or with a hand or other amulet sign marked upon them for the preservation of fields and vineyards from evil influences. For ‘pictures of silver’ in Pr 25" RV gives ‘baskets (m. filigree work) of silver.’ See Lagarde, Anmerk. z. Gr. Uebersetz. d. Proverb. 80. 2. πη. For a7007 nvrz> by of MT the LXX has ἐπὶ πᾶσαν θέαν πλοίων κάλλους, AV ‘upon all pleasant pictures,’ RV ‘upon all pleasant imagery’ (m. ‘ watch-towers’). iegfried-Stade propose to read γὴν) (cf. Jon 1°), ‘ships,’ for nv>y.
igures were represented either by an image completely separated from its surrounding material, or by 8 surface in partial relief, or by a line of stain or etching (777) on the surface. ;
At the present day, when a pious Syrian Jew wishes to have a picture of the temple and the Mount of Olives in his house, he falls upon the device of having a line engraving made up of Scripture quotations, thus avoiding the formal infringement of the second commandment. See engraving on previous page. G. M. MACKIE.
PIECE.—i. A measure: 1 Es 8” ‘an hundred pieces of wine’ (Gr. μετρητής, RV ‘firkin,’ as the same word is translated in Jn 2° AV and RY). See WEIGHTS AND MEASURES. 2, An instrument of war; 1 Mac 651 ‘pieces to cast darts and slings’ (Gr. σκορπίδιον, dim. of ἁ σκορπίος, a scorpion). In this sense the word is scarcely obsolete. Shaks. I Henry VI. τ. iv. 15, has—
*A piece of ordnance ’gainst it I have placed.’
In Selden’s day the word was beginning to be replaced by gun. He says (Zable Talk, p. 65), ‘Sometimes we put a new signification to an old word, as when we call a piece a Gun.’
PIETY.—In Lat. pietas signified duteous re
(1) to the gods, (2) to one’s parents (cf. the familiar ‘pius Aeneas’ of Vergil, Aen. i. 220, etc.] and in- feriors, (3) to one’s country ; and the Eng. word ‘piety’ retained all these meanings. We use it now of devotion to God only, although we can prefix an adj. and speak of ‘filial piety.’ We cannot say with Milton, Samson Agon. 993—
‘The public marks of honour and reward
Conferred upon me for the piety
Which to my country I was judged to have shown.’ In AV the only occurrence is 1 Ti δ ‘If any widow have children or nephews, let them learn first to show piety at home,’ where εὐσεβεῖν is rendered *to show piety,’ and the tr. is retained in RV. An example of the meaning ‘devotion to God’ is found in the Preface to AV, ‘ Piety towards God was the weapon, and the onely weapon that both
reserved Constantines person, and avenged him of
his enemies.’ J. HASTINGS.
PILATE.—Pontius Pilatus (Πόντιος Πειλᾶτος) was the fifth* Roman procurator of Judea. After the deposition (A.D. 6) of Archelaus, his territory, which included Juda, Samaria, and Idumea,t+ was erected into an imperial province in charge of an officer of the equestrian order with the title of procurator. In the Gospels, Pilate is called simpl governor (ἡγεμών) ; but Josephus specifically cal the ruler procurator (ἐπίτροπος; Ant. xx. vi. 2, BJ τι. viii. 1, ix. 2, οἷο), as also does Tacitus (Ann. xv. 44). His official residence was in the palace of Herod in Cesarea (cf. Ac 23"); but at the time of the feasts he usually went up to Jerus., peepee Soong there also the palace of Herod.§
he military force under him consisted of about three thousand men at Cesarea, besides small garrisons scattered throughout the country, and a cohort (500 men?) stationed in Jerusalem.|| His judicial authority was supreme, except in the cases of Roman citizens, where appeal lay to the emperor, while his chief duty concerned the financial ad- ministration and the collection of taxes for the imperial treasury. The Judean procurators thus exercised much higher authority than officers of the same name in most Roman provinces, where they presided merely over the finances. Similar administrative functions, however, were entrusted to the eparchs of Egypt and the procurators of Noricum, Retia, and a few other exceptional peoples. 1
But while Judea was thus directly governed by Rome, a large measure of local self-government was allowed, especially to urban communities. In Jerus. the Sanhedrin was the supreme court of the nation, and as many judicial functions as possible were retained by it. Death sentences, however, required the governor’s confirmation, and were executed by him (cf. Jos. Ant. xx. ix. 1, BJ m1. viii. 1). The tolerant Roman rule showed much respect for the customs and prejudices of the Jewish
PIGEON.—-See Dove.
PI-HAHIROTH (n+n7 ‘»).—When the Israelites turned back from ETHAM, ‘in the edge of the wilderness,’ they encamped ‘before (39) Ex 145 or beside (dy v.°) Pihabiroth, between MIGpOL and the sea, before BAAL-ZEPHON.’ The name occurs again in the itinerary of Nu 3378 Τὴ ν." RV has ‘from before Hahiroth,’ instead of ‘from before Pi-hahiroth,’ following in this the MT => ‘no, which, however, may be a copyist’s error for ‘no ‘2p or no ‘9 39>. All the passages in which Pi- hahiroth is mentioned belong to P. Unfortu- nately, the above definition of its position is insufhcient to fix its site, for Migdol and Baal- zephon, like most of the places named at the initial stages of the Exodus, are themselves un- known. Even RAAMSES has not been identified, | ὃ Sv Srp st DOB? τὲ Ab Sil Ju toh although we know the site of PITHOM. See,! qGomp. authorities cited by Schiirer, HUP 1 ii 45; also further, art. Exopus in vol. i. p. 803. Mommsen, Provinces of the Rom. Emp. ii, 201.