wn. When, however, we remember that the sanctu-
was on the nies of a series of terraces, so
that its roof would command valleys and moun- tains around Jerus., and even beyond Jordan, it is much more natural and impressive to make the sanctuary roof the scene of this temptation. Meyer objects that, on account of its being covered with pointed spikes, put there to keep the birds away, Christ could not have been placed there; but the priests are known to have ascended to this roof (Middoth, ch. 4; Tannith, Talm. Bab. fol. 29). T. W. Davis.
PINON (j3*).—An Edomite ‘duke,’ Gn 36% (A Φινές, D Φεινών, E Svdv)=1 Ch 153 (B Φεινών, A Φινών). It is the same name which appears in Nu 33” as Punon (j5), one of the stations of the Israelites. See PUNON.
PIPE, in the sense of a tube, dccurs in AV and RV of Zec 4? (nipyo), and in AV (RV has ‘ spouts’) of vy. (nixp3y) in connexion with the golden candle- stick which the prophet saw in a vision, and which had a bowl at the top filled with oil for supply- ing its seven lamps by means of pipes leading to them. For ‘ pipe’ in the sense of a musical instru- ment see Music. J. WORTABET.
PIRAM (ox 9 ‘ wild ass’ ?).—The king of Jarmuth who joined other four kings against Gibeon, but was πἰδεξαὐῥὰ by Joshua αὖ Beth-horon and after- wards put to death at Makkedah along with his allies (Jos 1055), According to Hommel (Anc. Hebd. Trad. 223n.), Pir'am is identical with Pir’u, the name of an Arabian king in the time of Sargon. Sayce (2HH 225n.) compares the Egyp. Pi-Romi.
PIRATHON, PIRATHONITE (*jhynp, 6 Φαραθωνείτης, Luc. ᾿Εφρααθωνίτητ), Jg 12 .—Abdon, a minor judge, was a Pirathonite, i.e. a native of Pirathon
PISGAH 883
‘in the land of Ephraim, in the hill-count: Amalekites,’ a district either anciently the Amalekites, or seized by them on one of their invasions from the south. Benaiah, one of David’s mighty men, belonged to the same town, 2S 23”, 1Ch 11" ὁ Φαραθωνεί, 274 ὁ ἐκ Φαραθών. It is generally identified with Fer'ata, 6 miles S.W. of
amaria (a site also proposed for Ophrah); some prefer Fer'on, due W. of Samaria. Smith suggests that Pirathon was a fortress at the head of the Wady Far'ah, HGHL 355, cf. 350f.; Moore is in clined to look for it in Benjamin, as Abdon is a Benjamite family in 1Ch 8%-® 9% Pirathon was one of the places fortified by Bacchides, 1 Mac 9” καὶ τὴν Θαμνάθα Φαραθών. It appears that καὶ τήν has fallen out of the text before Φ. here. The other fortresses in this verse are all ἐν τῇ ᾿Ιουδαίᾳ, so that Φ. can hardly be the same as Pirathon above ; unless the author made the mus- take of introducing a Samaritan town into his list of Judzan forts. See also Jos. Ant. XII. i. 3.
G. A. CooKE.
PISGAH.—This word (which always has the def. art. 73727) is not found by itself, but in the expres- sions 73027 dk and 73020 navy. The first of these occurs in four passages, two of which refer to Moses (Dt 377 34). art. NEBO (MounrT) it is pointed out that ‘the top (head) of Pisgah’ and ‘Mt. Nebo’ are alternative designations (in Ὁ and P respectively) of the same spot, and the situation is described. The two other passages are Nu 21” 23, In Nu 21” a station in the journey- ings of the children of Israel is described as ‘the foo Pisgah which looketh down upon the desert’ (AV ‘toward Jeshimon,’ cf. RVm); and according to Nu 23" Balak brought Balaam, after sacrificin on the high places of Baal, or at Bamoth- (22), ‘into the field of Zophim, to the top of Pisgah.’
The second expression is found Dt 3!7 4%, Jos 128 13”. RV renders ‘slopes of Pisgah,’ with ‘spriags’ in the margin; AV has « Ashdoth-pis ah,’ except in Dt 4, where it has ‘the springs of Bisgeh? ἴῃ Jos 10” 128 ninzxz occurs by itself, and is rendered RV ‘slopes,’ AV ‘springs’; and 7x is the first word of Nu 21%—RYV ‘slope of the valleys,’ AV ‘stream of the brooks.’ From these versions it will be seen that the unusual word from the root wx has been variously interpreted. In Aramaic wx means ‘to pour’ [it is the Targ. rendering of 7ov in MT), and hence πον and ni7x are interpreted as places where water is poured down, i.e. the sloping sides of hills, or as pourings forth, i.e. streams or springs.
The AV, in treating it as a proper name, follows the LXX, which renders uniformly ᾿Ασηδώθ (Μηδώθ is a variant in B of Jos 12° and A of 135). The hesitation of AV is like that of the Vulgate, which renders radices montis Phasga in Dt, and Asedoth in Joshua. The Onomasticon takes it as the name of a city in the tribe of Reuben, and adds ‘ adpellatur autem addito cognomento Asedoth Fasga, quod in lingua nostra resonat abscisum.’ (Cf. Eus. [Lag. 206): λέγεται δὲ ᾿Ασηδὼθ Φασγὼ ὅ ἐστι λαξευτή.) te also asserts (s.v. ‘Abarim’) that a district was still called Φασγώ, Fasga (Onom. Lag. ed. pp. 124, 125, 237). No trace of such a district has been found on the eastern side of the Dead Sea, but a very similar name is applied to a promontory on the western shore (Ras Veshkeah) and in its neighbourhood is the Neby Musa of Moslem tradition.