Smith's Bible Dictionary
M
Maacah — Maroth
Maacah
Ma’acah (oppression).
1. The mother of Absalom; also called Maachah. 2 Samuel 3:3.
2. Maacah, or (in 1 Chronicles 19:6, 1 Chronicles 19:7) Maachah, a small kingdom in close proximity to Palestine, which appears to have lain outside Argob, Deuteronomy 3:14, and Bashan. Joshua 12:5. The Ammonite war was the only occasion on which the Maacathites came into contact with Israel, when their king assisted the Ammonites against Joab with a force which he led himself. 2 Samuel 10:6, 2 Samuel 10:8; 1 Chronicles 19:7.
Maachah
Ma’achah (oppression).
1. The daughter of Nahor by his concubine Reumah. Genesis 22:24.
2. The father of Achish, who was king of Gath at the beginning of Solomon’s reign. 1 Kings 2:39.
3. The daughter, or more probably granddaughter, of Absalom, named after his mother; the third and favorite wife of Rehoboam, and mother of Abijah. 1 Kings 15:2; 2 Chronicles 11:20-22. The mother of Abijah is elsewhere called “Michaiah the daughter of Uriel of Gibeah.” 2 Chronicles 13:2. During the reign of her grandson Asa she occupied at the court of Judah the high position of “king’s mother,” comp. 1 Kings 15:13; but when he came of age she was removed because of her idolatrous habits. 2 Chronicles 15:16.
4. The concubine of Caleb the son of Hezron. 1 Chronicles 2:48.
5. The daughter of Talmai king of Geshur, the mother of Absalom, 1 Chronicles 3:2; also called Maacah in DAV of 2 Samuel 3:3.
6. The wife of Machir the Manassite. 1 Chronicles 7:15, 1 Chronicles 7:16.
7. The wife of Jehiel, father or founder of Gibeon. 1 Chronicles 8:29; 1 Chronicles 9:35.
8. The father of Hanan, one of the heroes of David’s body-guard. 1 Chronicles 11:43.
9. A Simeonite, father of Shephatiah, prince of his tribe in the reign of David. 1 Chronicles 27:16.
Ma-achathi
Ma-ach’athi (oppression) and Ma-ach’athites, The, two words which denote the inhabitants of the small kingdom of Maachah. Deuteronomy 3:14; Joshua 12:5; Joshua 13:11, Joshua 13:13; 2 Samuel 23:34; 2 Kings 25:23; Jeremiah 40:8.
Ma-adai
Ma-ada’i, or Ma-ad’a-i (ornament of Jehovah), one of the sons of Bani, who had married a foreign wife. Ezra 10:34.
Ma-adiah
Ma-adi’ah, one of the priests who returned with Zerubbabel, Nehemiah 12:5; elsewhere (ver. Nehemiah 12:17) called Moadiah.
Ma-ai
Ma-a’i (compassionate), one of the Bene-Asaph who took part in the solemn musical service by which the wall of Jerusalem was dedicated. Nehemiah 12:36.
Ma-aleh-acrabbim
Ma-al’eh-acrab’bim (ascent of scorpions), the full form of the name given as Akrabbim in Joshua 15:3. [AKRABBIM.]
Maarath
Ma’arath (bareness), one of the towns of Judah, in the district of the mountains. Joshua 15:59. The places which occur in company with it have been identified at a few miles to the north of Hebron, but Maarath has hitherto eluded observation.
Ma-aseiah
Ma-ase’iah (work of the Lord), the name of four persons who had married foreign wives in the time of Ezra 1. A descendant of Jeshua the priest. Ezra 10:18.
2. A priest, of the sons of Harim. Ezra 10:21.
3. A priest, of the sons of Pashur. Ezra 10:22.
4. One of the laymen, a descendant of Pahath-moab. Ezra 10:30.
5. The father of Azariah. Nehemiah 3:23.
6. One of those who stood on the right hand of Ezra when he read the law to the people. Nehemiah 8:4.
7. A Levite who assisted on the same occasion. Nehemiah 8:7.
8. One of the heads of the people whose descendants signed the covenant with Nehemiah. Nehemiah 10:25.
9. Son of Baruch and descendant of Pharez the son of Judah. Nehemiah 11:5.
10. A Benjamite, ancestor of Sallu. Nehemiah 11:7.
11. Two priests of this name are mentioned, Nehemiah 12:41, Nehemiah 12:42, as taking part in the musical service which accompanied the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem under Ezra. One of them is probably the same as No. 6.
12. Father of Zephaniah, who was a priest in the reign of Zedekiah. Jeremiah 21:1; Jeremiah 29:25; Jeremiah 37:3.
13. Father of Zedekiah the false prophet. Jeremiah 29:21.
14. One of the Levites of the second rank, appointed by David to sound “with psalteries on Alamoth.” 1 Chronicles 15:18, 1 Chronicles 15:20.
15. The son of Adaiah, and one of the captains of hundreds in the reign of Joash king of Judah. 2 Chronicles 23:1.
16. An officer of high rank in the reign of Uzziah. 2 Chronicles 26:11. He was probably a Levite, comp. 1 Chronicles 23:4, and engaged in a semi-military capacity.
17. The “king’s son,” killed by Zichri the Ephraimitish hero in the invasion of Judah by Pekah king of Israel, during the reign of Ahaz. 2 Chronicles 28:7.
18. The governor of Jerusalem in the reign of Josiah. 2 Chronicles 34:8.
19. The son of Shallum, a Levite of high rank in the reign of Jehoiakim. Jeremiah 35:4; comp. 1 Chronicles 9:19.
20. A priest; ancestor of Baruch and Seraiah, the sons of Neriah. Jeremiah 32:12; Jeremiah 51:59.
Ma-asiai
Ma-asi’ai (work of the Lord), a priest who after the return from Babylon dwelt in Jerusalem. 1 Chronicles 9:12.
Maath
Ma’ath (small), son of Mattathias in the genealogy of Jesus Christ. Luke 3:26.
Maaz
Ma’az (wrath), son of Ram, the first-born of Jerahmeel. 1 Chronicles 2:27.
Ma-aziah
Ma-azi’ah (consolation of Jehovah).
1. One of the priests who signed the covenant with Nehemiah. Nehemiah 10:8.
2. A priest in the reign of David, head of the twenty-fourth course. 1 Chronicles 24:18.
Maccabees
Mac’cabees (a hammer), The. This title, which was originally the surname of Judas, one of the sons of Mattathias, was afterward extended to the heroic family of which he was one of the noblest representatives. Asmonæans or Hasmonæans is the proper name of the family, which is derived from Cashmon, greatgrandfather of Mattathias. The Maccabees were a family of Jews who resisted the authority of Antiochus Epiphanes king of Syria and his successors, who had usurped authority over the Jews, conquered Jerusalem, and strove to introduce idolatrous worship. The standard of independence was first raised by Mattathias, a priest of the course of Joiarib. He seems, however, to have been already advanced in years when the rising was made, and he did not long survive the fatigues of active service. He died b.c. 166, having named Judas—apparently his third son—as his successor in directing the war of independence. After gaining several victories over the other generals of Antiochus, Judas was able to occupy Jerusalem, except the “tower,” and purified the temple exactly three years after its profanation. Nicanor was defeated, first at Capharsalama, and again in a decisive battle at Adasa, b.c. 161, where he was slain. This victory was the greatest of Judas’ successes, and practically decided the question of Jewish independence; but shortly after Judas fell at Eleasa, fighting at desperate odds against the invaders. After the death of Judas, Jonathan his brother succeeded to the command, and later assumed the high-priestly office. He died b.c. 144, and was succeeded by Simon, the last remaining brother of the Maccabæan family, who died b.c. 135. The efforts of both brothers were crowned with success. On the death of Simon, Johannes Hyrcanus, one of his sons, at once assumed the government, b.c. 135, and met with a peaceful death b.c. 105. His eldest son, Aristobulus I, who succeeded him b.c. 105–104, was the first who assumed the kingly title, though Simon had enjoyed the fullness of the kingly power. Alexander Jannæus was the next successor, b.c. 104–78. Aristobulus II and Hyreanus III engaged in a civil war on the death of their mother, Alexandra, b.c. 78–69, resulting in the dethronement of Aristobulus II, b.c. 69–63, and the succession of Hyreanus under Roman rule, but without his kingly title, b.c. 63–40. From b.c. 40 to b.c. 37 Antigonus, a son of Aristobulus II, ruled, and with his two grandchildren, Aristobulus and Mariamne, the Asmonæan dynasty ended.
Maccabees Books of
Mac’cabees, Books of. Four books which bear the common title of “Maccabees” are found in some MSS of the LXX. Two of these were included in the early current Latin versions of the Bible, and thence passed into the Vulgate. As forming part of the Vulgate they were received as canonical by the Council of Trent, and retained among the Apocrypha by the reformed churches. The two other books obtained no such wide circulation, and have only a secondary connection with the Maccabæan history.
1. The First Book of Maccabees contains a history of the patriotic struggle of the Jews in resisting the oppressions of the Syrian kings, from the first resistance of Mattathias to the settled sovereignty and death of Simon, a period of thirty-three years—b.c. 168–135. The great subject of the book begins with the enumeration of the Maccabæan family, ch. 1 Maccabees 2:1-5, which is followed by an account of the part which the aged Mattathias took in rousing and guiding the spirit of his countrymen. ch. 1 Maccabees 2:6-70. The remainder of the narrative is occupied with the exploits of Mattathias’ five sons. The great marks of trustworthiness are everywhere conspicuous. Victory and failure and despondency are, on the whole, chronicled with the same candor. There is no attempt to bring into open display the working of Providence. The testimony of antiquity leaves no doubt that the book was first written in Hebrew. Its whole structure points to palestine as the place of its composition. There is, however, considerable doubt as to its date. Perhaps we may place it between b.c. 120–100. The date and person of the Greek translator are wholly undetermined.
2. The Second Book of Maccabees.—The history of the second book of Maccabees begins some years earlier than that of the first book, and closes with the victory of Judas Maccabæus over Nicanor. It thus embraces a period of twenty years, from b.c. 180 to b.c. 161. The writer himself distinctly indicates the source of his narrative—“the five books of Jason of Cyrene,” ch. 2 Maccabees 2:23, of which he designed to furnish a short and agreeable epitome for the benefit of those who would be deterred from studying the larger work. Of Jason himself nothing more is known than may be gleaned from this mention of him. The second book of Maccabees is not nearly so trustworthy as the first. In the second book the groundwork of facts is true, but the dress in which the facts are presented is due in part at least to the narrator. The latter half of the book, chs. 2 Maccabees 8-15, is to be regarded as a series of special incidents from the life of Judas, illustrating the providential interference of God in behalf of his people, true in substance, but embellished in form.
3. The Third Book of Maccabees contains the history of events which preceded the great Maccabæan struggle, beginning with b.c. 217.
4. The Fourth Book of Maccabees contains a rhetorical narrative of the martyrdom of Eleazar and of the “Maccabæan family,” following in the main the same outline as 2 Macc.
Macedonia
Macedo’nia (extended land), a large and celebrated country lying north of Greece, the first part of Europe which received the gospel directly from St. Paul, and an important scene of his subsequent missionary labors and those of his companions. It was bounded by the range of Hæmus or the Balkan northward, by the chain of Pindus westward, by the Cambunian hills southward, by which it is separated from Thessaly, and is divided on the east from Thrace by a less definite mountain boundary running southward from Hæmus. Of the space thus enclosed, two of the most remarkable physical features are two great plains, one watered by the Axius, which comes to the sea at the Thermaic Gulf, not far from Thessalonica; the other by the Strymon, which, after passing near Philippi, flows out below Amphipolis. Between the mouths of these two rivers a remarkable peninsula projects, dividing itself into three points, on the farthest of which Mount Athos rises nearly into the region of perpetual snow. Across the neck of this peninsula St. Paul travelled more than once with his companions. This general sketch sufficiently describes the Macedonia which was ruled over by Philip and Alexander, and which the Romans conquered from Perseus. At first the conquered country was divided by Æmilius Paulus into four districts, but afterward was made one province and centralized under the jurisdiction of a proconsul, who resided at Thessalonica. The character of the Christians of Macedonia is set before us in Scripture in a very favorable light. The candor of the Bereans is highly commended, Acts 17:11; the Thessalonians were evidently objects of St. Paul’s peculiar affection, 1 Thessalonians 2:8, 1 Thessalonians 2:17-20; 1 Thessalonians 3:10; and the Philippians, besides their general freedom from blame, are noted as remarkable for their liberality and self-denial. Philippians 4:10, Philippians 4:14-19; see 2 Corinthians 9:2; 2 Corinthians 11:9.
Coin of Macedon. Head of Alexander the Great.
Machærus
Machærus (Machaerus) — a castle of the Herods on the southern border of their Perean dominions, nine miles east of the northern end of the Dead Sea. Here John the Baptist was imprisoned, and here was held the feast where Herodias, at whose request John was beheaded, danced before the king.
Machbana-i
Mach’bana-i (bond of the Lord), one of the lion-faced warriors of Gad, who joined the fortunes of David when living in retreat at Ziklag. 1 Chronicles 12:13.
Machbenah
Mach’benah (bond). Sheva, the father of Machbena, is named in the genealogical list of Judah as the offspring of Manchah, the concubine of Caleb ben-Hezron. 1 Chronicles 2:49.
Machi
Ma’chi (decrease), the father of Geuel the Gadite, who went with Caleb and Joshua to spy out the land of Canaan. Numbers 13:15.
Machir
Ma’chir (sold).
1. The eldest son, Joshua 17:1, of the patriarch Manasseh by an Aramite or Syrian concubine. 1 Chronicles 7:14. At the time of the conquest the family of Machir had become very powerful, and a large part of the country on the east of Jordan was subdued by them. Numbers 32:39; Deuteronomy 3:15.
2. The son of Ammiel, a powerful sheikh of one of the transjordanic tribes, who rendered essential service to the cause of Saul and of David successively. 2 Samuel 9:4, 2 Samuel 9:5; 2 Samuel 17:27-29.
Machirites The
Ma’chirites, The, the descendants of Machir the father of Gilead. Numbers 26:29.
Machua-deba-i
Machua-de’ba-i (what is like the liberal?), one of the sons of Bani who put away his foreign wife at Ezra’s command. Ezra 10:40.
Machpelah
Machpe’lah (double, or a portion). [HEBRON.]
Mada-i
Mad’a-i (middle land), Genesis 10:2, is usually called the third son of Japhet, and the progenitor of the Medes; but probably all that is intended is that the Medes, as well as the Gomerites, Greeks, Tabareni, Moschi, etc., descended from Japhet.
Madian
Madmannah
Madman’nah (dunghill), one of the towns in the south district of Judah. Joshua 15:31. In the time of Eusebius and Jerome it was called Menoïs, and was not far from Gaza. The first stage southward from Gaza is now el-Minyây, which is perhaps the modern representative of Menoïs, and therefore of Madmannah.
Madmen
Mad’men (dunghill), a place in Moab, threatened with destruction in the denunciations of Jeremiah. Jeremiah 48:2.
Madmenah
Madme’nah (dunghill), one of the Benjamite villages north of Jerusalem, the inhabitants of which were frightened away by the approach of Sennacherib along the northern road. Isaiah 10:31.
Madness
Madness. In Scripture “madness” is recognized as a derangement proceeding either from weakness and misdirection of intellect or from ungovernable violence of passion. In one passage alone, John 10:20, is madness expressly connected with demoniacal possession by the Jews in their cavil against our Lord; in none is it referred to any physical causes.
Madon
Ma’don (strife), one of the principal cities of Canaan before the conquest, probably in the north. Its king joined Jabin and his confederates in their attempt against Joshua at the waters of Merom, and like the rest was killed. Joshua 11:1; Joshua 12:19.
Magadan
Mag’adan (a tower). (The name given in the Revised Version of Matthew 15:39 for Magdala. It is probably another name for the same place, or it was a village so near it that the shore where Christ landed may have belonged to either village.—Ed.)
Magbish
Mag’bish (congregating), a proper name in Ezra 2:30, but whether of a man or of a place is doubtful; probably the latter, as all the names from Ezra 2:20-34, except Elam and Harim, are names of places.
Magdala
Mag’dala (a tower). The chief MSS and versions exhibit the name as Magadan, as in the Revised Version. Into the limits of Magadan Christ came by boat, over the Lake of Gennesareth, after his miracle of feeding the four thousand on the mountain of the eastern side, Matthew 15:39, and from thence he returned in the same boat to the opposite shore. In the parallel narrative of St. Mark, ch. Mark 8:10, we find the “parts of Dalmanutha,” on the western edge of the Lake of Gennesareth. The Magdala, which conferred her name on “Mary the Magdal-ene,” one of the numerous migdols, i.e., towers, which stood in Palestine, was probably the place of that name which is mentioned in the Jerusalem Talmud as near Tiberias, and this again is as probably the modern el-Mejdel, a miserable little Muslim village, of twenty huts, on the water’s edge at the southeast corner of the plain of Gennesareth. It is now the only inhabited place on this plain.
Magdi-el
Mag’di-el (prince of God), one of the “dukes” of Edom, descended from Esau. Genesis 36:43; 1 Chronicles 1:54.
Magi
Ma’gi (DAV wise men).
1. In the Hebrew text of the Old Testament the word occurs but twice, and then only incidentally. Jeremiah 29:3, Jeremiah 29:13. “Originally they were a class of priests among the Persians and Medes, who formed the king’s privy council, and cultivated astrology, medicine, and occult natural science. They are frequently referred to by ancient authors. Afterward the term was applied to all eastern philosophers.”—Schaff’s Popular Commentary. They appear in Herodotus’ history of Astyages as interpreters of dreams, i. 120; but as they appear in Jeremiah among the retinue of the Chaldean king, we must suppose Nebuchadnezzar’s conquests led him to gather round him the wise men and religious teachers of the nations which he subdued, and that thus the sacred tribe of the Medes rose under his rule to favor and power. The Magi took their places among “the astrologers and stargazers and monthly prognosticators.” It is with such men that we have to think of Daniel and his fellow exiles as associated. The office which Daniel accepted, Daniel 5:11, was probably rab-mag—chief of the Magi. 2. The word presented itself to the Greeks as connected with a foreign system of divination, and it soon became a byword for the worst form of imposture. This is the predominant meaning of the word as it appears in the New Testament. Acts 8:9; Acts 13:8. 3. In one memorable instance, however, the word retains its better meaning. In the Gospel of St. Matthew, ch. Matthew 2:1-12, the Magi appear as “wise men”—properly Magians—who were guided by a star from “the east” to Jerusalem, where they suddenly appeared in the days of Herod the Great, inquiring for the new-born king of the Jews, whom they had come to worship. As to the country from which they came, opinions vary greatly; but their following the guidance of a star seems to point to the banks of the Tigris and Euphrates, where astronomy was early cultivated by the Chaldeans. [See STAR OF THE EAST.] (Why should the new star lead these wise men to look for a king of the Jews? (1) These wise men from Persia were the most like the Jews, in religion, of all nations in the world. They believed in one God, they had no idols, they worshipped light as the best symbol of God. (2) The general expectation of such a king. “The Magi,” says Ellicott, “express the feeling which the Roman historians Tacitus and Suetonius tell us sixty or seventy years later had been for a long time very widely diffused. Everywhere throughout the East men were looking for the advent of a great king who was to rise from among the Jews. It had fermented in the minds of men, heathen as well as Jews, and would have led them to welcome Jesus as the Christ had he come in accordance with their expectation.” Virgil, who lived a little before this, owns that a child from heaven was looked for, who should restore the golden age and take away sin. (3) This expectation arose largely from the dispersion of the Jews among all nations, carrying with them the hope and the promise of a divine Redeemer. Isaiah 9, Isaiah 11; Daniel 7. (4) Daniel himself was a prince and chief among this very class of wise men. His prophecies were made known to them; and the calculations by which he pointed to the very time when Christ should be born became, through the book of Daniel, a part of their ancient literature.—Ed.) According to a late tradition, the Magi are represented as three kings, named Gaspar, Melchior, and Belthazar, who take their place among the objects of Christian reverence, and are honored as the patron saints of travellers.
Magic Magicians
Magic, Magicians. Magic is “the science or practice of evoking spirits, or educing the occult powers of nature to produce effects apparently supernatural.” It formed an essential element in many ancient religions, especially among the Persians, Chaldeans, and Egyptians. The Hebrews had no magic of their own. It was so strictly forbidden by the law that it could never afterward have had any recognized existence, save in times of general heresy or apostasy, and the same was doubtless the case in the patriarchal ages. The magical practices which obtained among the Hebrews were therefore borrowed from the nations around. From the first entrance into the land of promise until the destruction of Jerusalem we have constant glimpses of magic practiced in secret, or resorted to not alone by the common but also by the great. It is a distinctive characteristic of the Bible that from first to last it warrants no such trust or dread. Laban attached great value to, and was in the habit of consulting, images. Genesis 31:30, Genesis 31:32. During the plagues in Egypt the magicians appear. Exodus 7:11; Exodus 8:18, Exodus 8:19. Balaam also practiced magic. Numbers 22:7. Saul consulted the witch of Endor. An examination of the various notices of magic in the Bible gives this general result: They do not, as far as can be understood, once state positively that any but illusive results were produced by magical rites. (Even the magicians of Egypt could imitate the plagues sent through Moses only so long as they had previous notice and time to prepare. The first time Moses sent the plague unannounced the magicians failed; they “did so with their enchantments,” but in vain. So in the case of the witch of Endor. Samuel’s appearance was apparently unexpected by her; he did not come through the enchantments.—Ed.) The Scriptures therefore afford no evidence that man can gain supernatural powers to use at his will. This consequence goes some way toward showing that we may conclude that there is no such thing as real magic; for although it is dangerous to reason on negative evidence, yet in a case of this kind it is especially strong. [DIVINATION.]
Magog
Ma’gog (region of Gog). In Genesis 10:2 Magog appears as the second son of Japheth; in Ezekiel 38:2; Ezekiel 39:1, Ezekiel 39:6 it appears as a country or people of which Gog was the prince. The notices of Magog would lead us to fix a northern locality: it is expressly stated by Ezekiel that he was to come up from “the sides of the north,” Ezekiel 39:2, from a country adjacent to that of Togarmah or Armenia, ch. Ezekiel 38:6, and not far from “the isles” or maritime regions of Europe. ch. Ezekiel 39:6. The people of Magog further appear as having a force of cavalry, Ezekiel 38:15, and as armed with the bow. ch. Ezekiel 39:3. From the above data we may conclude that Magog represents the important race of the Scythians.
Magor-missabib
Ma’gor-mis’sabib (terror on every side), the name given by Jeremiah to Pashur the priest when he smote him and put him in the stocks for prophesying against the idolatry of Jerusalem. Jeremiah 20:3.
Magpiash
Mag’piash (moth-killer), one of the heads of the people who signed the covenant with Nehemiah. Nehemiah 10:20. The same as Magbish in Ezra 2:30.
Mahalah
Ma’halah (disease), one of the three children of Hammoleketh the sister of Gilead. 1 Chronicles 7:18.
Mahalale-el
Mahal’ale-el (praise of God).
1. The fourth in descent from Adam, according to the Sethite genealogy, and son of Cainan. Genesis 5:12, Genesis 5:13, Genesis 5:15-17; 1 Chronicles 1:2; Luke 3:37, Revised Version.
2. A descendant of Perez or Pharez the son of Judah. Nehemiah 11:4.
Mahalath
Ma’halath (stringed instrument), the daughter of Ishmael, and one of the wives of Esau. Genesis 28:9.
Mahalath
Ma’halath (stringed instrument), one of the eighteen wives of King Rehoboam, apparently his first. 2 Chronicles 11:18 only. She was her husband’s cousin, being the daughter of King David’s son Jerimoth.
Mahalath
Mahalath, the title of Psalm 53, and Mahalath-leannoth, the title of Psalm 88. The meaning of these words is uncertain. The conjecture is that mahalath is a guitar, and that leannoth has reference to the character of the psalm, and might be rendered “to humble or afflict,” in which sense the root occurs in ver. Psalm 88:7.
Mahali
Ma’hali (sick), Mah’li, the son of Merari. Exodus 6:19.
Mahanaim
Mahana’im, a town on the east of the Jordan. The name signifies two hosts or two camps, and was given to it by Jacob, because he there met “the angels of God.” Genesis 32:1, Genesis 32:2. We next meet with it in the records of the conquest. Joshua 13:26, Joshua 13:30. It was within the territory of Gad, Joshua 21:38, Joshua 21:39, and therefore on the south side of the torrent Jabbok. The town with its “suburbs” was allotted to the service of the Merarite Levites. Joshua 21:39; 1 Chronicles 6:80. Mahanaim had become in the time of the monarchy a place of mark. 2 Samuel 2:8, 2 Samuel 2:12. David took refuge there when driven out of the western part of his kingdom by Absalom. 2 Samuel 17:24; 1 Kings 2:8. Mahanaim was the seat of one of Solomon’s commissariat officers, 1 Kings 4:14, and it is alluded to in the song which bears his name. ch. 1 Kings 6:13. There is a place called Mahneh among the villages of the east of Jordan, though its exact position is not certain.
Mahaneh-dan
Ma’haneh-dan (camp of Dan), spoken of as “behind Kirjath-jearim,” Judges 18:12, and as “between Zorah and Eshtaol.” ch. Judges 13:25.
Mahara-i
Mahar’a-i (impetuous), 2 Samuel 23:28; 1 Chronicles 11:30; 1 Chronicles 27:13, an inhabitant of Netophah in the tribe of Judah, and one of David’s captains.
Mahath
Ma’hath (grasping).
1. A Kohathite of the house of Korah. 1 Chronicles 6:35.
2. Also a Kohathite, in the reign of Hezekiah. 2 Chronicles 29:12; 2 Chronicles 31:13.
Mahavite The
Ma’havite, The, the designation of Eliel, one of the warriors of King David’s guard, whose name is preserved in the catalogue of 1 Chronicles 11:46 only.
Mahazioth
Maha’zioth (visions), one of the fourteen sons of Heman the Kohathite. 1 Chronicles 25:4, 1 Chronicles 25:30.
Maher-shalal-hash-baz
Ma’her-shal’al-hash’-baz (i.e., hasten-booty, speed-spoil), whose name was given by divine direction to indicate that Damascus and Samaria were soon to be plundered by the king of Assyria. Isaiah 8:1-4.
Mahlah
Mah’lah (disease), the eldest of the five daughters of Zelophehad the grandson of Manasseh. Numbers 27:1-11.
Mahli
Mah’li (sick).
1. Son of Merari, the son of Levi and ancestor of the family of the Mahlites. Numbers 3:20; 1 Chronicles 6:19, 1 Chronicles 6:29; 1 Chronicles 24:26.
2. Son of Mushi and grandson of Merari. 1 Chronicles 6:47; 1 Chronicles 23:23; 1 Chronicles 24:30.
Mahlon
Mah’lon (sick), the first husband of Ruth; son of Elimelech and Naomi. Ruth 1:2, Ruth 1:5; Ruth 4:9, Ruth 4:10; comp. 1 Samuel 17:12.
Mahol
Ma’hol (dancing), the father of the four men most famous for wisdom next to Solomon himself. 1 Kings 4:31; 1 Chronicles 2:6.
Makaz
Ma’kaz (end), a place, apparently a town, named once only—1 Kings 4:9—in the specification of the jurisdiction of Solomon’s commissariat officer, Ben-Dekar. Makaz has not been discovered.
Makheloth
Makhe’loth (place of assemblies), a place mentioned only in Numbers 33:25 as that of a desert encampment of the Israelites.
Makkedah
Makke’dah (place of shepherds), a place memorable in the annals of the conquest of Canaan as the scene of the execution by Joshua of the five confederate kings, Joshua 10:10-30, who had hidden themselves in a cave at this place. (It was a royal city of the Canaanites, in the plains of Judah. Conder identifies it with the modern el-Moghâr, 25 miles northwest of Jerusalem, where are two caves large enough to contain five men each. Schaff says that “one cave has, curiously enough, five loculi rudely scooped in its side, and an enthusiast might contend that this was the very place of sepulchre of the five kings.”—Ed.)
Maktesh
Mak’tesh (a mortar or deep hollow), a place evidently in Jerusalem, the inhabitants of which are denounced by Zephaniah. Zephaniah 1:11. Ewald conjectures that it was the “Phœnician quarter” of the city.
Mala-chi
Mal’a-chi (my messenger) is the author of the last book in the Old Testament. Nothing is known of him beyond what may be learned from his book.
His prophecy belongs to the times of Nehemiah, near the time of Nehemiah’s second visit to Jerusalem, about b.c. 432. It was an effort to aid in the great reforms then needed. Malachi believed in a spiritual worship as the one essential of true religion. But the system of temple ritual and sacrifices was in existence, and the prophet recognizes it as a means of educating the people into the spiritual life.
Malchi-shua
Mal’chi-shu’a (king of help), one of the sons of King Saul. 1 Samuel 14:49; 1 Samuel 31:2; 1 Chronicles 8:33; 1 Chronicles 9:39.
Malchus
Mal’chus (king or kingdom), the name of the servant of the high priest whose right ear Peter cut off at the time of the Saviour’s apprehension in the garden. Matthew 26:51; Mark 14:47; Luke 22:49-51; John 18:10.
Ma-lele-el
Ma-le’le-el, or Mahal’ale-el, the son of Cainan. Genesis 5:12, marg.; Luke 3:37.
Mallothi
Mal’lothi (my fullness), a Kohathite, one of the fourteen sons of Heman the singer. 1 Chronicles 25:4, 1 Chronicles 25:26.
Malluch
Mal’luch (counsellor).
1. A Levite of the family of Merari, and ancestor of Ethan the singer. 1 Chronicles 6:44.
2. One of the sons of Bani. Ezra 10:29, and
3. One of the descendants of Harim, Ezra 10:32, who had married foreign wives.
4. A priest or family of priests. Nehemiah 10:4, and
5. One of the heads of the people who signed the covenant with Nehemiah. Nehemiah 10:27.
6. One of the families of priests who returned with Zerubbabel, Nehemiah 12:2; probably the same as No. 4.
Mamaias
Mama’ias, apparently the same with Shemaiah in Ezra 8:16.
Mammon
Mammon (riches), Matthew 6:24; Luke 16:9, a word which often occurs in the Chaldee Targums of Onkelos and later writers, and in the Syriac version, and which signifies “riches.” It is used in St. Matthew as a personification of riches.
Mamre
Mam’re (strength, fatness), an ancient Amorite, who with his brothers, Eshcol and Aner, was in alliance with Abram, Genesis 14:13, Genesis 14:24, and under the shade of whose oak grove the patriarch dwelt in the interval between his residence at Bethel and at Beersheba. ch. Genesis 13:18; Genesis 18:1. In the subsequent chapters Mamre is a mere local appellation. ch. Genesis 23:19; Genesis 25:9; Genesis 49:30; Genesis 50:13.
Manaen
Man’aen (comforter) is mentioned in Acts 13:1 as one of the teachers and prophets in the church at Antioch at the time of the appointment of Saul and Barnabas as missionaries to the heathen. He is said to have been brought up with Herod Antipas. He was probably his foster-brother.
Manahath
Man’ahath (rest), a place named in 1 Chronicles 8:6 only, in connection with the genealogies of the tribe of Benjamin.
Manahath
Man’ahath (rest), one of the sons of Shobal, and descendant of Sei the Horite. Genesis 36:23; 1 Chronicles 1:40.
Manahethites
Mana’hethites (inhabitants of Manahath), The. “Half the Manahethites” are named in the genealogies of Judah as descended from Shobal, the father of Kirjath-jearim, 1 Chronicles 2:52, and half from Salma, the founder of Bethlehem. ver. 1 Chronicles 2:54.
Manasseh
Manas’seh (forgetting), the eldest son of Joseph, Genesis 41:51; Genesis 46:20, born 1715–10 b.c. Both he and Ephraim were born before the commencement of the famine. He was placed after his younger brother, Ephraim, by his grandfather, Jacob, when he adopted them into his own family, and made them heads of tribes. Whether the elder of the two sons was inferior in form or promise to the younger, or whether there was any external reason to justify the preference of Jacob, we are not told. In the division of the promised land half of the tribe of Manasseh settled east of the Jordan, in the district embracing the hills of Gilead with their inaccessible heights and impassable ravines, and the almost impregnable tract of Argob. Joshua 13:29-33. Here they throve exceedingly, pushing their way northward over the rich plains of Jaulân and Jedûr to the foot of Mount Hermon. 1 Chronicles 5:23. But they gradually assimilated themselves with the old inhabitants of the country, and on them descended the punishment which was ordained to be the inevitable consequence of such misdoing. They, first of all Israel, were carried away by Pul and Tiglath-pileser, and settled in the Assyrian territories. 1 Chronicles 5:25, 1 Chronicles 5:26. The other half tribe settled to the west of the Jordan, north of Ephraim. Joshua 17. For further particulars see EPHRAIM.
Manasseh
Manas’seh (forgetting).
1. The thirteenth king of Judah, son of Hezekiah, 2 Kings 21:1, ascended the throne at the age of twelve, and reigned 55 years, from b.c. 698 to 642. His accession was the signal for an entire change in the religious administration of the kingdom. Idolatry was again established to such an extent that every faith was tolerated but the old faith of Israel. The Babylonian alliance which the king formed against Assyria resulted in his being made prisoner and carried off to Babylon in the twenty-second year of his reign, according to a Jewish tradition. There his eyes were opened and he repented, and his prayer was heard and the Lord delivered him, 2 Chronicles 33:12, 2 Chronicles 33:13, and he returned after some uncertain interval of time to Jerusalem. The altar of the Lord was again restored, and peace offerings and thank offerings were sacrificed to Jehovah. 2 Chronicles 33:15, 2 Chronicles 33:16. But beyond this the reformation did not go. On his death, b.c. 642, he was buried as Ahaz had been, not with the burial of a king, in the sepulchres of the house of David, but in the garden of Uzza, 2 Kings 21:26; and long afterward, in spite of his repentance, the Jews held his name in abhorrence.
2. One of the descendants of Pahathmoab, who in the days of Ezra had married a foreign wife. Ezra 10:30.
3. One of the laymen, of the family of Hashum, who put away his foreign wife at Ezra’s command. Ezra 10:33.
Manasses
Manas’ses.
1. Manasseh, king of Judah. Matthew 1:10.
2. Manasseh the son of Joseph. Revelation 7:6.
Manassites The
Manas’sites, The, that is, the members of the tribe of Manasseh. Deuteronomy 4:43; Judges 12:4; 2 Kings 10:33.
Mandrakes
Mandrakes (Heb. dudâim) are mentioned in Genesis 30:14, Genesis 30:15, Genesis 30:16, and in Song of Solomon 7:13. The mandrake, Atropa mandragora, is closely allied to the well-known deadly nightshade, A. belladonna, and to the tomato, and belongs to the order Solanace™, or potato family. It grows in Palestine and Mesopotamia. (It grows low, like lettuce, which its leaves somewhat resemble, except that they are of a dark green. The flowers are purple, and the root is usually forked. Its fruit when ripe (early in May) is about the size of a small apple, 2½ inches in diameter, ruddy or yellow, and of a most agreeable odor (to Orientals more than to Europeans) and an equally agreeable taste. The Arabs call it “devil’s apple,” from its power to excite voluptuousness. Dr. Richardson (“Lectures on Alcohol,” 1881) tried some experiments with wine made of the root of mandrake, and found it narcotic, causing sleep, so that the ancients used it as an anæsthetic. Used in small quantities like opium, it excites the nerves, and is a stimulant.—Ed.)
The Mandrake.
Maneh
Maneh (a portion (by weight)). [WEIGHTS AND MEASURES.]
Manger
Manger. This word occurs only in Luke 2:7, Luke 2:12, Luke 2:16, in connection with the birth of Christ. It means a crib or feeding-trough; but according to Schleusner its real signification in the New Testament is the open court-yard attached to the inn or khan, in which the cattle would be shut at night, and where the poorer travellers might unpack their animals and take up their lodging, when they were either by want of room or want of means excluded from the house.
Manna
Manna (what is this?) (Heb. mân). The most important passages of the Old Testament on this topic are the following: Exodus 16:14-36; Numbers 11:7-9; Deuteronomy 8:3, Deuteronomy 8:16; Joshua 5:12; Psalm 78:24, Psalm 78:25. From these passages we learn that the manna came every morning except the Sabbath, in the form of a small round seed resembling the hoar frost; that it must be gathered early, before the sun became so hot as to melt it; that it must be gathered every day except the Sabbath; that the attempt to lay aside for a succeeding day, except on the day immediately preceding the Sabbath, failed by the substance becoming wormy and offensive; that it was prepared for food by grinding and baking; that its taste was like fresh oil, and like wafers made with honey, equally agreeable to all palates; that the whole nation, of at least 2,000,000, subsisted upon it for forty years; that it suddenly ceased when they first got the new corn of the land of Canaan; and that it was always regarded as a miraculous gift directly from God, and not as a product of nature. The natural products of the Arabian deserts and other Oriental regions which bear the name of manna have not the qualities or uses ascribed to the manna of Scripture. The latter substance was undoubtedly wholly miraculous, and not in any respect a product of nature, though its name may have come from its resemblance to the natural manna. The substance now called manna in the Arabian desert through which the Israelites passed is collected in the month of June from the tarfa or tamarisk shrub (Tamarix gallica). According to Burckhardt it drops from the thorns on the sticks and leaves with which the ground is covered, and must be gathered early in the day or it will be melted by the sun. The Arabs cleanse and boil it, strain it through a cloth and put it in leathern bottles; and in this way it can be kept uninjured for several years. They use it like honey or butter with their unleavened bread, but never make it into cakes or eat it by itself. The whole harvest, which amounts to only five or six hundred pounds, is consumed by the Bedouins, “who,” says Schaff, “consider it the greatest dainty their country affords.” The manna of European commerce comes mostly from Calabria and Sicily. It is gathered during the months of June and July from some species of ash (Ornus europ™a and O. rotundifolia), from which it drops in consequence of a puncture by an insect resembling the locust, but distinguished from it by having a sting under its body. The substance is fluid at night and resembles the dew, but in the morning it begins to harden.
Tamarisk or Manna Tree of the Sinaitic Peninsula.
Manoah
Mano’ah (rest), the father of Samson; a Danite, native of the town of Zorah. Judges 13:2. (b.c. 1161.) [SAMSON.]
Manslayer
Manslayer, one who kills another unintentionally, and is thus distinguished from a murderer, who kills with malice aforethought. The cases of manslaughter mentioned in Scripture appear to be a sufficient indication of the intention of the lawgiver.
1. Death by a blow in a sudden quarrel. Numbers 35:22. 2. Death by a stone or missile thrown at random. Ibid., 22, 23. 3. By the blade of an axe flying from its handle. Deuteronomy 19:5. In all these and the like cases the manslayer was allowed to retire to a city of refuge. A thief overtaken at night in the act of stealing might lawfully be put to death, but if the sun had risen the killing him was to be regarded as murder. Exodus 22:2, Exodus 22:8.
Mantle
Mantle, the word employed in the DAV to translate no less than four Hebrew terms, entirely distinct and independent in both derivation and meaning.
1. Judges 4:18, the garment with which Jael covered Sisera.
2. Rendered “mantle” in 1 Samuel 15:27; 1 Samuel 28:14; Ezra 9:3, Ezra 9:5, etc. This word is in other passages of the DAV rendered “coat,” “cloak,” and “robe.”
3. Isaiah 3:22 only. Apparently some article of a lady’s dress.
4. 1 Kings 19:13, 1 Kings 19:19; 2 Kings 2:8, 2 Kings 2:13, 2 Kings 2:14. The sole garment of the prophet Elijah. It was probably of sheepskin, such as is worn by the modern dervishes.
Maoch
Ma’och (oppression), the father of Achish king of Gath, with whom David took refuge. 1 Samuel 27:2.
Maon
Ma’on (habitation), one of the cities of the tribe of Judah, in the district of the mountains. Joshua 15:55. Its interest for us lies in its connection with David. 1 Samuel 23:24, 1 Samuel 23:25. The name of Maon still exists in Maı̂n, a lofty conical hill, south of and about seven miles distant from Hebron.
Maonites The
Ma’onites, The, a people mentioned in one of the addresses of Jehovah to the repentant Israelites, Judges 10:12; elsewhere in the DAV called Mehunim.
Mara
Ma’ra (sad, bitter), the name which Naomi adopted in the exclamation forced from her by the recognition of her fellow citizens at Bethlehem. Ruth 1:20.
Marah
Ma’rah (bitterness), a place which lay in the wilderness of Shur or Etham, three days journey distant, Exodus 15:23; Numbers 33:8, from the place at which the Israelites crossed the Red Sea, and where was a spring of bitter water, sweetened subsequently by the casting in of a tree which “the Lord showed” to Moses. Howarah, distant 16½ hours (47 miles) from Ayoun Mousa, the Israelites’ first encampment, has been by many identified with it, apparently because it is the bitterest water in the neighborhood.
Maralah
Mar’alah (trembling), one of the landmarks on the boundary of the tribe of Zebulun. Joshua 19:11.
Maranatha
Maranath’a, an Aramaic or Syriac expression used by St. Paul at the conclusion of his First Epistle to the Corinthians, ch. 1 Corinthians 16:22, signifying “our Lord cometh.”
Marble
Marble. The Hebrew shêsh, the generic term for marble, may probably be taken to mean almost any shining stone. The so-called marble of Solomon’s architectural works may thus have been limestone. There can be no doubt that Herod both in the temple and elsewhere employed Parian or other marble. The marble pillars and tesseræ of various colors of the palace at Susa came doubtless from Persia. Esther 1:6.
Marcheshvan
Marcheshvan. [MONTH.]
Marcus
Mar’cus, the evangelist Mark. Colossians 4:10; Philemon 24; 1 Peter 5:13. [MARK.]
Mareshah
Mar’eshah, or Mare’shah (crest of a hill), one of the cities of Judah in the low country. Joshua 15:44. It was one of the cities fortified and garrisoned by Rehoboam after the rupture with the northern kingdom. 2 Chronicles 11:8. Near it was fought the great battle between Asa and Zerah. 2 Chronicles 14:9-12. It is mentioned once or twice in the history of the Maccabæan war of independence. 2 Maccabees 12:35. About 110 b.c. it was taken from the Idumæans by John Hyreanus. It was in ruins in the fourth century, when Eusebius and Jerome describe it as in the second mile from Eleutheropolis. South-southwest of Beitjibrin—in all probability Eleutheropolis—and a little over a Roman mile therefrom, is a site called Marash, which is possibly the representative of the ancient Mareshah.
Mark
Mark, one of the evangelists, and probable author of the Gospel bearing his name. (Marcus was his Latin surname. His Jewish name was John, which is the same as Johanan (the grace of God). We can almost trace the steps whereby the former became his prevalent name in the Church. “John, whose surname was Mark,” in Acts 12:12, Acts 12:25; Acts 15:37, becomes “John” alone in Acts 13:5, Acts 13:13, “Mark” in Acts 15:39, and thenceforward there is no change. Colossians 4:10; Philemon 24; 2 Timothy 4:11. The evangelist was the son of a certain Mary, a Jewish matron of some position who dwelt at Jerusalem, Acts 12:12, and was probably born of a Hellenistic family in that city. Of his father we know nothing; but we do know that the future evangelist was cousin of Barnabas of Cyprus, the great friend of St. Paul. His mother would seem to have been intimately acquainted with St. Peter, and it was to her house, as to a familiar home, that the apostle repaired, a.d. 44, after his deliverance from prison. Acts 12:12. This fact accounts for St. Mark’s intimate acquaintance with that apostle, to whom also he probably owed his conversion, for St. Peter calls him his son. 1 Peter 5:13. We hear of him for the first time in Acts 15:25, where we find him accompanying Paul and Barnabas on their return from Jerusalem to Antioch, a.d. 45. He next comes before us on the occasion of the earliest missionary journey of the same apostles, a.d. 48, when he joined them as their “minister.” Acts 13:5. With them he visited Cyprus; but at Perga in Pamphylia, Acts 13:13, when they were about to enter upon the more arduous part of their mission, he left them, and, for some unexplained reason, returned to Jerusalem to his mother and his home. Notwithstanding this, we find him at Paul’s side during that apostle’s first imprisonment at Rome, a.d. 61–63, and he is acknowledged by him as one of his few fellow laborers who had been a “comfort” to him during the weary hours of his imprisonment. Colossians 4:10, Colossians 4:11; Philemon 24. We next have traces of him in 1 Peter 5:13: “The church that is in Babylon . . . saluteth you, and so doth Marcus my son.” From this we infer that he joined his spiritual father, the great friend of his mother, at Babylon, then and for some hundred years afterward one of the chief seats of Jewish culture. From Babylon he would seem to have returned to Asia Minor; for during his second imprisonment, a.d. 68, St. Paul, writing to Timothy, charges him to bring Mark with him to Rome, on the ground that he was “profitable to him for the ministry.” 2 Timothy 4:11. From this point we gain no further information from the New Testament respecting the evangelist. It is most probable, however, that he did join the apostle at Rome, whither also St. Peter would seem to have proceeded, and suffered martyrdom along with St. Paul. After the death of these two great pillars of the Church, ecclesiastical tradition affirms that St. Mark visited Egypt, founded the church of Alexandria, and died by martyrdom.—Condensed from Cambridge Bible for Schools.—Ed.)
Mark Gospel of
Mark, Gospel of.
1. By whom written.—The author of this Gospel has been universally believed to be Mark or Marcus, designated in Acts 12:12, Acts 12:25; Acts 15:37 as John Mark, and in ch. Acts 13:13 as John. 2. When it was written.—Upon this point nothing absolutely certain can be affirmed, and the Gospel itself affords us no information. The most direct testimony is that of Irenæus, who says it was after the death of the apostles Peter and Paul. We may conclude, therefore, that this Gospel was not written before a.d. 63. Again we may as certainly conclude that it was not written after the destruction of Jerusalem, for it is not likely that he would have omitted to record so remarkable a fulfillment of our Lord’s predictions. Hence a.d. 63–70 becomes our limit, but nearer than this we cannot go.—Farrar. 3. Where it was written.—As to the place, the weight of testimony is uniformly in favor of the belief that the Gospel was written and published at Rome. In this Clement, Eusebius, Jerome, Epiphanius, all agree. Chrysostom, indeed, asserts that it was published at Alexandria; but his statement receives no confirmation, as otherwise it could not fail to have done, from any Alexandrine writer.—Farrar. 4. In what language.—As to the language in which it was written, there never has been any reasonable doubt that it was written in Greek. 5. Sources of information.—Mark was not one of the twelve; and there is no reason to believe that he was an eye and ear witness of the events which he has recorded; but an almost unanimous testimony of the early fathers indicates Peter as the source of his information. The most important of these testimonies is that of Papias, who says, “He, the presbyter (John), said, Mark, being the interpreter of Peter, wrote exactly whatever he remembered; but he did not write in order the things which were spoken or done by Christ. For he was neither a hearer nor a follower of the Lord, but, as I said, afterward followed Peter, who made his discourses to suit what was required, without the view of giving a connected digest of the discourses of our Lord. Mark, therefore, made no mistakes when he wrote down circumstances as he recollected them; for hs was very careful of one thing, to omit nothing of what he heard, and to say nothing false in what he related.” Thus Papias writes of Mark. This testimony is confirmed by other witnesses.—Abbott. 6. For whom it was written.—The traditional statement is that it was intended primarily for Gentiles, and especially for those at Rome. A review of the Gospel itself confirms this view. 7. Characteristics.—(1) Mark’s Gospel is occupied almost entirely with the ministry in Galilee and the events of the passion week. It is the shortest of the four Gospels, and contains almost no incident or teaching which is not contained in one of the other two synoptists; but (2) it is by far the most vivid and dramatic in its narratives, and their pictorial character indicates not only that they were derived from an eye and ear witness, but also from one who possessed the observation and the graphic artistic power of a natural orator, such as Peter emphatically was. (3) One peculiarity strikes us the moment we open it—the absence of any genealogy of our Lord. This is the key to much that follows. It is not the design of the evangelist to present our Lord to us, like St. Matthew, as the Messiah, “the son of David and Abraham,” ch. Matthew 1:1, or, like St. Luke, as the universal Redeemer, “the son of Adam, which was the son of God.” ch. Luke 3:38. (4) His design is to present him to us as the incarnate and wonder-working Son of God, living and acting among men; to portray him in the fullness of his living energy.—Cambridge Bible for Schools.
Market-places
Market-places, Matthew 20:3; Mark 12:38; Luke 7:32; Acts 16:19, (any open place of public resort in cities or towns where public trials and assemblies were held and goods were exposed for sale. “The market-places or bazaars of the East were, and are at this day, the constant resort of unoccupied people, the idle, the news-mongers.”—Hackett’s Ill. S. S.—Ed.)
Market of Appius
Market of Ap’pius. Acts 28:15. In the Revised Version for Appii Forum of the DAV, which see.
Maroth
Ma’roth (bitterness), one of the towns of the western lowland of Judah. Micah 1:12.