.
Herod the Great inaugurated a large program of building. In
at Jericho
lence. Another palace was at Masada ,
on the western cliffs by the Dead
the high priest had a palace. For the palace used by Pilate,
see Praetorium.
PALAL
(פלל, judge) One of those
aiding Nehemiah in the repair of the Jeru-
PALANQUIN (אפריון (‘ap pir yone)) A canopied couch with posts borne on
men’s shoulders (Song of Songs 3)
PALEOLITHIC Earliest
stage of culture characterized by the use of chipped
stone implements. See Prehistory.
P-2
mate can be understood more clearly
in the light of modern observation
and theory, because even over all this time
the basic factors remain the
same. Bible
stories in which weather conditions are important to the
story and the use of
weather terminology gain interest as they are read
against the background of
elementary meteorology.
List of Topics—1. “Climate” and “Weather”; 2. Meteorolo-
gical Terminology of the Bible; 3. Palestinian Climate:
Factors and Regions; 4. 5 regional climate modifications; 5. Seasons; 6. Climate Change
1. “Climate” and “Weather”—The words “climate” and “wea-
ther” need to be discussed briefly. By “climate” is meant a locality’s or
region’s characteristic weather, including its occasional deviations. “Wea-
ther” is atmosphere's condition and behavior at a particular time and place.
Weather phenomena are the product of: the warming or cooling of the
atmosphere by the ground, or by its own vertical movement; the presence
in it
of water vapor or of fine dust and salt particles picked up by the
wind; and
the restless ceaseless movement of the air. Horizontal move-
ment of air results in wind, the vertical movement
produces clouds and
rain.
Changes
in climate are measured in millennium.
Weather is subject
to frequent and sudden changes. Local weather is profoundly affected by
movement of vast air masses, homogeneous in temperature and humidity
which
circle slowly—in the Northern Hemisphere in a clockwise direction
—around a
center of high barometric pressure. Air
may be cold and
moist, cold and dry, warm and moist, or warm and dry. Where air masses
meet at fronts, they don't
mix, but clash, producing counterclockwise ed-
dies of low pressure.
2. Meteorological Terminology of the Bible—If
weather and cli-
mate in Palestine
tion of Hebrew words used may be of some value. The following is a
brief list of the Hebrew and Greek words used to describe Palestine
ther.
Clouds
עב (‘awb), thick cloud; נןע (‘ah nawn), thick storm clouds; שחק
(shah khak), dew (cirrus) cloud
nefoV (neh fos); nefelh (neh feh leh)
Hail
ברד (baw rawd);
ברד זרם (tseh rem baw rawd), hailstorm
calaza (khah la za)
Rain
גשם (gaw shem), heavy shower;
מטר (maw tawr);
שעירים
(seh ‘ee reem), gentle (?) showers
broch (bro kheh); ombroV (om bros),
rainstorm; uetoV (yeh tos)
Sky
בות עלא (lo 'aw both),
without clouds; לטהר שמים (shaw ma
yeem law toe har) heavens towards clearness
eudia (yoo dee ah), cloudless sky
Storm
or tempest
זרם (tseh rem), violent
shower; סופה (soo faw), whirlwind;
סערה
(seh ‘aw raw); שואה (sho ‘aw)
lailay (lah ee laps), wind squall; ceimwn (khi mone), pouring rain
Thunder
and Lightning
קול (kole), thunder; רעם (rah ‘am), thunder; ברק (baw rawk),
lightning
bronth, (bron teh), thunder astraph (as
tra peh), lightning
Wind
קדים (kaw deem), east; זלעפות רוח (roo akh tsa leh ‘ah foth),
scorching east (storm)
wind; ים רוח (roo akh yeem),
west (sea); זפון
(tsa fone); north; דרם (daw rome), south; תמן (tay mawn), south
anemou (ah neh moo), wind; notou (no too),
south wind
eurakulwn (yoo rah koo lone), northeaster
3. Palestinian Climate: Factors and Regions—The
1st factor
which contributes to the climate of a particular region is its
latitude, since
this determines the amount of heat received directly from the
sun. Pale-
as the state of Georgia
In winter it is invaded by the
temperate zone’s atmospheric disturbances. It
has a summer which is sunny,
warm, and almost rainless, and a winter
which is mild to cool, and intermittently wet and stormy. The
transition be-
tween summer and winter bring the “former and the latter rains.”
The 2nd element to be considered is the effect of the principal
cur-
rents and eddies of the global atmosphere.
In summer the circulation in
the eastern Mediter ranean is sluggish, because it is midway between the
monsoon
low over Southern Asia and Atlantic high pressure system. Be-
ginning with autumn and continuing in
winter, cold maritime air pushes in-
to the Mediterranean basin. As this clashes with the tropical air, low
pres-
sure eddies and often storms are created. Ahead of the front the air is
warm, and behind it, the air is cold.
P-3
The
3rd factor is the location of the country in relation to large
bodies of water. Since water grows cool or warm
more slowly than land,
the daily and annual range of temperatures is much smaller
in maritime
than in continental climates. Cold, moist air comes from the North,
while warm, dry air comes from the
North African deserts. Where air
masses
meet, they do not mix, but clash, producing counter clockwise
eddies of low
pressure.
Winter rains don’t penetrate
far inland beyond the barrier of the
double range of the mountains which lies
across their path. The eastern,
southern and southwestern deserts also affect the land’s climate. Rainfall
decreases from the coast inland and
from north to south. Thus, the inha-
bitants of Palestine
God's grace. There is also dew
deposited by the moist air of summer
when the land cools at nightfall, and also
the sea breeze, which lessens
the daytime heat.
The
4th element in climate is regional and local—the nature and
covering of the
terrain; irregularities of contour modify the general air
movement. 2 physical features of Palestine
marked lines of relief running north-south and the abrupt changes in alti-
tude. The annual rainfall at Jerusalem
to the east, near the
Dead Sea, it is only 8.5 cm, and the mean annual
temperature there is 7.7
degrees (Celsius) higher than at Jerusalem. The
daily range of temperature is
greater in the hills than in the maritime plain.
The prevailing winds at Jerusalem Gaza
on the coast they are southerly, and at Beer-sheba in
the South, winds
come from the west.
4. Five
regional climate modifications—are found in Palestine
Between the sea and the hilly plateau which forms the backbone of wes-
tern Palestine
higher toward the south. Here the influence of the sea is dominant.
Rain-
fall near the shore is heavier than inland, but not so heavy as in
the hill
country.
The hilly plateau,
rising at points to over 1,000 meters, presents a
barrier to the westerly
winds, except on the Plains of Esdraelon and the
valleys of lower Galilee . On the western slopes of Mount Carmel , rainfall
increases with height, while on the eastern
side the precipitation falls off
sharply.
It falls off, too, from 117 cm in upper Galilee to 30 cm below He-
a little over 6 degrees Celsius, but night frosts
are not uncommon, and
sometimes there is snow.
East
of the central range the land falls off sharply into the Ghor or
Rift Valley,
which is below sea level. Air from the
sea is warmed and dried
as it descends into the valley of the Jordan
away at the edge of the cliffs, and reform where the air currents
rise over
the lip of the Transjordan Plateau further east. At Jericho
mum January temperature is 20 degrees
Celsius. The mean annual rainfall
at Tiberias is 45 cm.; a few miles south, it
is 25 cm.; at Jericho
south of the Dead Sea , 5 cm.
Beyond
the Rift Valley the plateau is in places higher than the wes-
tern range; there
is substantial rainfall along the western margin of the pla-
teau. Only a narrow strip of land, however,
receives the rain. In the lower
Rift Valley,
in the Negeb or southland, and in the “wilderness of Judea ”
the surrounding deserts encroach on Palestine
largely lost through evaporation. Such vegetation as exists surrounds the
rare
springs. Sometimes the air rises so rapidly about the hot ground in
daytime that dust storms result.
5. Seasons—The long, rainless summer
begins in May or June and
lasts until September. Its features are fine weather, regular winds,
daytime
heat, and almost complete drought; average maximum temperature at Tel
Aviv in August is 29 degrees Celsius.
The “cool of the day” comes when
the sea breeze moves in beneath the
warm air rising from over the land; it
reaches Jerusalem noon . In summer the sky is mainly clear of
clouds
except for some fair-weather cumulus and strato-cumulus; there
are more clouds
over upper Galilee .
Rain is rare in June except in the extreme north, and is almost un-
heard
of in July and August. The summer
drought is not due to dry air.
The
reason the moisture is not precipitated as rain is there is no clash of
warm and cold air masses; the warm air is normally too stable for storms.
The humidity shows itself, in abundant dew
formation on calm nights
when the ground cools enough to condense the moisture.
Winter
is pictured in the Bible as the season of rain; the well-to-do
moved into their
“winter houses.” Compared with northern
climates, that
of Palestine Jerusalem
drops less than 2 degrees Celsius in October, but in
November it drops
5.5 degrees. There is
frost at Jerusalem on an average 0.7 days in De-
cember, 2.5 days in January, and 0.3 days in February.
The mean
maximum and minimum temperatures for January are
17 and 8 degrees Celsius at Tel Aviv, 18 and 7 at Gaza Jerusa-
with winter conditions more severe than that of Palestine
might be found high on the Arabian
Plateau. Snow falls at Jerusalem
only 3 days a year on the average. There is a heavy fall when the polar air
is
particularly cold and moist.
P-4
The
rainy season isn't a time of continuous rain. The total annual
rainfall at Jericho Jerusalem
Aviv, 62 cm at Dan, and 77 at the
highest points in the central and sou-
thern hill country. Sometimes the precipitation is evenly
distributed by
months. In other years
the early rains of autumn may fail almost entire-
ly. The fact that precipitation is barely
sufficient at best, and isn't depend-
able, explains the frequent biblical references to drought and famine.
In a
winter of average or above-average rainfall, the low-pressure
systems with their
cyclonic storms reach the eastern Mediterranean about
once a week for several weeks in succession. If cold, moist air breaks into
the Mediterranean between the Alps and the Pyrenees and it meets warm
continental air from Africa ,
they sometimes become linked. The resulting
ridge of high pressure temporarily blocks the progress eastward of rain-
bearing depressions. The 2-years’
drought in Elijah’s time couldn't have
been complete, but the rainfall could
have been a lot less than usual.
There is no spring and autumn seasons,
properly speaking, but
merely a period of transition. The autumn and spring rain are the first
and
last showers of the winter rainy season.
About 20% of the annual rainfall
comes in October and November. This early rain is especially important
to
prepare the ground for plowing and seeding; the later showers of April
and
early May help mature the crops. If the
thermal difference between
warm and cold air masses isn’t great enough, there
may be clouds which
promise rain but fail to give it.
The sirocco or khamsin wind is a
disagreeable feature of the months
April to early June, and September to
November. For periods of 3 days to
2 weeks hot and very dry winds blow from the southeastern quarter. The
extreme dryness of the air makes the heat
more trying, the wind is par-
ching, and fine dust fills the air. These winds blow when depressions mo-
ving
eastward along the North African coast, draw ahead of them air
which has been descending over the Desert.
6. Climate
Change—The eroded hills and stony
desert areas of
ded as a “land of milk and honey.”
Broadly speaking, weather phenomena
and climatic conditions as pictured
in the Bible correspond with conditions
as observed today. Evidence of ancient occupation in regions
now arid
may indicate only that effective measures were taken in those days to
con-
serve in dams and cisterns what water was available. It may well be that
erosion was less advanced
than today.
We can’t rule out the possibility of
climatic fluctuations sufficient to
encourage or deter sedentary occupation in
marginal lands. Southern
1200s B.C., then occupied until about the 600s, and again abandoned for
500
years. From tree rings and other
evidence, scientists conclude that
about 4000 B.C. the mean temperature in the
Northern Hemisphere was
1.5 or 2 degrees Celsius higher than today, until the
1500s and 1600s A.D.
now it is showing an upward trend.
in human
experience: the earth, the air and humanity.
The earth makes cli-
mate, climate makes the earth, and history is made by
all 3 through man’s
reactions to, and his use of them. Since the ancient Hebrews believed
that God
had made the earth and had chosen one particular part of it for
their home, their
concept of God formed under the influence of its geogra-
phy. Their “promised land” was both blessing and challenge; the land, the
climate, the people about them were all a part
of God’s plan and together
made their history what it was. The emphasis here is upon description
of the
land and upon human response to its challenge.
Geography, the description of the earth has grown to include a vari-
ety
of overlapping area. Physical geography
in particular, includes the de-
scription of the terrain. The real nature of the biblical narrative is
not at all
clear unless the character of the terrain covered is indicated. The subject
of most significance of the
interpretation of the biblical text is “human”
and “historical” geography—a people’s use of the land and the effect of its
various geographical features
upon the life, literature, and development of
the people.
List of Topics—1. Area, Climate, and Geology of Pale-
Valley; 5. Land forms: Transjordan; 6. Geography and
Culture: Changes in Physical Features; 7. Geography and
Culture: Population; 8. Geography and Culture: Ideology
1. Area, Climate, and Geology of Palestine Palestine
the part of the Near East that has been dominated by Semitic languages.
The area was bounded on the north by the Amanus-Tarsus Mountain
the east by the Zagros range and the Persian Gulf , on the south by the In-
These boundaries laid it open to immigration and invasion. Since long
before the beginning of written
records, the prolific nomads from the
south had spilled over into the Fertile
Crescent. Lying at the Crescent's
southwest tip, with a long shore on the
sea, its eastern border on a limit-
less steppe, Palestine
P-5
The word “Palestine
of the Sea People tribes who, early in the 1100s
B.C., invaded the narrow
western coastal plain by the Mediterranean on their way to conquer and
settle in Egypt Egypt
Plain. Thus, strangers gave their name to the whole
of the land. The word
does not appear in
the New Testament. In the Old Testament it
is used
only for Philistia proper. The
common Hebrew name for the Promised
Land was Canaan .
In
this article, the term Palestine
ted to the “12 tribes.” Western Palestine lies between the Jordan
sea, while eastern Palestine Transjordan , lies between the river and the
Arabian steppe. The area specifically included in this study
runs from the
foothills of Mount Hermon on the north, to the
“River of Egypt
southern end of the Dead Sea on the south. Also, the Negeb as far as
Kadesh-barnea, and even Mount Sinai belong to special periods of Hebrew
tradition and
history.
A
detailed statement regarding the “land of Canaan
appears in Numbers 34. Here the “entrance of Hamath” is the most
nor-
therly point, but the exact meaning of this phrase is not known; it could be
the narrow gorge between the Jordan and Beqa’ Valleys on the western
flank of Mount Hermon . This would
put the northern limit of Canaan no
more than 16 to 32 km north of the city of Dan
nea, some 64 km south of Beer-sheba, is included.
The
study of various passages puts the effective limits of Hebrew
territory in
ancient times near Dan in the north and Kadesh-barnea in the
south, a distance of 304 to 320 km in a straight line. The
area in which
things can be grown, from Dan to Beer-sheba is under 256 km. The area
west of the Jordan
actually ruled a considerably
smaller area.
In the times of the kings,
the Hebrew territory east of the Jordan
usually ran from the Yarmuk to the Arnon, about 144
km north to south,
and varying from 40 to 96 km east to west. The northern border was
steppe, claimed by no settled political administration in early biblical
times.
On the east, southeast, and south were the Ammonites, Moabites,
Edomites, and later the Nabateans. South
of Beer-sheba was the Sinaitic
steppe, which had no settled
administration. On the southwest were
the
A
dominant role in cultural history is played by climate. Palestine
lying on the northern edge of the world-encircling Sahara
belt, is in the
area of the “Mediterranean” climate, with winter rains and summer
drought. As a result of the remarkable variety in its terrain, within its nar-
row limits, it has a great
variety of individual climatic regions: from sea-
coast to desert, from sub-artic (Mount Hermon 2800 meters above sea
level) to subtropical (Dead Sea, 400 meters below sea level).
The southwest winds from the Mediterranean bring storms and tor-
rential rains in winter and
coolness in summer. At the turn of the
2 main
seasons, the sirocco brings burning heat that withers crops. Locusts, mil-
dew, and the pests of both
tropical and temperate climates are a constant
threat. As in all border climates, climate is always
unusual.
The small area of ancient Palestine
variety of land
forms. The whole Arabian Peninsula Fertile
block of the earth’s surface. Under most of Palestine
tum, is Nubian sandstone, followed
by Cenomanian limestone, Senonian
chert, Eocene limestone, and basalt. Thrust up repeatedly by pressures
from different direction, and sinking again, it gradually broke apart and
created
the great crack that becomes the strange Rift Valley, which rea-
ches slightly
less than 800 meters below sea level in the Dead Sea , and
The rift allowed the whole western
section to drop, leaving corre-
sponding strata on the eastern side higher and exposed to erosion. The
western
section was broken and folded as it dropped, and consequently,
its terrain is
much rougher than that of eastern Palestine
and bending of the earth’s crust laid the surface open to deep erosion
and,
through seeping water, led to the creation of fantastic caves in parts of
the
land. The tortured terrain of
western Palestine
faults running in all directions.
Tremendous seismic disturbances were
in some areas accompa-
nied by both ancient and fairly recent volcanic activity
in Bashan and the
Hauran, covering those areas with basalt; it
also appears along the north-
east side of the Dead Sea . The long and complex
geological history of
the Near
East created 4 chief geographic
divisions within the little country
of Palestine
and other faults divided these 4 again into east-west segments.
P-6
2. Land
Forms: Coastal Regions—The area from
Ras en Naqura
to the River of Egypt
range presents no stern, rock-bound coast. From Beirut
no good harbor according to modern
standards, but Acco on its projecting
point and Joppa, with its reefs, could
shelter ancient ships. Other cities,
such as Ashdod Ashkelon , and Gaza
good weather. The shore of Palestine
Properly speaking, there are two
divisions to the Coastal Plain, one
north of Mount Carmel , the other south of it. The bay shore is lined with
sand dunes, back
of which is marsh. South of the Carmel
mountain presents its western face as a
low precipice running southward.
With
the sea it forms a narrow corridor, the Plain of Dor, 3 to 6 kilometers
wide
and 38 kilometers long. The northern section,
the Plain of Sharon ,
was marshy, for it was poorly drained. The southern portion, the most ex-
tensive
level area in all Palestine
the
rainfall decreases toward the south, and there are no copious springs
or rivers
for irrigation.
3. Land
Forms: Central Mountain
the Amanus-Lebanon range that
begins at the northeast corner of the Me-
Ras en-Naqura, Galilee begins in a region so tortured by faults and flex-
ure that they present
a highly complicated geological picture.
There is no
clearly defined northern border; the western border was where
the hill
country started, as the Israelites lived in the mountains and left the
low-
lands to the Phoenicians. The road
from Acco to Safed follows a major
fault which marks the geological border
between Upper and Lower
has bleak landscapes
alongside fruitful orchards. A
relatively heavy rainfall
makes it a prosperous land, and in the beginning was
probably covered
with real and scrub forests.
No important cities are reported except on its
perimeter. Lower Galilee stretches from Wadi esh-Shaghur to the Naza-
meters. Lower Galilee ’s
historical associations with Jesus’ life, the Jewish-
Roman War, and Talmudic
Judaism are almost as numerous and are as va-
ried and dramatic as those of Judea .
The Great Plain is formed by northwest-southeast faults, crossed by
minor northeast-southwest faults
between Galilee and Samaria
basin and rift valley were named Esdraelon and Jezreel respectively. In
the distant pre-historic age, an arm of
the sea reached through this gap to
form the inland lake that played a major
role in the formation of interior
Samaria's Mountains constitute one
of the most significant areas in
Hebrew history, for here the bulk of the
Israelites lived, to form the strong
nucleus of Israel
ning east and
west roughly divide the north (Manasseh) and the south
(Ephraim). As a whole, Samaria
lity. At the largest it would have measured some 64 by 80 kilometer, but it
was a nation without defensible borders. When Omri moved the capital
from Tirzah to Samaria
committed his kingdom to communication and commerce, for it was sur-
rounded and
crossed by easy caravan routes.
The “zone of relative simplicity,” in
which Judea lay, was far more
prone to isolation and far less attractive
economically. Samaria's
Judea's differences are reflected in gradual increases of barrenness and
rocky terrain as one moves southward. Judea
comes to an end at the
south where a fault runs out from the Dead Sea's south end and down
Wadi Ghazzeh to the coast. The eastern border is the Jordan Valley's
western edge, but politically it usually included the valley floor as far as
the Jordan River and the Dead Sea . On the west it ended at the shallow
valley
that divided it from the so-called Shephelah.
For gracious living, Judea
has the least to offer of all the central
mountain regions. The north-south distance from Bethel
is about 80 km., the average width less
than 32 km., making about 2,500
square km.
Judea wasn’t ideal as agricultural land, & of all of
western
fend. The same features sent
commerce around it, not through it. The
Shephelah was the valley and the low range of the hills that run parallel
to
the fault marking off the mountains of Judah
phelah was a valuable asset both economically and strategically.
P-7
called the Wilderness of Judah. It
begins within a short distance of the
steppe-dessert area of
the Negeb. Geologically considered, its eastern
border is the high cliffs of
the Jordan-Dead Sea Valley
tween 16 and 24 km; its length is 80 or 95 km.
The wilderness consists of easily eroded
Senonian chalk; it lies be-
yond the watershed and receives only the heaviest
rains that scour the soft
limestone. The extreme folding and breaking of the limestone promoted
excessive erosion, while the rains easily percolated through the chalky
limestone to carve it into
fantastic caverns. Its names besides
“wilder-
ness of Judah
names of Arad
bar is not desert, but
uncultivated “pasture land, steppe,” where low
sparse grass grows in spring
and where there are occasional springs,
wells, and cisterns. The area is totally uncultivable, because of
uneven-
ness, rocks, poor soil, or lack of water.
“The Negeb” means “the south country” and
designates the land
about and south of Beer-sheba. There are occasional springs, wells, and
pools
in the northern portions. The 3 springs near Kadesh-barnea could
have sustained a small band of nomads; the
springs are specifically inclu-
ded in the Promised Land. The greater part of the Negeb is a plateau
450-
600 meters above sea level, with peaks running up over 1,000 meters.
There are 3 areas of sand dunes southwest
of Beer-sheba. The Promised
Land and Negeb may be taken as ending with Kadesh-barnea’s 3 springs.
The central mountain range comes to a climax
in the wild mountains of
the Sinai
Peninsula , with Jebel Musa at around 2,200 meters, and others
up to 2,600 meters.
4. Land
Forms: The Central Rift Valley—The unique and out-
standing geographical feature of Palestine
down the
center. North, west, and south at the
foot of Mount Hermon ,
springs form small streams that come together near
Dan and finally in
reach the Sea of Galilee at 210 meters below sea level.
The Sea of Galilee is formed by a widening of the Rift Valley con-
nected with cross faults that run into the hills; it forms an area 11 by 21
km. At the left of the mouth of the Jordan
the southeast shore an attractive little
plain spreads out southward. On
the
westward side, the Plain of Gennesaret, an arc of a circle, less than 6
km
long and 1.5 km wide, is known for its fertility. The hot springs just
south of Tiberias, those
on the east side of the lake, and south of the lake
were formed by volcanic
activity.
It has long been recognized that biblical
writers called the main sec-
tion of the Rift Valley “the Arabah.” Mibhar,
which was used to describe
the wilderness of Judah
is untranslatable, but it
suggests aridity and sterility. The Rift Valley is
called the Ghor, or depression. Within the Ghor is the Zor; “Zor” and
“Gaon” describe the flood plain
that the Jordan
rings. Gaon’s
literal meaning is “pride, excellence, swelling”; “jungle” is
a better
description. The Arabic words qattara and qattar describe the clay
flats.
The original valley floor varies greatly
in width. Near its center, it
narrows to
some 3 km. North of this point it is at
its widest, and there is
cultivable land on both sides. South of this constriction the Zor widens
and
deepens, and the rainfall is too little to be effective and the Jordan
low in its bed to be used. 2 important rivers feed the Jordan
tern side, the Yarmuk and the
Jabbok. The streams, wadis, and rivers
have left behind so much debris on the valley bed, that the valley floor of-
fers
a very small cultivable area in comparison with its size.
The invading Israelites camped in the Arebhoth Moab, which proba-
bly translates
as “steppes of Moab
“basin of the Jordan Jordan Valley
apparently can be seen from near Bethel
Luke and Matthew use the Primary Greek Old Testament phrase
“all the
region about the Jordan
tist. Both writers apparently think
the “basin” a populous area.
That John and Jesus may have visited the Qumran community is
possible. The Qumran monastery was
only 38 meters
above the level of
the Dead
Sea , and the fords where
John would have baptized are only 13
ministry, it refers
to the Areboth Moab. When used to describe one of
Jesus’ quiet retreats or an area for the crowds that flocked to him, it re-
ferred to the uncultivated land in Galilee .
A careful study of the terrain suggests
answers to problems of the
journeys of Jesus. Jews in Galilee would take routes across the Plain of
of the Sea
of Galilee , the most natural
route was down the Jordan Valley
through Samaria Jordan
Crossing the Jordan Jericho
P-8
From the Jordan's mouth to the Gulf of Aqabah Dead
Sea
played a small part in
Hebrew history, except that it separated Moab
or walk all of
the way from the north to the south end, as it was possible to
ford from the
Lisan peninsula to the western side. It
measures 85 by 16
km., and practically no water from the west flowed into it.
In the part of the Rift Valley south of
the Dead Sea the ancient He-
brew name for the valley is preserved
as Wadi el-‘Arabah. The Edomites,
and later the Nabateans, crossed it regularly with their caravan traffic. Both
they and the Hebrew kingdoms of the West
exploited the copper and iron
ores that were found there. Forests in the mountains provided charcoal,
while winds from the north fanned the fires of the smelting furnaces. Its to-
tal length is a little over 160 km., and its highest point is slightly less than
200 meters above sea level, about
64 km from the Gulf of Aqabah.
5. Land
forms: Transjordan —While the land east of the Jordan
plays a small part in biblical history, it's
important & its physical geography
is interesting. It begins on the north with Mount Hermon at 2,800 meters
and rarely falls below 450
meters. From Mount Hermon southward to the
south to the Yarmuk River
As a result of the downward slope of the
strata eastward from their
stone and has even reached the underlying granite. A large
core of Ceno-
manian limestone forms the mountains of Gilead . Farther south, it be-
comes a narrow strip between the sandstone and an even narrower strip
of Cenomanian chalk. Beyond that the steppe to the east is
Senonian
form of quartz. The rich soil
produced by Eocene limestone appears
only east of Maan. The most impressive mountain scenery is in Nubian
sandstone on both sides of the Wadi el-‘Arabah from Petra
The eastern section may be divided into:
the Damascus
the Bashan Plateau; the Hauran area,
across from Beth-shan; Gilead ; Am-
mon; Moab Edom Damascus
rivers and brief richness of its oasis and then by the forbidding blackness
of the basalt that spreads
from the volcanoes of el-Leja and the Druz
Mountains to eastern Galilee . Bashan and the Hauran helped feed the
Wadi Hesban
was sometimes included in Gilead . 29 to 32 km south of the
Yarmuk, the mountains of Gilead appear at 900 meters above sea level.
Faults bordering an upthrust running
northeast to southwest across the
Rift Valley relate it geologically to Judea . The hills are, in the main, roun-
ded and tree-covered. Transjordan grapes are famous as the best in all
Ammon attempted to establish itself
between Gilead and Moab
never succeeded until the Exile. The territory's character from the Jabbok
to the Arnon changes gradually. Trees almost disappear, although small
forest areas appear. All down the eastern side
of the rift, rainfall varies with
the height of the mountains. Moab
the Brook
Zered, succeeded in passing northward and fixing its name on
the Moabite steppes
by the Jordan
ginal Edomite territory probably ran south for some 95 to 120 km to the
Negeb. The part of the Nubian sandstone, known as Petra
mous.
Beyond the area the relatively level steppe stretches out
endlessly.
The Edomites and the Nabateans found it possible to conserve water and
cultivate rather extensively;
the wealth of both people came from com-
merce.
The Edomites may have made contributions to Old Testament
(Job and some
Proverbs) and certainly caused trouble for Israel Edom
ends at the Negeb, a sharp fault and cliff. Below it lies the Hasma, a wild,
barren, but
picturesque area of Nubian sandstone mountains; the Midia-
nites roamed through
this area.
6. Geography
and Culture: Changes in Physical
Features—
Any study of the Hebrews' use of the Promised Land must take account of
the changes within ancient Hebrew history and those between that time
and ours. Our understanding of their world and their
world-view is based
upon their land as it now is, on what the archaeologist
discovers there, and
on what the historian finds. One must reckon with all the physical and
cul-
tural changes that took place in over 1,000 years of biblical history
and the
2,000 subsequent years; how the ancients lived must be interpreted in the
light of their perspectives.
P-9
Biblical geography must take account of
the physical deterioration
due to deforestation and defective agricultural
methods, with consequent
erosion, impoverishment of the soil, and lose of
useful rainfall. Mud
roofs laid on a
base of reeds, bushes and branches were still in use in the
1st century
A.D. Deforestation not only promoted
erosion of the soil but
also gradually deprived the land of fuel. The use of cow dung for fuel les-
sened the
very meager store of fertilizing material or the fields.
Following the geographical regions, the
land may be roughly divided
into: coast plains and the Plain of Esdraelon;
central mountain range and
the Hejaz Railway; steppe; and the
desert. In the summer the southern
coast might be unpleasant and the Rift Valley almost unbearable, but the
mountains
enjoy a strong breeze from the Mediterranean . In winter
snow
might fall as far south as Jerusalem
The variations in climate were eminently
suited to an economy
where the population could spend most of the year out of
doors. Within a
distance of 160 km, from
Mount Hermon to Jericho
from subtropical to sub-artic could be found. One reason the
Bible is intel-
ligible in nearly all parts of the earth is that it contains
nearly all the world’s
climates, land forms, and living conditions.
For agriculture in a land and culture
like that of ancient Palestine
temperature, rainfall, soil, and terrain are all of
fundamental importance.
Temperature
determines evaporation and thus the amount of moisture avai-
lable for plant
growth. Soil, its consistency and chemical composition, de-
termines what will grow and the quantity of water
absorbed. Thus soil,
determines the
number and value of springs and the water table heights.
The nature of the storms that bring rain is
an important factor.
The basis of the Hebrew economy was
agriculture. They had the
last area on
the Fertile Crescent's narrow point in which a settled agricultu-
ral economy was
possible. Low rainfall and aridity are
combined with lack
of level arable land; fields were commonly small and covered
with lime-
stone rocks, which could be used as walls; their agricultural methods
were
of the crudest kind. The little
plow and small oxen were suited to the small
fields. Common custom probably was to sow the seed
broadcast on fal-
lowed ground and then plow it under. The ancient Israelites knew nothing
of
selected seeds, careful fertilization, and deep plowing.
Grain was exported from eastern Palestine
cessfully, if not abundantly,
on the western side. Vineyards and olives gave
the most valuable crops. It
is generally believed that the destruction of
vineyards by alcohol-hating Muslims has contributed to the present low
agricultural level of Palestine Palestine
and prosperous on its agriculture.
A large proportion of Palestine
as range land for
sheep, goats, cattle, and camels. The
extent and value
of the pastoral side of Hebrew land use is difficult to
estimate. Every vil-
lage had its oxen for
plowing and its flock and possibly herds of animals
individually owned but shepherded
in common by the boys.
It might be supposed the fish from the Mediterranean , the Sea
of
Hebrews. But the Hebrews were men of the soil, so we
hear little of fish
as food. Jerusalem Sea
with limited
agricultural resources, Palestine
was almost fatal. There were only meager amounts of copper and iron
found east of Palestine
the prosperous times of Solomon. The only mineral product of which Pale-
patterned with limestone.
Craftsmen such as were necessary in an
agricultural community and
also for moderate luxuries are mentioned in the
Bible. The skilled hands of
Hiram’s masons are to be seen in Samaria
ning have left their mark on Herod’s
buildings. Luxury items came from
real “Land of Promise
600s B.C. than it is now. But it has physical limitations that are
inescapa-
ble. For thousands of years
there have been no major changes in cli-
mate. The center of commerce and culture has moved from the eastern
7. Geography and Culture: Population—What was the
population
as a result of the Hebrews’ use of their land? The data on which to base
conclusions are extremely scanty. All that is possible
is to indicate limits
beyond which guesses shouldn't go. Palestine
brews alone, but the
proportions of other races to Hebrews is impossible to
ascertain. All things considered, the minimum population
of Palestine
have run between 500,000 and 600,000 during the 1,000
years before the
Christian Era; the maximum, in peaceful and prosperous times,
may have
been 1,000,000 or more. Judea
may have had 20,000 early on (500s B.C.)
and later 50,000 (400s).
P-10
The walled city, the military fortress,
the market town, and the agri-
cultural village provided homes for the bulk of
the population. There
were no isolated farm houses, but there were and have always been Be-
douin encampments. The extent to which caves served as living
quarters
will always be an unsolved problem.
Cave dwellings probably point to
poverty rather than overcrowding.
8. Geography
and Culture: Ideology—The Hebrews’
racial and
national history and their total geographical situation imposed
upon them
a series of cultural and ideological conflicts, between nomadism and pa-
storal/agricultural ideals, between these ideals and commerce. Their own
traditions look back on a nomadic
life before their half-voluntary servi-
tude to Egypt
into a “land flowing with milk and Honey.”
But the Promised Land proved to be no
Garden of Eden, and the
agricultural life in rugged, arid Palestine
rable conditions;
the steppe remained a place into which one could escape.
Hebrew tradition was full of nostalgic
sentimental admiration for the sim-
ple life of the steppe. David in his time and Jonathan the Maccabee
in his
were saved by the wilderness and enabled to fight another day.
Settlement in Palestine
Baal, differing
types of culture, and incompatible ideologies.
Also, a self-
sufficient agricultural economy was impossible in a land as
barren of re-
sources as Palestine
was inevitable, as was commerce with them. These contacts introduced
new ideas, new conceptions of the world, and new
conflicts, both econo-
mic and ideological. The conflicts between Israelite pastoral-agricultural
ideal and commerce
don't become explicit as such until the 700s B.C.
They appear as moral and religious conflict
again and again.
There was also the economic conflict of
the poor against the rich,
the nobility, and the royalty. No religion could be more completely
mate-
rialistic and this worldly than that of the Deuteronomist. Obedience to
God would bring health, wealth,
and happiness. The only explanation of
Examples of this can be found scattered throughout Hebrew history.
These cultural conflicts with their moral religious implications, grew
into ideological conflicts of far-reaching
significance. Class conflict be-
tween rich and poor, city and country becomes also a conflict between as-
similation and isolation. Considering all these
woes caused by abandon-
ment of nomadism the thoughtful Israelite might
well conclude that a re-
turn to the steppe was the only cure for Israel
to nomadism, or at least pastoralism, appears in Isaiah 7,
Jeremiah 31,
Hosea 2, 12, and Zephaniah 2.
vided from north to south into 3 mountainous
regions separated by plains
and valleys: the Galilean mountains; the Carmel-Ephraim-Judean moun-
tains; and the Negev mountain ridges. Bordering these
mountains is the
coastal plain in the west and the Rift valley of the Jordan River in the east.
Separating the Galilean mountains from the Carmel-Ephraim-Judean
mountains is the Jezreel plain, and separating the Judean ridge from the
nearly 400 meters in the east, to sea level on the Mediterranean coast.
East of the Jordan River is a fairly homogeneous plateau, bordered
on
its western side by the steep cliff of the Jordan/Dead Sea/Arabah val-
ley; it
dips gently to the east. The highest
ridges in the central Negev are
eroded and hollowed out into steep-walled,
canoe-shaped valleys called
makhteshim. The strata of rock lying underneath Palestine
arranged such that they increase in depth and age from west to east. They
are nearest to the surface in the east near the Rift valley and Dead Sea &
increase in depth diagonally to the west (Mediterranean Sea ). In order
from east to west and oldest to newest they are: Lower Paleozoic; Upper
Paleozoic; Triassic; Jurassic; Lower Cretaceous; Cenomanian; & Turonian.
Strata Description—The outcrops of the
oldest, early Pre-Cam-
brian, rocks are located west and northwest of the Gulf of Aqabah
oldest
rocks are gray, layered, granite-like rock and flaky materials. Found
amongst them are younger gray, red
granite, and granite enclosing quartz
crystals. Even younger “dikes” cut
through this arrangement, destroying
the original order.
The Late Pre-Cambrian rocks are volcanic
masses of quartz with
some volcanic material surrounding them. Their layers are penetrated by
still younger
dikes of a quartz/ volcanic mix. These
rocks are much more
extensive east of the Jordan River . The
Pre-Cambrian or Archean is co-
vered by the dark sands and loosely packed pebbles
of the Lower Cambri-
an Age (Paleozoic). East of the Jordan
but west of the Jordan
P-11
The Cambrian is covered with the Triassic layer's variegated and
white sands, which doesn't seem to extend south of northern Sinai. The
base of the Triassic is sandy and
contains bones of Stegocephales. In the
Makhtesh (Valley) of Ramon, this series
is covered by more than 100
meters of gypsum beds, which seem to be absent
farther to the south. In
the Roman area
the gypsum series of the Upper Triassic is overlaid by
Lower Jurassic
limestone, starting with fire clay. Middle Jurassic is sandy
with a thin layer of red limestone.
No Jurassic is exposed in the north, but
oil companies have drill
samples where the Jurassic is developed as a very
thick series of dark
shales and limestones. In Mount Hermon this formation consists of a
1,500 meter series of marble-like rock and limestones. Upper
Jurassic is
a hard reefy limestone. This very thick section west of the Jordan
contrast with a much thinner Jurassic section
east of the Jordan
The sands of the Lower Cretaceous layer
usually cover the Jurassic
layer, but are sometimes found on top of the
Triassic. In either case, con-
tact is
marked by the black mix of quartzite pebbles.
The sands covering
this mix are of Neocomian age and contain two
separate basalt layers. It is
spread
uniformly throughout Israel
of the Upper Cretaceous layer is a
mix of lime, clay, and sand, containing a
lot of fossils and overlaying a greenish limestone.
Also known as
Cenomanian, in central Israel Galilee it can be
divided into 3 units: the lowest part is
hard, forms generally steep walls,
and consists of well-banked marble-like
rock. The middle Cenomanian
section consists of much softer chalks. The
upper Cenomanian consists of
hard, often reefy marble-like stone or,
crystalline white limestone. With the
exception
of Mount Carmel , the Cenomanian section is mostly lacking in
fossils
in the north. Marked and exceptional
features of Cenomanian in
The next layer of Upper Cretaceous, also known
as Turonian, is a
white, well-bedded limestone. In eastern Galilee the Turonian is hardly dis-
tinguishable from Cenomanian. The 1st type, Coniacian is best developed
as an east-west belt crossing the southern Negev
and part of the area east
of the Jordan
crumbling limestone.
The Upper Santonian to
Lower Campanian is generally a white, soft
chalk. The Campanian near the surface contains flint
layers, alternating
with chalk beds. The
Mount Sodom
thickness of
several thousands of feet of salt, which were actually a rela-
tively thin salt bed
folded on top of itself through tectonic forces. Around
Tiberias and Beisan the
yellowish mix of lime, clay, and sand, covered by
gypsum, is probably
continental Miocene.
Only wide uplifts without folding
prevailed from Cambrian to Upper
Cretaceous. With the last folding phase caused by tectonic forces, a
strong warp has
set in since the Mio-Pliocene, lifting the mountains up-
ward, and bending the coast downward. This warp may be partially
due
to the sinking of the Jordan-Dead Sea-Arabah fault area; the sinking from
a
vertical fault may result in lifting up of the bordering blocks.
Surface
Geology: Rock Outcroppings—The major types of rocks
found on the surface of Palestine
1. Hard crystalline rocks of the Archean platform, exposed in the
extreme south of the area east of the Jordan;
2. Nubian sandstone on the east edge of the Arabah laid down
from the Mid-Cambrian to the early Cretaceous period;
3. Cenomanian-Turonian limestones, the major rock west of the
4. Senonian chalk, very infertile and useless for building purpo-
ses, and easily packed down to a hard surface; Senonian chalk
forms many major roads.
5. The hard Eocene limestone of the Shephelah, the lower central
part of the Carmel Samaria Lower Galilee .
6. Post-Eocene deposits. These include the low hills of Pleisto-
cene limestone along the coast north of Jaffa
marshy conditions of the Sharon Plain
sea. Included in these deposits are the soil of the coastal plain and
the mix of the Jordan Valley Dead Sea region.
7. The basalt of eastern Galilee and east of the Jordan Gali-
P-12
In the central region,
roughly east and west of the Dead
Sea , the
structure is relatively simple. West of the Jordan
by the broad Judean ridge,
formed by tectonic forces. The west
side’s
greater erosion has pushed the line deciding which way the water would
flow, east or west, further to the east of the top of the arch.
On the eastern side of this divide an
unusually wide exposure of
this porous, infertile rock has combined with the
drought of the eastern
slopes to produce the Wilderness of Judea. On the west the Senonian
outcrop is narrow,
but the valley it creates forms a protective moat the
full length of Judea . On both the north and the south the central
region
is limited by hinge faults cutting in from the Dead Sea running to the
southwest or from the western fault to the southeast.
In the northern region west
of the Jordan
outcrops on each side of Judea
have been terminated by faults. In
Eph-
raim the limestone has produced a high plateau with steep and difficult
slopes. In Manasseh, there is a basin
surrounded by Cenomanian lime-
stone hills.
The basin's center is filled with Eocene limestone which
stands as
hills or mountains; the rim was broken by many faults.
The east-west esh-Shaghur fault, north of Esdraelon and Jezreel
is the dividing line of Upper and Lower Galilee . The “brow of
the hill”
at Nazareth
lon Plain. East of the Jordan Gilead stands
opposite Ephra-
im and Manasseh. The trend
of the dome is northeast-southwest, to-
wards the northeast corner of the Dead Sea .
The southern region, west
of Jordan
Beer-sheba-Tel el-Milh
gulf. South of this, in the Negev ’s
great triangle,
is a series of northeast-southwest, up-folded ridges. The Negev uplands’
western
slopes are mainly Eocene limestone, with considerable areas of
dune sand and
dust. East of the Arabah, in Edom
pushed up to its greatest height. South of Petra a great fault
cutting east-
southeast brings the plateau to an end in a tremendous scarp which
once
marked Edom
PALLET (krabattoV (kra bat
tos), couch), A small bed or
mattress, light
enough to be carried. It
was the “poor man’s bed.”
PALLU (פלוא,
distinguished) Second son of Reuben;
father of Eliab, and
head of the Palluites (Numbers 26).
PALM TREE (ﬨמﬧ (ta mar)) A tree and its fruit. Jericho
ferred to as the
“city of palms.” Several charred palm
logs were found
during excavation of Khirbet Qumran by the Dead Sea .
There were “70
palms trees” in Elim, a desert oasis on the route of the
Exodus.
The palm appears in figurative language in Psalm 92;
Song of
Songs [Solomon] 7; Isaiah 9; & Joel 1. Sacred associations with the palm
are found throughout the ancient Near East. The
frequent occurrence of
the palm tree carved in relief on the walls, doors,
doorjambs, and other
parts of Solomon’s temple, suggests more than mere
decorative coin-
cidence.
The association of palm fronds with the Feast of Booths
is carried
into the decoration of ancient Jewish synagogues. The palm figures pro-
minently on the coins,
especially those of Vespasian and Nerva.
Christian
traditions and legends refer frequently to the palm tree and
its leaf. In Re-
velation 7 the white-robed multitude stands before the throne
with palm
fronds. Tamar appears as a personal and place name.
PALMER WORM (גזם (gaw tsam), cutting locust)
The translation of gatsam in
the King James Version.
PALSY (paralutikoV (pa ra loo tih kos)) The
King James Version trans-
lation of the Greek.
“Palsy” was a 1500s English corruption of the
French paralysie. This condition, which usually results from
cerebral
damage, injury sustained by the spinal column, or disease of the
central
nervous system, is characterized by a lack of ability to move. Apart from
general designations, different forms of what the King James Version de-
signates “palsy” probably were
paraplegia.
PALTI (פלטי, deliverance of the Lord) 1. Son
of Raphu; a leader of the tribe
of Benjamin; Moses sent him with 11 others to
survey the land of Canaan
(Numbers 13). 2. Son Laish, a native of Gallim in Benjamin. Saul
gave his daughter Michal, David’s wife, to Palti. Before the united king-
Saul’s son Ishbaal took Michal from her grief-torn husband and delivered
her to David.
P-13
PALTIEL (פלטיאל, deliverance of God)
A leader of the tribe of Issachar; son of
Azzan (Number 34). He was one of those appointed, under the
oversight
of Eleazar and Joshua, to superintend the distribution of the west
Jordani-
an territory.
PALTITE, THE (הפלטי) Descriptive adjective of Helez,
one of David’s heroes
(II Samuel 23). It
means an inhabitant of Beth-pelet.
PAMPHYLIA (Pamfulia) A region
on the south coast of Asia Minor bounded
on the west by Lycia
Tracheia; the Mediterranean on the south was called the Pamphylian Bay
Pamphylia was around 128 km long and up to 32 km broad; it was a low,
moist, fever-laden area. The country
faced the sea, and although rugged
roads did lead north to Phrygia and Lycaonia, its chief contacts
with other
regions were by water; the chief ports were Attalia and Side.
Paul with Barnabas visited Pamphylia
on his so-called first missio-
nary journey.
Pamphylia had so little Greek culture that it wasn't a promi-
sing field
for mission work; Acts gives no indication that Paul stopped
there. On the return journey from Pisidian Antioch
Paul and Barnabas
stopped and preached in Perga. Christianity was late in gaining strength
there. Its real evangelization occurred much later than the apostolic age.
See
also the entry in the Old Testament Apocrypha/Influences Out-
side the Bible
section in the Appendix.
PANEL (מסגרת (me seg geh reth), a closed, confined place) In Solomon’s
temple were
10 bronze stands, 1800 cm. long, 1800 cm. wide, and 1200
cm. high; and each
had panels set in frames. Jeremiah
denounces Shal-
lum for wanting to build a great house with cedar paneling. Haggai de-
nounces the people for dwelling in their paneled houses while the temple
lies in ruins.
PANNAG (פנג, delicate spice) King
James Version translation of Hebrew word;
the Revised Standard Version
translates it “early figs; the American Stan-
dard Version suggests “a kind of
confection.”
PAPER (carthV (kar tes)) Not true paper, but
papyrus. See also Writing and
Writing Materials.
PAPER REED (ﬠﬧוﬨ (‘eh reh vath), naked) King James Version translation
of Hebrew word. The Revised Standard Version translates the
word as
“bare places.” Possibly the word
has been borrowed from the Egyptian
‘r,
“bulrush.”
PAPHOS (PafoV) A city in Cyprus
Barnabas, and John Mark on the 1st missionary journey (Paul actually
visited Paphos Nea; the old Paphos was 14.4 km to the north). See
also the entry in the Old Testament Apocrypha/Influences
Outside the
Bible section of the Appendix.
PAPIAS. A bishop of Hierapolis Asia Minor , who flourished in the 2nd quarter
of the 100s A.D. Papias was a hearer of
John the disciple of the Lord, and
a comrade of Polycarp. Actually there is some question as to which
John
he may have known.
The church father Eusebius had a
poor opinion of Papias’ intelli-
gence. Papias was an avid collector of oral traditions from the elders about
the sayings of the disciples. Eusebius
is probably right that Papias had no
personal acquaintance with any
eyewitnesses of the Lord. The remarks of
Papias about Mark and Matthew have baffled all who seek the origins of
the
gospels. Mark had not been a hearer or
follower of Jesus, but was an
interpreter of Peter; he wrote down Peter’s
recollections accurately but
“not in order.”
Matthew “put in order” the oracles (or sayings) of the Lord
in Aramaic.
PAPYRUS (גמא (go meh), paper reed) A
tall, aquatic reed plant, noted espe-
cially for its use for ancient writing
material. In Exodus 2 most transla-
tions
retain “bulrushes” for the reeds from which the basket was made
for the infant Moses, but doubtless papyrus was meant.
In Isaiah’s
figure of the transformed wilderness, papyrus is probably
meant to sym-
bolize the abundance of water.
P-14
Papyrus as a writing material was
common in Egypt
2000s B.C. and continued in use well after the beginning of the Christian
Era. It was an important item of export from Egypt
Paper was prepared from thin strips of the papyrus stalk's inner pith laid
vertically, with another layer placed
horizontally on top. An adhesive was
used and pressure applied to bond them together into a sheet. To judge
from the earliest surviving Hebrew manuscripts from the Dead Sea caves,
papyrus wasn't so commonly used there, probably
because of the greater
abundance and accessibility of leather.
PARABLE (משל (maw shal); parabolh (par ah bo leh),
comparison) An
extended metaphor, or
simile, frequently a brief narrative, used for tea-
ching purposes; there is
frequently confusion between parables and al-
legory, where one ignores literal meaning and discovers new hidden
meanings in each term. During the biblical period Jesus in
particular
used the parable with skill and artistry.
In Hebrew, the word mashal
always involves a comparison.
Throughout the history of Israel
meanings, this form has closest
affinities with the wisdom literature of
the Old Testament (OT). As a popular saying the mashal frequently
expresses derision and contempt. In biblical Hebrew mashal includes
popular and proverbial sayings, discourses of sages, taunt songs, and
oracles.
The author of Hebrews uses the word parabole
in quite a diffe-
rent sense from the Synoptic gospel writers. The first tabernacle func-
tions as a parabole or symbol for the present
age. The Evangelist John
uses the word paroimia rather than parabole, and it means a hidden or
esoteric saying which can be understood only by those who have a clue
to its
meaning.
Use of Parable in the OT—Parabolic
sayings and parables,
which appear less frequently in the literature of the OT than
in rabbinic
literature or the NewTestament (NT) are a popular and familiar
form of
wisdom teaching. The preferred
form of wisdom teaching is the saying
which deals with familiar aspects of
human life and conduct in a direct
way.
Proverb 10:1 (A wise
son makes a glad father, but a foolish son is a
sorrow to his mother) is a
simple observation and statement of principle.
A
parable, such as Proverb 6:7-8 (Without having any chief, officer or
ruler,
the ant prepares its food in summer and gathers its sustenance in
har-
vest), pronounces judgment upon a moral or religious issue. The parabolic
saying is almost always
followed by an interpretive statement of principle.
The purpose of the parabolic saying, then, is
the provision of a vivid exam-
ple for wisdom and teaching. The parabolic saying is illustrative and
de-
pendent upon its association with another statement for clarification, while
the statement of principle is an independent moral maxim.
Another example of a
parable is Ecclesiates 9:13-16: “There
was a
little city with few men in it; and a great king came against it and
besieged
it, building great siege works against it. But there was found in it a poor
wise man,
and he by his wisdom delivered the city.”
Its accompanying
statement of principle is: “But I say that wisdom is
better than might,
though the poor man’s wisdom is despised, and his words are
not heeded.
On rare occasions the wisdom
and prophetic literature of the OT used pa-
rables to conceal knowledge. This use becomes an important factor for
the apocryphal
writers and for the Synoptists.
See
also the entry
in the OT Apocrypha/Influences Outside the
Bible section of the Appendix.
Use
of Parable in the Synoptic Gospels—An analysis of Jesus’
use of the parable
form for teaching purposes indicates that the evangelists
included 3 varieties
of illustrative examples. 1st,
there is the narrative para-
ble. In
these parables the subject is with 4 exceptions, secular, and the
story as a
whole makes its own point. The 2nd
variety is the simple para-
ble, introduced by the phrase “It is like . . .” The 3rd variety is the parabo-
lic saying, a brief utterance stating a fact of common human experience.
The parabolic saying and the narrative
parable are extensions of
metaphors, while the simple parable is an extension
of a simile. Since the
gospels are the
works of Christian believers and preserve the reminiscen-
ces of things said and done by Jesus, elements of the tradition concerning
Jesus’ activities have been
influenced by their faith. The evangelists
have
altered the wording of the parables and the contexts within which they
were originally spoken.
An initial problem is the opinions
regarding what can be classified
as parable.
One solution is to eliminate metaphors—“ Tell that fox”; “den
of robbers”; “blind guides”; straining out a gnat”—and
similes—“Satan
might sift you like wheat”;
Pharisees are like whitewashed tombs. . .”
What remains of illustrative examples used
for teaching purposes may be
classified as parabolic sayings, parables, and
narrative parables.
The parabolic sayings are brief
statements of fact (Matthew 5-7 con-
tains several examples). The simple form of a parabolic saying is
“Physi-
cian heal yourself” (Luke 4).
Various introductory formulas of parables re-
late them to the
simile. These formulas are: “It is
like,” “as,” “when,” the
question form, the conditional form, and the command
form. The develop-
ment of details in some
of the parables suggests that originally these sto-
ries were told as independent
narrative parables.
P-15
In contrast to the parable, the
narrative parable has no formula of
comparison but is a fully developed and
independent story which begins
with phrases like “there was” or “a certain,”
and is narrated in detail, such
as the parable of the Good Samaritan. The Synoptic evangelists have pre-
served 14 narrative parables attributed to Jesus, including the Good Sama-
ritan (Luke 10), the prodigal son (Luke 15), the rich man and Lazarus
(Luke 16), the Pharisee and the publican (Luke 18), & the sower (Mark 4).
From the evangelists’ record of
Jesus’ use of parables, one is im-
pressed by the vivid and dramatic
presentation of ideas through the narra-
tion of commonplace incidents. The rabbis’ use of parable was mostly to
show
off their scholastic knowledge, in contrast with the vigor and origina-
lity of
Jesus’ parables, which he taught and preached with authoritative
power and
creative novelty.
A comparison of the parables of the Great Supper (Luke 14) and
the Wedding feast (Matthew 22), leads one to
conclude that they are un-
doubtedly alterations of the same parable. There is
one important addition
in Matthew’s version.
The king is enraged at the refusal of the first guests
and sent his
armies to destroy his servants’ murderers.
This reflects deve-
lopments occurring after the destruction of Jerusalem
the
destruction as a consequence of the Jews’ rejection of Christian missio-
nary
endeavors.
The variation between the Matthean
and Lukan forms of Jesus’
statement on going before judges illustrates how
great an alteration in
meaning can occur merely by changing verbal forms. In Luke, the parable
makes the point that as the person conscious of his guilt seeks reconcilia-
tion, so the person conscious
of the coming judgment must seek reconcilia-
tion with God. In the Matthean form, the command: “Make
friends quick-
ly with your accuser,” points to one’s fellow humans.” The Matthean
adaptation represents a trend to
turn Jesus’ parables into words of earthly
encouragement.
According to Mark, parables are
means of concealing the real cha-
racter and content of Jesus’ teaching and of
revealing their hidden mea-
ning to a chosen few. The evangelist presupposes an esoteric quality of
Jesus’ teaching which
matches his theory of Jesus’ secret messiahship.
The theory regarding Jesus’ use of parables
is followed by Mark’s
explanation of the parable of the sower. By allegorizing the parable,
Mark has
indicated that he hasn't understood what a parable is. The para-
ble states that as the farmer must
expect varying returns from his activity,
so God also at the time of
judgment. Allegory, on the contrary, stresses
the aspects of failure in harvesting.
By using appended sayings, the evan-
gelists created contexts within which
the parables are to be understood,
frequently altering the original meaning and
intention of Jesus’ parables.
The evangelists’ collections of
Jesus’ parables include those which
use the introductory formula “The kingdom
of heaven is like. . .” In the
great
majority of cases, the parable doesn't deal with the kingdom; it more
often is concerned with one’s attitude toward the coming of the kingdom
of
God. Only 4 parables merit consideration as kingdom parables: the
self-growing seed (Mark 4); buried treasure; the mustard seed; and leaven
(the
last three in Matthew 13). The use of the formula is a further indica-
tion of the difficulties the early Christians
had in trying to explain the mea-
ning of the parables and of the alterations
they made in adjusting the para-
bles to the context of their own era.
The evangelists had available
significant parabolic sayings, para-
bles, and narratives parables. Eventually collections of such remembered
words were made. There is also strong evidence
that some parables, like
Matthew’s parable of the weeds, give every indication
that Matthew crea-
ted the parable and its allegorical interpretation. One further observation
needs to be
made. On the one hand, the evangelists
reported Jesus’ use
of this material in controversial conversations. On the other hand, the
evangelists also frequently record the appropriateness of the parable for
didactic purposes. Jesus dedicated his narrative
skill to bringing a new
note of hope for the discouraged, the dispossessed, and
the outcast.
The
Message of Jesus’ Parables—Analytical study of the gospel
record is needed
to use the parabolic material for historical purposes. The
2 parabolic sayings about cloth and wineskins, old and new (Mark 2),
have been handed down
without an interpretative application and without
a reference to the original situation. In instances of such
parabolic say-
ing, sit is wise to admit ignorance regarding the precise
significance of
the saying, because its original context and function are
lost.
P-16
Jesus and his rabbinic
contemporaries use the parable form to clari-
fy the main themes of their
religious and ethical teachings. The rabbis'
chief concern is the exposition of the Law. The theme of Jesus’ proclama-
tion and teaching
is the Kingdom of God
that of the prophets who used the theme
regarding the imminent arrival of
God’s kingdom as an occasion for practical
religious preaching. Accor-
ding to the
parables which may genuinely have their origin in Jesus’ thin-
king, he isn't
interested in scheduling future events or in the procedures.
Jesus’ development of the theme “The
kingdom of God
include 3 main aspects. 1st, the imminence of God’s assumption of
sove-
reignty involves a crisis in the life of his people. Second, while Jesus does
not minimize the
awful fate that will overtake those who willfully reject
participation in the kingdom of God
coming for the oppressed and the distressed.
Finally, Jesus uses the theme of the
Kingdom’s imminence to teach
people what is specifically required of them that they
may prepare them-
selves for entrance into the kingdom. There can be only one fundamental
and
all-absorbing attachment for man; either God or mammon. Jesus de-
scribes repentance vividly in his parables
of the prodigal son, and of the
publican and the Pharisee. It involves a profound inner experience which
is more than feeling shame or insufficiency and is primarily recognition of
the
forgiving quality of God’s mercy and love.
A second attitude which re-
flects a person’s singleness of devotion to
God is faith. Several parables
are
dramatic illustrations of the need for absolute obedience to the Fa-
ther’s or the Master’s will.
The parables also clarify what obedience
means with regard to
God’s attitude towards us, and our attitude towards God and each other.
No boundaries are to
limit the expression of constructive, creative good
will for the
neighbor. While Jesus’ parables reveal
his creativity in using
this literary form, it is more significant that
they present a challenging and
enduring religious and ethical outlook.
PARACLETE (paraklhtoV , advocate) While the basic meaning of
this word
is “one called to the side of,” it also has the active sense of an
“advocate.”
The term is applied to Jesus
Christ in I John 2, where it indicates his func-
tion as the representative of
his people. Through Christ the barrier of
sin
between man and God is done away with, and fellowship between them is
established. Thus Christ is the “advocate.”
In John’s Gospel, Jesus promises
that the Father will give his disci-
ples “another paraclete,” namely the Holy
Spirit, who will serve the same
function as Christ. The Paraclete is pre-eminently the revealer
of Christ to
believers and the witness to him.
As the revealer of Christ he takes the
place of the physical presence of
the incarnate Word. The Spirit will
be-
long to all who are disciples of Christ and keep his commandments. It is
through the Spirit that Christ will be known and manifested.
This Resurrection’s connection with Christ’s
revelation through the
Paraclete is fundamental to John’s theology. Hence the coming and the
work of the
Paraclete are spoken of in the future tense, fulfilled only when
the dead and glorified Christ breathes the indwelling Spirit upon his disci-
ples. For the Fourth Gospel, the Spirit’s indwelling
is the basic principle
of life “in Christ.
Christ’s union with the Father is to be extended to the
believer through post-resurrection appearances and his continuing pre-
sence through the
medium of the Spirit. Through the
Spirit, Christians
will have all that Christ said to them brought to their
remembrance.
The
Paraclete speaks of Christ. Christ is,
in fact the total content of
the Paraclete’s revelation to believers. The Paraclete’s task is thus to pre-
sent the glorified Christ to all, and to unfold the meaning of what was once
for all
enacted by Christ in the gospel events.
He will guide Christians into
all the truth; but though he gives fresh
understanding, the truth itself has
already been revealed for the truth is
Christ. The Paraclete will inspire the
preaching of Christ’s disciples and enable them to testify to him.
Garden of Eden. “Paradise ” was an Old Persian word that
achieved inter-
national circulation in Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek. The Hebrew word for
Garden was translated in the Primary Greek Old Testament sometimes by
paradeisos or kepos; some circles in Judaism came to regard paradeisos
as a standard name for that garden.
According to
traditional Hebrew theology the dead descended to
Sheol, where life was shadowy
and distinctions between the good and the
evil negligible. Around 200 B.C., this view was drastically
modified by
the emergence of belief in the resurrection of the dead. The abode of the
righteous after their resurrection would be “Paradise ”; the place for the
wicked was Gehenna.
P-17
But, what of the
dead between the moment of death and their final
resurrection? The older view of a Sheol was replaced by
that of a segre-
gated Sheol in which the righteous were separated from the
wicked. At
this point “Paradise ” was used in 3 ways: the
original Garden of Eden;
that garden as the abode of the righteous dead prior
to their resurrection;
and that garden as the eternal home of the righteous. There was a notable
lack of agreement as to Paradise's location during the 2nd and 3rd stages.
The New Testament (NT) may be considered in the light of this
summary of
Jewish thought. In Luke 23, Jesus said
to the penitent thief,
“Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise .” It has been
suggested that if these are even
approximately Jesus’ words, they could
originally have presupposed an immediate
Second Coming, in which
case the reference could be to the final Paradise .
But this cannot be the
meaning in the present context.
In II Corinthian 12
Paul relates an experience in which he visited
saw the Lord in Paradise or whether the Lord granted the
revelation with-
out himself being present.
Paul probably thought of the righteous dead as
already living in Paradise with the Lord. In Revelation 2 the church of
to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.” Revelation expli-
citly teaches that at least some of the righteous enter a heavenly abode
prior to the final resurrection.
While only the 3
passages we have noted use the term “Paradise ,”
there are numerous others
which refer to the existence of the righteous be-
yond death(e.g. in Mark 12;
Luke 16; and Revelation 6). The presence
of
divergent language about the afterlife is evidence not so much of
inconsi-
stency as of an awareness that all such language is symbolic and can at
best only point in the direction of the final reality. The dominant NT belief
concerning the individual after death is adequately summarized by Paul:
“I
am sure that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities,
nor
things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth nor
anything else . . ., will be able to separate us from God’s love in Christ
Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8).
PARADOX. Biblical forms of paradox are
exaggerated expressions of concepts
which, though contrary to fact and often
absurd, contain some truth. Para-
doxes are used by Jesus to communicate the radical seriousness of his
outlook; with it he sharpens an idea, whether in debates or in conversation
with men lacking commitment.
Paradoxical
indictments are directed against the Pharisees. Whether
the saying about giving and taking (Mark 4) is a part of his polemic
carica-
ture of the Pharisees’ lack of perspective and inability to differentiate
be-
tween essential and non-essential is difficult to ascertain, because of the
varied contexts given to this paradox by the evangelists. Jesus also uses
paradoxical statements to make more bold and incisive the significance to
all of the kingdom of God's
lives in dedicated service, people find life is basic to Paul’s
religious life,
for he found that to be a slave of Christ and to serve
humankind with love
brought a freedom formerly unknown.
PARAH (פרה, heifer,
young cow) A village in the inheritance of
Benjamin, lo-
cated some 8.8 km northeast of Jerusalem
from which water is supplied to the Old City of Jerusalem.
PARALYSIS. See Disease.
PARAN (פארן, abounding
in caverns) A wilderness in which Israelites camped
after they left Mount Sinai . Moses sent out spies to explore Canaan from
the Wilderness of Paran;
the encampment at Kadesh-barnea is within this
wilderness, which must be
located on the southern border of Canaan , west
of Edom
mention the Wilderness of Paran, the Greek Old Testament version of this
chapter identifies Kadesh with the Wilderness of Paran.
The name Paran also
appears in: Gen. 14 and 21; I Sam. 25; I Kings
11; and Hab. 3. In Gen. 14 the expression “El Paran” is used
in describing
the geographical limit of Edom
same which is
referred to in the Israelites' journey as the “wilderness of Pa-
ran.” In Genesis 21, Ishmael’s dwelling place is
called the “wilderness of
Paran,” which is next to the Wilderness of
Beersheba. According to I Sam.
25, after Samuel died, David “rose and went to the wilderness of “Paran.”
If “Paran” is the correct reading, then the
Wilderness of Paran reached into
from Joab. Hadad’s group fled
from Edom
P-18
PARAPET (מﬠקה (mah ‘ah keh)) A railing about a roof to keep people
from
falling. As houses had flat roofs,
people might easily be on them.
PARBAR (ﬧבﬧפ, suburb) A word referring to a
room, or more likely to a
section of the courtyard not covered by a roof, on
the west side of the tem-
ple area, which from the 400s B.C. on, was presumably
designated for the
waste from sacrifices.
PARCHED GRAIN (קליא (kaw lee)) A food eaten by all people, from the
har-
vest worker to the king. It was
prepared by either roasting grains of wheat
in a pan or simply by holding a
small bundle of wheat in the fire.
PARCHMENT (membranaV (mem bra nas)) A writing material made from sheep
or goat skins. The hair was removed from the skins by
soaking them in
lime and scraping them; they were washed, dried, and stretched
out on
frames, and finally rubbed smooth with fine chalk and pumice. The refe-
rence to parchments in II Tim. 4 is
obscure; they could have for Roman
citizenship, or merely blank sheets of
parchment for future use.
PARK (פרדס (pa reh
dase), garden) A wooded enclosure.
PARLOR (חדר (khaw dawr), inner temple chamber;
לשכת
(leh shaw koth),
temple chamber; עליה (‘ah lee yah), upper chamber) Khadar
is defined
above (I Chronicles 28:11).
Leshakoth is a room in which sacrificial
meals were held at the high place (I Samuel 9). ‘aleyah is a room in
Ehud’s palace (Judges 3).
PARMASHTA (פרמשתא) One of the ten sons of Haman (Esther 9).
PARMENAS (ParmenaV) One of the seven selected by the church in Jeru-
PARNACH (פרנך) The father of Elizaphan, leader of the Zebulun tribe, who
was selected to
help superintend the distribution of Canaan west of the
PAROSH (פרעש, flea) Used as a noun to indicate
insignificance in I Samuel
24 and 26.
1. Head of a post exilic family (Ezra 2, 8, 10; Nehemiah 3, 7).
2. A chief who set his seal to the covenant in Ezra's time (Neh.10).
PAROUSIA (parousia, presence, arrival) A Greek word spelled out in English
letters and adopted as a
technical term for the future coming of Christ.
“Parousia” was used in classical and Koine
(everyday) Greek in the gene-
ral sense of “presence” but also of “arrival” or
“coming.” In Greek litera-
ture the term
was frequently used in connection with the official visit of a
ruler or the epiphany of a deity. From this custom a
quasi-technical usage
of the term arose which is reflected in the majority of New Testament (NT)
passages; the usage may have been created by the
Christian community.
The Old Testament (OT) people
awaited a further divine deliverance
in the future. This expectation is described as “The Day of
the Lord,” “the
latter days,” or simply “that day.” Between the OT and NT there was a gro-
wing belief in the end of the present age and in a personal Messiah. No
single pattern of messianic expectation
emerged. The common factor was
belief in a divine intervention to occur at the end of history.
Any study of the parousia concept
must include consideration of
other NT terms which express the same idea. “Day of the Lord” reappears
in I Corinthians
1, I Thessalonians 5, II Thessalonians 2, and II Peter 3;
“day of the Son of
man” is used several times in Luke 17; “day of Christ”
is used in Philippians
1; and “in that day” in Matthew 7, Mark 13, Luke 17,
John 14, II Thessalonian
1, and II Timothy 1 and 4. While some of
these
references do not speak explicitly of Christ, it is clear that his
“coming” was
part of the expected schedule for that final day.
In Greek the related term “epiphaneia” was used for the
manifesta-
tion of deities either in person or through their acts. It is only natural that
the verb “to come,” erchomai, should be used frequently in
passages dea-
ling with the end of the present age. Possibly passages referring to the co-
ming of
the Kingdom of God
have expected
the arrival of the kingdom at the Parousia.
P-19
In general the NT writers expected
an imminent, dramatic, visible
return of Christ to usher in the New Age. Nearly all of Paul’s letters wit-
ness to the
parousia expectation. Christians are
comforted about their
dead, not with the promise that at death they enter into
God’s presence,
but rather with the hope of the Parousia, which is to occur in
that genera-
tion. Philippians 1 suggests
that Paul ceased to be confident he would
survive until the Parousia and that
he came to believe he would go to be
“with Christ” immediately at death. But his basic confidence in the Parou-
sia remained unshaken. Explicit parousia
references are lacking in Gala-
tians, Philemon, and Ephesians.
Acts and the Synoptics confirm the
view that the parousia expecta-
tion was vital to the early church and that it
originated in Jesus’ teaching.
The view that Jesus taught his imminent and essentially apocalyptic parou-
sia
is supported by the appearance of such teaching in all strands of the
Synoptic
tradition. While some of these passages
are obviously creations
of the early community, the evidence cannot be ignored.
John’s writings, taken as a whole,
supports this view of the Parou-
sia. The present text of John’s Gospel contains clear references to a day
at the end of history. Yet some of the most
significant passages in the gos-
pel are ambiguous. On any assumption, the future hope is balanced by a
present possibility which goes beyond Paul’s concept of the
“first fruits of
the Spirit.”
The Letter to the Hebrews raises
problems similar to those in John’s
Gospel.
The expectation of the present age’s end is explicitly stated and
includes the Parousia. A “new and living
way” has been opened to the hea-
venly sanctuary; it is for the believer to enter
“now.” James in chapter 5
expresses his
confidence in the imminent parousia. The
same faith is a
more vital part of I Peter; II Peter reaffirms the traditional
view. The only
books of the NT without
any reference to the Parousia or related events are
the II and III John and
Philemon. Even II Peter implies a rising
skepticism,
presumably within the Christian community itself.
Roman Catholic and conservative
Protestant scholars dissent from
the general position presented above and
insist that the NT writers did not
teach an imminent parousia. The idea of the Parousia itself is, of
course,
recognized and accepted by these groups. Dominant Protestant scholar-
ship assumes that
the NT writers regarded Parousia as imminent. Some
of these scholars suggest that Jesus’ teaching
about the coming of the
kingdom was transformed by the early community into the
parousia con-
cept centering in Jesus himself.
Other scholars say that Jesus spoke of his
own parousia but deny that he
stressed its imminence. Still others
speak
of a number of “little” parousias—i. e. the Christ events including and
fol-
lowing the resurrection.
This article has been concerned with
the interpretation of the NT texts
in their original setting. There are 3 basic possibilities: the
entire pattern
regarding the end of history may be regarded as part of the
eternal word;
this pattern may be discarded on the grounds that it was the
temporal garb
in which the eternal gospel appeared; or the pattern may be
translated into
other terms. No single, definite pattern has yet emerged. The
main line of
the Christian tradition will interpret the Parousia to mean that
God will,
through God’s presence, bring to perfect completion the work begun
through Christ.
PARSHANDATHA (פרשנדתא) One of the ten sons of Haman
(Esther 9).
PARSIN. See Mene,
Mene, Tekel, and Parsin.
PARTHIANS (Parqoi) An Iranian tribal group among
those who gathered in
B.C.. the Parthians claimed independence from Seleucid rulers. Their
rulers are known as Arsacids after the
name of Arsaces, the founder of
that dynasty.
PARTITION, MIDDLE WALL OF. In the description of the Herodian temple
tained blocks of stone with inscriptions in Greek or Latin, by which all
strangers
were warned against stepping out of the Court of the Gen-
tiles. The statement in Ephesians 2 that Jesus
Christ broke down the
“dividing wall of hostility” has been interpreted as a
reference to the
middle wall of partition in Jerusalem
sians would understand this allusion.
P-20
PARTRIDGE (קרא (kore)) Any of various game birds. Tristam, in the 1800s,
states that the
commonest partridge of Palestine
black partridge of India
plains; Tristam also reports no less than 4 varieties of sand
grouse. Je-
remiah 17 may rest on a
popular, erroneous belief that the partridge
incubates eggs which she did
not lay; this belief appears to be a mis-
interpretation of the fact that the
chukar partridge lays one batch of eggs
for herself and a second for the cock.
PARTY (airesiV (ah ee reh sis), sect, faction) A word used in references
to
Pharisees; the Saddicees’ and the “circumcision party.” “Party” is some
times used without reproach,
but in Galatians 5, Paul lists “party spirit”
among the works of the flesh as a
term of reproach. The term “circumci-
sion
party” is used of certain Jewish Christians whose leader was James
the Lord’s
brother, and who criticized Peter for having broken Jewish
food laws, when he
ate with the Gentiles.
PARUAH (פרוח,
flourishing) The father of Jehoshaphat, who was one of the
12 commissariat prefects under Solomon in the territory of Issachar
(I Kings 4).
PARVAIM (פרוים) A region in Arabia , from which came gold used in
the temple
ashes from the burnt offering altar
on the Day of Atonement.
PASACH (פסך) An Asherite; the first-born of
Japhet’s 3 sons (I Chronicles 7).
PASCHAL LAMB (to pasca (toe pas
ka))
Paul’s designation of Christ in re-
lating the death of Christ to the
Jewish Passover (I Corinthians 11).
PAS-DAMMIM (דמים פס, the end of blood (?)) The
scene of one of David’s
victories (I Chronicles 11).
PASEAH (פסח, lame) 1. A descendant of Judah
cles
4). 2. Head of a family of temple
servants who returned to Judah
ith Zerubbabel from the Exile
(Ezra 2). 3. The father of Joiada, who
was one
of the wall-builders (Nehemiah 3).
PASHHUR (פשחור) 1.
Immer’s son and chief officer in the Jerusalem
during the monarchy’s last
years. He was probably second only to the
high priest; he beat Jeremiah and
threw him in stocks (Jeremiah 20).
2. The father of Gedaliah, one of
the princes during the reign of
Zedekiah (Jeremiah 38). 3. Son of Malchiah, and prince under
Zede-
kiah. Jeremiah gave him a prophecy
of doom for the king, and he heard
the prophet’s advice to capitulate (Jeremiah
21 and 38). 4. Ancestor
of one of the
post-exilic priestly families mentioned in the list of the re-
turned exiles
(Ezra 2). 5. A restoration priest who attended the cove-
nant's sealing under Nehemiah (ch. 10).
PASS (ﬠברמ (ma ‘ah bar)) A passage, ravine, or
narrow route through a
mountainous region; the pass of Michmash is the only
one mentioned
by this term in the Old Testament by name. A pass in the hill country
might be called a ma’alah (ascent) or morad (descent).
PASSION, THE (meta to paqein auton (meh ta toe pa
thane aw ton) he
suffered) The
term “passion” was in common use by the mid-200s A.D. It
is variously used to refer to Jesus' suffering, to his crucifixion or death, to
the section of the gospel
narratives dealing with them, to the musical set-
ting for these events, to the
church’s observance of the Sunday or the
week preceding Holy Week. In the “passion sayings” Jesus thrice
forecast
to his disciples his suffering: Mark 8:31f. (Matthew 16:21 and Luke 9:22 );
Mark 9:31f. (Matthew 17:22f.
and Luke 9:43ff.); and Mark 10:32ff. (Mat-
thew 20:17ff. and Luke 18:31ff.).
Jesus’ disciples, bewildered by his
words about suffering, later
gained insight from his death and resurrection; and from their faith they
added explanations. Paul knew the wonder, the comfort, and the promise
of sharing Christ’s
sufferings. As the believer shared
Christ’s death, he too
arose to newness of life. The sufferings of Jesus appear also in the
Letter
to the Hebrews and in I Peter. Jesus anticipated his passion and found in it
the deep mystery of God’s
will, in behalf of the sins of “many.”
He looked
for a kingdom beyond suffering. His first followers found in his passion a
revelation of a merciful and forgiving Father. With joy they shared their suf-
ferings in Christ, who was their example.
P-21
PASSOVER AND FEAST OF UNLEAVENED BREAD. (הפסח חג (hawg ha
paw sak); חג המצות (hawg ha ma tsoth)) The
first of 3 great festivals in Israel
whole and of the sacrifice proper.
History of Terminology—Beginning in the 100s A.D., Judaism
used the word Pesach, or “Passover,” to refer to the
whole range of obser-
vance related to the season. The single term serves as the title for all
the
festivities. As the employment of
the one title, Passover, indicates, the
Mishna treated all the observances as
parts of a single integrated feast.
Earlier, in the Old Testament (OT), and into the New Testament (NT) as
well, “Passover” and “feast of the Unleavened Bread” were both used with
reference to the rites. Basically the
Passover referred to the eve of the first
day, the 14th day of the month, while the Feast of Unleavened Bread ap-
plied to the 7 days following; this distinction was not carefully kept.
Exodus 23, a part of
what is probably the oldest extant liturgical
calendar of Israel
whether
at the time of this calendar’s framing, assigned to the Yahwistic
editor in
the period of the monarchy, the Passover sacrifice was part of the
cult. The widely accepted view has been that until Josiah’s
reformation,
Passover as distinct from Unleavened Bread was a domestic
observance
rather than a national one.
This well-established view of Passover’s histo-
ry is sharply challenged
today.
Amid all the
uncertainty about the history of Passover and Unlea-
vened Bread there is general
agreement on two points: the feast contains
2 original separate components;
and both of these have a pre-Israelite
history before being adopted by Israel
to serve in the celebration of Isra-
el’s historic deliverance from Egypt. Passover was a nomadic shepherds’
rite and Unleavened Bread was a Canaanite agricultural feast.
OT References—In discussing Passover and Unleavened Bread, 2
general
statements must be made. 1st, even
where it is possible to be re-
latively certain about the date of a given
literary unit, it is increasingly dif-
ficult to associate its account of the
feasts with that date alone. Rela-
tively late documents often incorporate much older forms or reinterpret
older practices. 2nd, there are a number of
references to “feasts,” which
are most likely related to the Feast of Booths,
rather than the Passover.
The largest block of
material in the OT dealing with Passover and
Unleavened Bread is found in
Exodus 12 and 13. The object of the
narra-
tors is to associate both observances with the historical deliverance of Isra-
or in the post-exilic period.
One
scholar’s significant effort to tie the entire section more closely
to later
Jewish practice is matched by persuasive observation of another
scholar
that both the Yahwistic and Priestly source, is archaic in quality and
harks back to the pre-Israelite elements. By giving both equally serious
attention, Exodus 12-13 seems to
illustrate in a remarkable way both the
tenacious persistence of the cultic
forms and the constant, though some-
times imperceptible, changes of emphasis.
Exodus 12 begins by
saying that the institution of Passover esta-
blishes the month of its observance
as the “first month of the year.” In all
probability Israel
sover in the spring is called the “first month” rather than the Babylonian
name, Nisan. The precise words used here to describe the
rite are pasach
havah liadonai (“Passover
is the Lord’s). The title seems to refer
immedi-
ately to God's action in passing over and smiting the first-born in Egypt
It may well refer to the ritual action by means of which this redemptive
and
protective work of the Lord is both celebrated and made presently available
for Israel
Exodus 12 insists
that a man must join with “his neighbor” so that
his group may be large enough
to consume the lamb. There's no hint
here
that Passover was originally a pilgrim feast. As in the time of the NT the
victim must be a
male sheep or goat, without blemish.
There is no explicit
reference to priestly or Levitical assistance at
the slaughter. The counsel
to kill the lambs “in the evening” cannot be fully reconciled with the later
practice of making
the sacrifice in the late afternoon.
The most striking
difference between this priestly account and the
later practice is that the
observance was entirely a domestic affair.
The
blood involved is applied to doorpost and lintels of each house,
instead of
an altar. The word translated
“basin” also means “threshold” or “sill.”
This leads to the very plausible proposal that the slaughter occurred
in the
doorway of the house. The rite
seems to serve both as a sign for the Lord
and as a protection against a
nocturnal demon.
P-22
In verses 6-7, 12-13
of chapter 12, the Passover is instituted as a
sacrifice by means of which Israel
sealing of the covenant between the Lord and Israel
pass into his protection and possession; it is a sign of the divine redemp-
tive action that is about to take place. Verses 24-27 deal
with Passover
as a commemorative ordinance. There is the command to observe the
rite “forever.” The memorial ordinance also applies to the
Feast of Un-
leavened Bread. While the Passover commemorates the slaying of the
first-born, Unleavened Bread emphasizes the Exodus itself.
Passover, having to
do with first-born and first fruits, began at the
Feast of Weeks. The consecration of the harvest and the
harvest season
by the waving of the freshly cut sheaf of barley was an aspect
of obser-
ving the Feast of Unleavened Bread, not mentioned in Exodus 13.
Though the prohibition of leaven in Israel
7-day feast, the original pattern seems indicated by the connection be-
tween the
sheaf of Ceremony and presentation of leaven at Weeks 50
days later. It is plausible that one original component of Passover was a
communal offering or redemption of the first-born by semi-nomadic an-
cestors of Israel
Exodus 12-13 has a
strongly sacramental interpretation of the role
of the Passover rite, which
points to a predominantly priestly origin.
The
fact that it is given a wholly domestic setting and lacks a temple
ceremony
may point to an exilic origin.
The account may represent practices begun
or revised in Babylon
a temple may have involved the revival of some very old forms.
The offe-
ring of the first-born may also have pre-Israelite roots. One feels that refe-
rence to it here in a predominantly later account of the Feast of Unlea-
vened Bread may indicate that it formed a central factor in the pre-exilic
observance of Passover.
Among the passages
in the OT composed later than Exodus 12-13,
II Chronicles 30 and 35 are the most important. The first chapter reports
on a Passover
attributed to Hezekiah, but on which there is no report in
Kings. The account stresses that David's house is divinely chosen, and
the temple in Jerusalem
sprinkling of the blood, the singing of the Levites, and the participation of
those from beyond Judah
scription of Josiah’s
Passover in II Chronicles 35 compares closely with
that of Hezekiah’s. What distinguishes all this material that's
later than
Exodus 12-13 is the role it assigns to the priests and Levites.
In the NT Era—Until the destruction of the temple in 70 A.D.,
Passover was a pilgrim festival. A realistic
estimate has suggested that as
many as 100,000 pilgrims may have come to Jerusalem
feast. Passover was a rather solemn feast,
consisting of ritual slaughter
and the domestic meal and its role of
fellowship and historical commemo-
ration. The lamb and the room were procured by the head of a “company”
or family
group. In the case of very large companies, every member first
received a small token portion from the lamb of the sacrifice. Thereafter
those attending non-ritual roasts were provided the meal itself.
At the temple all 24
division of priests were in attendance.
The first
ceremonial action consisted in the removal of leaven, which
was brought to
the ritual burning of the leaven by the priests. At about 3:00 in the after-
noon the slaughtering of the Passover sacrifices began.
While some Le-
vites sang the Hallel, others slew the sacrificial animals and bled them and
dressed the animals; the priest tossed the blood against the
great altar.
The tossing of the blood was the heart of the sacrificial action; originally it
was probably a rite to
substitute for the first-born. By now
it had become a
means of declaring or releasing God's redeeming action for his whole
people.
The dressed animals
were returned to the worshipers, and were roa-
sted in the oven of each separate
group. The meal was served on low ta-
bles. After the blessing the meal
opened with a first glass of wine. Follo-
wing a second glass of wine a designated “son” of the family asked the
ceremonial question: “Why is this
night different from all other nights?”
This introduced the recital in song and story of the historical redemption
of Israel Egypt
With the destruction
of the temple, Passover ceased as a sacrifi-
cial rite; it has continued as a
sacred commemoration of God’s redemp-
tion. The sacrifice still survives in the dwindling Samaritan community
at Nablus
with Exodus 12.
This is just one reminder that in its 3,000 years or more
of history as
an Israelite observance, Passover has never ceased to
change, however
imperceptibly.
The destruction of the
temple inevitably had the effect of making
the celebration mainly a historical memorial of the great acts of God in
faithful observance is indispensable to fulfillment of the prayer, “Next
year in Jerusalem
over as a sacrifice. Christ is the Lord’s true Passover;
redemption is his-
torically actualized in the death of Christ.
P-23
Current Interpretations—The current debate about Passover’s
history feast relates to the interpretation of the earlier references to
it.
One scholar concluded that the
combining of Passover and Unleavened
bread did not occur until Josiah’s time. The section in Deuteronomy 16
was interpreted as an attempt to abolish private Passover celebrations.
Another scholar argues that Passover was celebrated at a central shrine
of Israel in the days of the judges and was revived by Josiah. Israel
a loose confederacy of
tribes held together by a common religious tradi-
tion and a unifying cult, would
gather to renew their covenant bonds.
At this stage the assimilation of the Canaanite agricultural feasts of
Booths and Unleavened Bread occurred.
Still another
scholar, assuming Israel
confederacy, finds a “Gilgal tradition.”
The Passover at Gilgal celebra-
ted both deliverance from Egypt
Moreover, the Feast of
Unleavened Bread is treated as a memorial of
racter.
Its marks the transition from manna to eating of the fruit of
the
Land of Canaan
the Land of Promise
Unleavened Bread
observance is reoriented to celebrate Israel
tory in terms of one
of its great events.
PASTOR (poimhn (poy men), shepherd, guardian) The word is usually trans-
lated “shepherd” and is used of: shepherds, literally or symbolically; Christ
as the Good Shepherd; and leaders of the Church. In Ephesians 4, the
term is closely linked with “teachers” and designates an office.
PASTORAL
LETTERS, THE. A common way of referring to I and II Timothy
and Titus, written in the name of Paul as a chief pastor and administrator of
churches to two associates. Although the
letters are intended to be private
communications to Paul’s associates, they
are actually more. Their official
character as church documents is revealed by the greetings at the end of
each
letter. The author has 1 primary
concern, the church's stabilization.
He therefore exhorts his associates to take and uphold solid measures
with respect to worship, ordination, and the organization of the church; and
to combat heresy.
Authorship, Historical Setting and Content—Are the letters to be
ascribed to the apostle Paul, or were they written by someone else using
Paul’s
name? Quotations from the Pastoral began
with Irenaeus no earlier
than 181 A.D.; the canon of Marcion from earlier in
the 100s A.D. did not
contain them, probably because the Pauline collection
known to Marcion
didn't contain them.
In the 100's beginning, Polycarp seems to have knowledge of the
Pastorals, as well as other Apostolic Fathers. His Letter to
the Philippians
has striking parallels with the Pastorals, from which various
conclusions
have been drawn. 1st, it has been
argued: that the Pastorals are prior to
Polycarp’s letter (110). 2nd,
Pastorals are later than Polycarp’s letter, and
the Pastorals quote from it. 3rd, Polycarp and the author of the Pastorals
are the same person.
It seems more probable that both authors use
a common source,
which they cite independently. At the century’s end the evidence is ambi-
guous. Before that time the Pastorals seem to have
been largely neglec-
ted; afterwards they became common property of the church.
It
has long been observed that there's a notable difference in the
vocabulary of
the genuine letters by Paul and the Pastorals.
More than
1/3 of the theological vocabulary in the Pastorals isn't
found in the other
ten letters by Paul.
The words which Paul and the Pastorals do share are
542; only 50 can be
characterized as exclusively Paul’s.
These phrases
were probably taken over by the author from Paul’s
letters.
Almost a quarter of the words used in the
Pastorals are part of the
working vocabulary of Christian writers in the
100s. The vocabulary not
from Paul
reflects often the peculiar religious views of the author. Phra-
ses not used by Paul become prominent in
the Pastorals. When the author
uses phrases from Paul, he uses them with a different meaning. The use
of concepts of mystery-religion and emperor-worship is conspicuous.
One is
thus led to observe the absence of the terms expressive of
Paul’s
characteristic piety and theology. The
place of the Spirit is ama-
zingly reduced, and its meaning in connection with
Christ has disap-
peared. The language of
the Pastorals is more akin to the literary Koine
in Luke, Hebrews, and I Peter
than to Paul’s use of the popular Koine, so
the vocabulary stands decisively
against Paul’s authorship.
P-24
It seems impossible to fit the situation described
in the Pastorals
anywhere in Paul’s life.
It is more likely related to the author’s purpose
of setting forth the apostle’s
successful missionary work. When we
con-
sider the Pastorals as one unit, the situation described in them seems to
presuppose a release from a prior Roman imprisonment. Yet the evi-
dence of 2 imprisonments is not as
clear as we might wish. If we do not
take the Pastorals as one unit, the personal references may involve sepa-
rate
episodes in Paul’s life. The suggestion
that the Pastor has included
certain authentic Pauline personal references in
his account cannot be
ruled out.
Historical
Setting, Purpose, and Contents—Any
evaluation of the
Pastoral letters must attempt to place them in their
historical setting. The
apostolic period
had passed, and with it the drive of that period, which was
the hope of the end
of this age. The delay of Christ’s
glorious 2nd coming
made the church aware of the need to reformulate its
attitude toward the
world. The 2nd-coming
hope is modified—not abandoned. The
theme of
the church and the Pastoral letters becomes that of pilgrimage. Existence
within the world involves certain
forms of stabilization and organization.
Two threats arise, one within the church
and the other from without;
one is the threat of heresy; the other is the
threat of public opinion and the
state.
Both are related to self-identity.
In the face of these two movements
the church must react. The reaction opened the way for: the
formation of a
creed; the formation of a canon; and the formation of an
ordained clergy.
We must also not forget
that quite different developments may have taken
place in various geographical
areas. Furthermore, the categories of
ortho-
doxy and heresy were in the process of being formulated. If our author
writes in the early 100s, he
may have been part of the struggle to have his
convictions be part of the
orthodox view.
At the same time the church becomes
increasingly aware of its rela-
tion to society and the state. The church's self-identity became
increasing-
ly obvious after Nero’s persecution (64). The Acts of the Apostles is the
first
explanation which emphasizes the political innocence of the church.
The Pastoral Letters seek to formulate an
ethic that will create good will
for the church. We find in these letters the insistence on
good works and
avoiding gossip. Indeed, adaptation of a secular ethic for Christian usage
forms an
important element of the appeal of the author.
There are several themes in the
Pastorals. The threats from with-
out the church are met by the effort to Christianize the best secular vir-
tues in the
interest of better public relations. The
faithfulness to the con-
fession is the boundary line. Here the church stands firms against the
world. The Pastorals may be
characterized as a manual for the clergy.
Their purpose is to strengthen the church in its beleaguered position; he-
retics
must be shunned or excommunicated. And
the author’s use of
Paul’s name reflects the common view of the time that it
was acceptable
to do so if one is convinced that Paul would have addressed the
church
in the same way.
Although the letters’ chronological order
is a disputed matter and
cannot besolved, the order is probably Titus, I
Timothy, and II Timothy.
Titus is
addressed to missionary regions; I Timothy is concerned with
established
churches; II Timothy is the most Pauline among the Pastorals.
Nature of the Heresy—The identification
of heresy in the post-
Pauline period is a complex matter; no heretical
literature from this period
has survived. The church was just beginning to formulate an anti-heretical
front, and it was interested in a description of heretics or in a debate with
them,
which the church could not afford. The
heretics are denounced and
all vices of society are ascribed to them in much
the same way that popu-
lar philosophical schools denounced one another. This was often done
with traditional ethical
lists.
Here one must resist jumping to the conclusion that the heretical
groups were either Jewish Christians or a well-known Gnostic movement
of the
100s. One shouldn't associate the
heretics with any particular, well-
known leader of heretics, but should
determine what stage of the early
Christian church the Pastorals illuminate. Gnosticism, which even Paul
had to deal with,
narrates basically the tragic fall of the soul.
The soul has
fallen from the heavenly world of light and has been
imprisoned by demo-
nic powers which rule over the world. The way of salvation is gnosis, re-
vealed
mystical knowledge which is communicated by a divine messenger
sent from the
heavenly world.
The heretics’ strength is considerable. They are not outsiders but
flourish in the church’s midst and seem to have
considerable success. I
Timothy 4 says, “The time is coming when people won't endure sound tea-
ching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves tea-
chers to suit their own likings.” The approach of the letters range from
gentleness to believing that the heretics have already been “delivered to
Satan
that they may learn not to blaspheme.”
P-25
Stabilizing
the Church—In the face of these
heretical threats the
church made serious efforts of consolidation. The need for a church or-
der is matched by the
establishment of an apostolic tradition which will
give the church a firm foundation of the true apostolic faith. Regularly
we meet in the Pastorals the living tradition on which the church is foun-
ded. Most of the statements regarding Christ in
the Pastorals are not the
creation of the author, but citation from the early church confessions.
The charismatic gatherings of the
primitive church had already been
regulated by Paul according to the norm: “God
is not a God of confusion
but of peace.”
The need for order and form drove the church to apply more
rigidly the Jewish pattern of worship, which it had adopted. The church’s
pattern is
derived from the family life regulations and the ethical lists,
which are now
applied to the church’s life, and especially to clergy.
The question of an officially ordained
ministry became an important
issue in the post-Pauline church. Ultimately the church arrived at a 3-fold
criterion of apostolic ministry, apostolic creed, and apostolic canon. In the
Pastorals we see the beginnings of
this process; the bishop’s office is not
yet clearly distinct from that of
presbyter. It's probable that a fusion
took
place between the terms “elder” and “overseer.” A stage in the ministry’s
development seems to
be that bishops are about to emerge out of the
presbyterate and assume a leadership
role; the bishop’s function hasn't yet
become pastoral. The Pastoral Letters reflect a transition
from the charis-
matic prophets’ and teachers’ pastoral function to the regular
ministry of
the bishops.
Theological
Emphases. The Pastorals have the imprint of second-
generation
Christianity, in which the spiritual urgency of the apostolic era
has made way
for efforts of stabilization. Unity in
obedience to orthodox
norms is a defense against opposition without and
division within. When
we compare the Pastorals with the genuine Pauline letters, we see that the
vitality and originality of Pauline religion has been replaced by a conserva-
tive,
institutionalized, religious emphasis.
Justification by faith, in the con-
text of the Pastorals has become a traditional phrase without living
content.
The antithesis in Paul between faith and the law is no longer felt. A
certain rationalism now molds Christian faith and ethics. The reasonable-
ness and respectability of
Christian faith are stressed, and an ethic of hu-
manity, decency, and godliness
is introduced. Yet it would be a misrepre-
sentation
merely to compare the Pastorals with Paul.
The church had to
undergo a structural change in its self-understanding,
but in doing so it
must hold fast to its confession, to its basic dissimilarity
from the world.
We must not reject too easily
the moralistic tone of the Pastorals as
merely an expression of the bourgeois
ideal of a good, healthy, sober life.
The heretics in the church belong to a type of introspective religiosity
which claims its own esoteric traditions. Gnosticism's dualism leads to
the conviction that the God of redemption
isn't really the God of creation,
salvation is for the soul, not for the body. This way of thinking is op-
posed by the insistence of the church that the
apostolic tradition be safe-
guarded. This
implies a healthy concreteness of earthly life, and the in-
sight that
“everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejec-
ted if it is
received with thanksgiving.”
The author recognizes that if the life of
creation is important, so is
the life of the community in welding the church
into an organized commu-
nity, to make it an important at a time when Gnosticism
disrupts the
church from within. Therefore,
the church must lead a life which carries
its own apology. The author calls men to be loyal to the faith
of the church.
PASTURE
LANDS (מגרש, (me geh
rawsh) surrounding lands) Open country
around villages to be used freely
in common by the herdsmen and shep-
herds in the village.
PATARA (ta Patara) An ancient city of Lycia Xan-
the largest and most prosperous cities of
Lycia
to Jerusalem Miletus Cos and Rhodes to Patara. Once
there he transferred to another ship
sailed directly to Tyre
ble he changed
ships at Myra
See also the
entry in the Old Testament Apocrypha/Influences
Out-
side the Bible section of the Appendix.
26
PATH (ארח (‘oh rakh); נתיבה (naw tee bah); מעגל (ma eh gawl); odoV (oh
doss)) In the typical sense, the course of human life in relationship to God
and humans. In the doctrine of the 2 paths, there is the
“good path, of jus-
tice and life,” and the path of the “wicked and sinners.” Other passages
speak of “Yahweh’s path.” In vivid descriptive language, the “path”
may
refer to the mysterious thoroughfares of the sea or the channel of God’s
anger.
PATHROS (פתרוס) A designation of Upper Egypt , borrowed from Egyptian p’-
t’-rsy, “the Southern Land.” The Egyptian word is used to designate all of
Misrayim are used for Lower and Middle Egypt.
PATHRUSIM (פתרסים ) People
of Pathros, Upper Egypt (Genesis 10; I Chro-
nicles 1)
PATIENCE (ארך (‘oh rek), forbearance; upomonh (yoo po mo neh), suffer pa-
tiently; makroqumia (ma kro thoo mee ah), long-suffering) Where the
King James Version (KJV) translates the Hebrew words as “long forbea-
ring” and “prolong my
life,” the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)
uses “patient.” In the New Testament, the KJV uses “patience” and NRSV
uses “steadfastness.” Makrothumia has to do with persons and
especially
with God; upomone has to
do with circumstances and the brave
patience
with which a Christian meets them.
The NRSV sometimes agrees with the
KJV in translating upomone by “patience,” but generally it
renders the
word by “endurance,” “steadfastness,” “perseverance,” and “patient
endurance.”
PATMOS (PatmoV) One of the Sporades Islands in the Aegean Sea; it is
about
16 km long from north to south, and its greatest width at the north end
is
about 10 km. Such small islands of
the Aegean
Sea
were used as places
of political banishment by the Romans. John the Seer states that he “was
on the
island called Patmos on account of the word of God and the testi-
mony of Jesus,” (i.e. “He is
sharing with the persecuted churches “the
tribulation and the kingdom and the
patient endurance.” Eusebius says
that
John was banished to Patmos by the Emperor Domitian in 95 A.D.,
and released 18
months later when Nerva became emperor.
PATRIARCHS (patriarcai (pa tree ark ahee), fathers) The
translation of 2
words commonly used by the Primary Greek Old Testament and
the New
Testament to express the concept “patriarchs.” Other related words are
translated
“forefathers, fathers of old, fathers.”
When applied to biblical figures,
“patriarch’ has both a strict and a
loose usage. Specifically the term is limited to the
ancestors of Israel
sented in Genesis. Of the latter group Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob
are tra-
ditionally “the patriarchs” par excellence. However, a broader scope is
also found,
ranging widely across Israel
patriarch.
Genesis offers 2 genealogies of
the early fathers who lived before
the Flood.
The first is from the Yahwist and concentrates on the line of
Cain. The second, from the priestly writer, follows
the line of Seth. The
great length of
life spans illustrates the phenomenon, shared by many cul-
tures, of idealizing a
golden age in the past by exaggeration.
The scholars of previous generations
have debated at length 2 ma-
jor questions concerning the patriarchs after the
Flood: historical accuracy;
and actual existence of the patriarchs. The wealth of data now available
from recent excavations permits a reconstruction of the Middle Bronze
Age (2000-1500 B.C.). These texts and the patriarchal narratives in
Ge-
nesis show such notable parallels in the formation of proper names,
lingui-
stic and stylistic expressions as well as in legal and social customs as
to
justify carrying the Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob traditions back to the Mid-
dle
Bronze era, and placing them in the midst of a brilliant and flourishing
Mesopotamian civilization.
The question of whether the
patriarchs really lived is answered
“yes” by most of today’s scholars, but the
answer isn't unanimous or
unqualified. Genesis stories are built on ancient oral traditions which
have a long
complex history of transmission behind them.
The narratives
were handed down, not as the straight history of mere
individuals, but as
recollection of real and distinct personalities.
The problem of the nature of
patriarchal religion is even more com-
plex than the historical problem. The patriarchs worshiped a God who ap-
pear to
each of them, calling them & promising to be with them. He was
thus known as “the God of Abraham, the
God of Isaac, and the God of Ja-
cob.” This God would bless the patriarch, and
through him “all the fami-
lies of the earth.”
God is, therefore, a personal God;
and it is of God’s nature to asso-
ciate God’s self with persons, not principally
with places. The chief cultic
means by which this God binds a person to God is the “covenant relation-
ship.” The patriarchal religion of Genesis was so
similar in basic type to
the Yahwism championed by Moses that Yahweh could be identified
as
the “God of my/your father.”
P-27
PATROBAS (PatrobaV) A Christian man greeted by Paul (Roman 16).
PATROL (התהלך (he teh ha lake), walk about)
A verb used in Zechariah
1, where the prophet sees horsemen patrolling
the earth and reporting to
the angel. In
chapter 6, the steeds of the four chariots patrol the earth.
I Chronicles 1). The site
is unknown.
PAUL THE APOSTLE (PauloV) A first-century Jew who went from being a
persecutor of Jesus’
followers to being early Christianity’s leading mis-
sionary. He called himself an “apostle to the
Gentiles,” founded chur-
ches in Asia Minor and Greece
new churches as he moved about. Paul’s letters form an important part
of the New Testament (NT). He was a pioneer in formulating the gos-
pel’s
doctrines and ethical implications. He is
second to Jesus Christ,
as a creative personality in Christianity.
List of Topics—1. Paul’s Life: Sources 2. Paul’s Life
Events: Tarsus Jerusalem Damascus 3. Damas-
God; 8. Human Viewpoint; 9. Christ, the Wisdom and
Power of God;
10. “Christ,” “Son of God,” “Lord”; 11. Word of the
Cross; 12. To Everyone Who has Faith; 13. Life Through
the Spirit; 14. The Church as the Body of Christ;
15. Walking by the Spirit; 16. The Lord is at Hand; 17. The
Permanent Significance of Paul
1. Paul’s
Life: Sources—Paul is never mentioned in any ancient
non-biblical source,
not even the Jewish historian Josephus.
Paul didn't
sufficiently impress contemporary literary or official
circles to gain re-
cognition. In the NT
we possess firsthand sources in Paul’s own letters,
plus an important and
lengthy account of his missionary career by the
author of Acts. It is generally held among scholars that the
author of
Acts did not know Paul’s letters; the striking differences include both
significant omissions and equally significant contradictions. Where
they agree, they confirm each other and give us confidence in the relia-
bility of the information; when they differ,
they confront us with many
problems.
The very substantial body of
Paul’s letters affords us a fascinating
view.
It is now generally acknowledged that the Pauline writings in the
NT are indeed genuine letters, addressed to the churches and presumably
intended
for public reading. Paul conforms to the
general letter-writing
style of his times, with significant changes due chiefly to
the nature of
the message he proclaims or to his work as a missionary.
The usual Greek
letter consisted of the writer’s name, the name
of the person addressed, and a
greeting. Paul follows this pattern but
en-
larges it so as to indicate the Christian status of both writer and readers.
He often names 1 or 2 persons with
himself in the salutation; apparently
Paul dictates his letters. Occasional corrections, incomplete sentences
and a general roughness witness to the compositions' unplanned charac-
ter. Perhaps Paul, like a preacher, makes use of
passages here and there
that were prepared earlier.
What
impresses one most of all in the letters is the dominance of
Paul’s central
message about Christ and the salvation that is in and
through him. Every subject he touches is brought into some
connection
with the “law” of Christ. Paul seeks to bring everything under the one
principle of being “in
Christ.” It is this above everything
else which
makes his letters of permanent significance. We have only copies of
copies many times
removed from the originals, so it isn't surprising that
the authenticity has
been questioned and discussed for more than 100
years. 13 writings bear Paul’s name. Of these the most important for
Paul’s
thought, Romans, I and II Corinthians, and Galatians, are widely
held to be
substantially unchanged.
The chronological order of Paul’s letters is probably as follows:
I Thessalonians 50-52 I Corinthians 55
II Thessalonians 50-52 II Corinthians 55
Phillipians 54-55 Galatians 50-55 (60 in Rome
Romans 54-57 Colossians 57-59, 61-62
Ephesians 70-90 (Paul author?)
In Acts we possess
another source of major importance for
Paul’s life and thought. The very simplicity and consistency of the
re-
cord in Act is impressive as the framework for the letters. But it is a
mistake in method to assume that
a secondary source provides a frame-
work of events into which the primary sources must fit. Acts’ extraordi-
nary
value must not be allowed to obscure the fact that it is a later
and secondary
source.
Acts’ purpose is to
record the Christianity’s expansion from Jerusa-
in it is of unparalleled importance. Beginning with
chapter 13, the follo-
wing 16 chapters are devoted entirely to Paul. It is widely recognized that
Acts and Luke
form a 2-volume work by one author. We
know how our
author used his sources and what emphases are characteristic of
him.
Among these are Jerusalem
the mission to the Gentiles acknowledged by all the
leaders, and the Chris-
tians’ innocence of any rebellion against Rome
P-28
The straightforward
narrative of Acts predisposes the reader in its
favor. 1st, the author isn't an eyewitness and he
is dependent on the relia-
bility of his sources. 2nd, he is quite free to select and arrange material
from his sources in such a way as to bring out his own views. When Acts
stands in clear contradiction to the
letters, the student must not be ob-
sessed with the necessity of harmonizing the
2.
2. Paul’s Life Events: Tarsus Jerusalem Damascus
occasionally do Paul’s
letters furnish biographical data. What
we know of
Paul from Acts is that he was born in Tarsus, and was a citizen of
Tarsus;
that he was named Saul and was educated in Jerusalem “at Gamaliel’s
feet”;
that he was present at the Stephen’s stoning, and persecuted the Je-
rusalem
church; that he made a persecuting trip to Damascus and was
converted as he
approached there; that he engaged in 3 missionary jour-
neys; and that he was
arrested in Jerusalem, appealed to Caesar, & went
to Rome for trial. Paul himself never mentions any one of these items.
According to Acts,
Paul says he was “born at Tarsus Cilicia .”
While the letters don't mention Paul’s
birthplace, there is really no reason
why they should. Tarsus
would provide for his use of common Greek speech. Paul claimed to be-
long to the tribe of
Benjamin, so Saul would be an appropriate name.
The
author of Acts first uses it and then shifts to Paul as he moves
into territory
with more of a Greek influence; Paul does not use Saul in his
letters.
The letters confirm
in general that Paul was a Jew influenced by
Greek culture, there is no
indication that he is well-acquainted with Greek
philosophy. Paul came from a family of some wealth and
position. Since
he was a student of Jewish law, he had a trade of “tentmaker” or “leather-
worker” to live by. Acts does not tell us how Paul’s citizenship
had been
earned by his forbears, and Paul himself does not mention it.
It is strange that
Paul does not mention Gamaliel, when he is as-
serting his own thorough grounding
in Judaism, and strange that he disre-
gards the Jewish emphasis on repentance
and forgiveness which Gama-
liel taught.
We face something of a contradiction in the fact that he was a
persecutor of the Jerusalem
the churches of Christ in Judea ,” after his conversion.
Paul’s Conversion to Arrival in Corinth
Event Theory Theory Theory Theory Theory
#1 #2 #3 #4 #5
Conversion of Paul 33 33 31 or 33 33 34 or 37
1st visit to Jerusalem
Famine visit 46 -- 46 46 --
1st missionary journey 47-48 47-48 47-48 47-48 37-51
or 40-51
Apostolic conference 49 49 49 49 51
Paul's arrival in Corinth
Galatians, we would assume that his place of residence at the time of his
conversion was Damascus
his persecuting activity in and out from Jerusalem Jeru-
Paul’s transforming
experience.
Paul calls the
experience a “revelation.” It meant a
radical about-
face in his attitude toward the followers of Jesus, and in his
estimate of
the role of Jewish law, on the other. Calling it a “conversion” does not
fit in
Paul’s case, because he was not changed from a “bad” to a morally
“good” man or
from an irreligious to a religious man.
Nor was it a con-
version in the sense of a change from one religion to
another.
Paul never
consciously forsook Judaism for “Christianity.”
Paul did
assert that the function of the law had been misunderstood, and
he tried to
prove the true relationship of faith and the law from the history
of his own
people. It was
dissatisfaction with himself which was the background for
the central
experience that transformed Paul. He
tried to resolve his own
inner conflict by externalizing it and persecuting the
Christians.
P-29
Paul believed it was
an outside life and light and energy that flooded
his embattled mind and heart
to bring him into a new creative state of be
ing. Paul presents his experience as the act of
God, penetrating to the in-
nermost core of his being. Paul was not instructed in the truths of
Christia-
nity; how he came to know the truths is not told. The 3 accounts in Acts
sound like a traditional
phrasing of the event. They reflect a
sense of an
organized Christian group to which Paul was now joined, and stress
the
voice, the light, but not the actual vision of Christ. Paul refers to his own
transforming
experience on several occasions.
Paul was the last
witness of the risen Christ. Paul’s view
that the
mark of belonging to Christ is to “have the Spirit of Christ.” There is no
clear statement, either in Acts
or the letters, regarding Paul’s knowledge
of Jesus’ life and teaching and of
the teaching of the earliest church. We
must assume that he did know why he persecuted the church and that he
did have
contacts with the leaders.
The “first”
missionary journey is formally initiated at Antioch
Barnabas and Saul are “set
apart.” They sail to Cyprus
the mainland of Asia Minor , they journey in the provinces
of Pamphylia,
Pisidia, and Lycaonia.
They sail from Attalia directly to Antioch
mous Jerusalem
The “2nd” journey
begins with Silas and later Timothy, instead of
Barnabas. After “strengthening the churches” in Syria Cilicia , he revi-
sits Derbe and Lystra. Paul makes the divinely guided
decision to go to
fruitful stay at Corinth.
Paul’s Journeys from 52-60 A.D.
Event Date
Paul leaves Corinth Autumn 51, Spring 52
Paul leaves Corinth Autumn 51, Spring 52
Paul reaches Ephesus Autumn 53
Paul leaves Ephesus Summer 56
Paul reaches Corinth End of 56
Paul at Philippi Passover 57
Paul reaches Jerusalem Pentecost 57
Paul before Festus Summer 59
Paul reaches Rome Summer 60
“went down to Antioch
girl and being delivered from jail at Philippi and Paul’s address at Athens
give us the authentic flavor of Paul’s mission; the address at Athens
very appropriate. He probably ended his “second journey” at Jerusalem
The “third” journey starts from Antioch Jerusalem
After another vague reference to the “region of Galatia Phrygia ,”
where the disciples were strengthened, and the introduction of Apollos and
others who needed and received Christian instruction, the rest of the 19th
chapter is
devoted to events at Ephesus, where Paul stayed for 2 years
and 3 months. Paul’s authentic miracles
aroused the envy of Jewish exor-
cists. A
visit to Macedonia
Before going on to the final events
as recorded in Acts, we must
consider briefly some of the many questions raised
by a comparison of
Acts with the Pauline letters. First, for 2 sets of writing that were
separa-
ted by nearly a generation, they often agree. It was in Asia Minor and
all mentioned in Acts, with the exception of Rome
found.
A convincing item is the fact that about 75% of
the 50 or so per-
sons associated with Paul in Acts appear in the letters. His residence at
ded. The
hardships of II Corinthians is scantily documented in Acts: one
beating and one
stoning. Acts does have the escape from Damascus
The variations in the accounts suggest that they are independent of each
other.
These differences and others aren't
serious; they are what we
would expect. Paul’s letters record 3 visits to Jerusalem
racterized as
to purpose and result. Not only is the
number of visits in
question, but it is by no means easy to identify the 3
letter visits with any
3 of the Acts visits. Many scholars hold the “third” Jerusalem visit in
Acts is with identical
with Galatians’ second trip, but seen first from the
viewpoint of a private,
informal conference vindicating Paul and Barnabas
and laying no restrictions on
them, and then from the viewpoint of a for-
mal, official council resulting in a
compromise brought back to the chur-
ches. This theory manages to eliminate a
visit by Paul to Jerusalem
tween the two noted in Galatians
1.
P-30
The most radical proposal for
dealing with the confusion about the 2
visits mentioned in Galatians 1-2, and
the visit mentioned in I Corinthians
16 and Romans 15, is to identify the 3 letter visits with the only 3 visits in
Acts 9, 11, and 15. This can done by rearranging the
chronology indicated
by these chapters. Most likely no satisfactory solution of the visits to Jeru-
2 other issues must be noted: the Jews as persecutors of the Chri-
stians, and the funds for Jerusalem's
visit. First, in Acts the Jews are repeatedly said to be persecutors. When
Paul and his companions once gain the
ear of the Roman officials, they can
count on protection and justice. Paul’s letters represent the Jews as
rejec-
ting the gospel, but they are not persecutors. Paul’s sorrow and dismay
arise from their
failure to respond to the good news.
According to Paul’s letters, the
“contribution for the saints” was de-
finitely the major purpose of his final
visit to Jerusalem
this last visit as important and dangerous, but nowhere reveals anything
about “aid for the saints.” In Acts the
motive for the visit seems to be ful-
filling a vow. The words: “I came to bring my nation alms and offerings,”
would suggest a temple offering rather than gifts to Jewish
churches.
Acts is our only source for the
events in Jerusalem
Paul’s appeal to Caesar and the dramatic
record of his journey to Rome
We learn of Paul’s rescue by the Roman soldiery from the hands of a
temple mob, aroused by the rumor that he had brought Gentiles into the in-
ner
court. Paul’s assertion of Roman citizenship
saves him from scour-
ging, but he is brought before the Sanhedrin. Paul’s removal to Caesarea
and his relations with the
governor Felix and his Jewish wife, Drusilla, are
recorded in Acts 23.
Chapters 25-26 have Festus, Felix’s successor,
and Agrippa and
Bernice, with the Jews as the accusers. Given the choice of going to Jeru-
called
among the best of ancient sea tales.
Paul is at last at Rome
closes with: “He lived there 2 whole years at his own expense and
wel-
comed all who came, proclaiming God’s kingdom and teaching about the
Lord
Jesus Christ with boldness and no hindrance.” No generally accep-
ted answer to Paul’s
fate has yet been given.
5. Paul as
a Person—Paul
was a Jew by race, and he had been a
Jew in religion. His message was proclaimed in terms familiar
to Jews,
however unacceptable his presentation of these themes was to
Jews. Paul
was, of course, a Jew
influenced by Greek culture, a Jew of the Diaspora,
who wrote in Greek. Paul was a Christian although he never uses
this
word. The larger world’s impact on
him must be discerned in his ideas,
style of writing, and unconscious absorption of the contemporary culture,
rather than in direct borrowing.
The labeling of Paul as a Jew
influenced by Greek culture and a
Christian still leaves Paul himself unexplained. Paul was a unique person,
and emphatically himself. His letters are not just the
serious communica-
tion of a Christian theologian; the unmistakable flavor of
Paul’s persona-
lity pervades them. His personality is reasonably clear, however complex
and baffling certain traits
may seem to be.
Conflict, struggle in the inward man
and in outward situations, cha-
racterized Paul.
He was born into a conflict of cultures.
The Jews’ loyalty
to the one God made them resist the temptation to
compromise and com-
bine with other religions, which was prevalent in the first
century. Paul’s
lengthy and labored
discussion of the dietary laws and the Christian’s rela-
tion to them suggests he himself had battled long and hard with this pro-
blem. Paul viewed nature as sharing the struggle
between good and evil.
Conflict continued to be the very
breath of Paul’s life as a missio-
nary. His personal situation has often been compared to a war in which the
decisive battle has been fought and won but war goes on. Paul was a pro-
tagonist defending the gospel
against Jews and Jewish Christians, on the
one hand, and against libertines and sectarians among the Gentiles con-
verts. Paul’s argumentative thinking & writing style also reveals the same
characteristic note of conflict. He has
the habit of putting things in terms
of their opposites, and we can hardly mistake where Paul stood on the
issues he discusses. The method's weakness is the tendency to exaggera-
tion, which leaves little ground for opposing parties to stand together
on.
Paul was indeed a “man of conflict,”
but he was also a man of inward
peace, whose wholeness of outlook and statesmanlike leadership are con-
spicuous. Outward turmoil and external circumstance didn’t disturb him.
Paul knew a radiant oneness and wholeness of
life so that nothing “in all
creation” is “able to separate us from God’s love
in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
His dark view
of the creature and of the creation is not his final word. The
entire creation has been unified, healed, redeemed, and reconciled by
God’s revelation in Christ. His gospel has behind it and within it a
cosmic
sweep and sanction; the tiny person “in Christ” is caught up into a
cosmic
purpose. It's this central conviction
that speaks to us through Paul, flowing
over all ancient vocabulary and thought-forms that separate us from him.
P-31
“His letters are weighty and strong,
but his bodily presence is weak,
and his speech of no account.” That’s how his opponents described him.
A 100s A.D. collection of legends say that he
was small in stature, bald-
headed, bowlegged, of vigorous physique, with
meeting eyebrows and a
slightly hooked nose.
Paul himself writes of a recurrent physical ailment,
the nature of which
must remain a subject of conjecture. That
Paul was by
nature a sensitive, proud, quick-tempered man can be abundantly
docu-
mented from his letters.
Paul had a genius for
friendship. This fighter for his own
understan-
ding of the gospel could be magnanimous and tenderhearted. Although
Paul traveled through spectacular
country, his letters are wanting in figures
from nature. But when he turns to city life, the arena,
the court, the military,
he is often effective in analogy, imagery, and figure
of speech. Did Paul
have a sense of
humor? The writings we possess are
deadly serious, and
with all his gifts as a phrase-maker, the humorous, flavor
of Jesus’ tea-
ching seems absent from Paul’s writing. His language betrays an
oriental
exuberance foreign to Western speech and writing.
Subject as he was or had been to
ecstatic experiences, it is inevita-
ble that Paul’s psychic health should be
questioned. The impact of his life
and
work on his own times and ours is eloquent testimony to his essential
sanity. The most serious charge that can be brought
against Paul is that of
personal inconsistency. Proclaiming an ethos of love, Paul uses sarcasm,
irony, and bitter
denunciation, including curses, against those who have at-
tacked him and his
gospel.
Cast out by his fellow Jews, he
maintains a moving loyalty to them.
His opponents are attacking him and his message from within the Chri-
stian movement. When the gospel is attacked
directly or indirectly
through his own apostleship, he indignantly strikes
back. When from with-
in the Christian fellowship leaders play upon the fickleness, the credulity,
and the lower
nature of his converts to subvert the gospel of the love and
grace of God in
Christ, he meets this challenge with the force of his
aroused emotions and his
agile mind; he does not condemn his opponents
out of personal pique.
6. Paul’s
Message—Paul’s letters afford us rich firsthand source
material for his
thinking, but they depend on situations and relationships
not always entirely
clear to us. The letters don't purport
to be systematic
presentations of Paul’s theology. We must organize his thinking our-
selves
without any direct help from him. The
interpreter seeks for a key
to open up Paul’s thought, but we must remember
that any organization
of Paul’s work is that of the interpreter in dealing with
letters addressed
by Paul to diverse human situations.
The headings for this article are
determined in part by the run of
Paul’s thought in Romans. Paul is addressing a church which he has
nei-
ther founded nor visited. He wants to
inform them of his own understan-
ding of the gospel. The headings of the following sections are
derived
from Paul’s own writing but not in the sequence in which they are
presen-
ted, as Paul could start his message from any one of these points.
7. The
Power and Righteousness of God—Paul begins with these
oft-quoted words” “I am not ashamed of the gospel: it is the
power of
God for salvation.” Christ is
the “power of God and the wisdom of God.”
This power is a divine gift given when a man confesses that his own
po-
wer is utter weakness. In Romans 1,
Christ isn't mentioned, although it is
clear that God’s saving act is in
Christ. God is the ultimate reference
for
Paul. Not Paul, not Christ, but God
alone is the author of salvation.
Paul’s God is the God of Judaism. Paul has no new conception of
God to
propose. God for Paul is the living
God, to be known through ac-
tion. God is
the living, active, dynamic source of events, rather than the
ground of being or the Absolute beyond empirical knowledge.
It is the
God who rescued the Hebrews from Egyptian bondage. The
gospel is the
power of God, and Paul would have been amazed at the charge that
mono-
theism was threatened by his doctrine of Christ.
Perhaps most
strikingly Jewish is Paul’s emphasis on the righte-
ousness of God. Righteousness
is revealed in the gospel to be the kind of
power God exercises for
salvation. God is the source, not the
object, of
righteousness. Paul was
convinced that man must possess or be pos-
sessed by righteousness. We won't understand Paul unless we sense
his
deep personal hunger for rightness with God beneath all the theology.
Paul is keenly aware that man does not and
cannot earn the verdict of ac-
quittal before God’s judgment seat. Man is offered in God’s boundless
mercy a
status, a relationship with God which he does not deserve.
P-32
Paul’s emphasis on
God’s righteousness neither excludes nor con-
tradicts in his thinking God’s
gracious love in God’s salvation. He
writes
of God’s fatherhood much like Jesus did—God is Father, people become
his
sons, for the father-son relationship is neither necessary nor physical
as
based on the creator-creature status; it is ethical and spiritual. People
aren’t God’s children by nature, but
by faith. The variety and richness of
Paul’s vocabulary when he writes of God confirms our view that Paul is
concerned to show that God has acted for human salvation. It is God’s
act in Christ that reveals God’s
power unto salvation. Righteousness is
particularly relevant when Paul explicitly relates his thought to the Juda-
ism
he is seeking to reinterpret.
8. Human
Viewpoint—Having announced the theme of Romans,
the “power of God for
salvation to every one who has faith,” Paul fol-
lows with a sustained argument
to show that all Jews and Gentiles are
guilty before God, in bondage to sin and
powerless to save themselves.
The human
need for salvation and God’s grace and power to save are the
focuses of Paul’s
theology. Paul is concerned to lift the
saving acts of
God in Christ and the human response in faith into the “clarity of consci-
ous knowing.” He is not
formulating a speculative system, and he is not
presenting salvation as vague
and formless “experience.”
For Paul, sarx means, not just a phase of human life such as their
desires and passions, but the whole human when they are viewed apart
in opposition to God. Paul accuses the Gentiles of sinful
deeds such as
idolatry and antisocial behavior.
He then brings home to the Jews their
own sins. Paul would agree that there were “good”
Gentiles and “good”
Jews. The human
predicament, Paul holds, is deeper than sinful acts.
What is sin overall? We shall miss
Paul’s meaning if we equate
sin with “badness” defined in terms of an ethical
standard or code. Sin
is falling “short
of the glory God.” It is human isolation
from, their
independence of, God, and their pride in their own ability to deal
with
life. Paul believes that the chief
disaster of self-confidence is that peo-
ple are caught in the toils of their own
little selfhood.
Sin is more than an
act or an attitude of rebellion; it is more than
a transgression of God’s law;
Paul appears to regard sin as an objective
condition. Many expressions that Paul uses suggest sin is actually a
personal being, a demonic power. Paul is clearly saying that humans are
caught
in sin beyond their power save themselves and that sins as deeds
spring from
sin as the objective condition of humans being human.
When humans become
conscious of this status, they may be dri-
ven to despair. Even as the desperate human plight is realized,
they are
aware that this condition is not their true nature. The awareness that hu-
mans are essentially a creature and God’s child, though they are actually
estranged from God, results
in the deep inward cleavage in the self cha
racteristic of Paul’s view of humans
from the “human point of view.”
What of the origin
of sin? Paul’s answer is far from
clear. “Sin
came into the world through
one man and death through sin, and so death
spread to all because all have
sinned.” Is Adam regarded as a historical
figure, or is he the symbol of a doomed humanity. In Romans 5, it is death
which “spread to all
. . .” Paul regarded death as inherited from Adam, ra-
ther than sin. Each person does their own sinning.
However, every statement about the reign of sin and death and
about the human’s helplessness and hopelessness is set in
immediate and
vivid contrast to the “reign in life through the one person Jesus
Christ.”
Paul’s impact on successive
generations is due in part to the sheer realism
with which he faces our human
situation corrupted by sin. Yet we are
per-
petually haunted by the consciousness that we are children of God.
How and where does
sin lay hold of man? 1st, there is sarx or
flesh. As Paul uses it, the word has many different
shades of meaning
which only the context can determine; translators use
different English
words to translate sarx It is clear that Paul doesn't limit the use
of this word
to the instinctual or sensual aspects of man’s life. While the flesh is the
sphere of imperfection,
many scholars think that Paul regards the flesh as
morally neutral. Flesh for Paul may be characterized as the
sense-bound,
earth-bound, time-bound, self-bound existence of man apart from
God and
in opposition to God’s will.
2nd, there is soma, or “body”; which has a number
of different mea-
nings for Paul. Perhaps
the most characteristic use is close to the meaning
of “personality.” He cannot conceive of existence after death
as bodiless.
The spiritual body, however, is not “flesh and blood.” 3rd, the word psyche,
or “soul” is
perhaps the least important of the 3 terms for Paul, who can
use it of full human life, the natural life of earthly
people. He intends to say
that people are open to the onslaught of sin and that sin may capture their
whole being.
9. Christ, the Wisdom and Power of God—Paul is proud of the
gospel because it is the power of God for salvation.
Paul as a Jew was
predisposed to look for the coming of the
Messiah. The structure of Paul’s
thought
required a revelation of God in terms of History. But it was surely
the impact of the historic Jesus upon Paul that determined his emphasis
and led him to the full and formal ascription: “the Lord Jesus Christ.”
P-33
Paul centers
attention almost exclusively on the death and the Re-
surrection. Perhaps most significant of all is the
central place of agape,
“love,” in the Pauline ethos. He understands the
Lord’s deeds as mani-
festing God’s outreaching love to to people who do not deserve
it. The
rare references to Jesus’ life and words are due in part to Paul’s radical
evaluation of human existence. If there can be life-through-death, then
the
death and resurrection of Jesus is the answer. It may well be that Paul
told his converts more about Jesus’ words and
deeds than the letters
reveal, but it is abundantly clear that Christ is now
the living Lord for him.
The risen Lord Jesus
Christ is unmistakably a divine being for Paul.
Jesus Christ was indeed “descended from David according to the flesh,”
but he was designated Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holi-
ness
by resurrection from the dead.” The
title “Lord” is freely used, and it
is not always possible to be sure whether
Paul means God or Christ by it.
None of
the titles Paul uses was invented by him.
10. “Christ,” “Son of God,” “Lord”—all these were
current reli-
gious titles in the Jewish and Greek environment. Paul as a Jew must
have known that the word
“Christ” was a title, but in most cases he uses it
as a last name. “Son of God” is a frequent designation in
Paul’s letters.
Paul’s usage implies
more than the Jewish implications.
“Lord” was perhaps the most significant title used by Paul, who
uses it
to designate a pre-existent, divine
being just as he uses “Jesus” for
the historic figure. The title Lord brought Paul’s message within
Greek
thought as “Messiah-Christ” couldn’t do.
Yet Paul was not founder of a
Christ cult in which the Lord Christ was
like the Lord Serapis or the Lord
Mithras.
The use of “Lord” no doubt carried with it dangers to be guarded
against. Paul does not use the titles “son of David” or “Savior.” For Paul,
God is Savior.
When we ask how
Christ became the “power of God and the wis-
dom of God,” Paul answers by
describing the “mind . . . in Christ Jesus.”
It was different from that of the rebellious angels, as it was bent on
obedi-
ence, on humiliation and self-emptying, that he might despoil death, “even
death on a cross,” of its doom. Here the
age-old myth of rebel angels cast
out of heaven is replaced by the Son, who in
complete obedience to the
Father, chooses the life of a slave among men and a
death on a cross.
Whether from the pen
of Paul or his followers, Colossians 1:13-20
only carries into the cosmic
Paul’s thought of Christ as God’s power and
wisdom. The type of thought in the whole passage
reminds us of the thin-
king in Alexandrian Judaism. If this is Paul, he is presenting Christ as
the
sole Mediator over against a threat of angelic mediators. In the next 8 ver-
ses Paul presents the Lord
Christ as the new humanity’s head. He
will
vanquish rebellious wills, human and demonic to achieve final
consumma-
tion, when God will “be everything to every one.”
Another passage that
has been much discussed is the 1st 4 verses
of Romans. Here the Resurrection
is presented as the proclamation of a
status already existing, or as assumption of an office not previously pos-
sessed. The ambiguity is from a verb in verse 4,
where the tense of the
verb is unclear.
If the verb implies assumption of an office not previously
held, it
contradicts passages implying the pre-existence of Christ.
Paul’s Christ is the
heavenly man, and “just as we have borne the
image of the man of dust, we shall
also bear the image of the man of hea-
ven.”
If we ask, How can a cosmic Christ be conceived as personal or a
personal Christ as cosmic? he answers:
This is the whole goal of creation,
which “waits with eager longing for
the revealing of the sons of God.”
11. Word of the Cross—“The word of the cross is folly to those
who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.”
Just as the Resurrection can have no meaning
apart from death, so the
death is informed by the Resurrection. No part of Paul’s message has
been more
debated than how Christ's death on the cross is effective for
salvation. Paul says that: it is the end of the old and the beginning of the
new humanity.
It is a sacrifice adequate
for restoring favorable relations, and it
is a redemption, a ransoming, like a
slave’s release from bondage. Con-
sequences are presented in richly varied imagery: as reconciliation repla-
cing the estrangement between God and humans; as belonging in Christ
to
the new humanity instead of in Adam to the old; and ultimately as
salvation.
Yet in Paul’s
imagery, God is always the author of salvation.
The
imitation of Christ is imitation of the will and the act of God in
Christ.
Furthermore, it is clear that
the death of Christ is the way God deals with
human sinfulness. For Paul the cure of sin by creation of a new
humanity
in Christ is at the center of his thought rather than the origin of
sin, which
is out on the margins. Paul
seldom uses the word forgiveness, but his fa-
vorite words, “grace,” “peace,” and
“reconciliation,” express the same
deep sense of God’s forgiving, restoring
love. Christ's death carries the
note of the cost of sin and the costly character of God’s act in Christ.
These are the major notes sounded throughout
Paul’s letters.
P-34
It is when we ask
how the death of Christ reveals and activates
God’s saving action that the
discussion of Paul’s doctrine of the Atone-
ment arises. Following are 4 passages where Paul
presents this doctrine:
Romans 3:21-26—Here 3 major notes are clearly sounded:
God is acting in Christ; God’s act deals with universal sin; and in
this act the nature of the divine forgiveness is set forth. 2 figures
of speech are used: redemption and sacrifice. The 2 figures of
speech proclaim that in Christ's death both the power and the guilt
of sin are broken. Is Christ's death God’s costly forgiving love in
action, or is it the inevitable penalty for sin?
Romans 5: 8-11—Here Paul’s thought is oriented to the new
life issuing from justification by faith. Here again, God is the ac-
tor; God’s act deals with sin, it exhibits the nature of God’s forgive-
ness. The barrier between God and humans is removed by Christ,
who “died for us in an act of God’s love.
Romans 6: 1-11—In this important passage, instead of the
language of sacrifice or of reconciliation, the imagery is of “old
self” and “new,” of being buried “by baptism into death” and being
“raised from the dead.” By a vivid use of the baptism analogy, Paul
conceives the believer as having died to sin and raised to the new
sense of being “alive to God in Christ Jesus.”
II Corinthians 5:14-21—This passage is reminiscent of the
one in Romans 6. There is the same emphasis on personal appropri-
ation of the death and Resurrection. Once again it is God who is the
actor, even more emphatically than before. The closing verse has
been variously interpreted as meaning that the sinless Jesus bore the
penalty for sin, or that by his incarnation he lived the life of a human,
a life dominated by sin and death.
12. To
Everyone Who has Faith—According to Paul the gospel
“is the power of God
for salvation to “everyone who has faith.”
Paul uses
the word faith with more than one meaning, but his
characteristic use is to
be seen in relation to the law. By “law” Paul usually means the revelation
of
God’s will in the Scriptures. Again, without
losing the sense of “obliga-
tion,” “law” means principle or pattern.
Paul draws no explicit distinction between
the ritual and the ethical
demands of the law.
What the conscience of a Gentile demands can hard-
ly be the ritual, but
only ethical, requirements of the law. Paul sees die-
tary laws as having relative rather than absolute
validity, and circumcision
is spiritualized in a way that would not be satisfactory to a Jew. Paul
shifts the
focus from “doing it the right way” (ritual) to “doing the right
thing” (ethical).
The major difficulty
lies in the apparent contradiction between the
law as embodying God’s will for
humans and the law as intimately rela-
ted to sin and death in Paul’s view. Paul insists again and again that he is
upholding the law. The law is sin’s instrument,
not sin itself; and 2nd and
more important, the law’s function in relation
to God has been misunder-
stood; it is law’s misunderstood role that Paul attacks. The law doesn’t
bring someone
to right relationship with God. Furthermore, the law is
powerless as a motivating force, since it fails
to ensure conduct, and zeal
in keeping the law only increases one’s sense of
one’s own righteousness.
Law and gospel are
thus mutually exclusive as ways to the right
relationship with God. Law has the positive function of revealing
sin as
sin and showing humans that they are in sin’s fatal grip. The law is God’s
gracious providence to
reveal to humans that no effort of their own will
enable them to lift themselves
by their own bootstraps, and to show them
the self-deception that they can save
themselves. Only a “new creation”
will
restore, redeem, reconcile, and save humankind. Humans are to re-
spond with the obedience of faith.
Faith is the absence
of all self-confidence, self-assurance, self-
satisfactionin human
goodness. Faith owes its characteristic
features to
the sharp antithesis: faith versus law. Law shows humans their power-
lessness, incites them to sin, makes sin into guilt, and, in short, closes
every avenue to salvation
save only the way of faith. The impact
of the
law, either sets one at enmity with a God who demands what no man can
fulfill, or else it opens up the possibility of radically different
relationship.
Faith is obedience,
surrender, receptivity; it is acceptance with the
whole self of the good news
that God’s saving grace is offered to all in
Christ. Faith is the response of the whole person
toward the humanly un-
believable love of God in Christ, freely offered to those
who do not de-
serve it. Faith is the condition
for receiving salvation; it is not a virtue,
and attitude, or an
experience. It is the continuous
necessity of an act of
submission, of receptivity to God’s grace in Christ. While faith is the
basic response of the whole person to the revelation of God
in Christ, it
is not the whole of salvation.
The Spirit and the fruits of the Spirit is-
sue from the faith that puts
humans in creative relationship with God.
P-35
13. Life Through the Spirit—The antecedents of Paul’s concept
of
the Spirit are clearly Jewish.
“Spirit” is predominantly a religious term,
standing for the divine
presence and power and for a person’s capacity for
receiving it, and not for an
invisible essence in a person. Paul
knows of
the Spirit as a miraculous divine power. In 2 respects, however, Paul devi-
ates from
the Old Testament pattern. 1st, he
relates spiritual gifts to group
sanctions, arguing that the variety of gifts is a manifestation of the one
Spirit.
2nd, the gift of the Spirit is no longer temporary; it is a permanent
possession of the believer.
Here we meet again
the persistent paradox of Paul: the Christian is,
the Christian ought to
be. Paul thinks of Spirit as
more than an invading,
dynamic energy manifested in spectacular gifts. The Spirit means a direc-
tion, a will, for all
of life. Paul can and does use the word
to designate the
human spirit. He usually thinks of the self as a unified whole, yet there are
at least 2 passages
in which the spirit of humans appears to be that part or
aspect of the self
which is open to the divine Spirit.
It
is clear that Paul uses “spirit” in a Jewish rather than a Greek
sense, for it
does not so much reflect a dualism as refer to the divinely
empowered
transformation of the whole person to be a “new creation.”
Personal and impersonal conceptions of the
Spirit are both found in the
Old Testament; Paul’s use of both, then, is not
surprising.
The new life is life
in and through the Spirit. The Spirit
means
“peace and joy.” The believers have their lives in Christ Jesus. The new
life is life in the Spirit and in
Christ. The essence of Paul’s thought is
that scripture is unveiled by the “Spirit of the Lord,” which Spirit sets us
free from the written code; the Lord (Christ) has the universality and
effec-
tiveness of the Spirit.
We have seen that
the new life is described by Paul as life in and
through the Spirit and in and through Christ. The new life is personal
life.
The life of the Spirit, the life
in Christ, is a definite way of living patterned
after Jesus. Love even toward the unlovely is the mark of
new life. Paul’s
letters all bring the
same concrete, personal application to specific human
situations. This is to be life’s outcome in the Spirit in
Christ. The classic
statement of Paul’s mysticism is found in Galatians 2:19-20:
For through the law I died to the law, so that I might live to
God. I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who
live, but it is Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the
flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave him-
self for me.
This state shows the intimate
relationship with Christ and the resultant redi-
rection and reconstitution of
the self. The self is merged with the
divine;
the “I”-“Thou” relationship is retained.
The new life is corporate life; many
passages emphasize the corpo-
rate aspect.
Life in the Spirit, life in Christ is life in the new humanity. To
be “in Christ” may well mean a complete
sharing in the body of Christ.
Paul does
use language which approaches the terminology of the mystery
cults, but the
major reference seems to be directed toward the body of
Christ. The new life, then, is personal life in a new
realm or a new creation.
It is
conditioned by faith. Christ is made
contemporary and inward by the
Spirit; the Spirit is given the ethical content
and the personal implication in-
herent in Jesus.
14. The
Church as the Body of Christ—It is generally agreed that
Paul’s most
significant contribution to the concept of the church is his tea-
ching about the
“body of Christ.” The new life manifests
itself most conspi-
cuously in the church and in the personal conduct of the
believer.
There are at least 2 reasons
why it's a mistake to stress the mea-
ning of the Greek word ekklesia (congregation). 1st, he can and does use
other words and phrases (e.g. “saints,” “brethren,” “all who believe,” “chil-
dren of the promise,”). 2nd, the Greek word has
behind it Aramaic and
Hebrew words. Both the origin of the Greek word and the Aramaic and He-
brew words it represents is uncertain. The English word “church”
comes
from the Greek word kyrios (Lord).
Paul’s free use of the word
indicates that he regards it neither as pe-
culiar to himself nor as in need of
definition; in Paul’s letters the word
“church” occurs both in the singular and
in the plural. It is quite widely
held
today that Paul conceived of the church not as a new and tiny entity,
but as
the existing and true Israel, the “church of God” [represented local-
ly] at
Corinth”; he can also recall persecuting “the church of God.” This
helps us to understand his otherwise extravagant hope and confidence in
the struggling little communities so
seemingly insignificant over against
mighty Rome
P-36
It has been argued that there was no
room for the church as an in-
stitution in the expectations for the end of the
present age. But is the
church envisaged
as an institution in New Testament?
Certainly not in
Paul’s writings.
The church is a community in preparation for the end
of this age. This accounts for the informality and
flexibility of its organi-
zation, and for the fact that organization stems from
the consciousness of
the 1 body with its several members rather than from any
sense of the
need for an official policy.
Paul’s view of the church is seen to be entirely
consonant with the
Synoptic records, according to which the individual is
not so much saved by a
unilateral relation to God as by being incorporated
into the fellowship of
God’s people.
Our modern sociological approach to
the rise of the church is much
different from Paul’s self-image. He doesn’t think of himself as an organi-
zer
or even as a missionary bringing the message to the spiritually igno-
rant; he
is not one who selects strategic centers and strategic methods of
work. The statesmanship of Paul, the skill with
which he discovers and
develops prepared groups, ready for his message are
quite incidental as-
pects of his work.
Paul believes that he is heralding the
“reconciliation message.” The
saints are the called ones, the separated ones, the holy ones. When Paul
writes to the
Corinthian or to the Roman Christians he doesn’t mean that
they are called to become saints. He is an apostle because
he has been
called; they are saints
by virtue of their calling. It is just
because they
are “saints” that he can appeal to them to behave as such.
The modern idea of the church as a
means of propaganda or an
agency for promoting desirable causes is also foreign
to Paul’s thinking.
He does indeed, believe that the end of the old world will come with the
imminent second
coming of Christ. The church is an
invasion of the new
age into this time.
Paul makes use of the cosmic imagery of Jewish ima-
ges of the end of this
age to introduce the new age.
The church as the body of Christ is
an important Pauline concept.
The figure
of the body must not be too rigidly interpreted; the body is one,
its many members actually demonstrating rather than negating its unity.
Each member, however insignificant in him or
herself, is related organi-
cally to the body by the “same Spirit,” and the
differing spiritual gifts are
to be understood from the functional
viewpoint.
In Colossians, there is no
suggestion of rivalry over spiritual gifts.
That Christ is the head of the church is apparently derived from
Christ’s
cosmic headship in the universe.
Christians are thought of as being incor-
porated into Christ’s very
person. Paul uses the body of Christ to
empha-
size the unity of the Messiah-Christ.
It is so closely related to Paul's mysti-
cism as to constitute an integral part of his thought about being “in Christ.”
It is possible that Paul has a genuinely
mystical idea of the interpenetration
of the living Lord with the Spirit of the
believer.
15. Walking
by the Spirit—Paul knows what ecstasy means, and
he prizes the spiritual
gift of speaking with tongues in its rightful place, but
the Spirit's fruit is a kind of character and conduct consonant with new life
in Christ and quite different from spectacular gifts. Ethics' importance of
in Paul’s message is unmistakable. It is the ethical collapse of both Gen-
tile and Jew that makes justification by faith alone a necessity. The most
significant passages on the
sacraments of baptism and the Lord’s Supper
are related to behavior.
Paul’s doctrine of salvation is
set forth in language which reminds us
of the mystery cults, but his insistence
on morality sharply divides him from
these cults. The ethical monotheism which was Paul’s
heritage made it
quite impossible for him to think of conduct without its
source in religion or
of religion without its consequence in behavior. Paul was, ethically spea-
king, a Jew from the
beginning to the end of his life.
Paul’s
ethical center of gravity had shifted from the ritual to the mo-
ral commandments. Some of his converts understood
his teaching to mean
that every one might now do what was right in their own
eyes. Paul meant
that the new man in
Christ now wants to do from inward compulsion what
was formerly imposed from
without. This is the new Christian
freedom.
Paul believed that new life
in the Christian would mean walking after the
pattern of Christ, but he found
this difficult to explain to his new converts.
Eager as Paul was to escape from the
bondage of all law, he cannot
avoid standards and norms of conduct. Right conduct is not inevitable,
even among
the “saints; it is a matter of conscious decision. Paul’s letters
reveal certain standards of
conduct even though he has no system of
ethics. Paul repudiates the law of Moses, because it is the law’s function
which
Judaism misrepresents, not its demands.
The ethical demands are meant to be fulfilled, except that the new
man, Spirit-filled, now performs what the law demands from an inward
motivation
rather than from an outward compulsion.
Paul appears to look
forward to a judgment according to deeds done “in
the body”. The appa-
rent contradiction is
to be resolved by remembering that the divine grace
was a morally creative
power which made possible all and more than the
law required.
P-37
The words and example of the Lord
are also authoritative as a
standard of conduct. Paul’s letters reflect, here and there, the
influ-
ence of Jesus’ teaching. Love is
Paul’s ethos, the “way” in which all
spiritual gifts are to be expressed. I Corinthians 13 doesn't mention
Christ; the context makes it evident Paul is speaking of how the Spirit
of Christ
affects conduct.
Paul does not present
Jesus’ teaching about marriage as an ob-
jective command like Moses' law. It is rather part of that revelation
of the new life in the Spirit, in Christ. It is the Spirit which is the pre-
vailing
sanction and norm of Christian conduct.
Because of the Spirit
each individual member has an organic relationship
to all other mem-
bers. This sense of sharing, of koinonia, produced the
Pauline ethic or,
at any rate gave it its distinctive form.
It is in the realm of ethics that
Paul’s paradox is most clearly en-
countered. Christians live a new life; yet Christians must be admo-
nished to be what
they are. Paul simply knows that new
life comes
from God through Christ and the Spirit as people open their hearts
in
faith to receive it. Salvation for
Paul is still an end event, and the battle
with sin still goes on even though
the decisive victory has been won.
Another
unsolved problem is the basis for obligation in Paul’s ethic.
Our obligation is to God; what is the
ground of our obligation to our fel-
lows? Paul’s answer is that we are bound in one body by the Spirit’s
gift, and so our obligation is as members one of another. In Paul’s
thought the body is metaphorical and not meant literally.
16. The
Lord is at Hand—The Lord’s coming is but one aspect in
Paul’s expectation
of events to be realized at history’s end. He contem-
plates these end events both in chronological terms as near and
in terms
of decisive fulfillment, looking forward with eager joy, to when “the
crea-
tion itself will be set free.” The importance of how this age ends and how
the next begins is to be seen by
surveying his expectations.
The believers’
destiny, alive and dead, is bound up with Christ’s
coming in messianic
power. Christ's resurrection means the believers,'
resurrection; they are members of his body. How long Christ’s rule is to
continue is not stated. Whether the final judgment of all is meant by
to
telos (the full completion) is not
clear. Paul is here concerned primarily
with the destiny of believers, although, no doubt, sharing the view that
all
will be judged.
An integral part of Paul’s view
of the end of this age is the cosmic
conflict between Christ and the invisible,
supernatural powers of evil. In
the
Cross they have been defeated, for Christ’s coming and especially his
resurrection
marked the turning point in the tide of battle.
It follows natu-
rally that salvation for Paul is a strictly an
end-of-the-age event. That
Paul can
speak of salvation as a present reality is a contradiction in terms,
but not in
reality, for he is emphasizing the fact that ours is indeed, a sa-
ving hope.
Paul did think in terms of the 2 ages, the Judgment, the resurrec-
tion, the saints' reign and the Lord's coming. He also accepted the
inter-
mediate messianic kingdom as preceding the age to come. But Paul
makes almost no use of the Old Testament’s spectacular stories of the
end of this age. Furthermore moral values and motives,
peripheral in
these stories, are central for Paul. Paul’s end-of-the-age view had a diffe-
rent
relevance to his ethics.
Finally and
chiefly, the dualism between the old and new age has
been essentially
transformed in Paul’s thought. There is
no longer a
sharp boundary between the now and the then. The age of the Spirit is yet
to come, but the
reality of the Spirit’s presence is the guarantee of victory
and of
participation in the kingdom of God
readers “stand in
the narrow span of time between the ages.”
The age to
come has invaded this age in Christ and the Spirit.
Paul’s ethical teaching is
surprisingly free from using the end of the
age as either confirmation of or
reason for following his teachings.
Beha-
vior is usually the “fruit of the Spirit.” Paul seeks to work out each ethical
problem
to the “way” of love. The imminence of
the end is not used to
control the content (love) of conduct. Paul explicitly introduces the immi-
nence of
the end as the reason for his advice.
How thoroughly Paul’s thought
revolves around the end of the age
can be tested by considering any one aspect
of it. He can't think of the
Jewish
people’s destiny, for example, without evaluating their present re-
jection of
the gospel in terms of God’s ultimate purpose.
Paul was never
obsessed with speculations about the end. Because of the Christ event
and the Spirit’s gift,
human history now is joined together with the age to
come. The end's nearness should mean there lease, the enhancement,
the revitalization, of the whole person to live the new life. Into this tem-
poral, transient
age new and lasting powers and values have come.
17. The
Permanent Significance of Paul—It is hard to write calm-
ly about Paul. He has been the center of controversy
arousing passionate
defense & passionate opposition. The fact that his letters were preserved
and
that they were accepted as scripture is solid evidence of the early
church’s verdict. Paul himself acknowledged the human frailty
both in his
thinking and in his doing.
Paul asked and gave significant answers to the major theological
questions
which were to recur again and again through the later centuries.
Perhaps his most creative contribution was in
laying the foundation for
Gentile Christianity.
At the same time he planted little Christian churches
in strategic
centers of the northwestern region of the Mediterranean .
Paul
was an authentic ambassador for Christ, and nothing “in all creation”
could separate him or us from the love of God.
P-38
PAULUS, SERGIUS. Proconsul of Cyprus
island, around 45 A.D. By
temporarily blinding a magician who was with
the proconsul, Saul, “also called
Paul,” convinced Sergius Paulus of the
gospel’s truth. There is an inscription which mentions L.
Sergius Paullus
during the reign of Claudius.
PAVEMENT (מלבן (ma leh bane), brickkiln) The pavement of the palace at
In
an appearance of God the pavement under God’s feet was made of sap-
phire. Jesus sat on the judgment seat at a place called
“The Pavement”;
the pavement and underground constructions may belong to
the tower of
PAVILION (סכה (soo kaw), booth, tabernacle)
A shelter or covering. In I Kings
20, it designates the tents in which
Benhadad and his aides became drunk
also the concealment of Yahweh in Yahweh’s appearances.
PE (פ (pay)) The seventeenth letter of
the Hebrew Alphabet as it is placed in the
King James Version at the head of
the 17th section of the acrostic psalm
119, where each verse of this
section begins with this letter.
PEACE IN THE OLD TESTAMENT (OT) (שלום (sha lom), health, prosperity)
The state of wholeness possessed by persons or groups, which may be
health, prosperity, security, or the spiritual completeness of covenant;
military or economic peace is similar to the bodily and spiritual health of
the
individual.
In the OT, peace of any kind is a
wholeness determined and given
by God. The peace of the individual principally involves health and the
good
life. It is protection by God’s
favorable promise or by someone
who cares for one’s needs. The individual’s peace is synonymous with
one’s
good life for it involves one’s healthful sleep. The nation the fami-
ly’s peace is its
prosperity and security; it is the reverse of strife. It may
be simply the absence of war or the
ending of war. It may mean making
a
treaty or agreement of nonviolence.
All peace is of God; the condition
of peace is God’s presence. Hu-
man righteousness
under the covenant makes them peaceable. The
wholeness of human life includes their obedience to God. Since the Co-
venant is the relationship which
restores people to wholeness of relation-
ship with God, it may be referred to as
a covenant of peace and God’s
gift of the wholeness of relationship. Peace’s blessing is essential for
rules over the people’s fortunes,
God’s peace is salvation. Indeed, though
judgment and trouble may precede the actuality of peace at this age’s end,
stripes that bring about God’s own healing.
PEACE IN THE NEW TESTAMENT (NT) (eirhnh (i ray nay)) In the classical
Greek the
word is used to describe cessation or absence of hostilities be-
tween rival
groups. In the NT, however, the word
carries a far wider
range of meaning.
The Hebrew word shalom
embraces all that the Greek word nor-
mally meant, and much more besides; in
the NT the Greek word has
some of the breadth of the Hebrew word's meaning. The Hebrew word
came to be used as a common greeting. This greeting is found on the
` lips of Jesus. As he used it, and as he expected his disciples to use it,
the word of peace included the actual
bestowal of peace, and if this gift
was spurned, the peace returned to him who
had offered it. In these
greetings the
peace which is offered comes from God.
There
are in the NT 3 more precise meanings which can be dis-
tinguished. The 1st follows the usage of classical
Greek and indicates
peace, as opposed to war or strife (Luke 14; Acts 12). In I Corinthians
7 it refers to “domestic
peace” between husband and wife, and in Mat-
thew 10 and Luke 12 to peace within
the whole family. 2nd, “peace”
is
used to describe the restoration of right relationships between God
and
humans.
3rd, the word may also mean
“peace of mind” or serenity.
This
appears to be a distinctively Christian meaning. The actual men-
tion of “heart” and “mind” as
the sphere where peace rules points to
this same meaning. In certain contexts, therefore, “peace” may
bear
any one of these distinguishable meanings.
In many cases it is used
comprehensively to embrace all 3 meanings.
P-39
PEACEMAKER
(eirhnopoioV (i reh no poy os)) The peacemakers who are
“blessed” are not
primarily those who spread cheer and good will; but
those who create peace where there is hatred, who reconcile where
there is separation. The peace which they offer can only be reconcili-
ation
through Christ. The price is high and to
those who won't accept
the terms, Christ brings, not peace, but a sword.
PEACOCK
(תכיים (took kie yeem), monkey?) It seems unlikely that the
pea-
cock, a native of India Palestine
of
Solomon. It is more probable that it
came into the Mediterranean
area only after Persia India
PEARL (פנין (paw neen)) A dense shelly concretion,
formed as an abnormal
growth with the shell of mollusk. Pearl
thew 7, 13; and Revelation 17, 18.
PEASANTRY (פרזון (peh raw tsone)) A reasonable translation of the obscure
Hebrew word, found only in Deborah’s song (Judges 5).
PEDAHEL (פדהאל, God has delivered) A
Naphtalite leader, Ammihud's son.
He
was one of those appointed, under the oversight of Eleazar and
Joshua, to superintend the distribution of the Western Jordanian territory.
PEDAHZUR (פדהצור, the rock has delivered) The father of Gamaliel, who was
the leader of Manasseh in the wilderness (Numbers 1, 2, 7, 10).
PEDAIAH (פדיה, the Lord has delivered) 1. King Jehoiakim of Judah
nal grandfather (II Kings
23) 2. King David’s descendant; Zerubba-
bel’s
father (I Chron. 3). According to Ezra
3, 8; Neh. 12; and Hag. 1, 2,
Zerubbabel’s father was Sheatiel, Pediaiah’s
brother. 3. Joel’s father,
from that
part of the tribe that lived west of the Jordan
4. One of those who helped repair Jerusalem
3). 5.
One of those who stood at the left hand of Ezra during the rea-
ding of the book of the law of the Lord (Neh. 8). 6. A Benjaminite;
son of Kolaiah; father of
Joed (Neh. 11). 7. A Levite appointed by
Nehemiah as a treasurer over the storehouses to distribute the required
portions to the Levites (Neh. 13).
PEDDLER (kaphleuon (kah peh lee yone), huckster) Paul writes that he was
not a “peddler” of God’s word. This may imply
that he did not receive
pay from the churches, or it may mean something quite different,
i.e.
that Paul had not used tricks in his preaching and had not falsified the
gospel.
PEDESTAL (כן (kane), base) The round foot of a column
(I Kings 7).
PEDIMENT (מרצפת (ma reh tsaw pawt) A stone foundation with which Ahaz
replaced
the bronze oxen which supported the “sea” in the temple.
PEG, TENT PEG (יתד (yaw thade), nail, stake)
A stick for digging. Jael
ex-
tended the hospitality of her tent to Sisera, and then slew him with a
tent
peg and mallet.
PEKAH (פקה, opening
the eyes) King of Israel (northern kingdom) around
737-732 B.C.; son of
Remaliah. Pekah succeeded to the throne
after his
murder of Pekahiah. The
close similarity between the names of these 2
kings has led to the suggestion
that they were one and the same. A more
plausible hypothesis is that the
usurper Pekah, was so eager to ensure his
position as king that he deliberately assumed the name of his predecessor.
Only in these 2 biblical names is the root peqah to be found.
P-40
Pekah is said to have reigned 20 years. But a reign of this duration
is impossible, because according to the Assyrians, Menahem paid tribute in
738 and Hoshea became of Israel
for about 2 years, it is clear that Pekah’s reign can have lasted no more
than 6
years. Defenders of the text hold that
Pekah may have “reigned 20
years,” but not necessarily in Samaria Gilead at Jero-
boam II’s death, and maintained it there
throughout Menahem’s reign.
When
Tiglath-pileser III confirmed Menahem’s claim, Pekah capitulated,
declared his
loyalty to the king, and was given a high military office. He
later murdered his royal master, with Syrian assistance, and became king
himself in Samaria.
Apparently the 2 states of Syria Israel
of Judah (southern kingdom) to join them. Ahaz
appealed for help to Ti-
glath-pileser, over the strong protestations of
Isaiah. Actually, the provoca-
tion of Syria Israel
12th year of his reign—734—he marched to
the West. In the course of the
first
campaign Tiglath-pileser attacked northern Israel Gilead ,
all of Naphtali and Transjordan .
That all these northern towns were still in the possession of Israel
this time is an item of
considerable interest. Some had
been taken from
Baasha of Israel by Ben-hadad king Aram
covered. Then Tiglath-pileser turned
on Syria
thern Israel
population.
But intrigues still
continued in Samaria
Hoshea took his place on the throne of Samaria
tion reads: “They overthrew their king Pekah and I placed Hoshea as king
over
them. That the entire population of Samaria Assyria
at this time is not historical,
but rather an exaggerated boast of Assyria .
The
inscription also makes mention of a conspiracy; no mention is made
of Pekah’s
burial. The revolt led by Hoshea must
have been largely a do-
mestic matter, as Hoshea in the early part of his reign
remained a vassal
PEKAHIAH (פקהיה, Yahweh has opened the eyes) King of Israel (northern
kingdom) around
738-737 B.C.; son and successor of Menahem.
The uneasy situation which
prevailed in Israel
reign continued
during his son’s brief reign of 2 years; pro and anti-Assy-
rian parties vied
for control of Israel
Pekah, son of Remaliah, the king’s
“captain.” It may be assumed that
Pekah
was an army officer in close touch with the king. “50 men of the
Gileadites” took part in the murder along with Pekah, who probably had
the backing of Damascus Damascus Israel
concert
during his reign.
PEKOD (פקוד,
visitation, punishment) A minor
Aramean tribe dwelling on the
eastern bank of the Lower Tigris .
Temporary subjection of Pekod is recor-
ded in the annals of the Assyrian
kings Tiglath-pileser III (746-727), Sar-
gon II (722-705), and Sennacherib
(705-681). Sargon II forced their
sur-
render by damming the Tupliash River
cle against Babylon
and Chaldeans among the lovers of Jerusalem
PELAIAH (פלאיה, the Lord
separated (is wonderful)) 1. Son of Elioenai,
among the remote
descendants of David (I Chronicles 3). 2. A Levite
who attended Ezra’s public
reading of the law and helped expound it to
people.
PELALIAH (פלליה, the Lord judges) A priest of Ezra’s time
(Nehemiah 11).
PELATIAH (פלטיה, the Lord delivers) 1. Hananiah’s
Son; a remote, ob-
scure descendant of David (I Chron. 3). 2. One of the captains, all
sons of
Ishi, of the Simeonite band that destroyed the Amalekite remnant
at Mount Seir
one of the 2 Judean
princes seen by Ezekiel in a judgment vision.
Appa-
rently they were in the pro-Egyptian party during the Babylonian
siege
of Jerusalem
tended the covenant sealing under Nehemiah (Neh. 10).
PELEG (פלג, brook,
stream, division) A son of Eber, and descendant of Shem
(Genesis 10, 11; I Chronicles 1). The name is explained as “division,”
because
in his days the earth was divided; “earth” in this case may be a
more limited
region. In the original table the
descendants of Peleg and
Joktan were regarded as the 2 main branches of the
Semitic group; Jok-
tan was the Arabian branch; Peleg was the Aramaic and Mesopotamian
branch. Some scholars have
regarded the explanation of the name as a
later gloss on the genealogy. One alternative explanation is that Peleg
may
mean “watercourse” or “canal” and may describe the region where
they lived. Another explanation is that the
name is derived from the
city of Phalga
P-41
PELET (פלט,
deliverance) 1. A Calebite who is included among the
sons of
Jahdai (I Chronicles 2). 2. 1 of 2 sons of Azmaveth who were among
the disaffected Benjaminite warriors who joined the proscribed band of
David at Ziklag (I Chronicles 12)
PELETH (פלת, swiftness) 1. A Reubenite, On’s father, who participated in
Korah’s rebellion against Moses (Numbers 16).
“Peleth” should perhaps
be read as “Pallu,” who appears elsewhere as Reuben’s son. 2. A Je-
rahmeelite; son of Jonathon, whose ancestry is traced in the tribe of Ju-
PELETHITES (פלתי, swiftness) A group of foreign mercenaries who are al-
ways associated with the Cherethites, and were part of David’s royal body-
guard. Their origin is to be located among the Sea People. The Pele-
thites' loyalty to the crown is illustrated when they accompanied David in
his flight from Jerusalem
Benaiah when he supported Solomon’s claim to the throne, and their pre-
sence at Solomon’s coronation was sufficient reason for the complete fias-
co of his rival, Adonijah.
PELICAN (קאת (kaw
‘at) vomiter) Any of a family with an enormous bill that
has a large pouch under its lower bill.
They are found in the vicinity of
swamps, estuaries, rivers, and seas. Although Tristram records the peli-
can's occasional
appearance in the 1800s, it is not certain that bird is
de-
signated by any known Hebrew word. The
Hebrews word is used in
Psalm 102; Isaiah 34; and Zephaniah 2 for birds found in the wilderness
and around ruins, regions in which the pelican wouldn't
normally be found.
Christian Era's early centuries.
It appears in Thut-mose III's (1490-1436
B.C.) records, Seti's (1318-1301 B.C.), and on Ramses II’s stele (monu-
ment). Pahel was destroyed before the Israelite
conquest, and wasn’t
rebuilt until Greek colonists settled there. They were Macedonians, and
the name Pahel
recalled that of Pella
When the great revolt against the Romans broke out in 66 A.D., Jerusa-
lem's Christian community retreated to Pella
an
important center of the church. It is
located on the Wadi Jurm on the
Greek
and Roman buildings.
PELONITE, THE (פלוני,
distinguished) A title given to Helez and Ahijah, 2 of
David’s Mighty Men who fought with him in his wars against the Phili-
stines and
lesser foes. In II Samuel 23 Helez is
called the Paltite. Ahijah
is probably
identical with Eliam in II Samuel 23, who was a Gilonite.
PELUSIUM (Phlousion) An important fortress town on Egypt’s extreme
northeastern frontier, near the mouth of the Nile’s easternmost branch, 30
km
west of the Suez Canal and 1.6 km from the Mediterranean. Because
of its strategic location near the northern and eastern Asiatic countries it
acquired military importance in Late Egyptian
times. The Greek name pos-
sibly
corresponds to a religious name which the fortress town had.
PEN (עט (‘ate), stylus; חרט (kheh ret), graving tool; צפרן (tsee po ren),
point
of graving tool; kalamoV (ka la mos), writer’s reed).
PENCIL (שרד (sheh red),
graving tool) An instrument for marking wood; per-
haps a type of stylus.
PENDANT (נטיפה (neh pee faw), drops; ענק (‘ah nawk), necklace) A drop-
like pendant. This item was among the material captured
from the Midia-
nites. Pendants were of varied character: drop-like cluster-earrings, or
others that were worn on
chains or cords and suspended from the neck.
They doubtless had amuletic
significance.
PENINNAH (פננה, pearl) Elkanah
the Ephraimite’s wife; she had children,
while Hannah (other wife), had none.
P-42
PENKNIFE (תער (tah ‘ar), razor) A
knife used for making and repairing reed
pens and for cutting papyrus.
PENTATEUCH. The Pentateuch or Moses’ 5 Books, constitutes the Hebrew
Bible’s first and most important division. It was given the highest authority,
since it was traditionally thought to be the work of Moses.
The Pentateuch itself is the 1st part of a larger complex. This com-
prises the books from Genesis-II Kings, excluding Ruth. The primary his-
tory recounts Israel's
from the beginning to the collapse of the kingdom of Judah
nian exile. The Chronicler’s history (I and II Chronicles-Ezra-Nehemiah)
covers the same general subject matter, but omits most of the earlier narra-
tives and focuses attention on David's kingdom
successors.
It is apparent from an examination of the two histories that not only
do they reflect very different points of view, but they're also products of
vastly different periods of Israel
tory, it is difficult to suppose that the return from Babylon
been mentioned had the primary history been written subsequent to that
momentous event. The Chronicler’s account includes this event & brings
the narrative down to the reforms of Ezra and Nehemiah (400s B.C.),
where it leaves off without conclusion. It's reasonable to conclude that the
Chronicler’s history was compiled about this time.
List of Topics—1. G (Primary History and Underlying
Source) 2. J (Yahwist), E (Elohist) and L (Lay Writer)
3. D (Deuteronomic) and DH (D History) 4. P (Priestly);
5. Genesis; 6. The Exodus (1-18); 7. Sinai (Exodus 19-
Numbers 10); 8. Wilderness Wanderings (Numbers 10-36)
and Epilogue (Deuteronomy); 9. History of Biblical Criticism;
10. Documentary Hypotheses and Form-Critical Analysis;
11. Traditio-Historical Criticism and Summary
1. G (Primary History and Underlying Source)—The date of com-
position of the primary history may be fixed by the final entry in II Kings.
It refers to the favor shown the shadow-king Jehoiachin by Evil-merodach
the Babylonian emperor in 561 B.C. Since the death of Jehoichin is hinted
at in these verses we may date the work of the Pentateuch’s “editor” some-
time shortly after this date.
This sacred history’s compilation was itself a remarkable achieve-
ment. It reflected the exilic community’s determination to remain alive.
They did not minimize the disaster, but rather saw it as their God’s delibe-
rate act of judgment. Soberly the exiles reviewed their history and asked
questions aimed at discerning their fate’s meaning: What had happened
between God and God’s people? How did they get to where they were?
What might the future hold? They could see a consistent pattern of di-
vine grace and favor toward them in: God’s special commitment to Abra-
ham and his descendants, fulfilled in the Exodus, Sinai, and Conquest.
The covenant at Sinai, wherein God had declared Israel God’s peo-
ple and they claimed God as their God, became their focus. Successive
generations saw this relationship’s unfolding, through the judges’ period
until it reached fruition in David’s and Solomon’s kingdom. The nation’s
unity was flawed by disobedience, so that the state divided and finally col-
lapsed in ruins. Thus a blessed but sinful people reaped an inevitable judg-
ment. The God who had summoned Abraham from the East would call his
seed to a new pilgrimage westward. This history was both a record of what
had happened and words of life and hope for all time.
Old Israel Israel
tative guide of postexilic Judaism was the Pentateuch. It may well have
been Ezra who fixed the Pentateuch’s authority, although the books them-
selves were written long before. They came down to us in 3 forms: Maso-
retic Text (MT); Septuagint (Greek); Samaritan. All 3 are represented in
ancient manuscripts from Qumran (i.e. Dead Sea Scrolls).
If the Pentateuch was a finished product by the 400s B.C., is it pos-
sible to trace its earlier history? While there is yet no consensus, certain
conclusions may be regarded as highly probable. The minute source ana-
lysis of biblical criticism in the 1800s, grew out of efforts to deal with the
difficulties found in the received texts. Inconsistencies, duplication, and
variations in style, argued strongly against there being one author.
The documentary hypothesis rested upon arguments based upon li-
terary and linguistic evidence of several written sources, and arguments
based on historical evidence of religious institutions. Literary investiga-
tion isolated 4, perhaps 5, primary written sources: J(Y)ahwist (J), Eloh-
wist (E), Deuteronomist (D), Priestly (P), and Lay Source (L). D was the
simplest to identify, since it stands as a literary unit. The separation of P
from the remaining narrative material was also comparatively routine un-
dertaking, because it consists chiefly of archival and institutional data.
What remains, for the most part is the general narrative.
The narrative’s separation into sources has been much harder. For
example, the Joseph story is 2 accounts. In one, Joseph was thrown into
a pit, where he was found by Midianites, and sold in Egypt
saves his life in this account. In the other, he was sold to Ishmaelites;
identified: J, because of its standard use of the name J(Y)ahweh for God;
and E, because of its use of Elohim for God. The details of division are
not nearly so certain in D and P.
P-43
D was the starting point in determining the sources’ dates. D was
identified with the law discovered in Jerusalem
of D with JE and P showed that D was written after JE and before P, be-
cause D was dependent on JE, but independent of P. JE therefore was
from the monarchic period, while P was from the Exile or later. J’s theo-
logy was more primitive, and he was more exuberant and naïve in his sto-
ries, 7 therefore earlier (900-800 B.C.). E was more sophisticated and
therefore came later (800-700 B.C.).
Important areas of interest have opened up in the quest for know-
ledge about the Pentateuch Genesis 1-13’s division into 2 threads isn’t
satisfying, because there are fragments in J which disturb its narrative;
these fragments form a continuity, a 4th source of Genesis. This 4th source
of Genesis and Exodus may be called the “Lay Source” (L) because of its
outspokenness for the “profane” or “lay” world; it becomes P’s polar op-
posite. No serious obstacle stands in the way of L being in David’s or So-
lomon’s reign (900s B.C.).
In the beginning was G, the original narrative, which dealt in con-
nected fashion with Israel
ginal form, but what remains of its contents is scattered from Genesis to
Joshua; G constituted official tradition of “all Israel
ter can hardly be determined; it was composed of older poetic materials.
Built from individual stories, legends, etiological tales, and cult narratives,
G may have been a connected poem or series of poems orally transmitted
and recited at the sacred festivals of “all Israel
prose document derived from an oral poetic collection. It is to be dated
1200-1000 B.C. and comes from the festivals of the tribes when they are
assembled together.
2. J (Yahwist), E (Elohist) and L (Lay Writer)—The first 2 sepa-
rately are prose compositions derived from G, each with different concerns.
Scholars have concluded that J comes from the south as a product of the
United Monarchy, and that E is a product of Israel
The distinctive historical character of Israel
would be rewritten to include recent events. Unlike pagan myth, which
was an entity describing the past, Israel
but was concerned with the continuing action of God.
The interpretation used here is that J dates from the 900s, and that
E is to be dated roughly from 825-775 B.C. Thus, both are separate histori-
cal accounts based upon G, carrying the story beyond G to their own time.
The main part of J extends perhaps as far as II Samuel 7. Subsequent edi-
tions of J may well have carried further the story of the fortunes of David's
house and the kingdom of Judah
E is more difficult to fix as to date and extent. E may be regarded as
coming from the religious enthusiasm stimulated by Elijah and Elisha. A
clue to E’s character may be found in evaluating Jehu’s revolution in
II Kings 10:30. It mentions 4 generations, which brings us down to Jero-
boam II, who “restored Israel
as Arabah’s Sea.” E reconstructed Israel
tic movement. If we remove the framework of D and any commentary,
what remains of Kings is pre-dominantly the prophets’ story; they were the
judges’ successors. Thus E was defending the northern tradition against
the Davidic dynasty’s claims, and laid its claim to being true successor and
heir of “all Israel
At some time after J and E’s completion, they were blended into one
narrative by an editor or reviser; there are places in which J and E are
clearly present but inseparable from one another. The editor used a vari-
ety of methods in weaving the narratives together. E has actually been bro-
ken up and inserted piecemeal into J’s over-all structure.
On the face of it, JE is the work of a southern editor whose object
was to preserve the north’s traditions and to harmonize them with the J nar-
rative to form a single history of God’s people. Its purpose was to win the
surviving population of Ephraim to allegiance to the temple in Jerusalem
Since this was the announced policy of Hezekiah, we may plausibly con-
nect the compilation of JE with the movement toward religious reunion ini-
tiated by Hezekiah. We may date the joining of J and E to shortly after
700 B.C.
Earlier in this article the fragments which disrupt the J narrative
were mentioned. Since these fragments (e.g. Cain’s genealogy in Gene-
sis 4, the story of the marriages of the sons of God with the daughters of
men and the giants from this union, the blessing of Noah’s two elder sons,
and the cursing of the youngest, the building of the tower, and the parting
of Abraham and Lot) do form continuity among themselves, one must give
up seeing them as isolated fragments in favor of assuming that they are
part of an independent narrative thread which runs parallel to the J materi-
al, one which explains the many languages of the world, the fate of Ca-
naan, and indicates how the oldest sons—Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Ju-
dah—lost their birthright to Joseph.
Among the important attempts to break up the J source of material
in Exodus is Otto Eissfeldt's Lay Source (L). By using some J material and
adding other elements, he creates a new document, which concerns itself
with the ideals of nomadic life and is a layman's work with interests very
different from those in the priestly community. The primitive nature of
these narrative fragments places them alongside J in the 900s B.C, inser-
ted into J much the way that E was.
P-44
3. D (Deuteronmoic) and D History (DH)—The next major subdivi-
sion in the classic analysis of the Pentateuch is D, identified with the docu-
ment found in the temple in 622 B.C. There is increasing agreement that
D has northern affinities, and that it was composed a century before its dis-
covery. A date of composition in Hezekiah’s reign or later is practically re-
quired by the emphasis upon centralization of worship in a single sanctuary
in the south. The temple at Bethel Sama-
ticipate or more probably presuppose the northern kingdom’s destruction.
The principal concern of D is the Horeb (Sinai) covenant. The cove-
nant is a guarantee of life to those who obey its rules. Placed in Moses’
mouth, these sermons are both a reminder of the solemn bond between
God and Israel Israel
history. The only hope of Israel
rence to the covenant obligations beginning with the first commandment.
The effect upon Josiah and Judah of D’s discovery in the temple is
familiar to all. The great reformation of the national life and religion is de-
scribed in II Kings 22, 23. The so-called DH probably owes its inspiration
and composition to the reformation stimulated by D’s discovery. Beginning
with the Mosaic sermons (to which he has prefixed an introduction, Deute-
ronomy 1-4), the DH has traced the Horeb covenant through Israel
tory. In the book of Judges it has organized by date and theology a group
of ancient heroes and the folk tales handed down about them. In the
books of Kings it has inserted from the official court records the data of ac-
cessions, reigns, deaths, and successions.
According to one scholar, the DH was compiled during the Exile, but
it has been argued that the first edition was issued earlier, during the reign
of Josiah. The DH was inspired by the conviction that Josiah was David’s
long-awaited descendant who would fulfill the kingship’s ideals, and lead
his people to obedience to the ancient Mosaic covenant; the entire history
aims at this conclusion. But all along there had been two possibilities. Jo-
siah’s tragic death points to the earlier alternative.
Concerning DH’s scope, the question must be raised whether Deu-
teronomy 1 actually constitutes the beginning, an introduction, or whether
it is a bridge between the JE narrative and DH. It is likely that DH com-
piled his history along the same lines as J and E. However, the fulcrum of
his account was Moses' major prophetic exhortations. DH had little or no-
thing to add to the JE narrative. His creative enterprise begins with Deute-
ronomy 1-4, which constitutes an introduction to the following history. We
conclude that Deuteronomic history was originally composed before the
fall of Jerusalem
4. P (Priestly)—It remains to deal with P, the last source identified
in the classic Pentateuchal analysis. It is generally agreed that P was com-
piled during the Exile. P consists mainly of archival data: genealogical
tables, tribal lists, and priestly data and regulations; P also includes some
legal prescriptions. The principal questions concerning P are: Is P an in-
pendent source, or is it merely supplemental to JE? What is the extent
of P?
The 2 questions are linked, and the answer given to one will influ-
ence one’s view of the other. It still appears that the case for P as an inde-
pendent source is stronger than the case against it. In P’s part of Exodus-
Numbers, there is a concern, not for God’ movement in history, but for the
original pattern of worship, which is binding forever.
P’s presence in Genesis suggests a broader, historical, concern.
P’s interest in the patriarchs, however, requires a subsequent concern with
the Promised Land’s settlement. The prelude in Genesis can only be ba-
lanced by the fulfillment in Numbers and Joshua. The divine promise can
only be realized in the land’s occupation. It is probable that P was com-
piled early in the Exile and was used by the final editor in the Deuterono-
mic history. By the 550s B.C., the primary history was complete.
Form and Contents—The Pentateuch’s separation from the pri-
mary history was a development of the greatest importance. The factors
responsible for the division between Deuteronomy and Joshua were nei-
ther literary nor historical, but primarily theological. More recent scholar-
ship has identified the Deuteronomic history as a single literary work,
thus dividing the primary history at the end of the book of Numbers and
connecting Deuteronomy with what followed. It seems most likely that
the isolation of the Pentateuch from the primary history was the last stage
in the process, and that it was caused by the special interest of the exilic
community in Moses and the experience of Israel
Where the primary history is essentially the record of God’s dealing
with his people, the Pentateuch has its central interest in the description of
an eternal, perfect, and unchangeable pattern of community life. The pat-
tern of the desert constituted the authoritative model for the exilic commu-
nity. Essentially what was required of Israel
pattern. Moses dominates the Pentateuch. His life is the story’s frame
and thread from the beginning of Exodus to the end of Deuteronomy. All
the sources and strands of the Pentateuch's 4 latter books are drawn toge-
ther around Moses, while Genesis serves as a prologue.
P-45
5. Genesis—Creation is not only the proper starting point for world
and faith history, but stands out starkly as the uniquely divine achievement
of the sole God. The people are not only obliged to obey, but is also an-
swerable for his deeds, from which flow irreversible consequences. The
flood story, ultimately derived from a widespread myth of great antiquity,
is nevertheless the vehicle of profound insight into the nature of God and
God’s ways with people. The aftermath involves the revocation of the di-
vine curve upon the earth to preserve the world from natural catastrophe in
view of human sinfulness. The covenant establishes the basis for God's fu-
ture action described in the Bible: God’s power, authority, righteousness,
and mercy.
In the tradition, the patriarchal figures are Abraham, Isaac, and Ja-
cob, but in Genesis Isaac plays a minor role, while Jacob’s son Joseph is
the hero of the book’s longest narrative. From the biblical point of view,
events are reconstructed, there can be no doubt of the validity of the ac-
count of the fathers in the Middle Bronze Age (2100-1600 B.C.).
The main theme of Genesis is the promise to Abraham. “Go from
your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I
will show you. And I will make of you a great nation . . . and by you all
the families of the earth will bless themselves.” This promise is solem-
nized by oath in a covenant ceremony, and it consists of: the assurance of
posterity; from the uncounted progeny a great nation will emerge; and
they will possess the Promised Land.
Posterity, nationhood, and the gift of the land are the different facets
of the divine promise; alongside divine commitment are human obligation
and response. The theme of progeny is stressed in connection with the
birth of Isaac. Once born Isaac is the sole heir of the promise; consequent-
ly the hope of progeny remains in jeopardy with each threat to the child’s
life. In the masterful story of Isaac's sacrifice, it's more than Isaac that is
saved. In addition there's the delicate problem of maintaining identity in
the midst of an alien population whose friendship poses a graver danger
(of submersion) than its hostility, which is bad enough. Abraham secured
outright a small plot of ground as a graveyard for his family.
According to the tradition, a long interval separated the patriarchs
from the Exodus and Moses. The patriarchal stories reflect a Middle
Bronze (2100-1500 B.C.) background. Moses’ life spans the Pentateuch’s
remaining books, but the Bible passes briefly over the first 2 phases of
Moses’ life and concentrates attention upon the third. The biblical materi-
als cover: events surrounding the Exodus; Israel's experience at Mount
and Moses’ farewell discourses.
6. The Exodus (1-18)—It has been argued the narrative actually
constituted the Passover’s liturgy. The story is related in such a way as to
emphasize both its unrepeatable historicity and its dramatic character.
The material’s artificial pattern suggests a long period of transmission and
a liturgical setting. In the narrative’s present form, protagonist and anta-
gonist are puppets acting out parts already prepared for them. The only in-
dependent participant is God; Moses and Pharaoh are both his servants.
God finds it necessary not only to encourage the Israelites, but also to stif-
fen Pharaoh’s resistance, lest he release the slaves too soon.
Except for the almighty God’s powerful intervention, deliverance of
a rabble of slaves from Egypt
significant fact was God’s hand. Moses is characterized more by reluc-
tance than by enthusiasm, and the people by cowardice rather than cou-
rage. God acts in a series of shattering blows, which reach a climax in the
slaying of the first-born and the Israelites’ hasty departure.
These 2 events constitute the Passover occasion. The famous oc-
casion. The famous Reed Sea
mightiest deed of all. The sea crossing marks bondage’s end, freedom’s
beginning, and also Israel
the pillar of cloud and fire, the angel, the miraculous gifts of quail and man-
na, all identify Israel
and punishment for many, it was the uniquely creative and normative expe-
rience of Israel
7. Sinai (Exodus 19-Numbers 10)—The Sinai revelation and the
Ten Words Covenant are justly regarded as the crucial event in Israel
gious experience. Practically Israel
scription for the tabernacle, priesthood, feasts, sacrifices and services, as
well as the community rules, is assigned to the Sinai sojourn. It is therefore
no accident that the post-exilic community’s chief efforts were bent toward
recreating the Mosaic commonwealth. Community life was governed by
the Pentateuch, and interpreted by priest, scribe, and later rabbi, in the
body of legal opinion which accumulated over the centuries, and gathered
in the Mishna and Gemara. There has been a legal tradition from now
back to patriarchal times.
P-46
In this long process the monarchy period may be regarded as a le-
gally insignificant interlude. The Pentateuch’s legislation shows little in-
fluence of or interest in the monarchy. The monarchy’s powerful influ-
ence on judicial procedure and legal practice may be seen in the different
reforms instituted by various kings. Thus the Pentateuch’s legislation was
the result of a deliberate effort to compile ancient laws and customs of Is-
rael, even to recover the original pattern given at Sinai. The differences in
the legal formulations of the Pentateuch’s codes indicate local variations
in development. The codes embody the tradition of different shrines.
The events of Sinai were associated in later Judaism with one of 3
great religious feasts—the Feast of Weeks or First Fruits. The Exodus was
associated with Passover, and the wanderings with the Feast of Taberna-
cles. The 3 annual celebrations reproduced the cycle of Exodus-Sinai-
wanderings. Each year Israel
tence: they were delivered again, recreated the people of God by cove-
nant, and re-purified by the rigors of the desert sojourn.
Sinai and its covenant are the central theme of the Pentateuch in its
present form. It has long been recognized, however, that the Sinai events
are intrusive in the pattern of promise and fulfillment of the possession of
the land. The formal establishment of the new state should take place
with the ratification of a solemn agreement between God and God’s peo-
ple, such as the one in Joshua 24. But the Shechem celebration is treated
as the occasion for renewing and not initiating the covenant. Sinai has en-
tirely replaced it in the latter role. Sinai is no late invention capriciously in-
serted; it is too ancient and important a tradition to be set aside.
There is a conflict in motivation between the basic story of promise
and fulfillment and the Sinai covenant. At Sinai this story’s movement is
interrupted, for the storyteller wishes to specify in more formal terms the
meaning of the relationship between God and God’s people. The people’s
unconditional commitment actually imposes an unlimited obligation: Abra-
ham’s stories illustrate this inter-relationship.
Such stories, however, reflected the indeterminate scope and depth
of a personal relationship, and couldn't define a people’s formal status.
The Sinai interlude occurred, so as to establish a responsible community
and to specify the nature and extent of its obligation. The formulation of
the terms is in negative form to indicate the limits within which God’s
community is to conduct its affairs and beyond which it may not go. What
is required of Israel Israel
its midst, at once its source and hope of glory and the chief threat to its ex-
istence. The object is to attain to the holiness of God.
It was recognized from the start that the Israelite’s life revolved
around covenant regulation. Case and cult law, moral and ethical behavior,
social and economic practice, religious observance and festival, are all
under the covenant. The Covenant Book and its partial parallel in Exodus
34 represent historically the Sinai covenant’s penetration into the commu-
nity’s life. The covenant’s elaboration in the detailed regulations associa-
ted with the Sinai camp reflects in an artificial and static way what was
true historically. While the law unfolds very slowly, the narrative pursues
a different tack. Here the covenant is broken almost as soon as it is made.
Within 40 days, the people rebelled, violated the covenant’s principal terms,
and incurred God’s wrath.
The essential conflict between the ideas of divine commitment to Is-
brought out in the golden calf. The result is that the promise to the fathers
remains unbroken, but this by no means guarantees exemption from the
consequences of the Sinai covenant. Divine and human obligations are
intermeshed, but each charts their own course. Israel
is grievously paid for, but the covenant is renewed; a 2nd and 3rd defection
are similarly disastrous for Israel
The sojourn's chief practical consequence at Sinai and the solemni-
zing of the covenant was the Tabernacle’s construction and dedication.
While the absence of the deity’s image in Israel
the tabernacle as the heavenly abode, nevertheless God’s presence was
localized in the tabernacle. The tabernacle was designed to: protect
God’s holiness from contamination by the people; and to protect the peo-
ple from an outburst of divine wrath.
The priests also perform a double function: to serve the Lord of the
tabernacle, and mediate the Lord’s presence to the people. In Leviticus, ta-
bernacle service is described in detail: the purpose of the sacrifices; the re-
sponsibilities of the priesthood; culminating in the liturgy of the Day of
Atonement. The high priest mediates God's mercy of to his people through
the scapegoat ritual.
P-47
The so-called Holiness Code (Leviticus 17-26) is a summary catchall
of legal prescriptions, and cultic regulations. Numbers begins with the final
action at Sinai: the tabernacle dedication. In its present form the Sinai tra-
dition centers upon the elaboration of covenant obligation. The tabernacle
symbolized the holy God’s Presence in the midst of God’s people, while the
covenant legislation defined the character & duties of a not-yet-holy people.
The tent was no heavenly house replica, but rather the place where
God and man met to settle their pertinent business. Central to its function
was the Ark of the Covenant. The association of ark and tent made legal
righteousness rather than cultic holiness the worshiping community’s princi-
pal concern. From ark and tent developed the scheme now preserved in
the Pentateuch: a holy God joined to a holy people, but holiness defined in
terms of moral and legal obligation, as well as of cultic and ritual purity.
8. Wilderness Wanderings (Numbers 10-36) and Epilogue (Deu-
teronomy)—The wanderings section consists of narrative material inter-
mingled with priestly data. Its purpose is to explain how it happened that
still trying to make entry into the Promised Land. These strange facts sug-
gest that an authentic nucleus of tradition is at the bottom of this story.
The gap in the chronology is largely a blank, so the narrative is artificially
divided between the events of the second year and those of the 40th.
Basically the actions of the generation which came out of Egypt
were passed over, which reflects the tradition that they didn't reach the Pro-
mised Land. It doubtless preserves the important truth that an attempted
invasion of Canaan from the south failed so badly that a generation
passed before Israel
wanderings of Israel
an objective as our present sources indicate. The conquests east of the
passage through their territories.
The impression made by the stories is that of growing strength and
consolidation until the Israelites were able to meet and defeat the enemy in
the field. Internal difficulties continued. The Balaam narrative shows Isra-
the God of Israel’s persuasive pressure. Settling east of the Jordan
note on which the first 3 books of the Old Testament ends.
In the epilogue which is Deuteronomy, just before the invasion of
Moses recapitulates the desert experience beginning with Sinai. Particular
emphasis is placed upon covenant and its stipulations. There follows a
body of legal material similar to the collections in the Pentateuch's earlier
books. 2 old poems probably dating from the period of the tribal confede-
racy or early monarchy are attached to the book.
The Pentateuch is a composite presentation Israel
Genesis is preamble. The center of interest is Exodus, Sinai, wanderings,
and events east of the Jordan
tive, set in sharp relief by Israel
and covenant describe the holy God’s presence in the midst of God’s cho-
sen people. Deuternonomic sermons were aimed at a community on the
verge of disaster. The Sinai-Horeb covenant couldn't be set aside in favor
of some more palatable doctrine of election privilege. But “the Lord your
God is a merciful God; God won't fail you or destroy you or forget the co-
venant with your fathers which God swore to them.”
9. History of Biblical Criticism—The systematic, critical investiga-
tion of the Pentateuch has been carried on for the last 200 years. Scienti-
fic criticism is commonly said to have begun with Jean Astruc, a French
Catholic physician in 1753. During the 100 years following the “new docu-
mentary theory” was worked out. In particular, the writings of Julius Well-
hausen presented the assured results of literary criticism in a compact and
decisive fashion. J and E were narrative sources, dating in the 800s and
700s; they were combined in the 600s. D was composed in the in the
600s, while P was postexilic. New developments have occurred under 3
classifications: literary analysis, form-critical investigation, and tradition
history.
10. Documentary Hypotheses and Form-Critical Analysis—
Since the Pentateuch is literature and behind its present compilation there
are sources, literary analysis will remain a basic task in the Pentateuch’s
analysis. It is generally conceded that none of the major sources is itself a
unity. As part of the same process of reexamination, 2 of the older sources
have been challenged, E and P. Are these independent documents or sup-
plements and insertions into the basic J narrative?
The net effect of the close investigation of the sources has been to
blur the clear lines of the documentary hypothesis. Then, the documents
appear to be collections in a process covering centuries. The unsatisfac-
tory results of literary analysis have led scholars behind the literary sour-
ces into the pre-literary origins of the contents of the Pentateuch.
P-48
The Pentateuch’s form-critical analysis is associated mostly with
Hermann Gunkel, who was mainly concerned with formal characteristics,
and determining the Sitz im Leben (life situation) reflected by the parti-
cular item. By close examination of the biblical materials, it was possible
to deal with both questions. Some authentic idea of the prehistory of the
Pentateuch’s literature could be gained, while the purely scientific and ob-
jective discipline of form-classification has proved extremely useful.
With the aid of archaeological research, it was possible to put the
Pentateuch’s criticism on a sounder historical foundation. Now it was pos-
sible to evaluate the tradition based on contemporary data from the Near
uation of the Pentateuch’s materials. Used cautiously, the Pentateuch is an
invaluable source for its compilers’ point of view, and for the actual early
history of Israel
Albrecht Alt distinguished formally between casuistic (“If . . ., then)
and apodictic (“Thou shalt not . . .”) laws. Apodictic laws were peculiarly
Israelite in their formulation. It doesn't seem likely Israelite case law deve-
loped directly from contemporary Canaanite practice, but rather from ol-
der, pre-Israelite patriarchal custom. G.E. Mendenhall has suggested that
the suzerainty treaty from the 2000s-1000s B.C. provides an appropriate
setting for categorical stipulations such as we have in the apodictic laws in
the Pentateuch.
Another development of the form-critical approach is in G. von Rad
and M. Noth’s works. Von Rad regards the J, E, D, and P sources as 4 col-
lections of tradition accumulated over centuries. Noth deals similarly with
the oral tradition process. He identifies major themes, like the promise to
the fathers, deliverance from bondage, and the Sinai experience. Noth
separates Deuteronomy from the rest of the Pentateuch and attaches it to-
the Deuteronomic history. Behind J and E, he recognizes a common
source G (Grundlage, or underlying source). Counter-balancing Noth’s re-
striction of JE to the Tetrateuch is Holsher’s extending the sources further.
The contrast with Noth provokes the question of the nature of Israelite his-
tory writing.
11. Traditio-Historical Criticism and Summary—The most radical
resistance to Wellhausen’s hypothesis came from the “Uppsala
which believed that the oral tradition played a much larger and longer role
in the formation of the Pentateuch; the narrative traditions were transmit-
ted orally. It is useless, therefore to try to find documentary sources which
did not exist. This school distinguishes 2 principal collections of materials:
the “P-work”; and “D-work” (Deuteronomic history). These works deve-
loped independently, and were later joined.
The P-work centers upon the Exodus tradition, around which the
rest of the P-material accumulates. The Uppsala
Masoretic Text reflects the original, and disregards the Primary Greek OT.
The fact that several Hebrew manuscripts have been found which preserve
a text resembling the Greek text damages the Scandinavian view of the
late compilation of the text. Besides that, the Pentateuch’s problems are
literary; one can't banish them by transferring them into an oral setting.
Instead of choosing one, use can be made of all of them. Israel
authentic history finds expression in the Pentateuch, which the result of
accumulated cultic traditions. It must now be recognized that the Penta-
teuch consists of tradition concerning the history of Israel
death. This is Israel Israel
the world. The most important fact is that it is a religious document.
Some defense can be made of both the documents and the “evolu-
tion” of Israelite religion. A religion that affirms the mighty deeds of God
and attempts to place them in historical context can't make clear distinc-
tions between the fact and the affirmation of it; but the event must be histo-
rical. It is that event which faith must affirm, not some imaginative tradi-
tion about it. The arrangement and dating of the Pentateuch's contents will
depend on comparison, with objective non-biblical data from the contem-
porary Near East.
The Pentateuch is the end product of an incredibly long process of
accumulation, transmission, and redaction. Its original traditions were
transmitted orally for hundreds of years. These were linked into more com-
plex collections, until a connected narrative emerged. These poetic materi-
als were consolidated into the official tradition of the confederation—the
underlying source of what we have now—during the period of the judges.
Likewise going back to Patriarchal times was a legal tradition. With few
exceptions, most of the material comes from before the monarchy. The
Pentateuch preserves the sacral customs of early Israel
Formal classification, oral tradition, cultic setting and function, are
important new tools in the struggle to understand the Pentateuch. Even
more significant is archaeological data. The Pentateuch apparently consists
of essentially authentic data concerning the history of Israel
cultic, legal, and other technical data. The documents themselves were
composed at various times, beginning in the 900s B.C. and ending in the
middle of the 500s. During the next century the Pentateuch was separa-
ted from the rest of the Old Testament and made the authoritative word of
God for Israel
P-49
PENTECOST (penthkosth, fiftieth) The Greek term for the Jewish Feast of
Weeks, used because it fell on the 50th day after the Passover. The New
Testament uses the term to refer to the Jewish feast. Since the Holy Spi-
rit’s gift to the church occurred on Pentecost, Christians reinterpreted the
meaning in terms of this event.
PENUEL (פנואל, face of
God) 1. A son of Hur and grandson
of Judah
tioned as Gedor’s “father.”
(I Chr. 4). 2. A Benjaminite
son of Shashak
(I Chronicles 8).
3. A city in eastern Palestine
where Jacob wrestled with an “angel”
all night, departing in the morning
after receiving the name Israel
Midianites in Jezreel alley
for food and received a rude answer; on his return he
destroyed the city’s
tower and killed all male inhabitants (Judges. 8). Nothing more is heard
of the city for 200
years. The city is perhaps #53 in
Shishak’s list of con-
quered cities. The
site of Penuel was evidently a strongly fortified place,
nearly surrounded by
the river and very steep on the east side.
PEOPLE OF GOD (עם אלהים (‘am el oh
heem); עם יהוה
(‘am ah do nie),
people of the Lord) One
of many expressions in the Old Testament (OT)
which indicate the unique
relationship which exists between Yahweh and
Yahweh’s people. Israel
While the term
“people of God” appears few times, am's use in phrases
like “my people,” “thy people,” occurs very
frequently.
The term am adonai, “people of the Lord,” may have had its origin in
the cultic institution of the holy war in the days of the tribal federation, as a
designation for the assembly of able-bodied men gathered for defensive
warfare. Behind this institution lay the
unique covenant relationship. Cul-
tic
renewal of covenant seems to have formed the core of ancient Israelite
worship.
Deuteronomy 4 expresses
the Yahweh's relationship to Israel
ological terms of the
600s B.C.: Israel
Yahweh’s gracious choosing, wrought in love.
Yahweh remains faithful to
his covenant, while Israel
tioned by faithfulness to the obligations.
The prophets of the 800s through the 600s
B.C. proclaimed that
this relationship placed Israel
ken through Israel
remains unchanged, and a remnant might yet expect Israel
In the New Testament (NT), “people of God,”
may be used to describe the
“old Israel
the church. In a similar framework of OT fulfillment, the NT sees the
church as the
true Israel
PEOPLE
OF THE LAND (עם הארץ (‘am ha ‘arets)) The literal translation of
the Hebrew
word, a technical term designating originally the qualified male
citizenry of a
land. See Am Ha’arez entry.
PEOR (הפעור (ha peh
or), the gap) 1. A mountain in Moab
which Balak
took Balaam that he might curse Israel
near Mount Nebo
2. Mount Peor’s god. In Numbers 31, it
was by Balaam’s counsel
that the Midianite women led Israel
3. A location in Judah
P-50
No comments:
Post a Comment