PIIICHOL (phi'kol),(Heb..fiee-kole', mouth of all, i. e. all-commanding), the proper, or more probably, the titular name of the commander of the troops of Abimelech, the Philistine king of Gerar.
in Asia Minor it withstood the Turks the long est. It was taken by Bajazet 1 in A. D. 1392.
Philadelphia still exists as a Turkish town, un der the name of Allah Shehr, 'city of God,' i. e. High-town. It covers a considerable extent of ground, running up the slopes of four hills, or rather of one hill with four flat summits. The country, as viewed front these hills, is extremely magnificent—gardens and vineyards lying at the back and sides of the town, and before it one of the most extensive and beautiful plains of Asia. The town itself, although spacious, is miserahly built and kept, the dwellings being remarkably mean, and the streets exceedingly filthy. Across the summits of the hill behind the town and the small valleys between them runs the town wall, strengthened by circular and square towers, and forming also an extensive and long quadrangle in the plain below. There arc about to,000 inhabi tants, mainly Turks. It is stated that there are five churches in the town, besides twenty others which were too old or too small for use. Six minarets. indicating as many mosques, are seen If the Ahimelech of the time of Isaac was the son of the Abimelech of the time of Abraham, we may conclude that the Phichol who attended on the second Abimelech was the successor of the one who was present with the first at the inter view with Abraham (Gen. xxi :22 ; XXVi :26). BlIt the whole subject of these interviews is beset with difficulties. (See ABIMELECH ; ABRAHAM ; ISAAC.) PHILADELPHIA (phil'a-del'phi-a), (Gr. cllacca Acbta, fil-ad-clfrc-ah, brotherly love), a city of I,esser Asia, and one of the seven containing the Christian churches to which the Apocalyptic ad monitions were addressed.
The town stood about twenty-five miles south east from Sardis, in north latitude 32° 28', east longitude 28° 3o', in the plain of Hermus, about midway between the river of that name and the termination of Mount Tmolus. It was the second in Lydia (Ptolem. v, 2; Plin. Hist. Nat. v, 3o), and was built by King Attains Philadelphus, front whom it took its name. In B. C. 133 the place passed, with the dominion in which it lay. to the Romans. The site is reputed by Strabo (xiii. p. 628) to have been very liable to earthquakes; but it continued a place of importance and of strength down to the Byzantine age; and of all the towns in the town; and one of these mosques is believed hy the native Christians to have been the church in which assembled the primitive Christians ad dressed in the Apocalypse. There arc few ruins; but in one part there are still found four strong marble pillars, which supported the dome of a church. The dome itself has fallen down, but its remains may be observed. and it is seen that the arch was of brick. On the sides of the pil lars are inscriptions, and soine architectural or naments in the form of the figures of saints. One solitary pillar of high antiquity has been often noticed, as reminding beholders of the remark able words in the Apocalyptic message to the Philadelphian church: 'Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of nty God; and he shall go no more out' (Rev. iii :12). (Arundell, Seven Churches ; Arundell, Discoveries in Asia.)