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 word (yoh·nahʹ) is applied to both the dove and the pigeon. Similarly, in English the distinction between the two birds is not sharply defined, although the name pigeon is usually applied to the larger types and especially to those that are domesticated and thus nonmigrating. Like the dove, the pigeon is a stout-bodied, short-legged bird with smooth and compact plumage.

As a rule, Bible translations render the Hebrew yoh·nahʹ as “pigeon” only in texts involving sacrifices, in which “turtledoves” (Heb., tohr) are also regularly mentioned. The expression “male pigeons” (“young pigeons,” AV, RS) in Hebrew is literally “sons of the dove.” Along with turtledoves, pigeons were acceptable for sacrificial use in burnt offerings (Lev. 1:14); a pair could be presented by those too poor to afford a female lamb or kid for a guilt offering (5:5-7); a pigeon (or else a turtledove) as a sin offering was to accompany the offering of a young ram in a woman’s purification rites following delivery of a child, or, lacking the ability to present the ram, “two male pigeons” were acceptable (12:6-8) (as was the case in Mary’s purification following the birth of Jesus; Luke 2:22-24); and a pair of either pigeons or turtledoves was to be included in the purification offerings of a person of little means who had recovered from a running discharge. (Lev. 15:13, 14, 28, 29) They were also acceptable in connection with the Nazirite’s cleansing from defilement.—Num. 6:10.

While many families among the Jews doubtless had their own pigeons, the expression, “Now if he does not have the means for two turtledoves or two male pigeons,” evidently indicates that they were often purchased for sacrificial purposes.—Lev. 5:11.

The Hebrew term goh·zalʹ, meaning, literally, “young bird or fledgling” (compare Deuteronomy 32:11), used in the account of Abraham’s offering when “Jehovah concluded with Abraham a covenant,” is understood to refer to a “young pigeon.” (Gen. 15:9, 18) This is because of the constant association of the pigeon with the turtledove in sacrifices prescribed in the Law later given to Israel. A pigeon doubtless formed part of the earlier sacrifice by Noah, since that sacrifice included “some . . . of all the clean flying creatures.”—Gen. 8:20.

The provision of the Law in making optional the use of either male pigeons or turtledoves was a helpful arrangement for the Jews in Palestine, inasmuch as most turtledoves migrated from the land during the winter months, while the nonmigratory pigeons were available the year round.

The pigeon is a strong, swift flier, able to reach speeds of over fifty miles (81 kilometers) per hour. Its homing instinct caused it to be used for carrying messages from early times. Unlike human navigators who must use chronometers and sextants to determine their position, homing pigeons almost instantly know from the position of the sun at any time of day which direction to fly, even though released in strange territory hundreds of miles from their homesite. They automatically allow for the movement of the sun across the sky so that the angle of their flight does not err.

As common as chickens in many parts of the earth, pigeons differ from domestic fowl not only in their flying ability but also in their structure and in the fact that they are monogamous. Different from the rooster, the faithful male pigeon aids the female in building the nest and in incubating the eggs. Pigeons differ from all other birds in their distinct manner of feeding their young with “pigeon’s milk,” a curdlike substance produced with in the parents’ crop. Young pigeons, called “squabs,” are commonly used as food in many lands.

PIHAHIROTH

(Pi·ha·hiʹroth).

The last camping site of the Israelites before crossing the Red Sea. (Num. 33:7, 8) After having encamped at “Etham at the edge of the wilderness” (Ex. 13:20) Moses received instructions from Jehovah God to “turn back and encamp before Pihahiroth between Migdol and the sea in view of Baal-zephon.” (Ex. 14:1, 2) If the sites of Migdol and Baal-zephon were known today the identification of Pihahiroth would not be difficult. This is not the case, however, and attempts at linking their names, as well as that of Pihahiroth, with certain localities along Egypt’s eastern frontier have been varied and quite inconclusive. For this reason certain other geographical requirements contained in the account itself seem to present the soundest basis for obtaining some idea of the location of Pihahiroth.

Pihahiroth was near the Red Sea and at some point where the only route of escape from the advancing Egyptian forces would be through the sea itself. The sea at that point would also have to be of sufficient depth to allow for the waters to be “split apart” to form a passage through “the midst of the sea,” with the waters forming a “wall” on both sides. (Ex. 14:16, 21, 22) No site N of the Gulf of Suez could adequately provide these requirements. It is true that many modern scholars favor the theory of a crossing in the shallow Bitter Lakes region, which begins about fifteen miles (c. 24 kilometers) N of Suez. This view, however, is accompanied either by a denial of the miraculous nature of the crossing (claiming that the crossing was only through a marsh or swamp) or by the idea that the northern end of the Red Sea anciently ran up into the Bitter Lakes region and that the waters there were of much greater depth at that time, whereas archaeological evidence is that there has been very little change in the water level from ancient times.

For this reason the suggestion advanced by earlier scholars (of the past century) still seems to be that which meets best the requirements of the Bible history. They associate Pihahiroth either with the plain lying between Jebel Atakah and Jebel el Galala or with the narrow strip of that plain running along the southeastern foot to Jebel Atakah, about twelve miles (19 kilometers) SE of Suez. They suggest a crossing starting from the promontory called Ras Atakah and leading across the seabed to the vicinity of the oasis Ayun Musa on the opposite shore. The seabed in this section descends quite gradually from either