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International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

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PLACE

plas: Normally for maqom, Old Testament, and topos, New Testament, but in the King James Version "place" represents a great number of Hebrew and Greek words, often used with no difference in force (e.g. 2 Ch 35:10,15). the Revised Version (British and American) has made few changes, but occasionally has attempted to specialize the meaning (Gen 40:13; Job 37:8; Acts 8:32; Jas 3:11, etc.).


PLACE, BROAD; HIGH

See CITY ,II , 3, 2;HIGH PLACE ;OPEN PLACE .


PLAGUE

plag (negha`, makkah, maggephah; mastix, plege): This word which occurs more than 120 times is applied, like pestilence, to such sudden outbursts of disease as are regarded in the light of divine visitations. It is used in the description of leprosy about 60 times in Lev 13 and 14, as well as in Dt 24:8. In the poetical, prophetic and eschatological books it occurs about 20 times in the general sense of a punitive disaster. The Gospel references (Mk 3:10; 5:29,34; Lk 7:21) use the word as a synonym for disease.

The specific disease now named "plague" has been from the earliest historic times a frequent visitant to Palestine and Egypt. Indeed in the Southeast between Gaza and Bubastis it has occurred so frequently that it may almost be regarded as endemic. The suddenness of its attack, the shortness of its incubation period and the rapidity of its course give it the characters which of old have been associated with manifestations of divine anger. In the early days of an epidemic it is no infrequent occurrence that 60 per cent of those attacked die within three days. I have seen a case in which death took place ten hours after the first symptoms. In the filthy and insanitary houses of eastern towns, the disease spreads rapidly. In a recent epidemic in one village of 534 inhabitants 311 died within 21 days, and I once crossed the track of a party of pilgrims to Mecca of whom two-thirds died of plague on the road. Even with modern sanitary activity, it is very difficult to root it out, as our recent experiences in Hong Kong and India have shown.

Of the Biblical outbreaks that were not improbably bubonic plague, the first recorded is the slaughter of the firstborn in Egypt--the 10th plague. We have too little information to identify it (Ex 11:1). The Philistines, however, used the same name, negha`, for the Egyptian plagues (1 Sam 4:8) as is used in Ex. The next outbreak was at Kibroth-hataavah (Nu 11:33). This was synchronous with the phenomenal flight of quails, and if these were, as is probable, driven by the wind from the plague-stricken Serbonian region, they were equally probably the carriers of the infection. Experience in both India and China has shown that animals of very diverse kinds can carry germs of the disease. A third visitation fell on the spies who brought back an evil report (Nu 14:37). A fourth destroyed those who murmured at the destruction of Korah and his fellow-rebels (Nu 16:47). These may have been recrudescences of the infection brought by the quails. The fifth outbreak was that which followed the gross religious and moral defection at, Baal-peor (Nu 25:8,9,18; 26:1; 31:16; Josh 22:17; Ps 106:29,30). Here the disease was probably conveyed by the Moabites.

A later epidemic, which was probably of bubonic plague, was that which avenged the capture of the ark (1 Sam 5:6). We read of the tumors which were probably the glandular enlargements characteristic of this disease; also that at the time there was a plague of rats (1 Sam 6:5)--"mice," in our version, but the word is also used as the name of the rat. The cattle seem to have carried the plague to Beth-shemesh, as has been observed in more than one place in China (1 Sam 6:19). Concerning the three days' pestilence that followed David's census (2 Sam 24:15; 1 Ch 21:12), see Josephus, Ant,VII , xiii, 3. The destruction of the army of Sennacherib may have been a sudden outbreak of plague (2 Ki 19:35; Isa 37:36). It is perhaps worthy of note that in Herodotus' account of the destruction of this army (ii.141) he refers to the incursion of swarms of mice.

One of the latest prophetic mentions of plague is Hos 13:14, where the plague (debher, Septuagint dike) of death and the destruction (qaTabh, Septuagint kentron) of the grave are mentioned. From this passage Paul quotes his apostrophe at the end of 1 Cor 15:55, but the apostle correlates the sting (kentron) with death, and changes the dike into nikos.

Alexander Macalister


PLAGUES OF EGYPT

plagz (niphle'oth, "wonders "from pala', "to be separate," i.e. in a class by themselves; also called negheph, "plague," from naghaph, "to smite" (Ex 9:14), and negha`, "a stroke," from nagha`, "to touch" (Ex 11:1; compare Josh 24:10)):

INTRODUCTION

I. NATURAL PHENOMENA

1. Water Turned to Blood

2. The Plague of Frogs

3. The Plague of Lice

4. The Plague of Flies

5. The Plague of Murrain

6. The Plague of Boils

7. The Plague of Hail

8. The Plague of Locusts

9. The Plague of Darkness

10. Death of the Firstborn

II. MIRACULOUS USE OF THE PHENOMENA

1. Intensification

2. Prediction

3. Discrimination

4. Orderliness and Increasing Severity

5. Arrangement to Accomplish Divine Moral Purpose

III. DIVINE MORAL PURPOSE

1. Discrediting of the gods of Egypt

2. Pharaoh Made to Know that Yahweh Is Lord

3. Revelation of God as Saviour

4. Exhibition of the Divine Use of Evil

LITERATURE

Introduction:

The Hebrew words are so used as to give the name "plagues" to all the "wonders" God did against Pharaoh. Thus, it appears that the language in the account in Exodus puts forward the wondrous character of these dealings of Yahweh with Pharaoh. The account of the plagues is found in Ex 7:8 through 12:31; Ps 78:42-51; 105:27-36. These poetical accounts of the plagues have a devotional purpose and do not give a full historical narrative. Ps 78 omits plagues 4, 6, 9; Ps 105 omits plagues 5 and 6. Both psalms change the order of the plagues. Account of the preparation which led up to the plagues is found in the narrative of the burning bush (see BUSH ,BURNING ), the meeting of Aaron with Moses, the gathering together of the elders of Israel for instruction and the preliminary wonders before Pharaoh (Ex 3; 4). This preparation contemplated two things important to be kept in view in considering the plague, namely, that the consummation of plagues was contemplated from the beginning (Ex 4:22,23), and that the skepticism of Israel concerning Moses authority and power was likewise anticipated (Ex 4:1). It was thus manifestly not an age of miracles when the Israelites were expecting such "wonders" and ready to receive anything marvelous as a divine interposition. This skepticism of Israel is a valuable asset for the credibility of the account of the "wonders." The immediate occasion of the plagues was the refusal of Pharaoh to let the people have liberty for sacrifice, together with the consequent hardening of Pharaoh's heart. No indication of any localizing of the plagues is given except in Ps 78:12,43, where the "field of Zoan" is mentioned as the scene of the contest between Yahweh and the Egyptians. But this is poetry, and the "field of Zoan" means simply the territory of the great capital Zoan. This expression might be localized in the Delta or it might extend to the whole of Egypt. Discussion of the plagues has brought out various classifications of them, some of which are philosophical, as that of Philo, others fanciful, as that of Origen. Arrangements of the order of the plagues for the purpose of moralizing are entirely useless for historical consideration of the plagues. The only order of any real value is the order of Nature, i.e. the order in which the plagues occurred, which will be found to be the order of the natural phenomena which were the embodiment of the plagues.

Much elaborate effort has been made to derive from the description of the plagues evidence for different documents in the narrative. It is pointed out that Moses (E) declared to Pharaoh that he would smite the waters (Ex 7:17), and then the account, as it proceeds, tells us that Aaron smote the waters (Ex 7:19,20). But this is quite in accord with the preceding statement (Ex 4:16) that Aaron was to be the spokesman. Moses was to deal with God, Aaron with Pharaoh. Again it is noticed that some of the plagues are ascribed to the immediate agency of Yahweh, some are represented as coming through the mediation of Moses, and still others through the mediation of Moses and Aaron. Certainly this may be an exact statement of facts, and, if the facts were just so, the record of the facts affords no evidence of different documents.

An examination of the account of the plagues as it stands will bring them before us in a most graphic and connected story.

I. The Natural Phenomena.

All the "wonders" represented anywhere in Scripture as done by the power of God are intimately associated with natural phenomena, and necessarily so. Human beings have no other way of perceiving external events than through those senses which only deal with natural phenomena. Accordingly, all theophanies and miraculous doings are embodied in natural events.

The presence of Yahweh with the sacrifice by Abraham was manifested by the passing of a "smoking furnace and a burning lamp" between the pieces of the offerings (Gen 15:17 the King James Version). The majesty and power of God at Sinai were manifested in the "cloud" and the "brightness," the "voice" and the "sound of a trumpet" (Heb 12:19). The Holy Spirit descended "as a dove" (Mt 3:16). The Deity of Jesus was attested on the mountain by a "voice" (Mt 17:5). Jesus Himself was "God .... manifest in the flesh" (1 Tim 3:16 the King James Version). He was "found in fashion as a man' (Phil 2:8). And all the miracles of Jesus were coupled with sensible phenomena: He spoke to the sea and it was calm; He touched the leper and he was clean; He called to Lazarus and he came forth.

Yet in all these natural events, the miraculous working of God was as clearly seen as the natural phenomena. It is thus to be expected that the "wonders" of God in the land of Pharaoh should also be associated with natural events as well as manifest miraculous elements. The "blood" in the river, the "frogs" hopping about on the land, the "lice," the "flies," the "murrain," the "boils," the "hail," the "locusts," the "darkness," and the "pestilence" are all named as natural phenomena. Long familiarity with the land of Egypt has made it perfectly plain to many intelligent people, also, that nearly, if not quite, all the plagues of Egypt are still in that land as natural phenomena, and occur, when they do occur, very exactly in the order in which we find them recorded in the narrative in Exodus. But natural events in the plagues as in other "wonders" of God embodied miraculous doings.

1. Water Turned to Blood:

The first of the plagues (dam, from 'adham, "to be red" (Ex 7:19-25)) was brought about by the smiting of the water with the rod in the hand of Aaron, and it consisted in the defilement of the water so that it became as "blood." The waters were polluted and the fish died. Even the water in vessels which had been taken from the river became corrupt. The people were forced to get water only from wells in which the river water was filtered through the sand. There are two Egyptian seasons when, at times, the water resembles blood. At the full Nile the water is sometimes of a reddish color, but at that season the water is quite potable and the fish do not die. But a similar phenomenon is witnessed sometimes at the time of the lowest Nile just before the rise begins. Then also the water sometimes becomes defiled and very red, so polluted that the fish die (Bib. Sacra, 1905, 409). This latter time is evidently the time of the first plague. It would be some time in the month of May. The dreadful severity of the plague constituted the "wonder" in this first plague. The startling character of the plague is apparent when it is remembered that Egypt is the product of the Nile, the very soil being all brought down by it, and its irrigation being constantly dependent upon it. Because of this it became one of the earliest and greatest of the gods (Breasted, Development of Religion and Thought in Egypt, 3-47; "Hymn to the Nile," Records of the Past, New Series, III, 46-54). The magicians imitated this plague with their enchantments. Their success may have been by means of sleight of hand or other devices of magic, as may be seen in the East today, with claim of supernatural aid, and as used in western lands for entertainment, as mere cleverness. Or it may be, as has been suggested, that they counted upon the continuance of the plague for at least a time, and so took advantage of the materials the "wonder" had provided.

2. The Plague of Frogs:

Frogs (tsphardeim, probably "marsh-leapers" (Ex 8:1-15)) are very abundant just after the high Nile when the waters begin to recede. Spawn in the mud is hatched by the sun, and the marshes are filled with myriads of these creatures. The frog was the hieroglyph for myriads. The frogs usually remain in the marshes, but in this case they came forth to the horror and disgust of the people. "Frogs in the houses, frogs in the beds, frogs baked with the food in the ovens, frogs in the kneading troughs worked up with the flour; frogs with their monotonous croak, frogs with their cold slimy skins, everywhere--from morning to night, from night to morning--frogs." The frog was also associated with Divinity, was the symbol of Heqt, a form of Hathor, and seems also at times to have been worshipped as divinity. This plague created such horror that thus early Pharaoh came to an agreement (Ex 8:8-10). A time was set for the disappearance of the frogs that he might know that "there is none like unto Yahweh our God," but when the frogs were dead, Pharaoh hardened his heart (Ex 8:15). In this plague "the magicians did in like manner with their enchantments" (Ex 8:7). Frogs were plentiful, and it would not seem to be difficult to claim to have produced some of them.

3. The Plague of Lice:

It is impossible to determine what particular troublesome insect pest of Egypt is meant by the 3rd plague, whether body-lice or mosquitoes or sandflies or ticks or fleas (kinnim, "gnats" (Ex 8:16)). Those who have experience of these pests in Egypt are quite ready to accept any of them as adequate for the plague. Lice seem rather to be ruled out, unless different kinds of lice were sent, as there is no one kind that torments both man and beast. All the other insect pests appear in incredible numbers out of the "dust" when the pools have dried up after the receding of the waters. The assertion that the account of this plague is not complete, because it is not recorded that Pharaoh asked its removal or that Moses secured it, is amazing. Perhaps Pharaoh did not, in fact, ask its removal. There seems also at this time some difficulty in Moses having access to Pharaoh after this plague (Ex 8:20). Perhaps the plague was not removed at all. The Egyptians are disposed to think it was not! Certainly that season of the year spent in Egypt, not in a dahabiyeh on the Nile, but in a native village, will furnish very satisfying evidence that stinging and biting insects are a very real plague in Egypt yet. The magicians failed with their enchantments and acknowledged that divine power was at work, and seem to have acknowledged that Yahweh was supreme (Ex 8:19), but Pharaoh would not heed them.

4. The Plague of Flies:

As the seasons pass on, after the recession of the waters, the flies (`arobh, "swarms," probably of flies (Ex 8:20-32)) become more and more numerous until they are almost a plague every year. The increased severity of this plague, and the providential interference to separate between Israel and the Egyptians, drove Pharaoh and his people to such desperation that Pharaoh gave a half-promise of liberty for Israel to sacrifice "in the land." This called out the statement that they would sacrifice the "abomination of the Egyptians." This may have referred to the sacrifice of sheep, which were always held in more or less detestation by Egyptians, or it may have had reference to the sacrifice of heifers, the cow being the animal sacred to the goddess Hathor. The new element of separation between the Israelites and the Egyptians introduced into this plague was another step toward establishing the claims of Yahweh to be the God of all the earth and to have taken Israel under His especial care.

5. The Plague of Murrain:

In addition to the separation established between Israel and the Egyptians, a definite time is now set for the coming of the 5th plague. It is to be noticed also that diseases of cattle (debher, "destruction" (Ex 9:1-7)) and of men follow quickly after the plague of insects. This is in exact accord with the order of Nature as now thoroughly understood through the discovered relation of mosquitoes and flies to the spread of diseases. Rinderpest is still prevalent at times in Egypt, so that beef becomes very scarce in market and is sometimes almost impossible to obtain. It is a fact, also, that the prevalence eft cattle plague, the presence of boils among men (see 6, below) and the appearance of bubonic plague are found to be closely associated together and in this order. The mention of camels as affected by this plague is interesting. It is doubtful if any clear indication of the presence of the camel in Egypt so early as this has yet been found among the monuments of Egypt. There is in the Louvre museum one small antiquity which seems to me to be intended for the camel. But Professor Maspero does not agree that it is so. It would seem likely that the Hyksos, who were Bedouin princes, princes of the desert, would have introduced the beasts of the desert into Egypt. If they did so, that may have been sufficient reason that the Egyptians would not picture it, as the Hyksos and all that was theirs were hated in Egypt.

6. The Plague of Boils:

In the plague of boils (shechin, and 'abha`bu`oth, "boils" (Ex 9:8-17)) ashes were used, probably in the same way and to the same end as the clay was used in opening the eyes of the blind man (Jn 9:6), i.e. to attract attention and to fasten the mind of the observer upon what the Lord was doing. This plague in the order of its coming, immediately after the murrain, and in the description given of it and in the significant warning of the "pestilence" yet to come (Ex 9:15), appears most likely to have been pestis minor, the milder form of bubonic plague. Virulent rinder-pest among cattle in the East is regarded as the precursor of plague among men and is believed to be of the same nature. It may well be, as has been thought by some, that the great aversion of the ancient Egyptians to the contamination of the soil by decaying animals was from the danger thereby of starting an epidemic of plague among men (Dr. Merrins, Biblical Sacra, 1908, 422-23).

7. The Plague of Hail:

Hail (baradh, "hail" (Ex 9:18-35)) is rare in Egypt, but is not unknown. The writer has himself seen a very little, and has known of one instance when a considerable quantity of hail as large as small marbles fell. Lightning, also, is not as frequent in Egypt as in many semi-tropical countries, yet great electric storms sometimes occur. This plague is quite accurately dated in the seasons of the year (Ex 9:31,32). As the first plague was just before the rising of the Nile, so this one is evidently about 9 months later, when the new crops after the inundation were beginning to mature, January-February. This plague also marks another great step forward in the revelation of Yahweh to Israel and to the Egyptians. First only His power was shown, then His wisdom in the timing of the plagues, and now His mercy appears in the warning to all godly-disposed Egyptians to save themselves, their herds and their servants by keeping all indoors (Ex 9:19-21). Pharaoh also now distinctly acknowledged Yahweh (Ex 9:27).

The plague of locusts ('arbeh, "locust" (Ex 10:1-20)) was threatened, and so frightened were the servants of Pharaoh that they persuaded him to try to make some agreement with Moses, but the attempt of Pharaoh still to limit in some way the going of Israel thwarted the plan (Ex 10:7-10).

8. The Plague of Locusts:

Then devouring swarms of locusts came up over the land from the eastern desert between the Nile and the Red Sea. They devoured every green thing left by the hail. The desperate situation created by the locusts soon brought Pharaoh again to acknowledgment of Yahweh (Ex 10:16). This was the greatest profession of repentance yet manifested by Pharaoh, but he soon showed that it was deceitful, and again he would not let the people go. When the wind had swept the locusts away, he hardened his heart once more.

9. The Plague of Darkness:

The progress of the seasons has been quite marked from the first plague, just before the rising of the waters, on through the year until now the khamsin period (choshekh, "darkness" from any cause (Ex 10:21-29)) has come. When this dreadful scourge comes with its hot sand-laden breath, more impenetrable than a London fog, it is in very truth a "darkness which may be felt." The dreadful horror of this monster from the desert can hardly be exaggerated. Once again Pharaoh said "Go," but this time he wished to retain the flocks and herds, a hostage for the return of the people (Ex 10:24). Upon Moses' refusal to accept this condition, he threatened his life. Why had he not done so ere this? Why, indeed, did he let this man Moses come and go with such freedom, defying him and his people in the very palace? Probably Moses' former career in Egypt explains this. If, as is most probable, he had grown up at court with this Merenptah, and had been known as "the son of Pharaoh's daughter," heir to the throne and successor to Rameses II, instead of Merenptah, then this refugee had undoubtedly many friends still in Egypt who would make his death a danger to the reigning Pharaoh.

10. Death of the Firstborn:

No intimation is given of the exact character of the death inflicted on the firstborn (bekhor, "firstborn," "chief" or "best"; compare Job 18:13; Isa 14:30 (Ex 11 through 12:36)) by the angel of the Lord, or its appearance. But it is already foretold as the "pestilence" (Ex 9:15). The pestis major or virulent bubonic plague corresponds most nearly in its natural phenomena to this plague. It culminates in a sudden and overwhelming virulence, takes the strongest and best, and then subsides with startling suddenness.

Thus, it appears that probably all the plagues were based upon natural phenomena which still exist in Egypt in the same order, and, when they do occur, find place somewhere during the course of one year.

II. Miraculous Use of the Phenomena.

The miraculous elements in the plagues are no less distinctly manifest than the natural phenomena themselves.

1. Intensification:

There was an intensification of the effect of the various plagues so much beyond all precedent as to impress everyone as being a special divine manifestation, and it was so. There was national horror of the blood-like water, disgust at the frogs, intolerable torture by the stinging insects and flies, utter ruin of the farmers in the loss of the cattle, the beating down of the crops by the hail, and the devouring of every green thing by the locusts, the sufferings and dread of the inhabitants by reason of the boils, the frightful electric storm, the suffocating darkness and, finally, the crushing disaster of the death of the firstborn. All these calamities may be found in Egypt to the present day, but never any of them, not to say all of them, in such overwhelming severity. That all of them should come in one year and all with such devastation was plainly a divine arrangement. Merely natural events do not arrange themselves so systematically. In this systematic severity were seen miracles of power.

2. Prediction:

The prediction of the plagues and the fulfillment of the prediction at the exact time to a day, sometimes to an hour (as the cessation of the thunder and lightning): There was first a general prediction (Ex 3:19,20; 7:3; 9:14,15) and an indication as the plagues went on that the climax would be pestilence (Ex 9:15). Then several of the plagues were specifically announced and a time was set for them; e.g. the flies (Ex 8:23), the murrain (Ex 9:5), the hail (Ex 9:18), the locusts (Ex 10:4), the death of the firstborn (Ex 11:4). In some cases a time for the removal of the plague was also specified: e.g. the frogs (Ex 8:10), the thunder and lightning (Ex 9:29). In every instance these predictions were exactly fulfilled. In some instances careful foresight might seem to supply in part this ability to predict. Perhaps it was by means of such foresight that the magicians "did so with their enchantments" for the first two plagues. The plague being in existence, foresight might safely predict that it would continue for a little time at least, so that, if the magicians sought for bloody water or called for frogs, they would seem to be successful. But the evidence which Yahweh produced went beyond them, and, at the third plague, they were unable to do anything. These things postulate, on the part of Moses and Aaron, knowledge far beyond human ken. Not only magicians could not do so with their enchantments, but modern science and discoveries are no more able so to predict events. Even meteorological phenomena are only predicted within the limits of reasonable foresight. Such wonders as the plagues of Egypt can in no wise be explained as merely natural. The prediction was a miracle of knowledge.

3. Discrimination:

The discrimination shown in the visitation by the plagues presents another miraculous element more significant and important than either the miracles of power or the miracles of knowledge. God put a difference between the Egyptians and the Israelites, beginning with the plague of flies and continuing, apparently, without exception, until the end. Such miracles of moral purpose admit of no possible explanation but the exercise of a holy will. Merely natural events make no such regular, systematic discriminations.

4. Orderliness and Increasing Severity:

The orderliness and gradually increasing severity of the plagues with such arrangement as brought "judgment upon the gods of Egypt," vindicating Yahweh as Ruler over all, and educating the people to know Yahweh as Lord of all the earth, present an aspect of events distinctly non-natural. Such method reveals also a divine mind at work.

5. Arrangement to Accomplish Divine Moral Purpose:

Last of all and most important of all, the plagues were so arranged as to accomplish in particular a great divine moral purpose in the revelation of God to the Israelites, to the Egyptians and to all the world. This is the distinctive mark of every real miracle. And this leads us directly to the consideration of the most important aspect of the plagues.

III. Divine Moral Purpose.

1. Discrediting of the gods of Egypt:

This discrediting of the gods of Egypt is marked at every step of the progress of the plagues, and the accumulated effect of the repeated discrediting of the gods must have had, and, indeed, had, a great influence upon the Egyptians. The plagues did `execute judgment against the gods of Egypt' (Ex 12:12), and the people and princes brought great pressure to bear upon Pharaoh to let the people go (Ex 10:7). The magicians who claimed to represent the gods of Egypt were defeated, Pharaoh himself, who was accounted divine, was humbled, the great god, the Nile, was polluted, frogs defiled the temples and, at last, the sun, the greatest god of Egypt, was blotted out in darkness.

2. Pharaoh Made to Know that Yahweh Is Lord:

Pharaoh was made to know that Yahweh is Lord, and acknowledged it (Ex 9:27; 10:16). To this end the issue was clearly drawn. Pharaoh challenged the right of Yahweh to command him (Ex 5:2), and God required him then to "stand" to the trial until the evidence could be fully presented, in accordance with the fundamental principle that he who makes a charge is bound to stand to it until either he acknowledges its utter falsity or affords opportunity for full presentation of evidence. So we see God made Pharaoh to "stand" (Ex 9:16) (while the Bible, which speaks in the concrete language of life, calls it the hardening of Pharaoh's heart) until the case was tried out (compare Lamb, Miracle of Science, 126-49).

3. Revelation of God as Saviour:

A more blessed and gracious moral purpose of the plagues was the revelation of God as the Saviour of the world. This began in the revelation at the burning bush, where God, in fire, appeared in the bush, yet the bush was not consumed, but saved. This revelation, thus given to the people, was further evidenced by the separation between Israel and the Egyptians; was made known even to the Egyptians by the warning before the plague of hail, that those Egyptians who had been impressed with the power of God might also learn that He is a God that will save those who give heed unto Him; and, at last, reached its startling climax when the angel of the Lord passed over the blood-marked door the night of the death of the firstborn and the institution of the Passover.

4. Exhibition of the Divine Use of Evil:

Last of all, the plagues had a great moral purpose in that they embodied the divine use of evil in the experience of men in this world. As the experience of Job illustrates the use of evil in the life of the righteous, so the plagues of Egypt illustrate the same great problem of evil in the lot of the wicked. In the one case, as in the other, the wonders of God are so arranged as "to justify the ways of God to men."

The minutely accurate knowledge of life in Egypt displayed by this narrative in the Book of Exodus is inconceivable in an age of so little and difficult intercommunication between nations, except by actual residence of the author in Egypt. This has an important bearing upon the time of the composition of this narrative, and so upon the question of its author.

LITERATURE.

The literature of this subject is almost endless. It will suffice to refer the reader to all the general comms., and the special commentaries on Ex, for discussion of doctrinal and critical questions. Two admirable recent discussions of the plagues, in English, are Lamb, Miracle of Science, and Merrins, "The Plagues of Egypt," in Bibliotheca Sacra, 1908, July and October.

M. G. Kyle


PLAIN

plan ((1) kikkar, "circle" "talent," or "round loaf"; (2) mishor, from yashar, "to be level"; compare Arabic maisur, "that which is easy"; (3) biqah; compare Arabic baq`at, "a plot of ground" or "a wet meadow"; (4) `arabhah; (5) shephelah; (6) topos pedinos (Lk 6:17); (7) 'elon; compare elah, and 'allon "oak" (Gen 35:4,8, etc.); also 'elah, "Elah" (1 Sam 17:2); (8) 'abhel):

See NATURAL FEATURES .

(1) Kikkar, when meaning "plain" usually refers to the alluvial plain about Jericho near the north end of the Dead Sea: "Plain (the Revised Version margin "circle") of the Jordan" (Gen 13:10,11; 1 Ki 7:46; 2 Ch 4:17); "Plain of the valley of Jericho" (Dt 34:3); "cities of the Plain" (Gen 13:12; 19:29); "all the Plain" (Gen 19:17,25); "by the way of the Plain" (2 Sam 18:23); but "the plain round about Jerusalem" (Neh 12:28).

See CICCAR ;CIRCLE .

(2) Mishor, English Versions of the Bible "plain," the Revised Version margin usually "table-land," clearly refers in most places to the highlands of Gilead and Moab, East of the Jordan and the Dead Sea; e.g. Josh 13:9, "the plain (the Revised Version margin "table-land") of Medeba."

(3) Biq`ah is more often translated "valley" (which see).

(4) `Arabhah is in the Revised Version (British and American) often translated "the Arabah," denoting the whole Jordan-Dead-Sea-Arabah depression = Arabic Ghaur (Ghor). In Dt 11:30, the King James Version has "champaign" (which see). The "plains of Moab" (Nu 22:1; 26:3,13; 31:12; 33:48,49,50; 35:1; 36:13; Dt 34:1,8; Josh 13:32) and "plains of Jericho" (Josh 4:13; 5:10; 2 Ki 25:5; Jer 39:5; 52:8) are the low plain or ghaur North of the Dead Sea. `Arabhah is here equivalent to kikkar (see above). Note the distinction between mishor used of the highlands, and kikkar and `arabhah used of the ghaur.

See ARABAH .

(5) Shephelah is by the Revised Version (British and American) throughout translated "lowland" (which see), and includes the western slopes of the Judean hills and the maritime plain.

(6) Topos pedinos occurs only in Lk 6:17.

(7) `Elon is translated "plain" in the King James Version: "plain of Moreh" (Gen 12:6; Dt 11:30); "plain (or plains) of Mamre" (Gen 13:18; 14:13; 18:1); "plain of Zaanaim" (Jdg 4:11); "plain of the pillar" (Jdg 9:6); "plain of Meonenim" (Jdg 9:37); "plain of Tabor" (1 Sam 10:3). the Revised Version (British and American) has throughout "oak," the Revised Version margin "terebinth"; compare "oak" (Gen 35:4,8, etc.) and "vale of Elah" (1 Sam 17:2,19; 21:9).

(8) ['Abhel keramim] (Jdg 11:33) is in the King James Version "the plain of the vineyards," the Revised Version (British and American) "Abel-cheramim," the Revised Version margin "the meadow of vineyards." Elsewhere in English Versions of the Bible 'abhel is "Abel" or "Abel."

See ABEL-CHERAMIM ;MEADOW .

Alfred Ely Day


PLAIN OF MOAB

In Dt 1:1; 2:8, "plain" is translated in the Revised Version (British and American) "Arabah," and explained, "the deep valley running North and South of the Dead Sea." It was here that Moses delivered his last addresses. Ususally the word is plural (`arebhoth), the "plains" or steppes of Moab (Nu 22:1, etc.; Dt 34:1,8). An interesting description is given in an article on "The Steppes of Moab" by Professor G. B. Gray in The Expositor, January, 1905.

See MOAB .


PLAIN OF THE PILLAR

('elon mutstsbh; Codex Vaticanus reads pros te balano te heurete tes staseos tes en Sikimois; Codex Alexandrinus omits te heurete, and the second tes): With the Revised Version margin we must read "terebinth of the pillar," the place where the men of Shechem and Beth-millo made Abimelech king (Jdg 9:6). This was one of the sacred trees of which there seem to have been several near Shechem. See MEONENIM ,OAK OF . "The pillar" may possibly have been the great stone which Joshua set up "under the oak that was by the sanctuary of Yahweh" (Josh 24:26).

W. Ewing


PLAIN OF THE VINEYARDS

See ABEL-CHERAMIM .


PLAIN, CITIES OF THE

See CITIES OF THE PLAIN .


PLAIN; PLAINLY

plan, plan'-li: In Gen 25:27, the King James Version "plain" represents tam. If a contrast between the vocations of Jacob and Esau is meant, the Revised Version (British and American) ("quiet," margin "harmless") may be right. But elsewhere (Job 1:1; Ps 37:37, etc.) the word means "perfect," and so probably here; the failings of the great patriarch did not detract from the general estimate of him (Mt 8:11). In Ezr 4:18 "translated" (Revised Version margin) is better than "plainly read."


PLAISTER

plas'-ter.

See PLASTER .


PLAITING

plat'-ing, plat'-ing (from the Old French, pleit, which is from the Latin plicatum, "fold"): An interweaving, a braiding, a knot; an elaborate gathering of the hair into knots; emploke, "outward adorning of plaiting the hair" (1 Pet 3:3). Compare "platted" (crown of thorns) (Mt 27:29 parallel Mk 15:17; Jn 19:2).

See BRAIDED ,BRAIDING .


PLANE

plan (Isa 44:13).

See TOOLS .


PLANE TREE

plan'-tre ('armon; platanos (Gen 30:37), elate ("pine" or "fir") (Ezek 31:8); the King James Version chestnut): `Armon is supposed to be derived from the root aram, meaning "to be bare" or "naked"; this is considered a suitable term for the plane, which sheds its bark annually. The chestnut of the King James Version is not an indigenous tree, but the plane (Planus orientalis) is one of the finest trees in Palestine, flourishing especially by water courses (compare Ecclesiasticus 24:14).


PLANETS

plan'-ets (mazzaloth).

See ASTROLOGY , sec. II, 3.


PLANK

plank: Thick beams or pieces of wood, for which several Hebrew words are used. The Revised Version (British and American) changes "planks" (of fir) into "boards" in 1 Ki 6:15, and in a few instances substitutes "planks" where the King James Version has "boards" (Ex 27:8; 38:7, the altar; Ezek 27:5). So in the New Testament in Acts 27:44, for sanis.

See SHIPS AND BOATS ,II , 2, (3).


PLANT, PLANTS

See BOTANY .


PLASTER (1)

plas'-ter (sidh): In Egypt, now as in ancient times, the buildings are plastered inside and out. The poor quality of the stone commonly used makes this necessary if a smooth attractive surface is desired. Among the poorer classes, clay mixed with straw is used. In Palestine and Syria, where there is a rainy season, the coating on the outside walls, if made of clay, must be frequently renewed. In Egypt burnt gypsum, and in Palestine and Syria burnt limestone (lime) are the commonest materials for making mortar. For the first coat of plastering the lime is mixed with "fat" red sand or with the ash from the bathhouse fires, and the finishing coat is composed of white sand and slaked lime with or without chopped flax straw. The plaster on some of the ancient Egyptian ruins seems to indicate that milk or some similar substance was added to the mortar to give a better surface.

The ancients preferred plastered surfaces for decorating, and even the finest granite was covered with stucco on which to paint or carve the decorations (Dt 27:2; Dan 5:5). Columns were often first stuccoed and then painted.

The Arabic word for mortar is Tin, which really means "clay." The Hebrew sidh, literally, "to boil up," refers to the boiling of the water with which the lime is slaked, because of the heat generated during the slaking process. In Dan 5:5 occurs gir, i.e. "burned in a kiln," which might mean either lime or gypsum. In Lev 14:42 occurs Tuach, "to smear."

James A. Patch


PLASTER (2)

plas'-ter (marach): Only used in Isa 38:21 of the application of the cake of figs to the boil from which Hezekiah suffered. In Papyrus Ebers, figs are used as the ingredient in a plaster (xxxv, lxxix, lxxxiii). Dioscorides also recommends figs with other substances as a poultice in some skin diseases.


PLASTERING

plas'-ter-ing.

See CRAFTS ,II , 15.


PLATE

plat: A term seemingly not used in the Bible for a dish as it is so commonly used at present, but always for a tablet or sheet of metal. (1) tsits (Ex 28:36; 39:30; Lev 8:9), a plate of gold on the front of the mitre of the high priest. The name seems to have been given because of the radiance of the object. (2) pach (Ex 39:3; Nu 16:38), of plates or sheets of metal produced by hammering. (3) luach, used for tablets or tables of stone (Ex 24:12, etc.), but in 1 Ki 7:36 for the metal plates on the bases of the lavers in the temple. The word ceren, is rendered "plate" in 1 Ki 7:30 the King James Version, manifestly incorrectly, the Revised Version (British and American) "axle."

Walter R. Betteridge


PLATTER

plat'-er: (1) qe`arah, "a deep dish" (Nu 7:13 f,84,85). In the King James Version and the English Revised Version "charger," the American Standard Revised Version "platter" (compare Ex 25:29; 37:16); the Septuagint trublion, and in the New Testament rendered "dish" (Mt 26:23; Mk 14:20). In Ezr 1:9, the American Standard Revised Version agharTal, rendered "platter," the King James Version and the English Revised Version "chargers"; probably a deep dish or basin used in sacrificial slaughter. (2) paropsis, originally a side dish, for relishes, entrees, but of dishes for food, in general, especially meats, fish, etc., used with poterion, "cup" or "drinking vessel" (Mt 23:25 f); also pinax, originally a large wooden dish or plate (Lk 11:39); rendered "charger" in Mt 14:8,11 the King James Version, and Mk 6:25,28 the King James Version and the English Revised Version.

Edward Bagby Pollard


PLAY

pla.

See GAMES .


PLEAD

pled: In modern non-legal English is a synonym of "pray" or "beseech," but in legal phraseology "plea," "plead," and "pleading" have a great variety of technical meanings, with "present a case before the court" as the idea common to all. All the uses of "plead" in English Versions of the Bible are connected with this legal sense, so that outside of the set phrase "plead a cause" (1 Sam 24:15, etc.) there is hardly a use of the word in the King James Version, the English Revised Version, or the American Standard Revised Version that is clear modern English The most obscure instances are due to The King James Version's employment of "plead" to translate the niphal of shaphaT. ShaphaT means "judge," so its niphal means "bring oneself into a case to be judged," "enter into controversy with," and so "plead" in the legal sense. Hence, "None pleadeth in truth" (Isa 59:4) means "none of their lawsuits are honest." Accordingly, when God is said to "plead with" man (Isa 66:16 the King James Version, the English Revised Version, etc.), the meaning is that God states His side of the case and not at all that He supplicates man to repent. And this statement by God is a judicial act that of course admits of no reply. Hence, the Revised Version (British and American) has changed "plead with" into "enter into judgment with" in Jer 2:35, and the American Standard Revised Version has carried this change into all the other passages (Jer 25:31; Ezek 17:20; 20:35,36; 38:22), with "execute judgment" in Isa 66:16; Joel 3:2. The same verb form occurs also in Isa 43:26: "Let us plead together," where "Let us present our arguments on both sides" would be a fair paraphrase. Otherwise "plead" usually represents ribh, for which the Revised Version (British and American) gives "strive" in place of "plead" in Ps 35:1, and "contend" in Job 13:19; 23:6 (the American Standard Revised Version also in Jdg 6:31,32; Isa 3:13; Jer 2:9; 12:1; Hos 2:2, retaining "plead" only in Isa 1:17 and in the phrase "plead a cause"). yakhach, is rendered "plead" in Job 19:5 ("plead against me my reproach," where the meaning is "convict me of"), in Mic 6:2 the King James Version and the English Revised Version (the American Standard Revised Version "contend"), and Job 16:21 the King James Version (the Revised Version (British and American) "maintain the right"). "Plead" is used also for din, in Jer 30:13 and Prov 31:9 the King James Version (the Revised Version (British and American) "minister justice to"), and Jer 5:28 the Revised Version (British and American) (the King James Version "judge"; compare Jer 22:16, the King James Version and the Revised Version (British and American) "judge"). the Revised Version (British and American) would have done vastly better if the use of "plead" had been avoided altogether.

Pleadings (i.e. "arguments") occurs in Job 13:6 (for ribh), and "plea" (din, in a specific legal sense) in Dt 17:8. the King James Version uses "implead" in Acts 19:38 for egkaleo, the Revised Version (British and American) "accuse," literally, "call into court"; compare also "pleaded the cause" in 2 Macc 4:44 (literally, "argued the case") and 4:47, the Revised Version (British and American) "pleaded" (literally, "spoken," the King James Version "told their cause").

Burton Scott Easton


PLEASURE

plezh'-ur (chephets, ratson; eudokia, hedone: "Pleasure" is the translation of various Hebrew words, chiefly of chephets, "inclination," hence, "pleasure," "delight" (Job 21:21, "What pleasure hath he in his house?" the American Standard Revised Version "what careth he for"; 22:3, "Is it any pleasure to the Almighty?"; Ps 111:2; Eccl 5:4; 12:1; in Isa 44:28; 46:10; 48:14; 53:10, it has the sense of will or purpose, "He shall perform all my pleasure," etc.); of ratson, "delight," "acceptance," "good will" (Ezr 10:11; Neh 9:37; Est 1:8; Ps 51:18; 103:21, etc.); nephesh, "soul," "desire" is translated "pleasure" (Dt 23:24; Ps 105:22; Jer 34:16).

In the New Testament "pleasure" is the translation of eudokia, "good thought or will," "good pleasure" (Lk 2:14 the Revised Version margin; Eph 1:5,9; Phil 2:13; 2 Thess 1:11 the Revised Version (British and American) "every desire of goodness," margin "Greek: `good pleasure of goodness.' Compare Rom 10:1").

"To take pleasure or to have pleasure" is eudokeo (2 Cor 12:10; 2 Thess 2:12; Heb 10:6,8,38); eudokeo is once translated "good pleasure" (Lk 12:32, "It is your father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom"); the neuter participle of dokeo, "to think," etc.--meaning "it seems good to me"--to dokoun, is translated "pleasure" (Heb 12:10, "after their pleasure," the Revised Version (British and American) "as seemed good to them"); hedone, "sweetness," "pleasure," occurs in Lk 8:14; Tit 3:3; 2 Pet 2:13 (referring to the lower pleasures of life); thelema, "wish," "will" (Rev 4:11, the Revised Version (British and American) "because of thy will"); charis, "favor" (Acts 24:27; 25:9, the Revised Version (British and American) "favor"); spatalao "to live voluptuously" (1 Tim 5:6, the Revised Version (British and American) "she that giveth herself to pleasure"); suneudokeo, "to think well with," "to take pleasure with others" (Rom 1:32, the Revised Version (British and American) "consent with"); truphao, "to live luxuriously" (Jas 5:5, the Revised Version (British and American) "lived delicately").

The verb "to pleasure" occurs in 2 Macc 2:27 as the translation of eucharistia, the Revised Version (British and American) "gratitude"; 12:11, ophelesein, the Revised Version (British and American) "to help."

W. L. Walker


PLEDGE

plej (verbs chabhal (10 times), `arabh (2 Ki 18:23 = Isa 36:8); nouns chahal (Ezek 18:12,16; 33:15), chabcholah (Ezek 18:7), `arubbah), (1 Sam 17:18), erabhon (Gen 38:17,18,20); also abhoT (Dt 24:10-13) and (the Revised Version (British and American) only) abhTiT (Hab 2:6)): All these words have about the same meaning. (1) The "pledge" is, as in modern English, security given for future payment (Gen 38:17-24) or conduct (Hab 2:6, where the conquered nations have given guaranties of their subserviency to the Chaldeans; the King James Version's "thick clay" here rests on a misreading of the Hebrew). In 2 Ki 18:23 (= Isa 36:8) the "pledge" is a wager (so the Revised Version margin). Rabshakeh mockingly dares Hezekiah to stake a "pledge" that he can produce 2,000 men for the defense of Jerusalem, although the mighty Assyrian host has that number of horses alone. The general point of the obscure passage Prov 20:16 (= 27:13) is that he who guarantees strangers needs a guaranty himself. 1 Sam 17:18 is uncertain and the text may be corrupt. If not, the "pledge" is some (prearranged?) token of the welfare of David's brethren. (2) Most of the occurrences of "pledge," however, deal with the debts of the very poor, who had no property that they could spare even temporarily. Consequently, the exaction of a pledge from such persons worked genuine hardship, and to take a pledge at all was a cruel act (Job 24:3), although of course the dishonesty of withholding a pledge (Ezek 18:7; 33:15) was worse. Lowest in the scale was the creditor who took the garment the borrower was wearing (Am 2:8; Job 22:6; 24:9 margin), and special legislation controlled this practice. A garment (the outer "cloak" (see DRESS ) not worn while doing manual labor) so taken must be restored at night (Ex 22:26; Dt 24:12,13), for it was the usual covering of the sleeper. (Apparently, though, the creditor regained custody of it in the daytime until the debt was paid.) A widow's clothing, however, was entirely exempt (Dt 24:17), as was the handmill used for bread-making (Dt 24:6). The lender had no right of entry into the borrower's house to obtain the pledge (Dt 24:10,11), but it is not said that he could not dictate what he would accept; indeed, the contrary is inconceivable. (3) the American Standard Revised Version gives "pledge" for the King James Version and the English Revised Version "faith" in 1 Tim 5:12.

See also EARNEST .

Burton Scott Easton


PLEIADES

pli'-a-dez, ple'-ya-dez, ple'-a-dez.

See ASTROLOGY , 10;ASTRONOMY , sec. II, 10.


PLEROMA

ple-ro'-ma.

See FULLNESS .


PLOW

plou (charash; arotrioo): No implement of the Bible is more frequently illustrated today than the plow. This is partly because there is every reason to believe that the plows still used throughout Egypt, Palestine, and Syria are counterparts of the ancient ones. The first plows were probably an adaptation of the ancient Egyptian hoe, where the handle was lengthened in order that animals might be hitched to it. To make it easier to break up the ground, it was pointed, and handles were added by which it could be guided. The ancient plow probably varied in type in different sections of the country, as it does today. In one form a young tree Of oak or other strong wood of a diameter of 3 or 4 inches is cut off just below a good-sized branch and again 15 or 20 inches above. The upper end of the severed trunk is pointed and forms the share. Between this and the side branch is fitted a brace. The branch is cut off 10 or 12 ft. from the trunk and forms the pole. A lighter stick, about 3 ft. long, projects upward from the share and forms the handle. The plow used in Syria is of slightly different construction. The handle and share are one continuous piece, so cut that there is a slight bend at the middle. The share is pointed and is used bare in the plains, or in more stony regions is shod with iron. The pole is of 2 pieces joined end to end. The thicker end of the pole is notched, so that it may be attached firmly to the share. The whole plow is so light that it can be easily carried on a man's shoulder. These plows literally scratch the soil, as the Hebrew word implies. They do not turn over the ground as the modern implement does. The plowman guides the plow with one hand, and with the other sometimes goads the oxen, and at other times with the chisel end of his goad breaks away the lumps of earth or other material which impedes the progress of his plow.

See YOKE .

In addition to the words which are found above, the following terms occur: `abhadh (literally, "to serve"), "worked" or "plowed" (Dt 21:4); palach (literally, "to break open," Ps 141:7).

One special law is mentioned in connection with plowing, namely that an ox and an ass should not be yoked together (Dt 22:10), a prohibition which is utterly disregarded today. Oxen were principally used for plowing (Job 1:14). Often several yokes of oxen followed each other plowing parallel furrows across the field, a sight still common on the plains of Syria (1 Ki 19:19). Plowing was done by bond servants (Lk 17:7; compare `abhadh, Dt 21:4). Plowing cannot be done before the rains (Jer 14:4); on the other hand the soil is too sticky to plow in the winter time (Prov 20:4). The law requiring one day of rest in every seven days included plowing time (Ex 34:21).

Figurative: "The plowers plowed upon my back" typified deep affliction (Ps 129:3; compare 141:7). "Plow iniquity" is urged in the sense of "plant iniquity." Doing evil was sure to bring evil consequences (Job 4:8; compare Mic 3:12). As surely as planting comes after plowing, so surely will Yahweh carry out His decree of destruction (Isa 28:23-25). "Judah shall plow," i.e. become enslaved (Hos 10:11); compare "Foreigners shall be your plowmen" (Isa 61:5). "Will one plow there with oxen?" (Am 6:12), "neither plowing nor harvest" (Gen 45:6) are figures of desolation. Zion plowed as a field, i.e. utterly destroyed (Jer 26:18). The plowman shall overtake the reaper, i.e. the soil shall be so fertile as to require no rest--typical of great abundance (Am 9:13). No opportunity to plow because of lack of rain is a desolate picture of drought (Jer 14:4). As the plowman expects to share in the fruits of the harvest, so might an apostle expect his temporal needs to be provided for (1 Cor 9:10). "If ye had not plowed with my heifer," i.e. used my wife, was Samson's reply to those who had secured the answer to his riddle from her (Jdg 14:18). "Beat their swords into plowshares" (or hoes) (Isa 2:4; Mic 4:3) typified peace; "beat your plowshares into swords"--war (Joel 3:10). "Having put his hand to the plow, and looking back," i.e. longing for evil things when one has set his face toward doing what is right, unfits a man for the kingdom of God (Lk 9:62; compare Gen 19:26; Phil 3:13).

James A. Patch


PLUCKING OFF THE HAIR

pluk'-ing.

See HAIR , 7;PUNISHMENTS .


PLUMB-LINE; PLUMMET

plum'-lin, plum'-et, plum'-it.

See TOOLS .



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