Smith's Bible Dictionary
Marriage — Merom
Marriage
Marriage.
1. Its origin and history.—The institution of marriage dates from the time of man’s original creation. Genesis 2:18-25. From Genesis 2:24 we may evolve the following principles: (1) The unity of man and wife, as implied in her being formed out of man. (2) The indissolubleness of the marriage bond, except on the strongest grounds. Comp. Matthew 19:9. (3) Monogamy, as the original law of marriage. (4) The social equality of man and wife. (5) The subordination of the wife to the husband. 1 Corinthians 11:8, 1 Corinthians 11:9; 1 Timothy 2:13. (6) The respective duties of man and wife. In the patriarchal age polygamy prevailed, Genesis 16:4; Genesis 25:1, Genesis 25:6; Genesis 28:9; Genesis 29:23, Genesis 29:28; 1 Chronicles 7:14, but to a great extent divested of the degradation which in modern times attaches to that practice. Divorce also prevailed in the patriarchal age, though but one instance of it is recorded. Genesis 21:14. The Mosaic law discouraged polygamy, restricted divorce, and aimed to enforce purity of life. It was the best civil law possible at the time, and sought to bring the people up to the pure standard of the moral law. In the post-Babylonian period monogamy appears to have become more prevalent than at any previous time. The practice of polygamy nevertheless still existed; Herod the Great had no less than nine wives at one time. The abuse of divorce continued unabated. Our Lord and his apostles re-established the integrity and sanctity of the marriage bond by the following measures: (a) By the confirmation of the original charter of marriage as the basis on which all regulations were to be framed. Matthew 19:4, Matthew 19:5. (b) By the restriction of divorce to the case of fornication, and the prohibition of remarriage in all persons divorced on improper grounds. Matthew 5:32; Matthew 19:9; Romans 7:3; 1 Corinthians 7:10, 1 Corinthians 7:11. (c) By the enforcement of moral purity generally, Hebrews 13:4, etc., and especially by the formal condemnation of fornication. Acts 15:20.
2. The conditions of legal marriage.—In the Hebrew commonwealth marriage was prohibited (a) between an Israelite and a non-Israelite. There were three grades of prohibition: total in regard to the Canaanites on either side; total on the side of the males in regard to the Ammonites and Moabites; and temporary on the side of the males in regard to the Edomites and Egyptians, marriages with females in the two latter instances being regarded as legal. The progeny of illegal marriages between Israelites and non-Israelites was described as “bastard.” Deuteronomy 23:2. (b) between an Israelite and one of his own community. The regulations relative to marriage between Israelites and Israelites were based on considerations of relationship. The most important passage relating to these is contained in Leviticus 18:6-18, wherein we have in the first place a general prohibition against marriage between a man and the “flesh of his flesh,” and in the second place special prohibitions against marriage with a mother, stepmother, sister, or half-sister, whether “born at home or abroad,” granddaughter, aunt, whether by consanguinity on either side or by marriage on the father’s side, daughter-in-law, brother’s wife, stepdaughter, wife’s mother, stepgranddaughter, or wife’s sister during the lifetime of the wife. An exception is subsequently made, Deuteronomy 25:5-9, in favor of marriage with a brother’s wife in the event of his having died childless. The law which regulates this has been named the “levirate,” from the Latin levir, “brother-in-law.”
3. The modes by which marriage was effected.—The choice of the bride devolved not on the bridegroom himself, but on his relations or on a friend deputed by the bridegroom for this purpose. The consent of the maiden was sometimes asked, Genesis 24:58; but this appears to have been subordinate to the previous consent of the father and the adult brothers. Genesis 24:51; Genesis 34:11. Occasionally, the whole business of selecting the wife was left in the hands of a friend. The selection of the bride was followed by the espousal, which was a formal proceeding undertaken by a friend or legal representative on the part of the bridegroom and by the parents on the part of the bride; it was confirmed by oaths, and accompanied with presents to the bride. The act of betrothal was celebrated by a feast, and among the more modern Jews it is the custom in some parts for the bridegroom to place a ring on the bride’s finger. The ring was regarded among the Hebrews as a token of fidelity, Genesis 41:42, and of adoption into a family. Luke 15:22. Between the betrothal and the marriage an interval elapsed, varying from a few days in the patriarchal age, Genesis 24:55, to a full year for virgins and a month for widows in later times. During this period the bride-elect lived with her friends, and all communication between herself and her future husband was carried on through the medium of a friend deputed for the purpose, termed the “friend of the bridegroom.” John 3:29. She was now virtually regarded as the wife of her future husband; hence faithlessness on her part was punishable with death, Deuteronomy 22:23, Deuteronomy 22:24, the husband having, however, the option of “putting her away.” Deuteronomy 24:1; Matthew 1:19. The essence of the marriage ceremony consisted in the removal of the bride from her father’s house to that of the bridegroom or his father. The bridegroom prepared himself for the occasion by putting on a festive dress, and especially by placing on his head a handsome nuptial turban. Psalm 45:8; Song of Solomon 4:10, Song of Solomon 4:11. The bride was veiled. Her robes were white, Revelation 19:8, and sometimes embroidered with gold thread, Psalm 45:13, Psalm 45:14, and covered with perfumes, Psalm 45:8; she was further decked out with jewels. Isaiah 49:18; Isaiah 61:10; Revelation 21:2. When the fixed hour arrived, which was generally late in the evening, the bridegroom set forth from his house, attended by his groomsmen (DAV “companions,” Judges 14:11; “children of the bride-chamber,” Matthew 9:15), preceded by a band of musicians or singers, Genesis 31:27; Jeremiah 7:34; Jeremiah 16:9, and accompanied by persons bearing flambeaux, Jeremiah 25:10; 2 Esdras 10:2; Matthew 25:7; Revelation 18:23, and took the bride with the friends to his own house. At the house a feast was prepared, to which all the friends and neighbors were invited, Genesis 29:22; Matthew 22:1-10; Luke 14:8; John 2:2, and the festivities were protracted for seven or even fourteen days. Judges 14:12; Tobit 8:19. The guests were provided by the host with fitting robes, Matthew 22:11, and the feast was enlivened with riddles, Judges 14;Judges 14:12, and other amusements. The last act in the ceremonial was the conducting of the bride to the bridal chamber, Judges 15:1; Joel 2:16, where a canopy was prepared. Psalm 19:5; Joel 2:16. The bride was still completely veiled, so that the deception practiced on Jacob, Genesis 29:23, was not difficult. A newly-married man was exempt from military service, or from any public business which might draw him away from his home, for the space of a year, Deuteronomy 24:5; a similar privilege was granted to him who was betrothed. Deuteronomy 20:7.
4. The social and domestic conditions of married life.—The wife must have exercised an important influence in her own home. She appears to have taken her part in family affairs, and even to have enjoyed a considerable amount of independence. Judges 4:18; 1 Samuel 25:14; 2 Kings 4:8, etc. In the New Testament the mutual relations of husband and wife are a subject of frequent exhortation. Ephesians 5:22, Ephesians 5:23; Colossians 3:18, Colossians 3:19; Titus 2:4, Titus 2:5; 1 Peter 3:1-7. The duties of the wife in the Hebrew household were multifarious: in addition to the general superintendence of the domestic arrangements, such as cooking, from which even women of rank were not exempt, Genesis 18:6; 2 Samuel 13:8, and the distribution of food at meal times, Proverbs 31:15, the manufacture of the clothing and of the various fabrics required in her home devolved upon her, Proverbs 31:13, Proverbs 31:21, Proverbs 31:22; and if she were a model of activity and skill, she produced a surplus of fine linen shirts and girdles, which she sold, and so, like a well-freighted merchant ship, brought in wealth to her husband from afar. Proverbs 31:14, Proverbs 31:24. The legal rights of the wife are noticed in Exodus 21:10 under the three heads of food, raiment, and duty of marriage or conjugal right.
5. The allegorical and typical allusions to marriage have exclusive reference to one object, viz., to exhibit the spiritual relationship between God and his people. In the Old Testament Isaiah 54:5; Jeremiah 3:14; Hosea 2:19. In the New Testament the image of the bridegroom is transferred from Jehovah to Christ, Matthew 9:15; John 3:29, and that of the bride to the Church. 2 Corinthians 11:2; Revelation 19:7; Revelation 21:2, Revelation 21:9.
Mars’ Hill
Mars’ Hill, the hill of Mars or Ares, better known by the name of Areopagus, of which hill of Mars or Ares is a translation. The Areopagus was a rocky height in Athens, opposite the western end of the Acropolis. It rises gradually from the northern end, and terminates abruptly on the south, over against the Acropolis, at which point it is about fifty or sixty feet above the valley. The spot is memorable as the place of meeting of the Council of Areopagus. This body existed as a criminal tribunal before the time of Solon, and was the most ancient and venerable of all the Athenian courts. It consisted of all persons who had held the office of archon, and who were members of the council for life unless expelled for misconduct. Before the time of Solon the court tried only cases of willful murder, wounding, poison, and arson; but he gave it extensive powers of a censorial and political nature. The council continued to exist even under the Roman emperors. Its meetings were held on the southeastern summit of the rock. The Areopagus possesses peculiar interest to the Christian as the spot from which St. Paul delivered his memorable address to the men of Athens. Acts 17:22-31. St. Paul “disputed daily” in the “market” or agora, Acts 17:17, which was situated south of the Areopagus in the valley lying between this and the hills of the Acropolis, the Pnyx and the Museum. Attracting more and more attention, “certain philosophers of the Epicureans and Stoics” brought him up from the valley, probably by the stone steps, to the Areopagus above, that they might listen to him more conveniently.
The Acropolis at Athens (Restored).
View of Mars’ Hill or Areopagus.
Marsena
Mar’sena (worthy), one of the seven princes of Persia, “wise men which knew the times,” which saw the king’s face and sat first in the kingdom. Esther 1:14.
Martha
Mar’tha (a lady), the sister of Lazarus and Mary. [LAZARUS.] The facts recorded in Luke 10 and John 11 indicate a character devout after the customary Jewish type of devotion, sharing in Messianic hopes and accepting Jesus as the Christ. When she first comes before us, Luke 10:38, her spirit is “cumbered with much serving,” is “careful and troubled about many things.” Her love, though imperfect in its form, is yet recognized as true, and she has the distinction of being one whom Jesus loved. John 11:3. Her position is obviously that of the elder sister, the head and manager of the household. In the supper at Bethany, John 12;John 12:2, the old character shows itself still, but it has been freed from evil. She is no longer “cumbered,” no longer impatient. Activity has been calmed by trust.
Mary
Ma’ry (a tear) of Cle’ophas. So in DAV, but accurately “of Clopas,” i.e., the wife of Clopas (or Alphæus). She is brought before us for the first time on the day of the crucifixion, standing by the cross. John 19:25. In the evening of the same day we find her sitting desolate at the tomb with Mary Magdalene, Matthew 27:61; Mark 15:47; and at the dawn of Easter morning she was again there with sweet spices, which she had prepared on the Friday night, Matthew 28:1; Mark 16:1; Luke 23:56, and was one of those who had “a vision of angels, which said that he was alive.” Luke 24:23. She had four sons and at least three daughters. The names of the daughters are unknown to us; those of the sons are James, Joses, Jude, and Simon, two of whom became enrolled among the twelve apostles [JAMES], and a third [SIMON] may have succeeded his brother in charge of the church of Jerusalem. By many she is thought to have been the sister of the Virgin Mary.
Mary Magdalene
Ma’ry Magdale’ne. Different explanations have been given of this name; but the most natural is that she came from the town of Magdala. She appears before us for the first time in Luke 8:2, among the women who “ministered unto him of their substance.” All appear to have occupied a position of comparative wealth. With all the chief motive was that of gratitude for their deliverance from “evil spirits and infirmities.” Of Mary it is said specially that “seven devils went out of her,” and the number indicates a possession of more than ordinary malignity. She was present during the closing hours of the agony on the cross. John 19:25. She remained by the cross till all was over, and waited till the body was taken down and placed in the garden sepulchre of Joseph of Arimathæa, Matthew 27:61; Mark 15:47; Luke 23:55, when she, with Salome and Mary the mother of James, “bought sweet spices that they might come and anoint” the body. Mark 16:1. The next morning accordingly, in the earliest dawn, Matthew 28:1; Mark 16:2, they came with Mary the mother of James to the sepulchre. Mary Magdalene had been to the tomb and had found it empty, and had seen the “vision of angels.” Matthew 28:5; Mark 16:5. To her first of all Jesus appeared after his resurrection. John 20:14, John 20:15. Mary Magdalene has become the type of a class of repentant sinners; but there is no authority for identifying her with the “sinner” who anointed the feet of Jesus in Luke 7:36-50; neither is there any authority for the supposition that Mary Magdalene is the same as the sister of Lazarus. Neither of these theories has the slightest foundation in fact.
Mary mother of Mark
Ma’ry, mother of Mark, Colossians 4:10, was sister to Barnabas. Acts 4:36; Acts 12:12. She was among the earliest disciples, and lived at Jerusalem. She gave up her house to be used as one of the chief places of meeting. The fact that Peter went to that house on his release from prison indicates that there was some special intimacy, Acts 12:12, between them. (There is a tradition that the place of meeting of the disciples, and hence Mary’s house, was on the upper slope of Zion, and that it was here that the Holy Ghost came upon the disciples with tongues of flame on the day of Pentecost.—Ed.)
Mary sister of Lazarus
Ma’ry, sister of Lazarus. She and her sister Martha appear in Luke 10:40 as receiving Christ in their house. Mary sat listening eagerly for every word that fell from the divine Teacher. She had chosen the good part, the “one thing needful.” The same character shows itself in the history of John 11. Her grief was deeper, but less active. Her first thought, when she saw the Teacher in whose power and love she had trusted, was one of complaint. But the great joy and love which her brother’s return to life called up in her poured themselves out in larger measure than had been seen before. The treasured alabaster box of ointment was brought forth at the final feast of Bethany. John 12:3.
Mary the virgin
Ma’ry the virgin, the mother of our Lord. There is no person perhaps in sacred or profane history around whom so many legends have been grouped as the Virgin Mary; and there are few whose authentic history is more concise. She was, like Joseph, of the tribe of Judah and of the lineage of David. Psalm 132:11; Luke 1:32; Romans 1:3. She had a sister, named, like herself, Mary, John 19:25, and she was connected by marriage, Luke 1:36, with Elisabeth, who was of the tribe of Levi and of the lineage of Aaron. This is all that we know of her antecedents. She was betrothed to Joseph of Nazareth; but before her marriage she became with child by the Holy Ghost, and became the mother of Jesus Christ, the Saviour of the world. Her history at this time, her residence at Bethlehem, flight to Egypt, and return to her early home at Nazareth, are well known. Four times only does she appear after the commencement of Christ’s ministry. These four occasions are—
1. The marriage at Cana in Galilee took place in the three months which intervened between the baptism of Christ and the passover of the year 27. Mary was present, and witnessed the first miracle performed by Christ, when he turned the water into wine. She had probably become a widow before this time. 2. Capernaum, John 2:12, and Nazareth, Matthew 4:13; Matthew 13:54; Mark 6:1, appear to have been the residence of Mary for a considerable period. The next time that she is brought before us we find her at Capernaum, where she, with other relatives, had gone to inquire about the strange stories they had heard of her son Jesus. They sought an audience with our Lord, which was not granted, as he refused to admit any authority on the part of his relatives, or any privilege on account of their relationship. 3. The next scene in Mary’s life brings us to the foot of the cross. With almost his last words Christ commended his mother to the care of him who had borne the name of the disciple whom Jesus loved: “Woman, behold thy son.” And from that hour St. John assures us that he took her to his own abode. So far as Mary is portrayed to us in Scripture, she is, as we should have expected, the most tender, the most faithful, humble, patient and loving of women, but a woman still. 4. In the days succeeding the ascension of Christ Mary met with the disciples in the upper room, Acts 1:14, waiting for the coming of the Holy Spirit with power.
Mary
Ma’ry, a Roman Christian who is greeted by St. Paul in his Epistle to the Romans, ch. Romans 16:6, as having toiled hard for him.
Maschil
Mas’chil (song of wisdom), the title of thirteen Psalms: Psalm 32, Psalm 42, Psalm 44, Psalm 45, Psalm 52, Psalm 53, Psalm 54, Psalm 55, Psalm 74, Psalm 78, Psalm 88, Psalm 89, Psalm 142. Ewald regards Psalm 47:7 (DAV, “sing ye praises with understanding”; Heb. maschil) as the key to the meaning of maschil, which in his opinion is a musical term denoting a melody requiring great skill in its execution.
Mash
Mash (drawn out), one of the sons of Aram. Genesis 10:23. In 1 Chronicles 1:17 the name appears as Meshech. The name Mash is probably represented by the Mons Masius of classical writers, a range which forms the northern boundary of Mesopotamia, between the Tigris and Euphrates.
Mashal
Ma’shal (entreaty), the same as Misheal or Mishal. 1 Chronicles 6:74.
Masrekah
Mas’rekah (vineyard of noble vines), an ancient place, the native spot of Samlah, one of the old kings of the Edomites. Genesis 36:36; 1 Chronicles 1:47.
Massa
Mas’sa (burden), a son of Ishmael. Genesis 25:14; 1 Chronicles 1:30. His descendants were not improbably the Masani, placed by Ptolemy in the east of Arabia, near the borders of Babylonia.
Massah
Mas’sah (temptation), a name given to the spot, also called Meribah, where the Israelites tempted Jehovah. Exodus 16:7; Psalm 95:8, Psalm 95:9; Hebrews 3:8.
Mathusala
Mathu’sala = METHUSELAH, the son of Enoch. Luke 3:37.
Matred
Ma’tred (pushing forward), a daughter of Mezahab and mother of Mehetabel, who was wife of Hadar or Hadad of Pau, king of Edom. Genesis 36:39; 1 Chronicles 1:50.
Matri
Ma’tri (rain of Jehovah), a family of the tribe of Benjamin, to which Saul the king of Israel belonged. 1 Samuel 10:21.
Mattan
Mat’tan (a gift).
1. The priest of Baal slain before his altars in the idol temple at Jerusalem. 2 Kings 11:18; 2 Chronicles 23:17. He probably accompanied Athalia from Samaria.
2. The father of Sehphatiah. Jeremiah 38:1.
Mattanah
Mat’tanah (gift of Jehovah), a station in the latter part of the wanderings of the Israelites. Numbers 21:18, Numbers 21:19. It was probably situated to the southeast of the Dead Sea.
Mattaniah
Mattani’ah (gift of Jehovah).
1. The original name of Zedekiah king of Judah, which was changed when Nebuchadnezzar placed him on the throne. 2 Kings 24:17.
2. A Levite singer of the sons of Asaph. 1 Chronicles 9:15. He was leader of the temple choir after its restoration, Nehemiah 11:17; Nehemiah 12:8, in the time of Nehemiah, and took part in the musical service which accompanied the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem. Nehemiah 12:25, Nehemiah 12:35.
3. A descendant of Asaph, and ancestor of Jahaziel the Levite, in the reign of Jehoshaphat. 2 Chronicles 20:14.
4. One of the sons of Elam. Ezra 10:26.
5. One of the sons of Zattu. Ezra 10:27.
6. A descendant of Pahath-moab, Ezra 10:30, and
7. One of the sons of Bani, Ezra 10:37, who all put away their foreign wives at Ezra’s command.
8. A Levite, father of Zaccur and ancestor of Hanan the under-treasurer who had charge of the offerings for the Levites in the time of Nehemiah. Nehemiah 13:13.
9. One of the fourteen sons of Heman, whose office it was to blow the horns in the temple service as appointed by David. 1 Chronicles 25:4, 1 Chronicles 25:16.
10. A descendant of Asaph the Levite minstrel, who assisted in the purification of the temple in the reign of Hezekiah. 2 Chronicles 29:13.
Mattathah
Mat’tathah (gift of Jehovah), probably a contraction of Mattathiah.
1. Son of Nathan and grandson of David, in the genealogy of Christ. Luke 3:31. (b.c. after 1014.)
2. An Israelite, son of Hashun, who divorced his Gentile wife after the return from Babylon. Ezekiel 10:33. (b.c. 458.)
Mattathias
Mattathi’as (gift of Jehovah), the Greek form of Mattathiah.
1. Son of Amos, in the genealogy of Christ. Luke 3:25. (b.c. after 406.)
2. Son of Semei. Luke 3:26.
3. The father of the Maccabees. (b.c. 168 and previous.)
Mattenai
Mattena’i (gift of Jehovah), a contraction of Mattaniah.
1. Two Israelites who divorced their Gentile wives after the return from the Babylonish captivity. Ezra 10:33, Ezra 10:37. (b.c. 459.)
2. A priest, son of Joiarib, in the time of Joiakim. Nehemiah 12:19. (b.c. after 536.)
Matthan
Mat’than (gift), grandfather of Joseph the husband of the Virgin Mary. Matthew 1:15.
Matthat
Mat’that (gift of God), a form of the name Matthan.
1. Son of Levi, in the genealogy of Christ. Luke 3:29. (b.c. after 623.)
2. Grandfather of the Virgin Mary. Luke 3:24.
Matthew
Mat’thew (gift of Jehovah). (A contraction, as is also Matthias, of Mattathias. His original name was Levi, and his name Matthew was probably adopted as his new apostolic name. He was a Jew. His father’s name was Alphæus. His home was at Capernaum. His business was the collection of dues and customs from persons and goods crossing the Sea of Galilee, or passing along the great Damascus road which ran along the shore between Bethsaida Julius and Capernaum. Christ called him from this work to be his disciple. He appears to have been a man of wealth, for he made a great feast in his own house, perhaps in order to introduce his former companions and friends to Jesus. His business would tend to give him a knowledge of human nature, and accurate business habits, and of how to make a way to the hearts of many publicans and sinners not otherwise easily reached. He is mentioned by name, after the resurrection of Christ, only in Acts 1:13; but he must have lived many years as an apostle, since he was the author of the Gospel of Matthew, which was written at least twenty years later. There is reason to believe that he remained for fifteen years at Jerusalem, after which he went as missionary to the Persians, Parthians, and Medes. There is a legend that he died a martyr in Ethiopia.—Ed.)
Matthew Gospel of
Mat’thew, Gospel of.
1. Its authorship.—That this Gospel was written by the apostle Matthew there is no reason to doubt. Seventeen independent witnesses of the first four centuries attest its genuineness. 2. Its original language.—The testimony of the early Church is unanimous that Matthew wrote originally in the Hebrew language. On the other hand, doubt is thrown over this opinion, both by an examination of the statements of the fathers and by a consideration of peculiar forms of language employed in the Gospel itself. The question is unsettled, the best scholars not agreeing in their judgment concerning it. If there was a Hebrew original, it disappeared at a very early age. The Greek Gospel which we now possess was, it is almost certain, written in Matthew’s lifetime; and it is not at all improbable that he wrote the Gospel in both the Greek and Hebrew languages.—Lyman Abbott. It is almost certain that our Lord spoke in Greek with foreigners, but with his disciples and the Jewish people in Aramaic (a form of language closely allied to the Hebrew).—Schaff. The Jewish historian Josephus furnishes an illustration of the fate of the Hebrew original of Matthew. Josephus himself informs us that he wrote his great work, “The History of the Jewish Wars,” originally in Hebrew, his native tongue, for the benefit of his own nation, and he afterward translated it into Greek. No notices of the Hebrew original now survive.—Professor D. S. Gregory. 3. The date.—The testimony of the early Church is unanimous that Matthew wrote first among the evangelists. Irenæus relates that Matthew wrote his Gospel while Peter and Paul were preaching, and founding the Church at Rome, after a.d. 61. It was published before the destruction of Jerusalem, a.d. 70.—Alford. We would place our present Gospel between a.d. 60 and 66. If there was an original Hebrew Gospel, an earlier date belongs to it.—Ellicott. 4. Its object.—This Gospel was probably written in Palestine for Jewish Christians. It is an historical proof that Jesus is the Messiah. Matthew is the Gospel for the Jew. It is the Gospel of Jesus, the Messiah of the prophets. This Gospel takes the life of Jesus as it was lived on earth, and his character as it actually appeared, and places them alongside the life and character of the Messiah as sketched in the prophets, the historic by the side of the prophetic, that the two may appear in their marvellous unity and in their perfect identity.—Professor Gregory.
Matthias
Matthi’as (gift of God), the apostle elected to fill the place of the traitor Judas. Acts 1:26. All beyond this that we know of him for certainty is that he had been a constant attendant upon the Lord Jesus during the whole course of his ministry; for such was declared by St. Peter to be the necessary qualification of one who was to be a witness of the resurrection. It is said that he preached the gospel and suffered martyrdom in Ethiopia.
Mattithiah
Mattithi’ah (gift of God).
1. A Levite who presided over the offerings made in the pans. 1 Chronicles 9:31; comp. Leviticus 6:20 (Leviticus 6:12), etc.
2. One of the Levites appointed by David to minister before the ark in the musical service, 1 Chronicles 16:5, “with harps upon Sheminith,” comp. 1 Chronicles 15:21, to lead the choir. 1 Chronicles 15:18, 1 Chronicles 15:21; 1 Chronicles 25:3, 1 Chronicles 25:21.
3. One of the family of Nebo who had married a foreign wife, in the days of Ezra. Ezra 10:43.
4. Probably a priest, who stood at the right hand of Ezra when he read the law to the people. Ezra 8:4.
Mattock
Mattock. Isaiah 7:25. The tool used in Arabia for loosening the ground, described by Niebuhr, answers generally to our mattock or grubbing-axe, i.e., a single-headed pickaxe. The ancient Egyptian hoe was of wood, and answered for hoe, spade, and pick.
Mattock or Egyptian Hoe. (After Wilkinson.)
Maul
Maul (i.e., a hammer), a sort of battleaxe or hammer, used as an implement of war. Proverbs 25:18.
Mauzzim
Mauzzim (fortresses). The marginal note to the DAV of Daniel 11:38, “the god of forces,” gives as the equivalent of the last word “Mauzzim, or gods protectors, or munitions.” There can be little doubt that mauzzim is to be taken in its literal sense of “fortresses,” just as in Daniel 11:19, Daniel 11:39; “the god of fortresses” being then the deity who presided over strongholds. The opinion of Gesenius is that “the god of fortresses” was Jupiter Capitolinus, for whom Antiochus built a temple at Antioch. Liv. xli. 20.
Mazzaroth
Mazzaroth (the twelve signs). The margin of the DAV of Job 38:32 gives Mazzaroth as the name of the twelve signs of the zodiac.
Meadow
Meadow.
1. In Genesis 41:2, Genesis 41:18, meadow appears to be an Egyptian term meaning some kind of flag or waterplant, as its use in Job 8:11 (DAV “flag”) seems to show. 2. In Judges 20:33 the sense of the Hebrew word translated meadow is doubly uncertain. The most plausible interpretation is that of the Peshito-Syriac, which by a slight difference in the vowel-points makes the word mearah, “the cave.”
Meah
Me’ah (a hundred), The tower of, one of the towers of the wall of Jerusalem when rebuilt by Nehemiah, Nehemiah 3:1; Nehemiah 12:39, appears to have been situated somewhere at the northeast part of the city, outside of the walls of Zion.
Meals
Meals. Our information on the subject of meals is but scanty. The early Hebrews do not seem to have given special names to their several meals, for the terms rendered “dine” and “dinner” in the DAV (Genesis 43:16; Proverbs 15:17) are in reality general expressions, which might more correctly be rendered “eat” and “portion of food.” In the New Testament “dinner” and “supper,” Luke 14:12; John 21:12, are more properly “breakfast” and “dinner.” There is some uncertainty as to the hours at which meals were taken; the Egyptians undoubtedly took their principal meal at noon, Genesis 43:16; laborers took a light meal at that time. Ruth 2:14; comp. ver. Ruth 2:17. The Jews rather followed the custom that prevails among the Bedouins, and made their principal meal after sunset, and a lighter meal at about 9 or 10 a.m. The old Hebrews were in the habit of sitting. Genesis 27:19; Judges 19:6; 1 Samuel 20:5, 1 Samuel 20:24; 1 Kings 13:20. The table was in this case but slightly elevated above the ground, as is still the case in Egypt. As luxury increased, the practice of sitting was exchanged for that of reclining. In the time of our Saviour, reclining was the universal custom. As several guests reclined on the same couch, each overlapped his neighbor, as it were, and rested his head on or near the breast of the one who lay behind him; he was then said to “lean on the bosom” of his neighbor. John 13:23; John 21:20. The ordinary arrangement of the couches was in three sides of a square, the fourth being left open for the servants to bring up the dishes. Some doubt attends the question whether the females took their meals along with the males. Before commencing the meal the guests washed their hands. This custom was founded on natural decorum: not only was the hand the substitute for our knife and fork, but the hands of all the guests were dipped into one and the same dish. Another preliminary step was the grace or blessing, of which we have but one instance in the Old Testament—1 Samuel 9;1 Samuel 9:13—and more than one pronounced by our Lord himself in the New Testament—Matthew 15:36; Luke 9:16; John 6:11. The mode of taking the food differed in no material point from the modern usages of the East. Generally there was a single dish, into which east guest dipped his hand. Matthew 26;Matthew 26:23. Occasionally separate portions were served out to each. Genesis 43:34; Ruth 2:14; 1 Samuel 1:4. A piece of bread was held between the thumb and two fingers of the right hand, and was dipped either into a bowl of melted grease (in which case it was termed “a sop,” John 13:26) or into the dish of meat, whence a piece was conveyed to the mouth between the layers of bread. At the conclusion of the meal, grace was again said in conformity with Deuteronomy 8:10, and the hands were again washed. On state occasions more ceremony was used, and the meal was enlivened in various ways. A sumptuous repast was prepared; the guests were previously invited, Esther 5:8; Matthew 22:3, and on the day of the feast a second invitation was issued to those that were bidden. Esther 6:14; Proverbs 9:3; Matthew 22:4. The visitors were received with a kiss, Luke 7:45; water was furnished for them to wash their feet with, Luke 7:44; the head, the beard, the feet, and sometimes the clothes, were perfumed with ointment, Psalm 23:5; John 12:3; on special occasions robes were provided, Matthew 22:11, and the head was decorated with wreaths. Isaiah 28:1. The regulation of the feast was under the superintendence of a special officer, John 2:8 (DAV “governor of the feast”), whose business it was to taste the food and the liquors before they were placed on the table, and to settle about the toasts and amusements; he was generally one of the guests, Sirach 32:1, Sirach 32:2, and might therefore take part in the conversation. The places of the guests were settled according to their respective rank, Genesis 43:33; Mark 12:39; portions of food were placed before each, 1 Samuel 1:4, the most honored guests receiving either larger, Genesis 43:34, or more choice, 1 Samuel 9:24, portions than the rest. The meal was enlivened with music, singing, and dancing, 2 Samuel 19:35, or with riddles, Judges 14:12; and amid these entertainments the festival was prolonged for several days. Esther 1:3, Esther 1:4.
Reclining at Table.
Mearah
Mea’rah (a cave), a place named in Joshua 13:4 only. The word means in Hebrew a cave, and it is commonly assumed that the reference is to some remarkable cavern in the neighborhood of Zidon.
Measures
Measures. [WEIGHTS AND MEASURES.]
Meat
Meat. It does not appear that the word “meat” is used in any one instance in the DAV of either the Old or the New Testament in the sense which it now almost exclusively bears of animal food. The latter is denoted uniformly by “flesh.” The word “meat,” when our English version was made, meant food in general; or if any particular kind was designated, it referred to meal, flour, or grain. The only real and inconvenient ambiguity caused by the change which has taken place in the meaning of the word is in the case of the “meat offering.” [MEAT OFFERING.]
Meat offering
Meat offering. The law or ceremonial of the meat offering is described in Leviticus 2 and Leviticus 6:14-23. It was to be composed of fine flour, seasoned with salt and mixed with oil and frankincense, but without leaven; and it was generally accompanied by a drink offering of wine. A portion of it, including all the frankincense, was to be burnt on the altar as “a memorial”; the rest belonged to the priest; but the meat offerings offered by the priests themselves were to be wholly burnt. Its meaning appears to be exactly expressed in the words of David. 1 Chronicles 29:10-14. It will be seen that this meaning involves neither of the main ideas of sacrifice—the atonement for sin and self-dedication to God. It takes them for granted, and is based on them. Rather it expresses gratitude and love to God as the giver of all. Accordingly the meat offering, properly so called, seems always to have been a subsidiary offering, needing to be introduced by the sin offering, which represented the one idea, and to have formed an appendage to the burnt offering, which represented the other. The unbloody offerings offered alone did not properly belong to the regular meat offering; they were usually substitutes for other offerings. Comp. Leviticus 5:11; Numbers 5:15. [MEAT.]
Mebunna-i
Mebun’na-i (building of Jehovah). In this form appears, in one passage only—2 Samuel 23:27—the name of one of David’s guard, who is elsewhere called Sibbechai, 2 Samuel 21:18; 1 Chronicles 20:4, or Sibbecai, 1 Chronicles 11:29; 1 Chronicles 27:11, in the DAV.
Mecherathite The
Mech’erathite, The, that is, the native or inhabitant of a place called Mecherah. 1 Chronicles 11:36. In the parallel list of 2 Samuel 23 the name appears, with other variations, as “the Maachathite.” ver. 2 Samuel 23:34.
Medad
Me’dad (love). [ELDAD AND MEDAD.]
Medan
Me’dan (contention), a son of Abraham and Keturah. Genesis 25:2; 1 Chronicles 1:32.
Medeba
Med’eba (water of rest), a town on the eastern side of Jordan, first alluded to in Numbers 21:30. Here it seems to denote the limit of the territory of Heshbon. It next occurs in the enumeration of the country divided among the transjordanic tribes, Joshua 13:9, as giving its name to a district of level downs called “the Mishor of Medeba” or “the Mishor on Medeba.” At the time of the conquest Medeba belonged to the Amorites, apparently one of the towns taken from Moab by them. In the time of Ahaz Medeba was a sanctuary of Moab. Isaiah 15:2. It has retained its name down to our own times, and lies four miles southeast of Heshbon, on a rounded but rocky hill.
Medes Media
Medes, Me’dia (middle land). Media lay northwest of Persia proper, south and southwest of the Caspian Sea, east of Armenia and Assyria, west and northwest of the great salt desert of Iram. Its greatest length was from north to south, and in this direction it extended from the 32nd to the 40th parallel, a distance of 550 miles. In width it reached from about long. 45° to 53°; but its average breadth was not more than from 250 to 300 miles. The division of Media commonly recognized by the Greeks and Romans was that into Media Magna and Media Atropatene.
1. Media Atropatene corresponded nearly to the modern Azerbijan, being the tract situated between the Caspian and the mountains which run north from Zagros. 2. Media Magna lay south and east of Atropatene. It contained great part of Kurdistan and Luristan, with all Ardelan and Arak Ajemi. It is indicative of the division that there were two Ecbatanas, respectively the capitals of the two districts. The Medes were a nation of very high antiquity; we find a notice of them in the primitive Babylonian history of Berosus, who says that the Medes conquered Babylon at a very remote period (cir. b.c. 2458), and that eight Median monarchs reigned there consecutively, over a space of 224 years. The deepest obscurity hangs, however, over the whole history of the Medes from the time of their bearing sway in Babylonia, b.c. 2458–2234, to their first appearance in the cuneiform inscriptions among the enemies of Assyria, about b.c. 880. Near the middle of the seventh century b.c. the Median kingdom was consolidated, and became formidable to its neighbors; but previous to this time it was not under the dominion of a single powerful monarch, but was ruled by a vast number of petty chieftains. Cyaxares, the third Median monarch, took Nineveh and conquered Assyria b.c. 625. The limits of the Median empire cannot be definitely fixed. From north to south it was certainly confined between the Persian Gulf and the Euphrates on the one side, the Black and Caspian Seas on the other. From east to west it had, however, a wide expansion, since it reached from the Halys at least as far as the Caspian Gates, and possibly farther. It was separated from Babylonia either by the Tigris or more probably by a line running about halfway between that river and the Euphrates. Its greatest length may be reckoned at 1500 miles from northwest to southeast, and its average breadth at 400 or 450 miles. Its area would thus be about 600,000 square miles, or somewhat greater than that of modern Persia. Of all the ancient Oriental monarchies the Median was the shortest in duration. It was overthrown by the Persians under Cyrus, b.c. 558, who captured its king, Astyages. The treatment of the Medes by the victorious Persians was not that of an ordinary conquered nation. Medes were appointed to stations of high honor and importance under Cyrus and his successors. The two nations seem blended into one, and we often find reference to this kingdom as that of the “Medes and Persians.” Daniel 5:28; Daniel 6:8, Daniel 6:12, Daniel 6:15. The references to the Medes in the canonical Scriptures are not very numerous, but they are striking. We first hear of certain “cities of the Medes,” in which the captive Israelites were placed by “the king of Assyria” on the destruction of Samaria, b.c. 721. 2 Kings 17:6; 2 Kings 18:11. Soon afterward Isaiah prophesies the part which the Medes shall take in the destruction of Babylon, Isaiah 13:17; Isaiah 21:2; which is again still more distinctly declared by Jeremiah, Jeremiah 51:11, Jeremiah 51:28, who sufficiently indicates the independence of Media in his day. ch. Jeremiah 25:25. Daniel relates the fact of the Medo-Persic conquest, Daniel 5:28, Daniel 5:31, giving an account of the reign of Darius the Mede, who appears to have been made viceroy by Cyrus. Daniel 6:1-28. In Ezra we have a mention of Achmetha (Ecbatana), “the palace in the province of the Medes,” where the decree of Cyrus was found, Ezra 6:2-5—a notice which accords with the known facts that the Median capital was the seat of government under Cyrus, but a royal residence only, and not the seat of government, under Darius Hystaspis. Finally, in Esther the high rank of Media under the Persian kings, yet at the same time its subordinate position, is marked by the frequent combination of the two names in phrases of honor, the precedency being in every case assigned to the Persians.
Median The
Me’dian, The. Darius, “the son of Ahasuerus, of the seed of the Medes,” Daniel 9:1, or “the Mede,” ch. Daniel 11:1, is thus denoted in Daniel 5:31.
Medicine
Medicine. Egypt was the earliest home of medical and other skill for the region of the Mediterranean basin, and every Egyptian mummy of the more expensive and elaborate sort involved a process of anatomy. Still we have no trace of any philosophical or rational system of Egyptian origin; and medicine in Egypt was a mere art or profession. Compared with the wild countries around them, however, the Egyptians must have seemed incalculably advanced. Representations of early Egyptian surgery apparently occur on some of the monuments of Beni-Hassan. Those who have assisted at the opening of a mummy have noticed that the teeth exhibited a dentistry not inferior in execution to the work of the best modern experts. This confirms the statement of Herodotus that every part of the body was studied by a distinct practitioner. The reputation of Egypt’s practitioners in historical times was such that both Cyrus and Darius sent to that country for physicians or surgeons. Of midwifery we have a distinct notice, Exodus 1:15, and of women as its practitioners, which fact may also be verified from the sculptures. The scrupulous attention paid to the dead was favorable to the health of the living. The practice of physic was not among the Jews a privilege of the priesthood. Any one might practice it, and this publicity must have kept it pure. Rank and honor are said to be the portion of the physician, and his office to be from the Lord. Sirach 38:1, Sirach 38:3, Sirach 38:12. To bring down the subject to the period of the New Testament, St. Luke, “the beloved physician,” who practiced at Antioch whilst the body was his care, could hardly have failed to be conversant with all the leading opinions current down to his own time. Among special diseases named in the Old Testament is ophthalmia, Genesis 29:17, which is perhaps more common in Syria and Egypt than anywhere else in the world; especially in the fig season, the juice of the newly-ripe fruit having the power of giving it. It may occasion partial or total blindness. 2 Kings 6:18. The “burning boil,” Leviticus 13:23, is merely marked by the notion of an effect resembling that of fire, like our “carbuncle.” The diseases rendered “scab” and “scurvy” in Leviticus 21:20; Leviticus 22:22; Deuteronomy 28:27, may be almost any skin disease. Some of these may be said to approach the type of leprosy. The “botch (shechı̂n) of Egypt,” Deuteronomy 28:27, is so vague a term as to yield a most uncertain sense. In Deuteronomy 28:35 is mentioned a disease attacking the “knees and legs,” consisting in a “sore botch which cannot be healed,” but extended, in the sequel of the verse, from the “sole of the foot to the top of the head.” The Elephantiasis græcorum is what now passes under the name of “leprosy”; the lepers, e.g., of the huts near the Zion gate of modern Jerusalem are elephantiasiacs. [LEPROSY.] The disease of King Antiochus, 2 Maccabees 9:5-10, etc., was that of a boil breeding worms. The case of the widow’s son restored by Elisha, 2 Kings 4:19, was probably one of sunstroke. The palsy meets us in the New Testament only, and in features too familiar to need special remark. Palsy, gangrene, and cancer were common in all the countries familiar to the scriptural writers, and neither differs from the modern disease of the same name. Mention is also made of the bites and stings of poisonous reptiles. Numbers 21:6. Among surgical instruments or pieces of apparatus the following only are alluded to in Scripture: A cutting instrument, supposed a “sharp stone,” Exodus 4:25; the “knife” of Joshua 5:2. The “awl” of Exodus 21:6 was probably a surgical instrument. The “roller to bind” of Ezekiel 30:21 was for a broken limb, and is still used. A scraper, for which the “potsherd” of Job was a substitute. Job 2:8. Exodus 30:23-25 is a prescription in form. An occasional trace occurs of some chemical knowledge, e.g., the calcination of the gold by Moses, Exodus 32:20; the effect of “vinegar upon natron,” Proverbs 25:20; comp. Jeremiah 2:22. The mention of “the apothecary,” Exodus 30:35; Ecclesiastes 10:1, and of the merchant in “powders,” Song of Solomon 3:6, shows that a distinct and important branch of trade was set up in these wares, in which, as at a modern druggist’s, articles of luxury, etc., are combined with the remedies of sickness. Among the most favorite of external remedies has always been the bath. There were special occasions on which the bath was ceremonially enjoined. The Pharisees and Essenes aimed at scrupulous strictness in all such rules. Matthew 15:2; Mark 7:5; Luke 11:38. River-bathing was common, but houses soon began to include a bathroom. Leviticus 15:13; 2 Samuel 11:2; 2 Kings 5:10.
Megiddo
Megid’do (place of crowds) was in a very marked position on the southern rim of the plain of Esdraelon, on the frontier line of the territories of the tribes of Issachar and Manasseh, 6 miles from Mount Carmel and 11 from Nazareth. It commanded one of those passes from the north into the hill country which were of such critical importance on various occasions in the history of Judea. Judith 4:7. The first mention occurs in Joshua 12:21, where Megiddo appears as the city of one of the kings whom Joshua defeated on the west of the Jordan. The song of Deborah brings the place vividly before us, as the scene of the great conflict between Sisera and Barak. When Pharaoh-necho came from Egypt against the king of Assyria, Josiah joined the latter, and was slain at Megiddo. 2 Kings 23:29; 2 Chronicles 35:22-24. Megiddo is the modern el-Lejjûn, which is undoubtedly the Legio of Eusebius and Jerome. There is a copious stream flowing down the gorge, and turning some mills before joining the Kishon. Here are probably the “waters of Megiddo” of Judges 5:19.
Mehetabe-el
Mehet’abe-el (favored of God), another and less correct form of Mehetabel. The ancestor of Shemaiah the prophet who was hired against Nehemiah by Tobiah and Sanballat. Nehemiah 6:10.
Mehetabel
Mehet’abel (favored of God), the daughter of Matred, and wife of Hadad king of Edom. Genesis 36:39.
Mehida
Mehi’da (famous, noble), a family of Nethinim, the descendants of Mehida, returned from Babylon with Zerubbabel. Ezra 2:52; Nehemiah 7:54.
Mehir
Me’hir (price), the son of Chelub the brother of Shuah. 1 Chronicles 4:11.
Meholathite The
Mehol’athite, The, a word occurring once only—1 Samuel 18:19. It no doubt denotes that Adriel belonged to a place called Meholah.
Mehujael
Mehu’jael (smitten by God), the son of Irad, and fourth in descent from Cain. Genesis 4:18.
Mehuman
Mehu’man (faithful), one of the seven eunuchs of Ahasuerus. Esther 1:10.
Mehunim
Mehu’nim (habitations). Ezra 2:50. Elsewhere called Mehunims and Meunim.
Mehunims The
Mehu’nims, The, a people against whom King Uzziah waged a successful war. 2 Chronicles 26:7. The name is the plural of Maon [MAON]. Another notice of the Mehunims in the reign of Hezekiah (cir. b.c. 726–697) is found in 1 Chronicles 4:41. Here they are spoken of as a pastoral people, either themselves Hamites or in alliance with Hamites, quiet and peaceable, dwelling in tents. Here, however, the Authorized Version treats the word as an ordinary noun, and renders it “habitations.” The latest appearance of the name Mehunims in the Bible is in the lists of those who returned from the captivity with Zerubbabel. Ezra 2:50, DAV “Mehunim”; Nehemiah 7:52, DAV “Meunim.”
Me-jarkon
Me-jar’kon (waters of yellowness), a town in the territory of Dan, Joshua 19:46 only, in the neighborhood of Joppa or Japho.
Mekonah
Mek’onah (foundation), one of the towns which were reinhabited after the captivity by the men of Judah. Nehemiah 11:28.
Melatiah
Melati’ah (Jehovah delivers), a Gibeonite who assisted in rebuilding the wall of Jerusalem. Nehemiah 3:7.
Melchi
Mel’chi (my king, my counsel).
1. The son of Janna, and ancestor of Joseph in the genealogy of Jesus Christ. Luke 3:24.
2. The son of Addi in the same genealogy. Luke 3:28.
Melchiah
Melchi’ah (Jehovah’s king), a priest, the father of Pashur. Jeremiah 21:1.
Melchisedec
Melchis’edec (king of righteousness). Hebrews 5, Hebrews 6, Hebrews 7. [MELCHIZEDEK.]
Melchi-shua
Mel’chi-shu’a, a son of Saul. 1 Samuel 14:49; 1 Samuel 31:2. Elsewhere correctly given Malchishua.
Melchizedek
Melchiz’edek (king of righteousness), king of Salem and priest of the most high God, who met Abram in the valley of Shaveh, which is the king’s valley, brought out bread and wine, blessed him, and received tithes from him. Genesis 14:18-20. The other places in which Melchizedek is mentioned are Psalm 110:4, where Messiah is described as a priest forever, “after the order of Melchizedek,” and Hebrews 5, Hebrews 6, Hebrews 7, where these two passages of the Old Testament are quoted, and the typical relation of Melchizedek to our Lord is stated at great length. There is something surprising and mysterious in the first appearance of Melchizedek, and in the subsequent reference to him. Bearing a title which Jews in after ages would recognize as designating their own sovereign, bearing gifts which recall to Christians the Lord’s Supper, this Canaanite crosses for a moment the path of Abram, and is unhesitatingly recognized as a person of higher spiritual rank than the friend of God. Disappearing as suddenly as he came, he is lost to the sacred writings for a thousand years. Jewish tradition pronounces Melchizedek to be a survivor of the deluge, the patriarch Shem. The way in which he is mentioned in Genesis would rather lead to the inference that Melchizedek was of one blood with the children of Ham, among whom he lived, chief (like the king of Sodom) of a settled Canaanitish tribe. The “order of Melchizedek,” in Psalm 110:4, is explained to mean “manner” = likeness in official dignity = a king and priest. The relation between Melchizedek and Christ as type and antitype is made in the Epistle to the Hebrews to consist in the following particulars: Each was a priest, (1) not of the Levitical tribe; (2) superior to Abraham; (3) whose beginning and end are unknown; (4) who is not only a priest, but also a king of righteousness and peace. A fruitful source of discussion has been found in the site of Salem. [SALEM.]
Melea
Mele’a, the son of Menan, and ancestor of Joseph in the genealogy of Jesus Christ. Luke 3:31.
Melech
Me’lech, the second son of Micah, the son of Merib-baal or Mephibosheth. 1 Chronicles 8:35; 1 Chronicles 9:41.
Melicu
Mel’icu, the same as MALLUCH 6. Nehemiah 12:14; comp. ver. Nehemiah 12:2.
Melita
Mel’ita (honey), the modern Malta. This island lies in the Mediterranean 60 miles south of Cape Passaro in Sicily, 900 miles from Gibraltar and about 1200 from Jerusalem. It is 17 miles long by 9 or 10 broad. It is naturally a barren rock, with no high mountains, but has been rendered fertile by industry and toil. It is famous for its honey and fruits. It is now in the hands of the English.—McClintock and Strong. This island has an illustrious place in Scripture as the scene of that shipwreck of St. Paul which is described in such minute detail in the Acts of the Apostles. Acts 27. The wreck probably happened at the place traditionally known as St. Paul’s Bay, an inlet with a creek two miles deep and one broad. The question has been set at rest forever by Mr. Smith of Jordan Hill, in his “Voyage and Shipwreck of St. Paul,” the first published work in which it was thoroughly investigated from a sailor’s point of view. The objection that there are no vipers in Malta is overruled by the fact that Mr. Lewin saw such a serpent there, and that there may have been vipers in the wilder ancient times, even were none found there now. As regards the condition of the island of Melita, when St. Paul was there it was a dependency of the Roman province of Sicily. Its chief officer (under the governor of Sicily) appears from inscriptions to have had the title of πρ̂ωτος Μελιτάιων, or Primus Melitensium, and this is the very phrase which Luke uses. Acts 28:7. Melita, from its position in the Mediterranean and the excellence of its harbors, has always been important in both commerce and war. It was a settlement of the Phœnicians at an early period, and their language, in a corrupted form, was still spoken there in St. Paul’s day.
St. Paul’s Bay, Malta.
Melons
Melons (Heb. abattichûm) are mentioned only in Numbers 11:5. By the Hebrew word we are probably to understand both the melon (Cucumis melo) and the watermelon (Cucurbita citrullus). The watermelon, which is now extensively cultivated in all hot countries, is a fruit not unlike the common melon, but the leaves are deeply lobed and gashed; the flesh is pink or white, and contains a large quantity of cold watery juice without much flavor; the seeds are black.
Melzar
Melzar (steward). The DAV is wrong in regarding melzar as a proper name; it is rather an official title, Daniel 1:11, Daniel 1:16; the marginal reading, “the steward,” is therefore more correct.
Memphis
Mem’phis (haven of the good), a city of ancient Egypt, situated on the western bank of the Nile, about nine miles south of Cairo and five from the great pyramids and the sphinx. It is mentioned by Isaiah, Isaiah 19:13, Jeremiah, Jeremiah 2:16; Jeremiah 46:14, Jeremiah 46:19, and Ezekiel, Ezekiel 30:13, Ezekiel 30:16, under the name of Noph. Though some regard Thebes as the more ancient city, the monuments of Memphis are of higher antiquity than those of Thebes. The city is said to have had a circumference of about 19 miles. The temple of Apis was one of the most noted structures of Memphis. It stood opposite the southern portico of the temple of Ptah; and Psammetichus, who built that gateway, also erected in front of the sanctuary of Apis a magnificent colonnade, supported by colossal statues or Osiride pillars, such as may still be seen at the temple of Medeenet Habou at Thebes. Herod. ii. 153. Through this colonnade the Apis was led with great pomp upon state occasions. At Memphis was the reputed burial-place of Isis; it had also a temple to that “myriad-named” divinity. Memphis had also its Serapeium, which probably stood in the western quarter of the city. The sacred cubit and other symbols used in measuring the rise of the Nile were deposited in the temple of Serapis. The Necropolis, adjacent to Memphis, was on a scale of grandeur corresponding with the city itself. The “city of the pyramids” is a title of Memphis in the hieroglyphics upon the monuments. Memphis long held its place as a cpital; and for centuries a Memphite dynasty ruled over all Egypt. Lepsius, Bunsen, and Brugsch agree in regarding the third, fourth, sixth, seventh, and eighth dynasties of the old empire as Memphite, reaching through a period of about 1000 years. The city’s overthrow was distinctly predicted by the Hebrew prophets. Isaiah 19:13; Jeremiah 46:19. The latest of these predictions was uttered nearly 600 years before Christ, and half a century before the invasion of Egypt by Cambyses (cir. b.c. 525). Herodotus informs us that Cambyses, enraged at the opposition he encountered at Memphis, committed many outrages upon the city. The city never recovered from the blow inflicted by Cambyses. The rise of Alexandria hastened its decline. The caliph conquerors founded Fostát (old Cairo) upon the opposite bank of the Nile, a few miles north of Memphis, and brought materials from the old city to build their new capital, a.d. 638. At length so complete was the ruin of Memphis that for a long time its very site was lost. Recent explorations have brought to light many of its antiquities.
The Serapeium at Memphis (Noph).
Colossal Figure discovered at Memphis.
Memucan
Memu’can (dignified), one of the seven princes of Persia in the reign of Ahasuerus, who “saw the king’s face,” and sat first in the kingdom. Esther 1:14, Esther 1:16, Esther 1:21.
Menahem
Men’ahem (comforter), son of Gadi, who slew the usurper Shallum, and seized the vacant throne of Israel, b.c. 772. His reign, which lasted ten years, is briefly recorded in 2 Kings 15:14-22. He maintained the calf-worship of Jeroboam. The contemporary prophets Hosea and Amos have left a melancholy picture of the ungodliness, demoralization and feebleness of Israel. Menahem reigned b.c. 771–760.
Menan
Me’nan (called Menna in the Revised Version), one of the ancestors of Joseph in the genealogy of Jesus Christ. Luke 3:31.
Mene
Mene (numbered), the first word of the mysterious inscription written upon the wall of Belshazzar’s palace, in which Daniel read the doom of the king and his dynasty. Daniel 5:25, Daniel 5:26.
Meni
Me’ni (fate, fortune). Isaiah 65:11. This word is a proper name, and is also the proper name of an object of idolatrous worship cultivated by the Jews in Babylon.
Menna
Men’na. In the Revised Version of Luke 3:31 for Menan.
Meonenim
Meon’enim (enchanters), The plain of, an oak or terebinth, or other great tree. Judges 9:37. The meaning of Meonenim, if interpreted as a Hebrew word, is enchanters or “observers of times,” as it is elsewhere rendered, Deuteronomy 18:10, Deuteronomy 18:14; in Micah 5:12 it is “soothsayers.”
Meonotha-i
Meon’otha-i (my habitations), one of the sons of Othniel, the younger brother of Caleb. 1 Chronicles 4:14.
Mepha-ath
Meph’a-ath (splendor, height), a city of the Reubenites, one of the towns dependent on Heshbon, Joshua 13:18, lying in the district of the Mishor, comp. ver. Joshua 13:17 and Jeremiah 48:21, DAV “plain,” which probably answered to the modern Belka. It was one of the cities allotted with their suburbs to the Merarite Levites. Joshua 21:37; 1 Chronicles 6:79. Its site is uncertain.
Mephibosheth
Mephib’osheth (exterminating the idol), the name borne by two members of the family of Saul—his son and his grandson.
1. Saul’s son by Rizpah the daughter of Aiah, his concubine. 2 Samuel 21:8. He and his brother Armoni were among the seven victims who were surrendered by David to the Gibeonites, and by them crucified to avert a famine from which the country was suffering.
2. The son of Jonathan, grandson of Saul and nephew of the preceding; called also Merib-baal. 1 Chronicles 8:34. His life seems to have been, from beginning to end, one of trial and discomfort. When his father and grandfather were slain on Gilboa he was an infant but five years old. At this age he met with an accident which deprived him for life of the use of both feet. 2 Samuel 4:4. After this he found a home with Machir ben-Ammiel, a powerful Gadite, who brought him up, and while here was married. Later on David invited him to Jerusalem, and there treated him and his son Micha with the greatest kindness. From this time forward he resided at Jerusalem. Of Mephibosheth’s behavior during the rebellion of Absalom we possess two accounts—his own, 2 Samuel 19:24-30, and that of Ziba, 2 Samuel 16:1-4. They are naturally at variance with each other. In consequence of the story of Ziba, he was rewarded by the possessions of his master. Mephibosheth’s story—which, however, he had not the opportunity of telling until several days later, when he met David returning to his kingdom at the western bank of Jordan—was very different from Ziba’s. That David did not disbelieve it is shown by his revoking the judgment he had previously given. That he did not entirely reverse his decision, but allowed Ziba to retain possession of half the lands of Mephibosheth, is probably due partly to weariness at the whole transaction, but mainly to the conciliatory frame of mind in which he was at that moment. “Shall there any man be put to death this day?” is the keynote of the whole proceeding.
Merab
Me’rab (increase), the eldest daughter of King Saul. 1 Samuel 14:49. In accordance with the promise which he made before the engagement with Goliath, ch. 1 Samuel 17:25, Saul betrothed Merab to David. ch. 1 Samuel 18:17. Before the marriage Merab’s younger sister Michal had displayed her attachment for David, and Merab was then married to Adriel the Meholathite, to whom she bore five sons. 2 Samuel 21:8.
Meraiah
Mera’iah (rebellion), a priest in the days of Joiakim. Nehemiah 12:12.
Meraioth
Mera’ioth (rebellious).
1. A descendant of Eleazar the son of Aaron, and head of a priestly house. 1 Chronicles 6:6, 1 Chronicles 6:7, 1 Chronicles 6:52. It is apparently another Meraioth who comes in between Zadok and Ahitub in the genealogy of Azariah. 1 Chronicles 9:11; Nehemiah 11:11.
2. The head of one of the houses of priests, which in the time of Joiakim the son of Jeshua was represented by Helkai. Nehemiah 12:15.
Merari Merarites
Mer’ari, Mer’arites (bitter, unhappy), third son of Levi, and head of the third great division of the Levites, the Merarites. Genesis 46:8, Genesis 46:11. At the time of the exodus and the numbering in the wilderness, the Merarites consisted of two families, the Mahlites and the Mushites, Mahli and Mushi being either the two sons or the son and grandson of Merari. 1 Chronicles 6:19, 1 Chronicles 6:47. Their chief at that time was Zuriel. Their charge was the boards, bars, pillars, sockets, pins, and cords of the tabernacle and the court, and all the tools connected with setting them up. In the division of the land by Joshua, the Merarites had twelve cities assigned to them, out of Reuben, Gad, and Zebulun. Joshua 21:7, Joshua 21:34-40; 1 Chronicles 6:63, 1 Chronicles 6:77-81. In the days of Hezekiah the Merarites were still flourishing. 2 Chronicles 29:12, 2 Chronicles 29:15.
Merathaim
Meratha’im (double rebellion), The land of, alluding to the country of the Chaldeans, and to the double captivity which it had inflicted on the nation of Israel. Jeremiah 50:21.
Mercurius
Mercu’rius (herald of the gods), properly Hermes, the Greek deity, whom the Romans identified with their Mercury, the god of commerce and bargains. Hermes was the son of Zeus (Jupiter) and Maia the daughter of Atlas, and is constantly represented as the companion of his father in his wandering upon earth. The episode of Baucis and Philemon, Ovid, Metam. viii. 620–724, appears to have formed part of the folk-lore of Asia Minor, and strikingly illustrates the readiness with which the simple people of Lystra recognized in Barnabas and Paul the gods who, according to their wont, had come down in the likeness of men. Acts 14:11.
Mercury
Mer’cury, Acts 14:12, the translation of the above in the Revised Version.
Mercy-seat
Mercy-seat. Exodus 25:17; Exodus 37:6; Hebrews 9:5. This appears to have been merely the lid of the ark of the covenant, not another surface affixed thereto. (It was a solid plate of gold, 21/2 cubits (61/3 feet) long by 11/2 cubits (22/3 feet) wide, representing a kind of throne of God, where he would hear prayer and from which he spoke words of comfort.—Ed.) It was that whereon the blood of the yearly atonement was sprinkled by the high priest; and in this relation it is doubtful whether the sense of the word in the Hebrew is based on the material fact of its “covering” the ark, or derived from this notion of its reference to the “covering” (i.e., atonement) of sin.
Mered
Me’red (rebellion). This name occurs in a fragmentary genealogy in 1 Chronicles 4:17, 1 Chronicles 4:18, as that of one of the sons of Ezra. Tradition identifies him with Caleb and Moses.
Meremoth
Mer’emoth (elevations).
1. Son of Uriah or Urijah the priest, of the family of Koz or Hakkoz, the head of the seventh course of priests as established by David. In Ezra 8:33 Meremoth is appointed to weigh and register the gold and silver vessels belonging to the temple. In the rebuilding of the wall of Jerusalem under Nehemiah we find Meremoth taking an active part. Nehemiah 3:4, Nehemiah 3:21.
2. A layman of the sons of Bani, who had married a foreign wife. Ezra 10:36.
3. A priest, or more probably a family of priests, who sealed the covenant with Nehemiah. Nehemiah 10:5.
Meres
Me’res (lofty), one of the seven counsellors of Ahasuerus. Esther 1:14.
Meribah
Mer’ibah (strife, contention). In Exodus 17:7 we read, “he called the name of the place Massah and Meribah,” where the people murmured and the rock was smitten. [For the situation see REPHIDIM.] The name is also given to Kadesh, Numbers 20:13, Numbers 20:24; Numbers 27:14; Deuteronomy 32:51 (Meribah-kadesh), because there also the people, when in want of water, strove with God.
Meribba-al
Merib’ba-al (contender against Baal). 1 Chronicles 8:34; 1 Chronicles 9:40. [See MEPHIBOSHETH.]
Merodach
Mero’dach (death), Jeremiah 50:2, identical with the famous Babylonian Bel or Belus, the word being probably at first a mere epithet of the god, which by degrees superseded his proper appellation.
Merodach-baladan
Mero’dach-bal’adan (worshipper of Baal) is mentioned as king of Babylon in the days of Hezekiah both in the second book of Kings, ch. 2 Kings 20:12, and in Isaiah. ch. Isaiah 39:1. In the former place he is called Berodach-baladan. The name of Merodach-baladan has been recognized in the Assyrian inscriptions. It appears there were two reigns of this king, the first from b.c. 721 to b.c. 709, when he was deposed; and the second after his recovery of the throne in b.c. 702, which lasted only half a year. There is some doubt as to the time at which he sent his ambassadors to Hezekiah, for the purpose of inquiring as to the astronomical marvel of which Judea had been the scene, 2 Chronicles 32:31; but it appears to have been b.c. 713.
Merom
Me’rom (high place), The waters of, a lake formed by the river Jordan, about ten miles north of the Sea of Galilee. It is a place memorable in the history of the conquest of Palestine. Here Joshua completely routed the confederacy of the northern chiefs under Jabin. Joshua 11:5, Joshua 11:7. It is a remarkable fact that though by common consent “the waters of Merom” are identified with the lake through which the Jordan runs between Banias and the Sea of Galilee—the Bahr el-Hûleh of the modern Arabs—yet that identity cannot be proved by any ancient record. In form the lake is not far from a triangle, the base being at the north and the apex at the south. It measures about three miles in each direction, and eleven feet deep. The water is clear and sweet; it is covered in parts by a broad-leaved plant, and abounds in water-fowl. (The northern part is a dense swamp of papyrus reeds, as large as the lake itself. See “Rob Roy on the Jordan.”—Ed.)
The Waters of Merom.