Word of Persian origin meaning an area surrounded by a fence; probably related to the Greek paradeisos, which became the English "paradise." It appears three times in the Bible (Song 4:13; Eccl. 2:5; Neh. 2:8). In one of the earliest Jewish mystical passages, it refers to Divine wisdom (Ḥag. 14b). In the Middle Ages, it was used as an acrostic for the four schools of Bible interpretation: P = peshat (literal interpretation), R = remez (allusive), D = derash (homiletical), and S = sod (the esoteric or mystical interpretation).
The New Encyclopedia of Judaism. Copyright © 1989, 2002 by G.G. The Jerusalem Publishing House, Ltd. All rights reserved.
