PAARAI opening of the Lord, “the Arbite,” one of David’s heroes (2
Samuel 23:35); called also Naarai, 1 Chronicles 11:37.
PADAN a plain, occurring only in Genesis 48:7, where it designates
Padan-aram.
PADAN-ARAM the plain of Aram, or the plain of the highlands, (Genesis
25:20; 28:2, 5-7; 31:18, etc.), commonly regarded as the district of
Mesopotamia (q.v.) lying around Haran.
PAGIEL God allots, a prince of the tribe of Asher (Numbers 1:13), in the
wilderness.
PAHATH-MOAB governor of Moab, a person whose descendants
returned from the Captivity and assisted in rebuilding Jerusalem (Ezra 2:6;
8:4; 10:30).
PAINT Jezebel “painted her face” (2 Kings 9:30); and the practice of
painting the face and the eyes seems to have been common (Jeremiah 4:30;
Ezekiel 23:40). An allusion to this practice is found in the name of Job’s
daughter (42:14) Kerenhappuch (q.v.). Paintings in the modern sense of
the word were unknown to the ancient Jews.
PALACE Used now only of royal dwellings, although originally meaning
simply (as the Latin word palatium, from which it is derived, shows) a
building surrounded by a fence or a paling. In the Authorized Version there
are many different words so rendered, presenting different ideas, such as
that of citadel or lofty fortress or royal residence (Nehemiah 1:1; Daniel
8:2). It is the name given to the temple fortress (Nehemiah 2:8) and to the
temple itself (1 Chronicles 29:1). It denotes also a spacious building or a
great house (Daniel 1:4; 4:4, 29: Esther 1:5; 7:7), and a fortified place or an
enclosure (Ezekiel 25:4). Solomon’s palace is described in 1 Kings 7:1-12
as a series of buildings rather than a single great structure. Thirteen years
were spent in their erection. This palace stood on the eastern hill, adjoining
the temple on the south.
