Since the words of the prophet Joel appear to have been recorded in the ninth century B.C.E., the defeats of the Philistines at the hands of Uzziah (2 Chron. 26:6-8) and Hezekiah (2 Ki. 18:8) could have been included in the fulfillment of this prophecy.

However, a larger fulfillment evidently came after the Israelites returned from Babylonian exile. Notes commentator C. F. Keil: “Alexander the Great and his successors set many of the Jewish prisoners of war in their lands at liberty (compare the promise of King Demetrius to Jonathan, ‘I will send away in freedom such of the Judæans as have been made prisoners, and reduced to slavery in our land,’ Josephus, Ant. xiii. 2, 3), and portions of the Philistian and Phœnician lands were for a time under Jewish sway.” (Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament [The Twelve Minor Prophets], Vol. I, p. 224; compare Obadiah 19, 20.) Noteworthy, too, is the fact that Alexander the Great took the Philistine city of Gaza. Many of the inhabitants were slain and the survivors were sold into slavery. A number of other prophecies likewise pointed to the execution of Jehovah’s vengeance upon the Philistines.—Isa. 14:31; Jer. 25:9, 20; 47:1-7; Ezek. 25:15, 16; Amos 1:6-8; Zeph. 2:5; Zech. 9:5-7; for details see ASHDOD; ASHKELON; EKRON; GATH; GAZA No. 1.

At Ezekiel 16:27 “the daughters of the Philistines” are depicted as being humiliated on account of Jerusalem’s loose conduct. (Ezek. 16:2) The reason for this appears to be that Jerusalem’s unfaithfulness to her God Jehovah was without parallel, for the Philistines and other peoples had held fast to the worship of their false gods.—Compare Jeremiah 2:10, 11.

PHILOLOGUS

(Phi·lolʹo·gus) [fond of learning].

A Christian whom Paul greets in his letter to the Romans. (Rom. 16:15) The same name is found on inscriptions associated with the household of Caesar.

PHILOSOPHY

The Greek word phi·lo·so·phiʹa means, literally, “love of wisdom.” In modern usage the term relates to human endeavors to understand and interpret through reason and speculation the whole of human experience, the underlying causes and principles of reality.

The Greek words for “philosophy” and “philosopher” each occur only once in the Christian Greek Scriptures. (Col. 2:8; Acts 17:18) Evidently when Paul wrote to the congregation at Colossae in Asia Minor, some there were in danger of being affected by the “philosophy and empty deception according to the tradition of men.” Greek philosophies were then quite prominent. But the context of Colossians 2:8 shows that of special concern to Paul were Judaizers who were trying to bring Christians back to observing the Mosaic law with its required circumcision, festival days and abstinence from eating certain foods. (Col. 2:11, 16, 17) Paul was not opposed to knowledge, for he prayed that Christians be filled with it. But, as he showed, one must appreciate the role of Jesus Christ in the outworking of God’s purpose in order to obtain true wisdom and accurate knowledge. (Col. 1:9, 10; 2:2, 3) The Colossians were to look out lest perhaps someone with persuasive arguments might carry them off as prey through a human way of thinking or outlook. Such a philosophy would be part of the “elementary things [stoi·kheiʹa] of the world,” that is, the principles or basic components and motivating factors of the world, “and not according to Christ.”—Col. 2:4, 8.

When in Athens Paul had an encounter with “Epicurean and Stoic philosophers.” (Acts 17:18) They termed the apostle a “chatterer,” using the Greek word sper·mo·loʹgos, which literally applies to a crow that picks up seeds. The word also carries the thought of one who picks up scraps of knowledge and repeats such without order or method. Those philosophers disdained Paul and his message. Basically the Epicurean philosophy was that the obtaining of pleasure, particularly mental pleasure, was the chief good in life (1 Cor. 15:32); though it acknowledged gods, it explained these as being beyond human experience and concern. The philosophy of the Stoics stressed fate or natural destiny; one should be of high virtue but strive for indifference to pain or pleasure. Neither Epicureans nor Stoics believed in the resurrection. In his speech before such men Paul highlighted the relationship and accountability of the individual to the Creator and connected therewith Christ’s resurrection and the “guarantee” this provided men. To Greeks asking for “wisdom” the message about Christ was “foolishness” (1 Cor. 1:22, 23), and when Paul mentioned the resurrection, many of his hearers began to mock, but some became believers.—Acts 17:22-33.

In his inspired letters Paul emphasized a number of times that the wisdom and falsely called knowledge of the world is foolishness with God and is to be avoided by Christians.—1 Cor. 1:18-31; 2:6-8, 13; 3:18-20; 1 Tim. 6:20.

PHINEHAS

(Phinʹe·has) [mouth of brass; or, mouth of a serpent].

1. Son of Eleazar and grandson of Aaron. His mother was a daughter of Putiel and his son’s name was Abishua. (Ex. 6:25; 1 Chron. 6:4) It was young Phinehas’ quick action that halted the scourge from Jehovah after 24,000 Israelites had died on the plains of Moab because of fornication and attaching themselves to the Baal of Peor. When he spotted Zimri taking the Midianitess Cozbi into his tent, he pierced them both through with a lance, “the woman through her genital parts.” This zeal in “tolerating no rivalry at all” toward Jehovah was “counted to him as righteousness,” and God made a covenant for the priesthood to remain in his line “to time indefinite.”—Num. 25:1-3, 6-15; Ps. 106:30, 31.

During his lifetime Phinehas served in various capacities. He was the priestly representative in the army that executed Jehovah’s vengeance upon Midian. (Num. 31:3, 6) When it was thought that three tribes were forsaking Jehovah’s worship, he headed a group of investigators. (Josh. 22:9-33) He was chief of the tabernacle gatekeepers. (1 Chron. 9:20) After the burial of his father in the Hill of Phinehas, he served in the office of high priest. (Josh. 24:33; Judg. 20:27, 28) His name is prominent in several postexilic genealogies.—1 Chron. 6:4, 50; Ezra 7:5; 8:2.

2. The younger of the two “good-for-nothing” sons of priest Eli. (1 Sam. 1:3; 2:12) While serving as priests, he and his brother Hophni cohabited with women at the sanctuary and “treated the offering of Jehovah with disrespect.” (1 Sam. 2:13-17, 22) When feebly reprimanded by their father, they refused to hear. For their wickedness God pronounced judgment against them. This was fulfilled when they were both killed on the same day in battle with the Philistines. (1 Sam. 2:23-25, 34; 3:13; 4:11) News about the capture of the Ark and the deaths of her father-in-law and her husband was too much for Phinehas’ wife. She was thrown into shock and died giving birth to Ichabod.—1 Sam. 4:17-21.

3. A Levite, whose son Eleazar helped inventory the temple treasures in the time of Ezra, 468 B.C.E.—Ezra 8:33, 34.

PHLEGON

(Phleʹgon) [burning].

One of the Roman Christians whom Paul greets in his letter.—Rom. 16:14.

PHOEBE

(Phoeʹbe) [radiant].

A Christian sister of the first-century Cenchreae congregation. Paul, in his letter to the Christians at Rome, ‘recommends’ this sister to them, and calls on them to render her any needed assistance as one who “proved to be a defender of many, yes, of me myself.” (Rom. 16:1, 2) It may be that Phoebe delivered Paul’s letter in Rome or else accompanied the one who did.

Paul refers to Phoebe as “a minister of the congregation that is in Cenchreae.” This raises the question as to whether his use of the term di·aʹko·nos (“minister”) is in a governmental sense, as at 1 Timothy 3:8 and Philippians 1:1, or is simply in a general sense. Some translators view the term in an official sense and hence render it as “deaconess” (RS, JB). Goodspeed’s translation views it in a general sense and translates it as “helper.”

The basic idea conveyed by di·aʹko·nos, as also by the verb di·a·ko·neʹo, is that of rendering personal service to another, as with one waiting on a table. (John 2:5, 9; Luke 12:37; 17:7, 8; 22:27) Women are described a number of times as ministering to Jesus in this general sense, doubtless preparing and serving food, perhaps caring for clothing and rendering similar personal services. (Matt. 27:55; Mark 15:41; Luke 8:3; John 12:2) In the parable of the sheep and the goats, Matthew uses di·a·ko·neʹo to embrace not only the providing of food and drink but also such activities as providing clothing and visiting one sick or in prison. (Matt. 25:44) It would appear that Phoebe was a “minister” in this basic sense, for there is no indication in the Scriptures that women were appointed to office as were those men designated as di·aʹko·noi. Though the term di·a·koʹnis·sa (“deaconess”) does appear in ecclesiastical writings, these are from the late second or third centuries C.E. at the earliest and evidently represent a later development at a time when the Christian congregation was already well along in the foretold apostasy.

Cenchreae, as a major port for the prominent city of Corinth, would be a location giving many opportunities for displaying hospitality to persons passing through there, including the apostle Paul. (Acts 18:18) Some suggest that it was in this sense that Phoebe served as “a defender of many.” Nevertheless, the term translated “defender” (pro·staʹtis) has the basic sense of “protectress” or “succorer,” so that it implies not mere cordiality but a coming to the aid of others who are in need. It may also be rendered “patroness.” Phoebe’s freedom to travel and to render notable service in the congregation may indicate that she was a widow and possibly a woman of some material wealth. So, she may have been in position to use influence in the community on behalf of Christians who were being wrongly accused, defending them in this way; or she may have provided refuge for them in time of danger, serving as a protectress. The record gives no details.

PHOENICIA

(Phoe·niʹcia) [Gr., Phoi·niʹke, perhaps from phoiʹnix, meaning date palm].

That strip of coastland along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean between Syria and Palestine that was bounded on the E by the Lebanon mountains. It roughly corresponded with the modern country of Lebanon. For many years the principal city of ancient Phoenicia was Sidon, but later it was eclipsed in importance by Tyre, a city founded by a colony from Sidon.—See SIDON, SIDONIANS; TYRE.

GEOGRAPHICAL FEATURES

The coastal plains of this long, narrow country were interrupted in a few places by the foothills of the mountains that reached down to the sea. The plains were well watered by a number of streams originating in the mountain range that formed the natural boundary along the eastern frontier. Here were several peaks over 10,000 feet (c. 3,000 meters) high, the highest over 11,000 feet (3,352 meters), peaks that were snowcapped a good part of the year. Extensive forests and orchards at one time covered much of the land—the cedar and pine as well as the oak, beech, mulberry, fig, olive and the date palm.

ORIGIN AND NAME

The history of the Phoenicians begins after the Flood with Noah’s grandson Canaan, a son of Ham. Canaan became the progenitor of eleven tribes, one of these, the Sidonians, being the descendants of Canaan’s firstborn, Sidon. (Gen. 10:15-18; 1 Chron. 1:13-16) The Sidonians were therefore Canaanites. (Josh. 13:4-6; Judg. 10:12) They themselves and others too, called their land Canaan. On a coin of the time of Antiochus Epiphanes the Syrophoenician city of Laodicea is described as “a mother city of Canaan.”

However, in time the Greeks preferred to call these Canaanite Sidonians by yet another term, Phoenicians. So it was that Canaanite, Sidonian and Phoenician were names sometimes used interchangeably for the same people. In Isaiah’s prophecy, for example, Phoenicia is termed Canaan.—Isa. 23:11; JP, NW (1958 ed., ftn.), RS.

LAND OF SEAFARING TRADERS

The Phoenicians were among the great seafaring peoples of the ancient world. Their ships were very seaworthy for their size. They were high both at the bow and stern, of wide beam, and could be powered by both sails and oars. (Ezek. 27:3-7) Phoenician vessels handled much of the commerce on the Mediterranean. In the eleventh century B.C.E. Solomon employed Phoenician “servants of Hiram” to accompany his ships going to Tarshish (Spain). (2 Chron. 9:21) Phoenician sailors were also used aboard Solomon’s fleet sent from Ezion-geber to Ophir. (1 Ki. 9:26-28; 10:11) In the seventh century B.C.E. Phoenician vessels were still sailing to Tarshish and bringing back silver, iron, tin and lead.—Ezek. 27:12.

ARTS AND CRAFTS

Phoenician metalworkers were skilled in casting, hammering and engraving gold and silver objects. Other artisans specialized in carving wood and ivory, fashioning glassware, weaving wool and linen, and dyeing cloth. Phoenicia was especially noted for her purple-dye industry. Royal or Tyrian purple robes commanded the highest prices, for many thousands of murex shellfish, each yielding but a single drop of dye, were needed for a few yards of cloth. The dye varied in hue, depending on where the shellfish were found along the shores of the Mediterranean, and this fact, plus the special skills of the Phoenician dye masters who often used a double- or triple-dyeing process, resulted in many varieties of costly fabrics that were sought after by those of rank and nobility.—Ezek. 27:2, 7, 24.

In the time of David and Solomon the Phoenicians were famous as cutters of building stones and as woodsmen skilled in bringing down the stately trees of their forests.—2 Sam. 5:11; 1 Ki. 5:1, 6-10, 18; 9:11; 1 Chron. 14:1.

RELIGION

As Canaanites, the Phoenicians practiced a very base religion centered around the fertility god Baal, and involving sodomy, bestiality and ceremonial prostitution, as well as abhorrent rites of child sacrifice. (See CANAAN, CANAANITE [Basis for Extermination].) The Phoenician city of Baalbek (some 40 air miles [64 kilometers] NE of Beirut) became one of the great centers of polytheistic worship in the ancient world, in Roman times great temples to various gods and goddesses being erected there, the ruins of which can be seen today.

In the spring of 31 C.E., certain residents of Phoenicia demonstrated faith by traveling inland to Galilee to listen to Jesus and to be cured of their ailments. (Mark 3:7-10; Luke 6:17) A year or so later Jesus visited the coastal plains of Phoenicia and was so impressed by the faith of a Syrophoenician woman living there that he miraculously cured her demon-possessed daughter.—Matt. 15:21-28; Mark 7:24-31.

When persecution broke out in Judea following the martyrdom of Stephen, some Christians fled to Phoenicia. There, for some time, they proclaimed the good news only to Jews. But following the conversion of Cornelius congregations began to spring up along the Phoenician coast having a mixture of Jews and non-Jews, as in other parts of the Roman Empire.