lying between the ‘Arabah on the east and the wilderness of Shur on the
west. It is intersected in a north-western direction by the Wady el-‘Arish.
It bears the modern name of Badiet et-Tih, i.e., “the desert of the
wanderings.” This district, through which the children of Israel wandered,
lay three days’ march from Sinai (Numbers 10:12, 33). From Kadesh, in
this wilderness, spies (q.v.) were sent to spy the land (13:3, 26). Here,
long afterwards, David found refuge from Saul (1 Samuel 25:1, 4).
- PARAN, MOUNT probably the hilly region or upland wilderness on the
north of the desert of Paran forming the southern boundary of the
Promised Land (Deuteronomy 33:2; Habakkuk 3:3). - PARBAR (1 Chronicles 26:18), a place apparently connected with the
temple, probably a “suburb” (q.v.), as the word is rendered in 2 Kings
23:11; a space between the temple wall and the wall of the court; an open
portico into which the chambers of the official persons opened (1
Chronicles 26:18). - PARCHED GROUND (Isaiah 35:7), Hebrews sharab, a “mirage”, a
phenomenon caused by the refraction of the rays of the sun on the glowing
sands of the desert, causing them suddenly to assume the appearance of a
beautiful lake. It is called by the modern Arabs by the same Hebrew name
serab. - PARCHMENT a skin prepared for writing on; so called from Pergamos
(q.v.), where this was first done (2 Timothy 4:13). - PARDON the forgiveness of sins granted freely (Isaiah 43:25), readily
(Nehemiah 9:17; Psalm 86:5), abundantly (Isaiah 55:7; Romans 5:20).
Pardon is an act of a sovereign, in pure sovereignty, granting simply a
remission of the penalty due to sin, but securing neither honour nor reward
to the pardoned. Justification (q.v.), on the other hand, is the act of a
judge, and not of a sovereign, and includes pardon and, at the same time, a
title to all the rewards and blessings promised in the covenant of life. - PARLOUR (from the Fr. parler, “to speak”) denotes an “audience
chamber,” but that is not the import of the Hebrew word so rendered. It
corresponds to what the Turks call a kiosk, as in Judges 3:20 (the
“summer parlour”), or as in the margin of the Revised Version (“the upper
chamber of cooling”), a small room built on the roof of the house, with
open windows to catch the breeze, and having a door communicating with