1. Hebrew halabh, "new milk", milk in its fresh
state Jud 4:19 It is frequently mentioned in connection with honey Ex 3:8 Jos 5:6
Isa 7:15,22 Jer 11:5 Sheep De 32:14 and goats Pr 27:27 and camels Ge 32:15 as
well as cows, are made to give their milk for the use of man. Milk is used
figuratively as a sign of abundance Ge 49:12 Eze 25:4 Joe 3:18 It is also a
symbol of the rudiments of doctrine 1Co 3:2 Heb 5:12,13 and of the
unadulterated word of God 1Pe 2:2
2. Heb. hem'ah, always rendered "butter" in the
Authorized Version. It means "butter, "but also more frequently
"cream, "or perhaps, as some think, "curdled milk, "such as
that which Abraham set before the angels Ge 18:8 and which Jael gave to Sisera
Jud 5:25 In this state milk was used by travellers 2Sa 17:29 If kept long
enough, it acquired a slightly intoxicating or soporific power. This Hebrew
word is also sometimes used for milk in general De 32:14 Job 20:17
For grinding corn, mentioned as used in the time of
Abraham Ge 18:6 That used by the Hebrews consisted of two circular stones, each
2 feet in diameter and half a foot thick, the lower of which was called the
"nether millstone" Job 41:24 and the upper the "rider." The
upper stone was turned round by a stick fixed in it as a handle. There were
then no public mills, and thus each family required to be provided with a
hand-mill. The corn was ground daily, generally by the women of the house Isa
47:1,2 Mt 24:41 It was with the upper stone of a hand-mill that "a certain
woman" at Thebez broke Abimelech's skull Jud 9:53 "a piece of a
millstone; "literally, "a millstone rider", i.e., the
"runner, "the stone which revolves. Comp. 2Sa 11:21 Millstones could
not be pledged De 24:6 as they were necessary in every family.
See GRIND
A thousand years; the name given to the era mentioned in
Re 20:1-7 Some maintain that Christ will personally appear on earth for the
purpose of establishing his kingdom at the beginning of this millennium. Those
holding this view are usually called "millenarians." On the other
hand, it is maintained, more in accordance with the teaching of Scripture, we
think, that Christ's second advent will not be premillennial, and that the
right conception of the prospects and destiny of his kingdom is that which is
taught, e.g., in the parables of the leaven and the mustard-seed. The triumph
of the gospel, it is held, must be looked for by the wider and more efficient
operation of the very forces that are now at work in extending the gospel; and
that Christ will only come again at the close of this dispensation to judge the
world at the "last day." The millennium will thus precede his coming.
(Heb. dohan; only in) Eze 4:9 a small grain, the produce
of the Panicum miliaceum of botanists. It is universally cultivated in the East
as one of the smaller corn-grasses. This seed is the cenchros of the Greeks. It
is called in India warree, and by the Arabs dukhan, and is extensively used for
food, being often mixed with other grain. In this country it is only used for
feeding birds.
(Heb. always with the article, "the" Millo).
1. Probably the Canaanite name of some fortification,
consisting of walls filled in with earth and stones, which protected Jerusalem
on the north as its outermost defence. It is always rendered Akra i.e.,
"the citadel", in the LXX. It was already existing when David
conquered Jerusalem 2Sa 5:9 He extended it to the right and left, thus
completing the defence of the city. It was rebuilt by Solomon 1Ki 9:15,24 11:27
and repaired by Hezekiah 2Ch 32:5
2. In Jud 9:6,20 it is the name of a rampart in Shechem,
probably the "tower of Shechem" Jud 9:46,49
(Heb. taphoph,)Isa 3:16 taking affectedly short and quick
steps. Luther renders the word by "wag" or "waggle, "thus
representing "the affected gait of coquettish females."
The process of mining is described in Job 28:1-11 Moses
speaks of the mineral wealth of Palestine De 8:9 Job 28:4 is rightly thus
rendered in the Revised Version, "He breaketh open a shaft away from where
men sojourn; they are forgotten of the foot [that passeth by]; they hang afar
from men, they swing to and fro." These words illustrate ancient mining
operations.
One who serves, as distinguished from the master.
1. Heb. meshereth, applied to an attendant on one of
superior rank,
a. to Joshua, the servant of Moses Ex 33:11
b. to the servant of Elisha 2Ki 4:43
c. to attendants at court 2Ch 22:8
d. to the priests and Levites Jer 33:21 Eze 44:11
2. Heb. pelah Ezr 7:24 a "minister" of
religion. Here used of that class of sanctuary servants called "Solomon's
servants" in Ezr 2:55-58 Ne 7:57-60
3. Greek leitourgos, a subordinate public administrator,
and in this sense applied to magistrates Ro 13:6 It is applied also to our Lord
Heb 8:2 and to Paul in relation to Christ Ro 15:16
4. Greek hyperetes (literally, "under-rower"),
a personal attendant on a superior, thus of the person who waited on the officiating
priest in the synagogue Lu 4:20 It is applied also to John Mark, the attendant
on Paul and Barnabas Ac 13:5
5. Greek diaconos, usually a subordinate officer or
assistant employed in relation to the ministry of the gospel, as to:
a. Paul and Apollos 1Co 3:5
b. Tychicus Eph 6:21
c. Epaphras Col 1:7
d. Timothy 1Th 3:2
e. Christ Ro 15:8
Only in Jer 51:27 as the name of a province in Armenia,
which was at this time under the Median kings. Armenia is regarded by some as
Har-minni i.e., the mountainous country of Minni.
See ARMENIA
Distribution, an Ammonitish town Jud 11:33 from which
wheat was exported to Tyre Eze 27:17 It was probably somewhere in the Mishor or
table-land on the east of Jordan. There is a gentle valley running for about 4
miles east of Dhiban called Kurm Dhiban, "the vineyards of Dibon."
Tristram supposes that this may be the "vineyards" mentioned in Judg.
(l.c.).
Mt 9:23 a flute-player. Such music was a usual
accompaniment of funerals. In 2Ki 3:15 it denotes a player on a stringed
instrument.
(Gr. heduosmon, i.e., "having a sweet smell"),
one of the garden herbs of which the Pharisees paid tithes Mt 23:23 Lu 11:42 It
belongs to the labiate family of plants. The species most common in Syria is
the Mentha sylvestris, the wild mint, which grows much larger than the garden
mint (M. sativa). It was much used in domestic economy as a condiment, and also
as a medicine. The paying of tithes of mint was in accordance with the Mosiac
law De 14:22 but the error of the Pharisees lay in their being more careful
about this little matter of the mint than about weightier matters.
An event in the external world brought about by the
immediate agency or the simple volition of God, operating without the use of
means capable of being discerned by the senses, and designed to authenticate
the divine commission of a religious teacher and the truth of his message Joh
2:18 Mt 12:38 It is an occurrence at once above nature and above man. It shows
the intervention of a power that is not limited by the laws either of matter or
of mind, a power interrupting the fixed laws which govern their movements, a
supernatural power. "The suspension or violation of the laws of nature
involved in miracles is nothing more than is constantly taking place around us.
One force counteracts another: vital force keeps the chemical laws of matter in
abeyance; and muscular force can control the action of physical force. When a
man raises a weight from the ground, the law of gravity is neither suspended
nor violated, but counteracted by a stronger force. The same is true as to the
walking of Christ on the water and the swimming of iron at the command of the
prophet. The simple and grand truth that the universe is not under the
exclusive control of physical forces, but that everywhere and always there is
above, separate from and superior to all else, an infinite personal will, not
superseding, but directing and controlling all physical causes, acting with or
without them." God ordinarily effects his purpose through the agency of
second causes; but he has the power also of effecting his purpose immediately
and without the intervention of second causes, i.e., of invading the fixed
order, and thus of working miracles. Thus we affirm the possibility of
miracles, the possibility of a higher hand intervening to control or reverse
nature's ordinary movements. In the New Testament these four Greek words are
principally used to designate miracles:
1. Semeion, a "sign", i.e., an evidence of a
divine commission; an attestation of a divine message Mt 12:38,39 16:1,4 Mr
8:11 Lu 11:16 23:8 Joh 2:11,18, 23 Ac 6:8 etc.; a token of the presence and
working of God; the seal of a higher power.
2. Terata, "wonders; "wonder-causing events;
portents; producing astonishment in the beholder Ac 2:19
3. Dunameis, "might works; "works of superhuman
power Ac 2:22 Ro 15:19 2Th 2:9 of a new and higher power.
4. Erga, "works; "the works of Him who is
"wonderful in working" Joh 5:20,36 Miracles are seals of a divine
mission. The sacred writers appealed to them as proofs that they were
messengers of God. Our Lord also appealed to miracles as a conclusive proof of
his divine mission Joh 5:20,36 10:25,38 Thus, being out of the common course of
nature and beyond the power of man, they are fitted to convey the impression of
the presence and power of God. Where miracles are there certainly God is. The
man, therefore, who works a miracle affords thereby clear proof that he comes
with the authority of God; they are his credentials that he is God's messenger.
The teacher points to these credentials, and they are a proof that he speaks
with the authority of God. He boldly says, "God bears me witness, both
with signs and wonders, and with divers miracles." The credibility of
miracles is established by the evidence of the senses on the part of those who
are witnesses of them, and to all others by the testimony of such witnesses.
The witnesses were competent, and their testimony is trustworthy. Unbelievers,
following Hume, deny that any testimony can prove a miracle, because they say
miracles are impossible. We have shown that miracles are possible, and surely
they can be borne witness to. Surely they are credible when we have abundant
and trustworthy evidence of their occurrence. They are credible just as any
facts of history well authenticated are credible. Miracles, it is said, are
contrary to experience. Of course they are contrary to our experience, but that
does not prove that they were contrary to the experience of those who witnessed
them. We believe a thousand facts, both of history and of science, that are
contrary to our experience, but we believe them on the ground of competent
testimony. An atheist or a pantheist must, as a matter of course, deny the
possibility of miracles; but to one who believes in a personal God, who in his
wisdom may see fit to interfere with the ordinary processes of nature, miracles
are not impossible, nor are they incredible.
Their rebellion.
1. The sister of Moses and Aaron Ex 2:4-10 1Ch 6:3 Her
name is prominent in the history of the Exodus. She is called "the
prophetess" Ex 15:20 She took the lead in the song of triumph after the
passage of the Red Sea. She died at Kadesh during the second encampment at that
place, toward the close of the wanderings in the wilderness, and was buried
there Nu 20:1 See AARON See MOSES
2. 1Ch 4:17 one of the descendants of Judah.
De 32:27 R.V. The Authorized Version reads, "should
behave themselves strangely; "i.e., not recognize the truth, misunderstand
or mistake the cause of Israel's ruin, which was due to the fact that God had
forsaken them on account of their apostasy.
Height, a town of Moab, or simply, the height=the citadel,
some fortress so called; or perhaps a general name for the highlands of Moab,
as some think Jer 48:1 In Isa 25:12 the word is rendered "high fort."
Who is like God!
1. A Levite; the eldest of the three sons of Uzziel Ex
6:22
2. One of the three Hebrew youths who were trained with
Daniel in Babylon Da 1:11,19 and promoted to the rank of Magi. He and his
companions were afterwards cast into the burning fiery furnace for refusing to
worship the idol the king had set up, from which they were miraculously
delivered Da 3:13-30 His Chaldean name was Meshach (q.v.).
A city of the tribe of Asher Jos 21:30 1Ch 6:74 It is
probably the modern Misalli, on the shore near Carmel.
Their cleansing or their beholding, a Benjamite, one of
the sons of Elpaal 1Ch 8:12
Jos 19:26 a town of Asher, probably the same as Mishal.
Hearing.
1. One of the sons of Ishmael Ge 25:14 and founder of an
Arab tribe.
2. A Simeonite 1Ch 4:25,26
Fatness, one of the Gadite heroes who gathered to David
at Ziklag 1Ch 12:10
Burning of waters, supposed to be salt-pans, or
lime-kilns, or glass-factories, a place to which Joshua pursued a party of
Canaanites after the defeat of Jabin Jos 11:8 It is identified with the ruin
Musheirifeh, at the promontory of en-Nakhurah, some 11 miles north of Acre.
Contraction of minute, from the Latin minutum, the translation
of the Greek word lepton, the very smallest bronze of copper coin Lu 12:59 21:2
Two mites made one quadrans, i.e., the fourth part of a Roman as, which was in
value nearly a halfpenny.
See FARTHING
Sweetness, one of the stations of the Israelites in the
wilderness Nu 33:28,29
Given by Mithra, or dedicated to Mithra, i.e., the sun,
the Hebrew form of the Greek name Mithridates.
1. The "treasurer" of King Cyrus Ezr 1:8
2. Ezr 4:7 a Persian officer in Samaria.
(Heb. mitsnepheth), something rolled round the head; the
turban or head-dress of the high priest Ex 28:4,37,39 29:6 etc. In the
Authorized Version of Eze 21:26 this Hebrew word is rendered "diadem,
"but in the Revised Version, "mitre." It was a twisted band of
fine linen, 8 yards in length, coiled into the form of a cap, and worn on
official occasions Le 8:9 16:4 Zec 3:5 On the front of it was a golden plate
with the inscription, "Holiness to the Lord." The mitsnepheth
differed from the mitre or head-dress (migba'ah) of the common priest.
See BONNET
The chief city of the island of Lesbos, on its east
coast, in the AEgean Sea. Paul, during his third missionary journey, touched at
this place on his way from Corinth to Judea Ac 20:14 and here tarried for a
night. It lies between Assos and Chios. It is now under the Turkish rule, and
bears the name of Metelin.
Ex 12:38 a class who accompanied the Israelites as they
journeyed from Rameses to Succoth, the first stage of the Exodus. These were probably miscellaneous hangers-on
to the Hebrews, whether Egyptians of the lower orders, or the remains of the
Hyksos
See EGYPT See MOSES
as some think. The same thing happened on the return of
the Jews from Babylon Ne 13:3 a "mixed multitude" accompanied them so
far.
Smallness, a summit on the eastern ridge of Lebanon, near
which David lay after escaping from Absalom Ps 42:6 It may, perhaps, be the
present Jebel Ajlun, thus named, "the little", in contrast with the
greater elevation of Lebanon and Hermon.
Or Miz'peh, watch-tower; the look-out.
1. A place in Gilead, so named by Laban, who overtook
Jacob at this spot Ge 31:49 on his return to Palestine from Padan-aram. Here
Jacob and Laban set up their memorial cairn of stones. It is the same as Ramath-mizpeh
Jos 13:26
2. A town in Gilead, where Jephthah resided, and where he
assumed the command of the Israelites in a time of national danger. Here he
made his rash vow; and here his daughter submitted to her mysterious fate Jud
10:17 11:11,34 It may be the same as Ramoth-Gilead Jos 20:8 but it is more
likely that it is identical with the foregoing, the Mizpeh of Ge 31:23,25,48,49
3. Another place in Gilead, at the foot of Mount Hermon,
inhabited by Hivites Jos 11:3,8 The name in Hebrew here has the article before
it, "the Mizpeh, ""the watch-tower." The modern village of
Metullah, meaning also "the look-out, "probably occupies the site so
called.
4. A town of Moab to which David removed his parents for
safety during his persecution by Saul 1Sa 22:3 This was probably the citadel
known as Kir-Moab, now Kerak. While David resided here he was visited by the
prophet Gad, here mentioned for the first time, who was probably sent by Samuel
to bid him leave the land of Moab and betake himself to the land of Judah. He
accordingly removed to the forest of Hareth (q.v.), on the edge of the mountain
chain of Hebron.
5. A city of Benjamin, "the watch-tower", where
the people were accustomed to meet in great national emergencies Jos 18:26 Jud
20:1,3 21:1,5 1Sa 7:5-16 It has been supposed to be the same as Nob 1Sa 21:1
22:9-19 It was some 4 miles north-west of Jerusalem, and was situated on the
loftiest hill in the neighbourhood, some 600 feet above the plain of Gibeon.
This village has the modern name of Neby Samwil, i.e., the prophet Samuel, from
a tradition that Samuel's tomb is here. See NOB Samuel inaugurated the
reformation that characterized his time by convening a great assembly of all
Israel at Mizpeh, now the politico-religious centre of the nation. There, in deep
humiliation on account of their sins, they renewed their vows and entered again
into covenant with the God of their fathers. It was a period of great religious
awakening and of revived national life. The Philistines heard of this assembly,
and came up against Israel. The Hebrews charged the Philistine host with great
fury, and they were totally routed. Samuel commemorated this signal victory by
erecting a memorial-stone, which he called "Ebenezer" (q.v.), saying,
"Hitherto hath the Lord helped us" 1Sa 7:7-12
Number, one of the Jews who accompanied Zerubbabel from
Babylon Ezr 2:2 called also Mispereth Ne 7:7
The dual form of matzor, meaning a "mound" or
"fortress, "the name of a people descended from Ham Ge 10:6,13 1Ch
1:8,11 It was the name generally given by the Hebrews to the land of Egypt
(q.v.), and may denote the two Egypts, the Upper and the Lower. The modern
Arabic name for Egypt is Muzr.
Despair, one of the four sons of Reuel, the son of Esau
Ge 36:13,17
Reminding, or remembrancer, a Christian of Jerusalem with
whom Paul lodged Ac 21:16 He was apparently a native of Cyprus, like Barnabas
Ac 11:19,20 and was well known to the Christians of Caesarea He was an
"old disciple" (R.V., "early disciple"), i.e., he had
become a Christian in the beginning of the formation of the Church in
Jerusalem.
The seed of the father, or, according to others, the
desirable land,
1. The eldest son of Lot Ge 19:37 of incestuous birth.
2. Used to denote the people of Moab Nu 22:3-14 Jud 3:30
2Sa 8:2 Jer 48:11,13
3. The land of Moab Jer 48:24 called also the
"country of Moab" Ru 1:2,6 2:6 on the east of Jordan and the Dead
Sea, and south of the Arnon Nu 21:13,26 In a wider sense it included the whole
region that had been occupied by the Amorites. It bears the modern name of
Kerak. In the Plains of Moab, opposite Jericho Nu 22:1 26:63 Jos 13:32 the
children of Israel had their last encampment before they entered the land of
Canaan. It was at that time in the possession of the Amorites Nu 21:22
"Moses went up from the plains of Moab unto the mountain of Nebo, to the
top of Pisgah, "and "died there in the land of Moab, according to the
word of the Lord" De 34:5,6 "Surely if we had nothing else to
interest us in the land of Moab, the fact that it was from the top of Pisgah,
its noblest height, this mightiest of the prophets looked out with eye undimmed
upon the Promised Land; that it was here on Nebo, its loftiest mountain, that
he died his solitary death; that it was here, in the valley over against
Beth-peor, he found his mysterious sepulchre, we have enough to enshrine the
memory in our hearts."
The designation of a tribe descended from Moab, the son
of Lot Ge 19:37 From Zoar, the cradle of this tribe, on the south-eastern
border of the Dead Sea, they gradually spread over the region on the east of
Jordan. Rameses II., the Pharaoh of the Oppression, enumerates Moab (Muab)
among his conquests. Shortly before the Exodus, the warlike Amorites crossed
the Jordan under Sihon their king and drove the Moabites Nu 21:26-30 out of the
region between the Arnon and the Jabbok, and occupied it, making Heshbon their
capital. They were then confined to the territory to the south of the Arnon. On
their journey the Israelites did not pass through Moab, but through the
"wilderness" to the east De 2:8 Jud 11:18 at length reaching the
country to the north of the Arnon. Here they remained for some time till they
had conquered Bashan
See SIHON See OG
The Moabites were alarmed, and their king, Balak, sought
aid from the Midianites Nu 22:2-4 It was while they were here that the visit of
Balaam (q.v.) to Balak took place.
See MOSES After the Conquest, the Moabites maintained
hostile relations with the Israelites, and frequently harassed them in war Jud
3:12-30 1Sa 14:1ff. The story of Ruth, however, shows the existence of friendly
relations between Moab and Bethlehem. By his descent from Ruth, David may be
said to have had Moabite blood in his veins. Yet there was war between David
and the Moabites 2Sa 8:2 23:20 1Ch 18:2 from whom he took great spoil 2Sa
8:2,11,12 1Ch 11:22 18:11 During the one hundred and fifty years which followed
the defeat of the Moabites, after the death of Ahab
See MESHA they regained, apparently, much of their former
prosperty. At this time Isaiah Isa 15:1 delivered his "burden of Moab,
"predicting the coming of judgment on that land (comp.) 2Ki 17:3 18:9 1Ch
5:25,26 Between the time of Isaiah and the commencement of the Babylonian
captivity we have very seldom any reference to Moab Jer 25:21 27:3 40:11 Zep
2:8-10 After the Return, it was Sanballat, a Moabite, who took chief part in
seeking to prevent the rebuilding of Jerusalem Ne 2:19 4:1 6:1
A basalt stone, bearing an inscription by King Mesha,
which was discovered at Dibon by Klein, a German missionary at Jerusalem, in
1868 It was 3 1/2 feet high and 2 in breadth and in thickness, rounded at the
top. It consisted of thirty-four lines, written in Hebrew-Phoenician
characters. It was set up by Mesha as a record and memorial of his victories.
It records
1. Mesha's wars with Omri,
2. his public buildings,
3. his wars against Horonaim. This inscription in a
remarkable degree supplements and corroborates the history of King Mesha
recorded in 2Ki 3:4-27 With the exception of a very few variations, the Moabite
language in which the inscription is written is identical with the Hebrew. The
form of the letters here used supplies very important and interesting
information regarding the history of the formation of the alphabet, as well as,
incidentally, regarding the arts of civilized life of those times in the land
of Moab. This ancient monument, recording the heroic struggles of King Mesha
with Omri and Ahab, was erected about B.C. 900 Here "we have the identical
slab on which the workmen of the old world carved the history of their own
times, and from which the eye of their contemporaries read thousands of years
ago the record of events of which they themselves had been the witnesses."
It is the oldest inscription written in alphabetic characters, and hence is,
apart from its value in the domain of Hebrew antiquities, of great linguistic
importance.
Birth, a city in the south of Judah which fell to Simeon
Jos 15:21-26 19:2 It has been identified with the modern el-Milh, 10 miles east
of Beersheba.
Heb. tinshameth Le 11:30 probably signifies some species
of lizard (rendered in R.V., "chameleon"). In Le 11:18 De 14:16 it is
rendered, in Authorized Version, "swan" (R.V., "horned
owl"). The Heb. holed Le 11:29 rendered "weasel, "was probably
the mole-rat. The true mole (Talpa Europoea) is not found in Palestine. The mole-rat
(Spalax typhlus) "is twice the size of our mole, with no external eyes,
and with only faint traces within of the rudimentary organ; no apparent ears,
but, like the mole, with great internal organs of hearing; a strong, bare
snout, and with large gnawing teeth; its colour a pale slate; its feet short,
and provided with strong nails; its tail only rudimentary." In Isa 2:20
this word is the rendering of two words _haphar peroth_, which are rendered by
Gesenius "into the digging of rats", i.e., rats' holes. But these two
Hebrew words ought probably to be combined into one (lahporperoth) and
translated "to the moles", i.e., the rat-moles. This animal
"lives in underground communities, making large subterranean chambers for
its young and for storehouses, with many runs connected with them, and is
decidedly partial to the loose debris among ruins and stone-heaps, where it can
form its chambers with least trouble."
King, the name of the national god of the Ammonites, to
whom children were sacrificed by fire. He was the consuming and destroying and
also at the same time the purifying fire. In Am 5:26 "your Moloch" of
the Authorized Version is "your king" in the Revised Version (comp.)
Ac 7:43 Solomon 1Ki 11:7 erected a high place for this idol on the Mount of
Olives, and from that time till the days of Josiah his worship continued 2Ki
23:10,13 In the days of Jehoahaz it was partially restored, but after the
Captivity wholly disappeared. He is also called Molech Le 18:21 20:2-5 etc.,
Milcom 1Ki 11:5,33 etc., and Malcham Zep 1:5 This god became Chemosh among the
Moabites.
Of uncoined money the first notice we have is in the
history of Abraham Ge 13:2 20:16 24:35 Next, this word is used in connection
with the purchase of the cave of Machpelah Ge 23:16 and again in connection
with Jacob's purchase of a field at Shalem Ge 33:18,19 for "an hundred
pieces of money" =an hundred Hebrew kesitahs (q.v.), i.e., probably pieces
of money, as is supposed, bearing the figure of a lamb. The history of Joseph
affords evidence of the constant use of money, silver of a fixed weight. This
appears also in all the subsequent history of the Jewish people, in all their internal
as well as foreign transactions. There were in common use in trade silver
pieces of a definite weight, shekels, half-shekels, and quarter-shekels. But
these were not properly coins, which are pieces of metal authoritatively
issued, and bearing a stamp. Of the use of coined money we have no early notice
among the Hebrews. The first mentioned is of Persian coinage, the daric Ezr
2:69 Ne 7:70 and the 'adarkon Ezr 8:27 (dram) The daric (q.v.) was a gold piece
current in Palestine in the time of Cyrus. As long as the Jews, after the
Exile, lived under Persian rule, they used Persian coins. These gave place to
Greek coins when Palestine came under the dominion of the Greeks (B.C. 331) the
coins consisting of gold, silver, and copper pieces. The usual gold pieces were
staters (q.v.), and the silver coins tetradrachms and drachms. In the year B.C.
140 Antiochus VII. gave permission to Simon the Maccabee to coin Jewish money.
Shekels (q.v.) were then coined bearing the figure of the almond rod and the
pot of manna.
Mt 21:12 Mr 11:15 Joh 2:15 Every Israelite from twenty
years and upwards had to pay Ex 30:13-15 into the sacred treasury half a shekel
every year as an offering to Jehovah, and that in the exact Hebrew half-shekel
piece. There was a class of men, who frequented the temple courts, who
exchanged at a certain premium foreign moneys for these half-shekels to the
Jews who came up to Jerusalem from all parts of the world. When our Lord drove
the traffickers out of the temple, these money-changers fared worst. Their
tables were overturned and they themselves were expelled.
See PASSOVER
Among the Egyptians the month of thirty days each was in
use long before the time of the Exodus, and formed the basis of their
calculations. From the time of the institution of the Mosaic law the month
among the Jews was lunar. The cycle of religious feasts depended on the moon.
The commencement of a month was determined by the observation of the new moon.
The number of months in the year was usually twelve 1Ki 4:7 1Ch 27:1-15 but
every third year an additional month (ve-Adar) was inserted, so as to make the
months coincide with the seasons. "The Hebrews and Phoenicians had no word
for month save 'moon, 'and only saved their calendar from becoming vague like
that of the Moslems by the interpolation of an additional month. There is no
evidence at all that they ever used a true solar year such as the Egyptians
possessed. The latter had twelve months of thirty days and five epagomenac or
odd days.", Palestine Quarterly, January 1889
Heb. yareah, from its paleness and lebanah, the
"white" So 6:10 Isa 24:23 was appointed by the Creator to be with the
sun "for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years" Ge 1:14-16
A lunation was among the Jews the period of a month, and several of their
festivals were held on the day of the new moon. It is frequently referred to
along with the sun Jos 10:12 Ps 72:5,7,17 89:36,37 Ec 12:2 Isa 24:23 etc., and
also by itself Ps 8:3 121:6 The great brilliance of the moon in Eastern
countries led to its being early an object of idolatrous worship De 4:19 17:3
Job 31:26 a form of idolatry against which the Jews were warned De 4:19 17:3
They, however, fell into this idolatry, and offered incense 2Ki 23:5 Jer 8:2
and also cakes of honey, to the moon Jer 7:18 44:17-19,25
The son of Jair, of the tribe of Benjamin. It has been
alleged that he was carried into captivity with Jeconiah, and hence that he
must have been at least one hundred and twenty-nine years old in the twelfth
year of Ahasuerus (Xerxes). But the words of Esther do not necessarily lead to
this conclusion. It was probably Kish of whom it is said Es 2:6 that he
"had been carried away with the captivity." He resided at Susa, the metropolis
of Persia. He adopted his cousin Hadassah (Esther), an orphan child, whom he
tenderly brought up as his own daughter. When she was brought into the king's
harem and made queen in the room of the deposed queen Vashti, he was promoted
to some office in the court of Ahasuerus, and was one of those who "sat in
the king's gate" Es 2:21 While holding this office, he discovered a plot
of the eunuchs to put the king to death, which, by his vigilance, was defeated.
His services to the king in this matter were duly recorded in the royal
chronicles. Haman (q.v.) the Agagite had been raised to the highest position at
court. Mordecai refused to bow down before him; and Haman, being stung to the
quick by the conduct of Mordecai, resolved to accomplish his death in a wholesale
destruction of the Jewish exiles throughout the Persian empire Es 3:8-15
Tidings of this cruel scheme soon reached the ears of Mordecai, who
communicated with Queen Esther regarding it, and by her wise and bold
intervention the scheme was frustrated. The Jews were delivered from
destruction, Mordecai was raised to a high rank, and Haman was executed on the
gallows he had by anticipation erected for Mordecai Es 6:2-14 7:1-10 In memory
of the signal deliverance thus wrought for them, the Jews to this day celebrate
the feast Es 9:26-32 of Purim (q.v.).
An archer, teacher; fruitful.
1. A Canaanite probably who inhabited the district south of
Shechem, between Mounts Ebal and Gerizim, and gave his name to the
"plain" there Ge 12:6 Here at this "plain, "or rather
(R.V.) "oak, "of Moreh, Abraham built his first altar in the land of
Palestine; and here the Lord appeared unto him. He afterwards left this plain
and moved southward, and pitched his tent between Bethel on the west and Hai on
the east Ge 12:7,8
Probably identical with "little Hermon, "the
modern Jebel ed-Duhy, or perhaps one of the lower spurs of this mountain. It is
a gray ridge parallel to Gilboa on the north; and between the two lay the
battle-field, the plain of Jezreel (q.v.), where Gideon overthrew the
Midianites Jud 7:1-12
Possession of the wine-press, the birthplace of the
prophet Micah Mic 1:14 who is called the "Morasthite" Jer 26:18 This
place was probably a suburb of Gath.
The chosen of Jehovah. Some contend that Mount Gerizim is
meant, but most probably we are to regard this as one of the hills of
Jerusalem. Here Solomon's temple was built, on the spot that had been the
threshing-floor of Ornan the Jebusite 2Sa 24:24,25 2Ch 3:1 It is usually
included in Zion, to the north-east of which it lay, and from which it was
separated by the Tyropoean valley. This was "the land of Moriah" to
which Abraham went to offer up his son Isaac Ge 22:2 It has been supposed that
the highest point of the temple hill, which is now covered by the Muslim
Kubbetes-Sakhrah, or "Dome of the Rock, "is the actual site of
Araunah's threshing-floor. Here also, one thousand years after Abraham, David
built an altar and offered sacrifices to God.
See JERUSALEM See NUMBERING THE PEOPLE
(Heb. homer), cement of lime and sand Ge 11:3 Ex 1:14
also potter's clay Isa 41:25 Na 3:14 Also Heb. 'aphar, usually rendered
"dust, " clay or mud used for cement in building Le 14:42,45 Mortar
for pulverizing Pr 27:22 grain or other substances by means of a pestle instead
of a mill. Mortars were used in the wilderness for pounding the manna Nu 11:8
It is commonly used in Palestine at the present day to pound wheat, from which
the Arabs make a favourite dish called kibby.
A bond, one of the stations of the Israelites in the
wilderness De 10:6 at the foot of Mount Hor. (Comp.) Nu 33:37,38 It has been
identified with el-Tayibeh, a small fountain at the bottom of the pass leading
to the ascent of Mount Hor.
Bonds, one of the stations in the wilderness Nu 33:30,31
probably the same as Mosera.
Drawn (or Egypt. mesu, "son; "hence Rameses,
royal son). On the invitation of Pharaoh Ge 45:17-25 Jacob and his sons went
down into Egypt. This immigration took place probably about 350 years before
the birth of Moses. Some centuries before Joseph, Egypt had been conquered by a
pastoral Semitic race from Asia, the Hyksos, who brought into cruel subjection
the native Egyptians, who were an African race. Jacob and his retinue were
accustomed to a shepherd's life, and on their arrival in Egypt were received
with favour by the king, who assigned them the "best of the land",
the land of Goshen, to dwell in. The Hyksos or "shepherd" king who
thus showed favour to Joseph and his family was in all probability the Pharaoh
Apopi (or Apopis). Thus favoured, the Israelites began to "multiply exceedingly"
Ge 47:27 and extended to the west and south. At length the supremacy of the
Hyksos came to an end. The descendants of Jacob were allowed to retain their
possession of Goshen undisturbed, but after the death of Joseph their position
was not so favourable. The Egyptians began to despise them, and the period of
their "affliction" Ge 15:13 commenced. They were sorely oppressed.
They continued, however, to increase in numbers, and "the land was filled
with them" Ex 1:7 The native Egyptians regarded them with suspicion, so
that they felt all the hardship of a struggle for existence. In process of time
"a king [probably Seti I.] arose who knew not Joseph" Ex 1:8
See PHARAOH The circumstances of the country were such
that this king thought it necessary to weaken his Israelite subjects by
oppressing them, and by degrees reducing their number. They were accordingly
made public slaves, and were employed in connection with his numerous
buildings, especially in the erection of store-cities, temples, and palaces.
The children of Israel were made to serve with rigour. Their lives were made
bitter with hard bondage, and "all their service, wherein they made them
serve, was with rigour" Ex 1:13,14 But this cruel oppression had not the
result expected of reducing their number. On the contrary, "the more the
Egyptians afflicted them, the more they multiplied and grew" Ex 1:12 The
king next tried, through a compact secretly made with the guild of midwives, to
bring about the destruction of all the Hebrew male children that might be born.
But the king's wish was not rigorously enforced; the male children were spared
by the midwives, so that "the people multiplied" more than ever. Thus
baffled, the king issued a public proclamation calling on the people to put to
death all the Hebrew male children by casting them into the river Ex 1:22 But
neither by this edict was the king's purpose effected. One of the Hebrew
households into which this cruel edict of the king brought great alarm was that
of Amram, of the family of the Kohathites Ex 6:16-20 who with his wife Jochebed
and two children, Miriam, a girl of perhaps fifteen years of age, and Aaron, a
boy of three years, resided in or near Memphis, the capital city of that time.
In this quiet home a male child was born (B.C. 1571) His mother concealed him
in the house for three months from the knowledge of the civic authorities. But
when the task of concealment became difficult, Jochebed contrived to bring her
child under the notice of the daughter of the king by constructing for him an
ark of bulrushes, which she laid among the flags which grew on the edge of the
river at the spot where the princess was wont to come down and bathe. Her plan
was successful. The king's daughter "saw the child; and behold the child
wept." The princess
See PHARAOH'S DAUGHTER sent Miriam, who was standing by,
to fetch a nurse. She went and brought the mother of the child, to whom the
princess said, "Take this child away, and nurse it for me, and I will give
thee thy wages." Thus Jochebed's child, whom the princess called
"Moses", i.e., "Saved from the water" Ex 2:10 was
ultimately restored to her. As soon as the natural time for weaning the child
had come, he was transferred from the humble abode of his father to the royal
palace, where he was brought up as the adopted son of the princess, his mother
probably accompanying him and caring still for him. He grew up amid all the
grandeur and excitement of the Egyptian court, maintaining, however, probably a
constant fellowship with his mother, which was of the highest importance as to
his religious belief and his interest in his "brethren." His
education would doubtless be carefully attended to, and he would enjoy all the
advantages of training both as to his body and his mind. He at length became
"learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians" Ac 7:22 Egypt had then
two chief seats of learning, or universities, at one of which, probably that of
Heliopolis, his education was completed. Moses, being now about twenty years of
age, spent over twenty more before he came into prominence in Bible history.
These twenty years were probably spent in military service. There is a
tradition recorded by Josephus that he took a lead in the war which was then
waged between Egypt and Ethiopia, in which he gained renown as a skilful
general, and became "mighty in deeds" Ac 7:22 After the termination
of the war in Ethiopia, Moses returned to the Egyptian court, where he might
reasonably have expected to be loaded with honours and enriched with wealth.
But "beneath the smooth current of his life hitherto, a life of alternate
luxury at the court and comparative hardness in the camp and in the discharge
of his military duties, there had lurked from childhood to youth, and from
youth to manhood, a secret discontent, perhaps a secret ambition. Moses, amid all his Egyptian surroundings,
had never forgotten, had never wished to forget, that he was a Hebrew." He
now resolved to make himself acquainted with the condition of his countrymen,
and "went out unto his brethren, and looked upon their burdens" Ex
2:11 This tour of inspection revealed to him the cruel oppression and bondage
under which they everywhere groaned, and could not fail to press on him the
serious consideration of his duty regarding them. The time had arrived for his making common cause with them, that
he might thereby help to break their yoke of bondage. He made his choice
accordingly Heb 11:25-27 assured that God would bless his resolution for the
welfare of his people. He now left the palace of the king and took up his
abode, probably in his father's house, as one of the Hebrew people who had for
forty years been suffering cruel wrong at the hands of the Egyptians. He could
not remain indifferent to the state of things around him, and going out one day
among the people, his indignation was roused against an Egyptian who was
maltreating a Hebrew. He rashly lifted up his hand and slew the Egyptian, and
hid his body in the sand. Next day he went out again and found two Hebrews
striving together. He speedily found that the deed of the previous day was known.
It reached the ears of Pharaoh (the "great Rameses, "Rameses II.),
who "sought to slay Moses" Ex 2:15 Moved by fear, Moses fled from
Egypt, and betook himself to the land of Midian, the southern part of the
peninsula of Sinai, probably by much the same route as that by which, forty
years afterwards, he led the Israelites to Sinai. He was providentially led to
find a new home with the family of Reuel, where he remained for forty years Ac
7:30 under training unconsciously for his great life's work. Suddenly the angel of the Lord appeared to
him in the burning bush Ex 3:1ff. and commissioned him to go down to Egypt and
"bring forth the children of Israel" out of bondage. He was at first
unwilling to go, but at length he was obedient to the heavenly vision, and left
the land of Midian Ex 4:18-26 On the way he was met by Aaron (q.v.) and the
elders of Israel Ex 4:27-31. He and Aaron had a hard task before them; but the
Lord was with them Ex 7:1ff. and the ransomed host went forth in triumph.
See EXODUS
After an eventful journey to and fro in the wilderness,
we see them at length encamped in the plains of Moab, ready to cross over the
Jordan into the Promised Land. There
Moses addressed the assembled elders De 1:1-4 5:1-26:19 27:11-30:20 and gives
the people his last counsels, and then rehearses the great song De 32:1ff.
clothing in fitting words the deep emotions of his heart at such a time, and in
review of such a marvellous history as that in which he had acted so
conspicious a part. Then, after blessing the tribes De 33:1ff. he ascends to
"the mountain of Nebo (q.v.), to the top of Pisgah, that is over against
Jericho" De 34:1ff. and from thence he surveys the land. "Jehovah
shewed him all the land of Gilead, unto Dan, and all Naphtali, and the land of
Ephraim, and Manasseh, and all the land of Judah, unto the utmost sea, and the
south, and the plain of the valley of Jericho, the city of palm trees, unto
Zoar" De 34:2-3 the magnificient inheritance of the tribes of whom he had
been so long the leader; and there he died, being one hundred and twenty years
old, according to the word of the Lord, and was buried by the Lord "in a
valley in the land of Moab, over against Beth-peor" De 34:6 The people
mourned for him during thirty days.
Thus died "Moses the man of God" De 33:1 Jos 14:6 He was
distinguished for his meekness and patience and firmness, and "he endured
as seeing him who is invisible." "There arose not a prophet since in
Israel like unto Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face, in all the signs and
the wonders, which the Lord sent him to do in the land of Egypt to Pharaoh, and
to all his servants, and to all his land, and in all that mighty hand, and in
all the great terror which Moses shewed in the sight of all Israel" De
34:10-12 The name of Moses occurs frequently in the Psalms and Prophets as the
chief of the prophets. In the New Testament he is referred to as the
representative of the law and as a type of Christ Joh 1:17 2Co 3:13-18 Heb
3:5,6 Moses is the only character in the Old Testament to whom Christ likens
himself Joh 5:46 comp. De 18:15,18,19 Ac 7:37 In Heb 3:1-19 this likeness to
Moses is set forth in various particulars. In Jude 1:9 mention is made of a
contention between Michael and the devil about the body of Moses. This dispute
is supposed to have had reference to the concealment of the body of Moses so as
to prevent idolatry.
(Gr. karphos, something dry, hence a particle of wood or
chaff, etc.). A slight moral defect is likened to a mote Mt 7:3-5 Lu 6:41,42
1. Heb. 'ash, from a root meaning "to fall away,
"as moth-eaten garments fall to pieces Job 4:19 13:28 Isa 50:9 51:8 Ho
5:12
2. Gr. ses, thus rendered in Mt 6:19,20 Lu 12:33 Allusion
is thus made to the destruction of clothing by the larvae of the clothes- moth.
This is the only lepidopterous insect referred to in Scripture.
Of the Gibeonites it is said that "all the bread of
their provision was dry and mouldy" Jos 9:5,12 The Hebrew word here
rendered "mouldy" (nikuddim) is rendered "cracknels" in 1Ki
14:3 and denotes a kind of crisp cake. The meaning is that the bread of the
Gibeonites had become dry and hard, hard as biscuits, and thus was an evidence
of the length of the journey they had travelled.
Palestine is a hilly country De 3:25 11:11 Eze 34:13 West
of Jordan the mountains stretch from Lebanon far down into Galilee, terminating
in Carmel. The isolated peak of Tabor rises from the elevated plain of
Esdraelon, which, in the south, is shut in by hills spreading over the greater
part of Samaria. The mountains of Western and Middle Palestine do not extend to
the sea, but gently slope into plains, and toward the Jordan fall down into the
Ghor. East of the Jordan the Anti-Lebanon, stretching south, terminates in the
hilly district called Jebel Heish, which reaches down to the Sea of
Gennesareth. South of the river Hieromax there is again a succession of hills,
which are traversed by wadies running toward the Jordan. These gradually
descend to a level at the river Arnon, which was the boundary of the ancient
trans-Jordanic territory toward the south. The composition of the Palestinian
hills is limestone, with occasional strata of chalk, and hence the numerous
caves, some of large extent, found there.
See SERMON ON THE MOUNT
2Ki 23:13 Vulg., "mount of offence"), the name given
to a part of the Mount of Olives, so called because idol temples were there
erected in the time of Solomon, temples to the Zidonian Ashtoreth and to the
"abominations" of Moab and Ammon.
A place near Pirathon (q.v.), in the tribe of Ephraim Jud
12:15
The range of hills which rises abruptly in the wilderness
of et-Tih ("the wandering"), mentioned De 1:19,20 "that great
and terrible wilderness."
Only in Isa 14:13 a mythic mountain of the Babylonians,
regarded by them as the seat of the gods. It was situated in the far north, and
in Babylonian inscriptions is described as a mountain called Im-Kharasak,
"the mighty mountain of Bel, whose head reaches heaven, whose root is the
holy deep." In their geography they are said to have identified it with
mount El-wend, near Ecbatana.
Jos 13:19 a district in the east of Jordan, in the
territory of Reuben. The "valley" here was probably the Ghor or valley
of the Jordan, and hence the "mount" would be the hilly region in the
north end of the Dead Sea.
See ZARETH-SHAHAR
Frequent references are found in Scripture to,
1. Mourning for the dead.
a. Abraham mourned for Sarah Ge 23:2
b. Jacob for Joseph Ge 37:34,35
c. the Egyptians for Jacob Ge 50:3-10
d. Israel for
1. Aaron Nu 20:29
2. Moses De 34:8
3. Samuel 1Sa 25:1
e. David for Abner 2Sa 3:31,35
f. Mary and Martha for Lazarus Joh 11:1ff.
g. devout men for Stephen Ac 8:2 etc.
2. For calamities,
a. Job Job 1:20,21 2:8
b. Israel Ex 33:4
c. the Ninevites Jon 3:5
d. Israel, when defeated by Benjamin Jud 20:26 etc.
3. Penitential mourning, by the Israelites
a. on the day of atonement Le 23:27 Ac 27:9
b. under Samuel's ministry 1Sa 7:6
c. predicted in Zechariah Zec 12:10,11
d. in many of the psalms (Ps 51:1, etc.).
Mourning was expressed,
1. by weeping Ge 35:8 marg.; Lu 7:38 etc.;
2. by loud lamentation Ru 1:9 1Sa 6:19 2Sa 3:31
3. by the disfigurement of the person, as
a. rending the clothes Ge 37:29,34 Mt 26:65
b. wearing sackcloth Ge 37:34 Ps 35:13
c. sprinkling dust or ashes on the person 2Sa 13:19 Jer
6:26 Job 2:12
d. shaving the head and plucking out the hair of the head
or beard Le 10:6 Job 1:20
e. neglect of the person or the removal of ornaments Ex
33:4 De 21:12,13 2Sa 14:2 19:24 Mt 6:16,17
f. fasting 2Sa 1:12
g. covering the upper lip Le 13:45 Mic 3:7
h. cutting the flesh Jer 16:6,7
i. sitting in silence Jud 20:26 2Sa 12:16 13:31 Job 1:20
In the later times we find a class of mourners who could
be hired to give by their loud lamentation the external tokens of sorrow 2Ch
35:25 Jer 9:17 Mt 9:23 The period of mourning for the dead varied.
1. For Jacob it was seventy days Ge 50:3
2. Thirty days for:
a. Aaron Nu 20:29
b. Moses De 34:8
3. for Saul only seven days 1Sa 31:13
In 2Sa 3:31-35 we have a description of the great
mourning for the death of Abner.
Heb. 'akhbar, "swift digger"), properly the
dormouse, the field-mouse 1Sa 6:4 In Le 11:29 Isa 66:17 this word is used
generically, and includes the jerboa (Mus jaculus), rat, hamster (Cricetus),
which, though declared to be unclean animals, were eaten by the Arabs, and are
still eaten by the Bedouins. It is said that no fewer than twenty-three species
of this group('akhbar=Arab. ferah) of animals inhabit Palestine. God "laid
waste" the people of Ashdod by the terrible visitation of field-mice,
which are like locusts in their destructive effects 1Sa 6:4,11,18 Herodotus,
the Greek historian, accounts for the destruction of the army of Sennacherib
2Ki 19:35 by saying that in the night thousands of mice invaded the camp and
gnawed through the bow-strings, quivers, and shields, and thus left the
Assyrians helpless.
See SENNACHERIB
(Heb. gez), rendered in Ps 72:6 "mown grass."
The expression "king's mowings" Am 7:1 refers to some royal right of
early pasturage, the first crop of grass for the cavalry (comp.) 1Ki 18:5
A going forth.
1. One of the sons of Caleb 1Ch 2:46
2. The son of Zimri, of the posterity of Saul 1Ch 8:36,37
9:42,43
An issuing of water, a city of Benjamin Jos 18:26
Isa 3:19 veils, light and tremulous. Margin,
"spangled ornaments."
Heb. bakah, "to weep; "rendered "Baca"
(R.V., "weeping") in Ps 84:6 The plural form of the Hebrew bekaim is
rendered "mulberry trees" in 2Sa 5:23,24 1Ch 14:14,15 The tree here
alluded to was probably the aspen or trembling poplar. "We know with
certainty that the black poplar, the aspen, and the Lombardy poplar grew in
Palestine. The aspen, whose long leaf-stalks cause the leaves to tremble with
every breath of wind, unites with the willow and the oak to overshadow the
watercourses of the Lebanon, and with the oleander and the acacia to adorn the
ravines of Southern Palestine" (Kitto). By "the sound of a going in
the tops of the mulberry trees" we are to understand a rustling among the
trees like the marching of an army. This was the signal that the Lord himself
would lead forth David's army to victory.
See SYCAMINE
(Heb. pered), so called from the quick step of the animal
or its power of carrying loads. It is not probable that the Hebrews bred mules,
as this was strictly forbidden in the law Le 19:19 although their use was not
forbidden. We find them in common use even by kings and nobles 2Sa 18:9 1Ki
1:33 2Ki 5:17 Ps 32:9 They are not mentioned, however, till the time of David,
for the word rendered "mules" (R.V. correctly, "hot
springs") in Ge 36:24 (yemim) properly denotes the warm springs of
Callirhoe, on the eastern shore of the Dead Sea. In David's reign they became
very common 2Sa 13:29 1Ki 10:25 Mules are not mentioned in the New Testament.
Perhaps they had by that time ceased to be used in Palestine.
Wilful murder was distinguished from accidental homicide,
and was invariably visited with capital punishment Nu 35:16,18,21,31 Le 24:17
This law in its principle is founded on the fact of man's having been made in
the likeness of God Ge 9:5,6 Joh 8:44 1Jo 3:12,15 The Mosiac law prohibited any
compensation for murder or the reprieve of the murderer Ex 21:12,14 De 19:11,13
2Sa 17:25 20:10 Two witnesses were required in any capital case Nu 35:19-30 De
17:6-12 If the murderer could not be discovered, the city nearest the scene of
the murder was required to make expiation for the crime committed De 21:1-9
These offences also were to be punished with death,
1. striking a parent;
2. cursing a parent;
3. kidnapping Ex 21:15-17 De 27:16
Of the Hebrews in the wilderness, called forth the
displeasure of God, which was only averted by the earnest prayer of Moses Nu
11:33,34 Nu 12:1 14:27,30,31 16:3 21:4-6 Ps 106:25 Forbidden by Paul 1Co 10:10
Heb. deber, "destruction, "a "great
mortality", the fifth plague that fell upon the Egyptians Ex 9:3 It was
some distemper that resulted in the sudden and widespread death of the cattle.
It was confined to the cattle of the Egyptians that were in the field Ex 9:6
Receding, the second of the two sons of Merari Ex 6:19 Nu
3:20 His sons were called Mushites Nu 3:33 26:58
Jubal was the inventor of musical instruments Ge 4:21 The
Hebrews were much given to the cultivation of music. Their whole history and
literature afford abundant evidence of this. After the Deluge, the first
mention of music is in the account of Laban's interview with Jacob Ge 31:27
After their triumphal passage of the Red Sea, Moses and the children of Israel
sang their song of deliverance Ex 15:1ff. But the period of Samuel, David, and
Solomon was the golden age of Hebrew music, as it was of Hebrew poetry. Music
was now for the first time systematically cultivated. It was an essential part
of training in the schools of the prophets 1Sa 10:5 19:19-24 2Ki 3:15 1Ch 25:6
There now arose also a class of professional singers 2Sa 19:35 Ec 2:8 The
temple, however, was the great school of music. In the conducting of its
services large bands of trained singers and players on instruments were
constantly employed 2Sa 6:5 1Ch 15:1-16:43, 23:1-32, 5:1-26 1Ch 25:1-6 In
private life also music seems to have held an important place among the Hebrews
Ec 2:8 Am 6:4-6 Isa 5:11,12 24:8,9 Ps 137:1 Jer 48:33 Lu 15:25
(Heb. menatstseah), the precentor of the Levitical choir
or orchestra in the temple, mentioned in the titles of fifty-five psalms, and
in Hab 3:19 Revised Version. The first who held this office was Jeduthun 1Ch
16:41 and the office appears to have been hereditary. Heman and Asaph were his
two colleagues 2Ch 35:15
Among instruments of music used by the Hebrews a
principal place is given to stringed instruments. These were,
1. The kinnor, the "harp."
2. The nebel, "a skin bottle, "rendered
"psaltery."
3. The sabbeka, or "sackbut, "a lute or lyre.
4. The gittith, occurring in the title of (Ps 8:1 84:1)
5. Minnim Ps 150:4 rendered "stringed instruments;
"in Ps 45:8 in the form _minni_, probably the apocopated (i.e., shortened)
plural, rendered, Authorized Version, "whereby, "and in the Revised
Version "stringed instruments."
6. Machalath, in the titles of Ps 53:1 88:1 supposed to
be a kind of lute or guitar.
Of wind instruments mention is made of,
1. The 'ugab Ge 4:21 Job 21:12 30:31 probably the
so-called Pan's pipes or syrinx.
2. The qeren or "horn" Jos 6:5 1Ch 25:5
3. The shophar, rendered "trumpet" Jos 6:4,6,8
The word means "bright, "and may have been so called from the clear,
shrill sound it emitted. It was often used Ex 19:13 Nu 10:10 Jud 7:16,18 1Sa
13:3
4. The hatsotserah, or straight trumpet Ps 98:6 Nu
10:1-10 This name is supposed by some to be an onomatopoetic word, intended to
imitate the pulse-like sound of the trumpet, like the Latin taratantara. Some
have identified it with the modern trombone.
5. The halil, i.e, "bored through, "a flute or
pipe 1Sa 10:5 1Ki 1:40 Isa 5:12 Jer 48:36 which is still used in Palestine.
6. The sumponyah, rendered "dulcimer" Da 3:5
probably a sort of bagpipe.
7. The maskrokith'a Da 3:5 rendered "flute,
"but its precise nature is unknown.
Of instruments of percussion mention is made of,
1. The toph, an instrument of the drum kind, rendered
"timbrel" Ex 15:20 Job 21:12 Ps 68:25 also "tabret" Ge
31:27 Isa 24:8 1Sa 10:5
2. The paamon, the "bells" on the robe of the
high priest Ex 28:33 39:25
3. The tseltselim, "cymbals" 2Sa 6:5 Ps 150:5
which are struck together and produce a loud, clanging sound. Metsilloth,
"bells" on horses and camels for ornament, and metsiltayim,
"cymbals" 1Ch 13:8 Ezr 3:10 etc. These words are all derived from the
same root, tsalal, meaning "to tinkle."
4. The menaan'im, used only in 2Sa 6:5 rendered
"cornets" (R.V., "castanets"); in the Vulgate,
"sistra, "an instrument of agitation.
5. The shalishim, mentioned only in 1Sa 18:6 rendered
"instruments of music" (marg. of R.V., "triangles or
three-stringed instruments"). The words in Ec 2:8 "musical
instruments, and that of all sorts, "Authorized Version, are in the
Revised Version "concubines very many."
A plant of the genus sinapis, a pod-bearing, shrub-like
plant, growing wild, and also cultivated in gardens. The little round seeds
were an emblem of any small insignificant object. It is not mentioned in the Old
Testament; and in each of the three instances of its occurrence in the New
Testament Mt 13:31,32 Mr 4:31,32 Lu 13:18,19 it is spoken of only with
reference to the smallness of its seed. The common mustard of Palestine is the
Sinapis nigra. This garden herb sometimes grows to a considerable height, so as
to be spoken of as "a tree" as compared with garden herbs.
Occurring only in the title of Ps 9:1 Some interpret the
words as meaning "on the death of Labben, "some unknown person.
Others render the word, "on the death of the son; "i.e., of Absalom
2Sa 18:33 Others again have taken the word as the name of a musical instrument,
or as the name of an air to which the psalm was sung.
Grain in the East is usually thrashed by the sheaves
being spread out on a floor, over which oxen and cattle are driven to and fro,
till the grain is trodden out. Moses ordained that the ox was not to be muzzled
while thrashing. It was to be allowed to eat both the grain and the straw De
25:4
See AGRICULTURE
One of the chief towns of Lycia, in Asia Minor, about 2
1/2 miles from the coast Ac 27:5 Here Paul removed from the Adramyttian ship in
which he had sailed from Caesarea, and entered into the Alexandrian ship, which
was afterwards wrecked at Melita Ac 27:39-44
Heb. mor.
1. First mentioned as a principal ingredient in the holy
anointing oil Ex 30:23 It formed part of the gifts brought by the wise men from
the east, who came to worship the infant Jesus Mt 2:11 It was used in embalming
Joh 19:39 also as a perfume Es 2:12 Ps 45:8 Pr 7:17 It was a custom of the Jews
to give those who were condemned to death by crucifixion "wine mingled
with myrrh" to produce insensibility. This drugged wine was probably
partaken of by the two malefactors, but when the Roman soldiers pressed it upon
Jesus "he received it not" Mr 15:23 See GALL This was the gum or
viscid white liquid which flows from a tree resembling the acacia, found in
Africa and Arabia, the Balsamodendron myrrha of botanists. The "bundle of
myrrh" in So 1:13 is rather a "bag" of myrrh or a scent-bag.
2. Another word _lot_ is also translated
"myrrh" Ge 37:25 43:11 R.V., marg., "or ladanum". What was
meant by this word is uncertain. It has been thought to be the chestnut,
mastich, stacte, balsam, turpentine, pistachio nut, or the lotus. It is
probably correctly rendered by the Latin word ladanum, the Arabic ladan, an
aromatic juice of a shrub called the Cistus or rock rose, which has the same
qualities, though in a slight degree, of opium, whence a decoction of opium is
called laudanum. This plant was indigenous to Syria and Arabia.
Isa 41:19 Ne 8:15 Zec 1:8 Hebrew hadas, known in the East
by the name _as_, the Myrtus communis of the botanist. "Although no
myrtles are now found on the mount (of Olives), excepting in the gardens, yet
they still exist in many of the glens about Jerusalem, where we have often seen
its dark shining leaves and white flowers. There are many near Bethlehem and
about Hebron, especially near Dewir Dan, the ancient Debir. It also sheds its
fragrance on the sides of Carmel and of Tabor, and fringes the clefts of the
Leontes in its course through Galilee. We meet with it all through Central
Palestine" (Tristram).
A province in the north-west of Asia Minor. On his first
voyage to Europe Ac 16:7,8 Paul passed through this province and embarked at
its chief port Troas.
The calling of the Gentiles into the Christian Church, so designated Eph 1:9,10 3:8-11 Col 1:25-27 a truth undiscoverable except by revelation, long hid, now made manifest. The resurrection of the dead 1Co 15:51 and other doctrines which need to be explained but which cannot be fully understood by finite intelligence Mt 13:11 Ro 11:25 1Co 13:2 the union between Christ and his people symbolized by the marriage union Eph 5:31,32 comp. Eph 6:19 the seven stars and the seven candlesticks Re 1:20 and the woman clothed in scarlet Re 17:7 are also in this sense mysteries. The anti-Christian power working in his day is called by the apostle 2Th 2:7 the "mystery of iniquity."