Topical Encyclopedia
Pan is a figure from Greek mythology, often depicted as a half-man, half-goat deity associated with nature, shepherds, and flocks. While Pan himself is not directly mentioned in the Bible, his attributes and the cultural influence of his worship can be seen in the context of biblical narratives, particularly in the New Testament era.
Cultural and Historical ContextPan was a prominent deity in the region of ancient Greece, particularly in Arcadia, where he was revered as the god of the wild, rustic music, and fertility. His worship often involved ecstatic and frenzied rituals, which were sometimes characterized by licentious behavior. The imagery of Pan, with his goat-like features, has often been associated with paganism and idolatry, which the Bible consistently warns against.
Biblical References and AllusionsWhile Pan is not explicitly mentioned in the Bible, the cultural backdrop of his worship provides insight into certain New Testament passages. For instance, the city of Caesarea Philippi, mentioned in the Gospels, was known for its shrine to Pan. In
Matthew 16:13 , it is recorded: "When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, He questioned His disciples: 'Who do people say the Son of Man is?'" This location, with its pagan associations, underscores the contrast between the revelation of Jesus as the Messiah and the surrounding idolatrous practices.
The Bible frequently addresses the issue of idolatry and the worship of false gods. In the Old Testament, the Israelites are repeatedly warned against adopting the religious practices of surrounding nations (
Exodus 20:3-5,
Deuteronomy 12:29-31). The New Testament continues this theme, urging believers to flee from idolatry (
1 Corinthians 10:14) and to worship the one true God.
Symbolism and Theological ImplicationsThe figure of Pan, with his goat-like appearance, has often been symbolically linked to the concept of the "scapegoat" in
Leviticus 16, where a goat is sent into the wilderness bearing the sins of the people. This imagery is further developed in the New Testament, where Jesus is portrayed as the ultimate sacrifice for sin (
Hebrews 9:11-14).
Moreover, the association of Pan with chaos and disorder contrasts sharply with the biblical portrayal of God as a God of order and peace (
1 Corinthians 14:33). The frenzied worship of Pan can be seen as a representation of the spiritual confusion and moral decay that results from turning away from God.
ConclusionWhile Pan is not a biblical figure, understanding his role in ancient culture helps illuminate the spiritual and cultural challenges faced by early Christians. The Bible's consistent message is one of turning away from idolatry and embracing the truth of God's revelation through Jesus Christ.
Smith's Bible Dictionary
PanOf the six words so rendered in the Authorized Version, two seem to imply a shallow pan or plate, such as is used by the Bedouine and Syrians for baking or dressing rapidly their cakes of meal, such as were used in legal oblations; the others, a deeper vessel or caldron for boiling meat, placed during the process on three stones.
Easton's Bible Dictionary
A vessel of metal or earthenware used in culinary operations; a cooking-pan or frying-pan frequently referred to in the Old Testament (
Leviticus 2:5;
6:21;
Numbers 11:8;
1 Samuel 2:14, etc.).
The "ash-pans" mentioned inExodus 27:3 were made of copper, and were used in connection with the altar of burnt-offering. The "iron pan" mentioned inEzek. 4:3 (marg., "flat plate " or "slice") was probably a mere plate of iron used for baking. The "fire-pans" ofExodus 27:3 were fire-shovels used for taking up coals. The same Hebrew word is rendered "snuff-dishes" (25:38;37:23) and "censers" (Leviticus 10:1;16:12;Numbers 4:14, etc.). These were probably simply metal vessels employed for carrying burning embers from the brazen altar to the altar of incense.
The "frying-pan" mentioned inLeviticus 2:7; 7:9 was a pot for boiling.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary
1. (
n.) A part; a portion.
2. (n.) The distance comprised between the angle of the epaule and the flanked angle.
3. (n.) A leaf of gold or silver.
4. (v. t. & i.) To join or fit together; to unite.
5. (n.) The betel leaf; also, the masticatory made of the betel leaf, etc. See betel.
6. (n.) The god of shepherds, guardian of bees, and patron of fishing and hunting. He is usually represented as having the head and trunk of a man, with the legs, horns, and tail of a goat, and as playing on the shepherd's pipe, which he is said to have invented.
7. (n.) A shallow, open dish or vessel, usually of metal, employed for many domestic uses, as for setting milk for cream, for frying or baking food, etc.; also employed for various uses in manufacturing.
8. (n.) A closed vessel for boiling or evaporating. See Vacuum pan, under Vacuum.
9. (n.) The part of a flintlock which holds the priming.
10. (n.) The skull, considered as a vessel containing the brain; the upper part of the head; the brainpan; the cranium.
11. (n.) A recess, or bed, for the leaf of a hinge.
12. (n.) The hard stratum of earth that lies below the soil. See Hard pan, under Hard.
13. (n.) A natural basin, containing salt or fresh water, or mud.
14. (v. t.) To separate, as gold, from dirt or sand, by washing in a kind of pan.
15. (v. i.) To yield gold in, or as in, the process of panning; -- usually with out; as, the gravel panned out richly.
16. (v. i.) To turn out (profitably or unprofitably); to result; to develop; as, the investigation, or the speculation, panned out poorly.
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
PANName of a utensil used in the preparation or the serving of food, and representing several words in the original. Passing over the use of the word in connections like1 Chronicles 9:31, "things baked in pans," where the Hebrew word chabhittim refers, not to the pan itself, but to the cakes baked in the flat pan or griddle which was called machabhath (see below), and the "firepans" (machtah) (Exodus 27:31 Kings 7:50, etc.) which seem to have been used to carry burning coals, we note the following words:
(1) machabhath, "pan" the King James Version, "baking-pan" the Revised Version (British and American), a dish of uncertain shape and size which was used in the preparation of the minchah or vegetable offering. SeeLeviticus 2:5;Leviticus 6:21;Leviticus 7:91 Chronicles 23:29. On the basis ofEzekiel 4:3 it might be assumed that the pan was rectangular in shape and of good size.
(2) kiyyor, rendered "pan" in1 Samuel 2:14. The same word is used in the phrase, "pan of fire" the Revised Version (British and American), "hearth of fire" the King James Version (Zechariah 12:6); and it is also translated "laver" in the descriptions of the furnishing of tabernacle and temple (Exodus 30:181 Kings 7:30, etc.). As it held water and was used for boiling meat and the like, it must have been a kind of pot or kettle.
(3) masreth, (2 Samuel 15:9). The connection gives no clue as to shape or size except that it must have been small enough to serve food in, and of the proper shape to hold a substance which could be poured out. Some authorities suggest a connection with the root se'or, "leaven," and think that this pan was like the kneading-trough in shape.
(4) sir, rendered "pan" inExodus 27:3 the King James Version, "pot" the Revised Version (British and American).
SeePOT.
(5) parur, "pan" inNumbers 11:8 the King James Version, "pot" the Revised Version (British and American).
SeePOT.
(6) celachah (2 Chronicles 35:13). Some kind of dish or pot. Slightly different forms of the same root are rendered "cruse" (2 Kings 2:20 (tselochith), "dish" (2 Kings 21:13 (tsallachath); and also in the Revised Version (British and American) inProverbs 19:24;Proverbs 26:15, instead of the probably incorrect "bosom" of the King James Version.
(7) lebes translated "pan" in 1 Esdras 1:12 the King James Version (the Revised Version (British and American) "cauldron").
(8) teganon, 2 Maccabees 7:3, 5, with the verb teganizo, 7:5, is the usual Greek word for "frying-pan," but here a large sheet of metal must be meant (compare 4 Maccabees 8:13; 12:10, 20).
LITERATURE.
Whitehouse, Primer of Hebrew Antiquities, 76, 77; Benzinger, Hebraische Archaologie, 70, 71; Nowack, Hebraische Archdologie, I, 144.
Walter R. Betteridge
BAKING PAN
SeeBREAD;PAN.
Greek
3835. panourgos -- ready to do anything, crafty, skillful... ready to do anything, crafty, skillful. Part of Speech: Noun, Masculine Transliteration:
panourgos Phonetic Spelling: (
pan-oor'-gos) Short Definition: cunning
...3841. pantokrator -- almighty
... almighty. Part of Speech: Noun, Masculine Transliteration: pantokrator Phonetic
Spelling: (pan-tok-rat'-ore) Short Definition: ruler of the universe Definition...
5178. tumpanizo -- to beat a drum, to torture by beating
... to beat a drum, to torture by beating. Part of Speech: Verb Transliteration: tumpanizo
Phonetic Spelling: (toom-pan-id'-zo) Short Definition: I torture, break...
5277. hupolimpano -- to leave behind
... to leave behind. Part of Speech: Verb Transliteration: hupolimpano Phonetic Spelling:
(hoop-ol-im-pan'-o) Short Definition: I leave behind Definition: I leave...
3834. panourgia -- cleverness, craftiness
... cleverness, craftiness. Part of Speech: Noun, Feminine Transliteration: panourgia
Phonetic Spelling: (pan-oorg-ee'-ah) Short Definition: cunning, craftiness...
3839. pante -- every way, entirely
... every way, entirely. Part of Speech: Adverb Transliteration: pante Phonetic Spelling:
(pan'-tay) Short Definition: in every way Definition: in every way...
3956. pas -- all, every
... (pan) -- 75 Occurrences. (panta) -- 263 Occurrences. (pantas) -- 90 Occurrences.
(pantes) -- 177 Occurrences. (panti) -- 59 Occurrences. (pantos) -- 34 Occurrences...
3832. panoikei -- with all the household
... with all the household. Part of Speech: Adverb Transliteration: panoikei Phonetic
Spelling: (pan-oy-kee') Short Definition: with one's whole household or family...
3837. pantachou -- everywhere
... everywhere. Part of Speech: Adverb Transliteration: pantachou Phonetic Spelling:
(pan-takh-oo') Short Definition: everywhere Definition: everywhere, in all...
3831. paneguris -- a festal assembly
... a festal assembly. Part of Speech: Noun, Feminine Transliteration: paneguris Phonetic
Spelling: (pan-ay'-goo-ris) Short Definition: a festival assembly...
Strong's Hebrew
4958. masreth -- probablypan, dish... 4957, 4958. masreth. 4959 . probably
pan, dish. Transliteration: masreth
Phonetic Spelling: (mas-rayth') Short Definition:
pan.
...4227. machabath -- a flat plate,pan, griddle
... 4226, 4227. machabath. 4228 . a flat plate,pan, griddle. Transliteration:
machabath Phonetic Spelling: (makh-ab-ath') Short Definition: griddle....pan....
3709. kaph -- hollow or flat of the hand, palm, sole (of the foot)...
... 3708b, 3709. kaph. 3710 . hollow or flat of the hand, palm, sole (of the foot),
apan. Transliteration: kaph Phonetic Spelling: (kaf) Short Definition: hands...
4802. marchesheth -- a stewpan, saucepan
... 4801, 4802. marchesheth. 4803 . a stewpan, saucepan. Transliteration: marchesheth
Phonetic Spelling: (mar-kheh'-sheth) Short Definition:pan.... fryingpan....
3595. kiyyor -- pot, basin
... Word Origin from the same as kur Definition pot, basin NASB Word Usage basin
(6), basins (5), firepot (1), laver (9),pan (1), platform (1)....
2281. chabittim -- flat cakes, bread wafers
...pan. From an unused root probably meaning to cook (compare machabath); something
fried, probably a griddle-cake --pan. see HEBREW machabath. 2280, 2281....
6745. tselachah -- a pot (for cooking)
...pan. From tsalach; something protracted or flattened out, ie A platter --pan. see
HEBREW tsalach. 6744, 6745. tselachah. 6746 . Strong's Numbers.
6517. parur -- a pot
...pan, pot. Passive participle of parar in the sense of spreading out (compare parach);
a skillet (as flat or deep) --pan, pot. see HEBREW parar....
5518. ciyr -- a pot
... 5517, 5518. ciyr. 5518a . a pot. Transliteration: ciyr Phonetic Spelling:
(seer) Short Definition: caldron. caldron, fishhook,pan, washpot, thorn...
8471. Tachpanches -- a city in Egypt
... a city in Egypt. Transliteration: Tachpanches or Techaphneches Phonetic Spelling:
(takh-pan-khace') Short Definition: Tahpanhes. Word Origin of Eg....
Library
"Pan,Pan is Dead"
... CHAPTER XXIII "Pan,Pan is Dead". "If there is one thing that refreshes my
soul above all others, it is that I shall behold the Redeemer...
Further Answers to Prayer
... together. I was busily watching, at the time, apan in which a decoction
was boiling that required a good deal of attention. It...
What the Ruler's Discrimination Should be Between Correction and...
... And to him, for his own defence it is forthwith subjoined, And do thou take unto
thee an iron frying-pan, and thou shalt set it for a wall of iron between thee...
Verbs, 72-84
... Dan. O 2:10. Hbk.2:19pan pneuma ouk estin en auto. 1 Mac.2:61 pantes . .... Ex.22:22
pasan cheran kai orphanon ou kakosete. Jer.17:22pan ergon ou poiesete. Cp....
The Signs
... but, when the call came the third time, he replied; whereupon the voice cried still
louder, "When you come to the Paludes, proclaim that the greatPan is dead...
The Bread of the Presence
... laid upon the table which stood on one side of the Altar of Incense, in the Inner
Court, two piles of loaves, on each of which piles was placed apan of incense...
How Absalom Murdered Amnon, who had Forced his Own Sister; and How...
... Accordingly, he presently ordered her to be brought to him; and when she was come,
Amnon bade her make cakes for him, and fry them in apan, and do it all with...
But This, as I Said, I do not Mention...
... Footnotes: [4802] Lit., "work.". [4803] Lit., "remedy.". [4804] So Panes seems to
be generally understood, ie, images ofPan used as playthings by boys, and very...
Adjectives, 62-65
... Wisd.7:9 ho pas chrusos. 2 Mac.8:9 topan tes Ioudaias . . . genos.... hinapan
stoma phrage, kai hupodikos genetai pas ho kosmos to Theo....
Conjunctions, 99-111
... As a rule the subjunctive follows, but not always. Gen.2:19pan ho ean ekalesen....
Barn. Ep.7:11 ho ean thele, 11:8pan rhema ho768; ean exeleusetai. Herm. Past....
Thesaurus
Baking-pan (3 Occurrences)Baking-
pan. Baking, Baking-
pan. Balaam . Multi-Version Concordance
Baking-
pan (3 Occurrences). Leviticus 2:5 And if
...Pan (26 Occurrences)
... A vessel of metal or earthenware used in culinary operations; a cooking-pan or
frying-pan frequently referred to in the Old Testament (Leviticus 2:5; 6:21...
Frying-pan (3 Occurrences)
Frying-pan. Fryingpan, Frying-pan. Fuel . Easton's Bible Dictionary... Int. Standard
Bible Encyclopedia. FRYING-PAN. fri'-ing-pan. See BREAD;PAN....
Stewing-pan (2 Occurrences)
Stewing-pan. Stewardship, Stewing-pan. Stewpan . Multi-Version
Concordance Stewing-pan (2 Occurrences). Leviticus 2:7...
Fire-pan (4 Occurrences)
Fire-pan. Firepan, Fire-pan. Firepans . Multi-Version Concordance
Fire-pan (4 Occurrences). Numbers 16:17 and take ye...
Firepan (2 Occurrences)
... Int. Standard Bible Encyclopedia. FIREPAN. fir'-pan (machtah, "firepan," "censer,"
"snuffdish," from chathah, "to snatch up"): A vessel for carrying coals....
Firepans (9 Occurrences)
... Numbers 16:17 and take ye every man his fire-pan, and put incense upon them, and
bring ye before the LORD every man his fire-pan, two hundred and fifty fire...
Griddle (5 Occurrences)
... Noah Webster's Dictionary 1. (n.) An iron plate orpan used for cooking cakes. 2.
(n.) A sieve with a wire bottom, used by miners. Multi-Version Concordance...
Baken (7 Occurrences)
... (ASV DBY). Leviticus 2:5 And if thine offering be an oblation baken on thepan,
it shall be fine flour unleavened, mingled with oil. (DBY)....
Baked (26 Occurrences)
... (WEB KJV JPS WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV). Leviticus 2:5 And if thy oblation be a meat offering
baked in apan, it shall be of fine flour unleavened, mingled with oil....
Resources
What is a grain offering? | GotQuestions.orgHow do we know that the Bible is the Word of God, and not the Apocrypha, the Qur'an, the Book of Mormon, etc.? | GotQuestions.orgWho/what is Baphomet? | GotQuestions.orgPan: Dictionary and Thesaurus | Clyx.comBible Concordance •
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