poverty of this church as described in this epistle. Strabo says, "Philadelphia has no walls that are safe," (alluding to earthquakes). The inhabitants resided The inhabitants resided mostly in the country, and possessed fertile lands. The church of Philadelphia is commended for its faithfulness, and has made to it a gracious promise of Divine protection, which has been signally fulfilled, as we learn even from infidel testimony. Gibbon says, "Philadelphia appears to have resisted the attacks of the Turks in 1312, with more success than the other cities. At a distance from the sea, forgotten by the emperor, encompassed on all sides by the Turks, her valiant citizens defended their religion and freedom about four-score years, and at length capitulated with the proudest of the Ottomans (Bajazet) in 1390. Among the Greek colonies and churches of Asia, Philadelphia is still erect:-a column in a scene of ruins!" Whatever may be lost of the spirit of Christianity, there is still the form of a Christian Church in this city, which is highly reverenced by the Mohammedans and called by them Allah-Shehr, or the City of God, and is a considerable town spreading over the slopes of three or four hills. It contains about 1000 Christians, chiefly Greeks, most of whom speak only the Turkish language. The American missionaries, Fisk and Parsons, when they visited the place in 1820, were informed by the Greek Archbishop Gabriel that there were five churches in the town, besides twenty which were either old or small, and not then in use. He estimated the whole number of houses at 3000, of which 250 were inhabited by Greeks, the rest by Turks. They counted six minarets; and one of the present mosques was pointed out to them as the church in which assembled the primitive Christians of Philadelphia to whom St. John wrote. The remains of heathen antiquity are not numerous. Mr. Arundell concurs with other travellers in describing the streets as filthy, and the houses remarkably mean; but he was much impressed by the beauty of the country as seen from the hills, and observes, that "the view from these elevated situations is magnificent in the extreme; gardens and vineyards lie at the back of the town; and before it is one of the most extensive and richest plains in Asia." There are no considerable ruins. One of the most remarkable is a single column of great antiquity, which has evidently appertained to another structure than the present church.

PHILADELPHIA. See RABBATH AMMON.

PHILEMON, Dinμwr, a wealthy Christian, whose slave Onesimus, having fled from him to Rome, to his master with the admirable letter which now forms was converted by St. Paul. The Apostle sent him back the Epistle to Philemon. Very little is known about Philemon, but the conjectures of different writers are very various. According to Grotius, Philemon was an elder of Ephesus; Beausobre and Dr. Doddridge suppose him to have been one of the ministers of the Colossian church; and from St. Paul's requesting him (v. 22) to provide a lodging for him at Colosse, Michaëlis thinks that he was a deacon of that church. These opinions Epistle, where St. Paul calls him a fellow-labourer; but appear to have been founded on the inscription of the this appellation, Drs. Whitby, Lardner, and Macknight have remarked, is of ambiguous signification, being given not only to those who were employed in preaching the Gospel, but also to such pious individuals, of either sex, as assisted the Apostles in any manner. Philemon was teenth verse of the Epistle, some have thought that he most probably a converted Gentile, and from the ninewas converted under the ministry of St. Paul; but from the Apostle's saying in the fifth verse that he had heard of Philemon's faith in Christ, (which was his usual phrase when writing to Christians whom he had never seen,) Dr. Benson is of opinion, that during St. Paul's long stay at Ephesus, some of the Colossians had gone (Acts 19. 10; 20. 31;) or that the Apostle had sent thither, and heard him preach the Christian doctrine, some of his assistants who had planted the Gospel at

Colosse.

PHILEMON, EPISTLE TO. It appears from verses 1,10,13 and 23 of this Epistle that St. Paul was under confinement when he wrote it, and as he expresses his expectation (v. 22) of being speedily released, it is probable that it was written during his first imprisonment at Rome towards the end of A.D. 62, or early in 63; and was sent together with the Epistles to the Ephesians and Colossians, by Tychicus and Onesimus. As early as the time of Jerome some fastidious critics had shown an inclination to expunge this Epistle from the sacred canon as being a private letter, and conse quently of very little importance to the Christian Church.

PHILIPPI, MITTO, a city of Proconsular Macedonia, situated eastward of Amphipolis, within the limits of ancient Thrace. (Acts 16. 12; Philip. 1. 1.) Its original name was Datos, but it was afterwards called Crenidas, from its many fountains; but having been taken and fortified by Philip of Macedon, he named it after himself, Philippi. Julius Cæsar planted a colony in it, which was afterwards enlarged by Augustus, and hence its inhabitants were considered as freemen of Rome. The place was visited by St. Paul, who made a convert of Lydia, and being next cast into prison converted also the gaoler and his household. (Acts 16.) The members of the church at Philippi were forward to supply the Apostle's wants, even after he had left them. More than once they supplied his necessity at Thessalonica, and they sent him a supply by the hand of Epaphroditus when he was a prisoner at Rome. One of his Epistles is addressed to them.

Philippi is historically renowned for two great battles fought in its vicinity; the first between Cæsar and Pompey, and the other between Antony and Augustus on the one side, against Brutus and Cassius on the other. But to the Christian it has the more important distinction of being the first town on the continent of Europe in which the Gospel was preached. The place is now called Filibah, and some ruins of the ancient town are still in existence.

With reference to the expression, "The chief city of that part of Macedonia," Mr. Horne observes, "This passage, which has greatly exercised the ingenuity of critics, may more correctly be thus rendered: Philippi, a city of the first part of Macedonia, or of Macedonia Prima.' This is an instance of minute accuracy, which shows that the author of the Acts of the Apostles actually lived and wrote at that time. The province of Macedonia, it is well known, had undergone various changes, and had been divided into various portions, and particularly four, while under the Roman government. There are extant many medals of the first province, or Macedonia Prima, mostly of silver, with the inscription MAKEДONËN ПРÓТнΣ, or, the first part of Macedonia; which confirm the accuracy of St. Luke, and at the same time show his attention to the minutest particulars."

PHILIPPIANS, EPISTLE TO THE. From St. Paul's own words, it appears that this Epistle was written while he was a prisoner at Rome; and from the expectation which he discovers, of being soon released and restored to them, as well as from the intimation contained in this letter, that he had been a considerable time at Rome, it is probable that he wrote it towards the close of his first imprisonment, at the end of A.D. 62, or perhaps at the commencement of 63. genuineness of this Epistle has never been questioned. The more immediate occasion of writing the Epistle to Philippians was the return of Epaphroditus, one of their pastors, by whom St. Paul sent it, as a grateful acknowledgment of their kindness in sending him supplies of

money. presses

The

From the manner in which the Apostle exhimself on this occasion, it appears that he was in great want of necessaries before the contributions arrived; for as he had not converted the Romans, he did

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not consider himself as entitled to receive supplies from them; being a prisoner, he could not work as formerly; and it was his rule never to receive anything from the churches where factions had been raised up against him. It appears that the church at Philippi was the only one from whom he received any assistance, and that he conferred this honour upon them because they loved him exceedingly, had preserved the Christian doctrine in purity, and had always conducted themselves as sincere Christians. It is worthy of remark, that the Epistle to the church at Philippi is the only one of all St. Paul's letters to the churches, in which not one censure is expressed or implied against any of its members.

or

PHILISTINES, ' Pilishtim, (Gen. 21.34,)

" Sept. Ovλorielu, a people said to be the descendants of Mizraim, the second son of Ham, and who, migrating from Caphtor (perhaps the northeastern part of Egypt,) very early, settled in a small strip of territory along the sea-shore, in the south-west of Canaan, having expelled the Avites, who had before possessed it. (Deut. 2. 23; Amos 9.7; Jerem. 47. 4.) In the time of Joshua we find their country divided into five lordships or principalities, namely, Gaza, Askelon, Ashdod, Gath and Ekron, giving sometimes also, as it appears, the title of king to their respective rulers; Achish, in the time of David, being termed king of Gath. (1Sam. 21. 10.) The time of their coming to Palestine is unknown; but they had been long in Canaan when Abraham came thither. They were the most formidable enemies, perhaps, whom the children of Israel had to encounter; and of the inveteracy of their enmity against the latter we have abundant evidence in the sacred writings. Though they were subdued by David, and kept in subjection by some succeeding monarchs, yet they afterwards became so considerable, that from them the Holy Land was called by the Greeks Palestine, which appellation it still retains.

For about one hundred and fifty years after the time of David they continued subject to the Jews, but seem frequently to have revolted, though unable to shake off the yoke. They formed a part in the combination against Jehoshaphat, (Psalm 83. 7,) and though then defeated, in the reign of Jehoram they again rose, nor, though harassed by the Syrians under Hazael, were they reduced by the Jews till the reign of Uzziah. (2Kings 12. 17; 2Chron. 26. 6.) In the days of Ahaz they again revolted, invaded the west country of Judah, and took Beth-shemesh, Ajalon, Gaderoth, Shocho, and Gimzo, and sold the Jews to the Tyrians for slaves. (2Chron. 28. 18; Isaiah 9. 12.) Hezekiah, however, reduced them to the lowest extremity: he took all their country to Gaza, and by sword and famine vast multitudes of them were destroyed. (2Kings 18. 8; Isaiah 24. 29,31.) They next suffered from the same enemies as the Jews. Esarhaddon, successor to Sennacherib, besieged Ashdod, and took it by the arms of his general Thashtan, or Tartan; and Psammeticus, king of Egypt, took the same city after a siege of twenty-nine years, according to Herodotus. During the siege of Tyre, which held out thirteen years, Nebuchadnezzar employed part of his army to subdue the Ammonites, the Moabites, the Egyptians, and other nations bordering on the Jews; when there is great probability that the Philistines were unable to withstand him, and were reduced to his obedience, as well as the other people of Syria, Phoenicia, and Palestine. They afterwards fell under the dominion of the Persians; then under that of Alexander the Great, who destroyed the city of Gaza. The Asmoneans took by degrees several cities from the country of the Philistines;

Alexander Jannæus reduced it entirely, and forced the inhabitants to submit to the Jewish religion.

The land of the Philistines bordered on the west and south-west of Judæa. It was a narrow slip of territory about forty miles long, and, except at the south part, rarely above fifteen miles broad. The country to the north of Gaza is very fertile; and long after the Christian era it possessed a very numerous population, and strongly fortified cities, Gaza being the most important. Professor Robinson supplies us with the following particulars of this principal city of the Philistines. "Gaza is among the earliest of the Canaanitish cities mentioned in the Old Testament; and became afterwards celebrated as one of the five cities of the five lords of the Philistines. Joshua extended his conquests to Gaza, but did not vanquish this remarkable people; and although the tribe of Judah, to whose lot it fell, subdued the city, yet they appear to have held it but a short time; and the lords of the Philistines soon not only regained possession of their own territory, but also increased in strength, and at length extended their jurisdiction in turn over the Israelites. After forty years of oppression, Samson appeared as the champion and avenger of his people; and Gaza became renowned as the scene of his later deeds and of his fall. Here, too, he drew down upon himself and the assembled multitude, the temple of Dagon; so that the dead which he slew at his death, were more than they which he slew in his life.' (Judges ch. 16.) After continual wars under the Judges, and with Saul and David, the Philistines appear to have been subdued by the latter, and Gaza became the border of Solomon's kingdom on this side. Yet they gave trouble to the following Jewish kings; and Hezekiah at length smote them unto the borders of Gaza.

"The situation of Gaza in the great route of the military expeditions which the monarchs of Egypt and those of Syria and the East, afterwards undertook against the dominions of each other, necessarily exposed it to the calamities of war, and to frequent change of masters. To the Egyptians, Gaza'the strong' was the key of Palestine and Syria; and no conqueror could well pass by until this city had submitted to his power. Thus one of the Pharaohs (probably Necho) subdued it in the time of Jeremiah; and Cambyses, during his expedition to Egypt, is reported to have deposited here his treasures. Gaza opposed itself for five months to the progress of Alexander the Great; but was finally taken by storm, its brave defenders slaughtered at their posts, their wives and children sold as slaves, and the city repeopled with inhabitants drawn from the surrounding country. During the wars of the Maccabees, Gaza continued to be a place of strength; it was fortified by the Syrian Bacchides, its suburbs burned by Jonathan, and the city itself captured by Simon. Alexander Jannæus at length destroyed Gaza about 96 B.C., after a siege of a year; but it was again rebuilt with other cities by the Roman general Gabinius. Augustus gave it to Herod; and after his death it was assigned to Syria. About A.D. 65, during the government of the procurator Gessius Florus, Gaza, with other cities, were again laid in ruins by the rebellious Jews. Yet this destruction was probably partial, and could have been but temporary; for there exist coins of Gaza struck in honour of Titus, Adrian, and the following emperors; which show at least that the city was still a place of importance, very soon after the destruction of Jerusalem.

"From these details it seems to follow that the expression in the Book of the Acts, which might at first appear to imply that Gaza was then 'desert,' is more probably to be referred to the particular road from Jerusalem to Gaza, on which the Evangelist was to find

the eunuch, namely, the southern road leading from Eleutheropolis to Gaza through the 'desert,' or region without villages, as is the case at the present day. A Christian church appears early to have been planted at Gaza; its bishop, Silvanus, is mentioned by Eusebius as a martyr under Diocletian about A.D. 285; and among the names of other bishops enumerated, not less than six are found in the subscriptions of councils, as late as to that of Jerusalem in A.D. 536. Yet the city still retained, in a great degree, its devotion to idolatry; and in the beginning of the fifth century, not less than eight public temples dedicated to the worship of the heathen gods, still existed there. Among these the most celebrated was a temple of Marnion, the Cretan Jupiter. By the influence of Eudoxia, wife of the Emperor Arcadius, the bishop, Porphyrius, was invested with authority to demolish these temples; and was furnished with means to erect a Christian church, which was dedicated in A.D. 406, and named after the empress. This may probably have been the great church now converted into a mosque. Eusebius and Jerome speak of Gaza in their day as an important city. About the end of the sixth century, or the beginning of the seventh, Gaza was visited by Antoninus Martyr, who describes it as 'splendid and delicious;' and its inhabitants as 'noble, liberal, and friendly to strangers.' Such was Christian Gaza. In A.D. 634, it fell into the hands of the generals of Abu Bekr, the first Mohammedan khalif, after a decisive battle with the Roman armies; but the khalif died before the tidings of the victory could reach him. From this time we hear little more of Gaza, except as the birth-place of the founder of a Mohammedan sect, until the time of the Crusades. In A.D. 796 it was laid waste during a civil war among the Arab tribes. During the many wars between the Mohammedan rulers of Egypt and Syria, which preceded the Crusades, Gaza appears to have suffered greatly, if indeed it had recovered from the former blow. The Crusaders found it deserted, and its ruins spread out over the hill and the adjacent plain, like the city of the present day. Here in A.D. 1152 they erected a fortress, occupying a portion of the hill, in order to cut off the approach to Askelon from the south; the defence of this castle was intrusted to the Knights Templars. The dwellings of the city became again inhabited; but in A.D. 1170, the place was sacked by the troops of Saladin, who, however, did not get possession of the citadel. Yet, after the fatal battle of Hattin in A.D. 1187, and the surrender of Askelon to Saladin, Gaza also passed into his hands. It appears also to have opened its gates to Richard for a short time; but it must soon have reverted to the Mohammedans. It is afterwards mentioned in the history of the Crusades, only as the scene of two battles lost by the Franks in A.D. 1239 and 1244."

"All vestiges of the ancient walls and ancient strength of Gaza have disappeared, and nothing remains to mark its former extent, except the bounds of the hill itself on which it stood. Even the traces of its former existence, its vestiges of antiquity, are very rare; consisting of occasional columns of marble or gray granite, scattered in the streets and gardens, or used as thresholds at the gates and doors of houses, or laid upon the front of watering troughs. One fine Corinthian capital of white marble lies inverted in the middle of a street running from north to south along the eastern foot of the hill. The population of Gaza has usually been rated as much too low, as that of Jerusalem has been overstated. Travellers have given different judgments, usually from two thousand to five thousand souls. The number of inhabitants has probably increased of late

years.

From

PHILOSOPHERS. See EPICUREANS; STOICS.

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"No human probability," says Keith, "could have existed in the time of the prophets, or at a much more recent date, of the eventual desolation of Philistia. But it has belied, for many ages, every promise which the fertility of its soil, and the excellence both of its climate and situation, gave for many preceding centuries of its permanency as a rich and well-cultivated region. The voice of prophecy, which was not silent respecting it, proclaimed the fate that awaited it, in terms as contradictory at the time, to every natural suggestion, as they are descriptive of what Philistia now actually is: 'I will stretch out my hand upon the Philistines, and destroy the remnant of the sea-coasts.' (Ezek. 25. 16; Jerem. 47. 5.) "Thus saith the Lord, For three transgressions of Gaza, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof. I will send a fire upon the wall of Gaza, which shall devour the palaces thereof. And I will cut off the inhabitants from Ashdod, and him that holdeth the sceptre from Ashkelon; and I will turn my hand against Ekron; and the remnant of the Philistines shall perish, saith the Lord God.' (Amos 1. 6,7,8; Zeph. 2. 4-6; Zech. 9. 5.)

"The land of the Philistines partakes of the general desolation common to it with Judæa and other neighbouring states. But its aspect presents some existing peculiarities which travellers fail not to particularize, and which, in reference both to the state of the country, and the fate of its different cities, the prophets fail not to discriminate as justly as if their description had been drawn both with all the accuracy which ocular observation, and all the certainty which authenticated history could give. Volney, (though like one who in ancient times was instrumental to the fulfilment of a special prediction, ‘he meant not so, neither did his heart think so,) from the manner in which he generalizes his observations, and marks the peculiar features of the different districts of Syria, with greater acuteness and perspicuity than any other traveller whatever, is the ever-ready purveyor of evidence in all the cases which come within the range of his topographical description of the wide field of prophecy; while at the same time, from his known open and zealous hostility to the Christian cause, his testimony is alike decisive and unquestionable; and the vindication of the truth of the Scriptural predictions may safely be committed to this redoubted champion of infidelity. The ruins of white marble, sometimes found at Gaza, prove that it was formerly the abode of luxury and opulence. It has shared in the general destruction; and notwithstanding its proud title of the capital of Palestine, it is now no more than a defenceless village. The sea-coast, by which it was formerly washed, is every day removing farther from the deserted ruins of Ashkelon. Amidst the various successive ruins, those of Edzoud (Ashdod), so powerful under the Philistines, are now remarkable for their scorpions.""

PHILOLOGUS, Piλoλoyos, a Christian at Rome, whom St. Paul salutes in his Epistle to the Romans, (16. 15.) M. Coquerel thinks that he was probably a slave who had been restored to liberty, and who received

PHINEHAS, DD the son of Eleazar, and grandson of Aaron, was the third high-priest of the Jews. He is greatly commended for his zeal in vindicating the glory of God, when the Midianites had sent their daughters into the camp of Israel to tempt the Hebrews to idolatry and sin. (Numb. 25. 7.) For his conduct upon this occasion, God promised that the priesthood should be given to his posterity by a perpetual covenant; this condition being included (as interpreters observe), that his children should continue faithful and obedient. The time of his death is not known.

tioned by St. Paul in his Epistle to the Romans. (ch. PHLEGON, Pλeyov, a Christian at Rome, men16. 14.) Nothing cert.in is known of him, though in the Greek church he is esteemed a saint, and is said to have been bishop of Marathon, near Athens.

PHRYGIA, puya, a province of Asia Minor. It had Cappadocia on the east, and Galatia on the north-east; Mysia, Lydia, and Caria, on the west, Lycaonia, Pisidia, and Lycia on the south; and Bithynia on the north. Its boundaries differed greatly in dif ferent ages, but it was in general divided into Phrygia Major and Phrygia Minor, the latter to the north of the former. Its chief cities mentioned in Scripture, (Col. 2. 1,) are Laodicea, Hierapolis, and Colosse. St. Luke scems to speak of Phrygia Major in Acts 2. 10, because he joins it with Pamphylia below it; in Acts 16. 6, he means Phrygia Minor. Like the other countries of Asia Minor, which were distinguished as provinces under the Roman empire, Phrygia is first historically known as a kingdom, which ultimately became a province of the Lydian monarchy, and continued such until Croesus, king of Lydia, was conquered by Cyrus of Persia, who added the Lydian kingdom to his empire. After that, Phrygia like all the rest of the country became successively subject to the Greeks, the Romans, and the Turks, and the latter still hold it in possession. Phrygia was in ancient times greatly celebrated for its fertility; the soil being particularly favourable for the production of all kinds of grain. It was likewise well stocked with cattle in consequence of its large plains and rich pastures, but under the Moslem yoke, the greater part of the country remains uncultivated. It was for the most part a level country, covered with a deep and rich soil and watered by numerous small rivers. One extensive portion of the country, however, called Burnt Phrygia, was of a volcanic character, and afforded bitumen and other combustibles. The Phrygians were anciently reputed to have been the inventors of augury, and other kinds of divination, and were esteemed more superstitious than the other Asiatic nations. In all these parts of Asia Minor, even to Bithynia and the Euxine Sea, the Jews were anciently very numerous; the Gospel was preached very early among them by St. Paul, (Acts 16. 6; 18. 23,) and a church settled, which for many ages made a considerable appearance, but is now in a decayed state.

PHUT, the name of an African people, supposed to have been the descendants of Phut, the third son of Ham. (Gen. 10. 6.) According to the Septuagint and Vulgate versions, they were the Libyans, (Jerem. 46. 9; Ezek. 27.10; 38.5; Nahum 3.9;) but Josephus says, they were the inhabitants of Mauritania, where