The apostle Paul visited some of these congregations in Phoenicia during the course of his travels, the last recorded visit with believers there being at Sidon on his way to Rome as a prisoner in 58 C.E.—Acts 11:19; 15:3; 21:1-7; 27:1-3.

PHOENIX

(Phoeʹnix) [date palm].

“A harbor of Crete.” (Acts 27:12) The grain boat on which Paul was traveling as a prisoner to Rome attempted to sail from Fair Havens to Phoenix for winter anchorage. Seized by a storm, it was subsequently wrecked on the island of Malta.—Acts 27:13–28:1.

As to the location of Phoenix, the Acts narrative indicates only that it was W of Fair Havens, on the S side of Crete, and that it provided safe winter anchorage. Two sites have therefore been proposed. One is Loutro, on the E side of a cape, some forty miles (64 kilometers) W of Fair Havens, and the other Phineka, on the opposite side of this cape. The literal Greek text describes the harbor at Phoenix as “looking down [ka·taʹ] the southwest wind and down [ka·taʹ] the northwest wind.” Scholars favoring Loutro interpret this to mean looking “along” or “toward” (ka·taʹ) the direction in which the SW and NW winds are blowing. (See NW, 1950 ed., ftn.) By this understanding the harbor is said to open ‘toward the NE and the SE’ (RS, NW), a description that could fit the large semicircular entrance to the harbor at Loutro. Phineka, because of its structure, is not used as a harbor today, though geologic changes in the vicinity may have affected its formation. However, Phineka does have two inlets, one facing SW and the other NW. Thus, those favoring this site understand the expression “looking down” to mean facing the direction from which the winds originate rather than that in which they blow. While there is some question as to the winter safety provided at Loutro, the inlets at Phineka appear to be capable of affording good winter shelter for boats.

According to the fourth-third century B.C.E. Greek writer Theophrastus, palm trees were indigenous to the Phoenix area; these possibly were the source of its name.

PHRYGIA

(Phrygʹi·a).

A country or region in central Asia Minor. The geographical boundaries of Phrygia fluctuated greatly over the years, so it is difficult to define the area encompassed unless one refers to a specific period. In the first century “Phrygia” was an inland area in the Roman provinces of Galatia and Asia, covering the plateau country N of the Taurus range, from the Halys River one the E to the upper valleys of the Hermus and Meander Rivers on the W. It was an agricultural and pastoral area of oil and wine and also exported wool and marble. The apostle Paul traveled through portions of Phrygia on at least two of his trips.—Acts 16:6; 18:23; 19:1.

It is commonly believed that the Phrygians spread S from Greece toward the close of the second millennium B.C.E. and gained control of much of central and western Asia Minor N of the Taurus Mountains, from the Halys River to the Aegean Sea. Archaeological evidence points to Gordion as their capital and King Midas as one of their prominent rulers. A noteworthy aspect of the religion of the people of early Phrygia is the worship of a mother-goddess (Rhea Cybele).

The western part of Phrygia came under the control of the Attalid kings of Pergamum. This kingdom became the Roman province of Asia, but the SE portion is often referred to as Asian Phrygia. (See ASIA.) The king of Galatia ruled the more easterly section of Phrygia and it eventually formed a part of the Roman province of Galatia. This eastern section is sometimes termed Galatian Phrygia; it was N of Pisidia and NW of Lycaonia. Depending on the point of view of the writer and the time period involved, Antioch and Iconium might be called Phrygian cities, though often Antioch is connected with Pisidia, and Iconium with Lycaonia.—Acts 13:14; see ANTIOCH No. 2; ICONIUM.

The population of Phrygia included many Jews, their presence having been encouraged by the Seleucid rulers in Syria. According to Josephus, Antiochus III (223-187 B.C.E.) transported “two thousand families of Jews, with their effects, out of Mesopotamia and Babylon” to Lydia and Phrygia in order to stabilize conditions among the seditious people there. (Antiquities of the Jews, Book XII, chap. III, pars. 1, 4) And Jews evidently continued numerous in Asia Minor under the Romans. On Pentecost 33 C.E. there were present in Jerusalem Jews from “the district of Asia, and Phrygia and Pamphylia.”—Acts 2:9, 10.

On his second missionary tour Paul and his companions, coming NW through Cilicia and Lycaonia, “went through Phrygia and the country of Galatia, because they were forbidden by the holy spirit to speak the word in the district of Asia.” (Acts 15:41; 16:1-6) So they had entered the eastern part of old Phrygia (this by Paul’s time being Galatian Phrygia), but instead of continuing W through the province of Asia (containing Asian Phrygia) they went N toward the province of Bithynia and then W to Troas.

Paul’s third tour took him through Galatian Phrygia and Asian Phrygia. He left Antioch in Pisidia and “went from place to place through the country of Galatia and Phrygia.” (Acts 18:23) The account also says that he “went through the inland parts and came down to Ephesus” on the Aegean coast. (Acts 19:1) It seems that he did not travel the main road to Ephesus, passing down the Lycus River valley and by the Phrygian cities of Laodicea, Colossae and Hierapolis (Col. 2:1; 4:13), but, instead, took a more direct route somewhat to the N.—See COLOSSAE.

PHYGELUS

(Phy·gelʹus) [a fugitive].

One from the district of Asia who “turned away from” Paul.—2 Tim. 1:15; see ASIA, p. 147.

PHYSICIAN

See DISEASES AND TREATMENT.

PI

[Π, π].

The sixteenth letter of the Greek alphabet. Derived from the Hebrew peʼ and corresponding in sound to the English “p.” As a numeral, accented pi (π΄) signifies eighty, with the subscript (,π), 80,000.

PIBESETH

(Pi·beʹseth) [house of the goddess Bastet or Bast].

A city mentioned along with On (Heliopolis) at Ezekiel 30:17 in a prophecy directed against Egypt. The Septuagint rendering of the text identifies Pibeseth with Bubastis, an ancient city of the Delta region, the remains of which are at Tell Basta, about forty-five miles (c. 72 kilometers) NE of Cairo, near the modern city of Zagazig. The name of the ancient city as it appears on Egyptian inscriptions shows a clear similarity to the Hebrew Pibeseth.

Pibeseth or Bubastis was the seat of the worship of the goddess Bastet or Bast, a feline goddess often represented with the head of a cat. The presence of a large burial ground for cats near the city testifies to the prominence of her worship there. An annual festival was held in honor of Bastet, drawing thousands of adherents from all parts of the land.

While Pibeseth was the capital of the eighteenth nome (or district) of Lower Egypt, it reached its greatest political prominence with the line of Libyan rulers over Egypt begun by Pharaoh Shishak, a contemporary of Solomon and Rehoboam. (1 Ki. 11:40; 14:25, 26) Pibeseth was a royal city of Shishak. Ezekiel’s prophecy relates to the Babylonian conquest of Egypt when Pibeseth would be overrun. The Persians later destroyed the city, and today only ruins remain on the ancient site.

PIG

See SWINE.

PIGEON

[Heb., yoh·nahʹ, goh·zalʹ; Gr., pe·ri·ste·raʹ].

As noted under the heading DOVE, the same Hebrew