The Tb before TrpoaKe<pa\aiov seems to imply that the cushion was one of the ordinai-y articles of the boat's furniture, while its position ' in the stern ' suggests that the disciples were in the habit of resting on it by turns during the night fishing (Lk 5^ Jn 2P). It is, therefore, not probable that it had been placed there specially for our Lord's accommodation. On starting to cross the lake. He seated Himself on ' the cushion in the stern ' ; and there, being wearied with prolonged teaching, He soon fell into a sleep so profound that not even the tumult of the elements was sufficient to disturb it. ' Sleeji is attributed to our Lord in this context only ; but it is probably implied in Mk P^, and in passages which describe His vigils as if they were exceptional' (Swete, St. Mark, 85). Bushnell compares in a striking way the sleep of Adam in Paradise with that of Jesus in the storm (Christ and His Salvation, 1271. See also art. Cushion.
PIXNACLE
PITY
367
LiTERATfRE. — Stephanus, Thesauntg Grcecce Linguce (eA. Hase and Diudorf); Cecil Torr, ^;ici<,';it Ships, 1S95 ; Hastings' and other Bible Dictionaries. JaMES DoNALD.
PINNACLE occurs only in :\It 4^ Lk 4^. The word (7rT€pi'7toi') so rendered means ' a little wing,' and refers to sonie lofty point about the Temple, from which Jesus is said to have been invited by the tempter to cast Himself down. The Avord used for 'temple' in both passages (iepov) denotes tlie whole enclosure, and not merely the Temple build- ing proper {vaoi). The ' pinnacle ' may therefore be sought for anywhere within the Temple precincts. It is evident, from the use of the phrase ' the pin- nacle of the temple,' that there was a dehnite point well known by this name when the Evangelists wrote ; but now we are in some uncertainty as to where it was situated. Some understand the apex of the roof of the Temple building to be meant. Otliers suggest the roof of Solomon's Porch, on the east side of the Temple area. But if ' the junnacle " was not the summit of the Temple proper, the most likely position for it is the battlement of the Royal Portico, which ran from east to west across the south end of the enclosure, on the precipitous edge of a deep valley. Josephus (Ant. xv. xi. 5) says of this portico : ' WhUe the valley was very deep, and its bottom could not be seen if you looked fiom above into the depth, this fiuther vastly high eleva- tion of the cloister stood upon that height, insomuch that if any one looked down from the top of the battlements, or down both these altitudes, he would be giddy, while his sight could not reach to such an immense depth.' By ' both these altitudes,' it need hardly be said, Josephus means the height of the precipice plus the height of the portico which croAvned it. As the top of the portico, according to Josephus, was 100 feet above the pavement, the drop from this elevation to the bottom of the Kidron Valley would be about 300 feet ; and if ' the pinnacle,' as some sup^wse, was a txuTet or spire at the eastern end, marking the south-east corner of the enclosure, then its height would have to be added to this vertical distance.
The Church historian HegesippiLs (A.D. 160), as quoted by Eusebius {HE ii. 23), gives an account of the death of James the Lord's brother, who, he says, was cast do%\Ti by the Jews from the pinnacle of the Temple {vaos — the Temple proper). If this statement were reliable, it would be decisive in favour of the first supposition mentioned above ; but the accuracy of the whole story is doubtful, and it may be "questioned whether Hegesippus, writing nearly a centurj- after the destiniction of the Temple, knew any better than we do where ' the pinnacle ' really Vas. There is still, there- fore, a choice of views. On the one hand, the apex of the Temple proper would undoubtedly be the loftiest point of the whole gi-oup of buildings. On the other hand, the battlement of the Royal Portico would afford the deepest and sheerest fall, and, on the whole, it is most probable that ' the pinnacle ' was situated here. James Patrick.
PIPE {avX^u). — The verb is found only in the Gospels (Mt 11" 1' Lk 7^-), where the children say : ' We have piped unto j-ou and ye iiave not danced.' The noun aiXos is found in 1 Co 14'. The pipe was a wind instrument. It was perforated with two, three, or four holes, and was either single or double. The single form was played verticallj- or hori- zontally ; in the latter case the word •flute' would be a better rendering. The single instrument was played with two hands, the double with one hand for each pipe. Its range was naturally limited, its music monotonous. The word iigcib, also tr. by RV ' pipe,' in the Targums was an instru- ment of similar structure, and has been translated
by the Vulg. organum and AV 'organ' (Gn 4-^, Job -21^ 30^1, Ps isO'). Hexry E. Dosker.
PIT (^odvvo^, <pp€ap). — In the Gospels ^odwos is used only of a place into Avhich animals or men might stumble by accident (Mt 12'' ), or in conse- quence of blindness (Mt 15'S Lk 6*", AV 'ditch,' but RV 'pit'). This might mean anj- opening or hollow dug in the giound. In Lk 14^ Mt 12'^, however, cppeap is used, so that here we should, perhaps, umlerstand ' pit ' as an emptj- cistern, or artificial well. These are seldom covered in the East or guarded in any way. In the neighbour- hood of towns and villages, especially those that have fallen on decay, they are often the cause of serious accidents to unwary pedestrians. In tlie Apocalypse <ppeap appears as the bottomless abode of ' the beast " and his unholy hosts (Rev 9' 17* etc. ).