Pa'dail (Heb. Paddan', '^n'S, field; Sept. in full, MffTOTTorajuia rt/c "S-vpiaq; Vulg. Mesopotamia') occurs in (jen. xlviii, 7, for Pai>ax-Aram.
Pa'dan-A'ram (Heb. Paddan'-A ram', D1X~'|'nQ, the, field [or flat country] of Syria, i. e. Mesopotamia — only in Genesis; Sept. j) MecroTrorrtjuia 'S.vpiac, Gen. XXV, 20; xxviii, 6, 7; xxxiii, 18; >/ M. Gen, xxviii, 2, 5; xxxi, 18; M. TrjQ Sep. Gen. xxxv, 9, 26; xlvi, 15; Alex. »'/ M. Gen. XXV, 20; xxviii, 5, 7; xxxi, 18; »/ M. Si/jO. Gen. xxviii, 2; xxxiii, 18; Vulg. Mesopotamia, Gen. XXV, 20 ; xxxi, 18 ; M. Syria; Gen. xxviii, 2, 5, 6 ; xxxiii, 18 ; xxxv, 9, 26 ; xlvi, 15 ; Syria, Gen. xxvi, 15) ; once called Padan simply (Gen. xlviii, 7) ; " the table-
land of Aram," a name by which the Hebrews desig> nated the tract of countrj^ which they otherwise called Akam-xahauaim, "Aram of the two rivers," the Greek Mesopotamia (Gen. xxiv, 10), and " the field (A. V. country) of Aram" (Hos. xii, 12). The term was per- haps more especially applied to that portion which bor- dered on the Euphrates, to distinguish it from the mountainous districts in the north and north-east of Mesopotamia. Rashi"s note on Gen. xxv, 20 is curious : " Because there were two Arams, Aram-naharaim and Aram Zobah,he (the writer) calls it Paddan-Aram ; the expression 'yoke of oxen' is in the Targums *p"iiri "'^S, paddan torin; and some interpret Paddan-Aram as ' field of Aram,' because in the language of the Ishmael- ites they call a field paddan." In Syr. pidono is used for a " plain" or " field ;" and both this and the Arabic word are probably from the Arab, root fadda, "to plough," which seems akin to fid in fidit, from findere. If this etymologj^ be true, Paddan-Aram is the arable land of Syria : " either an upland vale in the hills, or a fertile district immediately at their feet" (Stanley, Sin, and Pal. p. 129, note). Paddan, the ploughed land, would thus correspond with the Lat. arvum, and is analogous to YMg. field, the felled IwaAfivom which the trees have been cleared. See Aram,
Padan-Aram plays an important part in the early history of the Hebrews. The family of their founder had settled there, and were long looked upon as the aristocracy of the race, with whom alone the legitimate descendants of Abraham might intermarry, and thus preserve the purity of their blood. Thither Abraham sent his faithful steward (Gen. xxiv, 10), after the news had reached him in his southern home at Beersheba that children had been born to his brother Nahor. From this family alone, the offspring of Nahor and Mileah, Abraham's brother and niece, could a wife be sought for Isaac, the lieir of promise (Gen. xxv, 20), and Jacob the inheritor of his blessing (Gen. xxviii). — Smith. See Mesopotamia.
Paddle {1T]^,yathed', a pin [as often rendered], especially a tent -pin, Judg. iv, 21; Sept. TraffffaXof; \u\g.passillus), the implement required by the Mosaic law to be carried by Jews for the purpose of covering their ordure with earth (Dent, xxiii, 13), evidently a common stake or peg of wood, sufficient to scratch the ground with.
Paddock, Benjamin Green, a pioneer preach- er of the Methodist Episcopal Church, is noted for his valuable Christian labors in the territorj- now known as the Wyoming Conference, and covering those por- tions of the great states of Pennsylvania and New York situated near the much celebrated valley of the Wy- oming. He was born in Bennington, Vt., Jan. 24, 1789. His mother is still remembered as a woman of deep piety. For eighty-five years she lived a holy life. An abiding moral influence was thus exerted upon the domestic circle, and Benjamin was one of the first of a numerous household to give his heart to God. At the age of sixteen he was converted imder the Kev. Benjamin Bidlack, and joined the Methodist Church. He entered the itinerant ranks in 1810, when his name first ajSpears upon the Minutes of Conference. He had labored the preceding year on Westmoreland Cir- cuit under the Kev. James Kelsey. Paddock's work was chiefly in the Wyoming valley and its adjacent mountain region. He had a voice of uncommon sweet- ness and power, and the effect with which he sang for Jesus is still remembered in that section. Later he was stationed at the important charges of Utica, Canandai- gua, and Auburn, and also filled the office of presiding elder for many years. In 1843 he was superannuated, and he never after resumed the active work of the min- istry. He took up his residence first at Clinton, where he educated his children at college, and later he lived at Rome, New York, His long life of usefulness closed at last at Metuchen, N. J., Oct. 7, 1872, whither he had
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gone to enjoy the attentions of his children residing there. His dying hour was most tranquil and joyous. His salutation to his brother, the Rev. Z. Paddock, who reached him the evening previous to his death, while it was characteristic, was most exultant. His last words were, " Farewell. Hallehiia, all is well !" Like most of the pioneer preachers of Methodism, Mr. Pad- dock's early educational advantages had been mea- gre, and he was dependent upon his own industry for tlie culture he secured. He studied much and wrote some, but he never became pre-eminent among his fel- lows for commanding intellect, to judge from his pro- ductions as published in the Me7iioir cited below. "He was a man of magnificent heart. He judged things from the emotions, and to him the ffood was the test of the true" (Dr. Whedon, in Meth. Qii. Rev. April, 1875, p. 348). See the Rev. Z. Paddock, Memoir of the Rev. B. G. Paddock (New York, 187.5, Pimo) ; Min. of An- nual Conferences, 1874, p. 52. (.J. H. W.)