name of a Babylonian god, probably the planet Mars (Jer.

50:2), or it may be another name of Bel, the guardian

divinity of Babylon. This name frequently occurs as a

given a son, (Isa. 39:1), “the hereditary chief of the

Chaldeans, a small tribe at that time settled in the

marshes at the mouth of the Euphrates, but in consequence

of his conquest of Babylon afterwards, they became the

dominant caste in Babylonia itself.” One bearing this

name sent ambassadors to Hezekiah (B.C. 721). He is also

Northern Palestine through which the Jordan flows. It was

the scene of the third and last great victory gained by

Joshua over the Canaanites (Josh. 11:5-7). It is not again

mentioned in Scripture. Its modern name is Bakrat el-Huleh.

“The Ard el-Huleh, the centre of which the lake

occupies, is a nearly level plain of 16 miles in length

from north to south, and its breadth from east to west is

from 7 to 8 miles. On the west it is walled in by the steep

and lofty range of the hills of Kedesh-Naphtali; on the

east it is bounded by the lower and more gradually

ascending slopes of Bashan; on the north it is shut in by a

line of hills hummocky and irregular in shape and of no

great height, and stretching across from the mountains of

Naphtali to the roots of Mount Hermon, which towers up at

the north-eastern angle of the plain to a height of 10,000

feet. At its southern extremity the plain is similarly

traversed by elevated and broken ground, through which, by

deep and narrow clefts, the Jordan, after passing through

Lake Huleh, makes its rapid descent to the Sea of

Jehdeiah, the herdsman of the royal asses in the time of

David and Solomon (1 Chr. 27:30), probably as one being a

Palestine, the inhabitants of which were severely condemned

because they came not to help Barak against Sisera (Judg.

5:23: comp. 21:8-10; 1 Sam. 11:7). It has been identified

with Marassus, on a knoll to the north of Wady Jalud, but

nothing certainly is known of it. Like Chorazin, it is only

mentioned in Scripture in connection with the curse

Messa. (1.) A plain in that part of the boundaries of

Arabia inhabited by the descendants of Joktan (Gen.

Mishael, one of the three Hebrew youths who were under

training at the Babylonian court for the rank of Magi (Dan.

1:7; 2:49; 3:12-30). This was probably the name of some

son of Japheth (Gen. 10:2), the founder of a tribe (1 Chr.

1:5; Ezek. 27:13; 38:2,3). They were in all probability the

Moschi, a people inhabiting the Moschian Mountains, between

the Black and the Caspian Seas. In Ps. 120:5 the name

occurs as simply a synonym for foreigners or barbarians.

“During the ascendency of the Babylonians and Persians

in Western Asia, the Moschi were subdued; but it seems

probable that a large number of them crossed the Caucasus

range and spread over the northern steppes, mingling with

the Scythians. There they became known as Muscovs, and gave

that name to the Russian nation and its ancient capital by

which they are still generally known throughout the

Jehovah, a Levite of the family of the Korhites, called

also Shelemiah (1 Chr. 9:21; 26:1, 2, 9, 14). He was a

of the chief Gadites in Bashan in the time of Jotham (1

of Manasseh, and the mother of Amon (2 Kings 21:19), Kings

the two rivers (Heb. Aram-naharaim; i.e., “Syria of

the two rivers”), the name given by the Greeks and

Romans to the region between the Euphrates and the Tigris

(Gen. 24:10; Deut. 23:4; Judg. 3:8, 10). In the Old

Testament it is mentioned also under the name

“Padan-aram;” i.e., the plain of Aram, or Syria

(Gen. 25:20). The northern portion of this fertile plateau

was the original home of the ancestors of the Hebrews (Gen.

11; Acts 7:2). From this region Isaac obtained his wife

Rebecca (Gen. 24:10, 15), and here also Jacob sojourned

(28:2-7) and obtained his wives, and here most of his sons

were born (35:26; 46:15). The petty, independent tribes of

this region, each under its own prince, were warlike, and

used chariots in battle. They maintained their independence

till after the time of David, when they fell under the

dominion of Assyria, and were absorbed into the empire (2

angelos), an angel, a messenger who runs on foot, the

bearer of despatches (Job 1:14; 1 Sam. 11:7; 2 Chr. 36:22);

the thirty-nine instances of its occurring in the Old

Testament, is rendered by the LXX. “Christos.” It

means anointed. Thus priests (Ex. 28:41; 40:15; Num. 3:3),

prophets (1 Kings 19:16), and kings (1 Sam. 9:16; 16:3; 2

Sam. 12:7) were anointed with oil, and so consecrated to

their respective offices. The great Messiah is anointed

“above his fellows” (Ps. 45:7); i.e., he embraces

in himself all the three offices. The Greek form

“Messias” is only twice used in the New

Testament, in John 1:41 and 4:25 (R.V.,

“Messiah”), and in the Old Testament the word

Messiah, as the rendering of the Hebrew, occurs only twice

mother, a figurative name for a chief city, as in 2 Sam.

8:1, “David took Metheg-ammah out of the hand of the

Philistines” (R.V., “took the bridle of the

mother-city”); i.e., subdued their capital or

of God, a descendant of Cain (Gen. 4:18), so called,

perhaps, to denote that even among the descendants of Cain

son of Enoch, and grandfather of Noah. He was the oldest

man of whom we have any record, dying at the age of nine

hundred and sixty-nine years, in the year of the Flood

father of Matred (Gen. 36:39; 1 Chr. 1:50), and grandfather

hand. (1.) The head of one of the divisions of the priests

of David’s warriors (1 Chr. 11:38); called also Bani

Ishmael’s twelve sons, and head of an Arab tribe (Gen.

Edomitish “dukes” descended from Esau (Gen.

Micaiah, who is like Jehovah? (1.) A man of Mount Ephraim,

whose history so far is introduced in Judg. 17, apparently

for the purpose of leading to an account of the settlement

of the tribe of Dan in Northern Palestine, and for the

purpose also of illustrating the lawlessness of the times

order of the so-called minor prophets. The superscription

to this book states that the prophet exercised his office

in the reigns of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah. If we reckon

from the beginning of Jotham’s reign to the end of

Hezekiah’s (B.C. 759-698), then he ministered for about

fifty-nine years; but if we reckon from the death of Jotham

to the accession of Hezekiah (B.C. 743-726), his ministry

lasted only sixteen years. It has been noticed as

remarkable that this book commences with the last words of

another prophet, “Micaiah the son of Imlah” (1

Kings 22:28): “Hearken, O people, every one of

the son of Imlah, a faithful prophet of Samaria (1 Kings

22:8-28). Three years after the great battle with Ben-hadad

(20:29-34), Ahab proposed to Jehoshaphat, king of Judah,

that they should go up against Ramoth-Gilead to do battle

again with Ben-hadad. Jehoshaphat agreed, but suggested

that inquiry should be first made “at the word of

Jehovah.” Ahab’s prophets approved of the

expedition; but Jehoshaphat, still dissatisfied, asked if

there was no other prophet besides the four hundred that

had appeared, and was informed of this Micaiah. He was sent

for from prison, where he had been confined, probably on

account of some prediction disagreeable to Ahab; and he

condemned the expedition, and prophesied that it would end,

as it did, in disaster. We hear nothing further of this

prophet. Some have supposed that he was the unnamed prophet

The title given to one of the chief angels (Dan. 10:13, 21;

12:1). He had special charge of Israel as a nation. He

disputed with Satan (Jude 1:9) about the body of Moses. He

is also represented as warning against “that old

serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the

of King Abijah (2 Chr. 13:2). (See MAACAH ¯T0002343

the younger of Saul’s two daughters by his wife Ahinoam

(1 Sam. 14:49, 50). “Attracted by the graces of his

person and the gallantry of his conduct, she fell in love

with David and became his wife” (18:20-28). She showed

her affection for him by promoting his escape to Naioth

when Saul sought his life (1 Sam. 19:12-17. Comp. Ps. 59.

See TERAPHIM ¯T0003618). After this she did not see

David for many years. Meanwhile she was given in marriage

to another man, Phalti or Phaltiel of Gallim (1 Sam.

25:44), but David afterwards formally reclaimed her as his

lawful wife (2 Sam. 3:13-16). The relation between her and

David soon after this was altered. They became alienated

from each other. This happened on that memorable day when

the ark was brought up in great triumph from its temporary

resting-place to the Holy City. In David’s conduct on

that occasion she saw nothing but a needless humiliation of

the royal dignity (1 Chr. 15:29). She remained childless,

and thus the races of David and Saul were not mixed. In 2

Sam. 21:8 her name again occurs, but the name Merab should

probably be here substituted for Michal (comp. 1 Sam.

town of Benjamin (Ezra 2:27), east of Bethel and south of

Migron, on the road to Jerusalem (Isa. 10:28). It lay on

the line of march of an invading army from the north, on

the north side of the steep and precipitous Wady

es-Suweinit (“valley of the little thorn-tree” or

“the acacia”), and now bears the name of Mukhmas.

This wady is called “the passage of Michmash” (1

Sam. 13:23). Immediately facing Mukhmas, on the opposite

side of the ravine, is the modern representative of Geba,

in the northern border of Ephraim and Manasseh, and not far

or song found in the titles of Ps. 16; 56-60. Some

translate the word “golden”, i.e., precious. It

is rendered in the LXX. by a word meaning “tablet

inscription” or a “stelograph.” The root of

the word means to stamp or grave, and hence it is regarded

as denoting a composition so precious as to be worthy to be

engraven on a durable tablet for preservation; or, as

others render, “a psalm precious as stamped

gold,” from the word kethem, “fine or

cities “in the wilderness,” on the west of the

of Abraham by Keturah, the father of the Midianites (Gen.

descended from Midian. They inhabited principally the

desert north of the peninsula of Arabia. The peninsula of

Sinai was the pasture-ground for their flocks. They were

virtually the rulers of Arabia, being the dominant tribe.

Like all Arabians, they were a nomad people. They early

engaged in commercial pursuits. It was to one of their

caravans that Joseph was sold (Gen. 37:28, 36). The next

notice of them is in connection with Moses’ flight from

Egypt (Ex. 2:15-21). Here in Midian Moses became the

servant and afterwards the son-in-law of Reuel or Jethro,

the priest. After the Exodus, the Midianites were friendly

to the Israelites so long as they traversed only their

outlying pasture-ground on the west of the Arabah; but

when, having passed the southern end of Edom, they entered

into the land of Midian proper, they joined with Balak, the

king of Moab, in a conspiracy against them (Num. 22:4-7).

Balaam, who had been sent for to curse Israel, having

utterly failed to do so, was dismissed by the king of Moab;

nevertheless he still tarried among the Midianites, and

induced them to enter into correspondence with the

Israelites, so as to bring them into association with them

in the licentious orgies connected with the worship of

Baal-Peor. This crafty counsel prevailed. The Israelites

took part in the heathen festival, and so brought upon

themselves a curse indeed. Their apostasy brought upon them

a severe punishment. A plague broke out amongst them, and

more than twenty-four thousand of the people perished (Num.

25:9). But the Midianites were not to be left unpunished. A

terrible vengeance was denounced against them. A thousand

warriors from each tribe, under the leadership of Phinehas,

went forth against them. The Midianites were utterly

routed. Their cities were consumed by fire, five of their

kings were put to death, and the whole nation was destroyed

(Josh. 13:21, 22). Balaam also perished by the sword,

receiving the “wages of his unrighteousness”

(Num. 31:8; 2 Pet. 2:15). The whole of the country on the

east of Jordan, now conquered by the Israelites (see SIHON

¯T0003427; OG ¯T0002771), was divided between the

two tribes of Reuben and Gad and the half tribe of

mentioned in Ex. 1:15 were probably the superintendents of

a place 2 miles south of Jerusalem, near the Bethlehem road

fortified city of Naphtali (Josh. 19:38), supposed by some

town in the plains of Judah, probably the modern el-Mejdel,

strongly-fortified place 12 miles from Pelusium, in the

north of Egypt (Jer. 44:1; 46:14). This word is rendered

“tower” in Ezek. 29:10, but the margin correctly

retains the name Migdol, “from Migdol to Syene;”

i.e., from Migdol in the north to Syene in the south, in

place between Aiath and Michmash (Isa. 10:28). The town of

the same name mentioned in 1 Sam. 14:2 was to the south of

under Dodai, in the time of David and Solomon (1 Chr.

musician (Neh. 12:36) who took part in the dedication of

Hebrew word meaning “to be yellow,” yellowness),

the result of cutting east winds blighting and thus

rendering the grain unproductive (Deut. 28:22; 1 Kings

thousand;” Matt. 5:41), a Roman measure of 1,000 paces

of 5 feet each. Thus the Roman mile has 1618 yards, being

a seaport town and the ancient capital of Ionia, about 36

miles south of Ephesus. On his voyage from Greece to Syria,

Paul touched at this port, and delivered that noble and

pathetic address to the elders (“presbyters,”

ver. 28) of Ephesus recorded in Acts 20:15-35. The site of

“new milk”, milk in its fresh state (Judg. 4:19).

It is frequently mentioned in connection with honey (Ex.

3:8; 13:5; Josh. 5:6; Isa. 7:15, 22; Jer. 11:5). Sheep

(Deut. 32:14) and goats (Prov. 27:27) and camels (Gen.

32:15), as well as cows, are made to give their milk for

the use of man. Milk is used figuratively as a sign of

abundance (Gen. 49:12; Ezek. 25:4; Joel 3:18). It is also a

symbol of the rudiments of doctrine (1 Cor. 3:2; Heb. 5:12,

mentioned as used in the time of Abraham (Gen. 18:6). That

used by the Hebrews consisted of two circular stones, each

2 feet in diameter and half a foot thick, the lower of

which was called the “nether millstone” (Job

41:24) and the upper the “rider.” The upper stone

was turned round by a stick fixed in it as a handle. There

were then no public mills, and thus each family required to

be provided with a hand-mill. The corn was ground daily,

generally by the women of the house (Isa. 47:1, 2; Matt.

24:41). It was with the upper stone of a hand-mill that

“a certain woman” at Thebez broke Abimelech’s

skull (Judg. 9:53, “a piece of a millstone;”

literally, “a millstone rider”, i.e., the

“runner,” the stone which revolves. Comp. 2 Sam.

11:21). Millstones could not be pledged (Deut. 24:6), as

the name given to the era mentioned in Rev. 20:1-7. Some

maintain that Christ will personally appear on earth for

the purpose of establishing his kingdom at the beginning of

this millennium. Those holding this view are usually called

“millenarians.” On the other hand, it is

maintained, more in accordance with the teaching of

Scripture, we think, that Christ’s second advent will

not be premillennial, and that the right conception of the

prospects and destiny of his kingdom is that which is

taught, e.g., in the parables of the leaven and the

mustard-seed. The triumph of the gospel, it is held, must

be looked for by the wider and more efficient operation of

the very forces that are now at work in extending the

gospel; and that Christ will only come again at the close

of this dispensation to judge the world at the “last

Ezek. 4:9), a small grain, the produce of the Panicum

miliaceum of botanists. It is universally cultivated in the

East as one of the smaller corn-grasses. This seed is the

cenchros of the Greeks. It is called in India warree, and

by the Arabs dukhan, and is extensively used for food,

being often mixed with other grain. In this country it is

article, “the” Millo). (1.) Probably the

Canaanite name of some fortification, consisting of walls

filled in with earth and stones, which protected Jerusalem

on the north as its outermost defence. It is always

rendered Akra i.e., “the citadel”, in the LXX. It

was already existing when David conquered Jerusalem (2 Sam.

5:9). He extended it to the right and left, thus completing

the defence of the city. It was rebuilt by Solomon (1 Kings

9:15, 24; 11:27) and repaired by Hezekiah (2 Chr.

3:16), taking affectedly short and quick steps. Luther

renders the word by “wag” or “waggle,”

thus representing “the affected gait of coquettish

described in Job 28:1-11. Moses speaks of the mineral

wealth of Palestine (Deut. 8:9). Job 28:4 is rightly thus

rendered in the Revised Version, “He breaketh open a

shaft away from where men sojourn; they are forgotten of

the foot [that passeth by]; they hang afar from men, they

swing to and fro.” These words illustrate ancient

distinguished from the master. (1.) Heb. meshereth, applied

to an attendant on one of superior rank, as to Joshua, the

servant of Moses (Ex. 33:11), and to the servant of Elisha

(2 Kings 4:43). This name is also given to attendants at

court (2 Chr. 22:8), and to the priests and Levites (Jer.

the name of a province in Armenia, which was at this time

under the Median kings. Armenia is regarded by some as =

Ammonitish town (Judg. 11:33) from which wheat was exported

to Tyre (Ezek. 27:17). It was probably somewhere in the

Mishor or table-land on the east of Jordan. There is a

gentle valley running for about 4 miles east of Dhiban

called Kurm Dhiban, “the vineyards of Dibon.”

Tristram supposes that this may be the

flute-player. Such music was a usual accompaniment of

funerals. In 2 Kings 3:15 it denotes a player on a stringed

“having a sweet smell”), one of the garden herbs

of which the Pharisees paid tithes (Matt. 23:23; Luke

11:42). It belongs to the labiate family of plants. The

species most common in Syria is the Mentha sylvestris, the

wild mint, which grows much larger than the garden mint (M.

sativa). It was much used in domestic economy as a

condiment, and also as a medicine. The paying of tithes of

mint was in accordance with the Mosiac law (Deut. 14:22),

but the error of the Pharisees lay in their being more

careful about this little matter of the mint than about

external world brought about by the immediate agency or the

simple volition of God, operating without the use of means

capable of being discerned by the senses, and designed to

authenticate the divine commission of a religious teacher

and the truth of his message (John 2:18; Matt. 12:38). It

is an occurrence at once above nature and above man. It

shows the intervention of a power that is not limited by

the laws either of matter or of mind, a power interrupting

the fixed laws which govern their movements, a supernatural

The sister of Moses and Aaron (Ex. 2:4-10; 1 Chr. 6:3). Her

name is prominent in the history of the Exodus. She is

called “the prophetess” (Ex. 15:20). She took the

lead in the song of triumph after the passage of the Red

Sea. She died at Kadesh during the second encampment at

that place, toward the close of the wanderings in the

The Authorized Version reads, “should behave

themselves strangely;” i.e., not recognize the truth,

misunderstand or mistake the cause of Israel’s ruin,

which was due to the fact that God had forsaken them on

or simply, the height=the citadel, some fortress so called;

or perhaps a general name for the highlands of Moab, as

some think (Jer. 48:1). In Isa. 25:12, the word is rendered

Levite; the eldest of the three sons of Uzziel (Ex.

Asher (Josh. 21:30; 1 Chr. 6:74). It is probably the modern

beholding, a Benjamite, one of the sons of Elpaal (1 Chr.

sons of Ishmael (Gen. 25:14), and founder of an Arab

Gadite heroes who gathered to David at Ziklag (1 Chr.

waters, supposed to be salt-pans, or lime-kilns, or

glass-factories, a place to which Joshua pursued a party of

Canaanites after the defeat of Jabin (Josh. 11:8). It is

identified with the ruin Musheirifeh, at the promontory of

from the Latin minutum, the translation of the Greek word

lepton, the very smallest bronze of copper coin (Luke

12:59; 21:2). Two mites made one quadrans, i.e., the fourth

stations of the Israelites in the wilderness (Num. 33:28,

dedicated to Mithra, i.e., the sun, the Hebrew form of the

Greek name Mithridates. (1.) The “treasurer” of

something rolled round the head; the turban or head-dress

of the high priest (Ex. 28:4, 37, 39; 29:6, etc.). In the

Authorized Version of Ezek. 21:26, this Hebrew word is

rendered “diadem,” but in the Revised Version,

“mitre.” It was a twisted band of fine linen, 8

yards in length, coiled into the form of a cap, and worn on

official occasions (Lev. 8:9; 16:4; Zech. 3:5). On the

front of it was a golden plate with the inscription,

“Holiness to the Lord.” The mitsnepheth differed

from the mitre or head-dress (migba’ah) of the common

island of Lesbos, on its east coast, in the AEgean Sea.

Paul, during his third missionary journey, touched at this

place on his way from Corinth to Judea (Acts 20:14), and

here tarried for a night. It lies between Assos and Chios.

It is now under the Turkish rule, and bears the name of

class who accompanied the Israelites as they journeyed from

Rameses to Succoth, the first stage of the Exodus. These

were probably miscellaneous hangers-on to the Hebrews,

whether Egyptians of the lower orders, or the remains of

the Hyksos (see EGYPT ¯T0001137; MOSES

¯T0002602), as some think. The same thing happened on

the return of the Jews from Babylon (Neh. 13:3), a

the eastern ridge of Lebanon, near which David lay after

escaping from Absalom (Ps. 42:6). It may, perhaps, be the

present Jebel Ajlun, thus named, “the little”, in

contrast with the greater elevation of Lebanon and

watch-tower; the look-out. (1.) A place in Gilead, so named

by Laban, who overtook Jacob at this spot (Gen. 31:49) on

his return to Palestine from Padan-aram. Here Jacob and

Laban set up their memorial cairn of stones. It is the same

who accompanied Zerubbabel from Babylon (Ezra 2:2); called

matzor, meaning a “mound” or

“fortress,” the name of a people descended from

Ham (Gen. 10:6, 13; 1 Chr. 1:8, 11). It was the name

generally given by the Hebrews to the land of Egypt (q.v.),

and may denote the two Egypts, the Upper and the Lower. The

remembrancer, a Christian of Jerusalem with whom Paul

lodged (Acts 21:16). He was apparently a native of Cyprus,

like Barnabas (11:19, 20), and was well known to the

Christians of Caesarea (4:36). He was an “old

disciple” (R.V., “early disciple”), i.e., he

had become a Christian in the beginning of the formation of

or, according to others, the desirable land, the eldest son

tribe descended from Moab, the son of Lot (Gen. 19:37).

From Zoar, the cradle of this tribe, on the south-eastern

border of the Dead Sea, they gradually spread over the

region on the east of Jordan. Rameses II., the Pharaoh of

the Oppression, enumerates Moab (Muab) among his conquests.

Shortly before the Exodus, the warlike Amorites crossed the

Jordan under Sihon their king and drove the Moabites (Num.

21:26-30) out of the region between the Arnon and the

Jabbok, and occupied it, making Heshbon their capital. They

were then confined to the territory to the south of the

bearing an inscription by King Mesha, which was discovered

at Dibon by Klein, a German missionary at Jerusalem, in

1868. It was 3 1/2 feet high and 2 in breadth and in

thickness, rounded at the top. It consisted of thirty-four

lines, written in Hebrew-Phoenician characters. It was set

up by Mesha as a record and memorial of his victories. It

records (1) Mesha’s wars with Omri, (2) his public

buildings, and (3) his wars against Horonaim. This

inscription in a remarkable degree supplements and

corroborates the history of King Mesha recorded in 2 Kings

south of Judah which fell to Simeon (Josh. 15:21-26; 19:2).

It has been identified with the modern el-Milh, 10 miles

11:30), probably signifies some species of lizard (rendered

in R.V., “chameleon”). In Lev. 11:18, Deut.

14:16, it is rendered, in Authorized Version,

national god of the Ammonites, to whom children were

sacrificed by fire. He was the consuming and destroying and

also at the same time the purifying fire. In Amos 5:26,

“your Moloch” of the Authorized Version is

“your king” in the Revised Version (comp. Acts

7:43). Solomon (1 Kings 11:7) erected a high place for this

idol on the Mount of Olives, and from that time till the

days of Josiah his worship continued (2 Kings 23:10, 13).

In the days of Jehoahaz it was partially restored, but

after the Captivity wholly disappeared. He is also called

Molech (Lev. 18:21; 20:2-5, etc.), Milcom (1 Kings 11:5,

33, etc.), and Malcham (Zeph. 1:5). This god became Chemosh

first notice we have is in the history of Abraham (Gen.

13:2; 20:16; 24:35). Next, this word is used in connection

with the purchase of the cave of Machpelah (23:16), and

again in connection with Jacob’s purchase of a field at

Shalem (Gen. 33:18, 19) for “an hundred pieces of

money”=an hundred Hebrew kesitahs (q.v.), i.e.,

probably pieces of money, as is supposed, bearing the

Mark 11:15; John 2:15). Every Israelite from twenty years

and upwards had to pay (Ex. 30:13-15) into the sacred

treasury half a shekel every year as an offering to

Jehovah, and that in the exact Hebrew half-shekel piece.

There was a class of men, who frequented the temple courts,

who exchanged at a certain premium foreign moneys for these

half-shekels to the Jews who came up to Jerusalem from all

parts of the world. When our Lord drove the traffickers out of

the temple, these money-changers fared worst. Their tables

month of thirty days each was in use long before the time

of the Exodus, and formed the basis of their calculations.

From the time of the institution of the Mosaic law the

month among the Jews was lunar. The cycle of religious

feasts depended on the moon. The commencement of a month

was determined by the observation of the new moon. The

number of months in the year was usually twelve (1 Kings

4:7; 1 Chr. 27:1-15); but every third year an additional

month (ve-Adar) was inserted, so as to make the months

paleness (Ezra 6:15), and lebanah, the “white”

(Cant. 6:10; Isa. 24:23), was appointed by the Creator to

be with the sun “for signs, and for seasons, and for

days, and years” (Gen. 1:14-16). A lunation was among

the Jews the period of a month, and several of their

festivals were held on the day of the new moon. It is

frequently referred to along with the sun (Josh. 10:12; Ps.

72:5, 7, 17; 89:36, 37; Eccl. 12:2; Isa. 24:23, etc.), and

the tribe of Benjamin. It has been alleged that he was

carried into captivity with Jeconiah, and hence that he

must have been at least one hundred and twenty-nine years

old in the twelfth year of Ahasuerus (Xerxes). But the

words of Esther do not necessarily lead to this conclusion.

It was probably Kish of whom it is said (ver. 6) that he

fruitful. (1.) A Canaanite probably who inhabited the

district south of Shechem, between Mounts Ebal and Gerizim,

and gave his name to the “plain” there (Gen.

12:6). Here at this “plain,” or rather (R.V.)

“oak,” of Moreh, Abraham built his first altar in

the land of Palestine; and here the Lord appeared unto him.

He afterwards left this plain and moved southward, and

pitched his tent between Bethel on the west and Hai on the

identical with “little Hermon,” the modern Jebel

ed-Duhy, or perhaps one of the lower spurs of this

mountain. It is a gray ridge parallel to Gilboa on the

north; and between the two lay the battle-field, the plain

of Jezreel (q.v.), where Gideon overthrew the Midianites

the wine-press, the birthplace of the prophet Micah (1:14),

who is called the “Morasthite” (Jer. 26:18). This

Some contend that Mount Gerizim is meant, but most probably

we are to regard this as one of the hills of Jerusalem.

Here Solomon’s temple was built, on the spot that had

been the threshing-floor of Ornan the Jebusite (2 Sam.

24:24, 25; 2 Chr. 3:1). It is usually included in Zion, to

the north-east of which it lay, and from which it was

separated by the Tyropoean valley. This was “the land

of Moriah” to which Abraham went to offer up his son

Isaac (Gen. 22:2). It has been supposed that the highest

point of the temple hill, which is now covered by the

Mohammedan Kubbetes-Sakhrah, or “Dome of the

Rock,” is the actual site of Araunah’s

threshing-floor. Here also, one thousand years after

Abraham, David built an altar and offered sacrifices to

lime and sand (Gen. 11:3; Ex. 1:14); also potter’s clay

(Isa. 41:25; Nah. 3:14). Also Heb. ‘aphar, usually

rendered “dust,” clay or mud used for cement in