BIBLES NET. COM
Dictionary]
Easton’s Bible Dictionary
Manasseh – who makes to forget.
“God hath made me forget” (Heb. nashshani), Gen.
41:51. (1.) The elder of the two sons of Joseph. He and his
brother Ephraim were afterwards adopted by Jacob as his own
sons (48:1). There is an account of his marriage to a
Syrian (1 Chr. 7:14); and the only thing afterwards
recorded of him is, that his grandchildren were
“brought up upon Joseph’s knees” (Gen. 50:23;
R.V., “born upon Joseph’s knees”) i.e., were
from their birth adopted by Joseph as his own children.
The tribe of Manasseh was associated with that of Ephraim
and Benjamin during the wanderings in the wilderness. They
encamped on the west side of the tabernacle. According to
the census taken at Sinai, this tribe then numbered 32,200
(Num. 1:10, 35; 2:20, 21). Forty years afterwards its
numbers had increased to 52,700 (26:34, 37), and it was at
this time the most distinguished of all the tribes.
The half of this tribe, along with Reuben and Gad, had
their territory assigned them by Moses on the east of the
Jordan (Josh. 13:7-14); but it was left for Joshua to
define the limits of each tribe. This territory on the east
of Jordan was more valuable and of larger extent than all
that was allotted to the nine and a half tribes in the land
of Palestine. It is sometimes called “the land of
Gilead,” and is also spoken of as “on the other
side of Jordan.” The portion given to the half tribe
of Manasseh was the largest on the east of Jordan. It
embraced the whole of Bashan. It was bounded on the south
by Mahanaim, and extended north to the foot of Lebanon.
Argob, with its sixty cities, that “ocean of basaltic
rocks and boulders tossed about in the wildest
confusion,” lay in the midst of this territory.
The whole “land of Gilead” having been conquered,
the two and a half tribes left their wives and families in
the fortified cities there, and accompanied the other
tribes across the Jordan, and took part with them in the
wars of conquest. The allotment of the land having been
completed, Joshua dismissed the two and a half tribes,
commending them for their heroic service (Josh. 22:1-34).
Thus dismissed, they returned over Jordan to their own
inheritance.
On the west of Jordan the other half of the tribe of
Manasseh was associated with Ephraim, and they had their
portion in the very centre of Palestine, an area of about
1,300 square miles, the most valuable part of the whole
country, abounding in springs of water. Manasseh’s
portion was immediately to the north of that of Ephraim
(Josh. 16). Thus the western Manasseh defended the passes
of Esdraelon as the eastern kept the passes of the Hauran.
(2.) The only son and successor of Hezekiah on the throne
of Judah. He was twelve years old when he began to reign (2
Kings 21:1), and he reigned fifty-five years (B.C.
698-643). Though he reigned so long, yet comparatively
little is known of this king. His reign was a continuation
of that of Ahaz, both in religion and national polity. He
early fell under the influence of the heathen court circle,
and his reign was characterized by a sad relapse into
idolatry with all its vices, showing that the reformation
under his father had been to a large extent only
superficial (Isa. 7:10; 2 Kings 21:10-15). A systematic and
persistent attempt was made, and all too successfully, to
banish the worship of Jehovah out of the land. Amid this
wide-spread idolatry there were not wanting, however,
faithful prophets (Isaiah, Micah) who lifted up their voice
in reproof and in warning. But their fidelity only aroused
bitter hatred, and a period of cruel persecution against
all the friends of the old religion began. “The days
of Alva in Holland, of Charles IX. in France, or of the
Covenanters under Charles II. in Scotland, were anticipated
in the Jewish capital. The streets were red with
blood.” There is an old Jewish tradition that Isaiah
was put to death at this time (2 Kings 21:16; 24:3, 4; Jer.
2:30), having been sawn asunder in the trunk of a tree.
Psalms 49, 73, 77, 140, and 141 seem to express the
feelings of the pious amid the fiery trials of this great
persecution. Manasseh has been called the “Nero of
Palestine.”
Esarhaddon, Sennacherib’s successor on the Assyrian
throne, who had his residence in Babylon for thirteen years
(the only Assyrian monarch who ever reigned in Babylon),
took Manasseh prisoner (B.C. 681) to Babylon. Such captive
kings were usually treated with great cruelty. They were
brought before the conqueror with a hook or ring passed
through their lips or their jaws, having a cord attached to
it, by which they were led. This is referred to in 2 Chr.
33:11, where the Authorized Version reads that Esarhaddon
“took Manasseh among the thorns;” while the
Revised Version renders the words, “took Manasseh in
chains;” or literally, as in the margin, “with
hooks.” (Comp. 2 Kings 19:28.)
The severity of Manasseh’s imprisonment brought him to
repentance. God heard his cry, and he was restored to his
kingdom (2 Chr. 33:11-13). He abandoned his idolatrous
ways, and enjoined the people to worship Jehovah; but there
was no thorough reformation. After a lengthened reign
extending through fifty-five years, the longest in the
history of Judah, he died, and was buried in the garden of
Uzza, the “garden of his own house” (2 Kings
21:17, 18; 2 Chr. 33:20), and not in the city of David,
among his ancestors. He was succeeded by his son Amon.
In Judg. 18:30 the correct reading is “Moses,”
and not “Manasseh.” The name “Manasseh”
is supposed to have been introduced by some transcriber to
avoid the scandal of naming the grandson of Moses the great
lawgiver as the founder of an idolatrous religion.
Mandrakes – Hebrew dudaim; i.e.,
“love-plants”, occurs only in Gen. 30:14-16 and
Cant. 7:13. Many interpretations have been given of this
word dudaim. It has been rendered
“violets,” “Lilies,”
“jasmines,” “truffles or mushrooms,”
“flowers,” the “citron,” etc. The
weight of authority is in favour of its being regarded as
the Mandragora officinalis of botanists, “a near
relative of the night-shades, the ‘apple of Sodom’
and the potato plant.” It possesses stimulating and
narcotic properties (Gen. 30:14-16). The fruit of this
plant resembles the potato-apple in size, and is of a pale
orange colour. It has been called the
“love-apple.” The Arabs call it “Satan’s
apple.” It still grows near Jerusalem, and in other
parts of Palestine.
Maneh – portion (Ezek. 45:12),
rendered “pound” (1 Kings 10:17; Ezra 2:69; Neh.
7:71, 72), a weight variously estimated, probably about 2
1/2 or 3 lbs. A maneh of gold consisted of a hundred common
shekels (q.v.). (Comp. 1 Kings 10:17, and 2 Chr. 9:16).
Manger – (Luke 2:7, 12, 16), the
name (Gr. phatne, rendered “stall” in Luke 13:15)
given to the place where the infant Redeemer was laid. It
seems to have been a stall or crib for feeding cattle.
Stables and mangers in our modern sense were in ancient
times unknown in the East. The word here properly denotes
“the ledge or projection in the end of the room used
as a stall on which the hay or other food of the animals of
travellers was placed.”
is that?” the name given by the Israelites to the food
miraculously supplied to them during their wanderings in
the wilderness (Ex. 16:15-35). The name is commonly taken
as derived from man, an expression of surprise,
“What is it?” but more probably it is derived
from manan, meaning “to allot,” and hence
denoting an “allotment” or a “gift.”
This “gift” from God is described as “a
small round thing,” like the “hoar-frost on the
ground,” and “like coriander seed,” “of
the colour of bdellium,” and in taste “like
wafers made with honey.” It was capable of being baked
and boiled, ground in mills, or beaten in a mortar (Ex.
16:23; Num. 11:7). If any was kept over till the following
morning, it became corrupt with worms; but as on the
Sabbath none fell, on the preceding day a double portion
was given, and that could be kept over to supply the wants
of the Sabbath without becoming corrupt. Directions
concerning the gathering of it are fully given (Ex.
16:16-18, 33; Deut. 8:3, 16). It fell for the first time
after the eighth encampment in the desert of Sin, and was
daily furnished, except on the Sabbath, for all the years
of the wanderings, till they encamped at Gilgal, after
crossing the Jordan, when it suddenly ceased, and where
they “did eat of the old corn of the land; neither had
the children of Israel manna any more” (Josh. 5:12).
They now no longer needed the “bread of the
wilderness.”
This manna was evidently altogether a miraculous gift,
wholly different from any natural product with which we are
acquainted, and which bears this name. The manna of
European commerce comes chiefly from Calabria and Sicily.
It drops from the twigs of a species of ash during the
months of June and July. At night it is fluid and resembles
dew, but in the morning it begins to harden. The manna of
the Sinaitic peninsula is an exudation from the
“manna-tamarisk” tree (Tamarix mannifera), the
el-tarfah of the Arabs. This tree is found at the present
day in certain well-watered valleys in the peninsula of
Sinai. The manna with which the people of Israel were fed
for forty years differs in many particulars from all these
natural products.
Our Lord refers to the manna when he calls himself the
“true bread from heaven” (John 6:31-35; 48-51).
He is also the “hidden manna” (Rev. 2:17; comp.
John 6:49,51).
father of Samson (Judg. 13:1-22, and 14:2-4).
Antichrist given in 2 Thess. 2:3-10, usually regarded as
descriptive of the Papal power; but “in whomsoever
these distinctive features are found, whoever wields
temporal and spiritual power in any degree similar to that
in which the man of sin is here described as wielding it,
he, be he pope or potentate, is beyond all doubt a distinct
type of Antichrist.”
Manslayer – one who was guilty of
accidental homicide, and was entitled to flee to a city of
refuge (Num. 35:6, 12, 22, 23), his compulsory residence in
which terminated with the death of the high priest.
a large over-garment. This word is used of Elijah’s
mantle (1 Kings 19:13, 19; 2 Kings 2:8, 13, etc.), which
was probably a sheepskin. It appears to have been his only
garment, a strip of skin or leather binding it to his
loins. ‘Addereth twice occurs with the epithet
“hairy” (Gen. 25:25; Zech. 13:4, R.V.). It is the
word denoting the “goodly Babylonish garment”
which Achan coveted (Josh. 7:21).
(2.) Heb. me’il, frequently applied to the “robe
of the ephod” (Ex. 28:4, 31; Lev. 8:7), which was a
splendid under tunic wholly of blue, reaching to below the
knees. It was woven without seam, and was put on by being
drawn over the head. It was worn not only by priests but by
kings (1 Sam. 24:4), prophets (15:27), and rich men (Job
1:20; 2:12). This was the “little coat” which
Samuel’s mother brought to him from year to year to
Shiloh (1 Sam. 2:19), a miniature of the official priestly
robe.
(3.) Semikah, “a rug,” the garment which Jael
threw as a covering over Sisera (Judg. 4:18). The Hebrew
word occurs nowhere else in Scripture.
(4.) Maataphoth, plural, only in Isa. 3:22, denoting a
large exterior tunic worn by females.
Maoch – compressed, the father of
Achish, king of Gath (1 Sam. 27:2). Called also Maachah (1
Kings 2:39).
Maon – habitation, a town in the
tribe of Judah, about 7 miles south of Hebron, which gave
its name to the wilderness, the district round the conical
hill on which the town stood. Here David hid from Saul, and
here Nabal had his possessions and his home (1 Sam. 23:24,
25; 25:2). “Only some small foundations of hewn stone,
a square enclosure, and several cisterns are now to be seen
at Maon. Are they the remains of Nabal’s great
establishment?” The hill is now called Tell
M’ain.
Mara – bitter; sad, a symbolical
name which Naomi gave to herself because of her misfortunes
(Ruth 1:20).
Marah – bitterness, a fountain at
the sixth station of the Israelites (Ex. 15:23, 24; Num.
33:8) whose waters were so bitter that they could not drink
them. On this account they murmured against Moses, who,
under divine direction, cast into the fountain “a
certain tree” which took away its bitterness, so that
the people drank of it. This was probably the ‘Ain
Hawarah, where there are still several springs of water
that are very “bitter,” distant some 47 miles
from ‘Ayun Mousa.
Maralah – trembling, a place on
the southern boundary of Zebulun (Josh. 19:11). It has been
identified with the modern M’alul, about 4 miles
south-west of Nazareth.
consists of two Aramean words, Maran’athah, meaning,
“our Lord comes,” or is “coming.” If
the latter interpretation is adopted, the meaning of the
phrase is, “Our Lord is coming, and he will judge
those who have set him at nought.” (Comp. Phil. 4:5;
James 5:8, 9.)
Marble – as a mineral, consists
of carbonate of lime, its texture varying from the highly
crystalline to the compact. In Esther 1:6 there are four
Hebrew words which are rendered marble:, (1.) Shesh,
“pillars of marble.” But this word probably
designates dark-blue limestone rather than marble. (2.)
Dar, some regard as Parian marble. It is here rendered
“white marble.” But nothing is certainly known of
it. (3.) Bahat, “red marble,” probably the
verd-antique or half-porphyry of Egypt. (4.) Sohareth,
“black marble,” probably some spotted variety of
marble. “The marble pillars and tesserae of various
colours of the palace at Susa came doubtless from Persia
itself, where marble of various colours is found,
especially in the province of Hamadan Susiana.” The
marble of Solomon’s architectural works may have been
limestone from near Jerusalem, or from Lebanon, or possibly
white marble from Arabia. Herod employed Parian marble in
the temple, and marble columns still exist in great
abundance at Jerusalem.
Marcheshvan – the post-biblical
name of the month which was the eighth of the sacred and
the second of the civil year of the Jews. It began with the
new moon of our November. It is once called Bul (1 Kings
6:38). Assyrian, Arah Samna, “eighth month,”
1:24; 1 Pet. 5:13; R.V., “Mark” (q.v.).
Mareshah – possession, a city in
the plain of Judah (John. 15:44). Here Asa defeated Zerah
the Ethiopian (2 Chr. 14:9, 10). It is identified with the
ruin el-Mer’ash, about 1 1/2 mile south of Beit
Jibrin.
whose surname was Mark” (Acts 12:12, 25). Mark
(Marcus, Col. 4:10, etc.) was his Roman name, which
gradually came to supersede his Jewish name John. He is
called John in Acts 13:5, 13, and Mark in 15:39, 2 Tim.
4:11, etc.
He was the son of Mary, a woman apparently of some means
and influence, and was probably born in Jerusalem, where
his mother resided (Acts 12:12). Of his father we know
nothing. He was cousin of Barnabas (Col. 4:10). It was in
his mother’s house that Peter found “many gathered
together praying” when he was released from prison;
and it is probable that it was here that he was converted
by Peter, who calls him his “son” (1 Pet. 5:13).
It is probable that the “young man” spoken of in
Mark 14:51, 52 was Mark himself. He is first mentioned in
Acts 12:25. He went with Paul and Barnabas on their first
journey (about A.D. 47) as their “minister,” but
from some cause turned back when they reached Perga in
Pamphylia (Acts 12:25; 13:13). Three years afterwards a
“sharp contention” arose between Paul and
Barnabas (15:36-40), because Paul would not take Mark with
him. He, however, was evidently at length reconciled to the
apostle, for he was with him in his first imprisonment at
Rome (Col. 4:10; Philemon 1:24). At a later period he was
with Peter in Babylon (1 Pet. 5:13), then, and for some
centuries afterwards, one of the chief seats of Jewish
learning; and he was with Timothy in Ephesus when Paul
wrote him during his second imprisonment (2 Tim. 4:11). He
then disappears from view.
public resort, and hence a public place or broad street
(Matt. 11:16; 20:3), as well as a forum or market-place
proper, where goods were exposed for sale, and where public
assemblies and trials were held (Acts 16:19; 17:17). This
word occurs in the Old Testament only in Ezek. 27:13.
In early times markets were held at the gates of cities,
where commodities were exposed for sale (2 Kings 7:18). In
large towns the sale of particular articles seems to have
been confined to certain streets, as we may infer from such
expressions as “the bakers’ street” (Jer.
37:21), and from the circumstance that in the time of
Josephus the valley between Mounts Zion and Moriah was
called the Tyropoeon or the “valley of the
cheesemakers.”
Mark, Gospel according to – It is
the current and apparently well-founded tradition that Mark
derived his information mainly from the discourses of
Peter. In his mother’s house he would have abundant
opportunities of obtaining information from the other
apostles and their coadjutors, yet he was “the
disciple and interpreter of Peter” specially.
As to the time when it was written, the Gospel furnishes us
with no definite information. Mark makes no mention of the
destruction of Jerusalem, hence it must have been written
before that event, and probably about A.D. 63.
The place where it was written was probably Rome. Some have
supposed Antioch (comp. Mark 15:21 with Acts 11:20).
It was intended primarily for Romans. This appears probable
when it is considered that it makes no reference to the
Jewish law, and that the writer takes care to interpret
words which a Gentile would be likely to misunderstand,
such as, “Boanerges” (3:17); “Talitha
cumi” (5:41); “Corban” (7:11);
“Bartimaeus” (10:46); “Abba” (14:36);
“Eloi,” etc. (15:34). Jewish usages are also
explained (7:3; 14:3; 14:12; 15:42). Mark also uses certain
Latin words not found in any of the other Gospels, as
“speculator” (6:27, rendered, A.V.,
“executioner;” R.V., “soldier of his
guard”), “xestes” (a corruption of
sextarius, rendered “pots,” 7:4, 8),
“quadrans” (12:42, rendered “a
farthing”), “centurion” (15:39, 44, 45). He
only twice quotes from the Old Testament (1:2; 15:28).
The characteristics of this Gospel are, (1) the absence of
the genealogy of our Lord, (2) whom he represents as
clothed with power, the “lion of the tribe of
Judah.” (3.) Mark also records with wonderful
minuteness the very words (3:17; 5:41; 7:11, 34; 14:36) as
well as the position (9:35) and gestures (3:5, 34; 5:32;
9:36; 10:16) of our Lord. (4.) He is also careful to record
particulars of person (1:29, 36; 3:6, 22, etc.), number
(5:13; 6:7, etc.), place (2:13; 4:1; 7:31, etc.), and time
(1:35; 2:1; 4:35, etc.), which the other evangelists omit.
(5.) The phrase “and straightway” occurs nearly
forty times in this Gospel; while in Luke’s Gospel,
which is much longer, it is used only seven times, and in
John only four times.
“The Gospel of Mark,” says Westcott, “is
essentially a transcript from life. The course and issue of
facts are imaged in it with the clearest outline.”
“In Mark we have no attempt to draw up a continuous
narrative. His Gospel is a rapid succession of vivid
pictures loosely strung together without much attempt to
bind them into a whole or give the events in their natural
sequence. This pictorial power is that which specially
characterizes this evangelist, so that ‘if any one
desires to know an evangelical fact, not only in its main
features and grand results, but also in its most minute and
so to speak more graphic delineation, he must betake
himself to Mark.'” The leading principle running
through this Gospel may be expressed in the motto:
“Jesus came…preaching the gospel of the
kingdom” (Mark 1:14).
“Out of a total of 662 verses, Mark has 406 in common
with Matthew and Luke, 145 with Matthew, 60 with Luke, and
at most 51 peculiar to itself.”
“perfect grief”, a place not far from Jerusalem;
mentioned in connection with the invasion of the Assyrian
army (Micah 1:12).
Paradise when man was in innocence (Gen. 2:18-24). Here we
have its original charter, which was confirmed by our Lord,
as the basis on which all regulations are to be framed
(Matt. 19:4, 5). It is evident that monogamy was the
original law of marriage (Matt. 19:5; 1 Cor. 6:16). This
law was violated in after times, when corrupt usages began
to be introduced (Gen. 4:19; 6:2). We meet with the
prevalence of polygamy and concubinage in the patriarchal
age (Gen. 16:1-4; 22:21-24; 28:8, 9; 29:23-30, etc.).
Polygamy was acknowledged in the Mosaic law and made the
basis of legislation, and continued to be practised all
down through the period of Jewish histroy to the Captivity,
after which there is no instance of it on record.
It seems to have been the practice from the beginning for
fathers to select wives for their sons (Gen. 24:3; 38:6).
Sometimes also proposals were initiated by the father of
the maiden (Ex. 2:21). The brothers of the maiden were also
sometimes consulted (Gen. 24:51; 34:11), but her own
consent was not required. The young man was bound to give a
price to the father of the maiden (31:15; 34:12; Ex. 22:16,
17; 1 Sam. 18:23, 25; Ruth 4:10; Hos. 3:2) On these
patriarchal customs the Mosaic law made no change.
In the pre-Mosaic times, when the proposals were accepted
and the marriage price given, the bridegroom could come at
once and take away his bride to his own house (Gen.
24:63-67). But in general the marriage was celebrated by a
feast in the house of the bride’s parents, to which all
friends were invited (29:22, 27); and on the day of the
marriage the bride, concealed under a thick veil, was
conducted to her future husband’s home.
Our Lord corrected many false notions then existing on the
subject of marriage (Matt. 22:23-30), and placed it as a
divine institution on the highest grounds. The apostles
state clearly and enforce the nuptial duties of husband and
wife (Eph. 5:22-33; Col. 3:18, 19; 1 Pet. 3:1-7). Marriage
is said to be “honourable” (Heb. 13:4), and the
prohibition of it is noted as one of the marks of
degenerate times (1 Tim. 4:3).
The marriage relation is used to represent the union
between God and his people (Isa. 54:5; Jer. 3:1-14; Hos.
2:9, 20). In the New Testament the same figure is employed
in representing the love of Christ to his saints (Eph.
5:25-27). The Church of the redeemed is the “Bride,
the Lamb’s wife” (Rev. 19:7-9).
Marriage-feasts – (John 2:1-11)
“lasted usually for a whole week; but the cost of such
prolonged rejoicing is very small in the East. The guests
sit round the great bowl or bowls on the floor, the meal
usually consisting of a lamb or kid stewed in rice or
barley. The most honoured guests sit nearest, others
behind; and all in eating dip their hand into the one
smoking mound, pieces of the thin bread, bent together,
serving for spoons when necessary. After the first circle
have satisfied themselves, those lower in honour sit down
to the rest, the whole company being men, for women are
never seen at a feast. Water is poured on the hands before
eating; and this is repeated when the meal closes, the
fingers having first been wiped on pieces of bread, which,
after serving the same purpose as table-napkins with us,
are thrown on the ground to be eaten by any dog that may
have stolen in from the streets through the ever-open door,
or picked up by those outside when gathered and tossed out
to them (Matt. 15:27; Mark 7:28). Rising from the ground
and retiring to the seats round the walls, the guests then
sit down cross-legged and gossip, or listen to recitals, or
puzzle over riddles, light being scantily supplied by a
small lamp or two, or if the night be chilly, by a
smouldering fire of weeds kindled in the middle of the
room, perhaps in a brazier, often in a hole in the floor.
As to the smoke, it escapes as it best may; but indeed
there is little of it, though enough to blacken the water
or wine or milk skins hung up on pegs on the wall. (Comp.
Ps. 119:83.) To some such marriage-feast Jesus and his five
disciples were invited at Cana of Galilee.”
Geikie’s Life of Christ.
rocky hill in Athens, north-west of the Acropolis, where
the Athenian supreme tribunal and court of morals was held.
From some part of this hill Paul delivered the address
recorded in Acts 17:22-31.
Martha – bitterness, the sister
of Lazarus and Mary, and probably the eldest of the family,
who all resided at Bethany (Luke 10:38, 40, 41; John
11:1-39). From the residence being called “her
house,” some have supposed that she was a widow, and
that her brother and sister lodged with her. She seems to
have been of an anxious, bustling spirit, anxious to be
helpful in providing the best things for the Master’s
use, in contrast to the quiet earnestness of Mary, who was
more concerned to avail herself of the opportunity of
sitting at his feet and learning of him. Afterwards at a
supper given to Christ and his disciples in her house
“Martha served.” Nothing further is known of
her.
“Mary and Martha are representatives of two orders of
human character. One was absorbed, preoccupied, abstracted;
the other was concentrated and single-hearted. Her own
world was the all of Martha; Christ was the first thought
with Mary. To Martha life was ‘a succession of
particular businesses;’ to Mary life ‘was rather
the flow of one spirit.’ Martha was Petrine, Mary was
Johannine. The one was a well-meaning, bustling busybody;
the other was a reverent disciple, a wistful
listener.” Paul had such a picture as that of Martha
in his mind when he spoke of serving the Lord “without
distraction” (1 Cor. 7:35).
Martyr – one who bears witness of
the truth, and suffers death in the cause of Christ (Acts
22:20; Rev. 2:13; 17:6). In this sense Stephen was the
first martyr. The Greek word so rendered in all other cases
is translated “witness.” (1.) In a court of
justice (Matt. 18:16; 26:65; Acts 6:13; 7:58; Heb. 10:28; 1
Tim. 5:19). (2.) As of one bearing testimony to the truth
of what he has seen or known (Luke 24:48; Acts 1:8, 22;
Rom. 1:9; 1 Thess. 2:5, 10; 1 John 1:2).
Mary – Hebrew Miriam. (1.) The
wife of Joseph, the mother of Jesus, called the
“Virgin Mary,” though never so designated in
Scripture (Matt. 2:11; Acts 1:14). Little is known of her
personal history. Her genealogy is given in Luke 3. She was
of the tribe of Judah and the lineage of David (Ps. 132:11;
Luke 1:32). She was connected by marriage with Elisabeth,
who was of the lineage of Aaron (Luke 1:36).
While she resided at Nazareth with her parents, before she
became the wife of Joseph, the angel Gabriel announced to
her that she was to be the mother of the promised Messiah
(Luke 1:35). After this she went to visit her cousin
Elisabeth, who was living with her husband Zacharias
(probably at Juttah, Josh. 15:55; 21:16, in the
neighbourhood of Maon), at a considerable distance, about
100 miles, from Nazareth. Immediately on entering the house
she was saluted by Elisabeth as the mother of her Lord, and
then forthwith gave utterance to her hymn of thanksgiving
(Luke 1:46-56; comp. 1 Sam. 2:1-10). After three months
Mary returned to Nazareth to her own home. Joseph was
supernaturally made aware (Matt. 1:18-25) of her condition,
and took her to his own home. Soon after this the decree of
Augustus (Luke 2:1) required that they should proceed to
Bethlehem (Micah 5:2), some 80 or 90 miles from Nazareth;
and while they were there they found shelter in the inn or
khan provided for strangers (Luke 2:6, 7). But as the inn
was crowded, Mary had to retire to a place among the
cattle, and there she brought forth her son, who was called
Jesus (Matt. 1:21), because he was to save his people from
their sins. This was followed by the presentation in the
temple, the flight into Egypt, and their return in the
following year and residence at Nazareth (Matt. 2). There
for thirty years Mary, the wife of Joseph the carpenter,
resides, filling her own humble sphere, and pondering over
the strange things that had happened to her. During these
years only one event in the history of Jesus is recorded,
viz., his going up to Jerusalem when twelve years of age,
and his being found among the doctors in the temple (Luke
2:41-52). Probably also during this period Joseph died, for
he is not again mentioned.
After the commencement of our Lord’s public ministry
little notice is taken of Mary. She was present at the
marriage in Cana. A year and a half after this we find her
at Capernaum (Matt. 12:46, 48, 49), where Christ uttered
the memorable words, “Who is my mother? and who are my
brethren? And he stretched forth his hand toward his
disciples, and said, Behold my mother and my
brethren!” The next time we find her is at the cross
along with her sister Mary, and Mary Magdalene, and Salome,
and other women (John 19:26). From that hour John took her
to his own abode. She was with the little company in the
upper room after the Ascension (Acts 1:14). From this time
she wholly disappears from public notice. The time and
manner of her death are unknown.
(2.) Mary Magdalene, i.e., Mary of Magdala, a town on the
western shore of the Lake of Tiberias. She is for the first
time noticed in Luke 8:3 as one of the women who
“ministered to Christ of their substance.” Their
motive was that of gratitude for deliverances he had
wrought for them. Out of Mary were cast seven demons.
Gratitude to her great Deliverer prompted her to become his
follower. These women accompanied him also on his last
journey to Jerusalem (Matt. 27:55; Mark 15:41; Luke 23:55).
They stood near the cross. There Mary remained till all was
over, and the body was taken down and laid in Joseph’s
tomb. Again, in the earliest dawn of the first day of the
week she, with Salome and Mary the mother of James (Matt.
28:1; Mark 16:2), came to the sepulchre, bringing with them
sweet spices, that they might anoint the body of Jesus.
They found the sepulchre empty, but saw the “vision of
angels” (Matt. 28:5). She hastens to tell Peter and
John, who were probably living together at this time (John
20:1, 2), and again immediately returns to the sepulchre.
There she lingers thoughtfully, weeping at the door of the
tomb. The risen Lord appears to her, but at first she knows
him not. His utterance of her name “Mary” recalls
her to consciousness, and she utters the joyful, reverent
cry, “Rabboni.” She would fain cling to him, but
he forbids her, saying, “Touch me not; for I am not
yet ascended to my Father.” This is the last record
regarding Mary of Magdala, who now returned to Jerusalem.
The idea that this Mary was “the woman who was a
sinner,” or that she was unchaste, is altogether
groundless.
(3.) Mary the sister of Lazarus is brought to our notice in
connection with the visits of our Lord to Bethany. She is
contrasted with her sister Martha, who was “cumbered
about many things” while Jesus was their guest, while
Mary had chosen “the good part.” Her character
also appears in connection with the death of her brother
(John 11:20,31,33). On the occasion of our Lord’s last
visit to Bethany, Mary brought “a pound of ointment of
spikenard, very costly, and anointed the feet of
Jesus” as he reclined at table in the house of one
Simon, who had been a leper (Matt. 26:6; Mark 14:3; John
12:2,3). This was an evidence of her overflowing love to
the Lord. Nothing is known of her subsequent history. It
would appear from this act of Mary’s, and from the
circumstance that they possessed a family vault (11:38),
and that a large number of Jews from Jerusalem came to
condole with them on the death of Lazarus (11:19), that
this family at Bethany belonged to the wealthier class of
the people.
(4.) Mary the wife of Cleopas is mentioned (John 19:25) as
standing at the cross in company with Mary of Magdala and
Mary the mother of Jesus. By comparing Matt. 27:56 and Mark
15:40, we find that this Mary and “Mary the mother of
James the little” are on and the same person, and that
she was the sister of our Lord’s mother. She was that
“other Mary” who was present with Mary of Magdala
at the burial of our Lord (Matt. 27:61; Mark 15:47); and
she was one of those who went early in the morning of the
first day of the week to anoint the body, and thus became
one of the first witnesses of the resurrection (Matt. 28:1;
Mark 16:1; Luke 24:1).
(5.) Mary the mother of John Mark was one of the earliest
of our Lord’s disciples. She was the sister of Barnabas
(Col. 4:10), and joined with him in disposing of their land
and giving the proceeds of the sale into the treasury of
the Church (Acts 4:37; 12:12). Her house in Jerusalem was
the common meeting-place for the disciples there.
(6.) A Christian at Rome who treated Paul with special
kindness (Rom. 16:6).
Maschil – instructing, occurs in
the title of thirteen Psalms (32, 42, 44, etc.). It denotes
a song enforcing some lesson of wisdom or piety, a didactic
song. In Ps. 47:7 it is rendered, Authorized Version,
“with understanding;” Revised Version, marg.,
“in a skilful psalm.”
Mash – (= Meshech 1 Chr. 1:17),
one of the four sons of Aram, and the name of a tribe
descended from him (Gen. 10:23) inhabiting some part
probably of Mesopotamia. Some have supposed that they were
the inhabitants of Mount Masius, the present Karja Baghlar,
which forms part of the chain of Taurus.
Mashal – entreaty, a levitical
town in the tribe of Asher (1 Chr. 6:74); called Mishal
(Josh. 21:30).
Mason – an artificer in stone.
The Tyrians seem to have been specially skilled in
architecture (1 Kings 5:17, 18; 2 Sam. 5:11). This art the
Hebrews no doubt learned in Egypt (Ex. 1:11, 14), where
ruins of temples and palaces fill the traveller with wonder
at the present day.
vines, a place in Idumea, the native place of Samlah, one
of the Edomitish kings (Gen. 36:36; 1 Chr. 1:47).
Massa – a lifting up, gift, one
of the sons of Ishmael, the founder of an Arabian tribe
(Gen. 25:14); a nomad tribe inhabiting the Arabian desert
toward Babylonia.
name given to the place where the Israelites, by their
murmuring for want of water, provoked Jehovah to anger
against them. It is also called Meribah (Ex. 17:7; Deut.
6:16; Ps. 95:8, 9; Heb. 3:8).
Mattan – gift. (1.) A priest of
Baal, slain before his altar during the reformation under
Jehoiada (2 Kings 11:18).
(2.) The son of Eleazar, and father of Jacob, who was the
father of Joseph, the husband of the Virgin Mary (Matt.
1:15).
(3.) The father of Shephatiah (Jer. 38:1).
Mattanah – a gift, a station of
the Israelites (Num. 21:18, 19) between the desert and the
borders of Moab, in the Wady Waleh.
Mattaniah – gift of Jehovah. (1.)
A Levite, son of Heman, the chief of the ninth class of
temple singers (1 Chr. 25:4, 16).
(2.) A Levite who assisted in purifying the temple at the
reformation under Hezekiah (2 Chr. 29:13).
(3.) The original name of Zedekiah (q.v.), the last of the
kings of Judah (2 Kings 24:17). He was the third son of
Josiah, who fell at Megiddo. He succeeded his nephew
Jehoiakin.
Mattathias – ibid. (1.) The son
of Amos, in the genealogy of our Lord (Luke 3:25).
(2.) The son of Semei, in the same genealogy (Luke 3:26).
Lord’s ancestry (Matt. 1:15).
Matthat – gift of God. (1.) The
son of Levi, and father of Heli (Luke 3:24).
(2.) Son of another Levi (Luke 3:29).
Matthew – gift of God, a common
Jewish name after the Exile. He was the son of Alphaeus,
and was a publican or tax-gatherer at Capernaum. On one
occasion Jesus, coming up from the side of the lake, passed
the custom-house where Matthew was seated, and said to him,
“Follow me.” Matthew arose and followed him, and
became his disciple (Matt. 9:9). Formerly the name by which
he was known was Levi (Mark 2:14; Luke 5:27); he now
changed it, possibly in grateful memory of his call, to
Matthew. The same day on which Jesus called him he made a
“great feast” (Luke 5:29), a farewell feast, to
which he invited Jesus and his disciples, and probably also
many of old associates. He was afterwards selected as one
of the twelve (6:15). His name does not occur again in the
Gospel history except in the lists of the apostles. The
last notice of him is in Acts 1:13. The time and manner of
his death are unknown.
Matthew, Gospel according to –
The author of this book was beyond a doubt the Matthew, an
apostle of our Lord, whose name it bears. He wrote the
Gospel of Christ according to his own plans and aims, and
from his own point of view, as did also the other
“evangelists.”
As to the time of its composition, there is little in the
Gospel itself to indicate. It was evidently written before
the destruction of Jerusalem (Matt. 24), and some time
after the events it records. The probability is that it was
written between the years A.D. 60 and 65.
The cast of thought and the forms of expression employed by
the writer show that this Gospel was written for Jewish
Christians of Palestine. His great object is to prove that
Jesus of Nazareth was the promised Messiah, and that in him
the ancient prophecies had their fulfilment. The Gospel is
full of allusions to those passages of the Old Testament in
which Christ is predicted and foreshadowed. The one aim
prevading the whole book is to show that Jesus is he
“of whom Moses in the law and the prophets did
write.” This Gospel contains no fewer than sixty-five
references to the Old Testament, forty-three of these being
direct verbal citations, thus greatly outnumbering those
found in the other Gospels. The main feature of this Gospel
may be expressed in the motto, “I am not come to
destroy, but to fulfil.”
As to the language in which this Gospel was written there
is much controversy. Many hold, in accordance with old
tradition, that it was originally written in Hebrew (i.e.,
the Aramaic or Syro-Chaldee dialect, then the vernacular of
the inhabitants of Palestine), and afterwards translated
into Greek, either by Matthew himself or by some person
unknown. This theory, though earnestly maintained by able
critics, we cannot see any ground for adopting. From the
first this Gospel in Greek was received as of authority in
the Church. There is nothing in it to show that it is a
translation. Though Matthew wrote mainly for the Jews, yet
they were everywhere familiar with the Greek language. The
same reasons which would have suggested the necessity of a
translation into Greek would have led the evangelist to
write in Greek at first. It is confessed that this Gospel
has never been found in any other form than that in which
we now possess it.
The leading characteristic of this Gospel is that it sets
forth the kingly glory of Christ, and shows him to be the
true heir to David’s throne. It is the Gospel of the
kingdom. Matthew uses the expression “kingdom of
heaven” (thirty-two times), while Luke uses the
expression “kingdom of God” (thirty-three times).
Some Latinized forms occur in this Gospel, as kodrantes
(Matt. 5:26), for the Latin quadrans, and phragello
(27:26), for the Latin flagello. It must be remembered that
Matthew was a tax-gatherer for the Roman government, and
hence in contact with those using the Latin language.
As to the relation of the Gospels to each other, we must
maintain that each writer of the synoptics (the first
three) wrote independently of the other two, Matthew being
probably first in point of time.
“Out of a total of 1071 verses, Matthew has 387 in
common with Mark and Luke, 130 with Mark, 184 with Luke;
only 387 being peculiar to itself.”
The book is fitly divided into these four parts: (1.)
Containing the genealogy, the birth, and the infancy of
Jesus (1; 2).
(2.) The discourses and actions of John the Baptist
preparatory to Christ’s public ministry (3; 4:11).
(3.) The discourses and actions of Christ in Galilee
(4:12-20:16).
(4.) The sufferings, death and resurrection of our Lord
(20:17-28).
1:23.
(1.) One of the sons of Jeduthun (1 Chr. 25:3, 21).
(2.) The eldest son of Shallum, of the family of Korah (1
Chr. 9:31).
(3.) One who stood by Ezra while reading the law (Neh.
8:4).
(4.) The son of Amos, and father of Joseph, in the
genealogy of our Lord (Luke 3:25).
an instrument for dressing or pruning a vineyard (Isa.
7:25); a weeding-hoe.
(2.) Heb. mahareshah (1 Sam. 13:1), perhaps the ploughshare
or coulter.
(3.) Heb. herebh, marg. of text (2 Chr. 34:6). Authorized
Version, “with their mattocks,” marg.
“mauls.” The Revised Version renders “in
their ruins,” marg. “with their axes.” The
Hebrew text is probably corrupt.
Maul – an old name for a mallet,
the rendering of the Hebrew mephits (Prov. 25:18), properly
a war-club.
found only Job 38:32, probably meaning “the twelve
signs” (of the zodiac), as in the margin (comp. 2
Kings 23:5).
(Gen. 41:2, 18), probably an Egyptain word transferred to
the Hebrew; some kind of reed or water-plant. In the
Revised Version it is rendered “reed-grass”,
i.e., the sedge or rank grass by the river side.
(2.) Heb. ma’areh (Judg. 20:33), pl., “meadows of
Gibeah” (R.V., after the LXX.,
“Maareh-geba”). Some have adopted the rendering
“after Gibeah had been left open.” The Vulgate
translates the word “from the west.”
Jersalem on the east wall (Neh. 3:1) in the time of
Nehemiah.
Meals – are at the present day
“eaten from a round table little higher than a stool,
guests sitting cross-legged on mats or small carpets in a
circle, and dipping their fingers into one large dish
heaped with a mixture of boiled rice and other grain and
meat. But in the time of our Lord, and perhaps even from
the days of Amos (6:4, 7), the foreign custom had been
largely introduced of having broad couches, forming three
sides of a small square, the guests reclining at ease on
their elbows during meals, with their faces to the space
within, up and down which servants passed offering various
dishes, or in the absence of servants, helping themselves
from dishes laid on a table set between the couches.”
Geikie’s Life of Christ. (Comp. Luke 7:36-50.) (See
ABRAHAM’S BOSOM
Mearah – a cave, a place in the
northern boundary of Palestine (Josh. 13:4). This may be
the cave of Jezzin in Lebanon, 10 miles east of Sidon, on
the Damascus road; or probably, as others think,
Mogheirizeh, north-east of Sidon.
Measure – Several words are so
rendered in the Authorized Version. (1.) Those which are
indefinite. (a) Hok, Isa. 5:14, elsewhere
“statute.” (b) Mad, Job 11:9; Jer. 13:25,
elsewhere “garment.” (c) Middah, the word most
frequently thus translated, Ex. 26:2, 8, etc. (d) Mesurah,
Lev. 19:35; 1 Chr. 23:29. (e) Mishpat, Jer. 30:11,
elsewhere “judgment.” (f) Mithkoneth and token,
Ezek. 45:11. (g) In New Testament metron, the usual Greek
word thus rendered (Matt. 7:2; 23:32; Mark 4:24).
(2.) Those which are definite. (a) ‘Eyphah, Deut.
25:14, 15, usually “ephah.” (b) Ammah, Jer.
51:13, usually “cubit.” (c) Kor, 1 Kings 4:22,
elsewhere “cor;” Greek koros, Luke 16:7. (d)
Seah, Gen. 18:6; 1 Sam. 25:18, a seah; Greek saton, Matt.
13:33; Luke 13:21. (e) Shalish, “a great
measure,” Isa. 40:12; literally a third, i.e., of an
ephah. (f) In New Testament batos, Luke 16:6, the Hebrew
“bath;” and choinix, Rev. 6:6, the choenix, equal
in dry commodities to one-eighth of a modius.
Meat-offering – (Heb. minhah),
originally a gift of any kind. This Hebrew word came
latterly to denote an “unbloody” sacrifice, as
opposed to a “bloody” sacrifice. A
“drink-offering” generally accompanied it. The
law regarding it is given in Lev. 2, and 6:14-23. It was a
recognition of the sovereignty of God and of his bounty in
giving all earthly blessings (1 Chr. 29:10-14; Deut.
26:5-11). It was an offering which took for granted and was
based on the offering for sin. It followed the sacrifice of
blood. It was presented every day with the burnt-offering
(Ex. 29:40, 41), and consisted of flour or of cakes
prepared in a special way with oil and frankincense.
Mebunnai – construction, building
of Jehovah, one of David’s bodyguard (2 Sam. 23:27;
comp. 21:18); called Sibbechai and Sibbecai (1 Chr. 11:29;
27:11).
Medad – love, one of the elders
nominated to assist Moses in the government of the people.
He and Eldad “prophesied in the camp” (Num.
11:24-29).
Medan – contention, the third son
of Abraham by Keturah (Gen. 25:2).
Mede – (Heb. Madai), a Median or
inhabitant of Media (Dan. 11:1). In Gen. 10:2 the Hebrew
word occurs in the list of the sons of Japheth. But
probably this is an ethnic and not a personal name, and
denotes simply the Medes as descended from Japheth.
ancient Moabite town (Num. 21:30). It was assigned to the
tribe of Reuben (Josh. 13:16). Here was fought the great
battle in which Joab defeated the Ammonites and their
allies (1 Chr. 19:7-15; comp. 2 Sam. 10:6-14). In the time
of Isaiah (15:2) the Moabites regained possession of it
from the Ammonites.
The ruins of this important city, now Madeba or Madiyabah,
are seen about 8 miles south-west of Heshbon, and 14 east
of the Dead Sea. Among these are the ruins of what must
have been a large temple, and of three cisterns of
considerable extent, which are now dry. These cisterns may
have originated the name Medeba, “waters of
quiet.”
rendered in the Authorized Version (1) “Madai,”
Gen. 10:2; (2) “Medes,” 2 Kings 17:6; 18:11; (3)
“Media,” Esther 1:3; 10:2; Isa. 21:2; Dan. 8:20;
(4) “Mede,” only in Dan. 11:1.
We first hear of this people in the Assyrian cuneiform
records, under the name of Amada, about B.C. 840. They
appear to have been a branch of the Aryans, who came from
the east bank of the Indus, and were probably the
predominant race for a while in the Mesopotamian valley.
They consisted for three or four centuries of a number of
tribes, each ruled by its own chief, who at length were
brought under the Assyrian yoke (2 Kings 17:6). From this
subjection they achieved deliverance, and formed themselves
into an empire under Cyaxares (B.C. 633). This monarch
entered into an alliance with the king of Babylon, and
invaded Assyria, capturing and destroying the city of
Nineveh (B.C. 625), thus putting an end to the Assyrian
monarchy (Nah. 1:8; 2:5,6; 3:13, 14).
Media now rose to a place of great power, vastly extending
its boundaries. But it did not long exist as an independent
kingdom. It rose with Cyaxares, its first king, and it
passed away with him; for during the reign of his son and
successor Astyages, the Persians waged war against the
Medes and conquered them, the two nations being united
under one monarch, Cyrus the Persian (B.C. 558).
The “cities of the Medes” are first mentioned in
connection with the deportation of the Israelites on the
destruction of Samaria (2 Kings 17:6; 18:11). Soon
afterwards Isaiah (13:17; 21:2) speaks of the part taken by
the Medes in the destruction of Babylon (comp. Jer. 51:11,
28). Daniel gives an account of the reign of Darius the
Mede, who was made viceroy by Cyrus (Dan. 6:1-28). The
decree of Cyrus, Ezra informs us (6:2-5), was found in
“the palace that is in the province of the
Medes,” Achmetha or Ecbatana of the Greeks, which is
the only Median city mentioned in Scripture.
between two persons who are at variance, with a view to
reconcile them. This word is not found in the Old
Testament; but the idea it expresses is found in Job 9:33,
in the word “daysman” (q.v.), marg.,
“umpire.”
This word is used in the New Testament to denote simply an
internuncius, an ambassador, one who acts as a medium of
communication between two contracting parties. In this
sense Moses is called a mediator in Gal. 3:19.
Christ is the one and only mediator between God and man (1
Tim. 2:5; Heb. 8:6; 9:15; 12:24). He makes reconciliation
between God and man by his all-perfect atoning sacrifice.
Such a mediator must be at once divine and human, divine,
that his obedience and his sufferings might possess
infinite worth, and that he might possess infinite wisdom
and knowlege and power to direct all things in the kingdoms
of providence and grace which are committed to his hands
(Matt. 28:18; John 5:22, 25, 26, 27); and human, that in
his work he might represent man, and be capable of
rendering obedience to the law and satisfying the claims of
justice (Heb. 2:17, 18; 4:15, 16), and that in his
glorified humanity he might be the head of a glorified
Church (Rom. 8:29).
This office involves the three functions of prophet,
priest, and king, all of which are discharged by Christ
both in his estate of humiliation and exaltation. These
functions are so inherent in the one office that the
quality appertaining to each gives character to every
mediatorial act. They are never separated in the exercise
of the office of mediator.
Meekness – a calm temper of mind,
not easily provoked (James 3:13). Peculiar promises are
made to the meek (Matt. 5:5; Isa. 66:2). The cultivation of
this spirit is enjoined (Col. 3:12; 1 Tim. 6:11; Zeph.
2:3), and is exemplified in Christ (Matt. 11:29), Abraham
(Gen. 13; 16:5, 6) Moses (Num. 12:3), David (Zech. 12:8; 2
Sam. 16:10, 12), and Paul (1 Cor. 9:19).
originally one of the royal cities of the Canaanites (Josh.
12:21), belonged to the tribe of Manasseh (Judg. 1:27), but
does not seem to have been fully occupied by the Israelites
till the time of Solomon (1 Kings 4:12; 9:15).
The valley or plain of Megiddo was part of the plain of
Esdraelon, the great battle-field of Palestine. It was here
Barak gained a notable victory over Jabin, the king of
Hazor, whose general, Sisera, led on the hostile army.
Barak rallied the warriors of the northern tribes, and
under the encouragement of Deborah (q.v.), the prophetess,
attacked the Canaanites in the great plain. The army of
Sisera was thrown into complete confusion, and was engulfed
in the waters of the Kishon, which had risen and overflowed
its banks (Judg. 4:5).
Many years after this (B.C. 610), Pharaohnecho II., on his
march against the king of Assyria, passed through the
plains of Philistia and Sharon; and King Josiah, attempting
to bar his progress in the plain of Megiddo, was defeated
by the Egyptians. He was wounded in battle, and died as
they bore him away in his chariot towards Jerusalem (2
Kings 23:29; 2 Chr. 35:22-24), and all Israel mourned for
him. So general and bitter was this mourning that it became
a proverb, to which Zechariah (12:11, 12) alludes. Megiddo
has been identified with the modern el-Lejjun, at the head
of the Kishon, under the north-eastern brow of Carmel, on
the south-western edge of the plain of Esdraelon, and 9
miles west of Jezreel. Others identify it with
Mujedd’a, 4 miles south-west of Bethshean, but the
question of its site is still undetermined.
Mehetabeel – whose benefactor is
God, the father of Delaiah, and grandfather of Shemaiah,
who joined Sanballat against Nehemiah (Neh. 6:10).
Mehetabel – wife of Hadad, one of
the kings of Edom (Gen. 36:39).
Mehujael – smitten by God, the
son of Irad, and father of Methusael (Gen. 4:18).
Mehuman – faithful, one of the
eunchs whom Ahasuerus (Xerxes) commanded to bring in Vashti
(Esther 1:10).
Mehunims – habitations, (2 Chr.
26:7; R.V. “Meunim,” Vulg. Ammonitae), a people
against whom Uzziah waged a successful war. This word is in
Hebrew the plural of Ma’on, and thus denotes the
Maonites who inhabited the country on the eastern side of
the Wady el-Arabah. They are again mentioned in 1 Chr. 4:41
(R.V.), in the reign of King Hezekiah, as a Hamite people,
settled in the eastern end of the valley of Gedor, in the
wilderness south of Palestine. In this passage the
Authorized Version has “habitation,” erroneously
following the translation of Luther.
They are mentioned in the list of those from whom the
Nethinim were made up (Ezra 2:50; Neh. 7:52).
Me-jarkon – waters of yellowness,
or clear waters, a river in the tribe of Dan (Josh. 19:46).
It has been identified with the river ‘Aujeh, which
rises at Antipatris.
Mekonah – a base or foundation, a
town in the south of Judah (Neh. 11:28), near Ziklag.
Melchi – my king. (1.) The son of
Addi, and father of Neri (Luke 3:28). (2.) Luke 3:24.
righteousness, the king of Salem (q.v.). All we know of him
is recorded in Gen. 14:18-20. He is subsequently mentioned
only once in the Old Testament, in Ps. 110:4. The typical
significance of his history is set forth in detail in the
Epistle to the Hebrews, ch. 7. The apostle there points out
the superiority of his priesthood to that of Aaron in these
several respects, (1) Even Abraham paid him tithes; (2) he
blessed Abraham; (3) he is the type of a Priest who lives
for ever; (4) Levi, yet unborn, paid him tithes in the
person of Abraham; (5) the permanence of his priesthood in
Christ implied the abrogation of the Levitical system; (6)
he was made priest not without an oath; and (7) his
priesthood can neither be transmitted nor interrupted by
death: “this man, because he continueth ever, hath an
unchangeable priesthood.”
The question as to who this mysterious personage was has
given rise to a great deal of modern speculation. It is an
old tradition among the Jews that he was Shem, the son of
Noah, who may have survived to this time. Melchizedek was a
Canaanitish prince, a worshipper of the true God, and in
his peculiar history and character an instructive type of
our Lord, the great High Priest (Heb. 5:6, 7; 6:20). One of
the Amarna tablets is from Ebed-Tob, king of Jerusalem, the
successor of Melchizedek, in which he claims the very
attributes and dignity given to Melchizedek in the Epistle
to the Hebrews.
Melea – fulness, the son of Menan
and father of Eliakim, in the genealogy of our Lord (Luke
3:31).
Micah’s four sons (1 Chr. 8:35), and thus grandson of
Mephibosheth.
Melita – (Acts 27:28), an island
in the Mediterranean, the modern Malta. Here the ship in
which Paul was being conveyed a prisoner to Rome was
wrecked. The bay in which it was wrecked now bears the name
of “St. Paul’s Bay”, “a certain creek
with a shore.” It is about 2 miles deep and 1 broad,
and the whole physical condition of the scene answers the
description of the shipwreck given in Acts 28. It was
originally colonized by Phoenicians
(“barbarians,” 28:2). It came into the possession
of the Greeks (B.C. 736), from whom it was taken by the
Carthaginians (B.C. 528). In B.C. 242 it was conquered by
the Romans, and was governed by a Roman propraetor at the
time of the shipwreck (Acts 28:7). Since 1800, when the
French garrison surrendered to the English force, it has
been a British dependency. The island is about 17 miles
long and 9 wide, and about 60 in circumference. After a
stay of three months on this island, during which the
“barbarians” showed them no little kindness,
Julius procured for himself and his company a passage in
another Alexandrian corn-ship which had wintered in the
island, in which they proceeded on their voyage to Rome
(Acts 28:13, 14).
Melons – only in Num. 11:5, the
translation of the Hebrew abattihim, the LXX. and Vulgate
pepones, Arabic britikh. Of this plant there are various
kinds, the Egyptian melon, the Cucumus chate, which has
been called “the queen of cucumbers;” the water
melon, the Cucurbita citrullus; and the common or flesh
melon, the Cucumus melo. “A traveller in the East who
recollects the intense gratitude which a gift of a slice of
melon inspired while journeying over the hot and dry
plains, will readily comprehend the regret with which the
Hebrews in the Arabian desert looked back upon the melons
of Egypt” (Kitto).
Melzar – probably a Persian word
meaning master of wine, i.e., chief butler; the title of an
officer at the Babylonian court (Dan. 1:11, 16) who had
charge of the diet of the Hebrew youths.
Hebrew Moph. In Isa. 19:13; Jer. 2:16; 46:14, 19; Ezek.
30:13, 16, it is mentioned under the name Noph. It was the
capital of Lower, i.e., of Northern Egypt. From certain
remains found half buried in the sand, the site of this
ancient city has been discovered near the modern village of
Minyet Rahinch, or Mitraheny, about 16 miles above the
ancient head of the Delta, and 9 miles south of Cairo, on
the west bank of the Nile. It is said to have been founded
by Menes, the first king of Egypt, and to have been in
circumference about 19 miles. “There are few remains
above ground,” says Manning (The Land of the
Pharaohs), “of the splendour of ancient Memphis. The
city has utterly disappeared. If any traces yet exist, they
are buried beneath the vast mounds of crumbling bricks and
broken pottery which meet the eye in every direction. Near
the village of Mitraheny is a colossal statue of Rameses
the Great. It is apparently one of the two described by
Herodotus and Diodorus as standing in front of the temple
of Ptah. They were originally 50 feet in height. The one
which remains, though mutilated, measures 48 feet. It is
finely carved in limestone, which takes a high polish, and
is evidently a portrait. It lies in a pit, which, during
the inundation, is filled with water. As we gaze on this
fallen and battered statue of the mighty conqueror who was
probably contemporaneous with Moses, it is impossible not
to remember the words of the prophet Isaiah, 19:13;
44:16-19, and Jeremiah, 46:19.”
Memucan – dignified, one of the
royal counsellors at the court of Ahasuerus, by whose
suggestion Vashti was divorced (Esther 1:14, 16, 21).
Menahem – conforting, the son of
Gadi, and successor of Shallum, king of Israel, whom he
slew. After a reign of about ten years (B.C. 771-760) he
died, leaving the throne to his son Pekahiah. His reign was
one of cruelty and oppression (2 Kings 15:14-22). During
his reign, Pul (q.v.), king of Assyria, came with a
powerful force against Israel, but was induced to retire by
a gift from Menahem of 1,000 talents of silver.
Mene – (Dan. 5:25, 26), numbered,
one of the words of the mysterious inscription written
“upon the plaister of the wall” in
Belshazzar’s palace at Babylon. The writing was
explained by Daniel.
Meni – Isa. 65:11, marg. (A.V.,
“that number;” R.V., “destiny”),
probably an idol which the captive Israelites worshipped
after the example of the Babylonians. It may have been a
symbol of destiny. LXX., tuche.
“the plain of Meonenim;” R.V., “the oak of
Meonenim”) means properly “soothsayers” or
“sorcerers,” “wizards” (Deut. 18:10,
14; 2 Kings 21:6; Micah 5:12). This may be the oak at
Shechem under which Abram pitched his tent (see SHECHEM
¯T0003330), the “enchanter’s oak,” so
called, perhaps, from Jacob’s hiding the “strange
gods” under it (Gen. 35:4).
Mephaath – splendour, a Levitical
city (Josh. 21:37) of the tribe of Reuben (13:18).
Mephibosheth – exterminator of
shame; i.e., of idols. (1.) The name of Saul’s son by
the concubine Rizpah (q.v.), the daughter of Aiah. He and
his brother Armoni were with five others “hanged on a
hill before the Lord” by the Gibeonites, and their
bodies exposed in the sun for five months (2 Sam. 21:8-10).
(2.) The son of Jonathan, and grandson of Saul (2 Sam.
4:4). He was but five years old when his father and
grandfather fell on Mount Gilboa. The child’s nurse
hearing of this calamity, fled with him from Gibeah, the
royal residence, and stumbling in her haste, the child was
thrown to the ground and maimed in both his feet, and ever
after was unable to walk (19:26). He was carried to the
land of Gilead, where he found a refuge in the house of
Machir, the son of Ammiel, at Lo-debar, by whom he was
brought up.
Some years after this, when David had subdued all the
adversaries of Israel, he began to think of the family of
Jonathan, and discovered that Mephibosheth was residing in
the house of Machir. Thither he sent royal messengers, and
brought him and his infant son to Jerusalem, where he ever
afterwards resided (2 Sam. 9).
When David was a fugitive, according to the story of Ziba
(2 Sam. 16:1-4) Mephibosheth proved unfaithful to him, and
was consequently deprived of half of his estates; but
according to his own story, however (19:24-30), he had
remained loyal to his friend. After this incident he is
only mentioned as having been protected by David against
the vengeance the Gibeonites were permitted to execute on
the house of Saul (21:7). He is also called Merib-baal (1
Chr. 8:34; 9:40).
Merab – increase, the eldest of
Saul’s two daughters (1 Sam. 14:49). She was betrothed
to David after his victory over Goliath, but does not seem
to have entered heartily into this arrangement (18:2, 17,
19). She was at length, however, married to Adriel of
Abel-Meholah, a town in the Jordan valley, about 10 miles
south of Bethshean, with whom the house of Saul maintained
alliance. She had five sons, who were all put to death by
the Gibeonites on the hill of Gibeah (2 Sam. 21:8).
priest, a contemporary of the high priest Joiakim (Neh.
12:12).
Father of Amariah, a high priest of the line of Eleazar (1
Chr. 6:6, 7, 52).
(2.) Neh. 12:15, a priest who went to Jerusalem with
Zerubbabel. He is called Meremoth in Neh. 12:3.
youngest son of Levi, born before the descent of Jacob into
Egypt, and one of the seventy who accompanied him thither
(Gen. 46:11; Ex. 6:16). He became the head of one of the
great divisions of the Levites (Ex. 6:19).
Merarites – the descendants of
Merari (Num. 26:57). They with the Gershonites and the
Kohathites had charge of the tabernacle, which they had to
carry from place to place (Num. 3:20, 33-37; 4:29-33). In
the distribution of the oxen and waggons offered by the
princes (Num. 7), Moses gave twice as many to the Merarites
(four waggons and eight oxen) as he gave to the
Gershonites, because the latter had to carry only the
lighter furniture of the tabernacle, such as the curtains,
hangings, etc., while the former had to carry the heavier
portion, as the boards, bars, sockets, pillars, etc., and
consequently needed a greater supply of oxen and waggons.
This is a coincidence illustrative of the truth of the
narrative. Their place in marching and in the camp was on
the north of the tabernacle. The Merarites afterwards took
part with the other Levitical families in the various
functions of their office (1 Chr. 23:6, 21-23; 2 Chr.
29:12, 13). Twelve cities with their suburbs were assigned
to them (Josh. 21:7, 34-40).
probably a symbolical name given to Babylon (Jer. 50:21),
denoting rebellion exceeding that of other nations.
rendered is from a root meaning “to travel
about,” “to migrate,” and hence “a
traveller.” In the East, in ancient times, merchants
travelled about with their merchandise from place to place
(Gen. 37:25; Job 6:18), and carried on their trade mainly
by bartering (Gen. 37:28; 39:1). After the Hebrews became
settled in Palestine they began to engage in commercial
pursuits, which gradually expanded (49:13; Deut. 33:18;
Judg. 5:17), till in the time of Solomon they are found in
the chief marts of the world (1 Kings 9:26; 10:11, 26, 28;
22:48; 2 Chr. 1:16; 9:10, 21). After Solomon’s time
their trade with foreign nations began to decline. After
the Exile it again expanded into wider foreign relations,
because now the Jews were scattered in many lands.
“the speaker”) of the Greeks (Acts 14:12), a
heathen God represented as the constant attendant of
Jupiter, and the god of eloquence. The inhabitants of
Lystra took Paul for this god because he was the
“chief speaker.”
miserable. Its object is misery. By the atoning sacrifice
of Christ a way is open for the exercise of mercy towards
the sons of men, in harmony with the demands of truth and
righteousness (Gen. 19:19; Ex. 20:6; 34:6, 7; Ps. 85:10;
86:15, 16). In Christ mercy and truth meet together. Mercy
is also a Christian grace (Matt. 5:7; 18:33-35).
Mercy-seat – (Heb. kapporeth, a
“covering;” LXX. and N.T., hilasterion; Vulg.,
propitiatorium), the covering or lid of the ark of the
covenant (q.v.). It was of acacia wood, overlaid with gold,
or perhaps rather a plate of solid gold, 2 1/2 cubits long
and 1 1/2 broad (Ex. 25:17; 30:6; 31:7). It is compared to
the throne of grace (Heb. 9:5; Eph. 2:6). The holy of
holies is called the “place of the mercy-seat” (1
Chr. 28:11: Lev. 16:2).
It has been conjectured that the censer (thumiaterion,
meaning “anything having regard to or employed in the
burning of incense”) mentioned in Heb. 9:4 was the
“mercy-seat,” at which the incense was burned by
the high priest on the great day of atonement, and upon or
toward which the blood of the goat was sprinkled (Lev.
16:11-16; comp. Num. 7:89 and Ex. 25:22).
sons of Ezra, of the tribe of Judah (1 Chr. 4:17).
Meremoth – exaltations, heights,
a priest who returned from Babylon with Zerubbabel (Neh.
12:3), to whom were sent the sacred vessels (Ezra 8:33)
belonging to the temple. He took part in rebuilding the
walls of Jerusalem (Neh. 3:4).
Meribah – quarrel or strife. (1.)
One of the names given by Moses to the fountain in the
desert of Sin, near Rephidim, which issued from the rock in
Horeb, which he smote by the divine command, “because
of the chiding of the children of Israel” (Ex.
17:1-7). It was also called Massah (q.v.). It was probably
in Wady Feiran, near Mount Serbal.
(2.) Another fountain having a similar origin in the desert
of Zin, near to Kadesh (Num. 27:14). The two places are
mentioned together in Deut. 33:8. Some think the one place
is called by the two names (Ps. 81:7). In smiting the rock
at this place Moses showed the same impatience as the
people (Num. 20:10-12). This took place near the close of
the wanderings in the desert (Num. 20:1-24; Deut. 32:51).
Merib-baal – contender with Baal,
(1 Chr. 8:34; 9:40), elsewhere called Mephibosheth (2 Sam.
4:4), the son of Jonathan.
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