-
PelethAid to Bible Understanding
-
-
2. A descendant of Judah through Jerahmeel.—1 Chron. 2:33.
-
-
PelethitesAid to Bible Understanding
-
-
PELETHITES
(Pelʹe·thites).
Loyal fighters for King David; always mentioned with the Cherethites. When David fled from Jerusalem because of Absalom’s rebellion (which a major portion of the army supported), the Pelethites went along with David across the Kidron. (2 Sam. 15:18, 23) They also helped put down the rebellion of Sheba (2 Sam. 20:7), and later supported David’s choice of Solomon as his successor, rather than siding with Adonijah as Joab did. (1 Ki. 1:38, 44) The Cherethites and Pelethites were not part of the regular army, but were a separate division in the service of King David, for Joab is called the head of the army, but, separately, Benaiah was over the Cherethites and Pelethites. (2 Sam. 8:18; 20:23; 1 Chron. 18:17) Since the Pelethites were not mentioned either before or after the reign of David, it may be concluded that they were his personal servants, rather than a permanent group serving the regal office.—Compare 2 Samuel 8:18 and 23:22, 23.
The lack of any positive identification of the Pelethites has given rise to numerous suggestions, among which are two primary schools of thought: (1) The great similarity in Hebrew between the two names Pelethites and Philistines (פלתי) [Pelethite] plus only one additional character gives פלשתי [Philistine]) is the basis for saying that they are of the same background, or perhaps that the Pelethites were a branch of the Philistines. Some object to this suggestion that Philistines comprised David’s personal bodyguard, but this possibility should not be wholly discounted. (2) On the other hand, the names Cherethites and Pelethites may perhaps be terms designating duty or ranks of service performed by David’s bodyguard, the Cherethites serving as executioners, the Pelethites as runners. Such a division of runners is mentioned during the reigns of Saul and later kings. (1 Sam. 22:17; 2 Ki. 11:4; 2 Chron. 30:6) This second view, however, is less widely held than the first.
-
-
PelicanAid to Bible Understanding
-
-
PELICAN
[Heb., qa·ʼathʹ].
The Hebrew name of this bird is generally understood to mean “the vomiter” (Heb qohʼ, “to vomit”). The translators of the Greek Septuagint and Latin Vulgate versions identified the Hebrew word with the “pelican.” It is listed among the birds designated as ‘unclean’ in the Mosaic law.—Lev. 11:13, 18; Deut. 14:11, 12, 17.
The pelican’s most distinctive feature is the large elastic pouch extending beneath its long beak. Concerning this, Volume Nine of The Smithsonian Series (p. 99) reports: “The great pouch under the bill, incidentally and contrary to popular belief, is used only as a seine or net to capture food and not as a carrying basket.” In The Animal Kingdom (Vol. II, pp. 913, 914), Dean Amadon and E. Thomas Gilliard, Associate Curators of Birds, of the American Museum of Natural History, report: “The pelican plunges with open bill into a school of small fish. The pouch serves as a scoop, taking in the fish and often several quarts of water as well. When the bird comes to the surface the water runs out the sides of the bill and the fish are gulped down. They are never stored in the pouch.” On the other hand, both these publications show that the pelican feeds its young by regurgitating partly digested food from its stomach, even bringing up whole small fishes when the young birds have attained sufficient size. The parent bird opens its beak and allows the young to poke into the vast throat, prodding for the regurgitated food. Thus, the Hebrew name aptly fits the pelican.
The pelican is one of the largest of all birds, attaining a size of some five feet (1.5 meters) in length and with a majestic wingspread of as much as eight feet (2.4 meters) or more. The yellowish beak is long and hooked, and the pouch beneath is scarcely noticeable when empty. Ponderous on land, the pelicans are strong, graceful fliers and have been known to have their nesting places as much as sixty miles (96.5 kilometers) from the places of their fishing. They are superb fishers and their webbed feet enable them to maneuver swiftly in the water.
When the pelican is gorged with food, it often flies away to a lonely place, where it takes a melancholy posture, with its head sunk on its shoulders, so motionless that it might be mistaken from a distance for a white stone. The bird assumes this attitude for hours at a time, thus befitting the melancholy inactivity to which the psalmist David refers when he illustrates the poignancy of his grief by writing that “I do resemble the pelican of the wilderness.” (Ps. 102:6) Here “wilderness” does not necessarily connote a desert, but simply an area away from human habitations, perhaps a swamp. During certain seasons, swamps in the northern Jordan valley are still the home of pelicans.
Thus the pelican shows a distinct preference for uncultivated places, where it will not be disturbed by man. There it nests and hatches its young and retires after fishing. Because of this fondness for lonely, desolate places, the Bible uses this bird as a symbol of utter desolation. To symbolize Edom’s coming desolation, Isaiah foretold that the pelican would take possession of that land. (Isa. 34:11) Zephaniah prophesied that pelicans would dwell among the pillar capitals of Nineveh, indicating total ruin and absence of humankind.—Zeph. 2:13, 14.
-
-
PeloniteAid to Bible Understanding
-
-
PELONITE
(Pelʹo·nite).
A term used with reference to two of David’s principal warriors, Helez and Ahijah. (1 Chron. 11:26, 27, 36; 27:10) Helez is referred to as “the Paltite” in the parallel record at 2 Samuel 23:26, and some lexicographers consider this the preferred rendering of the designation. The name of Ahijah (1 Chron. 11:36) does not appear, in that form at least, in the corresponding list at 2 Samuel 23:24-39.
-
-
PenAid to Bible Understanding
-
-
PEN
1. A small enclosure for animals. (Zeph. 2:6; see SHEEPFOLD.) In Micah’s prophecy, regathered and united Israel is likened to “a flock in the pen.” (Mic. 2:12, NW, Le) The Masoretic text here uses the Hebrew word bots·rahʹ, which is elsewhere rendered “Bozrah,” the name of a city of Edom and a city of Moab. However, in view of the phraseology of Micah 2:12 some authorities feel that bots·rahʹ also means a “pen” or “fold” (JP, Mo). If the word should be vowel-pointed slightly differently, it would correspond closely with the Arabic sira (pen).
2. An implement for writing with ink or similar fluid. When ancients wrote on clay, wax or soft metal they used a stylus (see STYLUS), but writing was also done on parchment or papyrus with pen and ink. (3 John 13; 2 John 12) The Greek word translated “pen” (kaʹla·mos) refers to a reed or cane and can literally be rendered “writing-reed.” Among ancient Egyptians the reed pen was made with a flat chisel-shaped head that was cut or sliced so that it would act as a brush. The reeds may have been dried and hardened by leaving them under dung heaps for several months, as has been the practice in recent years. The Greeks and Romans used a reed pen that was pointed and slit, as was later done with quill pens and as is done even with modern fountain pens.
-
-
PeninnahAid to Bible Understanding
-
-
PENINNAH
(Pe·ninʹnah) [coral].
A wife of Elkanah. Peninnah produced many children, in contrast with Elkanah’s other wife, Hannah. Nonetheless, Peninnah was loved less than Hannah and so she ridiculed Hannah’s barrenness, especially at the time of the family’s annual visits to the tabernacle.—1 Sam. 1:1-8.
-
-
PentateuchAid to Bible Understanding
-
-
PENTATEUCH
(Penʹta·teuch).
This anglicized Greek word (meaning “five rolls” or “fivefold volume”) refers to the first five books of the Bible—Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy.
-