Part of a Turkish Firman.
Part of a Turkish Firman.
sent open, Neh. 6:5; but when sent to equals or superiors they were enclosed in a purse or bas;. See Writing.
LETU'SHIM {sharpened, hammered), an Arabian tribe descended from Dedan, the son of Jokshan. Gen. 25 : 3.
IjEUM'MIM {peoples, nations), an Arabian tribe descended from Dedan, the son of Jokshan. Gen. 25 : 3.
LE'VI {joining). 1. The third son of Jacob and Leah, thus named by the mother because " now will my husband be joined unto me, because I have born him three sons." Gen. 29 : 34. Together with Simeon he avenged the
wrongs of their sister Dinah by slaying the Shcchemites, Gen. 34:25-31, but thereby he incurred the curse of Jacob. Gen. 49 : 5-7. By the zeal, however, of his descendants on occasion of the golden calf, Ex. 32 : 26-29, the curse was transformed into a blessing. He had three sons, Gershon, Kohath, and Me-rari, and died in Egypt 137 years old. Ex. 6 : 16.
2. Two of the ancestors of our Lord. Luke 3 : 24, 29.
3. The original name of Matthew, the publican and afterward the apostle, son of Al-pheeus. Mark 2 : 14; Luke 5:
27, 29 : Matt. 9 : 9.
LEVI'ATHAN, the Hebrew name of an animal minutely described in Job 41, the monster of the water, as behemoth was of the land. Probabl}- the crocodile is here intended — a reptile which resembles the alligator, but is larger and more formidable, with narrower snout, and feet webbed to the end of the toes. "The whole head, back, and tail are covered with quadrangular horny plates or scales, which not only protect the body—a rifle-ball glancing off from them as from a rock—but also serve as ballast, enabling the creature to sink rapidly, on being disturbed, by
Leviathan. {Crocodilus Vulgaris. After Tristram.)
merely expelling the air from its lungs." — Tristram.
It is believed that the crocodile was once abundant in the lower Nile to its
mouth, but it is now rarely seen within the confines of Egypt. This reptile once abounded also in the Zerka or Crocodile River, which flows through
LEV
LEV
the Plain of Sharon, and doubtless in the Tigris.
The crocodile seems to be meant by the word "leviathan" in Ps. 74:14; Isa. 27 :1. But in Ps. 104 : 26 the word is evidently used for some sea-monster, perhaps the whale. Several large cetaceous animals are found in the Mediterranean.
LE'VITES. In analogy with the names of the other tribes of Israel, the term should mean all the descendants of Levi, the whole tribe of Levi, and in this sense it is used in Num. 35 : 2; Josh. 21 : 3, 41; Ex. 6 : 25 ; Lev. 25 : 32, etc. As, however, the "sons of Aaron " were separated from the rest of the descendants of Levi and consecrated priests, the term came to denote a distinction within the tribe itself; and the Levites comprised only those descendants of Levi who were not " sons of Aaron "—that is, priests. 1 Kgs. 8:4; Ezr, 2 : 70; John 1: 19, etc. Sometimes, also, the term was used as an epithet — "the priests the Levites," Josh. 3:3; Deut. 17 : 18—but its general acceptance was, and is, that of the second sense here given.
No allusion is made in Genesis to the consecrated character of the Levites. It was given on the occasion of the making of the golden calf by the Israelites while encamped about Mount Sinai. Ex. 32 : 25-29. When Moses came down from the mountain and discovered the idol, he cried out: "Who is on the Lord's side? let him come unto me." The Levites immediately gathered around him, and in reward of their faithfulness on this occasion they were selected as the special servants of the Lord and the ministers of his sanctuary. Deut. 10 : 8, 9 ; 18 : 1, 2 ; 33 : 8-11. Their number was at this time 22,000, and corresponded nearly to that of the first-born males of the whole people. Since the day when the first-born of Egypt were slain, while those of Israel were spared, all first-born males of Israel belonged to the Lord. They numbered 22,273, and in their place, as the special inheritance of Jehovah, the Levites were now substituted, the 273 surplus being redeemed at five shekels each, Num. 3 : 45-51, which was the fixed ransom for a victim vowed in sacrifice. Num. 18: 16; Lev. 27 : 6. Thus the Levites came to occupy in the Hebrew theocracy a position midway between the priests and the 518
people. They were not allowed to oflFer sacrifice, to burn incense, to see the " holy things" until covered. Num. 4 : 5, etc., but they marched nearer the ark than the people, they carried the sacred tent in parts, they pitched it again at halting-stations, etc. For service they were purified by bathing, shaving, etc., and consecrated by the imposition of hands. The duties of their ofl&ce during the wanderings in the wilderness were minutely described. They consisted uf three great families, the Kohathites, the Gershonites, and the Merarites, of which the first carried the sacred vessels, the second the hangings and curtains of the tabernacle, and the third the boards and pillars. They also kept the book of the Law, Deut. 17 : 8-12, and served as judges, etc.
Forty-eight cities, with one thousand cubits of the country surrounding, were appropriated for the residence and maintenance of the Levites. These cities, of which thirteen were allotted to the priests and six were cities of refuge, were selected by lot, and lay scattered all over the country in the following way : in Judah and Simeon: Hebron or Kirjath-arba, Libnah, Jattir, Eshtemoa, Holon or Hilen, Debir, Ain or Ashan, Juttah, Beth-shemesh; in Benjamin: Gibeon, Geba, Anathoth, Almon or Alemeth; in Ephraim: Shechem, Gezer, Kibzaim or Jokmeam, Beth-horon; in Dan : Eltekeh, Gibbethon, Aijalon, Gath-rimmon; in Manasseh : Taanach or Aner, Gath-rimmon or Bileam, Golan, Beeshterah or Ashtaroth; in Issachar: Kishon or Ke-desh, Dabareh or Daberath, Jarmuth or Ramoth, En-gannim or Anem ; in Asher: Mishal or Mashal, Abdon, Helkath or Hukok, Rehob; in Naphtali: Kedesh, Hammoth-dor or Hammon, Kartan or Kirjathaim ; in Zebulun : Jokneam, Kar-tah, Dimnah, Nahalal or Rimmon, and Tabor; in Reuben : Bezer, Jahazah or Jahzah, Kedemoth, Mephaath; in Gad: Ramoth, Mahanaim, Heshbon, and Jazer. Besides these cities, with adjacent districts, the Levites received a tithe of all produce, animal and vegetable, but of this they paid a tithe to the priests. Num. 18 : 20-32. Another tithe they received every third year, and special provision was made for them during the term they administered in the sanctuary.
In the time of David their number had
LEV
Lie
increased to 38,000, of which 24,000 were set apart for the ordinary services, 6000 for the teaching of the Law and the administration of justice, 4000 as porters, and 4000 as musicians. They were divided into courses, and caiue up from their cities to the sanctuary in regular rotation. 1 Chr. 23: 24 :'20-31 ; 25; 26. When the separation took phice between the kingdom of Israel and the kingdom of Judah, all the Levites gathered to Judah, 2 Chr. 11 : 13-15, and they continued to play a conspicuous part in the destinies of this kingdom, under Jehoshaphat, 2 Chr. 19 : 8-11 ,• 20 : 14-28 ; Joash, 2 Chr. 23 : 1-8 ; Hezekiah, 2 Chr. 29 : 3-36 ; 30 : 21, 22 ; 31: 2-4; under Josiah. 2 Chr. 34 : 12 ; 35 : 3-18, etc. After the Captivity, however, only a small number of them returned, Ezr. 2: 36-42 ; 3:10; 6 : 18, but in the new organization they assumed their old positions. They settled in the villages near Jerusalem, received their old tithes, etc. Neh. 10 : 37-39; 12 : 29. In the N. T. they occur as representatives of a formal worship destitute of love. Luke 10 : 32. The distinction of Levite is still maintained among the Jews.
LEVIT'ICUS is the name of the third book of the Pentateuch, derived from its contents. Only the chapters 8-10 are history; the rest treats of the Levitical services—namely, chs. 1-7, the laws of offerings; 8-10, the consecration of Aaron and his family ; 11-15, the laws concerning that which is clean and that which is unclean ; 16, the atonement as the sum-total of all means of grace; 17-20, the separation of Israel from heathendom in food, marriage, etc.; 21, 22, the holiness of priests and offerings; 23, 24, the holiness of convocations, Sabbaths; 25, on redemption; 26, on repentance ; 27, on vows.
The authenticity and integrity of this book are generally admitted, and the doubts which have been raised concerning its Mosaic authorship by some modern critics regard only minor points or passages. See Law and Pentateuch.
LEWD'NESS. This word, which occurs Acts 18 : 14, is not used there in its present common acceptation, but in the wider sense of " wicked" or " vil-lany." See Rev. Version.
LIB'ERTINES, mentioned only in
Acts 6: 9, were Jews who, having been taken prisoners in the Syrian wars, were carried to Rome and reduced to slavery, but afterward emancipated. That their number was considerable is apparent from the fact that 4000 of them were banished from Rome in A. D. 19. In Jerusalem they had a synagogue, and there they came in collision with Stephen.
LIB'NAH (Wii7e//e«s). 1. The fifth station at which Israel encamped on their journey from Sinai; situated between Rimmon-parez and Rissah, Num. 33 : 20, 21, but not yet identified.
2. A city of Canaan, in the lowland of Judah, was taken by Joshua, Josh. 10 : 29-32,39; 12:15, and assigned to the priests. Josh. 15 : 42 ; 21: 13 ; 1 Chr. 6 : 57; revolted against Joram, 2 Kgs. 8: 22; 2 Chr. 21:10; was besieged by Sennacherib, 2 Kgs. 19 : 8; Isa. 37: 8; and has been identified by some with Arak-el-Menshiyeh, and by others with Tell-es-Safieh.
LIB'NI (ivhite). 1. A Levite, eldest son of Gershon. Ex. 6:17; Num. 3:18; 1 Chr. 6: 17.
2. A Levite, grandson of Merari. 1 Chr. 6: 29.
LIB'NITES, the descendants of Libni, the eldest son of Gershon. Num. 3: 21; 26: 58.
LiIB'YA, occurring only in Eze. 30 : 5 and Acts 2 : 10, is the classic name of Northern Africa, west of Egypt. It was inhabited by a Hamitic race, spoken of in the 0. T. under the name of Lehabim or LuBiM, Avhich see.
LICE. Ex. 8:16. These parasitic insects are still a pest in the Nile valley. Herodotus tells us that the ancient Egyptians peculiarly abhorred such vermin, and were taught by their priests that contact with lice rendered them ceremonially unclean.
Some authorities have held that gnats were here intended, but there is less ground for this opinion than for that of Sir S. W. Baker {Nile Tributaries, p. 122), which the writer's own observation inclines him to favor : '* The louse that infects the human body and hair has no connection whatever with 'dust,' and if subject to a few hours' exposure to the dry heat of the burning sand it would shrivel and die; but the tick is an inhabitant of the dust—a dry, horny insect without any apparent moisture in
LIL
its composition. It lives in hot sand and dust, where it cannot possibly obtain nourishment until some wretched animal should lie down upon the spot and become covered with these horrible vermin. I have frequently seen dry places so infested with these ticks that the ground was perfectly alive with them, and it would have been impossible to have rested on the earth ; in such spots the passage in Exodus has frequently occurred to me as bearing reference to these vermin, which are the greatest enemies to man and beast." These ticks are much larger than lice. The body is ordinarily about the size of a small pea; the legs are long, and the creature runs rapidlv.
LIEUTEN'ANTS, the general name of the satraps or viceroy's of the provinces of the Persian empire, Ezr. 8 : 36; called princes in Dan. 3:2; 6 : 1, etc.
LIFE is used in Scripture both in a natural and in a spiritual sense. In the former it means physical life as opposed to death. Gen. 2:7; 25:7; Luke 16: 25; Acts 17:25; and hence the expressions "tree of life," Gen. 2:9; 3 : 22 ; Rev. 2:7; 22 : 2 ; " bread of life," John 6 : 35, 51; " water of life," Rev. 22 : 1,17, etc. In the latter it means moral conduct as opposed to mere animalism, and hence the identification of life with that which is good, Deut. 30 : 15 ; John 3:16; 5 : 24; Rom. 5:12, etc., and of death with that which is evil. Jer. 21: 8 : John 6 : 50; Rom. 1:32.
LIGHT. By an easy transition from the physical to the moral sphere, light is used in Scripture in numerous figurative expressions imaging forth the mysteries of the spiritual world. Not only are cheerfulness, joy, intellectual clearness, moral truth, and divine blessedness repeatedly described as light, but tlie expression is also applied to the sources of these states; to men, John 5:35; Matt. 4:16: to angels, 2 Cor. 11 : 14 : to Christ Luke 2 : 32 ; John 1: 7-9 ; 8 : 12 ; 12 : 35 ; and to God himself. Jas. 1:17; 1 John 1:5:1 Tim. 6:16.
LIGHTENING. The terrors of the divine wrath are often represented by thunder and lightning; and thunder, on account of its awful impression on the minds of mortals, is often spoken of in Scripture as the voice of the Lord. Ex. 520
9 : 28 ; Job 28 : 26 ; 37 : 3, 5 ; 38 : 25 ; 40:9. LIGN-AL^OES. See Aloes.
l-IG'URE. There is more difficulty in identifying this stone than any other in the breastplate of the high priest, Ex. 28 : 19. No mineral is at the present day known by this name. Some high authorities suppose that the ligure is amber because Pliny and Theophrastus mention that amber is found in Liguria, whence this name might naturally be derived. But it is objected that amber was too soft for permanent engraving. The opinion that the ligure was red tourmaline or rubellite—sometimes called red sapphire—finds much favor. This hard and often transparent stone is certainly used as a gem. See Amber.
LIK'HI {/earned), a grandson of Manasseh. 1 Chr. 7 : 19.
LIK'ING, as a noun, means " condition." and as a participle '' conditioned." Job 39:4: Dan. 1:10.
LIL'Y (Heb. shusnn; Arabic sti-sa7i). The Arabs use this word for any beautiful flower resembling a lily, and in this general sense it is probably em-
Scarlet Lily. (Lilium Chalcedonicum.)
ployed in the Bible, the connection often suggesting to an Oriental mind the particular species meant.
The only true lily now found in Pal^
LIO
estine is the scarlet martagon {Liliiim chulcedonicum). It is likely that a white and fragrant kind {L. candidum) was once found on the coast, and this may have been the species referred to in such
{Anemone coronarla.)
passages as Cant. 2:1. But neither kind was probably ever generally abundant. Many related flowers of great beauty are common, such as irises, tulips, hyacinths, and a gladiolus.
If any particular plant is meant, the scarlet anemone (Anemone coronaria) best answers the conditions of color, Cant. 5:13, universal abundance, and gorgeousness. Matt. 6:28, 29. This flower is called a lily by the Arabs.
In the scarcity of wood the common flowering weeds of the fields are ordinarily gathered for fuel, and under the hot sun and dry wind Matt. 6 : 30 is often literally fulfilled.
LIME, a well-known substance obtained byburning limestone, bones, shells, etc., and used for plaster or the cement of brick-work. Deut. 27 : 2 ; Isa. 33:12. It is inferred from the above passage, and from Am. 2:1, that the modern mode of manufacturing this article was known to the apcients. Untempered
mortar is that which is so imperfectly or unskilfully mixed that it cannot be worked. Eze. 13 :10, 11.
LIN'EAGE, family or race. Luke 2:4.
LIN'EN, a cloth made of flax. It was much valued and used in ancient as it is in modern times. Fine white linen is in Scripture the emblem of innocence or moral purity. Rev. 15 : 6, though it is also mentioned as a mark of luxury. Luke 16: 19.
The best linen was anciently made in Egypt, as that country aff'orded the finest flax. The dress of the Egyptian priests was made of linen, and so was the dress of state in which Pharaoh arrayed Joseph. Gen. 41: 42. Also the sheets in which mummies were wrapped, and which formerly were held to be some kind of cotton fabric, have been proved by microscopic examination to consist of linen.
In the Hebrew text several difi'erent words are employed to denote linen. The exact distinction between these words has not been made out, but it is probable that they denote native fabrics in distinction from those imported from Egypt and Syria, or perhaps only difi'erent kinds of the same native product. For linen in general was highly valued and much used among the Jews. The temple veil, 2 Chr. 3 : 14; 2: 14, the holy garments of the priests, 1 Chr. 15 : 27, and of the Levite choir, 2 Chr. 5 : 12, the over-garment of the king, 1 Chr. 15 : 27, etc., were made of it.
LINES. This expression refers to the mode of measuring land with a cord or line, Am. 7:17; Zech. 1:16; 2:1,2, and came thus to denote a definite allotment of real estate, an inheritance. Ps. 16:6.
LIN'TEL, the head-piece of a doorframe, by which the superimposed mass is supported. The Hebrews were commanded to strike blood upon it on the Passover night. Ex. 12 : 22.
LI'NUS, a Christian of Rome, a friend of St. Paul and Timothy, 2 Tim. 4: 21, and, according to tradition, the first bishop of Rome after Peter.
LI'ON. This animal was found in Palestine as late as the twelfth century, but has disappeared with the forests. Doubtless it was of the Asiatic species, with a short curly mane, smaller, more compact, and less formidable than the . 521
LOA
African lion. The king of beasts is mentioned about one hundred and thirty times in the Bible. Besides the general name, six Hebrew words are used foi this animal, marking different conditions of
Lion.
age and prowess. His roar is described by four words, and his movements by six. Lebaoth, Arieh, Laish, and other places were named from this animal.
Lions were captured in pitfalls, to which there is allusion in Eze. 19 : 4, 8 ; 2 Sam. 23 : 20. Shepherds occasionally attacked them single-handed. 1 Sam. 17 : 36. The Scriptures record how the lion, when famished, often attacked the flock, devoured men, and even ravaged villages. This animal was partial to the jungles of the Jordan, and when driven thence by the annual freshet was much enraged. Jer. 49 ; 19 ; 50 : 44. As the symbol of royal power and strength, the most princely of all the tribes bore this animal on its banner. Gen. 49 : 9, and in the Revelation Christ is called "the Lion of the tribe of Judah."
The representations of this animal in the sculptures of Solomon's temple and palace will be remembered, as will also frequent rhetorical references to it as the symbol of various well-known characteristics, such as courage and ferocity.
LIPS. This word has various peculiar significations in the Scriptures. Unclean lips, Isa. 6 : 5, are lips polluted by sinful words; calves of our lips, Hos. 14:2, sacrifices of praise; burning lips, Prov. 523
26 : 23, lips through which the expressions of malice, envy, and other malignant passions are continually passing. Acts 9 : 1, or, as it is oftener interpreted, burning with false professions of piety and friendship. Covering the lips, Eze. 24 : 22, or chin with the outer garment was a token of mourning. The word occurs, besides, in a great number of metaphorical expressions easy to understand.
LIQ'UOR, OR LIQUORS, the translation of three different Hebrew words. One denotes a "tear" — i. e., the juice of the olive and grapes, Ex. 22: 29; the second denotes " maceration "— i. e., drink prepared by steeping grapes. Num. 6:3; the last, " mixture "— i. e., highly-flavored wine. Cant. 7 : 2. See Wine.
LIT^TER, a covered chair sheltering the occupant against rain and the sun, and carried either by men or animals. Isa. 66:20.
LIVE'LY, in 1 Pet. 2 : 5, means "living;" in Ex. 1:19 it means "full of life," " vigorous."
LIVER. The expression "the caul above the liver," so frequently occurring in the Pentateuch, Ex. 29 : 13, 22; Lev. 3 : 4, 10, 15; 4:9; 7:4; 8: 16; 9:10, etc., means one of the lobes of the liver, which was to be burned on the altar, and not eaten as sacrificial food.
LIZ'ARD (that lohich clings to the ground). Lev. 11 : 30. Many species of these reptiles abound in Palestine, some of which are very slow in their movements, while others run very rapidly. Some kinds are eaten by the very poor inhabitants. See Chameleon, Ferret, Mole, Snail, and cut on next page.
LOAF. 1 Chr. 16 : 3. See Bread. LO-AM'MI {not my people), the
LOA
LOC
name applied symbolically to the son of the prophet Hosea. representing Israel. Hos. 1 : 9. See Lo-uuhamah.
LOAN. The Mosaic law repeatedly enjoined it on the rich to come to the relief of the poor, not only with alms, but
Lizard.
also with loans. Ex. 22 : 25; Lev. 25 : 35-37,- Deut. 16:3,- 7-10; 23:19,20. No interest was to be taken, Ex. 22 : 25 ; Lev. 25 : 36 ; Deut. 23 : 19, and a pledge or security onlj' under certain restrictions ; the creditor was not allowed to enter the house of the debtor in claim of the pledge, Deut. 24 : 10, 11 ; a widow's raiment could not be taken as a pledge, Deut. 24 : 17, or a millstone, Deut. 24 : 6, nor could a poor man's raiment be kept over-night. It was allowed to hold a debtor in bondage, but only to the jubilee—that is, for six years at the utmost, Lev. 25 : 39-41, and in the sabbatical year all debts were cancelled and all pledges returned. Deut. 15 : 1-3, 7-10. These laws, however, had no reference to foreigners, from whom the Jews took interest and retained forfeited pledges; they also kept them as slaves. Nor were these laws kept strictly for a very long time. Sons were later on seized for their fathers' debts, 2 Kgs. 4: 1, and interests were exacted, Neh. 5 : 1, 13; and in the time of our Lord the economic principles of the Jews seem to have approached very nearly to those of the rest of the commercial world. Matt. 5 : 42 ; 25 : 27; Luke 6 : 35 : 19 : 13.
LOCK. The doors of the ancient Hebrews were secured by bars of wood or iron, though the latter were almost entirely appropriated to the entrance of fortresses, prisons, and towns. Thus we find it mentioned in 1 Kgs. 4 : 13, as
something remarkable concerning Bash-an that there were threescore great cities having walls and brazen bars. These were almost the only locks known in early times, and they were furnished with a large and clumsy key, which was applied to the bar by pushing the whole arm through an orifice from the outside-Cant. 5 : 4. There were also smaller contrivances for inner doors, Jud. 3 : 24, and probably projecting pieces by which to push the bolt with the hand. See Key.
LO'CUST, an insect of the grasshopper family, remarkable for numbers and voracity, and hence one of the most dreadful scourges of Eastern countries. Locusts, when mature, can fly to a considerable height, and, occasionally alighting for food and rest, they are often borne by the wind hundreds of miles. There are many species of these insects found in the United States, but none precisely such as live in the Orient. The locusts most destructive and doubtless ordinarily referred to by the Bible are of two kinds, Acrydium peregrinnm and CEclipoda mi-gratoria. In our English Bible seven terms probably describe this insect or allied species—viz., locust, bald locust, beetle, canker-worm, caterpillar, grasshopper, palmer-worm. These seven terms are made to translate nine Hebrew names. The confusion of the entire subject may be seen by the fact that ''locust" represents four original words, ''grasshopper" two, and "caterpillar" two, while two original words have each a twofold translation. Doubtless the Jews themselves applied some of these terms as loosely and widely as we do such a word as "worm."
It is probable that several of.the seven names mentioned describe locusts in their immature state. After leaving the egg this insect passes through changes answering to those of the butterfly, but is never dormant as a chrysalis. From first to last it is voracious, but when it is mature and can fly, it lays its eggs and drifts away in vast clouds, perhaps to perish in the ocean. The locusts which the writer saw devastating portions of Syria were fully thiee inches long when their wings were closed. Lev. 11 : 22 describes four distinct insects of the locust order. "Beetle" is plainly a mistranslation for some one of these leapers, since what-
$23
LOO
LOG
Locusts. 1. Truxalis. 2. Acridum peregrinum. 3. CEdipoda migratoria. (After Tristram.)
ever only crept and flew might not be eaten, vs. 21, 23. Joel, 1 : 4, probably names, as has been suggested, four different kinds of locust or stages of its growth.
These insects were often the instruments of divine judgment. Ex. 10 : 4-15 ; Deut. 28 : :]8-42 ; 1 Kgs. 8 : 37 ; Joel 2 : 1-11. The last-named passage gives a most vivid and accurate description of this fearful visitation. As locusts enter Palestine from the south or east, the " northern army," Jo.el 2 : 20, probably describes, under the figure of locusts, the Assyrians, who entered the land in similar swarms, but from a different quarter.
The account in Joel 2 is illustrated by the following extract from the journal of an Eastern traveller: " The locusts, prop-524
erly so called, which are so frequently mentioned by sacred as well as profane authors, are sometimes gregarious beyond expression. Those which I saw were much bigger than our common grasshoppers, and had brown spotted wings, with legs and bodies of a bright yellow. Their first appearance was toward the latter end of March, the wind having been some time from the south. In the middle of April their numbers were so vastly increased that in the heat of the day they formed themselves into large and numerous swarms, flew in the air like a succession of clouds, and, as the prophet Joel expresses it, ' the sun . . . shall be dark.' When the wind blew briskly, so that these swarms were crowded by others or thrown one upon another, we had a lively idea of
LOG
LOG
that comparison of the Psalmist, Ps. 109 : 23, of being 'tossed up and down as the locust.' In the month of May, when the ovaries of these insects were ripe and turgid, each of these swarms began gradually to disappear, and retired into the Metijiah and other adjacent plains, where they deposited
Locust Flying.
their eggs. These were no sooner hatched, in June, than each of the broods collected itself into a compact body of an eighth of a mile square, and, marching afterward directly forward toward the sea, they let nothing escape them, eating up everything that was green and juicy, not only the lesser kinds of vegetables, but 'the vine' likewise, 'the fig tree,.. . the pomegranate tree, the palm tree also, and the apple tree, even all the trees of the field,'Joel 1: 11,12 ; in doing which, they kept their ranks like men of war, climbing over, as they advanced, every tree or wall that was in their way; nay, they entered into our very houses and bedchambers like thieves. The inhabitants, to stop their progress, made a variety of pits and trenches all over their fields and gardens, which they filled with water, or else they heaped up therein heath, stubble, and such-like combustible matter, which were severally set on fire upon the approach of the locusts. But this was all to no purpose, for the trenches were quickly filled up and the fires extinguished by infinite swarms succeeding one another, whilst the front was regardless of danger and the rear pressed on so close that a retreat was altogether impossible. A day or two
after one of these broods was in motion others were already hatched to march and glean after them, gnawing off the very bark and the young branches of such trees as had before escaped with the loss only of their fruit and foliage. So justly have they been compared by the prophet to a great army, who further observes that 'the land is as the garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate Avilderness.'"
Van Lennep says : " The ground over which their devastating hordes have passed at once assumes an appearance of sterility and dearth. Well did the Romans call them ' the burners of the land,' which is the literal meaning of our word 'locust.' On they move, covering the ground so completely as to hide it from sight, and in such numbers that it often takes three or four days for the mighty host to pass by. When seen at a distance this swarm of advancing locusts resembles a cloud of dust or sand, reaching a few feet above the ground as the myriads of insects leap forward. The only thing that momentarily arrests their progress is a sudden change of weather, for cold benumbs them while it lasts. They also keep quiet at night, swarming like bees on the bushes and hedges until the morning sun warms and revives them and enables them to proceed on their devastating march. Nah. 3 : 17. They 'have no king' nor leader, yet they falter not, but press on in serried ranks, urged in the same direction by an irresistible impulse, and turn neither to the right hand nor to the left for any sort of obstacle. Prov. 30 : 27. When a wall or a house lies in their way they climb straight up, going over the roof to the other side, and blindly rush in at the open doors and windows. Ex. 10:6; Joel 2 : 9. When they come to water, be it a mere puddle or a river, a lake or the open sea, they never attempt to go round it, but unhesitatingly leap in and are drowned; and their dead bodies, floating on the surface, form a bridge for their companions to pass over. The scourge thus often comes to an end, but it as often happens that the decomposition of millions of insects produces pestilence and death. Joel 2 : 20. History records a remarkable instance which occurred in the year 125 before the Christian era. The insects were driven by the
LOG
LOI
wind into the sea in such vast numbers that their bodies, being driven back by the tide upon the land, caused a stench, ■which produced a fearful plague, whereby 80,000 persons perished in Libya, Gyrene, and Egypt.
" The locust, however, soon acquires its wings, and proceeds on its way by flight whenever a strong breeze favors its progress. Our attention has often been attracted by the sudden darkening of the sun in a summer sky, accompanied by the peculiar noise which a swarm of locusts always makes moving through the air, and, glancing upward, we have seen them passing like a cloud at a height of 200 or 300 feet. Joel 2:10. Some of them are constantly dropping to the earth, and, after resting a while, are driven by a common impulse to rise again and proceed with the wind; so that, besides the principal cloud, single locusts or a few together may be seen in almost every part of the sky. During a great flight they sometimes drop so thickly upon the ground that it is impossible to step without treading upon some of them, and the poor villagers, in consternation, busy themselves kindling fires, whose smoke serves to prevent the locusts from alighting upon their fields, orchards, or vineyards. The people of Syria believe noise to be as effectual in driving away locusts as in attracting a swarm of bees ; hence, upon the appearance of a flight of these dreaded insects the inhabitants of the villages, men, women, and children, rush out, armed with any tin or copper pans or kettles or rattles they can lay hold of, and strive, by their deafening shouts and din, Jer. 51 : 14, to scare the unwelcome visitors away."
Some species of the locust are eaten at this day in Eastern countries, and are even esteemed a delicacy when properly cooked. Lev. 11: 22; Matt. 3 : 4. After tearing off the legs and wings and taking out the entrails, they stick them in long rows upon wooden spits, roast them at the fire, and then proceed to devour them with great zest. There are also other ways of preparing them. For example, they cook them and dress them in oil, or, having dried them, they pulverize them, and when other food is scarce make bread of the meal. The Bedouins pack them with salt in close masses, which they carry 526
in their leathern sacks. From these they cut slices as they may need them. When the Arabs have them in quantities, they roast or dry them in an oven or boil them and eat them with salt. The Arabs in the kingdom of Morocco boil the locusts, and the Bedouins eat locusts, which are collected in great quantities in the beginning of April, when they are easily caught. After having been roasted a little upon the iron plate on which bread is baked they are dried in the sun, and then put into large sacks with the mixture of a little salt. They are never served up as a dish, but every one takes a handful of them when hungry. The food of John the Baptist consisted of such dried locusts, and not of the fruit of the carob tree. See Husks.
In the book of Revelation, 9 : 7, we have a literal description of the symbolical locust, which gives us a terrific impression of their power, and which is curiously illustrated by a passage from an Eastern traveller. An Arab from Bagdad, he says, compared the head of the locust to that of the horse; its breast to that of the lion: its feet to those of the camel; its body to that of the serpent; its tail to that of the scorpion ; and so of other parts. In like manner the Italians still call locusts little horses, and the Germans call them hay-horses.
LOD. 1 Chr. 8 : 12. See Lydda.
LO-DE'BAR, a place in the tribe of Gad, not far from Mahanaim, north of the Jabbok, east of the Jordan. 2 Sam. 9:4; 17 : 27. Here dwelt Machir the Ammonite, who assisted David when he retired from Absalom's usurpation, and in whose house lived Mephibosheth, Jonathan's lame son, who sat at David's table and received from him all that pertained to Saul and his house. Some suppose it to be the same as Debir, Josh. 13 : 26, but by modern travellei-s it has not yet been identified.
LODGE. Isa. 1 : 8. See Garden.
LODGE, TOj means, except in Josh. 2:1,*' to stay over-night." Isa. 1:21.
LOG. Lev. 14:10. See Measures.
LOIIVS. The dress of the Oriental nations being loose, it was necessary, when they were travelling or working, to gird up their garments and fasten them about their loins. See Clothes. Hence the expression is figuratively used, 1 Pet. 1 : 13, to denote a state of
LOT
LOK
mind in which the soul is prepared to work and exert itself under the influence of divine grace.
LOIS, the grandmother of Timothy. 2 Tim. 1: 5.
LOOKED means, in Acts 28 : 6,
a PYT)GCt.GCl
LOOK'ING-GLASS. What is thus translated was in fact a plate of metal polished so highly as to produce a very good reflection of objects. Generally, these mirrors were of a round shape and provided with a handle. Ex. 38 : 8; Job 37:18; Isa. 3:23.
LORD. This word is in our translation of the 0. T. the rendering of the two Hebrew words "Jehovah" and *'Adonai." When it represents the former, which may be considered a proper name, it is printed with capitals. Gen. 15: 4. When it represents the latter, of which it is the translation, it is printed with a capital initial. Ps. 97 : 5, etc.
LORD'S DAY, Rev. 1: 10. From the times of the apostles the first day of the week was kept sacred by the Christians in commemoration of the resurrection of Christ, and it is invariably designated as the Lord's day by the Fathers of the primitive Church up to the time of the edict of Constantino (321), when the name Sunday became common. See Sabbath.
LORD'S PRAYER, the name given to the prayer which our Lord himself taught his disciples, and which is recorded Matt. 6 : 9-13; Luke 11:2-4. " The Lord's Prayer is the Prayer of prayers, as the Bible is the Book of books and the Apostles' Creed the Creed of creeds. It is the best and most beautiful, the simplest and j'et the deepest, the shortest and yet the most comprehensive, of all forms of devotion. Only from the lips of the Son of God could such a perfect pattern proceed. An ancient Father calls it a summary of Christianity or the gospel in a nutshell. It embraces all kinds of prayer, petition, intercession, and thanksgiving, all essential objects of prayer, spiritual and temporal, divine and human, in the most suitable and beautiful order, commencing with the glory of God, gradually descending to man's needs, then rising to the final deliverance from all evil, and ending in thanksgiving and praise, as all prayer must end at last, in heaven, where all our
wants shall be supplied. It accompanies the Christian from the cradle to the grave. It can never be superseded. If we have exhausted the whole extent of our religious wants and the whole vocabulary of devotion, we gladly return to this model prayer as infinitely superior to all our own eff"usions. It may indeed, be abused, like every gift of God, and become a dead form—Luther called it in this respect 'the greatest martyr on earth'—but this is no argument against its proper and frequent use. It is not intended, of course, to supersede other forms or extemporaneous prayers, but it should serve as a general pattern and directory to all our devotions, and breathe into them the proper spirit."— Schaff.
The Lord's Prayer is divided into three parts—the address ("Our Father who art in heaven"), the petitions (six or seven), and the doxology. The address or preface puts us into the proper filial relation to God as our Father, to our fellow-men as our brethren ("our"), and into the proper attitude of prayer as an ascension of the soul to heaven (" who art in heaven ") as our final home. The petitions are divided into two classes. The first three refer to the name, the kingdom, and the will of God; the other three or four to the temporal and spiritual wants of man till his final deliverance from all evil (or, better, from " the evil one "—that is, from Satan, sin, and its consequences). The doxology is wanting in Luke and in the oldest manuscripts of Matthew; it probably found its way into the margin and then into the text from the habit of the Christians, inherited from the Jews, to wind up their prayers with a doxology. It is certainly very ancient and ajipropriate, and will never drop out of use, whatever critics may do with the text.
The Lord's Prayer is intended for his disciples. He himself addressed God, not as "our Father," but as "my Father," or simply "Father," owing to his unique relation to him as the eternal and only begotten Son; and, being free from sin and guilt, he had no need to pray, " Forgive us our debts."
LORD'S SUPPER, or THE HOLY COMMUNION, is the ordinance which commemorates the dying love and sacrifice of Christ for the sins
LOR
LOT
of the world. Christians are commanded to observe it till he shall return in glory. It was instituted in the night preceding the crucifixion. The Lord Jesus, after eating the paschal supper with his disciples, took bread and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said. Take, eat, this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me. After the same manner also he took the cup, and gave thanks and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it; for this is the new covenant in my blood, which is shed for many for the remission of sins; this do ye as oft as ye drink it in remembrance of me. Matt. 26 : 19-30; Mark 14 : 16-26; Luke 22 : 13-20; 1 Cor. 11 : 23-26. Nothing can surpass the touching simplicity and appropriateness of this memorial service, which has always been regarded in the Christian Church as the holy of holies of worship and communion with the crucified and ever-living Saviour.
In course of time, as the development of the doctrine of the ordinance became the subject of theological controversy, three difi"erent explanations of the words of institution led to three difi'erent theories—the Roman Catholic dogma of transubstantiation, or the miraculous transformation of the sacramental elements into the body and blood of Christ; the Lutheran doctrine of the co-existence of the real body and blood of Christ in, with, and under the elements during the time of sacramental transaction, and their participation by all communicants; and the figurative explanation of the words of institution with the idea of a spiritual fruition of Christ by faith only, as held in the Reformed Churches.
It is a sad reflection that the ordinance of the Lord's Supper—this feast which should bind all pious hearts to Christ and to each other and fill them with the holiest and tenderest affections — has been the innocent occasion of the bitterest and most violent passions and the most uncharitable abuse. The eucharis-tic controversies, before and after the Reformation, are among the most un-refreshing and apparently fruitless in Church history.
Happily, the blessing of the holy communion does not depend upon the scientific interpretation and understand-628
ing of the words of institution, however desirable this may be, but upon the promise of the Lord and upon childlike faith. And therefore even now Christians of different denominations and holding different opinions can unite around the table of their common Lord and Saviour, and feel one with him and in him.
With respect to the views held by the various evangelical Protestant churches, at least, the chief elements of reconciliation, when subordinate differences and scholastic subtleties are yielded, may be found in the following propositions. The Lord's Supper is, 1. A commemorative ordinance, a memorial of Christ's atoning death; 2. A feast of living union of believers with the Saviour, whereby we truly, though spiritually, receive Christ, with all his benefits, and are nourished with his life unto life eternal; 3. A communion of believers with one another as members of the same mystical body of Christ.
LO-RU'HAMAH {the nncompas-sionated), the name of the daughter of Hosea the prophet, and referring to the hopeless condition of the kingdom of Israel, from whom Jehovah seemed to have withdrawn his mercy. Hos. 1: 6, 8.
LOT (a covering, veil), the son of Ilaran and nephew of Abraham, was born in Ur, a city of Chaldea, where his father died, and followed, with Abraham and Terah, to Mesopotamia, where the latter died at Haran. Gen. 11 : 31, 32, thence to Canaan, Gen. 12 : 4, 5, and probably also to Egypt. After the return from Egypt the herds of Abraham and Lot had greatly increased. The tract of land they occupied was inconveniently small; strife arose between their herdmen, and Abraham proposed they should separate, leaving the choice to Lot whether he would go eastward or westward. Lot chose that region of the valley of the Jordan in which Sodom and Gomorrah were situated, but thereby he became involved in the warfare waged by Chedorlaomer against the two cities, was carried away as a prisoner of war, and was only rescued by the valor of Abraham, who attacked and defeated Chedorlaomer. Lot returned to Sodom, and, though he loathed the life of perdition which was led in that city, he remained there and chose his sons-in-
LOT
LUD
law among the Sodomites. When, at last, the measure of iniquity was full and doom was passed over the city, Lot and his family were saved only by the aid of special messengers from the Lord, who accompanied them from Sodom to Zoar; but Lot's " wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt." Gen. 19 : 26. Lot removed from Zoar and dwelt in the mountains, after which he disappears from history. The nations of the Ammonites and Moabites descended from him.
LO'TAN {covering), the eldest son of Seir the Horite, and chief of his tribe in the land of Edom. Gen. 36 : 20, 22. 29 ; 1 Chr. 1 : 38, 39.
LOTS, a method used to determine chances or preferences or to decide a debate. The decision by lot was often resorted to in former times, but always with the strictest reference to the interposition of God ; as in the choice of the apostle Matthias, Acts 1 : 26, and in the cases of Saul and Jonathan, and Jonah and his companions to determine who had offended God. 1 Sam. 14 : 41, 42; Jon. 1:7. In the division of the Promised Land among the tribes of Israel the use of the lot was expressly commanded by God himself, it being understood that the extent of territory should be proportioned to the population of each tribe. Num. 26 : 55. So the selection of the scapegoat on the daj' of atonement was to be determined by lot. Lev. 16 : 8. Property was divided in the same way. Ps. 22:18; Matt. 27:35. The orders of the priests and their daily service were also assigned by lot. 1 Chr. 24, 25.
As to the manner of casting lots we have no certain information. It is supposed by some that the stones or marks which were used in determining the lot were thrown together into the lap or fold of a garment, or into an urn or vase, and that the person holding them shook them violently, so that there should be a perfect mingling of the whole contents, to prevent all preference by the hand of him who should draw; so that the passage Prov. 16 : 33 is paraphrased thus : " In a lot-vase the lots are shaken in all directions ; nevertheless, from the Lord is the whole decision or judgment."
LOTS, FEAST OF. See Purim.
LOVE. This term signifies one of 34
the constituent principles of our nature, and in the perfect exercise of it is comprehended the whole of our duty to God and to our fellow-creatures. Matt. 22: 37-40; Rom. 13: 8, 10; Gal. 5:14; Jas. 2 : 8. Hence it evidently comprehends all holiness of heart and life. The highest and most glorious display of the divine character which has ever been made to man is the love of God in Jesus Christ, Rom. 5 : 8, and the great principle and fruit of both faith and obedience consists in the possession and exercise of love. John 13 : 34, 35.
LOVE-FEASTS were held in connection with the Lord's Supper, and paid for out of the common fund. Jude 12; 2 Pet, 2:13. When the community of goods had ceased, Chrysostom says, the rich provided them. Originally these feasts were held in the churches, but this was forbidden by the Council of Laodicaea A. it. 320. and in the following century the custom was dropped or assumed other forms.
LU^BIM [thirsty ; thence, chvellers in a scorched land). 2 Chr. 12 : 3 ; 16 : 8 ; Dan. 11 : 43; Nah. 3 : 9. See Lehabim and Libya.
LU'CAS. Phile. 24. See Luke.
LU'CIFER. This word, signifying "light-giver," occurs but once in our Bible, Isa. 14:12, and is then applied to the king of Babylon to indicate his glory as that of a morning star, or, figuratively, "a son of the morning." Tertullian and some others suppose the passage to relate to the fall of Satan, and hence the term is now usually applied in that way, though, as it seems, without suflicient warranto
LU'CIUS. 1. A kinsman of St. Paul, Rom. 15 : 21, and, according to tradition, bishop of Cenchraea, from which place the Epistle to the Romans was written. He is perhaps identical with—
2. Lucius of Cj'rene, a Christian teacher in Antioch. Acts 13 :1.
LUD, son of Shem, from whom the Lydians of Asia Minor are supposed to have descended. Gen. 10 : 22.
LU'DIM, son of Mizraim, whosepos-terity, also called Lydians, Jer. 46 : 9, settled on the continent of Africa, as we infer from the connection in which they and their country are mentioned, Isa. 66: 19; Eze.27 : 10; 30 : 5; Gen. 10: 13. Their precise location is unknown.
LUH
LUN
LiU'HITH (made of bonrda), a place in Moab. Isa. 15 : 5 ; Jer. 48 : 5.
LUKE (Greek Lucas), Col. 4:14; 2 Tim. 4:11; Phile. 24, is probably an abbreviation of Lucanus, possibly of Lucilius, but not of Lucius. Acts 13 : 1 ; Rom. 16: 21. The evangelist was not a •lew, as is evident from Col. 4 : 14, where the " beloved physician " is distinguished from " those of the circumcision." The opinion that he was a native of Antioch may have arisen from confounding him with Lucius. That he was one of the Seventy or of the two who were walking to Emmaus is unlikely, as he was not himself an ''eye-witness," 1:2, of the gospel facts. According to the N. T., he was a physician, and his style in general, as well as his mode of desci-ibing diseases, proves him to have been an educated physician. Tradition adds that he was also a painter. He comes into historical prominence as the companion of Paul in his later journeys, though his presence is modestly indicated in his own narrative only by the change to the first person plural. Joining the apostle at Troas, Acts 16 : 10, he accompanied him to Philippi on bis second journey; rejoining him some years later at the same place, Acts 20 : 5, he remained with Paul until the close of his first Roman captivity. Acts 28 : 30. Of his subsequent life nothing certain is known. According to common consent and internal evidence, he is the author of the Gospel named after him, and of the Acts.
Luke, The Gospel of, was written primarily for the use of one Theophilus. Luke 1: 3. As this name means " lover of God," some have supposed that it ought to be applied to any Christian reader in general, but it is better to refer it to a person of high rank (" most excellent," equivalent to our word "honorable"), who was either a convert or a catechumen. To the same person the Acts are dedicated. Acts 1 :1. The minute description of places in Palestine indicates that this person was not an inhabitant of that country, while the mention of small places in Italy as familiarly known. Acts 27 : 8-16, makes it probable that his home was at Rome—a view confirmed by the abrupt conclusion of Acts. In any case, he was a Gentile, and the Gospel was designed mainly for Gentile Christians, representing the universal 630
import of the coming of Christ for all nations and for all classes of men. This agreement with Paul is a natural result from the close personal intimacy between the apostle and the author, but there is no evidence that Paul dictated the Gospel or referred to it as his Gospel. 2 Tim. 2 : 8. The verbal resemblances, especially in the account of the words of institution of the Lord's Supper, Luke 22 : 19, 20; 1 Cor. 11 : 23-25, are such as would naturally result from companionship with Paul. In other respects the peculiarities of the third Gospel are marked. The style closely resembles that of the Acts, but has a larger number of Hebraisms, especially in the first two chapters, which indicate the use of Hebrew documents by the evangelist. Where he describes scenes he had witnessed himself, the style is far more pure. A large number of words are peculiar to Luke, and to him we are indebted for nearly all the chronological notices which link the Gospel facts with ancient history in general. The narrative is more complete than the others, and contains several portions peculiar to it; as, for instance, the account of the Nativity, the presentation in the temple, the miraculous draught of fishes, the sending out of the Seventy, the parables of the Good Samaritan, the Barren Fig Tree, the Lost Sheep, the Prodigal Son, the Unjust Steward, Dives and Lazarus, etc. The Gospel was written before the destruction of Jerusalem, and also before the Acts. Acts 1:1. It is probable that it was written at Caesarea in Palestine during Paul's imprisonment there, 58-60. Some, however, date it still earlier.
LUKE'WARM denotes the indifferent, who receive the call from the Lord, but, without either accepting or formally refusing it, remain entirely unimpressed by it. Rev. 3:16.
' LU'NATIC. It was formerly supposed that the changes of the moon (Luna) had an influence upon certain diseases of a paroxysmal character, and persons affected with those diseases were therefore called lunatics; hence, distracted persons who are sane at intervals are still called lunatic^ though the idea of their being at all under the influence of the moon is generally regarded as irrational.
In the two places in which the word
LUS
LYS
occurs in our translation of the Bible, Matt. 4 : 24; 17: 15, it seems to be nearly identical with " epileptic."
LiUST was not used formerly in its present restricted sense, butof any strong desire. In the A. V. it is the translation of three Hebrew and four Greek words. " To lust " appears six times in the A. V. Ps. 81:12; Rom, 1:24-27.
LUS'TY," vigorous." Jud. 3 : 29.
Ij\] Z {almoud tree). 1. The Canaan-ite name for the place in which Jacob rested and had a prophetic vision, and afterward the city of Bethel; now Bei-tin. Gen. 28:19; 35:6: 48:3; Josh. 16:2; 18:13: Jud. 1:23.
2. A cit}' in the land of the Hittites, built by an inhabitant of the original Luz, who was spared when the city was sacked. Jud. 1 : 23; now Lxnoeiziyeh, 4 miles north-west of Banias.
LYCAO'NIA, a province of Asia Minor which the apostle Paul twice visited. Acts 14 : 1-23 ; 16 : 1-6 ; 18 : 23 ; 19 : 1. It was separated from Phry-gia, and bounded north by Galatia, east by Cappadocia, south by Cilicia, and west by Pisidia and Phrygia. It consisted of a plateau with a hilly surface, not very fertile, but affording excellent sheep-walks. Its principal industry was wool-growing. Its chief towns were Iconium, Derbe, and Lystra.
The speech of this province. Acts 14 : 11, is supposed to have been either a Syrian or a corrupted Greek dialect, and the standard of civilization seems not to have been so very high.
liY'CIA (lish'ia), a region of Asia Minor, extending along the Mediterranean, just opposite to the island of Rhodes, between Caria and Pamphylia, and "overed by the spurs of the Taurus. Having belonged to the empire of Alexander and the Seleucidse, it was for some time in the possession of Rhodes, but made itself independent and became very prosperous, as the ruins of its two largest cities, Patara and Myra, testify. It also acquired some political importance, as shown by 1 Mace. 16: 23. In the reign of Claudius it became a Roman province. Paul visited it, and preached the gospel
both at Patara, Acts 21 : 1, and at Myra. Acts 27: 5.
LYD'DA, the Greek name for the Hebrew Lod, the present Lydd, now a village, but in ancient time a flourishing town situated in the plain of Sharon, a few miles east of Jopj)a, on the road to Jerusalem. It was burnt several times by the Romans, but again rebuilt. Vespasian gave it the name of Diospolis, *' city of Jupiter," but the old name prevailed. It was the birthplace of St. George, the patron saint of England, and Justinian built a church in his commemoration. By the Saracens it was again burnt, but rebuilt by the Crusaders. Now the church is in ruins, but the village is prospering. Here St. Peter healed the paralytic ^neas. Acts 9:32.
LYD'IA, a Jewish proselyte from the city of Thyatira, in Lydia, engaged in the purple trade, possessed of wealth, and temporarily residing at Philippi, where she heard Paul preach. Acts 16 : 14. She accepted the Gospel, was baptized together with her household, and tendered hospitality to the apostle.
LYD'IA, a coast-region of Asia Minor, extending along the Mediterranean from the promontory of Mycale to the mouth of the Hermas. It formed in olden times the centre of a great empire under Croesus; afterward it belonged successively to Syria, Pergamus, and the Romans. Its principal cities were Sardis, Thyatira, and Philadelphia. It is mentioned in 1 Mace. 8: 8 among the provinces which the Romans transferred from Syria to Pergamus.
LYRE. See Harp.
LYSA'NIAS. See Abilene.
LY'SIAS. See Clattdius.
LYS'TRA, a city of Lycaonia, situated in the eastern part of the great plain, probably at the present Bi-hir-Kilisheh. Paul visited this place twice, the first time in company with Barnabas, Acts 14, when he was saluted as the god Mercury, but afterward stoned, the second time in company with Silas. Acts 16. Timothy was probably born here. 2 Tim. 3 :11.
631
,,,..?;,.
MAA
MAA
M.
MA'ACAH ioppresiiion), 2 Sam. 3 : 3, OR MA'ACHAH, 1 Chr. 3 : 2, a daughter of Talmai, king of Geshur, was taken in battle by David, according to Hebrew tradition, and made one of his wives and bore him Absalom.
MA'AC AH, 2 Sam. 10 : 6, or MAACHAH, 1 Chr. 19 : 6, 7, a small district or kingdom on the north-eastern frontier of Palestine, situated, like Ti-beath and Tebach, in connection with which it is mentioned, between Argob to the west and the desert to the east. Its king brought into the field only 1000 men to the assistance of the Bene-Ammon against Joab. It can hardly have been in the region of Abel-beth-maachah.
MA'ACHAH. 1. The daughter of Nahor, Abraham's brother, by his concubine Reumah. Gen. 22 : 24.
2. The father of Achish, who was king of Gath at the beginning of Solomon's reign, 1 Kgs. 2 : 39 ; is also called Moach. 1 Sam. 27 : 2.
3. The daughter, or more probably the granddaughter, of Absalom, and the third wife of Rehoboam, mother to Abijah and grandmother to Asa. 1 Kgs. 15: 2 ; 2 Chr. 11: 20-22. In 2 Chr. 13 : 2 she is called " Michaiah, the daughter of Uriel of Gibeah," " Michaiah," being a variation of " Maachah," and Uriel being the husband of Absalom's daughter Tamar. In the beginning of Asa's reign she held the dignity of queen-mother, 1 Kgs. 16 : 2, 10, 13 ;■ 2 Chr. 11 : 20-22 ; but when Asa came of age she lost the dignity as a punishment because she had introduced idolatry. 2 Chr. 15: 16.
4. A concubine of Caleb, the son of Hezron. 1 Ciir. 2 : 48.
5. A descendant of Benjamin, and the wife of Machir the Manassite. 1 Chr. 7 : 12, 15, 16.
6. The wife of Jehiel, the founder of Gibeon, and the ancestor of the family of Saul. 1 Chr. 8:29; 9 : 35.
7. The father of Hanan, one of David's warriors. 1 Chr. 11: 43.
8. The father of Shephatiah, chief of the Simeonites. 1 Chr. 27 : 16.
532
MAACH'ATHI, Deut. 3 : 14, or MAACH'ATHITES, the inhabitants of Maachah. Josh. 12 : 5 : 13 : 11, 13; 2 Sam. 23 : 34 ; 2 Kgs. 25 : 23 ; 1 Chr. 4: 19 ; Jer. 40 : 8.
MAAD'AI {the ornament of Jehovah), one of the sons of Bani, who had taken a foreign wife. Ezr. 10 : 34.
MA AD I' AH, a priest who returned with Zerubbabel, Neh. 12:5; is called Moadiah in v. 17.
MAA'I [compassionate), a Levite, one of the Bene-Asaph, who partook in the dedication of the walls of Jerusalem. Neh. 12 : 36.
MAAL'EH-ACRAB'BIM {the ascent of scorjjioits). Josh. 15 : 3. The form is given elsewhere as Akrabbim.
MA'ARATH {open jylace), a town in the mountains of Judah. Josh. 15 : 59. The Pal. Memoirs suggest Beit Ummar, 7 miles north of Hebron, as its site.
MAASE'IAH {tvork of Jehovah). 1. Three priests—one a descendant of Jeshua, Ezr. 10 : 18, another of the sons of Harim, Ezr. 10 : 21, and a third of the sons of Pashur, Ezr. 10 : 22—who had married foreign wives.
2. A laj'man who divorced his foreign wife. Ezr. 10 : 30.
3. The father of Azariah. Neh. 3 : 23.
4. One who assisted Ezra when he read the Law to the people. Neh. 8 : 4.
5. A Levite who expounded the Law to the people, Neh. 8 : 7.
6. One whose descendants signed the covenant with Nehemiah. Neh. 10 : 25.
7. Two whose descendants dwelt in Jerusalem after the return from Babylon. Neh. 11:5, 7.
8. Two priests who took part in the musical service at the dedication of the walls of Jerusalem. Neh. 12 : 41, 42.
9. The father of Zephaniah. Jer. 21: 1; 29:25.
10. The father of the false prophet Zedekiah. Jer. 29:21.
11. A Levite appointed a porter for the ark by David. 1 Chr. 15 : 18, 20.
12. The son of Adaiah ; partook in the revolution by which Joash was placed on the throne. 2 Chr. 23 : 1.
MAA
MAC
13. An officer in the reign of Uzziah. 2 Chr. 26: 11.
14. A son of King Ahaz. 2 Chr. 28 : 7.
15. The governor of Jerusalem under King Josiah. 2 Chr. 34 : 8.
16. A doorkeeper at the temple. Jer. 35:4.
MAASE'IAH {rcfiuje of Jehovah), a priest, the father of Keriah, and the grandfather of Baruch and Seraiah, Jer. 32: 12; 51:59.
MAAS'IAI {work of Jehovah), a priest. 1 Chr. 9 : 12 ,• comp. Neh. 11 : 13.
MA'ATH (small), an ancestor of Jesus. Luke 3 : 26.
MA'AZ (anger), a son of Ram, a descendant of Judah. 1 Chr. 2 : 27.
MAAZI'AH (Jehovah's consolation). 1. Head of the twenty-fourth course of priests in the reign of David. 1 Chr. 24: 18.
2. One of the priests who signed the covenant with Nehemiah, Neh. 10 : 8.
MACCABEES, THE BOOKS OF THE, five in number, and containing the history of the Jewish rising under the leadership of the family of the Maccabees, belong to the Apocryphal books of the 0. T. The first two books, however, which are found in the Vulgate, the earliest English versions, and also in the Cambridge Bible, were received into the canon of the Roman Catholic Church by the Council of Trent; the fifth exists only in Arabic.
1. The first book begins with the accession of Antiochus Epiphanes to the Syrian throne in B.C. 175, and narrates the revolt of the Jews under Mattathias, their brilliant successes under Judas Macca-baeus, and the continuation of the contest under Jonathan and Simeon till the death of the latter, in b. c. 135. It was originally written in Hebrew, in the first decades of the first century before Christ, and afterward translated into Greek ; but we know only the translation. Its character is very different from that of the historical books of the 0. T.; it is a simple exposition of merely human exploits. But the author is veracious, and his apparent ignorance of Roman or other foreign aft'airs does not impugn his trustworthiness when he speaks of Jewish affairs.
2. The second book begins in the last time of the reign of Seleucus IV. Philo-pator, and ends with the victory of Judas
Maccabaeus over Seleucus Nikanor in 160. It thus comprises a much shorter period than the first book; and where it relates the same events, it deviates very much from it. There can be no doubt, however, which of the two accounts is the more trustworthy. The second book is an extract from a larger work on the subject by one Jason of Cyrene, but we know neither this Jason nor his work, nor the epitomizer. The extract must have been made before the destruction of Jerusalem, and is written in an exaggerated and rhetorical style and with a definite religious tendency.
3. The third book narrates the visit of Ptolomeus IV. Philopator to the temple of Jerusalem in 217; his demand to enter the holy of holies, and the punishment of his audacity by the hand of God ; his attempt to take vengeance on the Jews of Alexandria, and the immediate interference of God on their behalf; and finally, his conversion into a friend and benefactor of the Jewish people. The style in which this book is written is as bombastic and affected as its contents are fabulous. The historical kernel is very small, and even this little is not correctly rendered.
4. The fourth book begins with a philosophical dissertation on the supremacy of reason over the passions, and illustrates this subject with an account of the martyrdom of Eleazar, and the mother with her seven sons, following 2 Mace. 6, 7.
5. The fifth book gives the history of the Jews from Heliodorus to Herodes— that is, from B. c. 184 to B. c. 86.
MACCABEES, THE FAMILY OF THE. The proper name of this family was "Asmona?ans" or "Hasmonse-ans," from Chasmon, the great-grandfather of Mattathias " of the sons of Jehoiarib." 1 Chr. 24 : 7. " Maccabaeus" was a surname originally given to Judas, one of the sons of Mattathias, and then extended first to the whole family and then to the whole party which arose against the despotism of the Seleucides. The meaning of this surname has been variously given as " the hammer," *' the extinguisher," " destruction," and some regard it as a combination of the initial letters of the Hebrew sentence, *' Who among the gods is like unto thee, Jehovah ?" on Judas' banner.
When the emissaries of Antiochus
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Epiphanes came to Modin and required the people to ofifer idolatrous sacrifices, Mattathias, a priest of the course of Joarib, slew the first Jew who approached the altar to renounce his faith, then the emissaries themselves, and then he fled to the mountains with his sons, in B. c. 168. Numbers of his countrj-men who held dear their religion joined him here, and thus the revolt began. In 166 Mattathias died, and his son, Judas, succeeded him as leader of the movement. After the brilliant victories at Beth-horon and Emmaus, Judas occupied Jerusalem, and the temple was purified exactly three years after its profanation. By the still more brilliant victory at Adassa, 161, over Seleucus Nikanor, the independence of the Jews was practically established, but Judas fell shortly after in the battle of Eleasa. The contest was continued with success by his two brothers, Jonathan, died 14.3, and Simon, died 135. Under the latter the office of high priest
was made hereditary in the family of the Asmonaeans. Simon's son, Johannes llyrcanus, 135-105, changed the traditional policy of the family and sought support with the Sadducees, and his two sons, Aristobulus I., 105-104, who assumed the title of king, and Alexander Jannseus, 104-78, pursued the same line of conduct. After the death of Alexandra, 78-69, a civil war broke out between her two sons, Aristobulus II. and Hyrcanus II. The Romans interfered, and Aristobulus II., 69-63, having been defeated by Pompey, was dethroned. His brother Hyrcanus II. succeeded, 63-40, as high priest and prince under Roman supremacy, but without the title of king. With Antigonus, 40-37, a son of Aristobulus II., the Asmonsean dynasty ceased to reign, and with Aristobulus' two grandchildren, Aristobulus and Mariamne, it became extinct. Herodes became its heir. MACEDO'NIA (extended land), a noted country and kingdom lying north
^ N S ^
Map of Macedonia.
of Greece. The kingdom was founded about B. c. 814, and became famous in the world's history in the time of its great rulers, Philip and Alexander. It was the first part of Europe which received the gospel, and hence its importance in biblical history.
Situatton and Extent. —The boundaries of Macedonia varied at different periods, 534
but in N. T. times Macedonia may be described as bounded on the north by the range of Hacraus or the Balkan Mountains, separating it from Moesia: on the east by Thrace and the ^gean Sea; on the south by the province of Achaia (Greece) ; on the west by Epirus and Illyricum, from which it was separated by the Pindus range.
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Physical Features. —Macedonia is situated in a great basin nearly surrounded by the mountains and the sea. There are two great plains, one watered by the river Axius, whose mouth is near Thessalonica, and the other by the Strymon, which flows into the iEgean Sea below Amphi-polis. Between the mouths of these two rivers projects a peninsula divided into three points, on one of which is Mount Athos, whose peak rises nearly into the region of perpetual snow. Across the neck of this peninsula ran the great road (Via Ignatia) along which Paul and his companions passed.
History. —Macedonia is a name familiar to school-children in connection with King Philip of Macedon and his son Alexander the Great. The third great world-kingdom, the Macedonian empire, received its name from this comparatively little spot. Comp. Dan 8 : 5-8, 21. The Romans conquered the territory from Perseus. It was at first divided into four districts, afterward consolidated into one with its capital at Thessalonica,where the proconsul resided. There are numerous allusions to the Macedonians in the books of the Maccabees. In N. T. history Macedonia holds an important place because of the labors of the apostles. Paul was called there by the vision of the "man of Macedonia," and made a most successful missionary-tour. Acts 16 : 10 ; 17 :1-12. He visited it again, Acts 20 : 1-6. and probably for a third time. Comp. 1 Tim. 1:3; Phil. 2 : 24. His Epistles to the Thessalonians and Philippians show that the Macedonian Christians exhibited many excellent traits. The details of his work can be studied in connection with the cities of Macedonia visited by him. See Neapolis, Philippi, Apollonia, Thessalonica, Ber^a. Macedonia has been for many years under the control of the Turks, and is called Makadonia.
MACHiE'RUS is not mentioned in the Bible, but is supposed to be the castle in which John the Baptist was imprisoned and beheaded. It is nine miles east of the Dead Sea. Mark 6 : 21-29.
MACH'BANAI {one fat, thick, or who like my sons?) a Gadite chief who joined David at Ziklag. 1 Chr. 12: 13.
MACH'BENAH {hillock, or cloak), a name occurring in the genealogical list of Judah, 1 Chr, 3 : 49, and probably
signifying a town founded or colonized by Sheva and his family.
MA^CHI {decrease), the father of Geuel the Gadite, who went with Caleb and Joshua as a spy into Canaan. Num. 13:15.
MA'CHIR (so/£^). 1. The eldest son of Manasseh by an Aramite or Syrian concubine, 1 Chr. 7:14; the father of Gilead, Num. 26 : 29 ; 27 : 1: 36 : 1 ; and a daughter, Abiah. 1 Chr. 2 : 21, 24. At the time of the Conquest the family of Machir had become very large and powerful, and subdued the land to the east of the Jordan. Num. 32:39; Deut. 3:15.
2. The son of Ammiel, in whose house Mephibosheth was received and lived until David called him to Jerusalem. 2 Sam. 9 : 4, 5 • 17 : 27.
mVcHIRITES, the descendants of Machir. Num. 26 : 29.
MACH'NADE'BAI {what like the liberal f), on.Q viho divorced his foreign wife on command of Ezra. Ezr. 10 : 40.
MACHPE'LAH {duuhle cave), a field in Hebron containing the cave which Abraham bought of Ephron the Hittite as a burial-place for his family. A full account of the negotiations, carried on after the Oriental forms still prevalent, is given in Gen. 23. That cave became the burial-place of Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebekah, Jacob and Leah. Gen. 23 : 19 ; 25 : 9 ; 49 : 29-32 ; 50 : 12, 13. The name does not occur except in the book of Genesis. The cave Mach-pelah is one of the Bible sites which are positively known. It was situated on the western slope of a hill in Hebron, the town lying for the most part to the south and west.
Present Appearance. —A large structure called El Haram, " The Sacred Enclosure," surrounds the ancient cave. It stands high up the slope on the eastern side of the valley, conspicuous at a distance for its size. The outer wall, which contains not a single window, is 194 feet long, 109 feet wide, and from 48 to 58 feet high. The stones are of immense size (one of them 38 feet long and 4 wide), dressed and fitted with great care, and resemble those of the substructure of the temple at Jerusalem. Opinions differ as to the age of this building. Some ascribe it to David or Solomon, others to the period after the
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Captivity, still others to the time of Herod, who rebuilt the temple ; but there seems to be no good reason for disputing the view of Robinson, who regarded the external structure of the Haram as the work of Jewish hands, erected long before the destruction of the nation. Tristram and Stanley also accept the identification of Machpelah as certain, and hold it beyond doubt that the main stone enclosure was built by the kings of Judah, and most probably by Solomon or David. Within the enclosure is a mosque, which was probably erected in the time of Justinian as a Christian
church. Visitors are rigidly excluded; but by a special firman of the sultan the Prince of Wales was admitted in 1862. He was accompanied by Dean Stanley, and a full account of the visit is found in Stanley's Jewish Church (first series, appendix ii.). In separate apartments they were shown tombs or cenotaphs purporting to be those of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Sarah, Rebekah, and Leah, These tombs were of stone and overhung with cloth embroidered with gold and silver. Joseph's tomb is shown in a structure joining the Haram on the west side. Between the tombs of Isaac and
Mosque at iiebioii, covering the Cave at Machpelah.
Rebekah was a circular opening into a cavern below, which is supposed to be the real cave of Machpelah. Of the cave itself there is no detailed and trustworthy account. Captain Warren was told that it had not been entered for 600 years. The Moslems have a superstition that whoever attempts to enter it will be struck dead, and their fanaticism causes them to prohibit any one from making the attempt. It is thought to be possible that the embalmed body of Jacob may still be preserved in the cave, as Egyptian mummies have been found of as early a date. Since the visit of the ^36
Prince of Wales, the marquis of Bute (1866) and the Crown-Prince of Prussia (1S69) have been admitted to the mosque. See Hebron.
It is to be hoped that the political changes going on in the East may open the way for explorers to solve the ancient mystery respecting the cave of Machpelah, and perhaps bring to light the embalmed body of Jacob.
MAD is the translation of various Hebrew and Greek words, sometimes denoting actual insanity, 1 Sam. 21: ISIS; 1 Cor. 14: 23, but generally signifying an uncontrollable excitement only,
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caused either by fierce wrath, Deut. 28 : 28, 34; 2 Kgs. 9: 11; Luke 6:11; Acts 26: 11, or the frenzy of idolatrous worship, 1 Kgs. 18 : 2(5, 28, or real inspiration, 1 Sam. 19 : 21-24 ; comp. 2 Kgs. 9 : 11; Jer. 29 : 2(5: Acts 2 : 13. Only once in Scripture is madness connected with demoniacal possession. John 10: 20. Among the Orientals, as among all semi-civilized people, madness was generally looked upon partly with pity, because (jiod's hand was laid heavily on the madman, partly with reverence, because the mad mind, being shut up against all ordinary impressions, was considered open to supernatural or spiritualistic influences. Thus it became possible for David to effect his escape from the court of Achish by feigning madness. 1 Sam. 21: 13-15.
MAD'AI [middle land), the third son of Japheth, from whom the Medes descended. Gen. 10: 2; 1 Chr. 1: 5.
MA'DIAN. Acts 7 : 29. See Midian.
MADMAN'NAH {diwfihiU), a town in the South of Judah, Josh. 15 : 31, known in the time of Eusebius and Jerome as Menois, and not far from Gaza. Wilton would identifj' it with el-Minydy, 15 miles from Gaza; the Pal. Memoirs suggest Unun Deimueli, 12 miles northeast of Beersheba, as its more probable site. Madmannah corresponds with Beth-marcaboth, "house of chariots," in Josh. 19 : 5; 1 Chr. 4 : 31.
MAD'MEN (dvnghill), probably the name of a place in Moab threatened with destruction in the denunciations of Jeremiah. 48 : 2.
MADME'NAH (dnnghill), a Benja-mite village north of Jerusalem, the inhabitants of which were frightened away by the approach of Sennacherib along the northern road. Isa. 10:31. If the places in Sennacherib's march are mentioned in order, Madmenah should be between Gibeah of Saul and Nob.
MA'DON {contention), a royal city of the Canaanites, Josh. 11 : 1; 12 : 19, whose king was slain by Joshua; probably Madin, near Hatthi.
MAG'BISH (gatherituf), probably the name of a place. Ezr. 2 : 30, as all the names from Ezr. 2 : 20 to 34, except Elam and Harim, are names of places. It is not in the corresponding list in Neh. 7. The place was doubtless in the territory of Benjamin.
MAG'DALA [toioer). In the chief manuscripts and versions the name is given as " Magadan." Magdala is found only in Matt. 15 : 29. Christ came thither by boat over the Lake of Galilee after his miracle of feeding the four thousand on the mountain on the eastern side, Matt. 15: 39; and from thence he returned in the boat to the opposite shore. The parallel passage, Mark 8 : 10, has the "parts of Dalmanutha," on the western edge of the lake. The two regions or districts were probably near each other. The Magdala Irom which Mary Magdalene was named is perhaps identical with Migdal-el, Josh. 19:38, and may be the modern el-Mejdel, a miserable little Moslem village of fifteen or twenty hovels, on the water's edge, at the south-east corner of the plain of Gennesaret.
MAG'DALA, COASTS OF. Matt. 15 : 39. See Dalmanutha.
MAG'DIEL {the praise of God), one of the chiefs of Edom. Gen. 36:43; 1 Chr. 1 : 54.
MA'GI, a word of Median or Chal-da^an origin, was the name of the sacerdotal caste which among the Medians, Persians, Chaldaeans, and other Eastern nations occupied an intermediate position of great influence between the despot, to whose council they often were called, and the people, whose leaders in revolt they often were. As the administrators of the religion of Zoroaster they were the priests among the population belonging to the Medo-Persian empire. They alone had the right to perform the religious ceremonies. Distinguished by a peculiar dress, living apart by themselves, and forming a complete hierarchy, they were engaged in keeping alive the sacred fire on the altar of Ormuzd and combating the evil plans of Ahriman. But they were not only the priests of the Persian nation ; they were also its scholars. Deeply versed, according to the measure of the time, in philosophy and the sciences, especially astronomy, they accompanied the king even in war as his advisers, Jer. 39: 3; but as, at that time, a practical application of science did not mean the subjugation of natural powers and their employment for useful purposes, but the divination of future events and their possible modification through spiritual and mysterious agen-
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cies, the Magi became on this field mere soothsayers, fortune-tellers, dream-interpreters, not to snj sorcerers and enchanters. When the Greeks became acquainted with Persian religion and civilization, and here discovered a system of divination and oracles quite different from their own, it was natural enough for them to throw a special odium on the representatives of this system ,• and in the Greek-Roman literature the Magi always appear as impostors. Not so in the 0. T. During the Captivity the Jews became well acquainted with them, and Daniel describes them as men of wisdom, 1: 20: he intercedes for them with Nebuchadnezzai", 2: 24; and accepts a position as their chief or master. 5 : 11.
The same impression of dignity, truthfulness, and aspiration after the true religion is conveyed by the narrative in Matt. 2 : 1-14. Whence these Magi came we have no means of ascertaining, but it is a very probable inference that by the intercourse between the Magi and the exiled Jews some seeds of Messianic expectations were sown and took root among the former, and by special Providence these wise men were led to the cradle of the Messiah as a sign of the coming of the Gentiles. They were the forerunners of the heathen converts. The Christian legend represents them as three kings. Their memory is celebrated on Epiphany, the 6th of January, or the festival of Christ's manifestation to the Gentiles. See Star of the Wise Men.
MAG'IC was the art of influencing future events and changing their course by dark and secret means. The magician was believed to stand in connection with demons, and even Avith the gods themselves, and to be able to compel them to act according to his will. Of the religion of the Egyptians, Chaldceans, Persians, etc., magic formed an essential element, and of the Egyptian magicians, in their conflict with Moses and Aaron, Exodus gives a vivid account. 7 : 11, 12, 22; 8 : 7. Of the religion of the Jews magic did not only not form a part, but the law forbade the consulting of magicians, under penalty of death. Lev. 19 : 31; 20 : 6. Nevertheless, from their neighbors magic crept in among the Israelites too, and there were those among the people who believed in it and resorted to it. 538
The most remarkable instance is that of Saul and the sorceress of Endor. 1 Sam. 28 : 3-20. Also in the N. T. we find it mentioned. Acts 8:9, 10; 13: 6-12; 19: 13-19.
MAG'ISTRATE is used in our translation both in its general sense, signifying civil olficers with legal authority, Ezr. 7 : 25; Luke 12 : 11; Tit. 3:1; and in a special sense, signifying the Roman colonial officers—the duumviri, corresponding nearly to prsetorey. Acts 16 : 20, 22, 25, etc.
MA'GOG {region of Gog), the second son of Japheth, Gen. 10 : 2 ; 1 Chr. 1 : 5, and the name of a people descending from him, or the country inhabited by that people, and of which Gog was the king. Ezr. 38 : 2; 39 : 1, 6, etc. In the Middle Ages the Syrians applied the name of Magog to xlsiatic Tartary, and the Arabians to the region between the Caspian and the Black Seas. Generally the people of Magog are identified with the Scythians, who, in the times when Ezekiel wrote, were well known in Western Asia. Descending from the Caucasian mountain-regions in the beginning of the seventh century b. c, they conquered Sardis, the capital of Lydia, in 629, and defeated Cyaxares, king of Media, in 624. They penetrated even into Egypt, but were bribed ofi" by Psam-metichus. They were not expelled, however, from Western Asia until the beginning of the next century. By Ezekiel they are described as excellent horsemen, skilled in the use of the bow, 38 : 15 ; 39 : 3, and exactly the same traits ai'e prominent in the descriptions of the Scythians by the classical historians. In Rev. 20 : 7-9 the terms Gog and Magog are evidently used as types of the enemies of Christianity. See GoG.
MA'GOR-MIS'SABIB {terror on every side), a sj'mbolical name given by Jeremiah, Jer. 20 : 3, to the priest Pashuu, which article see.
MAG'PIASH {moth-killer), one of the chiefs who sealed the covenant with Nehemiah. Neh. 10 : 20.
MAHA'LAH {sickness), a descendant of Manasseh by a sister of Gilead. 1 Chr. 7 : 18.
MAHA'LALEEL {praise of God). 1. The son of Cainan, the fourth in descent from Adam. Gen. 5 : 12, 13, 15-17; 1 Chr. 1:2; called Maleleel in Luke 3 : 37.
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2. A descendant of Perez or Pharez, whose family lived in Jerusalem after the return from the Captivity. Neh. 11: 4.
MA'HAIjATH [titritti/cd instrument, harp, lyre). 1, The daughter of Ishmael, and one of the wives of Esau, Gen. 28: 9; called Bashemath Gen. 36:3, 4, 10, etc.
2. The granddaughter of David, and one of the wives of Rehoboam. 2 Chr. 11 : IS.
MA'HALATH, Ps. 53. and MA-HALATH-LEAN'NOTH, Ps. 88, occurring only in the titles of these two Psalms, are by most commentators held to be the names of some musical instrument used in the performance of the Psalm, or to contain some musical instructions with respect to the melody. Others, however, deriving the word from a root meaning " sickness," consider it a condensed or enigmatical indication of the idea of the Psalm.
MA'HALI (sick), a son of Merari. Ex. 6:19. The same as Mahli.
MAHANA'IM {two cam])s), a town east of the Jordan; named by Jacob. Gen. 32 : 1, 2. It was assigned to the Levites, Josh. 13 : 26, 80; 21 : 38 j 1 Chr. 6 ; 80, and lay within the territory of Gad, north of the torrent Jabbok. Mahanaim became in the time of the monarchy a place of mark. 2 Sam. 2: 9, 12 5 4:6. Abner fixed Ishbosheth's residence there, and David took refuge in it when driven out of the western part of his kingdom by Absalom. 2 Sam. 17:24; 1 Kgs. 2:8. Mahanaim was the seat of one of Solomon's commissariat officers, 1 Kgs. 4 : 14, and it is alluded to in his Song, 6 : 13. Dr. Merrill locates Mahanaim in the Jordan valley, 6 miles north of the Jabbok, at a ruin called Suleikhdt. Here water is abundant; the ruins are extensive and about 300 feet above the plain and near the dividing line between Gad and Ma-nasseh. It answers the biblical requirement better than other suggested sites, like Mahneh and Gerasa.
MA'HANEH-DAN [the camp of Dan), a place '' behind Kirjath-jearim," Jud. 18:12, and "between Zorah and Eshtaol." 13 : 25.
MAHAR'AI (swift, impetnous), a descendant of Zerah, and one of David's captains. 2 Sam. 23 :2S; 1 Chr. 11: 30 : 27 : 13.
MA'HATH (grasping). 1. A Ko-hathite Levite. 1 Chr. 6 : 35.
2. Another Kohathite Levite in the time of Hezekiah. 2 Chr. 29 : 12 ; 31 ; 13.
MA'HAVITE, the designation of Eliel, one of David's warriors, 1 Chr. 11 : 46 ; of uncertain signification.
MAHA'ZIOTH (visions), a Kohathite Levite, one of the sons of Heman, and chief of the twenty-third course of musicians. 1 Chr. 25 : 4, 30.
MATHER- SHAL'AL-HASH'-
BAZ (hasting to the spoil, he sjieeds to the prey), the symbolical name given to the son of Isaiah to indicate the capture and plunder of Damascus and Samaria by the king of Assyria. Isa. 8 : 1, 3.
MAH'LiAH (disease), one of the daughters of Zelophehad, in favor of whom the laws of inheritance were altered. Num. 27: 1-11.
MAH'LI (sickly). 1. A Levite, son of Merari. Num. 3 : 20 : 1 Chr. 6 : 19, 29 ; 23 : 21; 24 : 26; Ezr. 8 : 18; called Ma-hali, Ex. 6 : 19.
2. Another Levite, a grandson of Merari. 1 Chr. 6 : 47 ; 23 : 23.
MAH'LITES, a family of Levites descending from Mahli. Num. 3:33; 26 : 58.
MAH'IjON (sickly), one of the sons of Elimelech and Naomi, and the first husband of Ruth; died in the land of Moab. Ruth 1: 2, 5; 4:9, 10.
MA'HOL [danee), fsiiher of four sons who next to Solomon had the greatest fame for wisdom. 1 Kgs. 4 : 31. MAIL. 1 Sam. 17 : 5. See Arms. MAIN'SAIL. Acts 27 : 40. See Ship.
MA'K AZ (end), a place where one of Solomon's officers resided. 1 Kgs. 4 : 9. Conder suggests that it is the modern Mokkiis.
MAKHE'LOTH (^^lace of asaem-hlies), a station of the Hebrews in the desert. Num. 33 : 25.
MAK'KEDAH (place of shepherds), a roj'al city of the Canaanites in the plains of Judah, where Joshua executed the five confederate kings. Josh. 10:10; 12:16; 15:41. Warren would identify it with el-Mughdr, 25 miles north-west from Jerusalem, and Conder describes it as on the north side of the valley Sorek, 25 miles from Gibeon, close to the main road from Gaza to Lydda. There is a promontorv divided
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into three tops, the last of which falls abruptly and supports a large mud village upon the steep eastern side and huddled around the caves. There are still two caves wherein five men might crowd, and the entrance could be easily blocked with the great stones which lie scattered near. 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 who were hidden at Makkedah.
MAK'TESH (mortar), a place in Jerusalem denounced by Zephaniah. 1 : 11. Ewald conjectures that it was the " Phoenician quarter " of the city, and the Targum identifies it with the Kedron. Jerome places it in the lower city, where were bazaars of merchants at the time of the siege by Titus.
JUALi'ACHI (messenger of Jehovah), the last of the prophets, and called '*'the seal" because his prophecies form the closing book of the canon of the 0. T. Of his personal life nothing is known but what can be gleaned from his book. He flourished after the Captivi^^y, later than Haggai and Zechariah, at a time when the temple was completed, and was probably a contemporary of Nehemiah, B. c. 433. His prophecies are at once denunciatory of prevailing vices, and consolatory by the Messianic promise. Showing how vain were the murmurings of the people against the Lord, he reproves them for their neglect of his service, censures intermarriage with foreign wives, etc., and warns them that judgment will be established (5ver them. He closes with a prophecy of the coming of Messiah, and foretells that Elijah will return as a forerunner of Messiah—a prediction which found its striking fulfilment by the mission of John the Baptist. Mai. 4 : 6j Luke 1 : 17; Matt. 11 : 14; 17: 12.
MAL'CHAM (their Idmj). 1. ABen-jamite chief. 1 Chr. 8 : 9.
2. As occurring in Zeph. 1 : 5, it is understood by some as an idol in general, by others as signifying Moloch.
MALCHI'AH {Jehovah's king). 1. A Gershonite Levite, the ancestor of Asaph. 1 Chr. 6 : 40.
2. Two who had married foreign wives. Ezr. 10 : 25, 31, the latter probably the same as Malchijah. Neh. 3 : 11. 540
3. Two who helped to repair the wall of Jerusalem. Neh. 3 : 14.
4. A priest who stood beside Ezra when he read the Law to the people in the street before the Water-gate. Neh. 8:4.
5. A priest, the father of Pashur, Neh. 11 : 12 ; probably the same as Melchiah, Jer. 21: 1; Neh. 11 : 12; 38 : 1, and Malchijah.
6. An officer in whose cistern Jeremiah was thrown, Jer. 38 : 6, the dry cistern being used in Palestine as a dungeon.
MAL'CHIEL( (Corf's A;/»(/), a grandson of Asher, and the ancestor of the Malchielites. Gen. 46 : 17 ; Num. 26 : 45; 1 Chr. 7:31.
MALCHI'JAH (Jehovah's king). 1. The same as Malchiah, 5.
2. A priest, chief of the fifth course in the reign of David. 1 Chr. 24 : 9.
3. One who had taken a foreign wife. Ezr. 10 : 25.
4. One who assisted in repairing the walls of Jerusalem, Neh. 3:11; the same as Malchiah in Ezr. 10 : 31.
5. One who took part in the dedication of the walls of Jerusalem. Neh. 12 : 42.
MALCHI'RAM (king of altitude), a son of Jehoiachin, king of Judah. 1 Chr. 3 : IS.
MAL'CHISHU'A (king of help), 1. Chr. 8 : 33; 9 : 39; 10 : 2, OR MEL-CHISUA, 1 Sam. 14:49: 31:2, one of the sons of King Saul.
MAL'CHUS (reigning), the high priest's servant whose ear Peter cut off" when Josus was apprehended in the garden. Matt. 26 : 51 ; Mark 14 : 47; Luke 22 : 50 : John 18 : 10.
MALE'LEEL. Luke 3 : 37. See Mahalaleel. 1.
MAL'LOTHI (mj/ fulness), a Ko-hathite Levite, son of Hem an, and chief of the nineteenth course of singers. 1 Chr. 25 : 4, 26.
MAL'LOWS. Job 30 : 4. Several species of mallows grow in Bible lands and are eaten as potherbs by the poor. But it is believed that the Hebrew here denotes a plant of saline taste, or one that grows in salt places. The shrubby sea-oracle [Atriplex halimus), closely connected with the saltwort of our coasts, has both these qualifications, and is most generally agreed upon as the mallows of Job, although other plants have their advocates.
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MAL'LUCH {reiguing). 1. A Merar-ite Levite, ancestor of Ethan. 1 Chr. 6: 44.
2. Two who had married foreign wives. Ezr. 10 : 29, 32.
3. A priest who returned with Zerub-babel, Neh. 12 : 2, and signed the covenant with Nehemiah, Neh. 10 : 4 ; probably the same as Melicu.
MAM'MON, a Chaldee or Syrian word denoting "wealth:" used twice by our Lord. Matt. 6 : 24; Luke 16 : 9-11.
MAM'RE {fatness, strength), an Amorite chief with whom Abraham made an alliance, Gen. 14 : 13, and who gave his name to certain localities in his possessions.
MAM'RE, a place near Hebron, so called after the Amorite chief, Gen. 14 : 13, 24; 23 : 19; 35 : 27, and it is also the name of a plain and a grove at Hebron by which Abraham dwelt and entertained three angels. Gen. 13 : IS; 18:1- It was near Machpelah. Gen. 23 : 17, 19; 25 : 9; 49 : 30; 50 : 13. The grove of terebinths is supposed to have been the place called by the Arabs er-Rameh or liamet-et-KhuW, one hour from Hebron. The site of Mamre is shown, on the sheet-maps of the Palestine Exploration Fund, at BaJUttet Seltn, or " oak of rest," a fine old tree near the modern Russian hospice. The tree is called Abraham's Oak. Near the site is a spring. See Hebron.
MAN is, in ourEnglish Bible, the rendering of four diiferent Hebrew words.
1. Adam, Gen. 1: 26, from a root which signifies "'to be red" or "■ ruddy," which among the Shemites means as much as *' fair." This word is generally used as the generic name for the human race. Gen. 5:2; 8 : 21; Deut. 8 : 3.
2. hh, man as distinguished from woman, 1 Sam. 17 : 33; then husband. Gen. 3:16; Hos. 2:16; superior, Prov. 8:4; Ps. 141 : 4 ; the male of animals. Gen. 7 : 2, etc.
3. Geber, from a root signifying "to be strong," denotes man in contradistinction from woman, Deut. 22 : 5, or from children, Ex. 12 : 37, though it is also used collectively. Job 4:17; 14 : 10.
4. Methim, "mortal." Isa. 12 : 14. See Adam and Sox of Man.
MAN'AEN {consoler), one of the teachers of the church of Antioch, and
foster-brother of Herod Antipas the tetrarch. Acts 13 : 1.
MAN'AHATII {rest). 1. A descendant of Seir the Horite. Gen. 36 : 23; 1 Chr. 1 : 40.
2, A place in Benjamin. 1 Chr. 8 : 6. Probably Mdlhah, 3 m. from Jerusalem.
MANA'HTHITES, THE, the descendants of Manahath or the inhabitants of the place of that name. 1 Chr. 2 : 52.
MANAS'SEH. 1. The first-born of Joseph. AVhen he and his brother Ephraim were boys, and Jacob, their grandfather, was about to die, Joseph took them into the patriarch's presence to receive his blessing. On this occasion he adopted them into his own family as his own children, and predicted the superiority of Ephraim over Manasseh. Gen. 48 : 5-20. Nothing further is known of the personal history of Manasseh. His oldest, and as it would seem his only, son was Machir, whose children were embraced by Joseph. On their way to Canaan the Israelites conquered a large territory east of the Jordan, and some of them whose possessions were chiefly in cattle desired to have their portion assigned them among the rich pastures and fruitful hills of Bashan and the surrounding country. This request was granted, and half the tribe of Manasseh received the territory stretching from near to Ca}sarea-Philippi along the Jordan down nearly to Maha-naim. The other half had its portion on the west of the Jordan, between Ephraim and Issachar, across the country from the Jordan to the Mediterranean.
Several great men, such as Gideon, and probably also Jephthah, issued from Manasseh. The eastern part of the tribe prospered much and spread to Mount Hermon, but they finally mixed with the Canaanites, adopted their idolatry, became scattered as Bedouins in the desert, and were the first to be carried away into captivity by the kings of Assyria. 1 Chr. 5 : 25. The western Manasseh, of which only a few glimpses are visible in the later history of Israel, always j showed itself on the right side; as, for I instance, in the cases of Asa, 2 Chr. 15 : I 9, Hezekiah, 2 Chr. 30 : 1, 11, 18, and j Josiah. 2 Chr. 34 : 6, 9.
2. Son and successor of Hezekiah, I king of Judah, ascended the throne at
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the age of twelve years, B. c. 696. The former part of his reign was distinguished for acts of impiety and cruelty, 2 Kgs. 21, and he succeeded in drawing his subjects away from the Lord to such an extent that the only kind of worship which was not allowed in Judah was that of Jehovah. 2 Kgs. 21 : 2-9. Having supported the Babylonian viceroy in his revolt against Assyria, he was at last taken captive by the Assyrian king and ignominiously transported to Babylon. Upon his repentance, hovrever, he was liberated, and returned to his capital, where he died b. c. 641, after having done much to repair the evils of his former life. 2 Chr. 33 : 1-20.
MANAS'SEH [forget-ting), the territory occupied by a tribe descended from Joseph, and divided into two portions, one east of the Jordan, and the other west of it.
1. East of the Jordan. —The country of Manasseh east of the Jordan included half of Gilead the Hauran, Bashan, and Ar-gob. It extended from the middle of Gilead, on the south, to Mount Hermon and Damascus, on the north, I Chr. 5 : 18-23, and from the Jordan and the Sea of Galilee, on the west, to the Arabian desert, on the east. It is even now the granary of Syria. The extensive pastures of Gilead and Bashan gave the best scope for the half-nomad and herdsman's life led by this portion of the tribe. Jud. 5: 15. The people were powerful and brave, taking a leading part in the wars of Gideon, of Jephthah, and of David. See also Gilead and Bashax.
2. West of the Jordan. —The portion of the half tribe of Manasseh on the west of the Jordan extended from the Mediterranean to the Jordan, and lay between Asher and Issachar on the north and Ephraim on the south. Josh. 17 : 7-10. They also gained some towns in Carmel within the bounds of Issachar, probably by capturing them from the ancient Canaanites. Josh. 17 : 11-18. The dominant position of Ephraim seems
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to have obscured the power of Manasseh, and this portion of their country is frequently joined with Ephraim in the biblical allusions. For further notice see Palestink and Samaria.
MANAS'SITES, THE, descendants of Manasseh the patriarch. Deut. 4 : 43 : Jud. 12 : 4 : 2 Kgs. 10 : 33.
MAN'DRAKES (Heb. love-plants). Modern Bible scholars apply this name to a member of the potato family [Man-
Mandrake. {Atropa Mandragora. After Tristram.)
dragora officinalis). This is a stem-less plant with a disk of leaves almost as long, but not nearly as broad, as those of the garden I'hubarb, which it somewhat resembles, except in its blossoms. These are of a rich purple, and, appearing among the leaves very early, are followed about wheat-harvest by a round yellow pulpy fruit of the size of a large plum and of a sweet and agreeable flavor. The odor of the plant seems to be enjoyed by Orientals, Cant. 7 : 13, and by some Occidentals. Many strange superstitions are connected with this
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plant, and the idea of Rachel's time still prevails that c()ncej)tion is ensured by eating the fruit of this plant. Gen. 30 : 14-1 f).
MA'NEH. See Measures.
MAN'NA (Heb. ichat i>< this f), a substance miraculously furnished to the children of Isrnel on their journey through the wilderness, and designed as ii substitute for bread, the material for which they could not raise during their wanderings. It was called the bread from heaven, and its character and history are most fully described in Ex.16.
The most remarkable things about the manna of the Israelites were, 1. That double the quantity was supplied on the day preceding the Sabbath or seventh day ; 2. That on the Sabbath or seventh day none was furnished; 3. That what they kept from the sixth day to the seventh was sweet and good, wliile what they kept from any other day to the next day bred worms and became offensive. These miracles were wrought in attestation of the sanctity of the Sabbath.
The manna of the Jews is described as " a small round thing," as small as " the hoarfrost on the ground," "like coriander seed" (in shape doubtless, perhaps in size and density), "of the color of bdellium," " and the taste of it like wafers made with honey." Wafers were small thin cakes of fine flour mingled with oil and used in various offerings. Lev. 2:4; 7:12. If to this mixture was added a portion of honey, there would be the nourishment of the flour, the flavor of fresh oil, and the sweetness of honey.
For forty years this miraculous supply of food was furnished daily to between 3,000,000 and 4,000,000 of people. Deut. 29 : 5, 6. It ceased while they were encamped at Gilgal, immediately after they had celebrated the Passover for the first time in the Land of Promise. To commemorate this long-continued and wonderful miracle, Moses was instructed that a golden pot should be provided, Ex. 16 : 33; Heb. 9 : 4, and that an omer (or one man's portion) of the manna should be put up for preservation and placed in or near the ark, that succeeding generations might see with their own eyes the very substance on which their fathers were miraculously
fed in their long and perilous journey-ingS from Egypt to Canaan.
The manna which is now used in medicine as a mild laxative is the dried juice of the ash (Ornitfi), and is obtained froui Southern Europe. It evidently has no connection with the food of the Israelites. Various natural exudations from Eastern shrubs and trees arc called by this name, their sweet taste and tlie globular form under which they are ordinarily found occasioning a fancied resemblance to the manna of the Israelites. Especially notable is that which drops from the twigs of the tamarisk, or tarfa, in the deserts of Mount Sinai, and is gathered by the Arabs for food and sold to
Tamaiit<k or Maniui Tree of the Sinaitic Peninsula.
travellers as a curiosity. Although the natives call this substance manna, the manna which the Israelites found in the same locality was entirely different in several particulars. The Arab manna falls only where the tamarisks grow and during early summer; it may be kept years without breeding worms; it cannot be ground or beaten into meal, Num. 11: 8, more than could thick honey ; it comes on Sabbath and week-day in equal quantities. It is plain that the Israelites never saw their manna before or after the Exodus. Deut. 8 : 3,16 ; Ex. 16 : 15,32,33.
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An Eastern traveller gives the following account (in part verified by the wrJler) of the modern manna of Arabia: •' This substance is called by the Bedouins mann, and accurately resembles the description of manna given in the Scriptures. In the month of June it drops from the thorns" (the fresh stems; the tamarisk has no thorns) " of the tamarisk upon the fallen twigs, leaves, and thorns which always cover the ground beneath that tree in the natural state; the manna is collected before sunrise, when it is coagulated; but it dissolves as soon as the sun shines upon it. The Arabs clean away the leaves, dirt, etc., which adhere to it, boil it, strain it through a coarse piece of cloth, and put it in leathern skins. In this way they preserve it till the following year, and use it as they do honey—to pour over unleavened bread or to dip their bread into. I could not learn that they ever made it into cakes or loaves. The manna is found only in years when copious rains have fallen; sometimes it is not produced at all. I saw none of it among the Arabs, but I obtained a small piece of the last year's produce in the convent (of Mount Sinai), where, having been kept in the cool shade and moderate temperature of that place, it had become quite solid and formed a small cake. It became soft when kept some time in the hand ; if placed in the sun for five minutes, it dissolved; but when restored to a cool place, it became solid again in a quarter of an hour. In the season at which the Arabs gather it, it never acquires that state of hardness which will allow of its being pounded, as the Israelites are said to have done in Num. 11 : 8, Its color is a dirty yellow, and the piece which I saw was still mixed with bits of tamarisk leaves; its taste is agreeable, somewhat aromatic, and as sweet as honey. If eaten in any considerable quantity, it is said to be slightly medicinal. The quantity of manna collected at present, even in seasons when the most copious rains fall, is trifling, perhaps not amounting to more than 500 or 600 pounds. It is entirely consumed among the Bedouins, who consider it the greatest dainty which their country affords. The harvest is usually in June, and lasts for about six weeks."
Some authors have also suggested a 644
lichen {Lecanora esculenta) as the manna of the Israelites. This small plant grows on the desei-ts and mountains of the East, in the neighborhood of the Caucasus especially. It forms small grayish lumps, sometimes as large as a hazel-nut, yielding the same nourishment to the tribes of the Asiatic steppes as does the larger lichen called trijie de roche to our Arctic explorers in their extremity. The natives consider that this food comes from heaven, and call it manna. In considerable quantity it is sometimes taken up by the wind and let fall at a distance. Parrot says that these ** rains of manna" have been known to cover the ground in some parts of Persia to the depth of five or six inches.
The sugary exudation from the leaves and branches of the camel's thorn {Al-hagi ninurorum) of the Sinai deserts has been called Persian manna, and been believed by a few to have supplied the Israelites.
" Wherever the manna is referred to in Scripture, it is invariably regarded as a miraculous food sent directly from God. The Lord Jesus, when he accepted the manna as a type of himself—the living Bread which came down from heaven—corrects the error of those who, in seeking a sign from him, insinuated that the bread from heaven given by Moses, by which he secured the confidence of their fathers, was a greater miracle than the feeding of the five thousand, and says that it was the gift of God, and not of Moses. We are led to the same conclusion by comparing its properties and amount and the manner of its occurrence with what is known of the natural mannas, and we must regret all attempts to identify the ' corn of heaven' with any of them. Yet we have no doubt that this wilderness-food so closely resembled in general appearance the Egyptian manna as to justify the name given to it by those who first saw it. In the same way, emigrants apply names of familiar home-plants to the strange trees and plants they meet with because of some observed resemblance, though they are widely removed from each other in scientific character. The adopting a manna-like appearance for the miraculous food is in accordance with the general plan of God's miracles
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as recorded in his word. For example, the Loj'd Jesus did not bring bread from heaven to feed the hungering multitudes on the green slopes of the Sea of (iali-lee, but employed the loaves and fishes which were the common food of the country, and by miraculously increasing the small sui)ply found in the possession of one in the company made it sufficient for all. So, when his people hungered for flesh in the desert, God sent them quails —migrating birds which occasionally passed in flocks over the wilderness; and when they wanted bread, in full keeping with the locality, God gave them ' manna,' as if he were only multipljing the natural product of the wilderness."— W. Carruthers.
Manna is called the " corn of heaven " and ''angels' food," Ps. 78 : 24, 25, perhaps in allusion to the mode by which it was supplied.
The phrase " hidden manna," Rev. 2 : 17, figuratively describes the support which Christ furnishes to the true believer, of which the world does not and cannot partake. Comp. John 6 : 49, 61.
MANO'AH {resf), a native of the town of Zorah, in the tribe of Dan, and the father of Samson, whose birth is recorded in Jud. 13 : 1-23. Manoah is again mentioned, Jud. 14:2-4 at the occasion of Samson's marriage, but seems to have died before the son, whose body was brought up from Gaza by his brethren, not. as Milton has it, by his father. Jud. 16 :31.
MAN'SLAYER. When manslaughter occurred by a blow in a sudden quarrel, by a stone or other missile thrown at random, Num. 35 : 22, 23, by the blade of an axe flying from its handle, etc., the manslayer was allowed to escape by retiring into one of the cities of refuge, on the principle that in these and other such cases the person slain had been delivered into the hands of the manslayer by the Almighty himself.
MAN'TLE is the rendering of four different Hebrew words denoting—
1. A coarse fabric in the form of a plaid used by the Arabs for making beds in their tents. Jud. 4: 18.
2. The garment which Samuel's mother made in imitation of the official priestly robe for her young son in the holy tent at Shiloh. 1 Sam. 15 : 27.
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3. A wrapper with sleeves used by ladies. Isa. 3 : 22.
4. The chief garment of the prophet Elijah. 1 Kgs. 19:13, 19; 2 Kgs. 2:8, 13. 14.
MA'OCH {brenst-handf), the father of Achish, king of Gath, 1 Sam. 27:2; called Maachah in 1 Kgs. 2 : 39.
MA'ON {habitation), the founder of Beth-zur. 1 Chr. 2:45.
MA'ON, one of the cities of Judah, in the mountains, Josh. 15 : 55, and a district where David hid from Saul, and near which Nabal had possessions. 1 Sam. 23: 24, 25. The name of Maon still exists in Main, a lofty conical hill 100 feet high, about 8 miles south from Hebron.
MA'ONITES, THE, mentioned in Jud. 10 : 12 among the enemies of Israel; probablv the same as the Mehunim.
MA'RA {bitter). Ruth 1 : 20. See Naomi.
MA'RAH (bitterness), a place in the wilderness of Shur or Etham, three days' journey, Num. 33 : 8, 9, from the place at which the Israelites crossed the Red Sea. There was at Marah a spring of bitter water, sweetened subsequently by the casting in of a tree which " the Lord showed " to Moses. Ex. 15 : 23, 24; Num. 33 : 8, 9. At 'Ain Hawarah, distant 47 miles from Ai/iin Mousa, is a spring whose fountain rises from a large mound in the Wadi/ el-Atnarah, and is considered by the Arabs as the worst water in the district. The soil is impregnated with natron, which accounts for the bitterness. This spring has been identified with Marah. It is of course impossible to determine whether this is the precise spring of which the Israelites drank, but it is certain that it must have been in this neighborhood.
MAR'-ALAH {treniblinff),^ boundary of Zebulun, Josh. 19:11; Porter identifies it with M'ahd, 4 miles southwest of Nazareth, where are the ruins of a temple.
MARANATH'A, an Aramaic expression signifying "our Lord has come." 1 Cor. 16 : 22.
MAR'BLE, limestone of a compact texture and capable of receiving a high polish. Rev. 18:12. The Bible word seems to be used, however, for almost any shining stone, and much of the material of Solomon's architectural work may have been common limestone. Some
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of it was doubtless true marble, as was certainly much of the stone used in Herod's temple. This substance was probably used in very early times for building material, 1 Kgs. 6 : 7, M6 ; 7 : 9-12; IChr. 2b:2, and for many kinds of vessels. The colors of marble are various and beautiful, and pieces of all sizes may be so wrought together as to resemble a beautiful painting. Such was probably the pavement and columns of the Persian palace described in Esth. 1:6.
MAR'CUS. Col. 4 : 10. See Mark.
MARK'SUAH {possession}, one of the settlers in Hebron, belonging to the family of Caleb. 1 Chr. 2 : 42.
MA RE'SHAH {top of a hill), a city of Judah in the low country. Josh. 15:44. It was fortified and garrisoned by Rehoboam after the rupture with the northern kingdom. 2 Chr. 11: 8. Near it the great battle between Zerah and Asa was fought. 2 Chr. 14:9-12. It is mentioned once or twice in the history of the Maccabtean struggles. 1 Mace. 5: 2 Mace. 12:35. About b. c. 110 it was taken from the Iduma^ans by John Hyr-canus. It was in ruins in the fourth century, when Eusebiusand Jerome describe it as in the second mile from Eleuther-opolis. The ruin el-Merash, about a mile and a half south-south-west of Beit Jebrin, marks the site of ancient Mar-eshah. In the rocky banks of the valley south of the ruin there are numerous excavated caverns resembling subterranean towns. Conder suggested el-Marah, south of the valley of Elah, as Mareshah, but lately has accepted M'ernsh as the site.
MARK, OR JOHN MARK, as he is also called, Acts 12:12,25; 15:37, was a Jew, probably a native of Jerusalem, where his mother, Mary, resided. Acts 12 : 12. She was a person of some repute among the early Christians, as Peter, when released from prison, naturally went to her house. Mark was probably converted through that apostle, who calls him " his son." 1 Pet. 5:13, and the minute account of the young man who followed Jesus on the night of the betrayal, Mark 14:51,52, together with the omission of the name, points to the evangelist as the person concerned. Going with Paul and Barnabas, who was his cousin. Col. 4 : 10, as their minister, Acts 12: 25, on their first missionary 546
journej', he left them at Perga, Acts 13 : 13, and in consequence became, the occasion of " sharp contention " between them. Acts 15:36-40. Afterward he appears as a companion of Paul in Rome. Col. 4:10; Phile. 24. He was with Peter when that apostle wrote his first Epistle, 1 Pet. 5 : 13, but was at Ephesus with Timothy at a date probably later. 2 Tim. 4:11. Respecting his after-life trustworthy details are wanting, but ancient writers agree in speaking of him as the "interpreter" of Peter, which may mean that he translated for the apostle, but more probably means that he wrote his Gospel in close conformity to Peter's preaching.
According to the unanimous testimony of antiquity, the second Gospel in our canon was written by Mark, and numerous details of the work indicate the close relation between its author and Peter. Many events are recorded as if from the lips of an eye-witness, and some have suggested that the Gospel is based upon a diary of Peter, sketching his fresh impressions of events as they occurred. The style shows the influence of that apostle. Peter's address to Cornelius, Acts 10, has been called the Gospel of Mark in a nutshell. A comparison of the accounts in Matt. 16 : 13-23 and Mark 8 : 27-33 indicates that Peter himself (or an enemy of his, which is impossible) occasioned the omission of the praise, and yet the insertion of the rebuke. Mark alone mentions the two cock-crowings, 14 : 72, thus increasing the guilt of Peter's denial.
Although written in Greek, the Gospel was designed for Roman readers, and is especially adapted to their minds, so easily impressed by exhibitions of energy and power. It exhibits Christ as the spiritual Conqueror and Wonder-worker, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, filling the people with amazement and fear. Mark introduces several Latin terms; he even substitutes Roman money for Greek, 12 : 42, which Luke does not, and notices that Simon of Cyrene was the father of Alexander and Rufus, 15: 21, who probably were Christians in Rome. Rom. 16 : 13. It is therefore most likely that the Gospel was written in that city. The great similarity between the Gospel of Mark and that of Matthew has led some to consider the former a mere
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abridgment of the latter, but without sufficient reason. It occupies an independent position as the connecting-link between Matthew and Luke, Peter and Paul,"the Jewish and the Gentile Christianity. The last part of the closing chapter, 16 : 9-20, is not found in the two oldest and best manuscripts of the Bible, of which circumstance some have taken occasion to declare it a later addition. But it has been recognized as part of the Gospel and quoted bj' the Fathers of the second century—for instance, Irenteus, whose testimony is older than the oldest manuscript. Possibly it was a later postscript of Mark, added to a second copy; hence its omission in some manuscripts.
MAR^KET, OR MARKETPLACE. The market of an ancient Greek or Roman town occupied generally one side of an area, the other sides being occupied by public buildings, temples, courts, and offices of various kinds. Laws were promulgated here; judicial investigations were instituted; questions of philosophy and public interest were discussed; and all kinds of trade and business were carried on. It was frequented by business-men and by crowds of idlers and loungers. In a strictly Oriental city, such as Jerusalem, the market had not, like the forum, this character of being the centre of all public life. Still, it was always a lively place, generally situated just within the gate, and the principal scene of trade and traffic.
In the 0. T. this word occurs only once, Eze. 27 : 3; in the N. T. oftener. Matt. 23 : 7 : Mark 12 : 38 ; Luke 11: 43 ; 20 : 46 ; Acts 16 : 19, etc., and we learn 1-ora Matt. 20 : 3 that not only were all kinds of produce offered for sale here, but hither resorted also the laborers to find amployment.
MA'ROTH {bittervexf!), a place in the western plains of Judah. Mic. 1 : 12.
MAR'RIAGE. Its origin is recorded in Gen. 2 : 18-25, and its constitution is confirmed by our Lord. Matt. 19 : 5, 6 ; Mark 10 : 5-10. Marriage, in its primitive and normal state, is an inseparable union between one man and one woman for mutual comfort and happiness, and for the propagation of the race. It dates from Paradise before the fall. It is indissoluble except on account
of fornication. Polygamy first appeared among the Cainites, Gen. 4 : 19, and in spite both of the example of Noah and his sons, who were monogamists. Gen. 7 : 13, and of the general discouragement and special restrictions which the Mosaic law placed in its way, it still prevailed up to the time of the Captivity. It must be noticed, however, that among the Hebrews polj'gamy never assumed those degraded and degrading forms under which we meet it among pagan nations, or even among the Mohammedans. A distinction was always made between the chief wife and the secondary wives, between the legitimate wife and the concubines; and thus the principle of monogamy was always retained, though not always carried out. The Mosaic law enjoined the kings not to multiply their wives, Deut. 17 : 17; prohibited any one from marrying two sisters at the same time. Lev. 18 : 18 ; asserted the matrimonial rights of each wife within certain limits, Ex. 21: 10,11 ; and entailed considerable ritual observances on the man. Lev. 15 : 18. Nevertheless, instances of polygamy are of frequent occurrence, such as Gideon, Jud. 8 : 30; Elkanah, 1 Sam. 1:2; Saul, 2 Sam. 12 : 8 ; David, 2 Sam. 6:13; Solomon, 1 Kgs. 11 : 3 ; the sons of Issachar, 1 Chr. 7:4; Shaharaim, 1 Chr. 8 : 8, 9 ; Rehoboam, 2 Chr. 11 : 21 ; Abijah, 2 Chr. 13 : 21; Joash, 2 Chr. 24:3.
After the Captivity the 0. T. has no instance of polygamy on record, but the books of Ezra and Nehemiah and the post-Exilian prophets warned the Jews against mixed marriages with heathen women. The monogamic spirit of the Mosaic law, in consonance with the gene-, ral spirit of the 0. T., had now so far worked itself out into the details of practical life that monogamy had become the rule. Yea, in the period before the advent of Christ, a view had arisen among the Jews according to which even the propriety of marriage was doubted. It was the sect of the Essenes which represented this view, some of them rejecting marriage altogether, while others accepted it only with many restrictions. Nevertheless, instances of polygamy still occurred, as may be seen from the earliest commentators on 1 Tim. 5 : 9. Ilerod the Great had at one time nine wives. Thus Christianity had to contend at once
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against both extremes—the polygamists and the ascetics. With the former the contest was very short; polygamy soon disappeared from the Christian marriage. But in spite of Col. 2 : 16-23, 1 Tim. 4 : 3, and other passages of the N. T. in which the propriety of marriage is strongly inculcated, the unmarried state was still held to be more honorable and of greater holiness up to the very time of the Reformation.
In the pre-Mosaic period marriages between near relatives were not uncommon among the Hebrews. The great anxiety to keep the blood of the family pure, the strong feeling of exclusiveness toward foreigners, and the smallness of the tribe led naturally to such measures. By the Mosaic law, Lev. 18 : 6-18, the degrees of relationship which made marriage illegal were sharply defined— mother, stepmother, sister, half-sister, granddaughter, aunt, daughter-in-law, brother's wife, stepdaughter, wife's mother, step-granddaughter, or wife's sister during the lifetime of the wife. With respect to a brother's wife, an exception was made in the case of the brother having died childless. Deut. 25 : 5. In this case the brother married the widow, according to the so-called Levirate—from the Latin levir, " brother-in-law."—law, but the progeny which issued from this connection was in all legal respects to be reckoned as the progeny of the dead man. Marriages between Israelites and foreigners were comparatively rare; the marriages of Joseph with an Egyptian, Gen. 41 : 45, of Manasseh with a Syrian, 1 Chr. 7 : 14, of Moses with a Midianitish, Ex. 2: 21, and afterward with a Cushite, woman. Num. 12 : 1, were exceptional cases. Absolute prohibition, however, did not exist except with respect to the Canaanites, Ex. 34 : 16 ; Deut. 7 : 3, 4, though the legal disabilities of the Ammonites and Moabites, Deut. 23 : 3, had nearly the same effect. On the whole, marriages between Israelite women and foreigners were much rarer than marriages between Israelites and foreign women. After the Captivity this latter form of intermarriage became so common as to endanger the national character of the people, and the prohibition against the Canaanites was then extended also to the Ammonites. Moabites, and Philistines. Neh. 13 : 23-25. 548
Among the more special regulations of the Mosaic marriage-law may be mentioned : the high priest was forbidden to marr}' any but a virgin out of his own peo])le. Lev. 21: 13, 14. Thus the Levirate law could never be applied to him. The priests were forbidden to marry prostitutes and divorced women. Lev. 21 : 7. An heiress was forbidden to marry out of her own tribe. Num. 36 : 5-9, etc. Among the Jews divorce was not an act of the civil judicature, based on proper evidence on the part of the injured party. The husband could from a mere caprice, from having " found in her the nakedness of a thing," put away his wife by simply writing for her a bill of divorce, and a woman thus divorced could afterward marry whom she liked. Deut. 24 :1-4. In this Christianity made a great change, our Lord admitting only one sufficient reason for a divorce— adultery—and adding : "Whosoever mar-rieth her that is put away doth commit adultery." Matt. 19 : 9. As the Mosaic law did not absolutely discountenance polygamy, its conception of adultery was limited to the unlawful intercourse with a married or betrothed woman, but the penalty was death to both the guilty parties. Lev. 20:10; Deut. 22:22-24, and the manner of execution seems to have been stoning. Eze. 16 : 38-40; John 8 : 5. It depended, however, on the husband to transform the death-penalty into a simple bill of divorce, and this seems to have been the prevailing custom in the time of the N, T. See Matt. 1 : 19.
Generally, the marriage was negotiated exclusively by the parents, no regard being paid to the wishes of the young folks. This is still the case in Eastern countries, especially among the Mohammedans. Often, however, we find that the bridegroom exercised some influence on the choice of his wife, but there is no instance on record in which the consent and pleasure of the bride were asked for : from this humiliating subjection Christianity alone has succeeded in elevating woman. After the selection of the bride followed the espousal or betrothal—a contract made under oath and accompanied by presents ; a written contract was not in use, however, until after the Captivity. A marriage-dowry was given —not by the father to his daughter, but
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by the bridegroom to the parents of the bride. The primitive idea of the Hebrew marriage was evidently that the bride was bought, and in many cases the bridegroom paid tlie dowry in actual service; as, for instance, Jacob, Gen. 29 ; Joseph, Gen. 41 : 4j ; Moses, Ex. 2 : 21; 3:1; Othniel. Jud. 1 : 12, etc. After the betrothal the bride was considered as a wife, and any unfaithfulness by her was punished as adultery. She remained, however, for some time in the parental house, and during this period all communications between her and the bridegroom were carried b}' the ''friend of the bridegroom." When the marriage-feast was to be consummated, the bridegroom came to the house of the bride anointed, arrayed in festive garment, with the nuptial turban on his head, Ps. 45 : 8 ; Cant. 4:10,11 ; Isa. 61 : 10; Cant. 3 : 11, and accompanied by a number of his friends—''the cliildren of the bride-chamber." Matt. 9:16. The bride he found veiled, adorned with jewels and the bridal chaplet, and surrounded by her maidens. Ps. 46 : 13,14 ; Isa. 49 : 18 ; 61 : 10 ; Rev. 19 : 8; 21 : 2. In a great procession, with torchlights and lamps. Matt. 22 : 1-10 ; 25 : 1-10 ; Luke 14 : 8 ; John 2:1-10; Rev. 19 : 9, he then carried her to his house, where the feast was prepared; and often this feast lasted for seven days.
Both in the 0. T. and in the N. T. the betrothal, marriage-feast, and marriage have given rise to numerous allegorical and typical allusions, the relation between Jehovah and his chosen people being the point of comparison in the 0. T., Isa. 54 : 5 ; Jer. 3 : 14 ; Hos. 2:19, etc., that of Christ and his Church in the N. T. Matt. 9 : 15 ; John 3 : 29; 2 Cor. 11 : 2 ; Rev. 19 : 7.
MARS' HILL, better known by the name of AREOPAGUS. This 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 50 or 60 feet above the valley. The court held here 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 it for
life unless expelled for misconduct. Before the time of Solon the court tried only cases of wilful murder, wounding, poison, and arson, but he gave it extensive powers. The council continued to exist even under the Roman emperors. Its meetings were held on the southeastern summit of the rock. On the eastern and western side is a raised block. From this spot Paul delivered his address to the men of Athens. Acts 17 : 22-31. He also ''disputed" in the "market," or agora, "daily," 17:1 7,which was south of the Areopagus, in the valley Ij'ing between this hill and those of the Acropolis, the Pnj'x, and the Museum. " Certain philosophers of the Epicureans and of the Stoics" brought him up from the valley, probably by the stone steps, to the Areopagus Hill so that they might listen to him more conveniently. See Areopagus.
MAR'THA, the feminine form of an Aramaic word signifying " lord," "master," was the sister of Lazarus and Mary, and seems to have been the eldest of the family, as she is always mentioned before Mary and generally represented as the mistress of the house. She was more active in practical life than the younger sister, but lacked her concentration on the one thing needful ; but she was, nevertheless, sincere, devoted, and beloved by Christ, John 11 : 5, and her energy, somewhat encumbered by the distractions of actual life, became at last concentrated in her faith in the Saviour.
MAR'TYR occurs thrice in the N. T. Acts 22 : 20 ; Rev. 2:13; 17 : 6. In other places the Greek word of the text is rendered with "witness," Matt. 18 : 16; Luke 24 : 48, which is its original meaning. It was not until after the apostolic age that the word came to denote a witness who seals his testimony with his blood, but in the above passages we may observe it in a state of transition.
MA'RY, corresponding to the "Miriam "of the 0. T.
1. The virgin mother of our Lord (and hence " blessed among women "), was of the tribeof Judah.of the lineage of David, and by marriage connected with Elisabeth, the mother of John the Baptist.who was of the tribe of Levi, of the lineage of Aaron. After the incidents belonging to the infancy of Jesus—the visit of the shepherds, the circumcision, the adoration of the wise men, the presentation
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in the temple, and the flight into Egypt —Mary is mentioned only four times in the records of sacred history: at the marriage of Cana of (xalilee, John 2:3; the attempt to speak to Jesus while he was teaching, Matt. 12 : 46 ; Mark 3 : 21, 31; Luke 8 : 19; the crucifixion, John 19 : 26 ; and during the days succeeding the ascension. Acts 1: 14. She was present at the marriage in Cana, which took place in the three months between the baptism of Christ and the Passover of the year 27, and at which Jesus wrought his first miracle, after she had called attention to the lack of wine at the feast. She also sought an interview with him, in company with others of the family, when he was preaching to a crowd in a country place. She was present at his crucifixion, and was there commended by the expiring Redeemer to the filial kindness and attention of the beloved John; and she is mentioned as one among the praying company in the upper room at Jerusalem after the ascension of our Saviour. A great multitude of legends have clustered around her name, referring to her life before the birth of Christ and after his death, but most of them are extremely fabulous, and none of them seems to contain any historical kernel.
2. The wife of Cleophas, was present at the crucifixion and burial of our Lord, Matt. 27 : 56, 61, was among those who went to embalm him, Mark 16 : 1-10, was among the earliest to whom the news of his resurrection was announced, Luke 24 : 6,10, and on her way to the disciples with the intelligence she met her risen Lord and worshipped him. Matt. 28 :1,9.
3. The mother of John Mark, Acts 12 : 12, and aunt to Barnabas, Col. 4 : 10, a godly woman residing at Jerusalem at whose house the disciples were convened the night Peter was miraculously delivered from prison.
4. The sister of Lazarus and Martha, and a devoted friend and disciple of our Saviour, from whom she received the testimony that she had chosen the good part which should not be taken from her. Luke 10 : 41, 42. Compared with her sister, she appears of a more contemplative turn of mind and more occupied with the " one thing" needful. John 11 : 1 ; 12 : 2.
5. Mary Magdalene, or Mary of Mag-
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dala. Luke 8 : 2. The general impression that she was an unchaste woman is entirely without foundation. There is nothing to warrant the opinion that she was identical with the woman who was a sinner. On the contrary, she was a woman in good circumstances and of unblemished character. Having been relieved of a demoniacal possession by the divine power of our Saviour, she became his follower, Luke 8 : 2, 3, and evinced her attachment to him and his cause to the very last. She was at his crucifixion, John 19 : 25, and burial, Mark 15 : 47, and was among those who had prejjared the materials to embalm him, Mark 16 : 1, and who first went to the sepulchre after the resurrection; and what is particularly interesting in her history, she was the first to whom the risen Redeemer appeared, Mark 16 : 9, and his conversation with her is exceeded in interest and pathos by no passage of history, sacred or profane. John 20 : 11-18.
6. A Christian woman in Rome to whom Paul sends his salutation. Rom. 16: 6.
MAS'CHIL is found in the title or inscription of thirteen Psalms—namely, 32, 42, 44, 45, 52-55, 74, 78, 88, 89, 142 —and is by some explained as an jBsthetical term meaning " didactic," by others as a musical term referring to the melody.
MASH, Gen, 10 : 23, or ME'-SHECH, 1 Chr. 1 : 17, a son of Aram, and the ancestor of one branch of the Aramaic race, settled probably at the Mons Masius of classical writers, the present Karja Baghlar, situated on the northern frontier of Mesopotamia.
MA'SHAIj {entreaty), a Levitical city in Asher, 1 Chr. 6 : 74: also called Misheal, Josh.l9 : 26, and Mishal. Josh. 21 : 30. It was near Mount Carmel.
MA'SON. The Hebrews no doubt learnt the art of masonry during their residence in Egypt, Ex. 1 : 11, 14, though at a later period we find Phoenician workmen employed by David and Solomon. 1 Kgs. 5 : 17, 18; 1 Chr. 14 : 1. By the erection of the temple great skill in the art of masonry was evinced, both in the great wall which supported the temple-platform, and which consisted of huge blocks held together by lead, and in the temple-wall itself, in which the
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stones were so accurately cut that they could be laid without the application of tools. In common buildings plastering with mortar was used both without and within. Lev. 14 : 40-42; Matt. 23 : 27. There seems also to have been a kind of plastering with mere mud. called untempered. Eze. 13 : 10-15.
MAS'ORA. See Bible.
MAS'IiEKA {vineyard of noble vines), a place apparently in Idumsea, and seat of an early king of Edom. Gen. 36 : 36; 1 Chr. 1 : 47.
MAS'SA {gift, tribute), a son of Ish-mael, Gen. 25 : 14; 1 Chr. 1 : .30, and probably the ancestor of the Masani, settled in the north-eastern part of Arabia, near the Babylonian frontier.
MAS 'S AH [temptation), a name given to the place, also called Meribah, where the Israelites tempted Jehovah. Ex. 17 : 7 ; Ps. 95 : 8, 9; Heb. 3 : 8.
MAS'TER is in our translation often the rendering of a Greek word meaning "teacher," Luke 6 : 40 ; John 3:10; hence its frequent application to our Lord. Matt. 22 : 16, 24, 36, etc.
MATHU'SALA, the Greek form of Methuselah. Luke 3 : 37.
MA'TRED {2}ropelling), a daughter of Mezahab, and mother of Mehetabel, who was the wife of Hadar, king of Edom. Gen. 36 : 39; 1 Chr. 1 : 50.
MA'TRI {rain of Jehovah), a Ben-jamite family to which Saul the king belonged. 1 Sam. 10 : 21.
MAT'TAN {a gift). 1. One of Baal's priests, who was slain before his idolatrous altar at the deposition of Athaliah. 2 Kgs. 11 : 18; 2 Chr. 23 : 17.
2. The father of Shephatiah, who wished to put Jeremiah to death. Jer. 38 • 1.
MAT'TANAH {gift, present), a station of the Hebrews between the desert and the borders of Moab. Num. 21 : 18, 19. Maschana, on the Arnon, 12 miles from Dibon, has been suggested as marking Mattanah.
MATTAIVI'AH {gift of Jehovah). 1. The original name of the son of Josiah who was made king by Nebuchadnezzar, 2 Kgs. 24 : 17, and whose name was changed to Zedekiah, which see.
2. A Levite singer of the sons of Asaph, 1 Chr. 9 : 15, who, after the
restoration of the temple, was the leader of the choir in the time of Nehemiah. Neh. 11:17; 12:8. 25, 35.
3. A Levite, son of Heman, and chief of the ninth division of singers. 1 Chr.
25 : 4, 16.
4. A Levite, a descendant of Asaph, and ancestor of Jahaziel. 2 Chr. 20 : 14.
5. A Levite who assisted in the purification of the temple in the reign of Hezekiah. 2 Chr. 29 : 13.
6. A Levite, father of Zaccur, and ancestor of Hanan. Neh. 13 : 13.
7. I\)ur persons who had married foreign wives in the time of Ezra. Ezr. 10 :
26 27 30 '^1
MAT'TATHA {gift of Jehovah), a son of Nathan, and grandson of David in the genealogv of Jesus. Luke 3 : 31.
MAt'TATHAH, one who had married a foreign woman in the time of Ezra. Ezr. 10 : 33.
MATTATHI'AS. 1. Two persons in the genealogy of Jesus. Luke 3 : 25, 26.
2. The head of the Maccabaean family. See Maccabees.
MATTENA'I {gift of Jehovah). 1. Two persons who had married foreign women in the time of Ezra. Ezr. 10 : 33, 37.
2. A priest in the time of Joiakim. Neh. 12 : 19.
MAT'THAN, a person in the genealogy of Christ. Matt. 1 : 15.
MAT'THAT {gift of God), two persons in the genealogy of Jesus. Luke 3 : 24. 29.
MAT'THEW, derived from the same word as MATTHI'AS, Acts 1 : 23, 26 {gift of God), apostle, and author of the first canonical Gospel. His original name was Levi, jMark 2 : 14; Luke 5 : 27, 29, which, like that of Simon and of Saul, was changed on his being called to the apostleship. He was a publican or tax-gatherer near the Sea of Galilee, on the route between Damascus and the Phoenician seaports, and was called by our Lord immediately from the toll-booth. This avocation was regarded by the Jews with contempt, but it doubtless gave him an extensive knowledge of human nature, and accurate business habits, which tended to fit him for his great work as an evan-
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gelist. The N. T. is silent in regard to his special labors, but he was among those who met in the upper room at Jerusalem after the ascension of our Lord. Acts 1 ; 13. The tradition of his martyrdom in Ethiojna is legendary.
The Gospel according to Matthew was probably written in Palestine, and certainly for Jewish Christians. It presents Christ as the last and greatest Lawgiver and Prophet, as the Fulfiller of the 0. T., as the Messiah and King of the true people of Israel. Its arrangement is not strictly chronological, but topical, grouping together the works and sayings of Christ according to their similarity. Though a simple narrative in its form, and not proposing any definite design on the part of the author, it is in fact an historical proof that Jesus of Nazareth is the Messiah. The frequent references to the fulfilment of 0. T. prophecy suggest this purpose. While it is not certain that it was the first in time, it deserves the first place in the N. T., forming, as it does, the best link between the 0. and the N. T., between the Law and the Gospel. It occupies the same position in the canon of the N. T. as the Pentateuch in that of the 0. T., giving us, in the Sermon on the Mount, a counterpart of the legislation from Mount Sinai, the fundamental law of the Christian Church. The genealogy, the revelation to Joseph, the visit of the Magi, peculitir to this Gospel, all combine to make the impression, as one begins to read, that here is the fulfilment, not the abolition, of the old dispensation; and this impression is deepened by the Sermon on the Mount, the parables of the kingdom of heaven, the discourse against the Pharisees, and the repeated citations from the 0. T. prophecies which are declared to be fulfilled in Christ.
With respect to the language in which this Gospel first was written, two diff'er-ent views have been set forth : 1. That it was originally composed in Hebrew— i.e., Syro-Chaldaic, or Western Aramaic, the dialect spoken in Palestine by the Jewish Christians; 2. That it was written in Greek, as we now possess it. The j testimony of the early Church unanimously favors the first view. Those | Fathers who assert that Matthew wrote I 552
in Hebrew also assert that his work was translated into Greek, and unhesitatingly employ the present Greek Gospel as a faithful representative of the apostolic production. If we accept a Hebrew original, then we must also conclude that when the necessity for a Greek version became obvious, Matthew himself made, or caused to be made, the present Greek Gospel. Of this there is no positive and direct proof, but it accords with the testimony of the Fathers and accounts for the double assignment of dates which we find, and also for the universal acceptance of our Gospel. On the other side, it has been urged in favor of a Greek original or of the original character of our Gospel, not only that the testimony of the Fathers is insufficient, unsatisfactory, and at times confused, but that the evidence from the Gospel itself is abundantly conclusive on this point. The theory of a version by Matthew himself will account for the early citation of the present Greek text, but not so readily for certain facts in the Gospel itself. It agrees most exactly with the other two synoptists, Mark and Luke, in the discourses, especially those of our Lord, and diff'ers from them most in the narrative portions. And further, where citations from the 0. T. occur in the discourses, they are usually from the Septuagint, while those in the narrative appear to be indejjendent translations from the Hebrew, It is argued that a mere translator could not have done this, but an independent writer, using the Greek tongue and wishing to conform his narrative to the oral teaching of the apostles, might have used for the quotations the well-known Greek 0. T. used by his colleagues. The whole question is an open one, and it is to be hoped that some future archteological discoveries will settle it. The drift of scholarly opinion, however, is toward the acceptance of a Greek original. In any case, there is no reason for doubting the genuineness of the canonical Gospel.
With regard to the time when it was written there is great uncertainty. Evidently, Jerusalem had not been destroyed, but its destruction is foretold, ch. 24, in a manner that is only explicable on the assumption of its being still a future event to the writer. On the other hand, it is evident that some time had elapsed
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since the events it records had occurred. 27 : 7, 8; 28 : 15. Some of the ancients give the eighth year after the Ascension as the date, others the fifteenth. If tliere was an original Hebrew Gospel, the earlier date belongs to it; but we would place our present Gospel between CO and 66—a period during which both Mark and Luke probably wrote their Gospels.
MATTHI'AS {gift of Jehovah), a disciple of Christ, and a constant attendant on his travels and ministry from their commencement until his ascension, was appointed by lot to supply the vacancy in the company of the twelve apostles occasioned by the apostasy of Judas. Acts 1:21 et seq. Of his afterlife and ministry nothing is known with certainty. According to one tradition, he preached in Ethiopia and suflFered martyrdom there ; according to another, he labored in Juda?a and was stoned by the Jews.
MATTITHI'AH (gift of Jehovah). 1. A Korahite Levite presiding over the offerings made in the pans. 1 Chr. 9:31.
2. A Levite appointed by David to play the harp. 1 Chr. 15 : 18,. 21; 16 : 5; comp. 25:3, 21.
3. One who had married a foreign wife in the time of Ezra. Ezr. 10 : 43.
4. A priest who stood at the right hand of Ezra when he read the Law to the people. Keh. 8 : 4.
MAT'TOCK, an agricultural implement for loosening the ground; a pick-axe; a hoe. Isa. 7:25. See Agricultttre.
MAUL, a mace, club, or hammer, much used in Oriental warfare, and used with frightful effect. Prov. 25 : 18.
MAUZ'ZIM {fortresses), in the margin of Dan. 11 : 38, where the text has " god of forces." Its signification is uncertain, but it probably refers to the dedication by Antiochus Epiphanes of a temple in Antioch to Jupiter Capitolinus.
MAZ'ZAROTH, Job 38 :32, or MAZZALOTH, 2 Kgs. 23 : 5 {phm-ets), the-name of the twelve signs of the zodiac.
Mattock or Esyptian Hoe. {After Wilkinson.)
MEAD'OW is in Gen. 41 : 2 the rendering of an Egyptian word denoting rushes or water-plants in general. In Jud. 20 : 33 the Hebrew words rendered with" meadow" would, by a slight change in the punctuation, read '* cave," which seems more appropriate.
ME'AH ((r hundred), a tower in Jerusalem, standing between the Sheep-gate and the tower of Ilananeel. Neh. 3 :1. See Jerusalem.
MEALS. See Eating and Feast.
MEA'RAH (a cave, cavern). In Josh. 13 : 4 this word occurs as the name of a cave not far from Sidon ; the margin reads, *' the cave." Robinson, in his journey from Tyre to Sidon, observed many sepulchral grottoes hewn out of the hard limestone rock. This may be the spot spoken of by William of Tyre as the Tyrian cave in the territory of Sidon; Keil makes Mearah " the cave of Jezzin," east of Sidon, in Lebanon, a hiding-place of the Druses now ; Ritter refers it to a district of deep caves like the ravines near Sidon and Dan.
MEASURES AND WEIGHTS. The Jewish law contains two precepts respecting weights and measures. The first, Lev. 19 : 35, 36, refers to the standards kept in the sanctuary, and the second, Deut. 25 : 13-15, to copies of them kept by every family for its own use. The models or standards of the weights and measures preserved in the temple were destroyed with the sacred edifice, and afterward the measuresund weights of the people among whom the Jews dwelt were adopted; which, of course, adds to the perplexities of the subject.
I. Measures of Length. —The Hebrews, like all other ancient nations, took the standard of their measures of length from the human body. They made use, however, only of the finger, the hand, and the arm, not of the foot or the pace. The handbreadth or palm, 1 Kgs. 7 : 26, was four digits, or the breadth of the four fingers—from three to three and a half inches.
A span. Lam. 2:20, which expresses the distance across the hand from the extremity of the thumb to the extremity of the little finger, when they are stretched as far apart as possible, say nine to ten inches.
A cubit, the distance from the elbow to the extremity of the middle finger, or
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about eighteen inches. The different expressions used in the 0. T. about this measure—such as " after the cubit of a man," Deut. 3:11; *' after the first measure," 2 Chr. 3:3; "a great cubit/' Eze. 41: 8—show that it varied.
A fathom, Acts 27 : 28, was from six to six and a half feet.
The measuring-reed, Eze. 42 : 16, comprised six cubits, or from ten to eleven feet, and the measuring-line, Zech. 2: 1, a hundred and forty-six feet.
The furlong, Luke 24 : 13, was a Greek measure, and nearly the same as at present—viz., one-eighth of a mile, or forty rods.
The mile, mentioned only once. Matt. 5 : 41, belonged to the Roman system of measurement, as stadium to the Greek. The Koman mile was one thousand six hundred and twelve yards. The Jewish mile was longer or shorter, in accordance with the longer or shorter pace in use in the various parts of the country.
The Sabbath day's journey, Acts 1 : 12, ■was about seven-eighths of a mile, and the term denoted the distance which Jewish tradition said one might ti'avel without a violation of the law. Ex. 16 : 29. It is supposed that this distance extended first from the tabernacle to the remotest section of the camp, and afterward from the temple to the remotest parts of the holy city.
The term a day's journey. Num. 11 : 31; Luke 2 : 44, probably indicated no certain distance, but was taken to be the ordinary distance which a person in the East travels on foot, or on horseback or camel, in the prosecution of a journey— about twenty miles.
II. Measures op Capacity. — (1.) Dry. A cab, or kab (holloio), 2 Kgs. 6 : 25, one-third of an omer, or two pints.
An omer {heap, sheaf), Ex. 16:36, one-tenth of an ephah, or six pints.
The seah (measure), Gen. 18:6; Matt. 13 : 33; Luke 13 : 21, one-third of an ephah, or twenty pints, was the ordinary measure for household purposes.