In NT three separate Gr. words are translated in EV ' porch.'
1. Mk 14"* ' And he (Peter) went into the porch.' The Gr. word (irpoaiXtov) denotes a covered way leading from the street into the court of a house ; a sort of passage. ' Forecourt ' is the word given in RVm. 2. Mt 26" 'And when he (Peter) was gone out into the porch.' This passage is paral- lel with the former, and, though irvKuiv usually means door, doorwav, there can be no doubt that it has liere the same signification as irpoavXiop in Mk. 3. Jn 5- ' Now there is in Jerus. by the sheep gate a pool, which is called in Heb. Bcthesda, having five porches.' These porches (ffroai) are simply five covered ways joining the street with a pool. In three other places, in each case in the phrase ' Solomon's porch,' is the word o-rod found (Ju 10^, Ac 3" 5'"). Tliis was a portico on the eastern side of the temple building, hence called by Jos. {Ant. XX. ix. 7) (XToa ava.To\iKTi, and supposed by him to have survived the destruction of the temple in B.C. 586, and to go back to Solomon's own day (ib. XIV. xi. 5, XX. ix. 2 ; Wars, V. v. 1). It la generally agreed that this eastern porch, as well as tlie other porches existing in our Lord's time, were due to Herod's restoration ; yet, if this porch was built so near the time of Josephus, it is singular that he should have thought it to lie tlie work of Solomon. T. W. BA\^ES.
PORCIUS FESTUS.— See Festus.
PORCUPINE.— See Bittern.
PORPOISE.— See Badger.
PORT. — This word has in its time played many parts. It has meant (I) carriage of the body, demeanour (from Lat. portare, to carry) ; (2) a harbour (from Lat. porlus) ; (3) an entrance, a gate (from Lat. porta, through Fr. parte) ; and (4) a wine (from Oporto, in Portugal). Of these meanings (1) and (3) are now almost obsolete. In AV the only occurrence of the word is Nch 2", where it means 'gate,' the same Heb. word (il'S*) being translated 'g.ate' in the same verse. In Ps 9'* Pr. lik. there is an instance of the same meaning, ' That I m.aye shewe all thy praysea wytli in the portes of the daughter of Sj'on.' Knox often uses the word, sometimes adding 'gate' as if the classical 'port' might not be familiar. Thus, Hist. p. 408, ' They caused to keep the Ports or Gates and make good Watch about the Towne'; Works, iii. 311, 'Let every man put his sworde upon his thygh, and go in and out from porte to iioite in the tentes ; and let every man kil his brother, his ncyglibour, and every man his nigh kynsman ' ; p. 3'23, 'They be-
fynne to syncke to the gates of iiell and portes of es]ieration.' Davies quotes Scott's lino in Bonnie Dundee —
' Unbeuk the West Port, and let us goe free.'
J. HASnNO.S.
rORTEK
POSSESSION
PORTER (nyW, in Ezr 7" Aram, spb ; LXX irvXupis and Ovpupds, NT dvpupos) occurs frequently in our English versions, especially in the liks. of Chron- icles and Ezra-Neheiiiiah. It has always the sense of gatekeeper (Frencli portier), being a derivative from porta, 'a gate.' Owing to the ambiguity of the Eng. word, which also means the carrier of a burden (French ])orteur, from porter, 'to carry'), it would have been well if ' gatekeeper ' had been uniformly adopted as tlie rendering of the Heb. and Gr. terms. RV has at least 'doorkeepers' in 1 Ch 15'8 16^ -23' 20'- '" ", 2 Ch 8".
For the employment of ' porters ' in public or private buildings, as well as at sheepfolds (Jn 10^), see art. G.^TK in vol. ii. p. 113" ; and for the duties and the organization of the Levitical ' porters,' see art. Peiksts and Levites. J. A. Selbie.
POSIDONIUS (IlotriSiivios).— An envoy sent by Nicanor to Judas Maccabseua (2 Mac 14'*, cf. 1 Mac 7-''-»').
POSSESS. — The verbs possidere and possidSre are said to be distinguished in Latin, the former meaning to 'have in possession,' 'own,' the latter to 'take possession of,' 'win.' The Eng. verb 'to possess' adopted both meanings. In AV it nearly always means ' to take possession of,' ' win.' This is some- times evident, as Nu 13^" ' Let us go up at once and possess it'; Jos 13' 'There remaineth yet very much land to be possessed.' But sometimes it is not so, as Gn 22" ' Thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies ' ; Lk IS'- ' I give tithes of all that I possess'; 21" 'In j'our patience possess ye your souls ' ; * 1 Th 4* ' That every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honour.' Cf. Fuller, Holy IVarre, 14, 'The Saracens had lately wasted Italy, pillaged and burned many churches near Rome it self, conquered Spain, invaded Aquitain, and possessed some islands in the mid-laud-sea ' ; and Ac 1'* Rhem. ' And he in deede hath possessed a field of the reward of iniquitie.'
Sometimes the meaning is to ' enter into posses- sion,' ' inherit,' as Job 7' ' So am I made to possess months of vanity' ('^ 'P^OfC 13); Zee 8'' 'I will cause the remnant of this people to possess all these things ' {'PjDjn), RV ' I will cause ... to in- herit').