PUR, ???, ??????, signifies lot. Pur, Phur, or Purim, was a solemn feast of the Jews, instituted in memory of the lots cast by Haman, the enemy of the Jews, Es 3:7. These lots were cast in the first month of the year, and gave the twelfth month of the same year for the execution of Haman's design, to destroy all the Jews in Persia. Thus the superstition of Haman, in crediting these lots, caused his own ruin, and the preservation of the Jews, who, by means of Esther, had time to avert this blow. The Jews have exactly kept this feast down to our times. See HAMAN, See ESTHER, and See MORDECAI.