The crowds which Jesus found at Jerusalem were
naturally drawn from the country-districts, so that tliej' afford no reliable clue to the exact population of the capital, although, if we may trust the calcu- lations of Josephus {BJ Xl. ix.), it must have been capable of including, at the Passover season, more than three millions of people. Over two and a half million orthodox worshippers were reckoned at one census under Nero.
Literature.— Schiirer. HJP, u. i. 2f. ; Selah Merrill, Galike in the Time of Chriit ; Besant, The Citi/ and the Land, p. 113 f. ; Keim, Jesui of Sazara, Eng. tr. vol. ii. p. 6f.
PORTER {dvpwpos. Mk 13^, Jn lO^ Is'"- [in last passage, 'she that kept the door']). — The English word ' ijorter ' is ambiguous, meaning ' burden- bearer' as well as 'door-keeper." 'Janitor' or ' gate-keeper ' would be a better rendering. ' Por- ters' were employed to guard city gates, and to keep watch at the entrance of public buildings and of private houses. It would appear fi-om Jn 18^*'-, where a ' damsel " acts as door-keeper of the high priest's palace, that in some instances women were thus employed (cf . Ac 12'^'- ) ; see. further, Hastings' DB, artt. ' Gate,' ' Porter,' ' Priests and Levites ' (iv. 93=").
The identity of the porter of the sheepfold ( Jn lO'') has been much discussed. Obviously, he is the guardian of the fold, whose office is to open the door to any shepherd (Jn 10^ [Greek and KVm]) whose sheep are in the fold. See art. Sheep. Thus the porter may be (1) God: so Calvin {Com. on John, in loc), Bengel {Gnomon, in loc.), and Heng- stenberg (Com. on John, in loc); (2) Christ: so Cyril and Augustine (quoted by Hengstenberg), who remark that Christ is His own porter ; (3) the Hobj Spirit : so Stier, Lange, Alford, and others. Others apply the figure to John the Baptist (so Godet) or to Moses. The most natural interpreta- tion is that given by Westcott (Gospel of John, in loc): 'The interpretation will vary according to the special sense attached to the "sheep"' and the " shepherd." The figure is not to be explained exclusively of the Holy Spirit, or of the Father, or of Moses, or of John the Baptist, but of the Sjairit acting through His appointed ministers in each case.' For parallels to the symbolism of the passage, cf. Ac U^ W*, 2 Co 2'"-, Col 43, Rev 3".
James Mur.'^ell.
PORTION (fiepos).—The different shades of mean- i ing which in the Gospels are assigned to the word fj-epos have their counterpart in OT usage : it will, therefore, be well to glance briefly at those words which express 'portion," in its varj'ing meanings, in the Hebrew.
7"iii is the ordinary and frequently used word for 'lots,' i.e. little stones, or the like, cast into a vessel, or the folds of a garment, for answering questions, deciding issues, etc. ; it is used once in a different sense, that of ' retribution.' in Is 17i-». p7~ means, as a role, ' portion ' in the sense of a constituent part of a whole ; ■"ip'p" is used in the same way, but with special reference to land. ,1;:: and n;5 are generally used of portions of sacrifice. Tliese meanings are, however, not in- variably adhered to, cf. e.g. Ps 1&^ """in ~BN 'cri 'pVn mp nin; '^73 ' The Lord is the portion of my lot and my cup : thou maintainest my lot '
In the Gospels juepos * is used: (1) just like pS", for a constituent part of a whole, e.tj. 'Give me the portion of thy substance that falleth tome' (Lk 15^-) ; it is used in the same .sense in Lk 24*-, Jn 19'-^. In this use of the word, fiepos can refer to things material, as in the last two refer- ences, as well as to something abstract, e.g. Lk 11^ ' If therefore tiij' whole body be full of light, having no part (uepos) dark . . .' (2) It is used much in the same sense, but with a somewhat extended ap^ilication, of districts of land ; when
* The RV translates, according to the context, by 'portion.' ' piece,' 'part,' 'side.'
3S4
POETEAITS
POU^D
this is the case, the plural form is invariably em- ployed, viz. the ' parts' or districts (to. fxeprj) belong- ing to Galilee (Mt 2-\ of Tyre and Sidon (Mt 15-'), of Ca?sarea (Mt 16'^), of Dalmanutha (Mk 8'"). In this sense the word would correspond to the Hebrew n^hn. Once more, the word occurs in a technical sense of tlie riglit-hand side of a ship (to. de^ia fxepr; tou irXoiov, Jn 21''). (3) fxepos is used in the sense of fate, destiny, or lot; as such it occurs only twice in the Gospels : Mt 24^' ' He shall ajjpoint liis portion with the hypocrites,' and Lk l^^** ' He shall appoint his portion with the un- faithful.' * The nearest approach to this in OT usage would l)e in Is 17'^, where h-f\i has a special and restricted meaning. There is a slight variation in the force of the word as used in Jn 13"^ ' If I wash thee not, thou hast no part (fj-epos) witli me'; for, while in the two former passages the reference is to a final doom, in this the meaning is rather, ' If I wash thee not, tliou canst have nothing to do Avitli me.'