PERAZIM, MOUNT vy-e-lri, 'mountain of breaches ;' 6pos cicr€11.27v ; mans divisionum). The prophet Isaiah, in warning the Israelites of the divine vengeance about to come upon the nation, and with which they did not seem sufficiently im pressed, refers to exhibitions of God's wrath ex hibited in their past history in these words, The Lord shall rise up as in Mount Perazim, he shall be wroth as in the valley of Gibeon' (Is. xxviii. 21). Commentators are not agreed as to the events here alluded to. Mount Perazim is not mentioned in any other part of Scripture. Hendewerk thinks reference is made to the breach of Uzzah' (re rnr, Perez- Uzzah) described in 2 Sam. vi. 6-8 (.Die deutero-yesetiasehen TVeissag., ad loc.) ; but that narrative contains no mention of any mount. Ewald supposes the prophet may allude to the slaughter of the Canaanites at Gibeon by Joshua (Die Pro pheten, ad loc.) ; though in another place he dis. tinctly states that Mount Perazim is the same place which is called Baal-Perazim in 2 Sam. v. 20 (Geschichte des Volkes Israel, iii. 187, note 3). It seems much more probable that Isaiah in this passage alludes to David's conquest of the Philis And David came to Baal-perazim, and smote them there, and said, The Lord bath broken forth (re) upon mine enemies before me, as the breach of waters (n+m r=). Therefore he called the name of that place Baal-perazim' (p're /?z, 2 Sam. v. 2o). The play upon the word is charac teristic. It seems probable, as Ewald states (1. c.), that there was a high-place of Baal upon the top of the mount, and hence the name Baal-perazim. This view is confirmed by the fact that in the second clause of the passage Isaiah mentions another instance of divine wrath in the valley of Gibeon, and in i Chron. xiv. the historian connects with
the victory at Baal-perazim a second victory of David over the Philistines, in which it is said they smote the host of the Philistines from Gibeon even to Gazer' (ver. 16). The exact locality of Mount Perazim is unknown ; but it must have been some of the heights on the borders of the valley of Rephaim (1 Chron. xiv. 9 ; 2 Sam. v. IS), and consequently not far distant from Jerusalem. J. L. P.
PERE (N.ln, the swift runner, from NM, to run swiftly), the name of an animal mentioned in Scrip. tore as frequenting waste places in troops ( Job xxiv. 5 ; Is. xxxii. 14), and as the image of wild. ness, rudeness, and irrationality (Job xi. 12; Gen. xvi. 12 ; Hos. xiii. 15). The LXX. render by Ova-ipos, beer .1.-yptos, tivos gpekzirris, and loos Ia clypq.3. There can be no doubt that it is a species of wild ass that is intended ; but it is not easy to determine the distinction between it and the 'Arod. [AROD.] The Pere may be the Koulan, or wild ass of Persia ; but others with more probability identify it with the Kiang or Djiggettai (As. Heznionos).
This animal does not bray, which shows that it cannot be the 'A rod. The Kiang has a smooth fur of a bright rufous-bay tint ; the legs are of a pale straw colour ; and a dark broad streak runs along the central line of the back. The males are sometimes as much as fourteen hands in height at the shoulder, and neigh like horses. This animal is found in small troops roaming over the sandy steppes of Central Asia.—W. L. A.