* Dt 1613 gives @ reason for observing the feast ae directed,
τος a meses of — feast celebrated. See 516, 1515,
er in He ‘8 ν art. ‘ Pfingstfest,’ a peals for this
view also to 2 Ch 1610, and even to Jn 63%; but Ei arguments are not convincing.
t The ay fee of Ac 21 iv τῷ συνεληροῦσθα, ἡμίραν τῇς wivtnmecrig been understood by some (as Olshausen and Baumgarten, so also Blass) to mean that the Spirit came before the day of Pentecost ; while Lightfoot in Hor. Heb. (Ezercit. on Ac 2) interprets it of the after Pentecost. The vast psig of critics interpret it of Pentecost itself. See Meyer's
‘on.
to characterize the proclamation ; while the poly-
glot (Ὁ utterances of the believers were a sign of the world-wide destination of the truth which filled their lips with praise [see TONGUES, GIFT OF]. The occurrence of these events on Pentecost was also significant. The gift of the Spirit was the first-fruit of the spiritual harvest (cf. Ro 8% 114 Ja 118) procured through the work of Christ; and the dependence of Pentecost on Passover harmonized with the dependence of the Spirit’s work on the objective sacrifice of the Redeemer. The euchar- istic character of Pentecost harmonized also with the joy of the eps over their spiritual blessings ; while, providentially, the presence of multitudes at the feast made it a fit opportunity for the first public proclamation of the now completed gospel.
Among the early Jewish Christians observance of the Heb. feasts continued, doubtless with fresh significance derived from the new revelation. So it is noteworthy that St. Paul earnestly desired to present the gifts of the Gentile Churches to the saints in Judea at Pentecost (Ac 20%), There is no evidence, however, that the Gentile Churches of the apostolic age observed this feast; but at the close of the 2nd cent. it appears as one of the established festal periods of the Church. The name Pentecost was at first epplipd to the whole time between Easter and the festival of the Holy Ghost (Greg. Naz. Orat. 44 de Pent.). This larger meaning of the word is abundantly shown by Tert. Idololatria, 14, de Baptismo, 19; Orig. c. Cels. viii. 22; Apost. Const. v. 20, ete. The period was one of joyfulness. As on the Lord’s ay, no fasting or kneeling in prayer were allowed (Tert. de. Cor. 3). Afterwards the term was limited to the 50th day after Easter (Apost. Const. lib. viii. cap. 33 ; Counce. Eliberis, Canon 43) ; and, at a still later period, the following days, or in some places the week, were included in the festival. The Pentecost season was especially used for baptisms. From the white robes worn by the candidates, the English term ‘ Whitsunday’ is supposed to have arisen (see Riddle, Manual of Chr. Ant. p. 681, and esp. Skeat, Htym. Dict.?, for venus explanations of the origin of the word).
LrteraTuRE.—Drusius, Note Mi in Ly 2315-1 (in Crit. Sacr.); Lightfoot, Works (1825), iii. 186ff., viii. 40ff., 369 ff. ; Buxtorf, Syn. Jud, c. xx.; Oarpzov, Appar. Crit. lib. iii. c. δ; Reland, Antig. Sacr. Vet. Heb. iv. c. iv.; Iken, de duobus pantbus Pent. ; Spencer, de leg. Heb. τ. ix. 2, 11. viii. 2; Meyer, de temp. et fest. Heb. ; Michaelis, Com. on Laws
cid sci p. 258 ff. ; zweiten Deka
ra es ἘΞ ron. les Pra echt rt rane Wellpaceet, 'roleg. (Eng. tr.) οἱ ii. ; Edersheim, ‘emple, ch. xiii. ; Green, Te eb. Feasts, Lect. vii. ; articles in Herzog’s RE, and
‘ ‘igkeiten aus
ἃ. Christ. Archdol. ii. 343 ff., and Handb. d. Christ. Archdol. 1.
ΙΣ 654ff.; Guericke, Lehrb. d. Christ.-Kirch. Arch. p. 190 17;
iddle, Manual of Christ Antiqg. p. 679ff.; Cave, Prim. Christianity, ch. vii. G. T. PURVES.
PENUEL.—See PENIEL,
PEOPLE is the AV rendering of a great variety of Heb. and Gr. terms, the most important of which are ‘3, ond or ond, oy, δῆμος, ἔθνος, λαός, ὄχλος. The distinctive meanings of these are discussed under GENTILES. While in many instances no doubt can exist as to the reference of the word people, there are cases where the Eng. reader cannot but feel uncertain whether he is to understand by it the people of Israel or people in the sense of Gen- tile nations. This ambiguity is avoided by RV,
which, for the latter sense, freely employs tae
PEOR
pine peoples, which in AV occurs only in Rey 0" 17% The effect of this change in clearing up the meaning is very evident in such passages arn 67*, Is 55* 60? ete. See Preface to RV of
Special notice is required of the phrase ‘ people of the land’ ( sari which occurs frequently in the OT, especially in Jeremiah (18 3419 37? 44% 52% 25), Ezekiel (77 12 22% 332 3918 463-%), and 2 Kings (16 1519 20 155° 1615 21% 25%. 0 2416 Ore 18), with the parallel passages in 2 Chronicles (23% 39. 31 267! 335 361). In most of these instances it means the general body of the people, as distinguished from the king and the aristocracy. The fuller phrase 7yy7Oy ΠΡῚ is used in 2K 24™ for ‘the pout sort of the people of the land’ (cf. 2 K 25%,
er 407 5215-16), In Gn 2937-12-18 (P), Nu 14° (JE), ‘am-h@drez is employed with reference to non- Israelites. The title ‘ammé ha@drez (or ‘ammé h@ drdzéth) has a technical sense in the book of Ezra-Nehemiah, being used of that half-heathen half-Jewish polalation of Palestine with whom less scrupulous Jews intermarried and maintained pene xelotions, but with whom the party repre- sented by Ezra and Nehemiah refused all but the most unavoidable intercourse (Ezr 9! 2 10%", Neh 10*-*2), The phrase ‘am-hd’drez was used by the Rabbins not only collectively but in an individual sense (they spoke of an ‘am-hd’drez) for the class distinct from the strict observers of the law (ef. Jn 7* ‘this multitude [ὁ ὄχλος οὗτος] which knoweth not the law are eae ’). See, further, art. PHARISEES, Ἔ 804; Schiirer, GJV* ii. 400 [HJP Il. ii. 22 f.] ; Smend, Alttest. Religionsgesch? (Index, s. ‘Am hadrez’), J. A. SELBIE.