Biblical Encyclopedia: M

Maacah

(oppression) — the name of the following places and persons:

Maachathite

(2 Sam 23:34) — grandfather of Eliphelet, one of David’s mighty men.

Maadai

(ornament of the Lord) (Ezra 10:34 [printed as “10:84,” evidently a misprint]) — one of the sons of Bani. He returned with Ezra after the captivity and was one of those who had taken a foreign wife.

Maadiah

(Neh 12:5 [printed as “Neh 20:5”; Nehemiah has only thirteen chapters, so this is evidently a misprint]) — one of the priests who accompanied Zerubbabel to Jerusalem after the captivity. In verse 17 he is called Moadiah.

Maai

(tenderness) (Neh 12:36) — one of the singers with musical instruments at the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem after the captivity.

Maarab

(treeless, bare) (Josh 15:59) — a city of the tribe of Judah, mentioned together with Beth-anoth and Eltekon. It probably lay at Kasr el-Mukhur, east of Hebron, where several ruins are still found to this day on the north bank of the locality of Wadi el-Ghar.

Maasai

(work of the Lord) (1 Chr 9:12) — son of Adiel, one of those who lived in Jerusalem after the captivity.

Maasei

(meaning the same as the preceding word) (1 Chr 15:18-20) — a Levite in the days of David, who took part, singing in a high voice, in the playing on the psaltery on the occasion of bringing the Ark of the Covenant from the house of Obed-edom.

Maaseiah

— the name of several persons:

Maaseiah

(second). See 2 Ezra 9:31.

Maaseiah.

See 2 Esdras 9:21. In Ezra 10:22 it reads Maaseiah.

Maasman.

See 2 Esdras 8:43. In Ezra 8:16 it reads Shemaiah.

Maaz Maas

(anger) (1 Chr 2:27) — one of the sons of Ram.

Maaziah

(comfort of the Lord):

Macalon

(see 2 Esdras 5:21) — a city of the tribe of Benjamin, the same as Michmash. See Michmash.

Maccabee, Maccabees

(from the Aramaic — hammer, mallet). Being weak, the Jews suffered greatly at the hands of neighboring peoples. The most cruel persecution they endured was from the Syrian king Antiochus Epiphanes, who sought to introduce pagan worship among them and to set up an idol in the Jerusalem temple itself. The family of the Maccabees, of priestly lineage — the children of the priest Mattathias (1 Macc 2:4, 66) — rose up in defense of the true faith and the fatherland (in 167 B.C.). They restored worship according to the Law of God, defended their fatherland against its enemies, and became leaders of the Jews. Before his death, the priest Mattathias, of his five sons (John, Simon, Judas, Eleazar, Jonathan), entrusted to Judas (Maccabeus) command of the army for the defense of the faith and fatherland against their enemies.

Taking up this command, Judas and his brothers gradually defended their fatherland, restored to it freedom and independence, and at last became its sovereign rulers, uniting in their own hands both civil and spiritual authority — thus, as zealous defenders of the faith, throwing off the pagan yoke from Judea. Afterward the Jewish king Herod, son of Antipater, utterly destroyed the ruling line of the Maccabees (in 37 B.C.). Their memory is kept by the Church on August 1.

Macedonia

(Acts 16:9) — a region notable in antiquity, north of Greece, bordered by Thrace and the Aegean Sea on the east, the Adriatic Sea and Illyria on the west, and Dardania and Paeonia on the north. The region’s borders, like its power, naturally varied at different times. The early history of Macedonia is shrouded in obscurity and legend. Its first king, it is claimed, was Perdiccas (814 B.C.); it was also ruled later by Philip and Alexander the Great. Its last king was defeated by the Romans at Pydna (168 B.C.), with which event the Macedonian monarchy came to an end, and the country, as a province, fell under Roman rule, which divided it into four parts.

Macedonia is especially notable as the first European country in which the holy apostle Paul preached the Gospel. Several of its cities are named in the New Testament: Amphipolis, Apollonia, Berea, Neapolis, Philippi, and Thessalonica. The immediate occasion of the apostle Paul’s visit to Macedonia with the evangelical preaching was a night vision: there appeared to him a certain man of Macedonia, with the plea, “Come over into Macedonia, and help us.” The apostle Paul was then at Troas; obeying the divine call, he set out at once for Macedonia, where his evangelical labors and preaching were crowned with full success (Acts 16:9-12).

His companions in this holy work were Silas and Timothy (18:5) and Erastus (19:22). After this first journey the apostle Paul often revisited Macedonia (19:21; 20:1-6). Flourishing churches and zealous preachers of the evangelical truth quickly arose in Macedonia, as we may see from the repeated references in the book of Acts and in the epistles of the holy apostle Paul. Three of his epistles were addressed to churches in Macedonia — two to the Thessalonians and one to the Philippians.

The first epistle to the Thessalonians is reckoned the first epistle written by the holy apostle under divine inspiration. The apostle holds up the Macedonian churches as an example to the Corinthians (2 Cor 8:1; 9:2).

Machbenah Machabena

(bond, alliance) (1 Chr 2:49) — son of Sheva, of the line of Judah, mentioned in the genealogy of 1 Chronicles.

Machera

(1 Kings 11:36 [as printed]) — an unknown locality, mentioned only in the cited passage.

Machilas.

See 2 Esdras 9:19. In Ezra 10:18 it reads Maaseiah.

Machir

(sold) — the name of two persons:

Machnadebai Machadnabu Sesei Sariu

(Ezra 10:40) (gift of the free, the noble) — one of those who married foreign wives during the captivity.

Machpelah

(double cave) (Gen 23:9, 1) — a field and cave near Hebron, purchased by Abraham for a burial place, in which he himself, his wife, and some of his children were indeed buried. It lies on one side of a high hill to the southwest. Over the cave, still regarded to this day as the family vault of the patriarchs, a monument has been erected, now called the Haram of Hebron, a particular landmark of Hebron and a site that draws the attention of all travelers. From the top of the hill a beautiful view opens over the valley of Mamre.

Macron

(2 Macc 10:12) — the epithet of Ptolemy, chief military commander of Coele-Syria and Phoenicia, in the reign of Antiochus Epiphanes and Eupator.

Madai

(meaning not precisely determined) (Gen 10:2; 1 Chr 1:5) — third son of Japheth, forefather of the Medes.

Madmannah

(heap of dung) (Josh 15:31) — a city in the south of the tribe of Judah, mentioned together with Ziklag and Sansannah, and assigned, with other cities, to the tribe of Simeon. According to Eusebius, this was a small settlement near Gaza, known in his day by the name Menois, thought to correspond to the more recent settlement of Minyay, a station on the great route from Egypt into western Palestine, 15 English miles southwest of Gaza.

Madmen

(reduced to silence) (Jer 48:2) — a Moabite city which, according to the prophecy, was by God’s will to be destroyed.

Madmenah Madebena

(meaning the same as the preceding word) (Isa 10:31) — a city of the tribe of Benjamin, unknown in later times.

Madon

(dispute, strife) (Josh 11:1) — an ancient royal city whose king, Jobab, was defeated by Joshua; it lay within the northern borders of the land of Canaan.

Maenai

(gift of God):

Magbish Magebis

(firm, or, per Gesenius, frozen/gathering) (Ezra 2:30) — either a locality near Nebo and Bethel, or a person, but most likely a locality whose citizens returned from the captivity.

Magdala, the region of Magdala

(tower) (Josh 15 [citation as printed]) — a city of the tribe of Issachar, lying on the west shore of the Sea of Tiberias, north of Tiberias, not far from Capernaum. From this city came Mary Magdalene. In the Gospel of Mark this city is called Dalmanutha (Mark 8:10). Today Magdala is called Mejdel — according to Olesnitsky, a wretched village whose houses are built not even from ancient material but from small shore stones mixed with mud. On the flat roofs of the houses, upper stories have been added in the form of huts of reed and brushwood.

Two small remnants of towers of Arab construction, and a poor plastered tomb of the village’s sheikh, are the only local points of interest. Nature here presents a pitiful scene of desolation — a single solitary palm grows, and no other vegetation — though the setting itself, notwithstanding, is beautiful.

Magdiel

(leader of God) (Gen 36:43) — one of the dukes of Edom.

Magi.

See Wise Men.

Magog

(Gen 10:2; Rev 20:8) — a word of unknown origin. In Genesis 10:2 it is said that Magog was one of the sons of Japheth; the same is repeated in 1 Chr 1:5. In two other places this name is set in connection with Gog, so that the word Gog appears as though it were the name of a king over Magog, a people or country (Ezek 38:2-3; 39:1-12). From this it is evident that the word Magog denotes a country, just as Gog, Meshech, and Tubal standing beside it do, and that Gog, at the head of the people of Magog, is destined at some time to come from the north and invade the land of Israel, and that through this invasion the divine judgment upon Gog is to be accomplished, whose entire host will be destroyed and buried together with him in a place named, in memory of this event, the Valley of Hamon-gog.

In Revelation (20:8) the words Gog and Magog appear as equivalent terms for the nations found in the four corners of the earth, among whom their princes and rulers are probably also meant. In that passage a terrible war is prophetically described between the enemies and the saints of God, ending in the final destruction of the former. According to Gesenius, by the words Gog and Magog is meant the same northern people whom the ancient Greeks called Scythians (cf. Josephus, Antiquities 1, 6).

Gesenius says that the Arabs call them Yajuj and Majuj and relate many fables about Gog and Magog. Most philologists maintain that in the word Magog the syllable “ma” denotes “land,” so that the whole word means “the land of Gog.” Most likely, however, by these words are meant all the northern Scythian tribes, from whom the later Slavs, Tatars, and the like are descended. It does not follow from this, however, that there ever actually existed a king called Gog, or a people called Magog; one thing alone is certain, that in the course of the centuries these names became symbolic for all the northern peoples.

Magor-missabib Exile

(terror on every side) (Jer 20:3) — a symbolic name given by the prophet Jeremiah to the priest Pashhur, when the latter put the prophet in the stocks for his prophetic denunciations against Jerusalem.

Mahalaleel

(glory of God):

Mahalath

(songstress, singer) — the name of two persons:

Mahalath

(Ps 88:1) (mournful, an elegiac melody) — a word probably denoting a musical instrument for singing.

Mahanaim.

See The company of Mahanaim. * Mahath** (destruction, ruin) — the name of two persons:

Maharai

(hasty) (2 Sam 23:28; 1 Chr 11:30) — one of David’s mighty men, of the city of Netophah in the tribe of Judah, near Jerusalem; under his command were 24,000 troops (1 Chr 27:13).

Mahavim

(1 Chr 11:46) — an unknown locality, from which came Eliel, one of David’s chief warriors.

Mahazioth

(visions) (1 Chr 25:4, 30) — one of the sons of Heman, chosen together with others to play musical instruments in the temple. The twenty-third lot fell to him in the course of temple service.

Mahbannai

(fat, stout) (1 Chr 12:13) — one of the Gadites who joined David at Ziklag.

Maher-shalal-hash-baz

(hasten the spoil, he hastens to the prey) (Isa 8:1-4) — son of the prophet Isaiah, so named at God’s command, to signify that Damascus and Samaria would be plundered and destroyed by the king of Assyria.

Mahlah

(sickness):

Mahli

(sickly, weak) — the name of three persons:

Mahli

(second). See 2 Ezra 8:46. In 1 Ezra 8:18 it reads: Mahli.

Mahlon Maalon

(Ruth 1:2, 9 and elsewhere) (weakness, sickness) — a man of Bethlehem, one of the sons of Elimelech and Naomi, and Ruth’s first husband.

Mahol Mal

(1 Kings 4:31) (a circular dance) — father of four men reckoned wise in the reign of Solomon. Who these wise men were and in what their wisdom consisted is unknown; the sacred chronicler mentions them only to compare them with Solomon, who surpassed them all in wisdom.

Mail.

See 2 Esdras 9:26. In Ezra 10:25 it reads Miamin.

Makaz Makes

(extremity, border) (1 Kings 4:9) — one of the cities mentioned as the residence of one of Solomon’s officers. Its location is unknown, but according to Keil the city of Makaz lay in the tribe of Dan.

Maker and Makkedah

(place of shepherds) — the name of two cities:

Maktesh Lament

(moth-destroyer [as glossed in the source]) (Neh 10:20 [as cited in the source, among the list of those confirming the covenant]) — one of the heads of the people in the days of Ezra and Nehemiah who gave a pledge to be faithful to God.

Malachi Lay

(messenger of the LORD) (Mal 1:1) — the last of the minor prophets in chronological order. Holy Scripture and tradition give no information concerning his lineage and life. According to common opinion, however, Malachi lived about 400 years before Christ and was a contemporary of Nehemiah. Many of the Jewish rabbis maintained that the writer of the book known under the name of the prophet Malachi was the priest Ezra — such, among others, was the opinion of Jerome. According to Origen, the author of this prophetic book was an incarnate angel. Since he was the last of the Old Testament minor prophets, the rabbis sometimes called him the seal of the prophets.

Malcham

(their king):

Malchiel

(God is king) (Gen 46:17; Num 26:45) — son of Beriah, forefather of the family of Malchiel.

Malchiel

(God is king) (Judith 6:15) — father of Charmis, one of the rulers in Bethulia at the time of Holofernes’ invasion of Judea.

Malchijah

(Jehovah is king) — the name of the following persons:

Malchijah

— the name of three persons:

Malchiram Phadaias

(exalted king) (1 Chr 3:18) — son of Jeconiah, who lived at the time of the Babylonian deportation.

Malchishua

(king of help) (1 Sam 14:49) — son of King Saul, slain with his father and two of his brothers on Mount Gilboa in the battle with the Philistines (31:2).

Malchus

(king) (John 18:10) — servant of the high priest, whose right ear the apostle Peter cut off in the garden of Gethsemane, which however was immediately and miraculously healed by the Savior.

Mallothi

(meaning not precisely determined; perhaps — eloquent) (1 Chr 25:4, 26) — one of the sons of the singer Heman, appointed to head the nineteenth course of the singers in the temple.

Malluch

(counselor, advisor) — the name of the following persons:

Malta.

See Melita.

Mamei.

See 2 Esdras 8:43.

Mammon

(Matt 6:24; Luke 16:13) — a Syriac word meaning wealth, or earthly goods. “Ye cannot serve God and mammon” (riches), said the Lord, indicating by this that one must not be attached to wealth, since such attachment is incompatible with the service of God.

Mamnitanaimus.

See 2 Esdras 9:34.

Mamre

(firm) (Gen 18:1) — the name of a valley, probably taking its name from Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshcol and Aner, an ally of Abraham (Gen 14:24). The location of Mamre is indicated in connection with Machpelah (field and cave) in the following words: “And the field of Ephron, which was in Machpelah, which was before Mamre” (Gen 23:17; 25:9; 49:30). This was, of course, not the name of a city, but of a field or farm, though elsewhere in Genesis it is also identified with Hebron itself, since it lay close by.

In all likelihood there stood upon it a grove adjoining this valley, with the historically famous oak of Mamre. Here Abraham dwelt for a long time, and here he died; Isaac also lived here, when Jacob returned from Padan-aram. We may therefore reasonably regard the valley of Mamre as a particular dwelling place of the Hebrew patriarchs, in which they lived, died, and near which they were buried. Near the grove of Mamre, as is known, occurred the appearance of the three angels in the guise of travelers to Abraham, and to this day there still grows on this spot an enormous and most ancient oak (belonging to the Orthodox Palestinian Russian Mission) — a most remarkable relic of deep antiquity, namely of that very grove in which the patriarchs once dwelt.

Mamuch.

See 2 Esdras 9:30. In Ezra 10:20 it reads Malluch.

Manael

(comforter) (Acts 13:1) — foster-brother of Herod Antipas. In the early period of his ministry he was numbered among the prophets and teachers of the primitive church at Antioch, and took part in the fasting, prayer, and laying on of hands upon Saul and Barnabas when they were called by the Spirit of God to apostolic service. He is not mentioned again in Holy Scripture after this.

Manahath

(rest) (1 Chron. 2:52) — perhaps the name of a locality in the tribe of Benjamin, denoting a clan or lineage of Shobal, of the descendants of Caleb, dwelling in that locality.

Manahath

(rest):

Manasseh

(causing to forget) — the name of the following persons:

Mandrakes

(Song 7:14; Gen 30:14-16) (in Hebrew, dudaim). It is not known precisely what plant is meant here. What is commonly called the “May-apple” is also often called the mandrake — a plant that grows low, like lettuce, with broad, dark-green leaves, and bearing fruit somewhat resembling small lemons. The plant known by this name is still found today in the East; its fruits ripen from May to June and are about the size of a small apple, of a reddish-yellow color, with a very pleasant fragrance. The fruit is very pleasant to the taste, but sometimes has an intoxicating or stimulating effect. Reuben found ripe mandrakes already in

Manger

(Luke 2:7, 12, 16)—a feeding trough for animals. Mary laid the newborn Jesus in a manger because no place was available for them in the guest room, and the manger became the identifying sign given to the shepherds. The word names the trough itself, not necessarily an entire stall or fenced enclosure. Later tradition locates the Nativity in a cave or stable, but Luke’s text specifies only the manger and the unavailable lodging space.

Mani

— two Israelites. One (2 Esdras 5:31) was of the temple servants, whose son is listed among those who returned from the captivity with Zerubbabel. The other (2 Esdras 9:30) was among those whose sons had taken foreign wives.

Manis.

See 2 Esdras 9:21.

Manius Manlius

(2 Macc 11:34) — one of the Roman elders who sent a letter to the Jewish people in the days of Judas Maccabeus, when the Syrian king made peace with the Jews, granting them the right to live according to their ancestral laws.

Manna

(from the Hebrew expression of astonishment, man-hu — “what is this?”) (Exod 16:15-31; John 6:31; Heb 9:4). When the children of Israel first saw it, they said to one another, “What is it?” And Moses said unto them, “This is the bread which the LORD hath given you to eat” (Exod 16:15). Manna was a nourishing substance, miraculously sent down by God from heaven to the children of Israel during their wanderings in the Arabian wilderness, in place of the bread they could not obtain on their long journey.

It is called the bread that fell from heaven like rain (Exod 16:4). “And when the dew fell upon the camp in the night,” it is said of this wondrous food in the book of Numbers, “the manna fell upon it” (11:9). And in another sacred book it is said: “And when the dew that lay was gone up, behold, upon the face of the wilderness there lay a small round thing, as small as the hoar frost on the ground” (Exod 16:14). In appearance it resembled coriander seed, was white, and in taste was like wafers made with honey (v. 31).

It was gathered early in the morning, each according to what he could eat; and when the sun grew hot, it melted (v. 21). The people went about and gathered it, and ground it in mills or beat it in a mortar, and baked it in pans and made cakes of it (Num 11:8). If it was left until morning, it bred worms and stank (Exod 16:20). On the day before the Sabbath they gathered it in double portion, since it did not fall on the Sabbath (v. 23). This wondrous food was sent down from heaven daily for 40 years to some 3-4 million of the Hebrew people (Deut 29:5-6).

The falling of the manna from heaven ceased when the children of Israel were encamped at Gilgal, on the day after they had kept the first Passover in the Promised Land (Josh 5:10-12). To perpetuate this miracle, which had continued for so long, Moses commanded Aaron to take a golden vessel and put in it a full omer of manna, to be kept and set before the Ark, or within the Ark itself, so that later generations might see for themselves that wondrous bread with which the Lord fed the Hebrews in the wilderness during their long and perilous journey from Egypt to the land of Canaan (Exod 16:33).

The nourishing substance known today by the name of manna was so named from its supposed resemblance to the manna of the Israelites. But the manna of Israel was essentially different from the ordinary, present-day manna in many respects. True manna cannot be found in the wilderness; it is gathered only in spring, does not melt in the sun, does not breed worms in itself, and does not spoil even if kept for several days; it cannot be ground or pounded in a mortar as the manna of Israel could be.

The Israelites had never seen it before, and after the falling of the manna from heaven ceased, for the last time at Gilgal, it never fell again (cf. Deut 8:3, 16; Exod 16:15, 32). True manna is gathered from the tamarisk shrub, chiefly on the Sinai peninsula. In the month of June it falls in drops in abundance from the needles of the tamarisk onto the branches, leaves, and thorns, which are continually falling and covering the ground beneath this shrub; the manna is gathered before sunrise, when it has thickened.

The Arabs carefully clean away the leaves, dirt, and other impurities that cling to it, boil it, strain it through a clean fine cloth, and put it into leather sacks. In this way the manna keeps well even until the following year, and the Bedouins use it as food, as we use honey, spreading it on their unleavened cakes or dipping their bread into the sweet solution of manna. A considerable portion of the manna is delivered to the monastery of St. Catherine on Sinai. In the Psalter, manna is called the bread of heaven, the bread of angels (Ps 78:24-25), evidently because it descended from heaven in a wondrous manner.

The expression in the book of Revelation, “the hidden manna,” allegorically points to the protection and covering that the Lord bestows on every true believer in Him. But above all, manna was a type of that spiritual, mysterious, heavenly bread which the Lord gives to all true believers for eternal life in the Sacrament of the Eucharist (John 6:31-35, 48-58).

Manoah Manoe

(rest) (Judg 13:2) — a pious man of Zorah, of the tribe of Dan. Though married, he had for a long time had no children; but an angel appeared to his wife and told her she would bear a son. Learning of this, Manoah prayed to the Lord that the angel of the Lord would appear to him also and teach him how he should deal with the child that was to be born. The prayer was heard, and after some time a son was born to them, whom they named Samson (see Samson) (Judg 13). Manoah and his wife are mentioned further in the book of Judges, on the occasion of their son’s wedding, to which they at first did not consent but afterward gave their agreement (14:2-10).

Manoah died before his son. Therefore, when Samson perished heroically together with the Philistine lords and people he had avenged himself upon — some 3,000 people — in the house he pulled down, only his brothers came to bury him between Zorah and Eshtaol, in the tomb of Manoah his father (16:31).

Manocho

(Josh 15:59) — one of the cities of the tribe of Judah.

Maoch Ammach

(perhaps oppression, or, according to Fürst, poor) (1 Sam 27:2) — father of Achish, king of Gath. This is probably the same person as Maacah (1 Kings 2:39).

Maon

(dwelling place) — the name of the following places:

Mara Bitter

(bitter) (Ruth 1:20) — the name Naomi gave herself upon returning from Bethlehem widowed and childless. “Call me not Naomi (pleasant),” she said, “call me Mara: for the Almighty hath dealt very bitterly with me.”

Marah

(bitterness) (Exod 15:23) — one of the camps of the Israelites in the wilderness, lying three days’ journey from the place where they crossed the Red Sea. “They came to Marah,” says the sacred writer, “and could not drink of the waters of Marah, for they were bitter.” Moses cast into it the tree shown him by the Lord, and the water became sweet. At the present day this locality is identified on the road from Ayun Musa to Sinai, at the mineral spring of Hawwarah, with its unpleasant, bitter-salty water, which even the Bedouins themselves do not use for drinking. In the book of the prophet Baruch (3:28[?]) Marah is understood to mean the barren land and city of Meran, in Arabia.

Maralah Magelda

(place of trembling) (Josh 19:11) — a place in the tribe of Zebulun. According to Velde, it lay in the present-day locality of Tell Merdshaneh, southeast of Acco.

Marble

(Rev. 18:12)—a mineral belonging to the hard limestones, notable for its hardness and its capacity for fine polishing. There is no doubt that marble has been used since the most ancient times as a building material for the construction of buildings (Rev. 18:12, 1 Chron. 29:2) and for the making of various vessels. The color of marble varies and is often very beautiful; pieces of various colors and sizes can be joined together, so as to form a fine mosaic. Such, in all likelihood, were the pavement and the columns of the Persian palace at Susa, described in the Book of Esther (1:6).

Besides this, in the Song of Songs it is said of the mysterious bridegroom that his legs are as pillars of marble, set upon sockets of fine gold (5:15). Pieces of red and white marble among the ruins of Gerasa, or Gadara, and Rabbath-ammon show that in Roman times marble was often used for the construction of the magnificent buildings of the most notable cities on the eastern and western sides of the Jordan. At present marble is quarried in Europe (especially in Greece, Italy, and Russia) and in Asia, on Mount Lebanon.

Mareshah

(inheritance, or, according to some, to be at the head):

Mark the Evangelist.

See John, surnamed Mark.

Marriage.

The institution of marriage dates to the original creation of man. Seeing that it was not good for man to be alone, God made him a help meet for him (Gen. 2:18). According to the teaching of the Orthodox Church, marriage is a sacrament in which, upon the free promise before the priest and the Church of mutual conjugal fidelity by the bridegroom and bride, the marital union of them is blessed as an image of the spiritual union of Christ with the Church, and grace is entreated for them for pure unanimity, for a blessed bearing of children, and their Christian upbringing.

That marriage is a sacrament is evident from the epistle of the Holy Apostle Paul to the Ephesians (5:31, 32). For more on marriage, see Verkhovsky’s “Biblical Dictionary,” pp. 230–236, and the dictionary of Archpriest Solyarsky, vol. 4, pp. 709–711.

Marsena

(a Persian word — worthy) (Esth 1:14) — one of the seven Persian and Median princes who composed the king’s council. He held first place next to King Ahasuerus.

Martha

(Luke 10:38-42; John 11-12)—sister of Mary and Lazarus of Bethany. She welcomed Jesus into her home and was occupied with serving while Mary sat at his feet. Jesus did not despise service, but corrected anxious distraction and affirmed the one necessary thing of attending to his word. When Lazarus died, Martha went out to meet Jesus and confessed, “I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one coming into the world” (John 11:27). She later served at the supper in Bethany (John 12:2). The source assigns her a February 6 commemoration; liturgical calendars differ by tradition.

Mary Magdalene

(Equal to the Apostles) (Matt 27:56, 61; Mark 15:40-41; John 19:25; Luke 8:2 and elsewhere) — came from the Galilean city of Magdala in the tribe of Issachar, near Capernaum, from which she took her name. She was healed by the Lord of evil spirits (Luke 8:2), and therefore, out of feelings of gratitude to Him, joined the number of those few devout women who accompanied the Lord everywhere during His earthly life and ministered to Him with their substance. At the sufferings of the cross, Mary Magdalene, together with others, stood by His cross and was present at His burial.

After the Sabbath had passed, she, with certain other devout women, hastened at dawn on the first day of the week to the tomb to anoint the body of her beloved Teacher with the spices she had brought. She stood at the tomb and wept. Her ardent love for the Lord was granted the greatest of rewards: Mary Magdalene was the first to whom the risen Savior appeared after His resurrection, and she was also the first to be granted the joyful command of the Lord to go to the disciples and tell them that He had risen from the dead.

When the risen Savior first addressed her with the words, “Woman, why weepest thou? whom seekest thou?” she did not recognize the Lord — perhaps her eyes were full of tears, perhaps her whole attention was absorbed by the deep sorrow of not finding in the tomb the body of her beloved Teacher — and at first she took Him for the gardener. But when her ear caught the familiar, loving, tender sound of Jesus’ voice, when He addressed her with the customary tender greeting, “Mary!” — she at once recognized Him by His voice and, overwhelmed with feelings of joyful astonishment, reverence, and gratitude, rushed toward His feet and joyfully exclaimed, “Rabboni!” (which means Teacher).

But the Lord said to her, “Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father”… (John 20:11-17). After this the Gospel says little more of Mary Magdalene. According to tradition, she preached the Gospel in Rome, brought a complaint to the Roman emperor Tiberius against Pilate, and presented him with a red egg as a symbol of the Lord’s sufferings and resurrection; she afterward died and was buried at Ephesus. As late as the middle of the seventh century the tomb of Mary Magdalene was shown at Ephesus, and under Leo the Wise, in the year 886, her relics were translated from Ephesus to Constantinople. The Holy Church keeps her memory on July 22.

Mary the Mother of God

(in Hebrew, Miriam, “exalted, lifted up”) (Matt 1:16; Mark 3:31; Luke 1:26-56; John 19:24; Acts 1:12-14). The Most Holy Virgin Mary, Mother of our Lord Jesus Christ, daughter of the righteous ancestors of God Joachim and Anna, came from the royal line of David through Nathan. From earliest childhood She was dedicated by Her devout parents to God and solemnly brought into the temple at Jerusalem to be raised there. Here, as tradition tells us, She spent all Her time in handiwork, the reading of holy books, and prayer, and was especially distinguished by the loftiest virtues — the deepest humility and the most perfect devotion to the will of God. At the age of fourteen, when Her parents were no longer living, She resolved to dedicate Herself wholly to God, with a vow to remain in virginity all Her life (Luke 1:34).

She was then betrothed to the elder Joseph, a carpenter by trade, who likewise came from the royal line of David, through Solomon. He became Her guardian and provider (Luke 1:27). They lived in the small and obscure Galilean town of Nazareth, earning their living by their labor. The Gospel narrative of the Annunciation of the Most Holy Virgin Mary by the archangel Gabriel, concerning the wondrous conception and birth from Her of the Savior of the world, is in the highest degree touching and moving (Luke 1:26-38).

“Hail, thou that art highly favored, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women!” said the angel who appeared to her. It is no wonder that Mary was troubled at this unusual greeting; but She hears with a feeling of silent, humble wonder and joy as the heavenly messenger unfolds before Her the mystery of the most glorious incarnation of the Son of God — that He would be born of Her, would take on human nature apart from sin, would be called the Son of the Most High, and that She would name Him Jesus (Savior).

“How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?” She asks the angel in silent wonder. “The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee,” the heavenly messenger answers Her, “therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.” Then, with the deepest faith and devotion to the will of God, and with humility, She exclaimed: “Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word!” And the angel departed from Her. After this extraordinary event, Mary went into the hill country, to a city of Judah, to the house of Zacharias, and there received confirmation of the archangel’s annunciation.

No sooner had Elisabeth, the wife of Zacharias, heard the greeting of the Most Holy Virgin, than, filled with the Holy Spirit, she cried out with a loud voice, “Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb! And whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?” (Luke 1:42-43). In answer to this the Most Holy Virgin poured out Her devout feelings in the majestic, solemn, prophetic hymn: “My soul doth magnify the Lord”… a hymn we hear daily at Matins.

This solemn, exalted hymn indeed bears no small resemblance to the song of Hannah, the mother of Samuel. After this, Mary returned to Her own home at Nazareth and remained there until the time when Joseph had to go with Her to their ancestral city of Bethlehem, on account of the census of the people, according to the decree of Caesar Augustus. In this city, which on this occasion was crowded with a multitude of people because of the census, no other lodging could be found for Her who bore the Lord of glory than a cave, nor any cradle for Her Son, the Divine Infant Jesus, but a manger.

It was then night, and lo, a wondrous vision was revealed to the shepherds of Bethlehem, who were keeping watch over their flock: an angel of the Lord appeared to them and announced to them the birth of the Savior, and suddenly with the angel there appeared a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men”… A bright heavenly star pointed to the humble cave, and the wise men from the east, guided by it, came with gifts to worship the Divine Infant Jesus.

On the eighth day the Mother of God and Joseph circumcised the Infant, according to the requirement of the Law, and gave Him the name Jesus. Then, when the days of purification were fulfilled, they brought Him to the temple at Jerusalem, to present Him before the Lord and, according to the Law, to offer a sacrifice. The aged elder Simeon, who had long awaited the Consolation of Israel and had come then by inspiration into the temple, took the Divine Infant into his arms, blessed God, and prophetically uttered the highly inspired prayer so often heard by us now at church services, namely: “Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word”… In this wondrously inspired hymn of the God-receiving Simeon there is also heard a prophetic word to the Most Holy Mother of God concerning the sorrows and soul-anguish that awaited Her. “Yea, a sword shall pierce through thy own soul also,” he said, turning to the Most Holy Virgin (Luke 2:29-35).

“And Joseph and his mother,” notes the holy evangelist Luke on this occasion, “marvelled at those things which were spoken of him” (v. 33). It is impossible to express with certainty the feelings and thoughts that filled the soul of the Most Blessed One on this and the preceding occasions. The Gospel says only: “But his mother kept all these sayings in her heart” (v. 51). During the sojourn of the Mother of God and Joseph in Bethlehem, the ambitious and bloodthirsty Herod, having heard from the wise men of the birth of the King of the Jews, whose origin and birthplace were unknown to him, resolved to slaughter all the male infants of Bethlehem up to two years of age.

Word of this bloody design compelled Joseph and Mary, by God’s command, to flee into Egypt. After Herod’s death they returned, but settled to live in Nazareth, fearing violence from Archelaus, Herod’s son, who had succeeded to the throne after his father’s death. The Gospels give us little further information about the subsequent life of the Mother of God. We know, for instance, that on one occasion, when the Mother of God and Joseph had gone with the twelve-year-old boy Jesus, as was their custom, to Jerusalem for the feast, upon setting out on the return journey, the boy Jesus remained behind in Jerusalem.

The Mother of God and Joseph anxiously sought Him among their relatives and acquaintances, until after three days they found Him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. “Son, why hast thou thus dealt with us?” said the Mother of God to Him, “behold, thy father and I have sought thee sorrowing.” “How is it that ye sought me?” answered the boy Jesus, “wist ye not that I must be about my Father’s business?” (Luke 2:48-49).

Further, we know from the Gospel that the Mother of God was present at the marriage in Cana of Galilee, at the first miracle performed by Her divine Son — the wondrous turning of water into wine. There She interceded with the Lord on account of the shortage of wine and said to Him, “They have no wine.” The Lord answered that His hour had not yet come, but afterward fulfilled the intercession of His Mother, miraculously turning water into wine (John 2:1-11). In the Gospel of Luke (8:19) we read that the Mother of God once came to Jesus together with others during His preaching.

“Thy mother and thy brethren,” it was said to Jesus on this occasion, “stand without, desiring to see thee.” In answer to this He said to them: “My mother and my brethren are these which hear the word of God, and do it” (v. 21). Finally, we again see the Mother of God at the cross of the Savior, when He pointed Her to His beloved disciple John and entrusted Her to his filial care (John 19:26-27). “Woman, behold thy son,” said the suffering Savior to His Mother from the cross, pointing to His beloved disciple, and then, turning to the disciple, added, “Behold thy mother.” “And from that hour,” notes the evangelist, “that disciple took her unto his own home.” In the sufferings of the cross, the prophecy of Simeon once addressed to Her — “Yea, a sword shall pierce through thy own soul also” — was fulfilled in its fullest force.

And indeed, who could describe the fierce sorrow and soul-anguish She endured at this unspeakably terrible sight! From the book of Acts we see that after the Lord’s ascension into heaven, She, together with the apostles and the other women, continued unceasingly in prayer, awaiting the promised Comforter, the Holy Spirit (1:12-14), and afterward, until Her own dormition, lived in Gethsemane, in the house of John (John 19:28[?]). There, according to tradition, She reposed and was buried in Gethsemane.

Soon afterward Her most pure body was taken up into heaven, that She might be the Most Blessed Intercessor for the whole world, and especially for the faithful who pray to Her and call upon Her for help. According to a tradition that has also come down to us through Eusebius, the dormition of the Mother of God took place in the fifteenth year after the Lord’s ascension, or in the forty-eighth year after Christ. The tradition of the taking up of the body of the Mother of God into heaven goes back to the earliest times of Christianity.

It is attested by Dionysius the Areopagite, Meliton, bishop of Sardis, and others. The chief feasts on which the most important events of the earthly life of the Mother of God are commemorated are the following: Her Nativity (September 8), the Entry into the Temple (November 21), the Annunciation (March 25), the Nativity from Her of the Lord Jesus (December 25), and finally Her Dormition (August 15). In the Orthodox Church there are, besides these, many feasts dedicated to the reverent veneration of the miraculous and wonder-working icons of the Mother of God (of Jerusalem, of Kazan, of Bogolyubovo, of Iveron, and others), through which the heavenly Sovereign Lady does not cease, even to this day, to bestow abundant blessings on those who with faith have recourse to Her. The most ancient icon of the Mother of God is considered to be the icon painted, according to tradition, by St. Luke, brought from Greece to Russia, to the ancient capital of Kiev, from Kiev to Vladimir, and from there in 1395 to Moscow, where it remains to this day in the Dormition Cathedral and is known by the name of the Vladimir Icon.

Mary the wife of Cleophas

(Matt 27:56; Mark 15:40; Luke 24:4-11; John 19:25) — wife of Cleophas, or Alphaeus, sister of the Mother of the Lord, mother of James the Less and Joses. She, together with other devout women, accompanied the Lord during His public ministry, was present at the cross during the Lord’s sufferings and at His burial, went with the other myrrh-bearing women after the Sabbath had passed to the tomb to anoint the body of Jesus, and there was among the first to hear, together with the others, the joyful tidings of the Lord’s resurrection from the angel.

Mary, the mother of Mark

(Acts 12:12) — mother of that same Mark who was closely related to the apostle Barnabas and who wrote the second Gospel, known under his name. She had her own house in Jerusalem, where the believers gathered for prayer. Nothing more is said of her. It may be supposed that at the time referred to she was already a widow.

Mary, the sister of Lazarus

, whom the Lord raised already on the fourth day after his death (John 11). She lived with her sister (Martha) and brother at Bethany. The Gospel tells us that on one occasion she sat at the feet of Jesus and listened to His word, while Martha was occupied with much serving (Luke 10:39-42). The evangelist John further mentions that, hearing of the Lord’s approach on the occasion of her brother Lazarus’s death, she remained at home (11:20). But when the Divine Teacher called for her, she rose quickly and went to meet Him, and falling in tears at His feet, repeated the same words her sister Martha had said before her: “Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died” (v. 32).

And Jesus, notes the evangelist, when he saw her weeping, and the Jews also weeping which came with her, groaned in the spirit, and was troubled (v. 33). Further, the evangelists Mark (14:3) and John (12:3) tell us that when, six days before the Passover, the Lord came to Bethany and was at supper in the house of Simon the leper with the family of Bethany, Mary took a pound of pure, precious spikenard ointment and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped them with her hair, as a sign of her deep love and reverence for Him. The house was filled with the fragrance of the ointment.

Judas Iscariot, who was present, was indignant, as though moved by concern for the poor: “Why was not this ointment sold for three hundred pence, and given to the poor?” (John 12:5). The Lord Jesus answered him graciously, as a father would: “Let her alone; she hath kept this for the day of my burial,” and then added, “Verily I say unto you, Wheresoever this gospel shall be preached throughout the whole world, this also that she hath done shall be spoken of, for a memorial of her” (Mark 14:9). The Gospel says nothing more of Mary the sister of Lazarus.

Mash

(Gen 10:23) — one of the sons of Aram, son of Shem. In 1 Chr 1:17 he is called Meshech. This name, it is thought, has survived in the classical writers’ name for the city of Masius — a mountain range stretching across Mesopotamia.

Mashal Aser Maasal

(1 Chr 6:74) — a city belonging to the Levites in the tribe of Asher, lying, in Eusebius’s opinion, at the foot of Carmel toward the sea. It was otherwise called Mishal.

Masrekah

(vineyard) (Gen 36:36) — a city thought to have belonged to the Edomites. It is considered identical with Kerak el-Shobak, a city lying between the Gulf of Aqaba and the Dead Sea. It was the birthplace of the Edomite king Samlah.

Massa

(burden, weight) (Gen 25:14) — one of the sons of Ishmael. In the opinion of some, he was the forefather of the Arab tribe of the Masani, but this is not yet sufficiently established or confirmed.

Master of the Feast

(John 2:8-9)—the person responsible for supervising a banquet’s arrangements and service and, among other duties, judging the wine presented to the guests. At Cana the servants brought the water made wine to the master of the feast. He did not know its source, though the servants did, and he praised the bridegroom for keeping the good wine until then. His testimony provides an independent acknowledgment of the sign’s quality within the narrative.

Matred

(rebellion) (Gen 36:39) — mother of Mehetabel, wife of Hadar, the last king of Edom.

Matri

(rainy) (1 Sam 10:21) — a person of the tribe of Benjamin, from whose family Saul came.

Mattan

(gift): a) (2 Kings 11:18) a priest of the temple of Baal in Jerusalem, erected, according to Josephus, by the wicked Jezebel’s husband Jehoram, in honor of Ahab. He was slain immediately after Athaliah, during the revolt that brought Joash to the throne of Judah.

Mattaniah

(gift of the Lord) — the name of several persons:

Mattathias

(gift of the Lord) — the name of several persons:

Mattenai

(gift) — one of the camps of the Israelites at the end of their forty years’ wandering in the wilderness, not far from the Arnon.

Matthew

(gift of the Lord) (Matt 9:9; Mark 2:14; Luke 5:27; Acts 1:13) — apostle and evangelist, writer of the first Gospel, son of Alphaeus, otherwise called Levi. His call by the Lord from the tax collectors to apostolic service is mentioned in his own Gospel (9:9), as also in Mark (2:14) and Luke (5:27). He sat at the receipt of custom, and the Lord called him. The Lord’s compassionate voice touched his heart at the very moment when he was, so to speak, in the midst of his work as a tax collector.

“Follow me,” Jesus said to him, and he, as the Gospel briefly notes, arose and followed Him. In his own Gospel, in listing the names of the apostles, he mentions, among other things, his former occupation and calls himself a publican, whereas Mark and Luke are silent about this. Further, we see from the Gospel that after his conversion to Christ he made a great feast for the Lord in his own house, and that at this feast many publicans and sinners came and sat down with the Lord and His disciples.

Afterward the apostle Matthew appears among the twelve chosen disciples of the Lord, whom He sent out to preach in the cities of Judea. After the Lord’s ascension into heaven and the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the apostles, the apostle Matthew, remaining for a long time in Palestine, preached the gospel to the Jews, and then went to preach to other nations (according to some, he preached in Ethiopia and among the Parthians; according to others, among the Persians and the Medes).

Before his departure, the believing Jews asked him to leave them in writing what he had preached to them by word of mouth, and so he wrote for them the Gospel known under his own name, which occupies first place among the sacred books of the New Testament. The testimonies of church historians concerning his death do not agree. Some maintain that he died a martyr’s death by fire in Ethiopia; others, that he ended his life in peace. His memory is kept by the Church on November 16 and June 30.

Matthias

(gift of the Lord) (Acts 1:23, 26) — one of the seventy apostles, chosen by lot and numbered among the twelve apostles in place of Judas the betrayer. History has preserved no details of his life for us. One thing is certain: that he was a disciple of the Lord from the beginning of His public ministry to mankind until the resurrection itself. One tradition says of him that he preached in Judea and was there stoned to death. Another tradition testifies that after Judea he preached the gospel in Ethiopia, where he ended his life as a martyr. His memory is kept on the 9th day of August.

Mattithiah

(gift of God) — the name of two persons:

Mavaba

(gift of Jehovah) (Ezra 10:33) — son of Hashum, of the Israelites who had foreign wives.

Mavdai.

See 2 Esdras 9:34. In Ezra 10:35 it reads Benaiah.

Maziti.

See 2 Esdras 9:35. In Ezra 10:43 it reads Mattithiah.

Me-jarkon Hieracon

(water of a pale-yellow color) (Josh 19:46) — a place or city in the tribe of Dan, near Joppa, which probably received this name from the particular hue of the waters that washed it.

Me-zahab

(waters of gold) (Neh 6:10) — grandfather of Shemaiah, who, being bribed by Tobiah and Sanballat, gave Nehemiah the malicious and deceitful advice to hide overnight in the temple from supposed assassins, so that Nehemiah might be evil spoken of and reproached for this (v. 13).

Me-zahab

(waters of gold) (Gen 36:39; 1 Chr 1:50) — grandfather of Mehetabel, Hadar’s wife.

Meadow and meadows

(Ps 65:13) - 'The pastures are clothed with flocks; the valleys also are covered over with corn; they shout for joy, they also sing,' says the psalmist. Palestine from ancient times abounded in meadows and valleys covered with fragrant flowers and lush grass and enlivened by grazing livestock. Because of the abundance of these herds, it was often called a land flowing with milk and honey (Exod 3:8, 17; 33:3). Galilee, Sharon, Carmel, Lebanon, and other districts were especially rich in vegetation, meadows, and pastures.

Meah

(hundred, multitude) (Neh 3:1; 12:39) — the name of one of the towers in the wall of Jerusalem, restored by Nehemiah. It apparently stood on the east side of the city.

Meanna.

See 2 Esdras 9:48. In Neh 8:7 it reads Maaseiah.

Meara

(cave) (Josh 13:4) — a cave between Sarepta and Sidon.

Measures of capacity for dry and for liquid substances.

The measures for liquids are the following:

Measures of distance and remoteness

, mentioned in Holy Scripture, are the following:

Measures of length and extent

are first mentioned in Holy Scripture in connection with the building of Noah’s ark, and are the following:

Meat of animals

(Gen. 1:29, 2:16). In the first period after the creation of the world, it was not permitted to man to eat meat, but after the flood, besides herbs and fruit, he was permitted to eat the flesh of animals also, though with a certain restriction, such as, for instance, that it was forbidden to eat meat with blood in it, because the soul of the animal is contained in the blood (Gen. 9:2, 4). In the ordinary life of the people, in household use, cheese and milk were used more, but wealthy and well-to-do people generally used meat, and that in abundance (Is. 22:13).

According to the testimony of the Third Book of Kings (4:22, 23), “Solomon’s provision for one day was thirty measures of fine flour, and threescore measures of meal, ten fat oxen, and twenty oxen out of the pastures, and an hundred sheep, beside harts, and roebucks, and fallowdeer, and fatted fowl.” At the table of Nehemiah, the governor, there was prepared daily: one ox, six choice sheep, and fowls (Neh. 5:17, 18). Ravens brought meat to the prophet Elijah during the famine (1 Kings 17:6).

Plant food, however, always constituted one of the chief means of sustenance for the Hebrews. Meat, in hot countries in general, and in Judea in particular, was used more rarely than among us. Meat was used for the most part at sacrificial offerings and on special occasions (Luke 15:23). Concerning the use of meat food

Mebunnai Anothite

(built of God) (2 Sam 23:27) — a Hushathite, one of the thirty-seven mighty men of David. In 1 Chr 11:29 this name is read differently, namely: Sibbecai, or Sibbechai.

Mechonah

(Neh 11:28) (foundation) — a city in Judah, resettled after the Babylonian captivity. According to Fürst, it was dedicated to Saturn.

Medan

(dispute, strife) (Gen 25:2) — third of the six sons of Abraham by Keturah.

Medeba

(1 Macc. 9:36)—a border city of the tribe of Reuben, still preserving remains of ruins to this day.

Media

(from the Sanskrit, “middle of the earth”) (Gen. 10:2, Is. 21:2, and others)—this country, which most likely took its name from Madai, son of Japheth, occupied in ancient times a well-known part of the Persian kingdom, and was bordered on the north by the Caspian Sea and Armenia, on the south by Persia proper, and on the west by Assyria. Media was considered a most fertile and cultivated land and was divided into Greater and Lesser Media. Ninus, king of Assyria, annexed Media to his kingdom, and Assyria possessed it until the time of Sennacherib, when it fell away from Assyria, and one of the descendants of Ninus again became king of the Medes (700 years before Christ).

In 556 it was conquered by Cyrus the Great, who fully annexed Media to Persia and formed the Medo-Persian kingdom. From that time onward, therefore, the laws and chronology of the Medes and Persians are always mentioned together in the Book of Esther and Daniel. The Lord used the Medes to punish the Babylonians. “A grievous vision is declared unto me,” exclaims the prophet Isaiah; “the robber robbeth, the spoiler spoileth: go up, O Elam, besiege, O Media; all the sighing thereof have I made to cease” (21:2).

But the Medes themselves were made to drink the cup of God’s wrath at the hand of Darius (Isaiah 13:17–18, Jer. 25:25). The Medes were skilled archers and brave warriors, and made great advances in the arts. The Median language undoubtedly had certain peculiarities and differences from Persian (Acts 2:9). Their religious teaching and rites were, it seems, entirely identical with those of the Persians. Among the inhabitants of Azerbaijan (or Atropatene) there is a tradition that Zoroaster was a native of Urmia; besides this, they have many other traditions, undoubtedly very ancient.

The population at present consists mostly of Muslims, but there are also Christians (of the Nestorian sect) who have existed here for more than 1,200 years. They speak Syriac and are often called the Protestants of Asia.

Mediator

(Gal. 3:19)—one who stands between parties in order to communicate, represent, or reconcile. Moses served as mediator in the giving of the Law, which was ordained through angels (Gal. 3:19-20). The title belongs supremely to Christ: “There is one God; there is also one mediator between God and humankind, Christ Jesus, himself human” (1 Tim. 2:5). Because he is truly God and truly man, he reconciles humanity to God through his self-offering and brings believers into the new covenant (Heb. 8:6; 9:15).

Mediterranean Sea

—the sea bounded by Europe, Asia, and Africa and joined to the Atlantic through the Strait of Gibraltar. Scripture calls it the Great Sea, the Western Sea, and the Sea of the Philistines (Num. 34:6; Exod. 23:31; Josh. 15:12; 19:29). It formed Canaan’s western boundary. Israel’s maritime activity was limited in comparison with that of Phoenician Tyre and Sidon, though Solomon and later kings used ports and foreign partners for trade.

Meedda. Meeda

See 2 Esdras 5:32. In Ezra 2:52 it reads Mehida.

Meekness, meek

(Matt 5:5) - a quiet disposition of spirit joined with care neither to provoke others nor to be provoked by anything. Christian meekness acts especially by refusing to murmur against God or people when events oppose one's desires, by not surrendering to anger, and by not exalting oneself. The Lord promises that the meek shall inherit the earth. For Christ's followers collectively, the source sees a prophecy literally fulfilled: meek Christians, instead of being destroyed by the fury of pagans, inherited the world once ruled by them.

For Christians generally and individually, the promise further means that they shall inherit, in the psalmist's words, 'the land of the living,' where life does not end - eternal blessedness (Ps 27:13).

Meeting of the Lord in the Temple; Presentation

(Luke 2:22-38)—forty days after Jesus’ birth, Mary and Joseph brought him to Jerusalem in obedience to the Law. Luke joins the mother’s purification after childbirth with the presentation and redemption of the firstborn son (Exod. 13:2, 12-15; Lev. 12). They offered “a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons,” the sacrifice permitted to a family unable to provide a lamb. The offering witnesses to their modest means and faithful observance.

Megiddo, Megiddon

(Josh 12:21) (city of good fortune) — a city of the half-tribe of Manasseh, on the border of the tribe of Issachar, not far from the brook Kishon, whose waters are accordingly called the waters of Megiddo (Judg 5:19), and the plain of Israel is called the plain of Megiddo (2 Chr 35:22). The inhabitants of Megiddo were not originally driven out by the tribe of Manasseh, but when Israel grew strong they became its tributaries. Solomon fortified the city of Megiddo and made it the residence of one of his twelve officers over provisions for his household (1 Kings 4:12).

Here Ahaziah, king of Judah, died of a wound received in battle with Jehu; here too was slain, during the battle with Pharaoh Necho, king of Egypt, the pious king of Judah, Josiah (2 Kings 23:29), a defeat which the prophet Zechariah also refers to (12:11). The height of the city is called in Revelation Armageddon (Rev 16:16). The Romans called this city Legio, and at the present day it is called El-Lejjun, situated on high ground near the brook Kishon.

Meguman

(a Persian word) (Esth 1:10) — one of the seven eunuchs of Ahasuerus, king of Persia.

Mehetabel

(God is benefactor) (Gen 36:39) — wife of Hadar, the last king of Edom.

Mehida

(united) (Ezra 2:52) — forefather of a family of Nethinim whose sons returned from the captivity with Zerubbabel.

Meholah

(dance) (1 Sam 18:19; 2 Sam 21:8) — the birthplace of the prophet Elisha (1 Kings 19:16) and of Adriel, son of Barzillai, to whom Saul gave his daughter Merab in marriage (2 Sam 21:8). It is thought to be the same place as Abel-meholah, and to have lain in the tribe of Issachar, an hour’s journey from the Jordan, near Tabbath (Judg 7:22).

Melatiah Maltias

(God is deliverer) (Neh 3:7) — a Gibeonite, one of the men who repaired the wall of Jerusalem.

Melchi

(God is king) (Judith 6:15) — one of the leaders of the city of Bethulia, besieged by Holofernes, son of Charmis.

Melchizedek

(king of righteousness) (Gen 14:18; Ps 110:4; Heb 5:6 and elsewhere) — king of Salem, priest of God Most High. Upon Abraham’s return from defeating four eastern kings and recovering the people and goods they had taken, Melchizedek went out to meet him with bread and wine, blessed him, and received from him a tenth of all the spoil taken from the enemy. His dwelling place was in all likelihood the site on which Jerusalem was later built, though various opinions exist on this point (see Salem).

His priesthood was acknowledged not only by Abraham but also by those from whose goods the tithe was given him. It is clear from everything that Melchizedek enjoyed great renown (Heb 7:1); but we know nothing whatever of the time of his birth, his years, his life, or his ancestors (Heb 7:3). He is so mysterious both in his own person and in his priesthood that many varied opinions have existed and still exist about him, some of them quite strange and unfounded. According to later Jewish tradition, he was Shem, who could still have been living, at the age of some 150 years, at the same time as Abraham.

According to another tradition, he belonged to the family of Ham or of Japheth. But neither tradition existed in apostolic times. Some have maintained that under the person of Melchizedek is meant an incarnate angel or some other supernatural being that lived for a time among men. Finally, there have been those who saw in the person of Melchizedek an Old Testament appearance of the Son of God. One sect, called the Melchizedekians, maintained that he was an incarnation of some divine power, or even of the Holy Spirit.

One thing alone is certain: that Melchizedek was simply a descendant of Adam by natural descent from him; but nothing is known to us of him beyond, perhaps, that he was an especially great and significant person. Yet Scripture’s very silence about him is itself significant and typological. The psalmist prophesied of the Messiah that He would be “a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek” (Ps 110:4), and the writer of the epistle to the Hebrews repeatedly points out that this prophecy was fully realized in Jesus Christ (Heb 5:5-10; 6:20; 7:21).

Like Melchizedek, the Lord Jesus Christ is King and High Priest (Zech 6:12-13); like Melchizedek, He is incomparably higher than Abraham or his descendants. He is eternal, just as Melchizedek is represented as being without father, without mother, without genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life (Heb 7:3). “Made like unto the Son of God,” the holy apostle Paul finally remarks of him, “abideth a priest continually” (v. 3).

Melech

(king) (2 Sam 9:12) — son of Micah, son of Mephibosheth, son of Jonathan.

Melicu

(counselor) (Neh 12:14). See Malluch.

Melita

(Acts 28:1) — under this name is undoubtedly meant the island of Malta, lying in the Mediterranean Sea, 50 English miles from the southern tip of Sicily. The name of the island appears to be of Phoenician origin, meaning “refuge.” This island is mentioned by Diodorus, Ovid, Cicero, and other classical writers. In the Bible the island of Melita is mentioned only in connection with the account, in the book of Acts (27:39-44), of the shipwreck of the holy apostle Paul at this island on his voyage to Italy.

Here St. Paul was detained for three months, during which he evidently enjoyed the hospitality of the Maltese and the particular favor of Publius, the governor. In the Adriatic Sea near Sicily there was, and still is, another small island bearing the same name, Melita, or Meleda. In the opinion of some, this was supposedly the Melita of the New Testament; but its location cannot be reconciled at all with the narrative of the holy evangelist Luke, and there is no good reason to think that a ship from Alexandria to Puteoli would have sailed in winter past this island.

References to the island of Malta occur already in remote antiquity, after which it was successively held by the Carthaginians, the Greeks, the Romans, and the Saracens. At the present day the island of Malta belongs to England.

Melons

(Num. 11:5) — a sweet, watery, and pleasant-tasting fruit, well known to everyone, mentioned in the Bible only in the passage cited: “We remember the fish which we did eat in Egypt freely,” the Israelites complained to Moses in the wilderness, “the cucumbers, and the melons, and the leeks, and the onions, and the garlic.” That this garden plant has been cultivated in Egypt from remote antiquity admits no doubt, and it was perhaps brought there from India, where it still grows in abundance today.

The flesh of melons is in some varieties whitish, in others reddish, and the juice of both is very pleasant and refreshing, especially in hot weather. According to the testimony of some travelers, this fruit serves as food, drink, and medicine (in fevers). It grows in some parts of Palestine, particularly near Caesarea, chiefly on dry, sandy soil. According to Thomson, the leaves of the melon have the property of absorbing the moisture of the night dew — how else could one explain the excess of watery sap found in melons?

Given the pleasantness and general use of this fruit in Egypt, it becomes understandable with what regret the Hebrews recalled the melons of the wilderness of Arabia.

Member of the Council

(Luke 23:50)—a member of the Jewish council or Sanhedrin. Joseph of Arimathea is described as a good and righteous council member who had not agreed with the council’s decision and action against Jesus. He awaited the kingdom of God, asked Pilate for Jesus’ body, and placed it in a new tomb (Luke 23:50-53). His example shows that the Gospel accounts distinguish individual responsibility and should not be turned into indiscriminate condemnation of every member of the council or of the Jewish people.

Memeroth. Meremoth

See 2 Esdras 8:2. In Ezra 7:3 it reads Meraioth.

Memmius

(2 Macc 11:34) — one of the Roman envoys to the Jews in the days of Judas Maccabeus and Antiochus Eupator.

Memphis, otherwise Noph

(dwelling of the good) (Hos 9:6; Isa 19:13 and elsewhere) — a well-known city in Egypt, one of the most ancient and populous. The center of the city lay a short distance south of Cairo, on the west bank of the Nile. It is generally believed that the site of Memphis is marked by the location where the pyramids of Giza now stand. Tradition says that Memphis was founded shortly after the Flood and was the capital of a whole series of kings of thirty dynasties, even to the time of Nebuchadnezzar, who destroyed it.

Memphis then revived and rose again to its former ancient greatness, but the conquests of Alexander of Macedon and the building of Alexandria caused its gradual decline and fall. Ancient historians repeatedly attest to its greatness and antiquity, especially Herodotus, Diodorus, and Strabo. According to the accounts that have come down to us, Memphis was a city of enormous size, though its ruins today are for the most part insignificant and of little importance compared with the ruins of hundred-gated Thebes — except perhaps that five miles from Memphis (according to Strabo, three miles) stand the pyramid of Giza and the famous Sphinx.

The chief landmark of Memphis is the damaged colossal statue of Ramesses the Great, which in its original form stood 43 feet high. It is thought that the division of the Nile into two branches originally took place at Memphis (at present somewhat lower along the river’s course). Memphis was also famed for its celebrated labyrinth, built by twelve pharaohs. Biblical references to this ancient city are not infrequent. The prophet Isaiah mentions the princes of Memphis (19:13). The prophet Isaiah says: “Memphis shall bury them,” that is, the unfaithful Israelites (9:6[?]).

According to the testimony of modern travelers, the environs of the city to this day abound in tombs and burial grounds of every kind. Jeremiah mentions the residence of Jews at Memphis, the invasion of Nebuchadnezzar, and the utter desolation that was to befall this ancient city. “Noph (that is, Memphis) shall be waste and desolate,” he says, “without an inhabitant” (46:19). Ezekiel foretells the fall of the city and makes a particular reference to its idols (30:13, 16). Some ancient writers also mention the idols of Memphis with particular emphasis.

All the predictions concerning Memphis contained in the writings of these prophets have undoubtedly been fulfilled with remarkable precision. In relatively recent times a great many valuable excavations have been made in the environs of Memphis.

Memucan

(a Persian word of unknown meaning) (Esth 1:14, 16) — one of the seven nobles or counselors of King Ahasuerus, on whose advice the king divorced Queen Vashti.

Menahem Manaem

(comforter) (2 Kings 15:14-23) — son of Gadi and one of the kings of Israel. When Shallum, Zechariah’s murderer, began to abuse his royal power, Menahem, still a subject, marched against him out of Tirzah, killed him, and reigned in his place at Samaria. His ten-year reign was marked by particular cruelty and idolatry.

Mene

(fate, decree) (Isa 65:11 [as printed]) — the name of one of the Babylonian deities, thought to have personified fate or fortune.

Mene, mene, tekel, upharsin

(Dan 5:25-28) — words wondrously written by the fingers of a man’s hand upon the wall of the palace during the feast of Belshazzar, king of Babylon. The prophet Daniel, called in on that occasion, explained the meaning of these words to the king as follows: God has numbered your kingdom, it has been weighed in the balances, and it is divided. It is known that Belshazzar was slain that very night by the Persians who were then besieging Babylon, and Darius the Mede ascended the Babylonian throne.

Menelaus

(2 Macc 4:23) — a Jewish high priest in the days of the Maccabees. Having taken the high priesthood from Jason, brother of Onias, he caused the Jews much suffering. He perished a horrible death, by order of Eupator, in Beroea (2 Macc 13:1-8), in a high tower filled with ashes.

Menestheus

(2 Macc 4:21) — father of Apollonius, who was sent by Antiochus Epiphanes to Ptolemy Philometor, king of Egypt, with greetings on the occasion of his accession to the throne.

Menuhah

(place of rest) (Judg 20:43) — the name of a locality thought to have lain in the tribe of Benjamin.

Meonenim Helon Maonenim

(soothsayers by clouds, diviners) (Judg 9:37) — a well-known oak near Shechem, under which divination and soothsaying were practiced.

Meonothai Manathi Gophera

(dwelling of Jehovah) (1 Chr 4:14) — father, or perhaps forefather, of Ophrah, of the tribe of Judah.

Mephaath

(elevation, or, according to others, beauty) (Josh 13:18; 21:37 and elsewhere) — the name of a city of the tribe of Reuben, given to the Levites; it lay east of the Jordan, in the land of the Amorites. According to Eusebius, a garrison was stationed here for defense against raids by the Bedouins and others. Its location is now difficult to determine, but it probably lay near Jahaz, on the plain of Heshbon.

Mephibosheth Memphibosthe

(destruction of idols) — the name of two persons:

Merab

(increase) (1 Sam 14:49) — the eldest daughter of Saul. Saul promised to give her to David in marriage, but contrary to this promise gave her instead to Adriel of Meholah (18:17-19).

Meraiah

(perhaps, receiving revelation from the Lord) (Neh 12:12) — a priest in the days of the high priest Joiakim.

Meraioth

(revelations) — the name of four persons:

Merari

(bitterness, sorrow) (Num 3:33, 36-37) — the last of Levi’s three sons; to the care of his descendants, the Merarites, were entrusted the boards of the Tabernacle, its bars, pillars, pegs, cords, and all its outer framework.

Merari

(Judith 8:1) — an Israelite, father of Judith, who lived in the city of Bethulia.

Merchants

(Isa. 23:2)—persons engaged in trade. Caravan commerce is among the earliest forms recorded in Scripture: Joseph was sold to traders traveling with goods from Gilead to Egypt (Gen. 37:25-28). Phoenician cities, especially Tyre and Sidon, became major maritime and commercial centers, and Ezekiel 27 gives a wide-ranging catalogue of Tyre’s trade. James warns merchants against presuming on tomorrow: plans must be held under the confession, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that” (Jas. 4:13-16).

Mercury

(Acts 14:8-18) (Greek Hermes) — an ancient pagan deity. There were, in fact, several pagan gods with similar names, but the most famous of them was the so-called son of Jupiter and Maia. He was considered the messenger of the gods, the patron of travelers, thieves, merchants, shepherds, and orators, and was consequently one of the most popular of the gods. The unlettered population of Lystra and Lycaonia were so struck by the miracles of Paul and Barnabas that they called Barnabas Jupiter, and Paul Mercury, because he was the chief speaker. The inhabitants of these cities even wished to offer sacrifice to the apostles, had the latter not persuaded them to abandon this foolish intention.

Mercy seat

(Ex. 25:17, 22 and elsewhere), otherwise the covering over the Ark of the Covenant, in which the tablets of the Law were kept. It was made of gold and had at its ends two golden cherubim stretching their wings toward one another. From the mercy seat God revealed Himself to Moses and declared His will (Ex. 30:6; 37:6, 9; Lev. 16:2). The covering was called the mercy seat because on the Day of Atonement, once each year, the high priest entered the Holy of Holies with the blood of a sacrificial animal and sprinkled blood over the Ark of the Covenant for the cleansing of the people’s sins. The meaning and significance of this sacred rite are explained by the holy Apostle Paul in Hebrews 9:3–7, 8–15, 24–28 and chapter 10.

Mercy, Charity

(Matt. 5:7)—one of the most important Christian virtues, exercised by means of works of corporal and spiritual mercy. “Manifold is the form of mercy, and broad is this commandment,” says St. John Chrysostom. The works of corporal mercy are the following: to feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, clothe the naked or one lacking suitable and necessary clothing, visit one who is in prison, visit the sick, receive and give rest to the stranger, and bury the dead who die in poverty.

The works of spiritual mercy are the following: to turn a sinner from the error of his way by admonition, to teach the ignorant truth and goodness, to give a neighbor good and timely counsel in a difficulty or danger not perceived by him, to pray to God for him, to comfort the sorrowful, not to repay evil for the evil that others have done to us, and to forgive offenses from the heart. The Lord promises the merciful that they shall obtain mercy—that they shall be shown mercy from eternal condemnation for sin at the Judgment of God.

Mered

(rebellion) (1 Chr 4:17-18) — son of Ezrah, of the tribe of Judah.

Meremoth

(2 Esdras 8:61):

Meremoth

(elevations) — the name of three persons:

Meres

(a Persian name — worthy) (Esth 1:14) — one of the seven nobles closest to King Ahasuerus.

Merib-baal Meribaal

(1 Chr 8:34). See Mephibosheth.

Meribah, otherwise Massah

(temptation, reproach, strife) (Exod 17:7) — a place in the wilderness of Sinai where the Israelites murmured against Moses for lack of water, and where Moses, at God’s command, brought water out of the rock. In 1 Cor 10:4 the apostle Paul gives a higher spiritual meaning to the rock that poured forth water, pointing to Christ: “And that Rock was Christ,” he says.

Merodach Enter

(a word of uncertain meaning) (Jer 50:2) — the name of a Babylonian deity, thought to represent the planet Mars. The name Merodach is often read on ancient monuments as Bel-Merodach.

Merodach-baladan Marodach Baladan

(Isa 39:1; 2 Kings 20:12) — son of Baladan, king of Babylon, who sent envoys to King Hezekiah to congratulate him on his recovery, and at the same time to learn about the miracle of the sun’s shadow going back, but chiefly to conclude an alliance with him against Assyria. After a reign of 12 years Merodach was deposed by Sargon, as can be seen from Assyrian monuments. Having become king again, he reigned a few months and finally lost his throne during the invasion of Sennacherib.

Merom Maron

(high place) (Josh 11:5, 7) — a marshy lake in the northern part of Judea, through which the Jordan flows. At present it is called El-Huleh, as is the valley in which it lies. It received its name from its elevated position, since it actually stands 600 or 800 feet higher than the Sea of Tiberias, and is regarded by many as the true source of the Jordan. Most of its bed dries up in summer and becomes overgrown with grass and reeds, in which wild animals, buffalo, wild boar, snakes, and others find shelter.

In the spring floods the lake spreads out to six miles in length and three and a half miles in breadth. At that time a great quantity of fish is caught in it. It is called the waters of Merom, or the high waters, on the ground that it lies, by its position, considerably higher than the other lakes of Judea. This lake is not mentioned in the New Testament.

Meronoth, and Meronothite

— a little-known locality. The designation Meronothite occurs applied to two persons: to Jehdeiah, overseer of the she-asses under King David (1 Chr 27:30), and to Jadon, who lived in the days of Nehemiah and helped in the restoration of the wall of Jerusalem (Neh 3:7).

Meroz

(meaning of the word not precisely determined) (Judg 5:23) — the name of a city in northern Palestine, mentioned in the triumphant song of Deborah and Barak. Its inhabitants were cursed for refusing to come to Israel’s help against Sisera. In the opinion of some, this is either the present-day Kefr Musr, south of Mount Tabor, or Marussus, north of Beth-shan.

Mesaloth Masaloth

(1 Macc 9:2) — a locality not entirely determined: according to some, near Arbela, beyond the Jordan, in Gilead; according to others, more probably, at Arbela in Galilee, on the western shore of the Sea of Tiberias, not far from Sepphoris.

Mesha

(safe) (2 Kings 3:4) — a king of Moab, who refused to pay Jehoram, king of Israel, the annual tribute he had regularly paid to his father Ahab. Jehoram resolved to punish him for this, and to this end, forming an alliance with Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, and the king of Edom, invaded the territory of Mesha, defeated him, laid waste his land, and finally besieged the fortified city of Kir-hareseth, in which the defeated king had taken refuge with the remnant of his army. In this extremity Mesha attempted to break through the enemy forces, but failed, and in his desperation resolved to appease his angered gods, as he supposed, by a terrible sacrifice: he offered up his firstborn son, the heir to the throne, as a burnt offering upon the city wall.

This aroused great indignation among the Israelites, and they withdrew from him and returned to their own land (2 Kings 3). In relatively recent times, namely in 1868, in the region east of the Jordan, on the eastern shore of the Dead Sea, near the city of Dibon, or Divon, a remarkable ancient monument, the so-called Moabite Stone, was discovered by a German traveler, on which, in ancient Phoenician characters, are recorded many details about this king of Moab, including, among other things, the event described above.

Mesha

(breadth, freedom): a) (Gen 10:30) a place mentioned in the cited passage, in the description of the boundaries of the settlements of the sons of Joktan. “Their dwelling was from Mesha, as thou goest unto Sephar, a mount of the east,” says the sacred writer. Its location, however, remains unclear to this day.

Meshech

(possession) — the name of two persons:

Meshelemiah

(God is Creator) (1 Chr 26:1-2) — one of the gatekeepers in the days of David, of the sons of Asaph; he had 18 sons and brothers capable of service (1 Chr 26:9).

Meshezabel

(delivered of God) — the name of the following persons, mentioned in the book of Nehemiah:

Meshillemith Maselmoth

(recompense):

Meshullam

(recompenser)—name of the following persons:

Meshullam

(second). See 2 Ezra 8:43. In 1 Ezra 8:16 it reads: Meshullam.

Meshullam.

See 2 Esdras 9:14. In Ezra 10:15 it reads Meshullam.

Meshullemeth Mesollam

(reproach) (2 Kings 21:19) — daughter of Haruz, of Jotbah, wife of King Manasseh and mother of his successor Amon. * Meshobab** (returned from captivity) (1 Chron. 4:34)—one of the descendants of Simeon, son of Jacob.

Mesopotamia

(Deut 23:4) — the “land between the rivers,” otherwise Padan-aram, or the valley of Aram. The name of the land lying between the Tigris and the Euphrates, and especially its northeastern part. This land was the first dwelling place of men both before and after the Flood, and was bounded on the north by Armenia, on the east by Assyria, on the south by Arabia, and on the west by Syria, embracing the whole of the present-day region of El-Jezirah in Asiatic Turkey.

Messiah.

See Christ the Anointed.

Metals.

In Holy Scripture the following metals are frequently mentioned: iron, copper, tin, lead, zinc, silver, gold. See each in its own place.

Metheg-ammah

(the bridle of the mother-city) (2 Sam. 8:1)—under this name is meant the chief Philistine city, namely Gath, which David took from the Philistines.

Methoar

(turning) (Josh. 19:13)—a city of the tribe of Zebulun.

Methusael

(according to Gesenius, man of God, or man of the sword) — the name of two persons:

Meunim

(men of Maon) (Neh 7:52) — the name of a family of Nethinim who returned from Babylon with Zerubbabel. In Ezra 2:50 the members of this family are called the sons of Meunim.

Meunites Minaeans

(2 Chr 26:7) — a people who inhabited the Arabian desert, south of Palestine, in the neighborhood of Mount Seir. They were subdued by Uzziah, king of Judah; they were occupied partly with caravan trade, and partly with cattle-raising and the cultivation of various plantations. In rocky Arabia, south of the Dead Sea, there still exists to this day a fortified town called Ma’an, or Maon, whose inhabitants carry on a considerable trade in provisioning travelers between Damascus and Mecca and Medina.

Mezobaite Jessiel Mesobia

(1 Chr 11:47) — an unknown locality; according to the rabbis, near Hebron; according to others, this word should be read as “of Zobah.”

Miamin

—name of three persons:

Mibhar

(chosen) (1 Chron. 11:38)—son of Hagri, and one of David’s chief warriors.

Mibsam

(fragrant):

Mibzar

(fortress) (Gen. 36:42)—one of the chiefs of Edom.

Micah

(who is like the Lord)—name of the following persons:

Micah

:

Micah the prophet

(Micah 1:1, Jer. 26:18)—one of the minor prophets, called the Morasthite, since he was a native of Moresheth, a small town of Judah, near Eleutheropolis, south of Jerusalem. He prophesied in the days of the kings of Judah: Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, and was thus almost a contemporary of the prophet Isaiah, who carried out his prophetic ministry not only in the days of these same kings, but also under Uzziah, father of Jotham (Micah 1:1; compare with Isaiah 1:1, 2:1). Holy Scripture and tradition tell us nothing of the origin of the prophet Micah, his parents, or his life. Some biblical interpreters think that one of his prophecies saved the life of Jeremiah (Jer. 26:18–24). His memory is celebrated by the Church on August 14.

Michael

(who is like God) the Archangel, whose name occurs three times in the Book of the prophet Daniel, once in the Epistle of the Apostle Jude, and once in the Revelation of St. John. In the prophet Daniel (10:13) he is called one of the chief princes, and in chapter 12 (verse 1), the great prince who stands for the children of his people. The holy Apostle Jude calls him Michael the Archangel (v. 9). In the Book of Revelation (12:7) there is described a war in heaven, in which Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought against him (12:7).

The veneration of the holy Archangel Michael in the Orthodox Church goes back to the most ancient times. His commemoration is kept on November 8 and September 6.

Michael

:

Michaiah

(2 Chron. 13:2)—mother of Abijah, king of Judah, daughter of Uriel of Gibeah. She is also called Maachah (1 Kings 15:2, 2 Chron. 11:22).

Michal Melchol

(brook, stream) (1 Sam 14:49) — the younger daughter of Saul, who loved David and was given by her father in marriage to him, but only out of Saul’s malicious design to bring about his ruin (18:19-21). Having become David’s wife, Michal proved to be the instrument of his deliverance. When Saul sent his servants to seize David, she let him down through a window, then took an idol and laid it in his bed, covering it with clothing, and told the servants he was ill. The servants returned to Saul, but he ordered them to go again and bring David, bed and all.

“And when the messengers were come in,” the sacred historian notes, “behold, there was an image in the bed, with a pillow of goats’ hair for his bolster.” Michal’s stratagem succeeded; David fled and escaped. Saul was greatly angered, but Michal told her father that David had threatened to kill her if she did not let him go (1 Sam 19:11-17). Some years passed after this, and Michal, in David’s absence, was given in marriage to Palti, son of Laish of Gallim (25:44). After Saul’s death, David, still not having forgotten Michal, demanded of Ishbosheth, Saul’s son, that she be returned to him at once.

She was taken from her husband, who followed her weeping, and brought to David at Hebron (2 Sam 3:13-16). But her love for David had by now considerably cooled, and on the day of David’s rejoicing, at the return of the Ark of the Covenant, when David danced in ecstasy before the Lord, clothed in a linen ephod, Michal looked out of the window at that moment, and seeing David leaping and dancing before the Lord, despised him in her heart (6:15-16). When David returned to bless his household, she met him with insolent words and reproach for behavior unbecoming a king.

To this David answered her, “I will yet be more vile, and will play before the LORD” (v. 21). After this, however, love between them seems to have ceased entirely, and “Michal had no child unto the day of her death,” notes the sacred historian (v. 20-23). According to Josephus, she supposedly returned to her husband Palti and had five sons by him (2 Sam 21:8); but in the opinion of others, the name Michal is given by mistake in that passage, instead of Merab.

Michmas

(1 Macc 9:73) — a city on the border of the tribes of Benjamin and Ephraim, north of Jerusalem.

Michmash

(hidden place, refuge) (1 Sam. 13:2, Is. 10:28, and others)—a city of the tribe of Benjamin, several English miles north of Jerusalem, known at present under the name Mukhmas. It is mentioned in connection with the description of Saul’s war against the Philistines (1 Sam. 13:2–23), and also in connection with the prophetic reference to the invasion of the kingdom of Israel by the Assyrians (Is. 10:28). The inhabitants of Michmash, one hundred twenty-two persons, returned with Ezra from the captivity (1 Ezra 2:27).

It is supposed that Michmash lay on the road to Ramah. It is very likely that the narrow ravine, formed by two enormous precipitous rocks of Mount Ephraim, was called the Michmash pass, and served as a convenient ford. Here the Philistine camp stood during the war of the Philistines with Saul, and it was at this place that the Philistines were struck down by the Israelites.

Michmethah

(refuge) (Josh. 16:6, 17:7)—a border city between the tribe of Ephraim and the tribe of Manasseh, opposite Shechem. The location of the city has not yet been determined with certainty.

Micri

(worthy of a price) (1 Chron. 9:8)—a Benjamite, father of Uzzi.

Middin

(extent, dimensions) (Josh. 15:61)—a city of the tribe of Judah, one of those located in the wilderness, believed to be near the Dead Sea. According to Robinson, this is the present-day Mardeh.

Midian, the Midianites, the land of Midian

(dispute, strife) (Exod 2:15; Acts 7:29) — a desert region lying around the eastern arm of the Red Sea, inhabited, as is supposed, by the descendants of Midian, the fourth son of Abraham by Keturah. They were defeated by Hadad in the field of Moab (Gen 36:35). The land of Midian was famous for its camels (Judg 7:12), and the descendants of Midian possessed immense herds of camels and dromedaries (Isa 60:6). Here Moses fled from Pharaoh; here he married the daughter of the Midianite priest Jethro, and here he lived forty years, tending his father-in-law’s flocks (Exod 2:16-22).

It is evident that the Midianites were a nomadic people, living on the Sinai peninsula at the time when the children of Israel camped on the plains of Moab. At the invitation of the Moabites, the Midianites sent their elders together with them to Balaam, to ask him to curse Israel. For this hostile conduct toward the Hebrews they were severely punished: their kings and male population were destroyed, their cities and strongholds given to the fire, and their possessions, together with their wives and children, were brought to the camp of Israel and there divided by Moses and Eleazar among the people (Num 31).

Perhaps only some part of the Midianites escaped this general slaughter, since a little later we find them attacking and oppressing the Israelites for seven years, until they were utterly routed by Gideon (Judg 6). “Thus were the Midianites subdued before the children of Israel,” remarks the sacred writer of the book of Judges on this occasion, “and they lifted up their heads no more” (Judg 8:28). After this the name of the Midianites is very seldom encountered in Holy Scripture, except perhaps in references to their existence in ancient times.

The memory of the terrible defeat Gideon inflicted on the Midianites became, as it were, a byword in later ages: “Do unto them as unto Midian, as to Sisera, as to Jabin, at the brook of Kishon,” the psalmist cries to God, concerning vengeance upon the enemies of God’s people (Ps 83:9). The expression “the tent-curtains of the land of Midian” (Hab 3:7) allegorically signifies the borders, or the inhabitants, of Midian.

Migdal-el Megalaarim

(tower of God) (Josh. 19:38)—a city of the tribe of Naphtali, on the western shore of the Sea of Gennesaret, called Magdala in the Gospel of Matthew (15:39). At present it is a small Muslim village, Mejdel.

Migdal-gad Magadalgad

(tower of Gad) (Josh. 15:37)—a city in the tribe of Judah in the lowlands, believed to be the present-day village of Mejdel, east of Ashkelon.

Migdal-gader

. See Gader.

Migdol

(tower) (Exod 14:2; Num 33:7) — between Migdol and the Red Sea the Israelites camped before their crossing of the Red Sea. It must have lain near the northern tip of the sea and near the western shore, but its exact location is unknown, nor can it be said with certainty whether it was a city or a tower. In the books of the prophet Jeremiah (44:1; 46:14) and Ezekiel (29:10), a different Migdol seems to be indicated, situated some 20 Roman miles south of Pelusium.

Migdol

(tower) (Ex. 14:2). See Magdol.

Migron

(precipice, abyss).

Mijamin

(of the right hand)—name of the following persons:

Miklov

(branches, boughs).

Mikneiah

(possession of the Lord) (1 Chron. 15:18, 21)—a Levite among the second-rank singers who played the harp when the Ark of the Covenant was brought to Jerusalem by David.

Milalai

(eloquent) (Neh. 12:36)—one of those who played musical instruments at the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem under Nehemiah.

Milcah

(queen):

Milcom

(Jer 49:1, 3) — the idol of the Moabite and Ammonite peoples. Under this idol they worshiped Saturn, who, according to pagan mythology, devoured his own children.

Milcom

(1 Kings 11:5)—an Ammonite deity. See Molech.

Miletus

(Acts 20:15–17, 2 Tim. 4:20)—a city in Asia Minor, several miles from the Aegean Sea, near the mouth of the river Meander, situated in the ancient province of Caria. It was famous for its temple of Apollo, the ruins of which are visible to this day, and as the birthplace of Thales, Anaximander, and other people well known in history. Christianity was planted in Miletus by the apostles, and one of the bishops of Miletus was present at the Council of Nicaea (in 325 A.D.). In Miletus one can see the ruins of an enormous theater, an aqueduct, temples buried in sand, and one Christian church.

On the site of the ancient city there now stands a small Turkish village called Palatia, or Palatsa. The city of Miletus is undoubtedly well known in history, but in the New Testament its name is mentioned only a few times. Here the Apostle Paul, on his way from Greece to Jerusalem, summoned to himself the elders of the church of Ephesus and delivered before them a most moving farewell speech, since he did not hope to be in this place again (Acts 20:15–38). At Miletus he left Trophimus, who was sick (2 Tim. 4:20).

Milk

(1 Cor. 3:2)—a liquid and very nourishing food, obtained chiefly from the milking of cows; in the East, however, as is known from Holy Scripture, milk was also obtained from sheep, goats, and camels, and was valued more highly and used more readily than cow’s milk. The simplest and first spiritual food, by which every person reborn of the Holy Spirit is nourished and sustained at the beginning, is compared in Holy Scripture to natural milk (Heb. 5:12). The expression “a land flowing with milk and honey” (Josh. 5:6) signifies a country of extraordinary fertility, providing everything necessary for the sustenance and prosperity of the people.

The phrase “wine and milk” (Is. 55:1) signifies all spiritual blessings and privileges. The prohibition to boil a kid in its mother’s milk (Ex. 23:19) probably relates to some pagan custom connected with the offering of firstfruits in sacrifice. This prohibition is repeated twice more (Ex. 34:26, Deut. 14:21). Cheese was usually prepared from milk (2 Sam. 17:29). When it hardened, it was broken into pieces for use as food (see Cheese).

Mill, millstone

(Exod 11:5). Mills for grinding grain are a very ancient invention. We first encounter them already in the time of the Exodus, when in Egypt it was customary to make women turn the millstones, as is still done in the East even to this day. The Israelites ground the manna in mills (Num 11:8), and the millstone was so essential an item of household use that it was not even permitted to be taken as a pledge (Deut 24:6). References to millstones in general, to hand millstones, and to their use, are frequent in Holy Scripture, and some of these references are especially noteworthy.

Thus, for instance, in the book of Judges (9:53; 16:21), Isaiah (47:2), Lamentations (5:13), Matthew (24:41), and elsewhere. A certain woman threw a piece of millstone upon Abimelech’s head and broke his skull. The Philistines took Samson, put out his eyes… and he ground in the prison house (Judg 16:21). “Take the millstones,” says the prophet Isaiah, “and grind meal.” “The young men are taken to the millstones,” says the prophet Jeremiah, describing the calamities of Jerusalem, “and the children fall under loads of wood.”

Millet

(Ezek. 4:9)—a cereal that the source describes as one of the most widely cultivated grains of its day. It resembles wheat or rice, with a stalk rising about three feet and ending in a head containing a great number of grains. The grains are coarse and rough and in the East were used chiefly as animal feed, though millet is nutritious and may be eaten as groats or flour.

Millo

(rampart, embankment)—name of the following places:

Millstone.

See Mill.

Mina

(1 Kings 10:17, Ezek. 45:12)—a Greek silver coin, in use around the time of the Babylonian captivity and afterward. It was equal to fifty sacred shekels, or silver pieces, and to a hundred ordinary popular shekels.

Mineral Pitch

. See Asphalt.

Minerals

. Palestine was not especially rich in minerals. Limestone crust, dolomite, chalk, and needle-shaped limestone rock constitute the predominant mountain soil there. Only in Bashan was there predominantly a basaltic mountain formation, and copper ore was found in Lebanon. The surroundings of Palestine have rock salt, sulfur, and asphalt, which is found in especially large quantities on the southern side of the Dead Sea. Near Jericho there are sulfur mines, and in Lebanon, besides copper mines, there are found rather large iron mines.

Minni

(meaning of the word undetermined) (Jer. 51:27)—the name of a country between Ararat and Ashkenaz. It is believed that this was the Armenian region. In the Syriac Bible, Minni is translated by the word “Armenia.”

Minnith

(Judg. 11:33, Ezek. 27:17) (word-meaning not precisely determined)—the name of an Ammonite city as far as which Jephthah pursued the enemy. According to Jerome, it was located an hour and a half’s journey from Heshbon toward Philadelphia, on the far side of the Jordan. The city was famed for its wheat, which was sold even in the markets of Tyre, and for other products—barley, oil, balsam, honey, and others.

Mint

(Matt. 23:23)—a garden herb of various kinds. The Law of Moses prescribed that the Jews pay tithes to the temple from the produce of the field (Deut. 14:22). The Pharisees carefully paid tithes even from mint, although this was not directly prescribed in the Law, and this plant, like many other herbs, was of no particular importance. The Pharisees only wished, by this, to demonstrate that they strictly observed even the small matters of the Law of Moses, although at the same time they left undone the weightier duties.

“Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!” the Savior rebuked them for this, “for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone” (Matt. 23:23).

Miracle; Miracles

(Exod. 3:20; 34:10; Judg. 6:13; Ps. 78:11; Dan. 6:27; Acts 2:19, 22; 4:30; 15:12)—works beyond human power or art, accomplished by the almighty power of God. Scripture recounts many wonders performed directly by God or through persons whom He chose. The source defends miracles against materialism, pantheism, and deism and argues that theism—the confession of a living, almighty, wise, and good Creator distinct from the world—makes divine action in creation intelligible.

Miracles and the Gospel.

Jesus appealed to His works as testimony: “Even though you do not believe Me, believe the works” (John 10:38). To John the Baptist’s messengers He answered that the blind received sight, the lame walked, lepers were cleansed, the deaf heard, the dead were raised, and good news was preached to the poor (Luke 7:19-22). The Gospels present His miracles as signs of the Kingdom and of His identity, not as spectacles detached from His teaching.

Miracles of Jesus Christ

—the Gospels recount far more works than can be individually listed. The source gives the following thirty-three prominent miracles in a harmonized sequence. References and locations are corrected where the printed article is inaccurate; the order is a traditional Gospel harmony rather than the only possible chronology.

Miriam Mariam

(exalted) (Exod 15:20-21):

Mirmah Marma

(deception) (1 Chron. 8:10)—a Benjamite, son of Shaharaim.

Mirror

(Job 37:18; Sir. 12:11; James 1:23) was generally made among the Hebrews not of glass, which came into use for this purpose only in the fourteenth century A.D., but of some polished metal. The metallic composition of ancient mirrors is attested in a certain way by Job (37:18): “Hast thou with him spread out the sky, which is strong, and as a molten looking glass?” said Elihu to Job. Various metals were used by the Hebrews for the making of mirrors. The Arabs, even to the present day, use polished steel for mirrors.

Among the Hebrews, mirrors were never hung on walls, as with us, but were always fastened to a handle, sometimes elaborately carved and adorned, and were carried either in the hand or worn on a cord about the neck. In mirrors of such construction, all objects seen would, of course, be reflected indistinctly and dimly. This is why St. Paul the Apostle writes in his first epistle to the Corinthians (13:12): “For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face” — that is, all things spiritual and eternal are seen and contemplated by us in our present state just as indistinctly and dimly as natural objects are seen indistinctly by us in a dim mirror.

Misai

. See 2 Ezra 5:34.

Misgab Godolias

(high place) (Jer. 48:1)—the proper name of a certain place in the land of Moab.

Mishael

(who is like God)—name of the following persons:

Mishal

(1 Chron. 6:75)—a Levitical city in the tribe of Asher. Otherwise called Mashal.

Misham

(their purification, or according to others, folly) (1 Chron. 8:12)—a Benjamite, of the sons of Elpaal.

Mishma

. Name of two persons:

Mishmannah Masmana

(fatness) (1 Chron. 12:10)—one of the Gadites, valiant warriors who defected to David at Ziklag.

Mishpat Cades

(judgment, decision) (Gen. 14:7)—name of the spring of Kadesh. Perhaps this is the same spring that is now called Ain Kadesh, flowing to the south of Beersheba and Elusa.

Mishraites Esthaam

(extension, expanse) (1 Chron. 2:53)—descendants of Caleb, of the family of Kirjath-jearim.

Misrephoth-maim

(literally, “the burning of the waters”) (Josh. 11:8, 13:6). According to the interpreters of the Bible, this name refers to a certain place near Sidon, identical with Zarephath; but according to others, it refers to a gathering of waters or springs at the foot of the promontory of Mushakka, along the seashore between Tyre and Acco, now called Ain Mesheirifeh.

Mithkah Mathecca

(place of assembly [as glossed in the source]) (Num 33:25) — one of the camps of the Hebrews in the Arabian wilderness during their wanderings. Its exact location is unknown.

Mithkah Mathecca

(sweetness) (Num. 33:28–29)—one of the encampments during the journey of the Israelites in the wilderness of Arabia.

Mithnite Matthanite

(1 Chron. 11:43)—one of David’s chief warriors.

Mithredath Mithradates

(given by the sun-god’s mitre)—name of two persons:

Mitre

(Exod 28:4, 36-39; Lev 8:9 and elsewhere) - the sacred headdress of the Jewish high priest, a turban of fine, clean white linen wrapped about the head. A gold plate inscribed 'HOLINESS TO THE LORD' was fastened to its front with a blue cord (Exod 28:36-38). The high priest wore it on formal solemn occasions (Lev 8:9; 16:4; Zech 3:5). It plainly signified his purity, honor, and dignity. Its original shape cannot be determined with certainty: some thought it resembled a crown, others a simple head-band or turban.

Mizpah, otherwise Mizpeh

(watchtower) — a name applied to many elevated and prominent localities:

Mizpar

(narration, account) (1 Ezra 2:2)—one of the men who returned from captivity with Zerubbabel.

Mizraim

(meaning of the word very uncertain) (Gen. 10:6)—name of one of the sons of Ham, whose descendants, it seems, populated Egypt. In the sacred Hebrew books, Egypt is always understood under this name.

Mizzah Moze

(of undetermined meaning) (Gen. 36:13–17)—one of the sons of Reuel, son of Esau, an Edomite chief.

Mnason

(Acts 21:16)—a Christian disciple, a native of Cyprus, who accompanied the Apostle Paul and his companions from Caesarea to Jerusalem and lodged them in his own house there. It was from the house of Mnason that the Apostle set out the following day to visit the Apostle James.

Moab, Moabite, Moabites

(offspring of the father) (Num. 22:1, 33:48, 50)—a country situated east of the Dead Sea, on both sides of the river Arnon. The inhabitants of this country were called Moabites, after the name of Moab, son of Lot by his elder daughter. Moab was the ancestor of the Moabites (Gen. 19:30–37). The Moabites were severely punished for their ill treatment of the Israelites (Deut. 23:3–6, Judg. 3:12–30, 2 Sam. 8:2). They were given over to idolatry, for which reason some of the prophets addressed them with rebukes and prophecies (Is. 15, 16, Jer. 48).

The land of Moab in ancient times was apparently very fertile, but at present it is a wild wilderness, through which only nomadic Arabs pass from time to time. The fall of Moab was precisely foretold by the prophet Zephaniah: “Moab shall be as Sodom, and the children of Ammon as Gomorrah, even the breeding of nettles, and saltpits, and a perpetual desolation” (Zeph. 2:9). All the most recent travelers unanimously testify that this ancient prophecy has been fulfilled in full force in the history of the fate of the land of Moab.

Moadiah

(feast-day of the Lord) (Neh. 12:17)—ancestor of Piltai, a priest who accompanied Zerubbabel to Jerusalem after the captivity.

Moadiah

. See 2 Ezra 9:34. In 1 Ezra 10:34, it is to be understood as Maadai.

Mochmur

(Judith 7:18)—a stream flowing near Ekrebel, and, according to Eusebius and Jerome, near Akrabbim, on the way to the Jordan. It is believed that this is the present-day Wadi Makfuriyeh.

Modin

(1 Macc. 2:1, 2 Macc. 13:14)—the ancestral city of the Maccabees, according to Eusebius, near Diospolis, or Lydda, on the road from Jerusalem to Joppa. Here lived the priest Mattathias, who began the uprising against Antiochus Epiphanes, king of Syria, and here he himself was buried with his sons (1 Macc. 2:70). At present, ruins of the village El-Midieh are found here, lying two hours’ journey from Lydda.

Molada

(Josh. 15:26 and others)—name of a city in the south of the tribe of Judah. Dr. Robinson identifies it with the ruins of El-Milh. Molada is situated at a distance of twenty English miles south of Hebron, and has preserved traces of remarkable buildings. Although the city was at first given to the tribe of Judah, it later passed to the tribe of Simeon (Josh. 15:26, 1 Chron. 4:28). After the return from captivity it was again settled by the Hebrews (Neh. 11:26). But according to Philo, this city was otherwise called Malatha. The name of the city corresponds to the name of the Babylonian pagan deity Militta, and in Fürst’s opinion it was dedicated precisely to this goddess.

Mole

(Lev 11:29; Isa 2:20) - a familiar insect-eating animal about the size of a rat, remarkable for living underground. Its body is covered with velvety fur and its eyes are very small. As it travels beneath the surface, it makes long tunnels and throws up small heaps of earth. The Mosaic Law classified it among unclean animals (Lev 11:29). The eastern mole described by the source differed from European kinds in having no visible eyes. It was about a handbreadth long, with a large round head, two small openings for ears, four projecting teeth, and no tail. Isaiah's image of casting idols of silver and gold 'to the moles and to the bats' expresses the idols' worthlessness and the contempt due them (Isa 2:20).

Molech

(king) (Lev. 18:21, 1 Kings 11:7, Jer. 32:35, Acts 7:43)—name of a pagan deity of the Syro-Phoenicians and the Ammonites. According to the description of the rabbis, the idol Molech represented a bronze statue with the head of a bull, the rest of its members human, hollow within, with hands stretched downward, upon which children doomed as sacrifice to it were laid, and on which they were burned by the flame blazing beneath. Holy Scripture mentions the worship of Molech at an early date.

Perhaps the beginning of this was laid even in Egypt, or even earlier. Warnings against this idol-worship we find already in the time of Moses. In the days of Ahaz, Manasseh, and Josiah, the worship of Molech took place in the valley of the sons of Hinnom, where children were sacrificed to him or made to pass through fire for him. King Josiah destroyed Topheth in the valley of Hinnom, where this abominable pagan rite was performed. The prophets especially strongly rebuked the Jews for the worship of Molech and foretold terrible punishments for it.

Molechet

(1 Chron. 7:18)—sister of Machir, son of Manasseh.

Molid Moel

(beginning) (1 Chron. 2:29)—son of Abishur and Abihail, of the family of Jerahmeel, mentioned in the genealogy in the Book of Chronicles.

Money Changer

(John 2:14)—a dealer who exchanged currencies. Pilgrims arriving from many regions needed acceptable coinage for offerings and the Temple tax, and money changers provided the service in return for a fee. Jesus drove out sellers and money changers because commerce had corrupted the house of prayer into a “marketplace” or “den of robbers” (John 2:13-17; Matt. 21:12-13). The Gospel condemns exploitation and profanation of worship, not the mere existence of currency exchange.

Money, or Coin

. The coins mentioned in Holy Scripture and used among the Hebrews were of gold, silver, and copper. Both these and others were of two kinds: sacred and common. In Holy Scripture the following names of coins are used:

Money.

See Coin.

Monkey, Ape

(1 Kings 10:22)—four-handed [as printed: quadrumanous] mammal animals, resembling man in bodily structure and physiognomy. Solomon’s fleet, among other products of Ophir, also brought apes. The royal naturalist evidently wished to have for himself several specimens of foreign animals as well, for his scientific researches and observations. These apes are called in the Hebrew text koph or kophim, which shows that the apes were imported from India, or from the island of Ceylon.

Month, months.

See under the word Year, and each month under its corresponding name.

Moob

. See 2 Ezra 8:62. In 1 Ezra 8:33 it reads: Noadiah, son of Binnui.

Moon

(Josh 10:12-13; Gen 37:9), also called the lesser light (Gen 1:16) - the earth's satellite, shining by light borrowed from the sun. The source gives its mean distance from earth as about 51,800 geographical miles. Through a good telescope its surface appears covered with mountains, valleys, and chasms of many forms. The same side continually faces earth because the moon turns once upon its axis during each orbit.

Mophaath

(elevation, or according to others, beauty) (Josh. 13:18, Jer. 48:21)—name of a city of the tribe of Reuben, given to the Levites. It was located east of the Jordan, in the former territory of the Amorites. After Tiglath-pileser carried the Reubenites into captivity, the Moabites occupied the city.

Morasthite

. See Micah [the prophet].

Mordecai

(the origin and meaning of the word are unknown, but it evidently has the same meaning as Merodach, and if so, is of Persian origin) — the name of the following persons:

Moreh

—name of two places:

Moresheth-gath

(possession, or inheritance, of Gath) (Micah 1:14)—a Philistine city near Gath.

Moriah

(vision) (Gen. 22:2)—by this name was understood a mountain located northeast of Jerusalem and originally separated from Acra by a valley which, according to Jewish historians, was at that time filled with inhabitants called the Asmoneans. In the days of David, Mount Moriah did not form part of the city, but constituted part of the cultivated land of Ornan the Jebusite, whom David bought it from (2 Sam. 24:16, 25). On this site Solomon afterward built the Temple (2 Chron. 3:1). This mountain was artificially raised more than 700 feet and surrounded by a square stone wall.

On this mountain, as is known, Abraham offered his sacrifice (Gen. 22:2). On this same mountain King David, at the time of the plague, saw the appearance of the Angel and offered to God a propitiatory sacrifice (2 Sam. 24:16–25). In the center of the said mountain there now stands a mosque, built by Omar in the seventh century after Christ, and considered second only to the one at Mecca in size and magnificence. Formerly no Christian was permitted to enter not only the mosque but even its enclosure, but in recent times this prohibition has lost its binding force, and present-day travelers are sometimes permitted to view it.

Morning

. See Day; Time Reckoning.

Morning Star

(2 Pet. 1:19)—a figure of dawning divine light in the believer’s heart as prophetic hope gives way to fulfillment. In Revelation the risen Lord calls Himself “the bright and morning star” (Rev. 22:16), the pledge of the coming day and kingdom.

Morning Star; Day Star

(Isa. 14:12)—the brilliant “shining one, son of dawn” in Isaiah’s taunt against the king of Babylon, whose proud ascent ends in humiliation. The Latin rendering lucifer means “light-bearer” or “morning star” and originally described the planet Venus at dawn. Christian writers later applied the passage typologically to Satan’s fall, but in its immediate literary setting Isaiah addresses an arrogant earthly ruler. This use should also be distinguished from Christ’s positive title “the bright morning star” in Revelation 22:16.

Mortar

(Num. 11:8; Prov. 27:22)—a vessel in which grain, spices, or other substances are crushed with a pestle. The Israelites ground or beat manna in mortars. Proverbs observes that even if a fool were crushed in a mortar among grain, his folly would not depart from him—a forceful image of obstinate moral corruption.

Moseroth Masuruth

(Deut. 10:6, Num. 33:30) (bonds, fetters)—one of the encampments of the Hebrews during their journey through the wilderness of Arabia, thought to have been not far from Mount Hor, where Aaron’s death took place. This place is to this day called by the Arabs Jebel Harun, that is, the Mountain of Aaron.

Moseroth Masuruth

(Num. 33:30) (bonds, fetters)—one of the encampments of the Hebrews in the wilderness of Arabia, situated between Hashmonah and Bene-jaakan.

Moses

(drawn out, or saved, from the water) (Ex. 2:10 and others)—leader and lawgiver of the Hebrew people, prophet and the first sacred historian. He was born in Egypt 1574 or 1576 years before Christ, and was the son of Amram and Jochebed. When Moses was born, his mother Jochebed hid him for some time from the general slaughter, by order of Pharaoh, of the Hebrew male infants; but when it was no longer possible to hide him, she carried him out to the river and placed him in a basket of reeds, daubed with asphalt and pitch, by the bank of the river Nile, among the reeds, while the sister of Moses watched from a distance to see what would become of him.

The daughter of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, came out to wash herself in the river, and there she saw the basket, heard the child’s crying, took pity on him, and resolved to save his life. Thus, taken from the water, he was, at the suggestion of Moses’ sister, given over to be nursed by his own mother. When the infant had grown, the mother presented him to Pharaoh’s daughter, and he became to her as a son, and being raised in the royal palace, was instructed in all the wisdom of the Egyptians (Ex. 2:1–10, Acts 7:20–22).

According to the testimony of Josephus, he was even made commander over the Egyptian army against the Ethiopians, who had invaded Egypt as far as Memphis, and he defeated them successfully (Antiquities, book II, ch. 10). Yet, notwithstanding his advantageous position at Pharaoh’s court, Moses, in the words of the Apostle, “chose rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season; esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt” (Heb. 11:24–26).

He had already reached the age of forty, when it came into his heart to visit his brethren, the children of Israel. There he saw their heavy labors, and how much the Hebrews suffered from the Egyptians. It happened once that he stood up for a Hebrew who was being beaten by an Egyptian, and in the heat of the struggle he killed him, there being no one present but the injured Hebrew. The next day he saw two Hebrews quarreling with one another, and began to urge them, as brothers, to live in harmony.

But the one who was wronging his neighbor thrust him away, saying, “Who made thee a ruler and a judge over us? Wilt thou kill me, as thou didst the Egyptian yesterday?” (Acts 7:23–28). Hearing this, Moses, fearing that a report of the matter might reach Pharaoh, fled into the land of Midian. In the house of the Midianite priest Jethro he took to wife his daughter Zipporah, and spent forty years there. While tending his father-in-law’s flock, he went far with the flock into the wilderness and came to the mountain of God, Horeb (Ex. 3:1).

There he saw an extraordinary sight: a thornbush all in flame, burning yet not consumed. Drawing near to the bush, he heard the voice of the Lord from the midst of the bush, commanding him to remove the sandals from his feet, since the place on which he stood was holy ground. Moses hastily removed his sandals and, in fear, covered his face. Then he was given the command of God to go to Pharaoh for the deliverance of the Israelites. Fearing his own inconstancy and raising various difficulties, Moses several times declined this great mission, but the Lord reassured him with His presence and His help, and revealed to him His Name: I AM (that is, the Existing One), and, as a confirmation of His power, turned the rod that was in Moses’ hand into a serpent, and turned the serpent back again into a rod; then Moses, at God’s command, put his hand into his bosom, and the hand became leprous as snow; and at a further command he again put his hand into his bosom, took it out, and it was healthy.

And for a helper to Moses the Lord appointed his brother Aaron. Then Moses submitted without question to the call of the Lord. Together with his brother Aaron he presented himself before Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and in the name of Jehovah they asked him to let the Hebrews go out of Egypt for three days to offer sacrifices in the wilderness. Pharaoh, as the Lord had foretold to Moses, refused them. Then the Lord struck the Egyptians with terrible plagues, of which the last was the slaying by the Angel, in a single night, of all the firstborn of Egypt.

This terrible plague at last broke Pharaoh’s stubbornness. He allowed the Hebrews to go out into the wilderness for three days to pray, and to take with them their flocks and herds, both small and great. “And the Egyptians were urgent upon the people, that they might send them out of the land in haste; for they said, We be all dead men.” The Hebrews, having kept the Passover on that last night according to the command of God, went out of Egypt to the number of six hundred thousand men, with all their possessions, and, despite all their haste, did not forget to take with them the bones of Joseph and of some of the other patriarchs, as Joseph had commanded.

God Himself showed them which way to go: He went before them by day in a pillar of cloud, and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light along the way (Ex. 13:21, 22). Pharaoh and the Egyptians soon repented of having let the Hebrews go, and set out with their army to pursue them, and were already drawing near their camp at the Red Sea. Then the Lord commanded Moses to take his rod and divide the sea, so that the sons of Israel might pass through the midst of the sea on dry ground.

Moses did according to the command of God, and the sea divided and the dry bottom was uncovered. The sons of Israel went through the midst of the sea on dry ground, the waters being a wall to them on their right hand and on their left. The Egyptians followed them into the midst of the sea, but, thrown into confusion by God, they turned to flee back. Then Moses, after the Israelites had already come out onto the shore, again stretched out his hand over the sea, and the waters returned to their place and covered Pharaoh with all his army, his chariots, and his horsemen; there remained not so much as one of them, to tell in Egypt of that terrible destruction.

On the seashore Moses and all the people solemnly sang a hymn of thanksgiving to God: “I will sing unto the Lord, for he hath triumphed gloriously: the horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea,” and Miriam and all the women, striking their timbrels, sang, “Sing ye to the Lord, for he hath triumphed gloriously” (Ex. 14:5–21, 15).

Moth

(Luke 12:33)—a well-known insect, which devours furs and, in general, woolen garments and woolen goods. In Holy Scripture there are frequent references to this seemingly insignificant but destructively acting insect. In the Book of Job (13:28) the declining and weakening life of man, inclining toward the west, is compared to a garment eaten by the moth. In the Book of the prophet Isaiah (51:8) it is said that the adversaries of God’s righteousness and law “shall wax old as a garment; the moth shall eat them up: but my righteousness shall be for ever.” In Psalm 39 (11) it is said: “When thou with rebukes dost correct man for iniquity, thou makest his beauty to consume away like a moth.” The harm done by this insect is especially pointed out in the Book of the prophet Isaiah (50:9) in the following words concerning the impious: “Behold, they all shall wax old as a garment; the moth shall eat them up.” Since most of the valuables of the ancients consisted of costly garments, we can easily understand why the moth was considered such a harmful insect, and this lends particular weight to the following words of the Lord (Matt. 6:19–20): “Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal.”

Mother

(Gen. 3:20)—a woman in relation to the child she bears or raises; the Hebrew ’em is an ancient kinship term whose sound resembles simple infant speech in many languages. Scripture may extend “mother” to an ancestress or honored maternal relative (1 Kings 15:10). Eve is called “the mother of all living,” and biblical narratives repeatedly display the strength, sorrow, instruction, and tenderness of motherhood (Gen. 3:20; Prov. 1:8; Isa. 49:15). Children are commanded to honor both father and mother. Tobit’s counsel to his son to care for his mother and remember her labor expresses this duty with particular warmth (Tob. 4:3-4).

Mount Halak

(bare or smooth mountain; Josh. 11:17; 12:7)—a southern landmark toward Seir, named at one end of the territory conquered by Joshua. Its exact location is uncertain.

Mount Hor

—the name of two mountains:

Mount Jearim

(mountain of forests) (Josh 15:10) - a mountain west of Jerusalem, on the northwestern border of the tribe of Judah. It is also called Chesalon, after the former city of Chesalon, now Kesla, whose surroundings were still covered with forests in the source's day.

Mount of Olives

(mount of olives, olive mount) (Zech. 14:4; Luke 19:37) — one of the hills of Judea, lying east of Jerusalem, from which it is separated by the valley of the Kidron (John 18:1). There is no doubt that it received its name from the olive trees that grew there in abundance from remote antiquity, ancient specimens of which may still be seen today on the western slope of the mount, in the garden of Gethsemane (see Gethsemane). The Mount of Olives is first mentioned in the touching biblical account of David’s flight from Jerusalem on the occasion of the rebellion of his son Absalom: “And David went up by the ascent of mount Olivet,” says the sacred writer, “and wept as he went up, and had his head covered, and he went barefoot…” (2 Sam. 15:30ff.).

Besides this, it is directly called the Mount of Olives once more in the Old Testament, namely in the book of the prophet Zechariah: “And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east” (14:4). There are, however, other places in Holy Scripture where it is referred to, sometimes as “the mount that is before Jerusalem” (1 Kings 11:7), sometimes as “the mount of corruption” [mount of olives, per the Slavonic] (2 Kings 23:13), sometimes as “the mountain which is on the east side of the city” (Ezek. 11:23).

But it is mentioned especially often in the sacred books of the New Testament: “and were come to Bethphage, unto the mount of Olives” (Matt. 21:1); and “when they had sung an hymn, they went out into the mount of Olives” (26:30);

Mount of Olives.

See Mount Olivet.

Mount Shapher

(Num. 33:23-24)—a station in Israel’s wilderness journey between Kehelathah and Haradah, probably in the mountain region west of the Arabah.

Mount Tabor Thabor

(Josh. 19:22)—a prominent, rounded hill rising in isolation at the northeastern edge of the Jezreel Valley, east of Nazareth and north of Nain, with the Sea of Galilee farther east. Its distinctive form, wooded slopes, and broad summit have made it one of Galilee’s best-known landmarks.

Mountain; Mountains

—the geography of the land of Israel is strongly shaped by hills and mountain ranges, and ancient farmers cultivated even steep slopes by means of terraces. “Mountains of Israel” can therefore stand for the country as a whole (Ezek. 36:1). Biblical poetry draws many figures from this landscape: a great obstacle is a “great mountain” that God can level (Zech. 4:7); mountains quake or melt before the LORD (Ps. 46:2-3; 97:5); divine righteousness is like “the mighty mountains” (Ps. 36:6); and God’s steadfast love remains even if mountains depart and hills are removed (Isa. 54:10).

Mourners

(Jer. 9:17, 20)—women hired to lament at funerals. Their skill in traditional songs of mourning is reflected in the prophet’s command to call for the mourning women and teach their daughters a lamentation; Amos likewise speaks of those skilled in lamentation (Amos 5:16).

Mourning

—grief, especially for the dead, was expressed in the biblical world by beating the breast, tearing garments, loosening or cutting the hair, putting dust or ashes on the head, fasting, going barefoot, covering the head or face, wearing sackcloth, sitting on the ground, and lamenting aloud (Gen. 37:29, 34; 1 Sam. 4:12; 2 Sam. 12:16; 15:30; Ezra 9:3; Job 2:8; Jer. 16:6; Nah. 2:7). Some practices, especially self-cutting for the dead, were forbidden to Israel (Lev. 19:28; Deut. 14:1).

Professional mourners and singers might be summoned for public lamentation (Jer. 9:17–20; 2 Chron. 35:25). Seven days was a common mourning period, though circumstances could call for longer observance. Similar customs were known among neighboring peoples, Greeks, and Romans.

Mourning of the Egyptians

(Gen. 50:11)—the place where Joseph and his company mourned Jacob for seven days. See Goren-haatad.

Mouse, mice

(Prov. 30:26, Is. 66:17, 1 Sam. 6:5)—a well-known small domestic animal, of the order of rodents. By the Law of Moses, mice are classed among unclean animals, and to those Israelites who defile themselves by eating such abominations the prophets proclaim terrible destruction from the Lord (Is. 66:17). In the Book of Proverbs the wisdom of the rock badgers—or, as here, of mountain mice—is pointed out: “the conies are but a feeble folk, yet make they their houses in the rocks” (30:26 [as cited]).

God also uses mice as an instrument of His punishment upon men. When the Philistines, having defeated the Israelites, took among the spoil the Ark of the Covenant also, God struck them with diseases, and their land was filled with mice, which laid waste their fields, and the Philistines, seeing the punishment of God, were compelled to return to the Israelites their sacred object.

Mouth

—both the bodily organ of speech and a frequent biblical figure for speech, testimony, command, or the opening of an object. To “open the mouth” is to begin speaking; God spoke with Moses “mouth to mouth,” that is, directly and plainly (Num. 12:8). To place a hand over the mouth signifies silence (Job 21:5). The rod or breath of the Messiah’s mouth expresses the power of his word in judgment (Isa. 11:4). The frog-like spirits coming from the mouths of the dragon, beast, and false prophet represent demonic deception proceeding into the world (Rev. 16:13-14). See also Tongue.

Moza

(an outgoing):

Mulberry Tree

(2 Sam. 5:23–24)—the trees near which David was commanded to wait for the sound of marching in their tops before attacking the Philistines. The Hebrew baka is uncertain and has been rendered balsam tree, poplar, or mulberry. It is therefore unsafe to build the source’s botanical description or its proposed connection with the Valley of Baca in Psalm 84:6 upon a certain mulberry identification.

Mule, or hinny

(2 Sam. 13:29, 2 Kings 5:17)—name of an animal, a cross between a horse and a she-ass. It is considerably smaller than the former, and is remarkable for its stubbornness, patience, and endurance. It commonly lives twice as long as a horse. Mules are in great use in Spain and South America for carrying loads across the mountains; in the Alps travelers ride upon them over mountains, along the edges of precipices, along paths on which a horse could scarcely pass safely. Solomon and Absalom did not disdain to ride upon mules (2 Sam. 18:9, 1 Kings 1:33).

In ancient times trade was carried on exclusively by means of mules and camels, and letter-carriers, or couriers, delivered letters on no other animal than this same one. Reading in the Book of Genesis (36:24) that Anah tended the asses in the wilderness, we may not without reason suppose that by “ass” here is meant the hemionus—an animal noted even by Xenophon in the wilderness. It is remarkable that the newer city of Ana is situated on the very same route mentioned by this ancient writer.

Multicolored clothing.

It is difficult to say whether such a garment was made of fabrics of different colors sewn together, or consisted simply of a single piece of fabric dyed with various colors. In all probability, such a garment served, and still serves, as a mark of distinction in the East. According to the Englishman Robert, in the East, garments of this kind are to this day made for beautiful and beloved children. Crimson, purple, and other colored fabrics are often very skillfully sewn together for such a garment.

Muslim children at times wear little jackets embroidered with gold and silk of various colors. It is thought that a child dressed in such multicolored clothing is protected from the influence of evil spirits, since their attention is drawn away from the beauty of the child by the beauty of the garment. Children wear this garment for the most part up to the age of eight, although among the ancient peoples there seems to have existed a custom, to which the Bible also alludes, of wearing it for a longer period.

Tamar, as is known from the Second Book of Kings (13:18), had a garment of many colors, for such upper garments were worn by the king’s virgin daughters. Additions to Hebrew clothing include, among other things: necklaces, bracelets, rings, earrings, and the like. Nose rings and earrings were in wide use in the East. According to the testimony of the Englishman Chardin, almost

Muppim Anchis

(care, anxiety) (Gen. 46:21, Num. 26:39)—one of the sons of Benjamin. Muppim is read in the Book of Numbers as Shupham.

Murder

(Exod. 20:13)—the unlawful and intentional taking of human life, forbidden by the commandment, “Thou shalt not kill,” more precisely, “You shall not murder.” The biblical verb does not classify every taking of life as murder. Scripture distinguishes intentional homicide from accidental killing and requires careful judgment concerning intent, negligence, and due precautions (Exod. 21:12–14; Num. 35:9–34; Deut. 19:1–13). The source’s categorical treatment of capital punishment and war reflects traditional catechetical reasoning and does not settle every moral, legal, or pastoral question.

Mushi

(departing, withdrawing) (Ex. 6:19, Num. 3:20)—son of Merari, son of Levi, ancestor of the family of the Mushites, from which descended Ethan, the well-known singer of David’s time.

Music and musical instruments among the Hebrews.

These terms occur frequently in Holy Scripture, but our knowledge concerning the musical art of the Hebrews is, unfortunately, very limited. It is known that they had in use both wind and stringed musical instruments, as well as drums, tambourines, and cymbals. These are discussed in separate articles under the corresponding words. In the Book of Genesis it is said that Jubal was the first inventor of wind and stringed instruments, namely: the harp and the pipe (4:21). Music was adapted to the expression of feelings of joy (Ex. 15:20), of sorrow (2 Chron.

35:25, Matt. 9:23), and was used in religious ceremonies (Ps. 150:3–5). Trumpets were especially used in military actions, and when a summons to war was made (Judg. 7:16, 2 Kings 11:14). Among the Hebrews, as among the Egyptians, Assyrians, Greeks, Romans, and other ancient peoples in general, music, both vocal and instrumental, was very widespread, but to what degree their musical art had attained we cannot say with certainty; however, judging by the form in which we now find it in the regions of the present-day East, we do not think that it was especially tender and harmonious.

Ancient music was naturally very closely bound up with poetry and song, and we already see in one of the most ancient periods a close connection between music and song. “Wherefore didst thou flee away secretly, and steal away from me; and didst not tell me, that I might have sent thee away with mirth, and with songs, with tabret, and with harp?” said Laban to Jacob (Gen. 31:27). Hebrew musical instruments can be divided into three classes: stringed, wind, and finally percussion, or shaken, instruments.

Among the stringed instruments the following are notable: the harp, the zither (kinnor, or lyre, a ten-stringed instrument), and the psaltery. The ten-stringed instrument resembled the modern guitar, and was played with the fingers. The wind instruments were the following: the organ, or pipe, a kind of reed tube; the flute, on which it was customary to play in times of joy; the silver trumpets, which Moses caused to be made, by the command of God, for use by the priests on certain occasions; and finally the horn, for signals and for proclaiming the jubilee or the approach of danger to a city.

Ten kinds of wind instruments are mentioned in Holy Scripture. The percussion instruments were the following: the tambourine, or timbrel—this was nothing other than a piece of skin, stretched tightly over a metal or wooden hoop—and cymbals, or castanets, consisting of two small metal plates, which women struck one against the other during dances.

Mustard, mustard seed

(Matt. 13:31; Mark 4:31; Luke 13:19) — a leguminous shrub plant, of the family of the cruciferous plants. It grows wild in Egypt and Palestine, and is also cultivated in gardens and orchards. Mustard seeds, by their outward appearance, are very small and fine, and their smallness has even become proverbial, so that when the Hebrews wished to indicate some small thing, they would say that it was “like a grain of mustard seed” (Luke 17:6). The Savior, offering the people a parable of the Kingdom of God, says that it is like a grain of mustard seed, “which a man took, and cast into his garden; and it grew, and waxed a great tree; and the fowls of the air lodged in the branches of it” (Luke 13:19).

The words of the parable, that the seed becomes a tree, or, according to the Evangelist Luke, a great tree, in whose branches the birds of the air find shelter, must evidently be understood as figurative expressions, characteristic of Eastern language; but in general the mustard plant, which varies in height according to the difference of climate and soil, indeed, in a temperate climate and on fertile soil, reaches the greatest height and spreads its branches remarkably wide.

Myndus

(1 Macc. 15:23)—a port city in Caria, near Halicarnassus, on the Ceramic Gulf, now a small settlement called Menteshe.

Myra of Lycia

(Acts 27:5)—a city in Lycia, in Asia Minor. Here the ship on which St. Paul the Apostle was being sent to Rome, together with other prisoners, stopped for some time, and here all who were on the ship were transferred to another ship bound directly for Italy. In Myra of Lycia, during the times of Diocletian and Constantine the Great, Saint Nicholas served as bishop (commemorated December 6 and May 9), a rule of faith and an image of gentleness, a teacher of abstinence, as the words of the church hymn say, and here he was renowned, during his life and after his death, for his many miracles and works of charity.

The city was one of the six chief cities of Lycia, and was located east of Patara. On its site there stands to this day a rather small settlement which has retained its ancient name, though the Turks call it Demre. Near the settlement there are considerable ruins, with the remains of a large amphitheater and other structures.

Myrrh

(Matt. 2:11)—an aromatic gum resin obtained chiefly from species of Commiphora native to Arabia and northeastern Africa. It was a valued article of trade, an ingredient in the sacred anointing oil (Exod. 30:23), a royal gift brought to the child Jesus, an ingredient offered with wine at the crucifixion, and part of the spices used for burial (Mark 15:23; John 19:39). The source identifies myrrh with Cistus creticus, but that shrub yields labdanum, not true myrrh.

Myrrh, or Smyrna

(Ex. 30:23, Song of Songs 4:6, Matt. 2:11, John 19:39, and others)—a well-known aromatic substance, used also in medicine. It served from ancient times as an article of trade, and was highly valued by the Egyptians and Hebrews, as well as by the Greeks and Romans, and to this day still constitutes a valuable product in the East and in Europe. References to myrrh, or smyrna, in Holy Scripture occur not infrequently, as may be seen from the citations given. In ancient times myrrh was used partly for compounding the sacred oil of anointing, for sacred anointing; partly for fragrance—for perfuming garments and rooms; and finally, as a medicine and for embalming and anointing the bodies of the dead (John 19:39); sometimes wine was mixed with myrrh (Mark 15:23).

Among the gifts of the wise men from the East who came to worship the infant Jesus was myrrh (Matt. 2:11). Nicodemus brought for the anointing of the dead body of Jesus a fragrant compound of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pounds (John 19:39).

Myrtle

(Is. 41:19 and others)—a beautiful, fragrant plant of the evergreen family. Myrtle groves still to this day adorn certain parts of Judea and Galilee; especially near Safed they sometimes reach a height of fifteen to twenty feet. They cover with their shade the whole country in the lower part of the valley of Antioch. The dark-green, as if polished, leaves of the myrtle trees, their aromatic fragrance, and their beautiful flowers were often used by the sacred writers as an emblem to signify the glory and prosperity of the Church of Christ.

Thus, for instance, Isaiah describes the planting of this plant in the wilderness as one of the blessings of God: “Instead of the thorn shall come up the myrtle tree,” he says (55:13). In the vision of the prophet Zechariah of the man upon a red horse, standing among the myrtle trees in a hollow, the Lord Himself with the heavenly host is understood (1:8). The Israelites were commanded that at the Feast of Tabernacles, in the days of Nehemiah, the sons of Israel should dwell in booths made of myrtle branches, palm branches, and other broad-leaved trees (Neh. 8:15).

Mysia

(Acts 16:7, 8)—a region in the northwest of Asia Minor, bordered on the south by Lydia and Ionia, on the east by Bithynia and Phrygia, and on the north and west washed by the Hellespont and the Aegean Sea. Among the cities of Mysia were famed: Assos, Troas, Pergamum, and Lampsacus. Besides the border mountain of Olympus, in Mysia is found the well-known Mount Ida. Mysia is even now considered a fertile and beautiful land. Mysia was the setting of Homer’s Iliad and of the battle at the Granicus (334 B.C.).

Christianity flourished here from early times of the Christian era. The name Mysia itself is said to derive from the beech trees, which grew here in abundance and were called “mysoi” by the Lydians.

Mystery, or Sacrament

(Eph. 5:31–32)—in ecclesiastical usage, a sacred action through which God invisibly communicates saving grace by a visible sign. The Eastern Church traditionally numbers seven principal sacraments: Baptism, Chrismation, the Eucharist, Repentance, Holy Orders, Marriage, and Anointing of the Sick. The biblical Greek mystērion more broadly denotes a divine mystery once hidden and now revealed; in Ephesians 5 it refers above all to the union of Christ and the Church, which gives Christian marriage its sacramental depth. See the separate entries for the individual sacraments.

Mystical Supper; Last Supper

(Matt. 26:17-30; Mark 14:12-26; Luke 22:7-38; John 13-17)—Jesus’ final meal with his disciples before the Passion. He sent Peter and John to prepare the Passover in a furnished upper room, identified by following a man carrying a jar of water. At the table Jesus declared that he had earnestly desired to eat this Passover before suffering and that its fulfillment lay in the kingdom of God.

Mytilene

(Acts 20:14)—the capital of the ancient island of Lesbos, on the western shore of Asia Minor. The newer city is called Castro, near which the ruins of the ancient city can still be seen. The Apostle Paul passed by the island of Lesbos on his way from Corinth to Jerusalem. At that time the capital of the island was famed for its beauty and trade. Horace, Lucan, Cicero, Strabo, and other classical writers unanimously testify to its beauty. The environs of Mytilene are picturesque. The population, about 10,000 people, consists partly of Turks, under whose authority they are, but chiefly of Greeks. The time of the planting of Christianity on the island is unknown, but it is certain that Christianity already existed here in the fifth century after Christ.