Palm tree (Heb. tamar), the date-palm characteristic of Palestine. It is described as "flourishing" (Ps. 92:12), tall (Cant. 7:7), "upright" (Jer. 10:5). Its branches are a symbol of victory (Rev. 7:9). "Rising with slender stem 40 or 50, at times even 80, feet aloft, its only branches, the feathery, snow-like, pale-green fronds from 6 to 12 feet long, bending from its top, the palm attracts the eye wherever it is seen." The whole land of Palestine was called by the Greeks and Romans Phoenicia, i.e., "the land of palms." Tadmor in the desert was called by the Greeks and Romans Palmyra, i.e., "the city of palms." The finest specimens of this tree grew at Jericho (Deut. 34:3) and Engedi and along the banks of the Jordan. Branches of the palm tree were carried at the feast of Tabernacles (Lev. 23:40). At our Lord's triumphal entrance into Jerusalem the crowds took palm branches, and went forth to meet him, crying, "Hosanna: Blessed is the King of Israel that cometh in the name of the Lord" (Matt. 21:8; John 12:13). (See DATE.)
Palm trees, The city of the name given to Jericho (q.v.), Deut. 34:3; Judg. 1:16; 3:13.
Palsy a shorter form of "paralysis." Many persons thus afflicted were cured by our Lord (Matt. 4:24; 8:5-13; 9:2-7; Mark 2:3-11; Luke 7:2-10; John 5:5-7) and the apostles (Acts 8:7; 9:33, 34).
Palti deliverance from the Lord, one of the spies representing the tribe of Benjamin (Num. 13:9).
Paltiel deliverance of God, the prince of Issachar who assisted "to divide the land by inheritance" (Num. 34:26).
Paltite the designation of one of David's heroes (2 Sam. 23:26); called also the Pelonite (1 Chr. 11:27).
Pamphylia Paul and his company, loosing from Paphos, sailed north-west and came to Perga, the capital of Pamphylia (Acts 13:13, 14), a province about the middle of the southern sea-board of Asia Minor. It lay between Lycia on the west and Cilicia on the east. There were strangers from Pamphylia at Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost (2:10).
Pan a vessel of metal or earthenware used in culinary operations; a cooking-pan or frying-pan frequently referred to in the Old Testament (Lev. 2:5; 6:21; Num. 11:8; 1 Sam. 2:14, etc.).
The "ash-pans" mentioned in Ex. 27:3 were made of copper, and were used in connection with the altar of burnt-offering. The "iron pan" mentioned in Ezek. 4:3 (marg., "flat plate " or "slice") was probably a mere plate of iron used for baking. The "fire-pans" of Ex. 27:3 were fire-shovels used for taking up coals. The same Hebrew word is rendered "snuff-dishes" (25:38; 37:23) and "censers" (Lev. 10:1; 16:12; Num. 4:14, etc.). These were probably simply metal vessels employed for carrying burning embers from the brazen altar to the altar of incense.
The "frying-pan" mentioned in Lev. 2:7; 7:9 was a pot for boiling.
Pannag (Ezek. 27:17; marg. R.V., "perhaps a kind of confection") the Jews explain as the name of a kind of sweet pastry. Others take it as the name of some place, identifying it with Pingi, on the road between Damascus and Baalbec. "Pannaga" is the Sanscrit name of an aromatic plant (comp. Gen. 43:11).
Paper The expression in the Authorized Version (Isa. 19:7), "the paper reeds by the brooks," is in the Revised Version more correctly "the meadows by the Nile." The words undoubtedly refer to a grassy place on the banks of the Nile fit for pasturage.
In 2 John 1:12 the word is used in its proper sense. The material so referred to was manufactured from the papyrus, and hence its name. The papyrus (Heb. gome) was a kind of bulrush (q.v.). It is mentioned by Job (8:11) and Isaiah (35:7). It was used for many purposes. This plant (Papyrus Nilotica) is now unknown in Egypt; no trace of it can be found. The unaccountable disappearance of this plant from Egypt was foretold by Isaiah (19:6, 7) as a part of the divine judgment on that land. The most extensive papyrus growths now known are in the marshes at the northern end of the lake of Merom.
