List of Animals in The Bible - P

P

• Palmerworm (Hebr., gãzãm) A general word for the locust, very likely in its larva state.

• Partridge. — Although very common in the Holy Land, the partridge is mentioned only three times in the Bible: I K., xxvi, 20 alludes to chasing it on the mountains; Jer., xvii, 11, to the robbing of its eggs; Ecclus., xi, 32, to the keeping a decoy partridge. Two kinds of partridges are known to abide in the hilly resorts of Israel; the francolin inhabits the plains, and various sandgrouse are found in the deserts.

• Peacock. — The texts where it is spoken of (1 Kings 10:22; 2 Chronicles 9:21) clearly indicate that it was not indigenous to Israel, but imported, probably from India.

• Pelican, D.V., Ps., ci (Hebr., cii), 7, for Hebr. qã'áth, in other places is rendered by bittern, for which it might be advantageously substituted. Pelicans are usually found about marshes (Isaiah 34:11), and are in the habit of sitting for hours in sandy desolate places after they have gorged.

• Phœnix might possibly be read instead of palmtree (Hebr. hôl) in Job, xxix, 18, where the belief in its immortality seems referred to; however the sense adopted by D.V., after Vulgate and Septuagint, should not be slighted.

• Pigeon. — See DOVE (sup.).

• Plunger. — See CORMORANT (sup.).

• Porcupine. — Believed by some, on account of a certain analogy of the Hebrew qîppõd with the Arabic name of this animal, to he spoken of in the Bible. See ERICIUS (sup.).

• Porphyrion is in Vulgate and D.V. (Leviticus 11:18), the equivalent for the Hebrew, rãhãm, translated in the Septuagint as "swan"; in the Greek version, porphyrion stands for the Hebrew, tínshéméth, interpreted as "swan" in the Latin and English Bibles. The hypothesis that the Greek translators used a Hebrew text in which the two words rãhãm and tínshéméth stood contrariwise to their present order in the Massoretic text, might account for this difference. This hypothesis is all the more probable because in Deut., xiv, 17, porphyrion seems to be the Greek translation for rãhãm. Whatever this may be, whether the porphyrion, or purple water-hen (porphyrio antiquorum), or the Egyptian vulture, should be identified with the rãhãm remains uncertain. See GIER-EAGLE (sup.).

• Pygarg (Deuteronomy 14:5). — This word, a mere adaptation from the Greek, means "white-rumped", a character common to many species, though the antilope addax is possibly signified by the Hebrew word dîshõn.