Me-Mn

ME-JARKON (מי הירקון, waters of the Jarkon) Part of Dan’s territory; the 

        name probably does not refer to a place but to a perennially flowing stream

        which flows 16 km into the Mediterranean 6 km north of Joppa.

MEAL (קמח (ke makh), flour)  Meal is distinguished from flour in that meal was

        ground from the whole kernels and the bran; flour was prepared from the 

        inner kernels.  Possibly barley was used more extensively in Israel’s early 

        history and was gradually replaced by wheat.  Meal was more commonly 

        used than flour; meal was rarely used in sacrifices.  Meal grinding was 

        done at dawn, usually by women; only enough meal was prepared to last 

        the day.  The work was difficult and noisy before the rotary mill’s introduc-

        tion in Greek times. 

MEAL OFFERING.  See Sacrifice and Offerings.

MEALS.  In the Near East, both ancient and modern, meals aren't merely occa-

        sions for consuming food and drink; rather, they are also expressions of fel-

        lowship between two or more people, and between people and God.  In ad-

        dition, they provide the context for most of the entertainment enjoyed by all

        classes.  

                   Ordinarily the day began without any meal; but the laborer might for-

        tify himself with a bit of bread and cheese and a few dates or olives.  Other-

        wise, eating a meal early in the day is condemned as childish; the first pro-

        per meal came late in the morning.  There is no special name for this meal 

        in the Old Testament (OT).   In the New Testament (NT), however, it is 

        termed the ariston, and it was not extensive in Palestine; it was as much a 

        rest time as a time for eating.  The chief meal was held in the evening.  The

        custom of eating two meals a day is traced back to the wilderness period.  

        Again, there is no specific name for this meal in the OT; the NT calls it deip-

        non.   As in modern times, it was customary to hold banquets and feasts in 

        the evening.

                At ordinary meals the women ate with the men.  But only men were in-

        vited to banquets.  Naturally one invited his friends, relatives, and rich 

        neighbors to a banquet.   Jesus, on the contrary urges that one invite “the 

        poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind.”  The official invitation to a banquet 

        was in two parts:   First, the host sent out servants announcing the forthco-

        ming festivities.  On the actual day of the banquet the servants were again 

        dispatched.  When the guests arrived, they were dressed in a special gar-

        ment of white; furthermore, the head was adorned with flowers.   Thus ar-

        rayed, the guests were received by their host with a kiss.  Finally, the head

        and feet of the guest were anointed.  The guests and their host then pro-

        ceeded to the dining hall.

                  Seating arrangement at meals and proper etiquette were of the grea-

        test importance in biblical times.  In the earliest times the Hebrews merely

        sat on the ground for their meals.  Following Canaanite customs, however,

        the Hebrews later sat on chairs or stools, and the dishes were placed on 

        small leather stands.  Lying on couches was probably a Babylonian cus-

        tom.

                   In New Testament times the guests still reclined, but the arrange-

        ments were much more elaborate.  Wide couches were arranged around 3 

        of the sides.  Each of the couches could accommodate 3, and the usual 

        practice was to lie at a right angle to the table, supporting oneself on the 

        left elbow.  It may be assumed that eating with the right hand was the uni- 

        versal practice; to eat with the left hand is an insult to the host. 

                   At a banquet the guest of honor was given a place at the head of the

        table.  Jesus advises his banquet companions to take the lowest place as a

        sign of humility, so that the host can later ask them to “go up higher.”  Af-

        ter all the guests were in their places, servants circulated among them with

        ewers and basins, for both cleanliness and sanctification.  Finally the host

        offered thanks for the forthcoming food.  At the feeding of the multitude 

        Jesus gives thanks for the loaves and fish.  Jesus gives thanks for both the

        bread and the cup.  The Christian sacrament, Eucharist, is derived from the

        Greek word meaning “to give thanks.”

                   Meals were usually served by the women of the family; in the weal-

        thier households male servants were employed.  The banquet was in 2 

        main parts.  In the first, food alone was served; in the second, wine was 

        provided.  In biblical times no eating utensils were used, and the only di-    

        shes were those on which the food itself was served; the guests ate out of

        the common bowl with their fingers.

                   Naturally the best portions of food were given to the guest of honor.

        Joseph shows that Benjamin is his favorite by giving him 5 times as much 

        as the others.  But the guest is not to be greedy; he must not marvel at the 

        quantity and quality of the food, and is to be the first to stop.  The chief 

        form of entertainment at a banquet was music and song.  In later times mu-

        sical accompaniment to banquets was generally accepted.  Dancing was 

        also a feature of important banquets.  Finally guests were often entertained

        by riddles at a festive occasion.  Naturally the rich food and wine and 

        lavish entertainment at banquets could lead to excess, which was con-

        demned in the Bible by Amos, Isaiah, Koheleth (Ecclesiates), and Paul.

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                   Since laughter and joy are naturally associated with banquets, it can

        be said that a cheerful heart has a continual feast.”   More frequent how-

        ever, is the metaphor of a feast prepared by Yahweh.   In the New Testa-

        ment, the coming kingdom of God is often connected with a feast.   The 

        universality of the gospel is likewise expressed in terms of a banquet in the 

        kingdom of heaven.

MEARAH  (מערה)  A placed mentioned among the places remaining to be 

        conquered after Joshua’s conquests.  It is probably the same as the caves 

        called Mughar Jezzin, east of Sidon (Joshua 13).

MEASURES.  A term used to translate many Hebrew and Greek words indica-

        ting units of uncertain value.  See Weights and Measures.

MEAT.  See Food.

MEAT OFFERING.  See Sacrifice and Offerings.

MEBUNNAI  (מבני, built up) An apparently corrupt form appearing in II Samuel

        23 as the name of one of the Davidic “Thirty.”   It should be Sibbecai, 

        which is used in I Chronicles 11 and 27.

MECHERATHITE (רתימﬤ, price of the Lord) The title one of the warriors in

        David’s army (I Chronicle 11)

MECONAH (מכנה, foundation) A town somewhere in southern Judah, between

        Ziklag and Ain-rimmon.

MEDAD (מידד, beloved)  An Israelite who prophesied in the wilderness camp.  

        He was equipped by the spirit of Yahweh to assist Moses (Numbers 11). 

MEDAN  (מדן, contention, strife)  The 3^rd son of Abraham and Keturah, and 

        hence the name of an Arabian group.  There was also an Arabian god 

        named Madan, and a place called Badan which was conquered by Tiglath-

        pileser III of Assyria in 732 B.C (the consonants “b” and “m” are inter-

        changeable in Arabic).

MEDEBA  (מידבא, water of rest)  A city in Transjordan, about 24 km southeast

        of the entrance of the Jordan into the Dead Sea.

                   Medeba was a Moabite town taken by the Amorite king Sihon from

        Moab just before the Israelite conquest; the Israelites took it from Sihon.  

        The territory allotted by Moses to the tribe of Reuben included Medeba 

        and the surrounding area.   In David’s time it seems to have been in Am-

        monite hands.   According to the Moabite Stone, the Israelite king Omri 

        had retaken Medeba & held it 40 years before Mesha recaptured & rebuilt

        it.  Jeroboam II expanded the borders of Israel to again include Medeba.

                   See also the entry in the Old Testament Apocrypha/Influences Out-

        side the Bible section of the Appendix.

                   Medeba was an early Christian center; it is still occupied today and

        is called Madeba.  It is on the main north-south highway through Transjor-

        dan, which has followed the same route since the Early Bronze age, over 

        4,000 years ago.   See King’s Highway. 

MEDIA  (מדי)  A ancient area in northwestern Iran, situated between the Elburz

        Mountain range, the Salt Desert, Fars (Persia), and Mesopotamia; the capi-

        tal was Ecbatana.   Both the Medes and the Persians are among several 

        groups whose idiom show features characteristic of the Iranian branch of 

        the Indo-European language group.  In the Table of the Nations in Genesis

        10, Madai is a “son” of Japheth.

                   Some of the most important information on the ancient Medes is 

        contained in Assyrian sources.  They are first mentioned in a passage in 

        which Shalmanezer III (858-824 B.C.) of Assyria entered the land of the 

        Medes.  Other references show the continuous relations between Assyria 

        and Media over a period of almost two centuries.  From 721-650 Media 

        seems to have been in the position of a subject to the Assyrian kings.  In a

        well-known passage Herodotus reports that Deioces succeeded in uniting

        the Medes and persuaded them to build the city of Ecbatana.  The succes-

        sion of the rulers over a period of more than a century seems to have been:

        Deioces; Phraortes (675?-653?); Cyaxares (625?-585?), and Astyages 

        (585?-550?). 

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                   Cyaxares’ role in the formation of the short-lived Median Empire 

        was large.  He succeeded in pushing back the Scythian hordes, was Baby-

        lon’s ally against Assyria, and was successful in campaigns against Lydia.

        His successor, Astyages, was defeated around 550 by the Persian Cyrus 

        the Great; Media became part of the vast Persian Empire.  No written 

        documents in the Median language have so far come to light.   Medes 

        were among the Jews at Jerusalem at Pentecost. 

MEDIATOR, MEDIATION (mesithV (meh sih tes)).   Religious thinking neces-

        sarily implies a distinction between natural and supernatural, the human 

        and the divine.  Mediation means the establishing and maintaining of a 

        relationship between the human and the divine, a “means of grace.”  How-

        ever wide and deep the gulf between humans and God, religion depends 

        on the assumption that it is bridgeable.  God may be estranged by the evil 

        in human conduct, but something in the human heart encourages the hope 

        that this enmity can be put away.

                   Apart from the consideration of human sinfulness the problem is 

        posed by the very separation of humans and God; what communion be-

        tween God and them is possible?   This line of consideration will be con-

        cerned with the knowledge and revelation, faith and reason, time and eter-

        nity.   All offers of redemption imply some idea of mediation.   If the deity 

        is conceived as person, “reconciliation” is the more appropriate term.  The

        basic problem for humans is how they shall be brought into a right relation-

        ship with their environment.

                The word “mediation” does not occur in the English Bible, but mesites

        (mediator) is found 6 times in the New Testament (NT).   The sense of re-

        conciling differences is not to the fore in these NT passages.   The referen-

        ces to Christ pertain to his power to provide salvation and his inauguration 

        of the new covenant, which provides a right relationship between humans 

        and God.

List of Topics—1. Mediation in the Old Testament (OT);     2. Medi-    ation in the New Testament of the Gospels;       3. Paul and       Christ (Lord, Liberator);      4. Paul and Christ (One with Sinful   Humans, Second Adam, Cosmic);       5. Mediation in the NT:      John and Hebrews;      6. Mediation in the NT:  I Peter and       Revelation/ Conclusion

                   1. Mediation in the OT—The third chapter of Genesis (the Apple),

        and the story of the Flood contain insights which are basic for the whole of

        the OT.  Humans are capable of conforming to the divine will, having been

        formed in the image and likeness of God; but they don't do so.   The tea-

        ching of the prophets is similar.  Earlier prophets sound off against Baal 

        worship and its accompanying social evils, and against the syncretism and 

        moral degeneration of the later pre-exilic period.  Not only is human beha-

        vior antisocial, but their affection is alienated from God and other human 

        beings.

                   The deliverance from Egypt was interpreted as Yahweh’s interven-

        tion on Israel’s behalf.   Yahweh chose a people to be in this special rela-

        tionship with Yahweh, rescued them at a major crisis, and promises pros-

        perity in the future.  Their response should be to live as Yahweh directs. 

        The Ten Commandments and the “ordinances” are the human obligations

        under the covenant.

                   In ancient Israel the covenant involved much more than a contract. 

        The distinctive feature of the OT is that when humans fail their obligations,

        God does not look upon the covenant as null and void.  That kind of legality

        is not applicable to the OT religion, for Yahweh’s justice far transcends it.  

        The prophets argued that their God would punish them.  But they have an 

        intuition that Yahweh will never utterly cast off his covenant people.  God’s

        justice is more than the justice of law court or moralist.

                   As mediator of the law and inaugurator of the Sinai covenant, Moses

        claims a unique place in biblical revelation.  He was permitted to see more 

        of the divine presence than any other mortal; all later priests and prophets 

        were subordinates.  The law itself was regarded as a mediating factor.  It 

        was not a hard task to be performed so much as a privilege to be enjoyed.  

        The prophets had a new word to deliver about contemporary circumstan-

        ces.  He did not conceive himself to be declaring his own views, but rather

        “Yahweh’s word came unto me.”   It was generally accepted that a man 

        might appropriately dare to speak thus in Yahweh’s name.

                   Priests were the custodians of the old revelation rather than the bea-

        rers of new revelation.  It was not their privilege to announce a spoken 

        word of Yahweh.  One thinks of them more particularly as the administra-

        tors of the system of sacrifice.  The priest was in attendance at the temple 

        to advise people what their duty was, what sort of offering they should 

        make in view of their wrongdoing.  This included some duties of the mo-

        dern physician, like certification of freedom from infectious disease, and 

        the duties of a judge where the statutes aren't explicit.  The priest’s respon-

        sibility involved in some sense his bearing the iniquity of the whole people.

        The vestments of the high priest symbolized the representative character 

        of his functions.  

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                   When Hebrew religion is taken as a whole, the priests and prophets

        become colleagues rather rivals, for the prophet brought God’s word to the

        people, & the priest brought the people’s response up to God.  The respec-

        tive functions of priest and prophet are that the priest maintained the tradi-

        tional religion and the prophet concerned himself with inner principle and 

        new revelations.  He judges the present and actual in the light of an ideal, 

        whether it was revealed at Sinai, or freshly revealed to the prophet of a 

        later day. 

                   The king is the representative of Yahweh to the people, Yahweh’s 

        son.  He is also the people’s representative before Yahweh.  Their conduct 

        is focused in him.   The king was inseparable from the kingdom.   The 

        king’s function included the performance of the cult acts which were later 

        the exclusive prerogative of the priests.  At the New Year festival he was 

        annually enthroned as an impersonation of Yahweh.  Yahweh was trium-

        phing over the winter-death of vegetation and guaranteeing fruitfulness, 

        victory over enemies, and general prosperity.   An additional element in 

        cultic drama in Israel was the conception of the renewal of the covenant.  

        A distinctive feature of Yahwism was the limitation of the king’s autocracy  

        by the assumption of his responsibility for upholding the covenant.

                   The sacrificial system among the Hebrews figures largely in their ex-

        perience of mediation.  No rationale of ancient sacrifice can be given, be-

        cause ancient sources give us no information about the intention of wor-

        shipers. We note the part played by priests in the ritual of the Day of Atone-

        ment.  The system in itself meant that God was willing to be on good terms 

        with his people whether there were normal relations, or whether good rela-

        tions had been violated and the people approached with a deep conscious-

        ness of sin.  However little the average Israelite may have understood the 

        details of the ritual, they must have accepted it as the means provided by 

        God by which humans could be freed from the sense of alienation.

                The sacrificial system of Israel dealt with sins of ritual uncleanness

        rather than of moral transgression.   For deliberate sins no sacrifice 

        availed; there had to be restitution and penalties.  In the Prophets it is 

        realized that the real need is at a deeper lever.   Doubtless the perfor-

        mance of the sacrifices presupposed penitence on the part of the offerer.

        Jews of the Dispersion could not attend the temple, and had to concen-

        trate on observances other than sacrifice—e.g. prayer, almsgiving, fas-

        ting.  It meant a certain spiritualizing and individualizing of religion 

        though it also laid stress on human effort.  

                   The postexilic period saw an increasing emphasis on the divine 

        transcendence.  This led to the conception of mediating agencies other 

        than prophet, priest, or king.  The thought is now rather of the wisdom or 

        word or spirit of Yahweh.  All of these three became more than mere attri-

        butes of Yahweh, something between a pure abstraction and a person.

                   1st, Wisdom appears in the OT as practical knowledge, but it rises

        to theological significance when understood as the principle of order in 

        the universe in Job 28, Psalm 104, Proverbs 1, 3, and 8.  In the last Pro-

        verb, wisdom is not only the enlightener of humankind, but also the agent 

        of God in the creation of the universe.  

                   2nd, for the word of God in the OT we have to distinguish 3 main 

        usages: the natural world is thought of as deriving its existence from the 

        divine word or command; there is the legal word as divine commands for 

        society; and the prophetic word as fresh revelation for the guidance of the 

        people transmitted by the prophet.  The prophets emphasize the objectivity

        of the word, which is not confused with their own thinking.  This prepares

        for the visualization as a distinct entity, but this stage was not definitely 

        reached until after Greek philosophy had begun to influence Judaism. 

                   (See also the entry in the OT Apocrypha/Influences Outside the 

        Bible section of the Appendix).  In later thought, represented in the Herme-

        tic writings, Logos became identified with Hermes, the mediator of crea-

        tion and between gods and humans.  In the Gnostic systems of the 100s 

        A.D., Logos tends to appear as one of the divine collections of power.

                   The 3rd main example of something taking on a life of its own is 

        the developed doctrine of the Spirit.  We may define the functioning of the 

        Spirit as meaning God’s creative activity.  God’s new creation at the end of

        history, is the climax of this.  The idea that this creative divine energy is im-

        parted to individuals is very common.  This applies particularly to prophets.

                  The great prophets seem to show a certain caution in claiming God’s

        spirit behind their utterances.  The phrase “holy Spirit” occurs 3 times 

        (Psalm 51 and twice in Isaiah 63).  The basic OT thought about the Spirit is

        as Yahweh personally in operation, not as something taking on a life of its 

        own.  The mediatorial role of Yahweh's Servant may have been in refer-

        ence to a king of Israel whom the prophet has in mind.  Other interpreta-

        tions keep to the thought of a prophetic figure. 

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                   Even if Messiah was not strictly a mediating figure, he was the re-

        presentative of Yahweh.  The conception must be evaluated in the light of

        the king ideology referred to above. Some scholars bring it together with 

        the Servant to become the doctrine of the suffering Messiah.  Judaism cer-

        tainly had some belief in the atoning potency of the suffering of righteous 

        people.  It may be that the concept of the Messiah tended to be interpreted 

        in the light of this.  The real fusion of these ideals had to wait for the crea-

        tive experience of Jesus.

                   2. Mediation in the New Testament of the Gospels—The most 

        primitive Christian proclamation declared that in the life and even in the 

        death of Christ the power of God was at work.   Through this Messiah, 

        God was acting redemptively as never before.  Through this Lord, a deli-

        verance is available for Israel.  A new opportunity to attain moral triumph 

        over sin is being offered.

                   The interpretation of Jesus’ work as fulfillment was the original 

        deposit of faith after the first Christians’ awareness of the resurrection’s 

        significance.   Whereas prophets spoke the word of God, Jesus incorpora-

        ted it in himself.  Whereas the priests of Israel put people in touch with 

        imperfect means of bridging the gulf caused by sin, Christ brought about  

        the perfect means of atonement. 

                   He was the true king of Israel; he embodied the divine sovereignty.

        Recent study has interpreted Christ’s teaching and work as centering 

        round the Reign of God.  His mediation enabled his followers to realize 

        and enjoy the loving sovereignty and redemptive reality of God.  The ethi-

        cal teaching of Jesus is best understood as the laws of the kingdom.   

        Jesus spoke with a king’s authority.   Negatively, he attacked the evil influ-

        ences that plagued people.   Jesus’ advent on the human scene made Sa-

        tan recognize the limitations of his power. 

                   Such is the gospels' testimony to the inner significance of Jesus’ 

        acts of healing and compassion.  He created conditions in which people 

        could realize God’s fatherly nearness.  Christ’s ministry was the supreme

        event in the long series of God’s mighty acts.   By it the divine love was 

        brought down to a human level, and humans were placed with its reach.

                 The titles of Christ are intended to express the availability of divine 

        love.  He could be no less than Messiah, but this term had political conno

        tations.  He was the peacemaking Messiah of Zechariah 9.  But to have al-

        lowed this fact to be broadcast earlier in his ministry would have exposed 

        him to the charge of being a Zealot; hence the remarkable reticence of 

        Jesus about his messiahship.  Jesus also certainly thought of himself as 

        the Son of God.  There are 3 basic passages in which his own conviction 

        about himself as having a unique filial relationship to God is clear:   Mat-

        thew 11; Mark 12 and 13. 

                   The self-designation most favored by Jesus appears to have been 

        the enigmatic title “Son of man.”  Jesus was indicating his sense of kin-

        ship with ordinary humanity.   It is clear that whereas the title “Son of 

        God” expresses his relationship with his Father, “Son of Man” expresses 

        his relationship with his human brethren.  The uncertainty about “son of 

        man” arises from its symbolic use (e.g. Daniel 7), where a human figure 

        represents the “saints of the Most High.”  Mark 14 is more likely to reflect

        the beliefs of the first Christians than to be an actual statement of Jesus.  

        It is wrong to regard his earthly career as only a prelude to final inter-

        vention. 

                   The view has been advocated that the “Son of man” stands for a 

        messianic community rather than an individual Messiah.  On this view 

        Jesus, in gathering disciples round him, was providing the nucleus of 

        the new covenant, God’s kingdom on earth.  The very ambiguity of “Son

        of Man may have made it welcome to Jesus, in the sense that it could be 

        given a new meaning.  This new connotation is the element of self-

        sacrifice. 

                   There is growing recognition that it was Jesus’ characteristic thought

        to accept death as the climax of his obedience to God.  If Jesus thought of 

        himself as that Servant of God who made himself an offering for sin, this 

        expresses not only his relation to God, but also the extent of his devoted-

        ness to his fellow men.  Summing up, we discern in Jesus’ sense of mis-

        sion a unique fusion of complete self-sacrifice with assurance of triumph 

        as God’s representative.  God would make his suffering potent for the esta-

        blishment of the divine society.

                   3. Paul and Christ (Lord, Liberator) —The problem to which 

        mediation is the answer is seen by Paul in terms of human sin and need of

        deliverance from it.  There is a characteristic Pauline doctrine of the inabi-

        lity of human idealism and moral consciousness to solve the basic problem

        of man’s existence.  Christ’s fitness to effect mediation is expressed in the 

        titles “Lord” and “Son of God.”   Paul’s attempts to bring out its signifi-

        cance are to be seen in the conception of Christ as emancipator of the hu-

        man race.

                   Christ as Lord is presupposed everywhere.  His Lordship includes 

        complete control, directly in the church, indirectly in the whole universe, 

        and ultimately over everything.  The references to Christ’s final appearance

        at the end of history may be considered in this connection.  The references 

        to Christ as “head” may be treated as one aspect of his lordship.  These 

        teach a general or cosmic primacy.  Seeing the goal of the divine purpose  

        as the creation of a unified community of supernatural and natural beings 

        under Christ’s primacy also belongs to this line of development.  

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                   It might be said that Christ’s lordship wasn't so much an inherent 

        capacity to effect mediation as an achievement resulting from his life.  

        The term “Son of God” more unambiguously asserts his right, and relates

         him primarily to God rather than to men.  Paul uses the term with refer-

        ence to resurrection and redemption.   The divine love motivates the Son

        and flows through him until a new society or kingdom is created.  This is 

        seen as the sacrifice of love on God’s part, and also on Christ’s part.  This 

        sonship is connected with work of the Spirit.  Perfect humanity, which is 

        the goal of the process, comes from knowledge of the Son of God.

                   Christ liberates men from their sins.  Sin is understood as a sinister 

        power, semi-personified, which has control over all.   For Paul, one is sin-

        ful even before one can feel guilt.   Paul has his own peculiar understan-

        ding of the moral law or categorical imperative as slavery.   Law merely 

        defines sins; it gives no power to avoid them.  Connected with sin is death.

        Christ’s deliverance from sin includes deliverance from death.  

                   Christ brings deliverance, in view of all these parts of the problem.

        He broke the power, loosed the stranglehold of sin, and brought a new 

        freedom which arises from being in a right relationship with God; Christ’s

        resurrection was evidence of this.   The notion of Christ’s overcoming 

        Satan is firmly embedded in NT Christology.  The malign forces in human 

        were confronted; Christ deprived them of power to frustrate the divine 

        purpose.

                   4. Paul and Christ (One with Sinful Humans, Second Adam, 

        Cosmic)—For Paul the significance of Christ’s death did not depend only 

        on comparison with sacrificial animals.  It demonstrated how unreservedly

        he entered into the consequences of human sin.  Christ identified himself 

        with sinful humanity to the extent of sharing the curse which the Mosaic 

        law pronounces upon it transgressors.  Christ took the sinful inheritance 

        upon himself, and absorbed it.  The Cross shows the length to which Christ

        went in conforming to the will of God.  It inspires the same quality of life in

        his worshipers while still on earth.  These worshipers will ultimately follow 

        their Redeemer in his upward path.

                   The new status of freedom and sonship is reconciliation with God.  

        Paul’s reflection on human sinfulness implied that there is a state of aliena-

        tion between humans and God.  But Christ’s self-offering imparted righte-

        ousness to humans.  Christ is the 2nd Adam, the new representative man.

        Paul’s thought is strongly Hebraic and corporate.  The parallelism between 

        Christ and Adam is not that of two individuals, but each is a typical and re-

        presentative figure.  Christ stands for humanity recreated.  This thought into

        the conception of Christ controlling the moral evolution of humankind to-

        ward a final unity with all other spiritual beings.

                   Paul’s cosmic Christology owes something to speculating about wis-

        dom taking on a life of its own.  Humans depend on Christ alone, for their 

        physical existence and for their proper development as spiritual beings.  

        Christ is the supreme mediator of God in creation and redemption.  The 

        wisdom or Logos concept makes it possible to deal with mediation in the 

        sense of the relation of a transcendent God to the material world.  Christ’s

        relation to the whole cosmos is also recognized.   The NT conceives 

        Christ’s redemptive activity as extending to the natural world as well as to 

        humans.   It is the implicit logic of the Christian belief in God as creator and

        redeemer.  The divine concern is for the whole universe; mediation can 

        have no lesser scope.  

                   5. Mediation in the NT:  John and Hebrews—In John’s presenta-

        tion, Jesus mediates between humans and God by bringing the true revela-

        tion.  The superiority of Christ is strongly emphasized, and the uniqueness 

        of Christ is carried sometimes to the point of denying progressive revela-

        tion.  The Johannine Prologue introduces the thought of mediation in terms

        of the Logos.  Its essential being is God's thought, but its outreach is to

        the world and to humankind.  Its crowning work is the illumination of life, 

        mere existence's transformation into true life.  God, through his Logos, in  

        Christ, had made it possible for those who are in the flesh to behold the 

        glory of God.

                   The decisive point in the Prologue's divinely controlled process is 

        the Incarnation, rather than the Passion.  The Passion becomes the spe-

        cial “hour” when the glory of the father and of Christ is to be revealed.  

        At the end of the Prologue, “Logos” gives way to “Son,” and it is mainly 

        as Son of God that Christ appears in the pages of this gospel; the author 

        understands sonship in terms of Logos.  

                   The title has a different connotation and expresses the Hellenistic 

        idea of an archetypal man who belongs to the divine realm but descends 

        into this world conveying revelation; his return makes it possible for reci-

        pients of the revelation to ascend also.  There is thus a parallel in John to

        the Pauline thought of Christ as the Adam who recreates humanity.  

                   “Son of God” makes clear Christ’s right to effect mediation between

        humans and God, and defines his relationship with God more precisely 

        than was done in the earlier Christian tradition.  Jesus is called the “Lamb 

        of God, who takes away the sin of the world.”  In the gospel there is the 

        theme of a parallel development of faith and unbelief.  The fundamental sin

        is refusal to believe in Christ.

 

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                   The benefits arising from the Incarnation are mainly described 

        throughout this gospel in terms of life or eternal life.  Its chief mark in out-

        ward conduct is love. Those who receive these benefits have come out of 

        darkness into light and belong no more to the world.  Their status is that of 

        children of God, for their response to Christ is a kind of rebirth.  Their rela-

        tionship is also with the Father.  For knowledge of him is the highest life, 

        and Christ’s mission was to make this knowledge possible.  After his with-

        drawal from the earthly scene his presence with his disciples is still avail-

        able, for the Spirit of truth will be their counselor.  The ultimate goal is this 

        ideal community in God, secure beyond time and evil.

                   The Letter to the Hebrews states that God’s self-communication in 

        Christ is more complete than in previous revelations.  Christ’s work is de-

        scribed summarily as “purification of sins.” Elsewhere it is “eternal redemp-

        tion.”   There is an element of Platonism in this use of the adjective “eter-

        nal”; it implies that Christ belongs to the realm of perfect archetypes, where

        all have this eternal or ideal quality.

                   The significance of Christ’s saving work is brought out by reference

        to the Hebrew sacrificial system and priesthood.  Israel’s disobedience had

        annulled the old covenant, and the most discerning prophets had visualized

        a new covenant.  This new covenant is now in being, as Christ became the 

        “mediator” of a superior covenant through his life and death.  

                   His blood was the sacrificial blood necessary, according to Jewish 

        ideas, for the beginning of a covenant.  His willingness to pour out his life-

        blood is the perfect obedience required of people by divine justice.  Nei-

        ther the first Adam nor any of his posterity provided this obedience.  

                   The logic here is not simply that Christ’s death is declared to have 

        the efficacy which the slaying of animals was reputed to have in the an-

        cient world, but that there is no limit to what God can do with a life of per-

        fect obedience.

                   Interwoven with this argument is the conception of Christ as high 

        priest.   The Hebrews felt that only the holiest of men, their high priest, 

        might enter into the divine presence; Christ has entered God’s presence in

        heaven itself on behalf of all.  In entering heaven he has returned to his 

        rightful dignity, but he has done so to represent us, after his human experi-

        ence.  Humans need no longer feel that their sin makes them unfit for fel-

        lowship with God, because Christ’s continued intercession makes it possi-

        ble to near to God with confidence.

                   6. Mediation in the NT:  I Peter and Revelation/ Conclusion—In

        I Peter, Christ’s achievement as Savior is illuminated in 3 passages: 3 ver-

        ses in chapter 1 compares the Cross for its efficacy with the lamb of sacri-

        fice, and sees it as Christ’s eternal destiny; four verses in chapter 2 stress 

        Christ’s innocence and exemplary quality; and 2 verses in chapter 3 enlar-

        ges the vicariousness of his death to include former generations.   The 

        thought is that in the interval between his death and resurrection Christ vi-

        sited Sheol and proclaimed his victory over sin and death.

                  Revelation presupposes as general background a world situation de-

        generating not simply from bad to worse but from corruption to chaos.  Re-

        velation offers no doctrine of mediation but the assurance that in spite of 

        appearances God is in control, evil will be done away with and ideal condi-

        tions will be ultimately created.  There are many references to Christ, most

        of which are rooted in the primitive Christian message.   For example, 

        Christ is “the first-born of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth.”  He is

        referred to 29 times as the “Lamb who was slain.”  His second coming is 

        mentioned.  Most impressive of all, his loving self-sacrifice is recorded.  

        The characteristic logic of this book is that the decisive act for human sal- 

        vation is still in the future, and God rather than Christ will be the actor.

                   The New Testament has a compact answer to questions concerning 

        mediation:  “There is one God, and there is one mediator between God and

        humans, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all.”  The

        lines of development in thought upon this problem converge upon Christ.  

        The ideals of prophet, priest, and king were realized in Christ; he was the 

        living embodiment of what the OT knew as the word of God and the wis-

        dom of God.  

                   The enigma of a Messiah crucified had passed from inexplicable 

        tragedy to the glorious conviction that his death was that vicarious suffe-

        ring of God’s truest servant, a revelation of God.  “No one has ever seen 

        God; the only Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, he has made him 

        known.”   The lesser minds also affirm the uniqueness of Christ as media-

        tor.  “There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under 

        heaven, given among people by which we must be saved.”

M-43

MEDICINE.  While comparatively little appears in the earlier biblical writings on 

        the care of the sick, it must be remembered that the Hebrews were part of 

        the Near Eastern tradition of the priesthood being trained and equipped to 

        cope with ailments.  In the first five books of the Old Testament (OT) the 

        priest and the midwife were held responsible for communal health.  Not 

        until the period of the monarchy did physicians appear as a profession se-

        parate from priests.

                   Priests and Prophets as Physicians—In ancient Mesopotamia, 2 

        classes of priests were responsible for disease prevention or control.  Me-

        sopotamians regarded illness as the result of attack by malignant demons,

        so exorcists were always in demand.  The priesthood monopolized educa-

        tion, and the study of medicine was no exception.   Patients were often 

        treated in the temples or shrines.  Herbs such as caper, garlic, rue, and 

        the mandrake had magical qualities.   The Code of Hammurabi gave pro- 

        per professional status to the doctor and laid down the conditions under 

        which he could pursue his vocation.

                   The ancient Egyptian priesthood had its medical branch from an 

        early period, one of the most celebrated pioneers of empirical therapy 

        being Imhotep.  Egyptian documents show that a mix of medical and reli-

        gious considerations occupied a dominant place in any estimate of dis-

        eased conditions.  Egyptians priest-physicians employed magical rites for

        diseases of the eyes.   Herbs and animal substances were used empiri-

        cally, but generally needed the assistance of an incantation to be most ef-

        fective.  The “physicians” of Genesis 50 were the embalmers, who 

        formed one branch of the priesthood. 

                   The medical principles of the early Hebrews represented an ad-

        vance upon contemporary theories of disease in that they repudiated ma-

        gic, and sought to consider disease from an empirical standpoint or else in

        terms of the personal spiritual relationship existing between the sufferers 

        and their God.  The medical sections of Leviticus are rational assessments

        of pathology; enforcing these enactments rested with the priests. 

                   The first reference to physicians outside the first 5 books of the OT

        is in II Chronicles 16, which speaks rather disparagingly of those to whom

        Asa resorted at the end of his life.  Since God was the acknowledged Su-

        preme Healer, the Monarchy’s physicians can have been little more than 

        practicing apothecaries or herbalists.  The presence of a physician gave 

        some hope of relief from sickness, and his medicines were the aromatic 

        antiseptic resins and gums popular at that time.  The prestige of the physi-

        cian appears to have increased considerably by the time the apocryphal 

        Ecclesiasticus was written.  While God is still Healer, God has committed

        gifts of healing to humans.  

                   The medical responsibilities of the early Hebrew priests were close-

        ly connected with their religious duties.  Leviticus contains 7 forms of puri-

        fication: childbirth; leprous; venereal; male reproductive; conubital; men-

        strual; and cadaveric.  The art of the perfumer was employed for purposes

        other than the purely medicinal, but myrrh, frankincense, balm, aloes, cas-

        sia, cinnamon, and other aromatics were used medicinally.  The OT con-

        tains no reference to the use of the well-known oriental narcotics.

                   Prophetic office duties included diagnosing sickness, as with Nathan

        (II Samuel 12), Elijah (I Kings 17; II Kings 1), Ahijah (I Kings 14), and Eli-

        sha (II Kings 5 and 8).  Elisha exhibited unusual medical abilities in neutra-

        lizing poison and purifying the waters of Jericho.  An important instance of

        prophetic prognosis relates to the Boil of Hezekiah, which constitutes the 

        only prescriptions proper in the OT.  

                   Most resinous gums were antiseptic and astringent.  While fractures 

        were commonly left untreated at an early period, attempts were made later 

        to reduce fractures.   In the apocryphal period, the place of medication in 

        the treatment of sicknesses was dignified in proportion to the stature of the 

        physician.   The prudent physician would submit themselves to the apothe-

        cary’s skill.   It appears from the Talmud that contemporary practitioners ad-

        vised patients to wear amulets.

                   When Jacob desired to increase his own share of Laban’s flocks.  

        Laban promised him black and speckled offspring.  Jacob took boughs of 

        trees, peeled away sections of the bark at random, and placed them near 

        the feeding troughs.  He hoped that the speckled appearance of the bran-

        ches would impress itself upon the pregnant ewes and influence the physi-

        cal appearance of the fetus.  Similar beliefs still exist today.

                  The use of mandrakes by Leah points to popular superstition concer-

        ning the plant.  Whatever general effect it may have had probably resulted 

        from psychological suggestion, with consequent alteration of endocrinal se-

        cretions.  In extreme old age David was provided with a maiden, in the be-

        lief that by his drawing heat from her body and breathing her breath, his 

        own life would be prolonged.

M-44

                   Surgery and Childbirth—The only surgical operation mentioned 

        in the Bible is circumcision.  The Egyptians regarded it as the hallmark of

        a civilized upbringing, but never with the quasi-religious nature that the 

        Jews did.   The rite is almost certainly far older than the Hebrew patriarchs.

        The Bronze and Iron Age Semites still used the obsolete flint knives.  

        Among the Hebrews its religious significance was paramount, and it was 

        never regarded as a hygienic or prophylactic measure.  There are com-

        paratively few references in the Bible to surgical disease as such, and to 

        what extent  injuries were treated by the priests is unknown.

                   The hunchback and the dwarf were disqualified from the priesthood.

        The woman who had a “spirit of infirmity” and could not straighten herself

        was probably suffering from spondylitis deformans.  In the case of the ser-

        vant Malchus, whose right ear was cut off, if the ear was completely se-

        vered, the healing which ensued was strictly miraculous. 

                   Some of the most primitive references to biblical medicine are to ob-

        stetrics.   The mid-wife was the first public-health worker mentioned in 

        scripture.  The midwives seem to have formed a regular professional guild

        or class.  The Pharaoh’s decree appears to have been an violation of their 

        professional ethics.  The reason they gave for disregarding this injunction 

        was that precipitate labor had invariably taken place before the midwife ar-

        rived.  It would appear that the Hebrew midwives gave professional care to

        the Egyptian women also.

                   In 2 confinements the mother died after giving a symbolic name to 

        her offspring.  Rachel suffered an obstruction in the birth canal, and named

        her son Ben-oni, “son of my sorrow,” before she died.  Phinehas’ wife had 

        premature labor when tragic news reached her, and after the child was deli-

        vered, she became comatose and died.  

                   Rebekah experienced considerable fetal agitation during her preg-

        nancy.  When Esau was born, he was covered with lanugo, a downy growth

        on the fetus after the 4^th month of gestation; Jacob’s birth followed immedi-

        ately after Esau’s delivery.  Tamar, pregnant by her father-in-law, had diffi-

        culty delivering twins.  A birth canal tear appears to have been indicated by

        the name given to one of the twins, Perez or breach.  The midwife seems 

        to have performed some sort of turning operation with considerable skill.

                   Women who are pregnant for the first time at a later period in life, 

        include Sarah (Genesis 21), the wife of Manoah (Judges 13), Hannah 

        (I Samuel 1), and Elizabeth (Luke 1).  The postnatal procedures mentioned 

        in scripture include dividing of the umbilical cord, washing of the infant, 

        and the removal of the uterine material on the infant.  The newborn infant 

        was “swaddled” on a square of cloth; the ends of the cloth were folded over

        the body and feet and held in position by strips of material passed around 

        the outside of the bundle.  A dusting of powder of myrtle was used to pre-

        vent chafing. 

                   Medical Folklore and Treatment in the New Testament (NT)—

        The opinion that the moon could exert an injurious influence on the minds 

        of people, is also reflected in scripture.  The words “lunatic” and “moon-

        struck” have perpetuated the tradition that people can be affected mentally 

        by lunar phases.  A passage in the King James Version of John 5, omitted 

        in the Revised Standard Version, preserves a popular explanation that the 

        troubling and healing of the waters in the pool of Bethzatha was the result

        of supernatural agencies.  The agitation of the water in the pool of Bethza-

        tha may have been caused by the liberation of underground pockets of na-

        tural gas, and the tradition of healing may have been from a few psychoso-

        matic healings.

                   The NT has very little else to say about medical treatment.  Jesus 

        mentioned physicians occasionally, indicating that they were generally 

        competent.  Luke is spoken of as the “beloved physician,” and his writings

        are notable for the accurate recording of Jesus’ healing ministry, and 

        Luke’s special use of medical terms.  The Good Samaritan rendered first 

        aid by applying dressings to the unfortunate victim.  The administration of

        sour wine mixed with gall and myrrh to those being crucified was an act 

        of charity intended to lessen the victim’s suffering.  Paul kindly counsel to

        Timothy (I Timothy 5) is typical of all folk medicine.  Probably, Timothy 

        was suffering from flatulent dyspepsia, a gastric condition which was pro-

        bably psychosomatic.

MEDITERRANEAN.  See Great Sea; Western Sea; Sea.

MEDIUMS.  See Divination. 

M-45

MEEKNESS (ענוה (‘ah neh vaw), humility, poverty; prauthV (pra oo tes)) The

        adjective “meek” is found a number of times as a translation of ‘anevah.  

        The idea slowly developed of the “weak” being oppressed by the rich and

        powerful.   Since  Israel’s faithful were often in the position of the “weak,” it

        came about that the word was used to express the attitude of the truly reli-

        gious person; “meekness” is the opposite of pride.   The variety of connota-

        tions of the word is shown by the different translations of it in the New Re-

        vised Standard Version (NRSV; e.g. “oppressed” in Psalm 76; “downtrod-

        den” in Psalm 147).  “Meekness,” is used to describe primarily the proper 

        attitude of complete dependence upon God.

                   The Greek praus is found 4 times in the New Testament, translated 

        as “meek” in the King James Version, and by “meek,” “humble,” and “gen-

        tle” in the NRSV.  “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth,” 

        comes directly from Psalm 37.  The meek take a proper view of themselves

        in relation to God.

                   The noun form of this word occurs 11 times, all outside of the Gos-

        pels.  It is used once to describe Christ (II Corinthians 10); all the rest of 

        the time it is a virtue enjoined upon Christians.  The NRSV translates prau-

        tes by “meekness” when it's a question of one’s inner attitude & by “gentle-

        tleness” when it is a matter of dealing with others.  Rich though the word 

        has become through of its Jewish & pagan uses, its full meaning in the 

        Christian tradition only comes out fully in its portrayal of a quality in Christ.

MEGIDDO  (מגדו, place of troops)  An important Canaanite, and later Israelite

        city overlooking the Valley of Jezreel or the Plain of Esdraelon, 16 km 

        southwest of Nazareth.  Megiddo is to be identified with Tell el-Mutsellim,

        which has a surface area of 5.2 hectares (roughly 640 by 800 meters).  It 

        occupies a spur of the Carmel Range that projects into the Plain of Es-

        draelon from the southwest.

                   Location and Excavation—Megiddo is a strategic site.  From its 

        summit can be seen the entire breadth of the Plain of Esdraelon to the Ga-

        lilean hills, the western extension of which hides the Mediterranean from 

        view; Little Hermon and Mount Tabor can be seen to the east.  Two impor-

        tant ancient routes intersected just east of the mound: one linked Egypt 

        with the Fertile Crescent; the other linked central and eastern Palestine 

        with the Phoenician coast.   Megiddo guarded the northern entrance to 

        Wadi ‘Arah, which was the best pass through the Carmel chain.  Because 

        of its strategic location, Megiddo was the scene of many battles.  During 

        Roman times, when Megiddo was no longer occupied, the Romans sta-

        tioned troops at nearby Legio. 

                   The 1^st excavations at Megiddo were by G. Schumacher.  A large 

        north-south trench across the middle of the mound, the eastern side and a 

        number of soundings and probe trenches were dug. This first excavation 

        revealed 8 strata, from the 1800s B.C. to the 500s. The University of Chi-

        cago organized the Megiddo Expedition in 1925.   Excavation was begun 

        on the mound’s lower eastern slope.  A number of tombs were found in 

        this area.  When the complete excavation of large areas proved impossi-

        ble, it was decided to dig several smaller areas in different parts of the 

        site to bedrock.   Only in the eastern area did the excavators reach bed-

        rock; here a total of 20 strata were distinguished, 18 of which are men-

        tioned here, covering more than 3,500 years, from near 4000 B.C to 400.

                   History: Bronze Age—The primary source for the history of the site

        is the information gleaned from archaeological excavation, Egyptian and 

        Assyrian documents, and the Bible.  The 1st, earliest occupation of the site

        was founded on bedrock.  Architectural remains consist of a few circular 

        walls and a series of holes cut in bedrock.   The type of pottery found points

        to sometime shortly after 4000 B.C.  This lowest level extends to 3200 B.C.

                  The 2nd level is from the period of 3200-2900, and is represented by

        fragmentary remains, including a rectangular shrine and altar; there were at

        least 2 phases to this level.  The 3rd level is from 2900-2600 and features 

        the largest city wall yet found at the site.   The 4th and 5th levels, from 

        2600-2300 contain something of special interest.   An enormous round al-

        tar, the finest yet discovered in Palestine, was found at these levels.  The 

        site was unoccupied for at least 2 centuries after these levels.

                   The 6th level, in the Middle Bronze Age, covered the 2000s and 

        1900s to the early 1800s.  The great altar mentioned above continued to be

        used during this occupation.  The 7th level includes two phases, which be-

        long to the 1800s and 1700s.  The 8th occupation also consists of 2 pha-

        ses, in the later part of the 1700s.  Noteworthy were the first Hyksos sca-

        rabs, presaging Hyksos ascendancy in Palestine.  These scarabs are ex-

        ceedingly common in the 9th-10th levels of occupation above the Hyksos 

        occupation, indicating that these strata were contemporary with the major 

        period of Hyksos dominance.

                   The first level after the initial Hyksos occupation used the Hyksos 

        city wall, but a buttressing wall was added to its outer face.  In this and the

        following 9th-10th levels, a number of stone-built tombs containing multi-

        ple burials were found inside the city.  In the second level after Hyksos oc-

        cupation (10th), a group of even larger houses were built over the old city 

        wall’s remains.  A new city wall was built with small buttresses and a slo-

        ping glacis.  During this period Megiddo was a prosperous city, but it en

        joyed little peace.   New levels of occupation came in rapid succession

        and pointed to repeated destruction.  Also, the ethnic group was changing. 

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                   The Hyksos were expelled from Egypt around 1550 B.C. (Late 

        Bronze Age), and Megiddo once again came under Egyptian rule, which 

        lasted about 400 years.  The buildings of these strata generally follow the 

        walls of the buildings in the level before them.  This period’s first level 

        (11th) was destroyed by the great Egyptian king Thutmose III (1490-

        1436), after defeating a group of Syro-Palestinian princes.  The next occu-

        pation (12th) in the 1300s features a number of important structures.  The 

        city’s gateway was a narrow passage flanked by 3 pairs of piers.  During

        this or the following period, a new temple was built over the great altar; 

        the temple was rectangular and contained one large room.  Gold and ivory

        objects attest to the wealth of Megiddo at this time. 

                   History: Iron Age—The next, 13th level covers the 1200s and 

        most of the 1100s and consisted of two phases.  The first phase was actu-

        ally in the Late Bronze Age and ended in violent destruction.  The second

        phase saw the reconstruction of the city along the lines of the preceding 

        levels, including the temple.  

                   It was probably in this period that the great water system was dug.

        It consisted of a deep vertical shaft cut through earlier occupational de-

        bris and bedrock, and a long, horizontal, rock-hewn tunnel leading from 

        the shaft to a spring in a cave; water flowed from the cave through the tun-

        nel to the bottom of the shaft.  

                   During this occupation the Israelites invaded Palestine.  In spite of 

        the historical summary in Joshua 12, the Israelites were unable to occupy 

        Megiddo at this time.  This level was followed by a period during which 

        Megiddo was unoccupied.

                   The next (14th) occupation covers the first half of the 1000s and 

        consists of 2 phases.  During the first phase the town was probably unpro-

        tected.  In the second phase, a new gate way was constructed.  Just west 

        of the city gate, new houses were built on totally different lines from the 

        earlier palaces.   This stratum was largely destroyed by a great fire that 

        baked many of the mud-brick walls of the buildings.

                   After a decade or two, the site was again occupied by Israelites 

        (15th) during the reign of Saul (1020-1000 B.C.).  The buildings differed  

        from preceding occupations in both plan and orientation.   Only the gate-

        way is a holdover from an earlier level.  This level covered the reigns of 

        Saul and David (1000-961).   In the transition to the next phase in Solo-

        mon’s reign, the earlier inhabitants were evicted and their homes torn 

        down. 

                   In the 16th level, Solomon transformed Megiddo into a chariot city.

        Both a northern and southern complex of stables have been found.  The 

        southern stable exhibits a different plan and finer workmanship; it was 

        most likely constructed by Solomon.  It contained several units with a cen-

        tral aisle flanked by two rows of stalls.  Outside was an enclosed exercise 

        yard with a water trough in the center.  Two large residences, one in the 

        south and one in the north, were also found.  Just west of the city gate was

        a series of buildings which contained cult objects such as altars and in-

        cense burners.   The city was protected by a casemate wall and a new for- 

        tress gate.

                   After Solomon’s death Megiddo became part of the newly formed 

        northern state of Israel under Jeroboam.  This occupation was brought to 

        an end by Shishak of Egypt.   There is a stele at Megiddo bearing Shi-

        shak’s name.   Megiddo appears in Shishak’s list of conquered Syro-Pale-

        stinian towns.  Only a few buildings and the casemate fortifications were

        destroyed.  

                   3 stables were built in the northeast area of the site.  These stables

        were separated from one another by paved streets.  Together with Solo-

        mon’s southern stable, they provided accommodation for approximately 

        450 horses; a new city wall and gate was also built.   It was during this 

        period that Ahaziah king of Judah died in Megiddo.  Although the destruc-

        tion of this occupation isn't specifically mentioned in any source, probably 

        it can be attributed to the Syrian King Hazael.

                   The next, 17th level of occupation may or may not have been after a

        lapse of several decades.   In this period Megiddo once again became a 

        city of houses and shops.  Solomon’s city wall and gate approach still pro-

        tected the city, but a new, smaller fortress gate was built.   A noteworthy 

        feature of this level was a grain storage pit more than 6 meters deep & 10

        meters in diameter, with an estimated capacity of about 12,800 bushels. 

                   This occupation was destroyed in 733 by the Assyrians under Tig-

        lath-pileser III.  The city was rebuilt and became an Assyrian provincial 

        capital.  During this (18th) occupation, the city was without a city wall.  A 

        large building with walls 2.5-3 meters thick probably served as the fortified

        residence of the governor.   This occupation was destroyed by Neco of 

        Egypt, after he defeated and killed Josiah of Judah at the Battle of Megiddo

        in 609.

                   Soon after this battle the site was reoccupied.  This occupation was 

        largely residential and lacked a protective city wall.  With the end of this 

        level after two centuries, occupation of Megiddo ceased after 400 B.C.  

        Among the remains of this level, a number of graves of the Roman period 

        were discovered.   A Roman community south of the mound near the mo-

        dern village el-Lejjun used the site as a burial ground. 

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MEGIDDO, PLAIN OF (בקעת מגדו (beh kaw ‘ote me gid do), valley of Me-

        giddo)  That portion of the Jezreel Valley near Megiddo; a place of great   

        mourning, either because of Josiah’s death or those who died in battle.

MEGIDDO, WATERS OF (מי מגדו (my  meh gid do))  A perennial stream near 

        Megiddo; probably Wadi el-Lejjun, the scene of the battle of Sisera 

        and Barak (Judges 5).

MEGILLOTH  (מגלוﬨ, volume)  The plural form of megillah, meaning “scroll.”

        The portion of the Bible referred to as the “5 megilloth” includes: Song 

        of Song [Solomon], Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, and Esther, which  

        were read at Passover, Pentecost, the 9th of Ab, Tabernacles, and Purim, 

        respectively.

MEHETABEL (מהיטבאל, God does well)    1.  The wife of Hadar (Hadad), a 

        king of Edom (Genesis 36; I Chronicles 1.      2. An ancestor of Shemiah, 

        a false prophet, who was hired to intimidate Nehemiah (Nehemiah 6).

MEHIDA  (מחידא)  Ancestor and origin of the name of a family of Nethinim, or 

        temple servants (Ezra 2)

MEHIR  (מחיר)  A descendant of Judah (I Chronicles 4).

MEHOLATHITE  (מחלתי)  Descriptive adjective Adriel, husband of Merab, 

        daughter of Saul.  The name denotes an inhabitant of Abel-Meholah, an 

        important Gileadite city.

MEHUJAEL  (מחויאל)  Son of Irad; Yahweh’s counterpart to the Priestly wri-

        ter’s “Mahalalel.”

MEHUMAN (מהומן)  One of the 7 eunuchs who served King Ahasuerus as

        chamberlain.

MELATIAH  (מלטיה, whom the Lord delivers)  A man of Gibeon who helped 

        rebuild the wall of Jerusalem in the time of Nehemiah (Nehemiah 3).

MELCHI  (מלכי , king; Melci)  The name of two ancestors of Jesus.

 MELCHIOR, MELKON  In late tradition, one of the Magi.  In the common form 

        which limited the number of the Magi to three, Melkon is regularly pictured

        as the king of Persia, and occasionally as the brother of Gaspar, a king of 

        India, and Balthasar, a king of Arabia.  Melkon delivers to the infant Jesus, 

        a letter to Adam, written and sealed by God, and stored in the archives of

        the kings of Persia. In the West he is commemorated as a saint together 

        with Gaspar and Balthasar.   Many fanciful legends have attached them-

        selves to the three, who are often styled the Three Kings of Cologne.

MELCHIZEDEK  ( מלכי־צדק, the king is righteousness)  An Old Testament 

        figure, appearing also in the Letter to the Hebrews.  This name actually re-

        presents a good, ancient Canaanite formation.

                   Melchizedek was probably a Canaanite king of pre-Israelite Jerusa-

        lem.  He prepares a meal for Abram, blesses him as the representative 

        priest in whose succession the Davidic king is ordained.  The Melchizedek

        pericope now lies embedded in 2 larger units, between the chapter where 

        Abram comes into conflict with a league of powerful Eastern kings, and 

        the verses where the king of Sodom comes out to meet Abraham.  Certain-

        ly it is odd to find the Canaanite cult presented in so favorable a light; the 

        chapter is best seen in the light of the Israelite monarchy.  Melchizedek is 

        the “king of Salem (Jerusalem),” and he is “priest of God Most High.”  

        Clearly he is presented as the sacral king, exercising both royal and priest-

        ly authority.

                   The figure of Melchizedek as sacral king is here associated with the 

        Davidic messiah.  Melchizedek appears as a prototype of the Davidic king 

        and Yahweh’s adopted son.  As ideal king, the “son of David” establishes 

        righteousness.   As ideal priest, he heads Israel’s worship and mediates be-

        tween his people and God.  This priesthood is eternal, it transcends the 

        Aaronic order.

                   In the New Testament, Melchizedek is mentioned only in Hebrews.  

        Christ is designated “high priest after the order of Melchizedek.”  Being 

        both king of righteousness & eternal priest, Melchizedek resembles the 

        Son of God. He's the type of Christ, whose royal, holy high priesthood 

        transcends all human orders.

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MELEA  (Melea)  An ancestor of Jesus (Luke 3).

MELECH (מלך, king)  A Benjaminite, and the grandson of Meribbaal (I Chroni-

        cles 8 and 9).

MELONS (אבטחים (ab bat tee kheem)) A fruit, common in Egypt, for which 

        the Israelites longed when in the wilderness (Numbers 11).

MELZAR  (מלצר, master of the wine)  The King James Version uses the

        Hebrew word as a name.  The New Revised Standard correctly uses   

        “guard.”   It is not a name.

MEM (מ)  The thirteenth letter of the Hebrew alphabet as it is placed at the head

        of the 13th section of Psalm 119, where each verse of this section of the 

        psalm begins with this letter.

MEMBERS (melh)  A term of importance only in the New Testament.  It is used

        of the organs, the body as a whole, and of the members of the church.  

        The church might be looked upon as the body of Christ. 

MEMORIAL, MEMORY (ﬤﬧז (tseh ker); mimnhskomai (mim neh sko my))      In addition to the words just listed, “memorial” or “memory” is implied by:

       “record”; “be mindful”; “come to mind”; “remind”; certain uses of the verb

       “to visit.” 

                   The act of memory plays a significant role in the Bible and in all 

        life.  Biblical memory is not merely theoretical.  It recalls conditions and 

        determines the behavior of those who remember.   For the Hebrew the re-

        collection of the past means that what is recalled becomes a present reali-

        ty, which in turn controls the will.  Various shades of meaning may also be

        discovered, such as: “remember” as in “knowing” (Genesis 31; Judges 9); 

        “remember” as in “delight in” (Acts 10); and “remember” appears to mean 

        “commemorate” in Esther 9.

                   God remembers such people as Noah, Abraham, Rachel, Hannah, 

        and God remembers or will remember “my covenant.”  God doesn't remem-

        ber sin and evil works.  God remembers Israel’s low estate, that Israel is 

        dust.  God, like Moses, David, and Nehemiah, seeks to stir up Israel to re-

        member.  Israel’s remembrance figures prominently in Deuteronomy and 

        Psalms.   Consideration of the “memory” passages in Deuteronomy sug-

        gests that the mode of the remembrance was preaching.

                   The appeal to God to remember is, of course, a frequent formula of 

        prayers by Samson (Judges 16), Hannah (I Samuel 1), Solomon (II Chroni-

        cles 6), Hezekiah (II Kings 20), Nehemiah (Nehemiah 1), Habakkuk (3), 

        Job (1^st verse).  In Psalm 42 the psalmist remembers his place in the fes-

        tal procession; memory revives faith.  Israel remembers her ancient story, 

        and sacred memory becomes sacred reality and life for the participants.

                  A different aspect of the matter is seen in those passages where God

        is invited to remember, or things are done to serve as a reminder to God.  

        The Hebrew word for “remembrance” means a memorial or reminder to 

        God of the people concerned.  The atsekerah, “memorial offering” is the 

        Priestly Writer’s word for that portion of various sacrifices and incense 

        burned before the Lord.

                   In the New Testament, the role of remembrance in the words for the

        institution of the Lord’s Supper is that through the elements Christians are 

        to remember Jesus Christ.  Their remembrances thus are the medium for 

        the holy reality of Jesus Christ, and in this holy reality the life of the spirit 

        is quickened and revived.  Apart from the memorial features connected 

        with the Last Supper, there is little to mention.  There is remembrance of 

        fellow Christians, of Jesus, his words and actions.  In Acts 10 prayers and 

        alms are a memorial before God.  This verse thus suggests a sacrificial 

        nuance, but it is highly improbable that there is any sacrificial intention 

        with a god-ward reference in “Do this in memory of me” in the Last 

        Supper.

M-49

MEMPHIS  (מף (mofe);  נף(nofe))  A city located about 21 km south of mo-

        dern Cairo on the western side of the Nile; the chief city of Lower Egypt 

        during most of that country’s early history. 

                   According to native tradition, the city was founded by Menes, the 

        first ruler of a united Egypt in the 1^st Dynasty (2800 B.C.).  The name 

        Mn-nfr dates from the 6^th Dynasty (2300) as the name of Pepi I’s pyra-

        mid, and most likely translates as “the goodness of Pepi I endures.” It is 

        interesting to note the sacred name of Memphis, “the house of the Ka of 

        Ptah,” is the forerunner of Greek Aiguptos, which is where the modern 

        name “Egypt” comes from.

                   One Egypt’s oldest cities, Memphis rose gradually in political im-

        portance during the 1^st and 2^nd Dynasties (3000-2700) and became the 

        capital of Egypt at the beginning of the Third Dynasty all the way to the 

        5^th Dynasty (2350-2200).   When Egypt was again unified by the phara-

        ohs of the 11^th Dynasty (2050-1990), Thebes replaced Memphis as the 

        capital, and from this time on, Memphis never again achieved its former

        political importance.   For a short time during the second intermediate pe-

        riod (1750-1570) Memphis was the capital of the Hyksos ruler Salatis.  

                   Memphis figures prominently in the accounts of Piankhi, a Nubian

        king, who around 720 marched victorious through Egypt, to the Delta.  

        His account of the capture of Memphis is a high point of his story.  Mem-

        phis was captured by Esarhaddon’s invading Assyrian forces during the 

        retreat of Taharka (715-663), but is mentioned again as being recaptured 

        by Tanutamun, who was driven southward again a short time later.  Mem-

        phis remained in Assyrian hands until Psamtik, the first of the Saite Dyna-

        sty (660-525), shook off the restraint of Asian rule.

                What remains of Memphis today gives little indication of its glorious

        past.  Its fall was gradual, due first to the founding of Alexandria by Alex-

        ander the Great in 332 B.C., and then the founding of Cairo by the Arab 

        conquerors in 628 A.D.; the ruins of Memphis were exploited for building

        materials to the extent that even the temple of Ptah was converted to ruins

        which did not reflect its former splendor. 

                   The prominent position held by Memphis during Egyptian history 

        is perhaps most forcibly attested by the major pyramid fields in its imme-

        diate vicinity on the west bank.  Numerous tombs of the First Dynasty 

        (3000-2850) have been excavated near Memphis. Others were found at: 

        Dahshur, 3^rd Dynasty (2700-2650) “bent” pyramid of Sneferu; Sakkarah, 

        3^rd Dynasty step pyramid of Djoser; Gizeh, 4^th Dynasty (2650-2500) pyra-

        mids of Cheops, Chefren, Mycerinus; Abusir, 5^th Dynasty (2500-2350) 

        pyramids of Sahure; (2350-2200); trio of pyramids; 5^th and 6^th Dynasty 

        (2500-2200) pyramids of Userkaf, Teti, Pepi I, Pepi II, and Merenre, the 

        last which was the home to the Pyramid Texts.  Dahshur also had tombs 

        from the 12^th Dynasty (1990-1780).

                   Memphis rivaled Heliopolis as a center of religious activity.  The 

        local theology is well known to us through the famous document preserved

        on black granite and ordered by Shabaka (25^th Dynasty, 710-663).  The 

        Memphite system reckons Ptah as the oldest of the gods and creator of hu-

        mankind.  Ptah was identified by the Greeks with Hephaestus and is so 

        mentioned by Herodotus.   Ptah was also worshiped in the forms of Apis 

        and like the latter was closely associated with Osiris as the god of the 

        dead.   Worship of numerous other deities was centered at Memphis, 

        among them the native gods Sokaris, Osiris, Suchos, and the foreign gods 

        of Baal,   Kadesh, and especially Astarte.

MEMUCAN (ממוכן)  One of the seven princes of Persia and Media at the court

        of King Ahasuerus, who were consulted for their legal knowledge.

MENAHEM (מנחם, comforter)  Israel’s King (745-738 B.C.); son of Gadi.  He 

        succeeded to the throne through Shallum’s assassination.  The name’s 

        is nakhem and means one who comforts over a relative’s death.  

                After the death of the powerful Jeroboam II (746), chaotic conditions

        prevailed in the northern kingdom.   There was more than one aspirant to

        the throne.  Shallum was the leader of one party, Menahem of another. Je-

        roboam’s son Zechariah followed him on the throne but was murdered by 

        Shallum after six months.  Shallum in his turn was assassinated by Mena-

        hem after one month.  “Menahem sacked Tappuah … and he ripped up all

        the women in it who were with child.”  The most reasonable explanation 

        of Menahem’s atrocities against this city is that it had supported Shallum 

        and refused to surrender to his murderer.

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                   Menahem is said to have reigned for ten years, but the date of his 

        death is uncertain.   He lived at least to 738, when he paid tribute to Tig-

        lath-pileser III.  If the Azriau Ia-u-da-a-a named in the Assyrian Annals 

        is correctly identified with Azariah, then Tiglath-pileser and Azariah 

        reigned at the same time.  Tiglath-pileser also claims heavy tribute from 

        Me-ni-hi-im-me-al Sa-me-ri-na-a (Menahem of Samaria).  In fact, Mena-  

        hem may very well have paid tribute both in 743-742 and in 738.

                   The 1st outstanding event of Menahem’s reign was the supremacy

        of Assyrian power in the West.  Menahem gave Pul 1,000 talents of silver, 

        that he might help him to confirm his hold of the royal power.”  The refer-

        ence to Pul as King of Assyria sparked the belief that Pul and Tiglath-pile- 

        ser were two different kings of Assyria.  But when Tiglath-pileser III of 

        Assyria took the throne of Babylon in 729, he assumed the name Pulu.

                 The 2nd interesting point is the words: “that he might help him to 

        confirm his hold of the royal power.”  The implication is that Menahem sat

        uneasily on the throne of Israel.  In his annals Tiglath-pileser records the 

        receiving of tribute from various nations of the West, including the 1,000 

        talents of silver from Menahem.  Menahem secured this sum by levying a 

        poll tax of 50 shekels on every wealthy Israelite.  This represents a figure 

        of about 60,000 men who were in a position to pay. That would explain the

        violent denunciations of Amos and Hosea against the excesses of the 

        wealthy.  It is noteworthy that of the last 6 kings of Israel, only Menahem 

        is reported as having died a peaceful death and slept with his fathers.

MENE, MENE, TEKEL, AND PARSIN  (מנא מנא תקל ופרסין, mina, mina, 

        shekel, and halves)  The enigmatic inscription recorded in Daniel 5, which

        has been translated into many different versions and forms over the years.

        Most likely, the versions, wishing to make the wording fit more closely the

        explanation given by Daniel have altered the text.  

                   The debate turns on the question whether the author of Daniel has 

        coined his own phrase or whether he has employed a popular proverbial 

        saying.  If so, we must reckon with 2 elements: the original saying and 

        its meaning, and the fresh meaning given to it in Daniel’s exposition.  The

        inscription appeared upon the wall, written by a detached hand.  Here we 

        will assume that it was currently a proverb, and the three words of the in-

        scription refer to weights and their equivalent monetary values.  The use 

        of these weights is not only to designate monetary values but also to ex-

        press estimates of character.

                   To what then did this proverbial saying, “A mina, a mina, a shekel, 

        half shekels,” refer?  Probably the Jews applied it to the occupants of the 

        Neo-Babylonian throne; Nebuchadnezzar is the mina, Evil-merodach is 

        the shekel, and Nabonidus and Belshazzar are the half shekels.  Perhaps 

        the first mn has a different combination of vowels. If so, it could read:  

        “He [God] has weighed: a mina, a shekel, and half shekels.”  It probably 

        seeks to answer the question:   “What is the worth of the kings of Baby-

        lon?”  The answer is that God has weighed them and found them to be 

        steadily losing weight.  Later in Jewish history, it had the added meaning

        that the Medes and Persian together were worth only one sixtieth of the 

        great Chaldean.

                   So much for the ancient riddle.  By punning on the 3 terms used, 

        Daniel brings out of the riddle an oracle of doom.   He changes the vow-

        els used with the consonants so that the 1st word becomes “he num-

        bered” (i.e. God has checked over the number of the days of your king-

        dom and has found that the allotted figure has been reached); the 2nd

        word becomes “he weighed” (i.e. God has weighed Belshazzar and has 

        found him to be underweight and has condemned him on this account; 

        and the 3rd word becomes “he divided” (i.e. God has already divided up

        your kingdom and given it to the Medes and the Persians).  This altering

        of the vowels used is in keeping the Jewish method of interpretation.

MENI (מני, destiny)  With God, a deity or genius of good luck worshiped by

        Jewish apostates probably in the postexilic period.

MENNA  (Menna)  An ancestor of Jesus.

MENORAH (מנורה, candlestick)  The Hebrew menora might refer to any lamp

        stand; but as it is used in the Old Testament, it is a technical term for the 

        seven-branched lamp stand of the tabernacle.

MENSTRUATION.  See Clean and Unclean.

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MENUHOTH (מנחות, resting place)  An unknown family who are of the clan of

         Salma, living south of Jerusalem, around Bethlehem.

MEONENIM, PLAIN OF (אלון מעוננים (al lone may oh neh neem), oak of di-

        viners)  Kings James Version  translation of Hebrew words.

MEONOTHAI (עונתימ my habitations)  Son of Othniel, a Judahite, and the 

        father of Ophrah (I Chronicles 4)

MEPHAATH  (מפעת, splendor)  A town given to the tribe of Reuben in Joshua

        13, assigned to the Merarites.

MEPHIBOSHETH  (מפיבשת, he who scatters shame)    1. Jonathan’s son, to 

        whom David granted generous concessions out of respect for his father’s 

        friendship.  Mephibosheth was five years old when his father died.  Flee-

        ing in panic, the nurse of Mephibosheth let the child fall from her arms 

        and permanently crippled his 2 feet.  When his uncle  Ishbaal was assas-

        sinated, Mephibosheth was the presumptive heir, but he never pressed his

        claim.  He found safety with his benefactor, Machir the son of Ammiel, a

        powerful Trans-Jordanian noble.  David gave the property of the house of

        Saul, committing it to the custody of Ziba, the steward of Saul, while 

        Mephibosheth himself he invested as a permanent member of the king’s 

        board.

                   All went well with Mephibosheth until the rebellion of Absalom, 

        when his unavoidable detention in Jerusalem was slanderously misrepre-

        sented by Ziba, one of David’s benefactors, as an endeavor to secure the 

        throne; David believed Ziba.   When David had crushed the rebellion of 

        Absalom, Mephibosheth went down to meet the returning king at the Jor-

        dan and betrayed visibly, his deep grief at David’s misfortune.  

                   He presented movingly his firm loyalty and profound gratitude for

        David’s singular kindness.  In order to award them both, David decided       

        that Mephibosheth should share equally with Ziba in the lands of Saul.  

        Mephibosheth replied,  “Oh, let him take it all, since my lord the king has

        come safely home.”  Mephibosheth had a son named Mica, from whom a 

        well-known family in Israel was descended.

                   2.  A son of Saul by his concubine Rizpah, daughter of Aiah.  Me-

        phibosheth was delivered by David to the Gibeonites to be hanged, be-

        cause Saul had violated an ancient oath by slaughtering the Gibeonites.  

        The mother of Mephibosheth guarded the seven corpses from molesta-

        tion.  Their remains were then gathered and interred in the tomb of their  

        grandfather Kish.

MERAB  (מרב, increase)  The elder daughter of Saul.  Saul promised her to 

        David, to spur him on to reckless valor.  Merab was actually given, how-

        ever, to Adriel the Meholathite.   When David later had seven of the sons

        of Saul put to death, the five sons of Merab were probably among them.   

MERAIAH (מריה, rebellion) Head of a priestly family, the son of Seraiah, in the

        time of the high priest Joiakim.  

MERAIOTH (מריות, rebellion)    1.  A priest descended from Aaron.  The Chro-

        nicler represents him as an ancestor of Ezra the scribe (Ezra 7).      2.  A 

        priestly house in the postexilic period (Nehemiah 12); perhaps descen-

        ded from the foregoing, unless the name here is an error for “Meremoth.”

MERARI  (מררי, bitter) Third son of Levi, younger brother of Gershon and Kohath. Through his sons, Mahli and Mushi were descended the Merarites.

MERARITES (ני מרריב (be nie  mer rah ree), sons of bitterness)  A significant 

        Levitical family, descended from Merari.  All information on the person 

        and family comes through the Priestly writer or the Chronicler.

                   When the Tabernacle was constructed, the 3 chief Levitical fami-

        lies, among them the Merarites—were stationed around it and charged 

        with its care and transit.  The Merarites numbered 6,200 males from one

        month  upward, and  3,200  from 30 to 50.   Their  station was  on the  

        northern  side of the  tabernacle.   Their charge was the care of less impor-

        tant items: the frames, bars, pillars, and bases of the tabernacle.  At the oc-

        cupation of Palestine the Merarite families were allotted twelve cities from

        the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and Zebulun, including a “city of refuge.”

 

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                   When David “prepared a place for the ark of God,” he gathered 220 

        Merarites to bring the ark up into Jerusalem.  They were also involved in 

        cultic music and door keeping.  In 725 B.C., when Hezekiah called upon 

        the Levites to purify Judah’s cultic practices, Kish and Azariah represented

        the Merarites, when Josiah undertook reform, the Merarites Jahath and 

        Obadiah were among the supervising Levites.   In the postexilic period 

        Sherebiah, of the Mahlite family, and other Merarites assisted Ezra as tem-

        ple ministers.

MERATHAIM  (מרתים, double rebellion, a symbolic name for Babylon)  A re-

        gion in southern Babylonia, near the mouth of the Tigris and Euphrates.

MERCHANT (סחר (so khare); emporoV (em po ros)).  The Babylonians, Ara-

        means, Canaanites, Phoenicians, and Greeks were all great merchants.  

        The Israelites were not a great merchant nation in biblical times.  The 

        word “Canaanite” became a popular term for “merchant.”   The mer-

        chant sometimes went from house to house.   He visited farmers and 

        made purchases of homespun.  

                   Merchants traveled far to pick up their merchandise: Africa (ivory 

        and gold); Asia (silk and amber); Arabia and India (incense and spice).

        Khans or caravansaries were established for the merchants on the over-

        land routes.  The greatest merchant expansion of Israel was under Solo-

        mon.  During the Exile many Jews became wealthy merchants.   Many 

        business documents have been found by archaeologists at Mari and Nuzi.

        Mosaic law and the Hammurabi Code regulated weights and measures.  

        After the fall of Jerusalem to the Romans in 70 A. D. some rabbis still sup-

        ported themselves by merchant activities.

MERCURIUS (ErmhV (her mees))  King James Version translation of Greek

        word; Mercury was the Latin name for the Olympian god Hermes.

MERCY, MERCIFUL (חנן (khaw nan), show favor; רחם (raw kham), to pity; 

        eleew (el ee oh), to pity)  The meaning of “mercy” in the Bible is extremely

        varied.   When applied to God or to Jesus Christ, it can denote inner fee-

        lings of sympathy or love; it can signify simply forgiveness.  Generally, how-

        ever, it denotes the divine love, manifested in saving acts of grace.  Human

        mercy, on the other hand, is usually a consideration, manifested in outward 

        works.  The vocabulary of mercy in the Bible is rich, and no one word in 

        the original languages can be said to have only one possibility of transla-

        tion.  Besides the words listed, the King James Version also translated he-

        sed as mercy; the New Revised Standard Version translates it as “stead-

        fast love.”

                   It has often been pointed out that one Hebrew word for “mercy,” de-

        rives from the stem rakham, meaning “womb,” its original meaning was 

        brotherly or motherly feeling.   Thus Yahweh’s mercy has been defined in 

        terms of such familial love; in Isaiah 54, Yahweh is husband, who wel-

        comes his sinful wife back to him with overflowing yearning and love and 

        forgiveness.  

                   But, it is a mistake to define Yahweh’s mercy only in terms of such 

        familial affection.  God’s mercy in the Old Testament (OT) represents his 

        continual regard for the covenant which he has established with his chosen

        people.  Not once is God’s mercy granted to those outside the covenant re-

        lationship, and it is never described in the OT apart from some outward act

        by Yahweh within history.  It is a loving act of Yahweh by which he faithfully 

        maintains his covenant relationship.

                   Thus God’s mercy could be manifested in many different ways:   in 

        forgiveness; in God’s deliverance of his chosen; in the fulfillment of his pro-

        mise; in God’s gathering of God’s exiled people; in God’s provision for them

        in the wilderness.   Whatever the specific act, it was outward proof of the 

        fact that Yahweh continued to love Israel, to provide for her, & protect her.

        Yahweh’s mercy was Yahweh’s fulfillment of covenant obligations not out of

        duty but out of love.

                  Israel therefore could appeal to Yahweh’s mercy for help in any situa-

        tion, because she had a guarantee of God’s faithfulness.  Unless God had

        first chosen Israel, Israel had no reason to expect anything from God. Mer-

        cy became part of the hope at the end of this age.  There are some passa-

        ges in the OT in which God’s mercy seems to consist merely in a conside-

        ration for the conditions and needs of humans. 

                    The mercy of humans in the OT consists often in a consideration for

        the condition and needs of other human beings;   usually the absence of 

        such mercy is noted.  Beyond such manifestations of humanity, or lack of 

        them, there is a structure of communal relationship within the OT which 

        governs the limits and demands of mercy.  Within the family circle, mercy 

        was not only expected it was a duty.   Where mercy was lacking, the famili-

        al ties were gone.  Neighbor and friend were deserving of help and consi-

        deration.  Children, the aged, the poor, the fatherless, the widows had spe-

        cial claim to mercy.  Human mercy in the OT, like God’s, is understood in 

        the context of a relationship. 

   

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                   In the gospels, those who are sick or suffering appeal to Jesus for 

        mercy, so his mercy is understood first in this sense.  When describing 

        Jesus’ reaction to such need, the New Testament (NT) uses the Greek     

        verb splagchnizomai.  The Greek poets regarded the bowels as the seat 

        of violent passions, but the Hebrews regarded them as the center of the 

        tenderer affections, especially of kindness.  

                   The bowels were equivalent to our heart as the seat of compassion.

        Such feeling in Jesus always gave rise to an outward act of healing.  

        Jesus willed people with all their sins and shortcomings, to be whole.  

        His compassion led him to grant people such wholeness.  In the Letter to

        the Hebrews the mercy of Jesus Christ is thought of as his forgiveness.  

        In the latter passages, Christ’s mercy consists of the gift of eternal life to

        true Christians at the time of his return to judgment.

                   The OT understanding of God’s mercy is very often carried over 

        in the NT.   Paul’s Romans 9 reflects Hebraic background and certainly 

        the OT understanding of mercy.  God’s chosen people Israel had become 

        the church, but God’s loving faithfulness to them remained the same.  As 

        in the OT, God’s mercy could be manifested in many ways, in the gift of 

        childbirth, in healing, and in forgiveness and a new life.  Primarily, God’s

        mercy was made manifest in his gift of salvation through Jesus Christ.  In 

        Christ, God’s covenant with his own was given its final, loving, and per-

        fect confirmation.

                   Human mercy in the NT is used generally to designate a considera-

        tion for other human beings, manifested in acts of aid and relief.  In the 

        Gospel of Matthew, there is also the thought of the compassion and mercy

        which one member of the covenant community owes to another; as God 

        loves them they are to love one another.

MERCY SEAT  (כפרת (kap po ret), covering for the ark of the covenant)  

        A slab of specially refined gold on top of the Priestly Writer’s ark of the 

        testimony, 2½  by 1½ cubits (1.2 by .7 meters). It was not the ark’s lid or 

        covering, but the support of the two cherubim above it.  It was sprinkled 

        with blood on the Day of Atonement.

MERED (מﬧﬢ, rebellion, defection)  A Judahite with 2 wives, one the daugh-

        ter of “Pharaoh,” one a Jewess.

MEREMOTH (מﬧמות, deceit, fraud)    1. A priest who returned with Zerubbabel

        from the Exile (Nehemiah 12).

                   2.  A priest of the time of Ezra and Nehemiah, whose family was at  

        first unable to prove its priestly lineage.   They were later recognized and 

        allowed to participate in the receipt of the temple vessels (Ezra 8).  

                  3.  Son of Bani; a layman in the list of those whom Ezra required to 

        give up their foreign wives (Ezra 10). 

MERES (מרס) One of the “7 princes of Persia and Media” who ranked next

        after King Ahasuerus in authority within the kingdom.

MERIBAH  (מריבה, contention, strife)  The name of 2 different stations of the

        Israelites in the wilderness.  In Numbers 20 and Psalm 106, the expression

        refers to the rebellious attitude of the people toward Yahweh.  According 

        to Deuteronomy 33, the faithfulness of the tribe of Levi was tested by 

        Yahweh at Massah-Meribah.  In all of these, the reference is to the waters

        from the rock struck by Moses.  The problem of the exact locality in the 

        above two narratives is difficult to resolve.

MERIBBAAL (מריבעל, contender against Baal)  The original name of Mephi-

        bosheth.  After the struggle with the Baal cult in the 800s B.C., It would 

        seem that Meribaal (“man/hero of Baal”) was changed into Meribbaal 

        (“opponent of Baal”)  It is one of 3 names whose ending was changed 

        from “baal” to “bosheth.”

MER-NE-PTAH.  A pharaoh of the 19^th Dynasty (1224-1214 B.C.).  Mer-ne-ptah 

        is often taken to be the Pharaoh of the Exodus.  There is no specific Egyp-

        tian evidence in support of the tradition.  Mer-ne-ptah had to defend his 

        northwestern frontier against an invasion of Libyans, Achaeans, and 

        others.

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MERODACH  (מרודך)  The name of the god of Babylon, cited in apposition to 

        his title Bel in Jeremiah 50.

MERODACH-BALADAN (מרדך בלאדן)  Ruler of the Chaldean tribe Bit-Yakin

        in the marshlands of the river delta on the Persian Gulf, and twice king of 

        Babylon (721-710 and 704 B.C.).  Merodach-baladan appears first in the 

        inscription of Tiglath-pileser III as king of the Sea Country.  Under Sargon

        II, Merodach-baladan succeeded in making himself king of Babylon.  

        When Sargon met the Elamite army at Der, Merodach-baladan convenient-

        ly came too late for the battle.  Even when the Assyrian king succeeded in 

        taking Babylon and making himself king, he was unable to oust Merodach-

        baladan from Bit-Yakin. 

                   He appears again under Sennacherib, when he ousted Marduk-za-

        kirsumi.  Through his new Arab allies, he tried to incite Assyrian vassals 

        in the West to rebellion, including Judah’s King Hezekiah.  This time Mero-

        dach-baladan’s reign in Babylonia was very short, because Sennacherib 

        immediately took Babylon, from which Merodach-baladan retreated into 

        his homeland.   After a short return to Bit-Yakin, he had to take refuge in 

        Elam once more; his throne in Babylon was occupied by Sennacherib’s 

        son Ashurnadinshumi.   

                   The tenacious struggle of this chieftain against Assyrian influence 

        must inspire admiration.  In spite of his misfortunes, he kept returning from

        exile to fight not only the Assyrian kings but also the large cities of Babylo-

        nia, which had no sympathy for the proud tribal lords. The Chaldean refu-

        gees continued to foment rebellions in southern Babylonia.  Sennacherib 

        attacked and destroyed these coastal cities.   Merodach-baladan’s son Na-

        bushumishkun was taken prisoner by Sennacherib in the Battle of Halule.

MEROM, WATERS OF  ( מרוםמי (may mer om), waters of height)  A wadi in

        Upper Galilee, where Joshua defeated a coalition of Canaanites.  From the

        Middle Ages to recent times the Waters of Merom were generally identi-

        fied with Lake Huleh, but the marshy terrain does not match the terrain im-

        plicit in Joshua’s military action.  Merom’s most probable site is the village

        of Meiron, situated 6.4 km west northwest of Safed, on the east-west route 

        through Upper Galilee.  This route is important because it made this region 

        accessible.

                   Meiron was occupied in the Late Bronze (1600-1200 B.C.), early 

        Iron (1200-900), Hellenistic-Roman (300 B.C.-323 A.D.), and beyond.

        Since the Conquest took place at the end of Late Bronze, this site fits the 

        requirements of the Joshua narrative.  In the vicinity of the village are 

        many rock-cut tombs, where according to tradition a number of well-

        known rabbis of the 1st and 2nd centuries A.D., are buried.

                   Below Merion and along the southern foot of the mountain is a val-

        ley known as Wadi Meiron, which runs eastward and then turns southward.

        Changing course to the southeast, the wadi emerges from the mountains, 

        crosses the plain south of Chinnereth, and empties into the Sea of Gali- 

        lee.  The upper reaches of this wadi, with its rugged hills and wadies, was

        well suited to the way the Israelites fought and won at the Waters of Me- 

        rom.  Merom first appears in historical records in the Karnak list of towns 

        captured by Thutmose III in the 1400s B.C.   Merom is also included 

        among the towns Ramses II claimed to have destroyed.

MERONOTHITE  ( מרנתי)  A title given to Jehdeiah and Jadon from Meronoth,

        near Gibeah.

MEROZ  (מרוז, cedar)  A town condemned in the Song of Deborah, because of

        the failure of its inhabitants to participate in the battle against Sisera.  The

        exact location of the town is unknown, but Meroz was probably located in

        or near the Valley Jezreel.

MESHA  (מישא, wealth) 1.  A Benjaminite in Moab (I Chronicle 8).  2.  One 

        of the limits of the territory of the Joktanites.  It is apparently the same as 

        the Massa of the Ishmaelite group.   The Assyrian records mention a dis-

        trict called Mash, in the region of Jebel Shamar, in the northern part of 

        Arabia.

MESHA, KING OF MOAB  (מישא, deliverance)  A Moabite ruler of the 800s

        B.C., who rebelled against Israel.  In II Kings 3 he is called a naqad, or 

        owner of a breed of sheep.  During the reign of Omri, Moab was under 

        Israelite control, and apparently paid an enormous annual tribute to the 

        Israelite king.  Mesha rebelled against the overlordship of Israel after the 

        death of Omri’s son and successor, Ahab.  The Moabite Stone (See sepa- 

        rate entry) claims that the revolt took place in the middle of the reign of 

        Omri’s “son” forty years after Omri had begun his oppression.  The 2 

        dates may be reconciled if we take “son” to mean “grandson.” 

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                   Mesha began his revolt by seizing the towns of Ataroth, Nebo, and

        Jahaz.   He then erected the fortress towns of Medeba, Beth-diblathen, 

        and Baal-meon.  Joram, king of Israel, sought the aid of Jehoshaphat, 

        king of Judah.  The allies, together with Judah’s tributary kingdom Edom, 

        invaded Moab from the south.   A counterattack by the Moabites was bea-

        ten off, and the allies besieged Kir-hareseth.  The Moabite king sacrificed

        his eldest son to Chemosh, and the Israelites retreated in fear.

                   Mesha also describes himself as a constructor of cities and the 

        builder of a highway, thus implying prosperity.  But archaeological explo-

        ration indicates that during this period Moabite culture suffered a decline.  

        Probably Moab was unable to recover from material destruction wrought 

        by the allied invasion.

MESHACH.  See Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego.

MESHECH (משך, acquisition, scattering)  A people and country in Asia Minor;

        the name occurs among the sons of Japheth.  The association with Tubal 

        is most frequent.   The combined evidence fits the identification of Me-

        shach as the Mushki of Assyrian sources.  The Mushki first appear around

        1100 B.C. in Assyrian texts of Tiglath-pileser I, who defeated five of their 

        kings in the land of Kutmuhi east of the Euphrates.  The most extensive 

        historical references to Mushki belong to the time of Sargon (722-705 

        B.C.) and King Mita of Mushki.  

                   In 715 Sargon took three cities which Mita had conquered. The As-

        syrians then consolidated their border against Mushki by the building of 3

        fortresses.  In 709 the Assyrian governor of Que made a successful raid 

        against Mita and the land Mushki.  The relations of Mita to King Rusa of 

        Uratu were most friendly.  Both kings were allies of Ambaris of Tabal 

        against Sargon. 

                   The name Mita occurs in a Hittite text of the late 1200s B.C. as that

        of a disloyal vassal in the Armenian highlands.  On the other hand, the 

        Mita of Mushki in the 700s is undoubtedly to be identified with Midas of 

        the Greek tradition, which sees him as a Phrygian king.  The difference in 

        names between the Greeks of western Asia Minor and the Hittites of eas-

        tern Asia Minor seems to be due to the mixed nature of population under 

        Midas’ rule, with the Phrygians in the West and the Mushki in the East.  

        Both ethnic elements must have been strongly represented in the kingdom 

        of Mita.

MESHELEMIAH (משלמיה, whom the Lord repays)  A Levite, son of Kore; gate-

        keeper in the sanctuary. 

MESHEZABEL  (משיזבאל, whom God delivers)    1. Ancestor of one of those

        who helped repair the wall of Jerusalem under Nehemiah (Nehemiah 3)    

        2.  One of the “chiefs of the people” signatory to the covenant of Ezra (Ne-

        hemiah 10).      3.  A man of Judah; father of a certain Pethahiah (Nehe-

        miah 11)

MESHILLEMOTH  (משלמות, retributions)    1.  A priest, son of Immer (Nehe-

        miah 11).   The identification is made on the basis of the genealogies

        and evidence from the Hebrew Masoretic Text.      2.  An Ephraimite who 

        apparently was from a leading family of the tribe  (II Chronicles 28).

MESHOBAB  (משובב, restored)  A Simeonite, a prince, who with his tribal

        compatriots found prosperity in a now uncertain region of Judah 

        (I Chronicles 4).

MESHULLAM  (םמשל, rewarded)    1.  Shaphan’s grandfather (II Kings 22).

        2.  One of Zerubbabel’s sons (I Chronicles 3).      3.  A Gadite who dwelt in 

        Bashan (I Chronicle 5).      4.  Elpaal’s son (I Chronicles 8).      5. Sallu’s fa-

        ther (I Chronicle 9).      6.  Shephatiah’s son (I Chronicles 9).      7. A mem-

        ber of an important family of priests; Zadok’s son, and Hilkiah’s father 

        (I Chronicles 9.  See Zadok the Priest).      8.  Another priest of the Zado-

        kite family (I Chronicles 9).      9. A Kohathite, an overseer of temple re-

        pairs made during the reign of King Josiah.

                   10.  In Ezra 8, the name given to one of the “leading men” whom 

        Ezra sent to procure a Levite to join the company of exiles returning to Je-

        rusalem.   It is reported that he opposed the course of action laid out by 

        Ezra,   and was loath to give up his foreign wife.      11. Son of Berechiah,

        and one of those who helped repair the Old Gate of Jerusalem (Nehemiah 

        3).   12. Son of Besodeiah, and one of those who helped repair the Old 

        Gate of Jerusalem (Nehemiah 3).     13.  One of those who stood at Ezra’s 

        right hand during the ceremony of the reading of the Law before the people

        in the 7th month of the year (Nehemiah 8). 

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                  14.  A priest who set his seal to the covenant made between the peo-

        ple and God after the return from the Exile (Neh. 10).      15.  A chief of the

        people, signatory to the covenant made between the people and God after 

        the return from the Exile (Nehemiah 10).      16.  Head of a priestly house in

        high priest Joiakim’s time (Neh. 12).      17.  Head of another priestly house

        in high priest Joiakim’s time (Neh. 12).      18.  A gatekeeper who guarded 

        the storehouses of the gates in the days of Joiakim (Neh. 12).      19.  One 

        of those who participated in the procession which was held during the dedi-

        cation of Jerusalem’s rebuilt wall (Nehemiah 12).

MESHULLEMETH (משולמת, rewarded) The wife of Manasseh, Judah’s 

        king; mother of Amon (II Kings 21).

MESOPOTAMIA ( נהרים (ארם (ar am nah hah ray eem), from the root mea-

        ning “high,” Syria of the 2 rivers)  Strictly speaking, the land between 

        the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. Politically and culturally, the borders of Me-

        sopotamia varied in the long course of the land’s history, stretching east 

        into Elam, north into what is now Turkish territory, and northwest into Ca-

        naan and Egypt.   The extent and length of time it exerted an influence 

        made Mesopotamia the most influential common source of both Hebrew 

        and Greek civilizations.  

                   The cultural pioneers of Mesopotamia were Sumerians.   Sumer 

        lacked mineral resources, and yet Sumerian civilization excelled, from the 

        start, in the arts of metallurgy and stonework.   Accordingly, foreign trade 

        was fostered at quite distant points to secure raw material and exchange 

        processed goods. The Mesopotamian contribution was a major part of the 

        legacy that the Hebrews inherited upon settling in Canaan. The Hebrews 

        transcended this heritage in many ways, while falling short in others.

                   The Hebrews were linked repeatedly with Mesopotamia through-

        out their history.  The patriarchs hailed from the Haran sector of Paddan-

        aram.  In the time of the judges a Mesopotamian king subjugated Israel.  

        Mesopotamian chariots and horses fought against David.  Assyrians depor-

        ted many of the Israelites and Judeans to various parts of Mesopotamia; 

        and Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon continued the process.  The Exile shifted

        the center of gravity in Jewish life to Babylonia, which there produced the

        Babylonian Talmud.   There were residents of Mesopotamia at Jerusalem 

        on the day of Pentecost.

MESSENGER (מלאך ( mah leh ‘awk), angel; aggeloV  (ag geh los), angel; 

       apostoloV (ah pos to los))   One who is sent with a message.   He may 

        carry messages of private or public interest.   He may be part of the royal 

        messenger service of ancient kingdoms. The Hebrew word may be used 

        for a prophet sent by God with a message to God’s people, or for a priest. 

        Such a one will announce the advent of the Day of the Lord; the anger of 

        a king is said to be a  messenger of death.   In the majority of Old Testa-

        ment passages this word is used for “angel,” the heavenly messenger from

        God to humans.

                   In the New Testament, aggelos is the messenger or angel of God, 

        but he may be an envoy sent by another man to prepare the way.  Also in 

        the New Testament apostolos is the delegate, envoy, or ambassador, the 

        word is so used of the prophets and the apostles. 

MESSIAH, JEWISH (משיח, anointed; MessiaV)  In the biblical final expecta-

        tion, the designation of the God-appointed king of the end of time; literal-

        ly, the “anointed one.”

                   "Anointed of Yahweh"—In the Old Testament (OT), Israel’s ru-

        ling king was generally called the “anointed of Yahweh.”   If the name has

        been transferred to the ideal future king, then this hope for the end of this 

        age will exhibit connections with the OT conception of a king.   In the his-

        tory of the OT expectation of the future, the messianic hope does not play 

        a dominant role, even in those areas where it is verified at all.  In spite of 

        the connections between the messianic expectation and the OT or ancient 

        Near Eastern ideology of a king, one shouldn't apply the concepts “messi-

        anic” and “messianism” to the blessings which are expected from the pre-

        sent king, but should reserve them for the expectations of a future king 

        who will come at the end of this age.

                   The expression “the anointed one” was by no means applied only to

        the figure of the king of the last days.  The messiah occurs 39 times in the 

        OT.  It designates primarily and in most cases the king of Israel or Judah.  

        The basic form of the title “the Lord’s anointed” appears in varied ways, 

        according to the context.  These expressions point to the intimate connec-

        tion between Yahweh and the king.  

                   Although in Lamentations 4, the anointed one is once extravagantly

        called the “breath of our nostrils” nevertheless, one cannot discern in any 

        of the passages mentioned a specifically messianic meaning of the title.  In

        Isaiah 45, Yahweh addresses Cyrus as “his anointed,” a special title of 

        honor, fashioned to express the lofty position of God’s chosen instrument.  

        It is found in Qumran literature, and in the New Testament only in John 1 

        and 4.

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                   Origin and Nature of the Messiah Expectation—As a single and  

        subordinate line within OT thoughts about the end of this age, the Messiah

        has no real counterpart in the ancient Near East.   Its source must, there-

        fore, be sought within the OT faith.  Many Messiah concepts are also to be

        found in the intellectual world of the Babylonians, the Egyptians, and other

        cultures.   But they lack any projection toward history’s final goal.   The 

        Messiah expectation is linked with the well-developed world of ideas which

        surrounded the Davidic kingship.   The Messiah expectation is always di-

        rectly related to the expected full revelation of Yahweh.

                   The Israelite kingship did not attain religious significance, because 

        it was established at a comparatively late date.   However, kept under con-

        stant criticism by the belief in Yahweh, this institution also won a place for 

        itself in religion and became the foundation for the Messiah belief.   Da-

        vid’s kingdom obtained religious authority by the Nathan prophecy.  In it 

        David’s dynasty was promised eternal existence, and the son-father rela-

        tionship was promised between it and Yahweh.  Taking the place of the my-

        thological authority found in Egypt or Mesopotamia, is the view of the Da-

        vidic kingdom as Yahweh’s new pledge of redemption.

                   The covenant with David was gradually adjusted into a fulfillment 

        of the hope for the end of this age.   Various forms and phrases which 

        served to glorify the king, were taken over from the world surrounding Is-

        rael.   The actual deification of the king was eliminated by the belief in 

        Yahweh.   Especially in the royal Psalms (2, 18, 20, 21, 45, 72, 101, 110, 

        and 132) extravagant statements are heaped upon the king.   He is Yah-

        weh’s adopted son.  This kingly ideology in the royal psalms, with its pro-

        totypes and parallels in the ancient Orient, must by no means be interpre-

        ted yet as messianic.   As soon as the expectations which were cherished

        in relation to the empirical king were transferred to a king of the end-time,

        it was from this complex of ideas that the belief in a Messiah was formally

        nurtured.  

                   In the Messiah expectation of Isaiah and Micah occur features which

        cannot be traced back directly to the kingly ideal.   The unifying element 

        among these scattered traces has been presumed to be the mystical fi-

        gure of original man or the king of paradise.   It is, therefore, not easy to 

        decide whether we may infer from this the existence of an expectation of  

        a savior.   The idea of the original man and king of paradise may well have 

        enriched the expectations of a Davidic Messiah by all kinds of features.

                   In the end-time images of the OT the coming of Yahweh to complete

        dominion through judgment and salvation is the central content.  What is 

        the relation of this content to the Messiah’s coming?   What is said of Yah-

        weh in Zechariah 2 is applied to the Messiah-king in Zechariah 9.  At first 

        the waiting for the special figure of an ultimate king seems to have no pro-

        per place alongside the hope for Yahweh’s unlimited dominion.

                 We must understand clearly that in OT expectations of the future the

        Messiah always plays only a subordinate role.  In the OT the effecting of 

        the change is not really the task of the Messiah.  He is Yahweh’s represen-

        tative and instrument.  As in the figure of the Angel of Yahweh, so we may

        also recognize in the Messiah the dynamic will of the OT God to reveal 

        God’s self.

                 The Messianic Expectation in the OT—In connection with several 

        passages there is controversy as to whether the text has a messianic signi-

        ficance or not.  In Jacob’s blessing of Judah (Genesis 49), the supremacy 

        of the tribe of Judah seems to be taken for granted, and the coming of a 

        shiloh to lead the people is promised.   Unfortunately, the decisive word 

        cannot be interpreted with certainty, so that this ancient messianic promise,

        which probably still dates from the 900s B.C., remains quite unclear.  Pro-

        bably also from the time of David is the second Yahwist prophecy of Ba-

        laam in Numbers 24.  Since this is probably not a genuine prophecy, but 

        an imitation oracle in honor of David, the passage is not to be regarded as

        messianic.  

                   For a discussion of the Immanuel prophecy in Isaiah 7, see the Im-

        manuel entry.  Isaiah, in the political crisis of his age, predicts for the faith-

        less King Ahaz the Messiah’s birth as punishment upon Ahaz and as a 

        symbol of salvation for the faithful remnant.   In Isaiah 9, the “Christmas 

        promise” dates from 732 to 722 B.C.   The birth or begetting that is men-

        tioned is to be regarded as the king’s adoption by Yahweh.

                   The title of king is appropriately avoided, because of the opposition

        between the Messiah and the empiric kingship.  The Messiah is related to 

        the house of David as the Remnant.   The new type of messianic ruler is 

        distinguished by the fact that the spirit of Yahweh will abide in him as a 

        permanent force.   The relationship of the messianic king to Yahweh is de-

        termined by being concerned about the will of God and the fear of Yahweh;

        for his subjects the Messiah is the just judge, who helps the poor and hum-

        ble.  The description of the ruler is followed by that of his realm; it is a para-

        dise-like realm of peace in which animals get along well with one another 

        and humans commit no evil.

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                 The expectation of a Messiah in Micah presents strong affinities with 

        that of Isaiah.  On the one hand, he is a descendant of David, but consti-

        tutes a new beginning from David’s kinsmen the Ephrathites.  On the other

        hand,the one “who is to be the ruler in Israel,” is also one “whose origin is
   from old, from ancient days.”  With his mysterious birth the present dis-

        tress will come to an end.  This need not refer to the return of the exiled, 

        but may refer to the restoration of the kingdom of David. 

                   In Jeremiah’s picture of the future the Messiah is not prominent.  

        The representative of David’s line is contrasted by the “righteous Branch”

        of Isaiah, and by the title “Yahweh is justice.”  All supernatural wondrous 

        features are lacking in the kingly ideal.  The national political hopes have 

        become very modest.  And as in Jeremiah, the Messiah image in Ezekiel is

        rather faint.   

                   Yahweh, after Yahweh has brought about change and has brought 

        all the people back to Palestine, will appoint his shepherd, his servant 

        David, over them.  The Messiah’s reign does not extend beyond Israel, 

        aside from the fact that the peoples “shall know that I, the lord their God 

        am with them.   The Messiah is only one gift of the time of salvation, 

        among others.  The statement “David my servant shall be their prince for-

        ever,” should not be taken to mean an uninterrupted dynasty.

                 In the different style of the second part of Isaiah, we find no expecta-

        tion of a Messiah. Yahweh himself is the king at the time of salvation, but

        at the same time there are various instruments which God uses to achieve 

        his plan of salvation.  In this part of Isaiah, the historic person of Cyrus 

        becomes part of the divine mission.  Yahweh even addresses him as “his 

        anointed.”  Nevertheless, he is not a messianic king of the end of days.  He

        is merely the politico-military forerunner of salvation in the service of Yah-

        weh.   Even the Suffering Servant of God can't be regarded as a messianic 

        king.   He, like the figure of the Son of Man, was brought into synthesis 

        with the figure of the Messiah only in New Testament times.

                   Toward the end of the year 520 B.C., Haggai announced to governor

        Zerubbabel that Yahweh would bring about a great revolution in the imme-

        diate future, and that he, as the descendant of David, will be the messianic 

        ruler of the last days.  Here then, the Messiah is no longer awaited, but 

        only his enthronement.   And in Zechariah 6, the prophet was to crown Ze-

        rubbabel.  The title “Branch” has already become a messianic name of 

        honor.  

                   When the fulfillment of the promise did not materialize, the wording

        was changed so that the high priest Joshua was to receive the crown as a 

        sign that Messiah would come.  In Zechariah 9, the Messiah is pictured as 

        a humble king of peace, riding humbly on an ass, instead of a horse.  Here 

        his world-wide dominion is expressed the same way that it is in Psalm 72.  

        Other passages are also given messianic interpretation (Genesis 3; and 

        the bridegroom in the Song of Songs [Solomon]).   See also the Messiah, 

        Jewish entry in the OT Apocrypha/Influences Outside the Bible section of 

        the Appendix.

MESSIAH (TITLE FOR JESUS).  See Christ.

       

METALLURGY.  The metals known and used in ancient Palestine were gold,

        silver, copper, lead, tin and iron.  The art of working gold and copper goes

        back into remote antiquity; there are reasons for believing that gold was 

        the first metal to be utilized by humans.

                   The discovery that metallic copper can be produced by the process

        of heating malachite ore in a wood or charcoal fire was probably made ac-

        cidentally.  In Egypt, it is possible to trace a gradual evolution from the 

        simple to the complex in the forms of the copper objects produced.  In the

        area of present-day Turkey, Iraq, and Iran, the metallurgical art was known

        and practiced.  The inhabitants just east of the Sinai Peninsula probably 

        learned the arts of mining and metalworking from the Egyptians, who had 

        copper mines in the Sinai. 

                   Hebrew tradition associates the beginnings of metallurgy with a fi-

        gure called Tubal-Cain, the first worker in both copper and iron, when actu-

        ally the two processes were developed at widely different periods of time.  

        Most likely, we are faced with a telescoping of two different traditions, one

        of which traced the invention of copper-working to Cain, and another which

        traced the introduction of ironworking to Tubal.  It is highly likely that the 

        Kenites were engaged in the exploitation of the copper and iron deposits 

        of the Arabah.  It wasn't until after the Israelites came into contact with the 

        Kenites and Moses had taken a second wife, the daughter of Hobab the 

        Kenite, that Moses “made a bronze [copper] serpent, and set it on a pole.”

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                   It is very probable that a metal industry flourished at Feinan in the 

        Arabah as early as 2000 B.C.  The most intense activity was the Iron Age 

        itself (1200-900 B.C.), which is shown by the presence of a considerable

        number of mining and smelting camps.  The largest center was at Mene 

        ‘iyyeh, about 34 km from the head of the head of the Gulf, and Khirbet 

        en-Nahas was about 83 km farther north.  The ore was probably first bro-

        ken into small pieces, then placed in the smelting furnace on top of a bed

        of charcoal.  A few of the smelting furnaces are still standing.  There is no 

        evidence of the use of bellows to supply a forced draft.   The copper pro-

        duced in this way would be rather spongy and would require considerable 

        hammering. 

                 Excavation at Tell el-Kheleifeh at the southern end of the Wadi Ara-

        bah uncovered the largest copper smelter to be found in the ancient Near 

        East. It was built in the 900s B.C., so it seems reasonable to attribute it to 

        Solomon. The smelter was made up of 3 large rooms & 3 small ones. The 

        brick walls were 4 meters high, pierced by 2 rows of flues. The lower flues

        were designed to permit gases to pass from chamber to chamber. The up-

        per flues supplied a draft.   The smelter was oriented so that the strong 

        north wind which blows almost constantly down the Arabah would enter 

        the upper rows of flues.

                   The smelter stood in the middle of a fortified rectangle against 

        whose inner face was a line of rooms, probably workshops.   Copper ob-

        jects found included fishhooks, arrowheads, spear points, and brooches.  

        In the course of time the flues and air channels became choked with sand.

        The archaeological evidence indicates that the smelter continued to func-

        tion, down to the 400s B.C.  

                   The exact relationship of the Tell el-kheleifeh smelter to the smal-

        ler, contemporary smelters at Mene’iyyeh and Khirbet en-Nahas isn't cer-

        tain, but it seems probable that at the large smelter the copper was subjec-

        ted to further heating and refining.  In Palestine itself a number of small 

        smelting furnaces have been discovered in the course of excavation, some

        for copper and some for iron.  All these furnaces date from the Early Iron 

        Age.   Some used flues aligned to the prevailing winds, and some used 

        blowpipes or bellows.

                   The spectacle of smiths at work suggested various ideas to the pro-

        phets.   Ezekiel sees in the hot smelting furnaces the kind of treatment 

        which God will accord wicked Israel.  Isaiah uses the smelting process as 

        a figure of speech for the manner in which God will remove from Zion her

        base elements, while Jeremiah, on the other hand, conceives of God’s

        attempt to purge Israel of dross as futile.

METHEGH-AMMAH  (מתג האמה, bridle of the maid-servant)  A phrase of

        uncertain meaning in the first verse of II Samuel 8.   The King James Ver-

        sion and the New Revised Standard Version interpret it as the name of a 

        place of the Philistines taken by David.  The parallel in I Chronicles has 

        “Gath and its villages.”

METHUSELAH  (מתושלח, man of dart or man of [the god] Selah)  The Priestly 

        Writer’s name for the patriarch and descendant of Seth.   The Yahwist Wri-

        ter uses the name Methushael for a descendent of Cain.

METHUSHAEL (מתושאל, man of God)  The Yahwist Writer”s name for a patri-

        arch and descendent of Cain.  The Priestly Writer uses the name Methuse-

        lah for a patriarch and descendant of Seth.

MEUNIM, MEUNITES.  An Arab tribe centered about the town of Ma’an, 19 km 

        southeast of Petra.   Some of them launched a raid into Judah.   Jehosha-

        phat (873-849 B.C.) raised a force to counterattack in the wilderness east

        of Tekoa.   The reference to Mount Seir is to the direction from which they

        came.  The homeland of the Meunim lay to the east of the line of Edomite

        border fortresses protecting the eastern frontier.  The Meunim continued to

        be troublesome, as Uzziah (783-742) also had to subdue them.  During the

        century or so after Uzziah, it appears that some of the Meunim were assi-

        milated into the Judahite community; possibly they were prisoners of war 

        to begin with.

MEZAHAB  (מי זהב, waters [luster] of gold)  The father of Matred, and the 

        grandfather of Mehetabel, who was the wife of Hadar (Hadad) a king of

        Edom.

MEZOBAITE (מצבית)  The title given to Jaasiel of David’s army.

MEZUZAH  (מזוזה, doorpost)  Like the threshold, the doorposts were sacred 

        and were used for blood sprinkling, and for the attachment of passages of 

        scripture.   Finally, Mezuzah came to mean the container of such scrip-

        tures attached to the doorposts.  See also Threshold; Phylacteries.

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MIBHAR  (מבחר, choice, best)  Son of Hagri; included by the Chronicler 

        among the Mighty Men of David known as the “Thirty” (I Chronicles 11).

        In the parallel list of II Samuel 23, it is “Zobah, Bani the Gadite.”

MIBSAM  (מבשם, fragrance)  1.  A son of Ishmael, and hence the name of an

        Arabian group (Genesis 25).     2.   A descendant of Simeon, the father of 

        Mishma (I Chronicles 4).

MIBZAR   (מבצר, fortification)   An Edomite clan chief (Genesis 36; I Chro-

        nicles 1).

MICA  (מיכא, who is like El)  1.  A son of Mephibosheth, and grandson of Jona-

        than, son of Saul.    Mica no doubt received the same generosity from Da-

        vid that his father did.   He appears to have become the progenitor of a 

        well-known family in Israel.      2.  Asaphite, son of Zichri; the father of 

        Mattaniah, who was in charge of the songs of thanksgiving.   Mica’s de-

        scendants include Uzzi, who was the later overseer of the Levites in Jeru-

        salem, and Zechariah, a trumpeter in the thanksgiving processional for the

        rebuilt walls of Jerusalem (Nehemiah 12).      3.  One of the Levites who 

        set their seals to the covenant made in the time of Nehemiah.

MICAH  (מיכה, who is like the Lord)    1. The Ephraimite in the ancient Yah-

        wistic narrative of Judges 17-18.  According to the story, Micah’s mother 

        has made for him from two hundred pieces of silver a graven image and a

        molten image, to be set up as a shrine.  A young Levite from Bethlehem in

        Judah served Micah’s family as priest, but five Danites seeking a territory 

        for their tribe learned of the Levite’s presence.  They persuaded the Levite 

        to accompany them to Laish, where they ultimately established their home.

        They also took Micah’s ephod, teraphim, and graven image, the last item 

        becoming a shrine in the city of Dan.

                   2.  A descendant of Reuben (I Chronicles 5).      3. The son of Merib-

        baal (I Chronicles 8 and 9).      4.  A Levite who lived during the last days 

        of David (I Chronicles 23 and 24).     5.  The father of Abdon (II Chronicles

        34).  The same person is called Micaiah in the parallel passage II Kings 22.

 MICAH THE PROPHET  (מיכה, who is like the Lord)  A Judean (southern) pro-

        phet, contemporary of Isaiah (750-687 B.C.)  The Book of Micah is the 6th 

        in the collection of the Twelve.

                   According to the superscription, the prophet came from a town 

        named Moresheth, near the old Philistine town of Gath, about 10 km west

        of Beit Jibrin, a small village of the Shephelah or the low foothills of south-

        west Palestine halfway between Jerusalem and Gaza.   His background 

        helps to explain why Micah loved poor farmers and shepherds and felt that

        these humble country people were the backbone of the nation, and why he 

        observed international affairs in a way that a village dweller might view fo-

        reign invasion.   Micah received the “word of Yahweh” during Jotham’s 

        reign (750-735), Ahaz’s (735-715), and Hezekiah’s (715-687).   Micah’s ac-

        tivities began a long time before Samaria’s fall in 721 and continued for 

        many years after. 

                   Tekoa, where Amos had been reared, lay only 28 km east of More-

        sheth, so the influence of Amos upon Micah was probably great.  Micah of 

        the countryside was familiar with the cry for justice that was characteristic 

        of Amos.  According to Jeremiah 26, Micah had preached in Jerusalem so 

        forcibly that he, like Isaiah, had influenced Hezekiah and had led the king 

        to begin reforms.

                   It was to Samaria, the capital of the Kingdom of Israel, that Micah 

        turned early in his prophetic ministry.   The prophet was well aware that 

        Samaria couldn't long hold out against Syrian attack.  The capital city was 

        besieged and captured by Sargon in 721 B.C.   Its population of close to 

        30,000 people were deported, and captives from other Assyrian conquests 

        were brought in to replace them.

                   Micah took the occasion to appeal to his fellow Judeans, that they 

        might take a lesson from Samaria’s collapse.   Naked and barefoot like a 

        slave, he went at an impulse from Yahweh and lamented over the sins of 

        the northern kingdom and their corrupting influence pouring into Judah.  

        When at length the Assyrians withdrew from invading the Shephelah, Yah-

        weh lamented that Judah was not moved to repentance.   Suddenly came 

        a vision:   Yahweh’s people following their king in dignity and triumph, 

        with the Lord at their head.  With the official prophets of his time Micah 

        dealt sharply, for they gauged the quality of their revelation by what the 

        people paid them.   Micah prophesied their embarrassed silence, “for 

        there is no answer from God.”

 

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                   Micah has been criticizing those who belong to the same high cal-

        ling as that to which he belonged.  He didn't find the task of prophesying

        easy, and it touched him to the quick to see men who were in it for what 

        they could get out of it.   The word of God so lived in his own person that

        he could not stand to see about him in the office of prophet such people.  

        He was aware that Yahweh had laid his hand upon him.  Micah was con-

        stantly learning as he worked at the calling of prophecy.

                   Did Micah see Isaiah in Jerusalem?  It was clear to Micah that the 

        capital city of Jerusalem was in reality the chief source of licentious and 

        corrupt living.  It was most likely his first direct contact with the political 

        and spiritual leaders.  Civil official were criminal profiteers; priests so ma-

        nipulated the priestly oracle as to enrich themselves; and the prophets had

        become infected with a materialistic motivation.   Micah’s country back-

        ground made all the more clear to him the sense of responsibility that 

        should characterize these heads and rulers.  Boldly, the prophet predicted 

        the destruction of the capital and even the downfall of the temple.

                   Like the collection of Isaiah’s writings, the book which bears Mi-

        cah's  name appears to be a composite.  Chapters 1-3 contain threats of 

        doom; 4-5 contain promises; 6 and the first part of 7 contain threats of 

        doom; and the rest of 7 contains promises.   Contemporary scholars be-

        lieve that the genuine oracles of Micah are to found chiefly in the first 3 

        chapters of his book.  The oracles of messianic hope in chapters 4-5 open

        with the poem on universal peace.  It contains the apostrophe to Bethle-

        hem as the birthplace of the Messiah to come.  The date of one part of the

        collection is at least later than the Battle of Carchemish (605).

                   The last 2 chapters contains 4 independent poems.  The first 8 ver-

        ses of chapter 6 is a dramatic dialogue, of high literary quality, which rai-

        ses a central question in the religious life, and answers it.   The pictu-

        resque setting of the piece is that of a lawsuit between Yahweh, party of 

        the first part, and Judah, party of the second part.  Yahweh opens the de-

        bate, recalling how Yahweh has brought Israel out of Egypt, sending be-

        fore them great leaders.  Micah recalls that when the Moabite king Balak

        commanded Balaam to curse Israel, Balaam refused.  The prophet asks at

        last: When I come before Yahweh to bow myself before God on high, 

        what shall I bring? The prophet answered:

                        Yahweh has told you, O mortal what is good;

                             and what does Yahweh require of you

                         but to do justice, and to love kindness,

                              and to walk humbly with God?

                   The pathetic accent of the divine questioning contrasts sharply 

        with the tone which prevails in the rest of the book.  Reference to human

        sacrifices may point to the time of Manasseh.  Critical opinion concer-

        ning the date and authorship of this poem is divided, and several scholars

        ascribe it to Micah.  The last part of chapter 6 may originate from Micah,

        since it is directed against the leaders of a corrupt city.  Its language, how-

        ever, point to a later age.   The first 6 verses of chapter 7 are a dirge, possi-

        bly from Micah.   It is written in the first person, and it deplores the ab-

        sence of a single godly person in the land of Judah.   The last 14 verses of 

        this book is a song of trust in which the poet experiences his hope in the 

        God of his salvation.

MICAIAH (מיכיהו, who is like unto the Lord)    1.  The mother of Abijah, king of 

        Judah; daughter of Uriel of Gibeah (II Chronicles 13).    2.  A prince under

        the reign of Jehoshaphat of Judah.  He was sent by the king, together with

        other princes, into the cities of Judah to teach the law of the Lord (II Chro-

        nicles 17). 

                   3.  Son of Imlah; a prophet during the reign of Ahab of Israel.  Ahab

        planned an attack on the Syrians of Damascus.   400 prophets prophesied 

        favorably in regard to the king’s undertaking.  Micaiah, imitating the 400 

        prophets, repeated their favorable oracle, but the king was suspicious and 

        ordered him to speak the truth.

                   Then the prophet gave a prophecy of doom and announced that he 

        saw Israel’s defeated army as sheep without a shepherd.   He said he saw 

        the Lord upon his heavenly throne, asking the heavenly host who would 

        volunteer to entice Ahab to attack Ramoth-gilead.   One of the spirits of-

        fered himself to be a lying spirit in the mouth of the prophets.  Zedekiah, 

        one of the prophets, denounced Micaiah and smote him.  Micaiah was put

        in prison at king's command, but he still prophesied doom to Ahab, who 

        actually died in the battle.

                   This short episode is significant in 3 aspects. 1^st, the Lord is pic-

        tured as a heavenly king in the 800s B.C.  2^nd, the strict monistic outlook 

        of the primitive Yahwism regarded the Lord as the source of all good and 

        evil.  3^rd, the supernatural origin of prophecy in general is maintained. 

        There is a clear distinction between true and false prophets, and between 

        the inspiration by the “lying spirit” and by the “Spirit of the Lord.”

                  4.  The father of Achbor (II Kings 22; II Chronicles 34).      

                  5. Jeremiah’s contemporary, Gemariah’s son and Shapan’s grand-

        son.   After hearing Jeremiah’s words from Baruch, he reported them to 

        the princes.

                  6.  Great-great-grandfather of Zechariah, a priest in the time of 

        Nehemiah (Nehemiah 11 and 12).      7.  One of the priests in the time of

        Nehemiah.   He was in the group of priests who blew the trumpet in the 

        festal procession which dedicated the rebuilt walls of Jerusalem.

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MICHAEL  (מיכאל, who is like unto God)     1.  An Asherite, father of one of the

        men sent by Moses to spy out the Promised Land (Numbers 13).   2.  A 

        Gadite otherwise unknown to us (I Chronicles 5).      3.  Another Gadite

        (I Chronicles 5).      4.  One of Asaph’s forebears; a Levitical singer 

        (I Chronicles 6).      5.  One of the sons of Izrahiah of the tribe of Issa-

        char (I Chronicles 7).  6.  A Benjaminite (I Chronicles 8).      7. One of 

        the men from the Manasseh tribe who deserted to David at Ziklag 

        (I Chronicles 12); he became a commander in David’s army.

                   8.  The father of Omri of Issachar (I Chronicles 27).      9.  One 

        of the sons of King Jehoshaphat of Judah.  He was slain by his brother 

        Jehoram.      10.  The father of Zebadiah, one of those who went up 

        from Babylonia with Ezra in the reign of King Artaxerxes (Ezra 8).

                   11.   A celestial prince or archangel.  A product of the elaborate 

        system of heavenly beings that developed during the Greek influence 

        on Jewish history, Michael is mentioned only 3 times in the Old Testa-

        ment and twice in the New Testament.  He is mentioned frequently in 

        the Jewish and Christian writings outside of the Bible.  Michael is por-

        trayed as the patron angel of Israel.

                   Michael champions God’s people against the rival Persian angel

        in the book of Daniel and will lead the celestial hosts in the final battle

        against the forces of evil.  In later rabbinic literature, he is depicted as 

        the vindicator of Israel, the “general” or “chief captain” in God’s army.

        In Daniel 12 it is said that when Michael ultimately rises against the 

        wicked, “your people shall be delivered.”  This bred the notion that he 

        was also a recording angel, the custodian of wondrous scriptures.  Frag-

        ments of an Aramiac work beginning:  “Words of the book which 

        Michael rehearsed unto the angels,” have been recovered among the 

        Dead Sea scriptures.

                  Michael is one of the specially privileged “angels of the presence”

        who stand beside the throne of God.  Michael is usually associated with 

        Gabriel and Raphael.  He sometimes discharges functions elsewhere 

        attributed to Gabriel.

MICHAL (מיכל, who is like God)  The younger daughter of Saul.  Saul learned

        that she loved David and offered her to David, making the bride price a 

        hundred dead Philistines.  David successfully paid the price; won great

        popularity, married Michal, and aroused Saul’s jealousy.  When Saul 

        tried to kill David, Michal contrived his escape, and Saul gave her to 

        Paltiel son of Laish.  When David made his treaty with Abner, one of the

        terms of the agreement was that Michal should be returned to him.  

        When David brought the ark to Jerusalem he danced with the Canaanite 

        cult as part of the ceremony.   After Michal rebuked him, David retalia-

        ted by giving her “no child to the day of her death.”

MICHMASH (מכמש, treasure) A Benjaminite mountain city about 11km north-

        east of Jerusalem.  It was built on a hill about 600 meters above sea level,

        north of a pass leading from the Jordan Valley to the hills of Ephraim.

                   Michmash first appears in biblical history in connection with the

        description of the military struggles against the Philistines, where terrain 

        played an important factor in military strategy.  An army of 3,000 Israe-

        lites was split between Michmash and nearby Geba.  In this mountainous

        area, the terrain lessened the impact of the Philistine’s numerical superio-

        rity.  The record of the conflict which follows seems to be based upon a 

        combination of early and late sources.  The Philistines occupied Mich-

        mash; their numbers were probably greatly exaggerated in later accounts.

        The complete rout of the Philistines came when Jonathan, with his armor-

        bearer, succeeded in scaling a mountain and killing the sentries.

                 Isaiah, in a poem which envisages an attack on Jerusalem, pictures 

        the enemy storing his baggage at Michmash.  The usual interpretation is 

        that heavy equipment would be left at Michmash to make the force mo-

        bile enough to ascend the mountains to Jerusalem.  The occupation of the

        city by returning exiles is further attested in Nehemiah 11. 

                   See also the entry in the Old Testament Apocrypha/Influences Out-

        side the Bible section of the Appendix.

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MICHMETHATH (מכמתת) A place said to be near Shechem and on the bor-

        der of Ephraim and Manasseh.  Joshua 16 states that Michmethath is on 

        the northern boundary of Ephraim.  Chapter 17 states that Michmethath 

        is east of Shechem, which would not put it on the northern boundary of 

        Ephraim.  It is possible that the text has become confused, and that the 

        editors were uncertain as to the location of the place.

MICHRI (מכרי, [wedding] price for the Lord) A descendant of Benjamin; other-

        wise unknown to us (I Chron. 9).

MIDDIN (מדין, measures)  A village of Judah in the “wilderness” district, in the

        valley of Achor (Joshua 15).

MIDIAN (מדין, contention, strife) According to biblical tradition, Midian was one

        of Keturah’s sons, Abraham’s third wife; thus, the Midianites can claim 

        kinship with the Hebrews themselves.   Abraham is said to have sent 

        away Midian, among others, “eastward to the east country.”   The “land

        of Midian” appears after 1300 B.C. as a definite geographical entity in 

        northwestern Arabia on the east shore of the Gulf of Aqabah.   The terri-

        tory over which nomadic Midianites wandered, however, never seems to 

        have had clearly marked boundaries. 

                   Before the 1200s B.C. little is known of the Midianites.   In the story

        of Joseph, they are characterized as “traders” who sold Joseph to the Ish-

        maelites.   Many scholars consider the account to represent the skillful fu-

        sing of 2 traditions, one of which told of the “kidnapping” of Joseph by 

        Midianites, and one which told of the selling of Joseph to the Ishmaelite 

        caravan. 

                  Moses, prior to the Exodus, had fled to the “land of Midian,” where 

        he was befriended by Jethro, a priest of Midian.  Many scholars maintain 

        that the metal working Kenites were actually a clan of Midianites.  Archae-

        ological investigation has shown that in the Early Iron Age,   Midian was 

        much richer in copper ores than either Sinai or Edom.  Midian at this time 

        was occupied by semi-nomadic tribes linked by ties of commerce and in-

        dustry with Egypt and Canaan.  The Midianites among whom Moses lived 

        are also described as a pastoral people.   In addition, they were well ac-

        quainted with the trade routes leading from the south to the north. 

                   While Moses was still living in the land of Midian, he made a journey

        “to the west side of the wilderness.”  It is not specified that Mount Horeb 

        was located in the land of Midian, but some scholars point out that some of 

        the most ancient biblical traditions call for a site which more appropriately 

        fits the land of Midian than the more traditional Sinai Peninsula.

                  The “elders of Midian” near the end of the Exodus period became as-

        sociated with the Moabites in the venture to expel the Israelites.  Apparent-

        ly some Midianite clans had been permitted to live peacefully in Moab.  

        The king of Moab secured Midian’s co-operation in hiring the northern Sy-

        rian diviner, Balaam.   While the Israelites paused for a time in the Plains 

        of Moab, one of the Israelites married a Midianite woman.

                   The stories would seem to imply that the association of the Midia-

        nites and the Israelites had given rise to some hostility between the two 

        peoples, not only because of Israelite-Midianite intermarriage, but also 

        because of Israelites being seduced into Midianite pagan worship.  These 

        episodes led to a war of vindication, which God commanded Moses to car-

        ry out against Midian.   Moses was angry because the Israelites had kept 

        alive the women who had led them to practice idolatry.  Thus all Midianite 

        women except virgins were slain.

                  Around 1100 B.C. the first known camel nomads erupted into Pale-

        stine in the form of Midianite camel raids.  Surging forth from the Wadi 

        Sirhan to the Hauran, the initial impact of the Midianite invasion caused 

        consternation in western Palestine.   The Israelites sought refuge in the 

        hills, while the invaders penetrated as far as Gaza, pillaging both crops and

        cattle for a period of 7 years.  

                  The war with Midian in the days of Edom's King Hadad, who is said

        to have defeated Midian in the country of Moab, should be reckoned as a 

        part of this movement.  The Bible records nothing further after the 1000s 

        B.C. about Midianite history.  However, in the Assyrian Annals of Tiglath-

        pileser III, the Haiappu tribe is mentioned as bearing tribute, and they have

        been identified with biblical Ephah, the first-named son of Midian.

MIDRASH.   See entry in the Old Testament Apocrypha/Influences Outside the

        Bible section of the Appendix.

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MIDWIFE (מילדת (meh yal law dawth))  A woman who assists the delivery of

        a child.  The most extensive reference to women serving in this capacity is 

        found in the first of chapter of Exodus, where Shiphrah and Puah serve the 

        Hebrew women; they were ordered to destroy all male infants.  Because of 

        their refusal to do this, they are rewarded by the God of Israel with fami-

        lies.  Other possible references are in the story of Ruth, in which women 

        were present, and when the wife of Phinehas was about to give birth, 

        where the women attending her said “Fear not, for you have borne a son.”

MIGDAL-EL (מגדל־אל, tower of God)  A fortified town in the territory allotted

        to Naphtali.  The site is unknown, but it must have been located in Upper 

        Galilee.  

MIGDAL-GAD (מגדל־גד, tower of Gad)  A village of Judah in the Shephelah 

        district of Lachish; probably 8 km south of Beit Jibrin.

MIGDOL  (מגדול, tower, fortress)  A town or city in Lower Egypt mentioned in

        the Old Testament in three different contexts:  as a place on the route of the

        Exodus; as a residence of the Jews in Egypt; and as a place in northern 

        Egypt contrasted with Syene in the extreme south.  The name Migdol ap-

        pears in Egyptian as a common noun, and as a name for various military 

        stations on the northern Egyptian border.

                   The exact identification of the exodus sites in Egypt is difficult be-

        cause neither biblical nor contemporary Egyptian sources provide suffici-

        ent information.   The Exodus’ Migdol is clearly to be located in the eas-

        tern Delta.  Scholars have two places in mind for this Migdol, neither of 

        which can be proven beyond doubt.

MIGHTY MEN (גבורים (geb bo reem), warrior, hero, chief)  The designation

        accorded to proud, bold, and strong heroes.  It refers to foreigners, but is 

        also a technical term for the warriors of David.   The heroic exploits of 

        the “3 mighty men” of David and those of the “30” were preserved in 

        biblical records. 

MIGHTY WORKS.  See Signs and Wonders; Miracle.

MIGRON (מגרון, precipice) A town of Benjamin, where Saul sat under a pome-

        granate tree to observe the movements of the invading Philistines.  It is

        also mentioned in Isaiah’s account of the march of the Assyrian army upon

        Jerusalem.  The site has not been identified.

MIJAMIN (מימן, on the south of)  A name that has been found in Neo-Babylo-

        nian and Persian business documents and is therefore probably not to be 

        equated with Benjamin.    1.  A priest of David’s time, the supposed an-

        cestor of a postexilic priestly family (I Chronicles 24).      2.  A layman, 

        son of Parosh, who was among those required by Ezra to put away their 

        foreign wives (Ezra 10).      3.  A priest who “set his seal” to Ezra’s co-

        venant (Nehemiah 10).      4.  A priest who accompanied Zerubabbel in 

        the return from the Exile (Nehemiah 12).

MIKLOTH (ﬨמקלו, [plant] shoots)    1.  One of the descendants of the Benja-

        minite Jeiel, who resided at Gibeon, and the father of Shimeah.      

                2.  The chief officer who served under Dodai, the officer in charge

        of the Davidic militia for the second month.

MIKNEIAH (מקניה, Lord’s possession)  A Levite of 2^nd rank; a leader of sing-

        ing with lyres appointed by David.

MIKTAM (מכתם, golden poem) The heading of Psalms 16, and 56-60.  An-

        other translation besides the one already given could be a “psalm of 

        covering the sin, of expiation.”  See also Music.

MILALAI (מללי, eloquent) A musician taking part in the dedication of Nehemi-

        ah’s wall (Nehemiah 12).  

MILCAH  (מלכה, queen)  1. A daughter of Haran, Abram’s brother, who be-

        came the wife of Nahor.  Through her son Bethuel she was the grand-

        mother of Rebekah.      2.  One of the five daughters of Zelophehad 

        who through Moses received the family inheritance in western Manas-

        seh after the death of their father.  The names of the daughters seem 

        originally to have been the names of Canaanite towns, but the location 

        of Milcah is unknown. 

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MILCOM  (מלכים)  Hebrew distortion of the name of the national god of 

        Ammon.

MILDEW  (ירקון (yay raw kone), yellow, pale)  It is uncertain if plant blight is

        intended by this word.  It is always associated with the “withering” of crops,

        and is connected with the blowing of the hot, dry sirocco wind.

MILE  (milion (mil ee on))  The Roman mile, which was a little shorter than the 

        American mile at 1,618 yards.

MILETUS (milhtoV) A prominent Greek harbor city on Asia Minor’s western 

        coast.  Miletus, a city with a pre-Greek name, was presumably founded in

        prehistoric times to serve as a safe station for shipping.  Miletus had 4 har-

        bors, a location sheltered but favorable to commerce, and enough local 

        supplies to support many people.

                   The geological situation in the Latmian Gulf was subject to constant

        change because of the accumulation of silt by the Maeander.  Whereas an-

        ciently the gulf cut deep into the coast, the modern coastline has been 

        closed in front of an inland lake.  The harbors are filled in, and the ruins of

        Miletus are now 8 km from the coast.   In the days of Paul’s visit the port 

        was still active and prominent.

                   Miletus was first colonized by Cretans of the Minoan expansion peri-

        od, later by Mycenean Greeks and made into a fortified outpost in the 

        1300s B.C.  Although destroyed in disturbances around 1200 B.C., Miletus 

        was perhaps never abandoned by the Greeks but reinforced by Ionian im-

        migrants.  Its ships carried colonists to Egypt and the Black Sea’s far 

        shores.  Some rivalry with the Lydian kingdom arose, without affecting Mi-

        letus’s sea power.  The city came to a favorable understanding with the 

        Persians after 546 B.C.  Miletus’ artistic and intellectual importance was 

        her famous philosophers.  The city was among the first to mint coins. 

                  See also entry in the Old Testament Apocrypha/Influences Outside 

        the Bible section of the Appendix.

                  The first century and the 100s A.D. saw great architectural activities.

        When Paul visited Miletus, it was the natural stopping place en route from  

        Lesbos, Chios, Samos to the south, and near enough for the Ephesus 

        church elders to be called in for consultation.  In the first century of the 

        Christian Era, Miletus had not yet reached the climax of its architectural 

        embellishment.  Even in this period, the city was remarkable for the layout

        of its public buildings.  It had 2 markets, containing a council house with a

        lavish exterior and a colonnaded court standing between them.  In Roman 

        times a triple gateway was added to the southern market.

MILK.  Milk products were among the staples of the diet in biblical times, but

        fresh milk was not commonly drunk.  Goat’s milk was the most widely 

        used; we also read of “milk from the flock” and human milk.  The most 

        common use of the term “milk” is figurative: for abundance; for white-

        ness of teeth; for Israel’s vindication; for the excellent qualities of a loved

        one; for the rudiments of teaching; and for pure Christian doctrine.  The 

        common phrase “a land flowing with milk and honey” may have a mytho-

        logical origin, but more probably it refers to the fertility of the land.  The 

        prohibition against boiling a kid in its mother’s milk is most probably 

        directed against Canaanite sacrificial practices.

MILL, MILLSTONE  ( רחים (ray kha eem); פלח רכב (peh lakh  reh keb ), up-

        per millstone; פלח תחתם ( peh lakh  ta kheh teem), lower millstone)

        A machine consisting of 2 stones used for grinding grain into flour.  One 

        type consists of one stone more or less rectangular in shape and usually 

        slightly concave.  The upper or grinding stone is flat on one side and ellip-

        tical on the other, the length being about equal to the width of the lower 

        stone and the width just enough to be easily grasped by the hands.  The 

        grinding was done by pushing the upper, smaller stone back and forth on 

        the larger stone.

                   The second type of hand mill consists of two round stones.  The 

        lower stone is convex on the top, while the upper stone is concave to fit 

        snugly over the lower stone.  Some have a hole in the center of the top 

        stone, through which the grain was poured.  The stones of both types of 

        hand mills were often made of black basalt.  Both these types of mills 

        were used in the home and were operated by the women of the house-

        hold; this was their daily chore, unless there were maidservants or slaves 

        available.  Large community mills in which a heavy stone wheel was 

        rolled around on a large round lower stone by an animal also existed in 

        ancient times.

                   Since the hand mill was absolutely necessary, the law prohibited 

        the taking of either the mill as a whole or the upper millstone in pledge 

        for a debt.  The upper millstone was an effective weapon, as in the case 

        of the death of Abimelech.  The sound of grinding was no doubt a very 

        familiar one in the cities.  When it was no longer heard, this was a sign 

        of complete desolation.

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MILLENIUM.  Strictly speaking, Jesus Christ’s thousand-year reign with certain 

        resurrected martyrs, and with them alone, taking place between this pre-

        sent, evil age under Satan and the future, righteous eternal age under God,

        described in 3 verses of Revelation 20.  First, the passage limits the enjoy-

        ment of the millennium to a special group, namely those who died as mar-

        tyrs and no one else.  Second, the author was convinced that the millen-

        nium would be established very soon after his prediction, perhaps 3 ½ 

        years, roughly 100-1100 A.D.  

                   See also entry in the Old Testament Apocrypha/Influences Outside 

        the Bible section of the Appendix.

                   In Christian sources we can find no allusion to a messianic period 

        outside of Revelation.  Paul in the Corinthians reference states briefly that

        with Christ’s second coming there will be a resurrection, and that he will 

        rule until all the cosmic enemies, including death, are abolished.  The As-

        cension of Isaiah in its present form is a Christian work from about the

        time of Revelation.

                   Justin Martyr said that many Christians accepted the doctrine of 

        millennial hope, but he frankly admitted that many pious Christians rejec-

        ted it.  Lactantius stated that the heavenly bodies will give more light du-

        ring the interim reign of Christ; the earth will produce food of its own ac-

        cord; the mountains will drip with honey.  Origen attached new meaning 

        to the millennium:   Christ has a spiritual kingdom in which he instructs 

        all those capable of receiving him.  Augustine also attached new meaning 

        to Revelation.  There is to be no actual second advent of Christ, for his co-

        ming occurs continually in the church and its members.   The 1,000 year 

        reign of Christ on earth actually began with Jesus.

                 The millennial hope never died out in the Western church.  Mormons,

        Seventh Day Adventists, and Jehovah’s Witnesses are among the more 

        modern popular movements that stress some form of millennialism.  With 

        all the interpretations of this doctrine, understanding the original meaning 

        for the author of Revelation, the probable background for his views, and 

        the early history of the doctrine is of great importance.

MILLET (דחן (doe khan))  The smallest of grass seeds cultivated for food.  

        A poor quality of bread is made from its flour, though it is more commonly

        mixed with other grains.

MILLO  (מלא, fill)    1.  The name of an element of fortification of the city of 

        David, which David undertook after the conquest of Jerusalem.   The con-

        struction of the Millo is formally attributed to Solomon.  The location of 

        the Millo to the northwest of the city of David, while plausible, remains 

        unproved.      2.   The proper name of a quarter in the city of Shechem.

MILLSTONE.  See Mill, Millstone.

MINCING  (טפף (taw pap))  A nice or elegant manner of walking, acting, or 

        speaking.  The word is used in Isaiah 3 of the haughty daughters of Zion.

MIND (לבב (labe), heart; נפש (neh fesh), soul; רוח (roo akh); breath, 

        spirit; nouV (noos), intellect)   A word used in the English Bible to trans-

        late many Hebrew and Greek words of various meanings, none of which

        has precisely the same meaning as the English word.   The translator’s 

        chief difficulty is that the Hebraic mind had no real interest in psycho-

        logy and no conception of “the mind” as the special seat or organ of re-

        flective thinking.  Separating feeling, thinking, planning, and willing in-

        to distinct functions would not occur to them.

                   While the vocabulary of the New Testament (NT) seems more 

        precise than the Old Testament (OT), and includes technical words, it is 

        clear that these words are used loosely by the NT writers.  One word 

        commonly translated “mind” in the English OT is lab or heart, which 

        does not refer to a person’s emotional life, but rather to the inmost cen-

        ter of their personality.   The word is translated “mind” in passages 

        where the emphasis seems to be especially on the heart as the seat of 

        recollection.  

                   The translators of the Primary Greek OT in a number of places 

        have translated lab by nous (mind).  Since the word nephesh (“soul”) 

        and ruach (“spirit”) can similarly be used to designate the deepest part

        of people, they also are occasionally translated “mind” in the English 

        versions.  In all these passages where the English word “mind” appears,

        it is primarily thinking related to action, either recalled from the past or

        planned for the future.

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                The Greek word nous, which in the NT occurs almost exclusively in

        the writings of Paul and in the Pastoral letters, is used by Paul in a less 

        technical sense.  For Paul the “mind” is the thinking, reasoning, reflective,

        and purposing aspect of consciousness.  It is, therefore, potentially a de-

        signation for one’s higher nature as opposed to the flesh, but it is also ca-

        pable of being corrupted.  

                   Although the mind in Pauline thought is the means whereby people 

        apprehend God’s truth, it is never confused with Spirit.  Indeed, in I Corin-

        thians 14 “the Mind” is set up in sharp contrast to “the spirit.”  According 

        to one scholar’s analysis, “the mind” in Pauline thought means the whole 

        self, conceived as the subject of its thinking, feeling, and judging.  3 other 

        words are also translated “mind”:   dianoia (thinking); phronema (frame of 

        thought); and psyche (soul).

MINEANS.  A Semitic people of southern Arabia; possibly to identified with the

        Meunim.  The Minean kingdom, known as Ma‘in, was in the northeast cor-

        ner of modern Yemen, and included a number of cities.  The ancient capital

        of Ma’in was Qarnaw, modern Ma’in.  Recent discoveries have shown that 

        Ma’in was founded by the Hadhramaut kings around 400 B.C.  Ma’in lost

        its independence through conquest by Qataban.

MINIAMIN.    1.  One of those who assisted Kore the Levite in supervising the

        gathering of the freewill offerings in King Hezekiah’s reign (II Chronicles 

        31).      2.  A priestly house in the time of Joaikim the high priest  (Nehemi-

        ah 12).      3. One of the trumpet players participating in the dedication of 

        Nehemiah’s wall (Nehemiah 12).

MINING (נקבה (neh kah bah), boring; חצבם (kho tseh bay eem), hewers)  

        The absence of any special word for “mine” or “mining” in Hebrew indi-

        cates that mining was not an occupation with which the Hebrews were 

        very familiar.   However, the author of Job is familiar with mining opera-

        tions to the extent that he knows that they are carried on in out-of-the-

        way places.

                 Copper ore occurs on both sides of the Wadi Arabah.  Some veins in

        the sandstone are quite rich, similar deposits existed in the Peninsula of 

        Sinai, from which Egypt obtained her supply of copper.  The exploitation 

        of the deposits in the Arabah began later.  During the Iron Age (1200-600 

        B.C.) there was an intensive exploitation of the copper deposits of the Ara-

        bah.  It is highly likely that this exploitation was carried on by Kenites.  It

        was doubtless from the Kenites that the Hebrews learned the arts of mi-

        ning and smelting.  The rivalry for control of the mineral resources of the 

        Arabah, and the need for access to the Gulf of Aqabah, was probably the 

        chief cause of the wars between Judah and Edom.

                   The most important mining center in the Arabah’s northern part was

        at Khirbet en-Nahas, about 26.4 km south of the Dead Sea.   In the sou-

        thern Arabah, the largest mining center was at Mene’iyyeh, which lies on

        the Arabah’s western side, 35.2 km from the head of Gulf.   The use of 

        slave labor  is suggested by walled enclosures at the 2 main camps men-

        tioned above.  These enclosures date from the Hebrew monarchy period. 

                   The presence of a certain amount of iron slag at the mining and 

        smelting camps along the Arabah is evidence that iron ore was discovered 

        and mined there during the Iron Age.  Smelting furnaces discovered in nor-

        thern Transjordan (Gilead) are believed to be of medieval date, but the iron 

        mine not far away may have been worked in ancient times.  The fact that a 

        Gileadite of the time of David bore the name Barzillai also suggests an ear-

        ly connection of Gilead with ironworking.  The assertion of Deuteronomy 

        that the Promised Land was one “whose stones are iron, and out of whose 

        hills you can dig copper,” points to a belief that the working of iron, as well

        as copper, went back to the Mosaic period.

MINISTER IN THE OLD TESTAMENT (משרת (meh shaw rate))  Joshua is

        Moses’ minister and deputy and as such serves Moses as his personal at-

        tendant and as his deputy in religious duty.   Elisha personally attended 

        Elijah, and Joseph attended the Pharaoh.  These examples show the per-

        sonal and intimate character of the service.  In Psalm 103, the heavenly 

        company of the angels are named his ministers.  Isaiah 61 shows an inte-

        resting parallelism between “priests” and “ministers.”

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                   This prophetic parallelism of “priest” and “minister” is grounded in

        the fact that the word “minister” often occurs in reference to specifically re-

        ligious duties and in connection with the priests.  Ezekiel, too, permits Le-

        vites to be ministers in Yahweh’s sanctuary, but the real ministers are the 

        priests.  In Joel priests are described as the ministers of the altar, and mini-

        sters of God.  A comparison of the word in its many forms, and in their ge-

        neral and cultic usages shows that the ministry described is both personal 

        and devoted.  The emphasis on personal attendance must be carried over 

        to both the close personal attendance of the priests and the devoted mini-

        stry of attendants in the general sense.

MINISTRY, CHRISTIAN.  Few subjects in the history of the church have re-

        ceived such disputed interpretations as the origin and development of the 

        ministry.  This is due to the meager and contradictory notices on the sub-

        ject in the New Testament, to the conflicting theological views respecting

        the nature of the church, and to the necessity or expediency of certain 

        forms of ministry.  

                   Involved in these disputes have been questions concerning the se-

        veral sources of ministerial authority, the manner of selection and ordina-

        tion of ministers, and the transmission of ministerial authority to succee-

        ding generations of the church’s ongoing life and mission.  These issues 

        are not entirely modern in origin.   Many are reflected in the apostolic 

        writings.   For example, Paul was often engaged in defense of his own 

        apostolic commission and authority.

                   The Ministry of Jesus and the Apostles—Any consideration of 

        the origin of the Christian ministry must begin with Jesus, since all mini-

        stries of the Christian churches claim to be ministries of Christ.  2 cha-

        racteristics of Jesus’ teaching are noteworthy: the sending and the serving

        of the apostles.  Jesus “sent” forth the 12 and the 70, with the pronounce-

        ment that whoever received them also received him who “sent” them.  Un-

        derlying all these sayings is the meaning that those who are thus sent are 

        especially chosen by the divine will for their mission.  Jesus also empha-

        sized the quality of “serving” as a fundamental characteristic of such mini-

        sters; only for service is there promise of great reward.

                  A more difficult problem concerns the question whether Jesus’ out-

        look had to do with the end of the age, or whether he foresaw an interim 

        period, between his ascension and his second advent.  There is no indica-

        tion that Jesus repudiated the hierarchies of the Sanhedrin, temple, and 

        synagogue.  He was himself subject to their ministrations, and counseled

        his followers to be likewise.  It is true that Jesus selected from his follo-

        wers for the 12, which was symbolic of the 12 tribes.  To them he gave 

        particular training, a definite commission, and a promise that they should  

        sit enthroned with him in the coming judgment. 

                   If these passages stood alone in the gospel narratives, the case 

        would be clear that the 12 were chosen by Jesus for a ministry during his 

        earthly career.  But the resurrection narratives contain a definite commis-

        sion by the risen Lord to the 11 witnesses to carry the gospel to the whole 

        world.  The resurrection commission was granted to wider number of “apo-

        stles.”  Jesus’ intention for a ministry of the 12 to the community of disci-

        ples after the close of his earthly life finds support in the promise to Peter 

        of a peculiar leadership role.

                  The evidence of Acts 1-6 presents the 12 being in charge of both the 

        missionary propaganda of the church and the liturgical, teaching, and disci-

        plinary activities.  At an early stage, it became advisable for the 12 to dele-

        gate pastoral responsibility for the Greek widows to a group of 7 disciples.  

        The 12 ordained them with prayer and the laying on of hands, thus crea-

        ting the order of deacons.  Yet Acts’ author doesn't use the noun  “deacon”

        to designate them.  In his brief accounts of their ministry, however, he por-

        trays them as preachers, similar to the 12.  The selection and ordination 

        of the 7 may well have been a singular act in the early church’s life.   It 

        may well have served as a model of later differentiations of ordained mini-

        stries in the church.

                   Following upon the narrative of the 7, the author of Acts abandons 

        the use of the term “12” and thence forward employs the word “Apostle.”  

        governing group is named “apostles and elders,” over whom presides 

        James, rather than Peter; this switch in leadership isn't explained any 

        where.  Luke-Acts employs the terms “12” and “apostles” as synonyms.

        It is obvious from Paul’s own vigorous defense of his claim to apostle,

        that the word “apostle” denotes a wider circle of leaders than the 12.

                  The ministry of James, apostles, and elders in the mother church of 

        Jerusalem was unique of its kind, and presented a Christian counterpart to

        the Jewish Sanhedrin.  Besides immediate oversight of the spiritual and 

        material needs of the local congregation, this group exercised a general 

        supervision over the churches of Judea.  Certain of its more orthodox 

        Jewish members conceived of it as a final authority for the whole church.

        Some of its emissaries attempted to control the behavior of Jewish Chris-

        tians in churches far afield, but any such interference was stoutly resisted 

        by Paul.

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                  The leadership of James over the Jerusalem church was due not 

        merely to his apostolic dignity, but in large measure to a dynastic princi-

        ple.  As the nearest male relative of the Messiah, he was his personal re-

        presentative on earth until Christ’s return.  After James’ death, the leader-

        ship of the church in Jerusalem continued to be held by members of Jesus’

        family.  To describe James as the first “bishop” is inaccurate, since he ap-

        pears in all fundamental decisions to have acted only in counsel with other

        apostles and elders. 

                   The apostles were traveling missionaries and founders of chur-

        ches.  We know very little of the labors of most of the apostles, other than

        Paul.  Their authority in the churches that they founded was absolute in 

        all questions of worship, discipline, and doctrine.  In larger communities,

        where several apostles carried on missionary activity, there were bound to

        be conflicts of loyalty and party divisions.  

                  Origin of Elders and Other Charismatic Ministries—The New 

        Testament does not record the original institution of elders in the church; 

        but it is obvious that the office was modeled upon the Jewish eldership.  It

        was a customary procedure of the apostles to provide their churches with 

        responsible leaders during their absence.  The elders would be chosen 

        from the wiser and more experienced members of the community, but not 

        necessarily “old” men.   

                   It is even more difficult to determine the exact ministerial duties of 

        the elders.  The word “elder” has been taken by some critics to be more of 

        a description of status and dignity than of a specific ministerial order.  The

        Christian elders must have had at least some responsibilities of a judicial 

        nature.  Such responsibility would imply some kind of pastoral ministry.

                   Highly regarded in the life of the primitive church were the mini-

        stries of prophets and teachers, who were not ordained.  Their ministry res-

        ted on recognition in the church of their immediately inspired character.  

        Both prophets and teachers were well known in Judaism.  The prominence 

        of prophets and prophesying in the early church stemmed in large degree 

        from the fervor of religious experience and the Holy Spirit, whose out-pou-

        ring on the believers was a sign of the dawn of the age to come.

                  Prophets and teachers weren't permanently attached to one commu-

        nity, but wandered as led by the Spirit; prophetic inspiration was not con-

        fined to men.  In Acts 13 a primitive tradition informs us that for a time the

        church in Antioch was actually led by a group of prophets and teachers 

        who presided over the worship and directed its missionary ventures.  The 

        Didache book of discipline portrays Christian congregations without a set-

        tled ministry and dependent upon wandering prophets and teachers.  Even 

        as late as the latter part of the 100s there is strong evidence of the prophe-

        tic leadership’s strength in the church’s primitive tradition.

                   The earliest Christians highly esteemed “spiritual gifts” quite apart 

        from any ecclesiastical rank or office.  Paul has little to say about official 

        ministries, but he is mindful of the obedience and love owed to those who 

        lead his congregations, and he appreciated a strong hand of discipline and 

        a sound voice of instruction.  But to Paul, ministry in the church was prima-

        rily a function or a grace, not an office; even apostleship was to Paul a 

        “spiritual gift.”  These gifts were not severally exclusive; a Christian might 

        possess one or many.  Paul would have placed the gifts of grace above all 

        others.

                   The difficulties inherent in reliance upon charismatic ministries were 

        always apparent.  They had to be tested, both as to their genuineness and  

        as to their value.  Paul acknowledged that the uninhibited exercise of cha-

        risms was more conducive to disorder than to edification.  The directions 

        given in the Didache for testing them were an attempt to give an objective 

        criteria of judgment.  On the other hand, the esteem of charisms had las-

        ting effect upon the church’s concept of an ordained ministry.  Whatever the

        office to which a person was called, it was demanded that evidence be pre-

        sent that he had received a gift appropriate to his order.

                   The Monarchical Episcopate—The most difficult problem in the 

        history of Christian ministry has to do with the transition from the varied 

        ministries of the apostolic age to the 3-fold orders of bishops, elders, and

        deacons.  The principal questions are: the relation of bishops to elders; the

        emergence of a single, monarchical bishop for each Christian community; 

        and the means of selection and ordination of these orders. 

                 There is no question about the derivation of the order of elders from

        the Jewish presbyterate, but “bishop” and “deacon” are not found in Je-

        wish sources.  It has frequently been suggested that Jewish prototypes of 

        these ministries existed in the 2 officials of the synagogue who exercised 

        similar functions.  The ruler of a synagogue presided in the synagogue 

        worship and served as general arbiter of synagogue affairs like a Christian

        bishop.   The hazzan performed lesser duties, such as caretaker and 

        schoolteacher.   Since the earliest Christian churches were initially ga-

        thered from synagogue congregations, it is reasonable that an organiza-

        tion developed in the church comparable to that found in Jewish congre-

        gations.

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                   The terms “bishop” and “deacons,” denoting officers of pagan cults

        and associations, are frequently found in Greek inscriptions.  But it is diffi-

        cult to determine their precise meaning.  The title epislopos occurs with 

        the meaning of “overseer”; the word “deacon” is much less frequent.  The  

        terms were known and flexible enough to allow for varying connotations 

        depending upon the specific community that employed them. 

                   In no place does Paul mention elders, but he singles out “bishops 

        and deacons” for particular greeting.  Paul also uses the word translated 

        “deacon” in other letters in a more general sense of “servant.”  The term 

        episkopoi is used of the Ephesian elders in Paul’s speech to them, as re-

        corded in Acts 20.  The speeches of Acts are probably compositions of the 

        author, and therefore represent the outlook of his generation.  There is little 

        agreement among scholars as to the interpretation of this passage. 

                   Similar ambiguities surround other scattered notices in the later New

        Testament books, such as I Peter 5 and James 5.  The evidence of the 

        Pastoral Letters would be more helpful if these letters could be dated and 

        placed in time with greater security.  While the Pastorals provide reference 

        to the 3 ministerial orders, they don't clarify with precision their respective 

        relationship or means of transmission.

                   The Didache book of discipline is likewise a document of disputed 

        date.  The author advises the churches to appoint “bishops and deacons 

        worthy of the Lord”; no mention is made of elders.  The qualifications for 

        bishops and deacons in the Didache are much the same as those in the 

        Pastoral letters.  (See also the entry in the New Testament Apocrypha sec-

        tion of the Appendix).

                  There are two theories for explaining the significance of “bishops” 

        and “elders.”  One is that they are synonymous terms, but that the episco- 

        pate arose out of the presbyterate by “elevation” to a higher order.  The 

        other theory maintains an original distinction of the two orders of bishop 

        and elder; bishops may have been numbered among the presbyterate, but 

        not all elders were bishops.  There may have been one or more bishops in 

        the earliest communities.  

                  In any event, the office of bishop was always distinct.  The elders en-

        joyed a position of honor, not of ministerial office.  With the rise of the mo-

        narchical episcopate, elders had delegated to them by the bishops certain 

        ministerial functions.  Neither of these theories solves the obscure problem 

        of ordination and succession.   The apostles may very well have ordained 

        the first bishops and elders.  It is even possible that some bishops were 

        placed by popular acclamation.

                   The concept of regular succession to office and ministry was not un-

        known to Judaism, but the Jews did not make a doctrine out succession.  

        The early Christians of apostolic times could hardly have had much interest

        in the matter, in view of the hope of the early return of the Lord.  It was the 

        threat of heresy and schism that brought concern for an identifiable succes-

        sion of leaders.

                  The first explicit description of a ministerial succession from the apo-

        stles occurs in the Letter of Clement, but the same idea is implicit in the

        Pastoral letters.  Crystallization of the doctrine of apostolic succession 

        came into clear focus only in the later half of the 100s.  Gnostics claimed a 

        teaching handed down to them in secret succession.  Orthodox leaders, 

        countered this claim by an appeal to the open teaching of the true, aposto-

        lic faith.  

                   Bishops who succeeded one another in uninterrupted line became

        important.  They were concerned with identifying a series of ministers who 

        had guarded the apostolic doctrine.  Later, church leaders and theologians 

        drew up lists of orthodox prophets to counter the claims of the new pro-

        phets.  When the bishops themselves were in disagreement, the doctrine of

        apostolic succession faded and a greater concern developed with respect 

        to the agents and the manner of ordination. 

MINNI (מני, allotted (?))  A people and a state, to be located in the area directly

        south of Lake Urmia in Babylon.  The kingdom of Minni, together with Ara-

        rat and Ashkenaz is summoned by Yahweh to destroy the wicked Babylon.

        The Minni are probably connected with the Manneans mentioned in Assy-

        rian sources.  The cuneiform Mannaya corresponds to the Old Testament 

        Minni.  The Manneans’ written history begins with the reign of the Assyrian 

        king Shalmaneser III (858-824 B.C.) and continues until the end of the As-

        syrian Empire.

MINNITH  (מנית, allotted (?))  One of the “20 cities involved in Jephthah’s mili-

        tary conquest of the Ammonites.  The precise location is unknown; it lies 

        west and south of Rabbah-Ammon (modern Amman). 

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MINT (hduosmon (heh doo os mon))  A sweet-smelling herb, the leaves and

        stems of which contain an aromatic oil which is used in medicine and food-

        seasoning.  Mint is referred to in Matthew 23, as part of Jesus’ criticism of 

        the Pharisees, who required the tithing even of mint, but had “negated the 

        weightier matter of the law.”   Several species of mint are found growing 

        wild in the Holy Land.  Mint apparently was included with those herbs used

        as Bitter Herbs with the Pascal lamb.

MINUSCULE.  The small cursive writing developed out of the earlier uncial 

        style (large, separated, letters) characteristic of virtually all Greek and Latin

        manuscripts of the Bible after the 800s A.D.

MIPHKAD GATE.  See Muster Gate.

MIRACLE (מופת (mo faith), sign, wonder; את (‘oath), sign; פלא (pa la), 

        wonderful sign; dunariV (die nah mees), sign of power; shmeion (seh 

        may ee on), sign, wonder, proof; ergon (er gon), deed, work; teraV (teh 

        ras), signal act, wonder)   A natural or supernatural event, in which one 

        sees God’s action or revelation.  Miracles in the Bible gives rise to many 

        questions: How are we to interpret them?  Are miracles an essential ele-

        ment of Christian faith?  What should be one’s attitude toward the possi-

        bility of miracles in the world today? 

                   List of Topics—1. Terminology;     2. Defining Miracle:            Spinoza; Hume; Tertullian;      3. Defining Miracle:  St.

         Augustine; Thomas Aquinas      4. Mutations; Human Traits;

         5. The Bible and the Laws of Nature;      6. Miracles: Biblical 

        Assumptions;     7. Miracles: Nature; Human Life;

        8. Miracles: Prayer; National History; and Healing;

        9. Miracles: Literary Forms; Signs; and Faith

                   1. Terminology—Translators of the Bible have had difficulty in ren-

        dering the various words which carry the idea of “miracle.”  The King 

        James Version (KJV) uses the word “miracle” no fewer than 37 times: 5 

        times in the Old Testament (OT) and 32 times in the New Testament (NT).

        The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) uses it 6 times in the OT, but 

        only 7 times in the NT.  Some versions do not use the word at all.

                   Other words are now used instead: “sign, wonder, work, mighty

        work, and portent.”  Behind this variety of words lie the different ideas in 

        the original languages, but also the uncertainties of translators as to the 

        nature of miracle.  This tendency to avoid the word “miracle” has been un-

        fortunate.  Most of the other terms used are in themselves neutral, with no 

        overtone of the supernatural.  The only word in English which clearly does 

        carry such an overtone is “miracle.”

                   Among the Hebrew words listed above, ‘oth and mophath are so 

        closely related to each other that we shouldn't attempt to differentiate them

        sharply.  In fact, they are bound so closely that they have become a stan-

        dard idiom ototh vamophath, “signs and wonders,” which is carried over 

        into the Greek phrase semeia kai terata, and is also used by Greek writers 

        outside of the Bible.

                   Besides the Greek phrase already mentioned, the NT often uses dy-

        namis, “power.”   In the last third of Mark 5, the author states that when 

        Jesus performed healing he felt power go out from him.   Matthew uses er-

        gon with the specialized meaning of “miracle.”   The Gospel of John’s wri-

        ter limited himself almost exclusively to one word for “miracle,” namely se-

        meion, “sign” or “proof”; a similar preference for sehmeion is evident also 

        in Revelation. 

                  Each of these NT words has an element of uniqueness in its mea-    

        ning.  Semeion points to something beyond itself; teras indicates awe or 

        terror; dynamis refers to the power of the act; ergon refers to the act itself.  

        They are used as substitutes for miracle, with dynamis designating the act

        on the basis of the power which causes it, and ergon designating the act 

        on the basis of the action which produces it. 

                   2. Defining Miracle:  Spinoza; Hume; Tertullian—A clear, useful 

        definition of what a miracle can be begins from a consciously limited point

        of view, and it is only as valid as its presuppositions.  If one starts with an 

        assumption that miracles are impossible, one has already excluded the 

        basis on which a definition could be created.  

                   The argument over the possibility of miracles has consumed much 

        time and energy.  The primary question in religion is God.  If one believes

        in God as the universe’s creator and controller, most of the difficulties of 

        miracle have thereby been dealt with.  On the other hand, one’s view of 

        miracle may be related to one’s concept of what we call the natural world.

        The belief that the world is controlled by universal laws is not unusual.  If 

        "miracle" were defined as a violation of natural law under this world view, 

        it would be impossible for a miracle to happen.

                   The theologian Benedict Spinoza long ago voiced the doubt of mira-

        cles felt by the modern world, while still believing in God.   Although he 

        formally denied the possibility of miracles, the universe itself was essential-

        ly a miracle for him.  Spinoza never ceased to wonder at the marvelous 

        things of the natural world.  His reverence for the processes revealed by 

        science took the place of awe with respect to miracles.  His view shows 

        how it is possible for one to retain a feeling of deep reverence although he 

        doubts the occurrence of some the miraculous events related in the Bible.

                  

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                   David Hume is as well known as Spinoza for his skepticism as re-

        gards miracles.  He also assumes that “miracle is a violation of the laws of 

        nature.”  He shows that rational investigation of evidence as to whether an 

        event has occurred can at best lead to no more than probability.  This line 

        of reasoning shows that the laws of nature can be no more than a statis-

        tical probability.  Its demonstration of the limitations of reason shows that 

        faith must not depend too much on reason for its validity.  He succeeds in 

        showing that miracles cannot be validated by historical research and that 

        Christian theology cannot be based solely on reason.  

                  Another approach retains the concept of a natural law which we do 

        not know.  This approach limits miracle only in those aspects of the uni-

        verse which we don’t yet understand.  When science has finally mastered 

        those areas of existence, all miracles will become as intelligible as other     

        events which we have understood all along, which would leave it without 

        significance for religion; there is probably much truth in this position.  

        There has been a human tendency to associate things which they couldn’t 

        understand with the supernatural.

                   The early church father Tertullian stated that:  “It is to be believed 

        absolutely because it is absurd;  . . . it is certain, because it is impossible.  

        When Tertullian said this, it was in reference to the birth, death, and resur-

        rection of God’s Son, which appear incomprehensible to reason.  Tertul-

        lian realizes that rational thought is based on presuppositions which in 

        themselves are not achieved by reason.  In this sense his statement is pro-

        foundly true, and worth keeping in mind when one attempts to define 

        miracle.

                   3. Defining Miracle:  St. Augustine; Thomas Aquinas— In his

        City of God, St. Augustine says that miracles aren't contrary to nature, for

        nature is nothing but God’s will with reference to any particular object.  

        Nature must include whatever God does in the universe.  If one assumes 

        the existence of God as creator, there is no necessary problem connected 

        with miracles.  Augustine questions the rigid and inexorable character of 

        the order and laws of nature.  Scientists are not so confident today of the 

        absoluteness of nature’s laws.  They readily admit that the laws impose 

        abstract principles upon phenomena which are not as orderly as logical 

        inference from the laws might appear to indicate.

                   Thomas Aquinas says that a miracle is something occurring out-

        side nature’s order.  Since we don’t know all created nature’s order, in 

        our ignorance we may call something a miracle which really is not.  

        Angels, demons, and magicians can’t work miracles, since all beings 

        are creatures, within the order of nature, and can’t operate outside it.  

        Rene Descartes said: The Lord performed 3 miracles: creation; freedom

        of will; and the Incarnation.”  In other words, the essence of miracle is 

        God.  These are essential items of Christian faith.

                   4. Mutations; Human Traits—The advance of biological science

        has revealed the phenomenon of mutation.  The biologists can't explain 

        the origin of the new form of life.  Here, it seems, one can see the actual 

        process of creation at work.  Another great achievement is the explora-

        tion of the atom.  We are amazed by the discovery that the electrical par-

        ticles which constitute the nucleus of the atom do not conform to any 

        known pattern of order and regularity.  Both the mutation of biological 

        forms and the strange operation within the atom, each in its own mysteri- 

        ous way, somehow are included in the order of nature; nature itself is a 

        miracle.

                   Not the least of miracles is the freedom of human will and intelli-

        gence.  That intelligence enables humans to analyze and create things for

        their own use which do not exist in nature.  These things are examples of

        the freedom of human will, by means of which they go outside the order 

        of nature.  It is God who gives humans intelligence and freedom of will, 

        making it possible for humans to have a moral character.  This is what 

        the Bible means when it says that humans are made in the image of God. 

                   5. The Bible and the Laws of Nature—It is an error to think of 

        miracles only in terms of violations of the order of nature or as happe-

        nings outside the order of nature.  One has no right to say that God could

        not operate contrary to the usual processes of nature.  But to limit mira-

        cles to such cases is to overlook the mysterious character of the natural 

        processes.  God created the universe with all its forms, and is continuous-

        ly in the process of creation.  Therefore the doctrine of creation involves 

        also the concept of divine action.  The two are inseparable.  Divine action 

        must not be thought of merely as something outside of nature.  It applies 

        to the processes themselves.

                   The main difficulty that modern persons feel as they consider the 

    `   question of miracle arises from the way in which miracle is defined.  

        The definition that is almost universally held is that a miracle is a viola-

        tion of the laws of nature.  We must acknowledge that there is a general-

        ly observed order of nature according to which the usual phenomena of 

        the world occurs.  So it is difficult for a person who is familiar with this 

        order to accept any event which is reported in violation of it.

  

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                   6. Miracles:  Biblical Assumptions—The Bible people never 

        faced a problem with miracle.  The problem as we know it since biblical  

        times is a problem for persons trained in philosophy and science.  The 

        people of the Bible, however, were not familiar with science or philoso-

        phy in our sense of the words.  The essential element of philosophy and 

        science is their humanistic character.  They are secular enterprises which 

        began with the ancient Greeks.  As humans learn about their world, they 

        interpret and generalize their finds in terms of principles or laws which 

        are universal.

                   Biblical thought assumes that knowledge comes from God rather 

        than reason; true wisdom is fellowship with God.  Life’s meaning and 

        purpose are found in God.  Toward the OT period’s end they began to pro-

        duce what we know as wisdom literature:  Job, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, 

        and the apocryphal Wisdom of Solomon.   Biblical culture never deve-

        loped nature’s universal laws.  In the OT proper there is no word “nature.”

        There are numerous casual references to nature in the NT.  Yet even here 

        we do not encounter the concept of “nature” on the grand scale.  Nowhere

        would one find universal laws of nature which are autonomous and inexo-

        rable.  The few stray affinities with Greek thought do not represent the bib-

        lical writers’ general thinking.

                   Even the most powerful minds among biblical people never faced 

        the problem of miracle.  Their thought moved on the basis of a different     

        presupposition.   Our scientific tradition first arrived at a concept of the 

        world which is secular in nature.  It ignored the biblical presupposition, 

        which is that the ground of all being is God.  Philosophers have made the 

        problem more difficult than it actually is by using an unbiblical approach 

        to a biblical question.  The problem becomes less difficult if we state it in 

        terms of the stories found in biblical records and on the basis of presuppo-

        sitions of biblical faith.

                   7. Miracles:  Nature; Human Life—First, let us examine the mira-

        culous quality of existence itself.   First of all is the world’s creation as sum-

        marized by the Priestly Writer of Genesis 1 and in a slightly different ver-

        sion by the Yahwistic writer of Genesis 2 and 3.  If we are to appreciate 

        these stories, we need to think of ourselves as being back in a time when 

        science was not used to explain the world, which was basically not so diffe-

        rent from our own.  

                   The Hebrews’ ancestors looked out upon that world with amaze-

        ment, awe and reverence.   They were conscious of something in their 

        hearts which they believed was the revelation of God.  Those early people 

        saw the world about them as a continuing miracle (e.g. Psalm 8; Amos 4; 

        Isaiah 40).  Special acts of God are seen in eclipses, earthquakes, volca-

        nic activity, and plant growth. 

                   This concept of nature runs all through the Bible.  It is one of the 

        most profound expressions of the revelation of God.  Paul says that be-

        cause of this universal revelation no one can plead ignorance of God.  This

        element of biblical thought shows that a miracle is any occurrence what-

        ever which arouses a feeling of awe, amazement terror, or wonder, and 

        causes the one who beholds it to see God, whose being it expresses.

                   Biblical faith also presents human life in terms of miracle, namely 

        how God shaped man’s body out of the earth and then shaped woman out 

        of man.   Another source says that God created humans in God’s own 

        image.  And biblical writers never cease to be amazed at the wonder of 

        marriage; no less marvelous is the moral life.  Biblical writers recognize 

        that there is something about the knowledge of good and evil and the free-

        dom of the will which transcends determinism and mechanism and finds 

        its explanation only in God. 

                   Miracle was seen also in the conception of a child.  The Lord’s di-

        vine action for those who are faithful to the Lord continues throughout life.

        The specifically religious experiences of life are thought of in the sense of 

        miracle.  The prophets’ religious experiences are typical.  These men be-

        lieved that their messages came directly from God.  To “see” in this sense 

        means to come to an understanding of what God wants.

                   8. Miracles:  Prayer; National History; and Healing—In the Bi-

        ble, prayer always has a miraculous character.  There are numberless pas-

        sages in which prayer is presented as an interview between humans and 

        God, where all the dialogue that took place between them is recorded.  

        Such a concept is the basis of worship.  The Christian idea of communion

        with God is the worship of a resurrected and living Christ, one who is eter-

        nally alive and present wherever his disciples gather to worship, or wher-

        ever an individual turns to God in faith.  The concepts of vision, revelation,

        and inspiration are characteristic of biblical religion; they always have a 

        miraculous nature.

                   According to Genesis 12, the miraculous hand of God appears first

        in Hebrew history when the Lord tells Abram to leave Haran and migrate to

        Canaan.  The Exodus and the Conquest are notable examples of the mira-

        culous control of history.  The divine control of history was stated clearly 

        by Amos around 760 B.C.   According to Amos 9, God’s call of Israel isn’t 

        unique.  God has also called Ethiopians, Philistines, and Syrians.  It must 

        be noted that this view is an intuition of faith.   Historical research can 

        either prove it or disprove it.

   

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                   The cure of illness was often considered miraculous in both the OT

        and the NT.  Elijah, Elisha, Jesus, his first disciples, and the apostles Peter

        and Paul are credited with healing miracles.   Reports of these miracles 

        ought to be set in the context of records of miraculous cures in other cul-

        tures of both ancient and modern times.  

                   Our primary concern is with the biblical records, which report mira-

        culous cures of various diseases.  From a theological point of view, it is 

        possible that God could perform all these miracles.  From the point of 

        view of history, one can feel certain only of healings which can be con-

        firmed by medical science of our time.  The most certain of these are the 

        cases of driving out demons.  Verification of this type of healing is possi-

        ble when we recognize that what biblical writers call demon possession is

        called mental illness today. 

                   Psychiatrists now recognize the following types of mental illness 

        in the biblical records: manic-depressive psychosis; epilepsy; and hysteria.

        On the basis of historical criteria, we may accept the cures of mental ill-

        ness as they are reported; that some other diseases were healed by faith 

        is also probable.  Faith is an aid even in organic disease, but medical sci-

        ence would say that it has limits.  That Jesus and other persons of the Bi-

        ble performed cures of other types is a possibility, but we are not able to 

        verify them at the present time. 

                   9. Miracles: Literary Forms; Signs; and Faith—One of the main

        reasons for the problem of miracles is the monolithic view of the Scrip-

        tures which has characterized traditional interpretation.   The first obliga-

        tion of the interpreter is to recognize the type or form of writing with 

        which he is dealing.  The Bible was first of all the literature of an ancient 

        people produced over the span of a thousand years.  The NT continues 

        the story with the life of Jesus, the origin of Christianity, and its spread. 

                   The story of Samson in Judges is a saga. Samson’s deeds should 

        be interpreted in this light.  Jonah is a short story which has been misun-

        derstood because of the fish episode; it is actually a satire on Hebrew na-

        tionalism; the fish incident is irrelevant to the main point.   The book of 

        Daniel is a collection of stories in the form of an apocalypse.   They are 

        best understood as faith expressions in God’s providence for God’s people.

                   The Garden of Eden is a myth. It gives a picture of human nature, 

        and is a profound study of the moral life.  The plagues in Egypt and other 

        wonders are thinly veiled natural phenomena which Hebrews saw as acts 

        of God.  The list of portents which Mark 15 says occurred while Jesus was

        on the cross mentions only an eclipse of the sun and the rending of the veil

        of the temple, to which Matthew adds three other miracles.  Belief in the 

        resurrection of Jesus is based on statements of those who testified that he 

        appeared to them alive.  And some miracle stories have an origin in poetry

        or parable.

                   As we have seen, the word “miracle” is a flexible term which may 

        include phenomena of many kinds, including signs.  A sign must be a mira-

        cle, but a miracle is not necessarily a sign.   The Bible's religion is based on

        the concept of miracle throughout, but it isn't always based on signs.  Signs

        are most frequent in those sections of the Bible which have a popular cha-

        racter.  Great prophets like Amos, Hosea, and Isaiah, who have left auto-

        graphic records, did not rely on signs.  They depended on miracles of the 

        other type.  

                   Opposition to the use of signs is evident also in Jesus.   The 1st 

        stage of this tradition is that when the Pharisees ask Jesus to give them a 

        sign, he says that no sign will be given.   The 2nd stage is when Jesus 

        says that no sign will be given except the sign of Jonah, i.e. his preaching

        to Nineveh.  The 3rd stage is when Matthew equates Jonah’s 3 days in the

        belly of the whale, with Jesus saying that the Son of man will be 3 days &

        nights in the heart of the earth.   One notes also Jesus’ refusal to allow 

        his miracles to be treated as signs.  While he performed numerous mira-

        cles, they were done out of compassion for persons in need.

                  It is true that other persons began to regard Jesus’ miracles as signs.

        The Gospel of John appears at first reading to be a notable example of this 

        interest.  It presents 7 spectacular miracles of Jesus.  A careful study of the

        4th Gospel shows that these 7 signs are in fact used as allegories of Chris-

        tian truth. 

                   Christianity is a historical religion.  It has its setting in a context of 

        real events.  Historical research, because of it being based on natural law, 

        can never demonstrate that an event is an act of God.   The method with 

        which they deal is limited to the natural order.  Only faith is able to see the

        hand of God in an event.  A fact of faith is not the kind of fact with which 

        historical research can deal.  As God and faith are beyond the naturalistic 

        order, research is unable to give us information about them.   Historical 

        research assumes that the same event is colorless, natural, and secular.  

        Faith must challenge this assumption with its deeper intuition.

                 One should keep in mind that a miracle is any event, whether natural

        or supernatural, in which one sees a revelation of God.   It is evident in 

        many ways that religious faith is grounded in the sense and possibility of 

        miracle.  Faith is man’s response to his apprehension of God’s revelation.  

        But faith is not an achievement of the intellect alone.  Reason always chal-

        lenges faith with the threat of unbelief.

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                   How faith comes is a mystery, but whenever it comes, one knows  

        it; one feels the miracle within oneself.  The debate’s outcome over whe-

        ther certain Scriptural miracles occurred can never provide the real an-

        swer to the religious questions of humans.  Miracle stories are subordi-

        nate to the miracle which occurs in one’s own life when one is born of 

        God’s Spirit.  The nearest Paul comes to faith’s secret is to say that it is 

        a gift of God.

MIRIAM  (מרים, rebellion)    1.  The daughter of Jochebed, and the sister of

        Moses and Aaron, she was watching after the basket into which the infant 

        Moses had been put and fetched his mother as a nurse.  She is remem-

        bered as a “prophetess” in connection with her song of victory on the oc-

        casion of the crossing of the Sea of Reeds.  But she was also involved in, 

        if not the leader of, the rebellion against Moses when he married a Cu-

        shite woman.   She claimed to be an oracle of Yahweh, but was struck 

        with leprosy by Yahweh for making that claim.  In later times she was re-

        membered both as a leader sent by Yahweh, and as a prophetess who 

        foretold the birth of Moses as a savior.

                  2.  A relative of Shammai and Ishbah (I Chronicles 4).  The Hebrew

        Masoretic Text does not give either the mother or the father, but the New 

        Revised Standard Version inserts a sentence from verse 18 which makes 

        Miriam a child of Mered and Bithiah.

MIRMAH (מרמה, deceit, fraud) A Benjaminite, one of the seven sons of

        Shaharaim by his wife Hodesh (I Chr. 8)

MIRROR  (מראה (ma reh ‘eh haw); ראי (reh ee))   Ancient mirrors were

        made of polished metal, as is suggested by Exodus 38.   Glass mirrors 

        were not available until late Roman times.  Several objects in the Bible 

        might indeed be mirrors, but then they are not of glass; and if they are 

        made of glass, then they are not mirrors.  Mirrors were considered at first

        as highly valuable objects, presents which kings and princes made to one 

        another.  One may not necessarily infer from Exodus 38 that the mirrors 

        should be classified among utensils designated for the worship of Yahweh;

        in the Greek culture, the use of mirrors became widespread.

                   Specimens of bronze mirrors have been found in Palestine, together

        with miscellaneous jewelry and articles of women’s apparel.  They are cir-

        cular in shape, frequently with a handle of wood or ivory, or without a han-

        dle at all.  The greater number of mirrors found in Palestine and Syria 

        range from the post-exilic period to the Roman times; the unpolished face 

        of the mirrors was usually bare.

MISGAB  (משגב, refuge)  King James Version translation of hamisgab.  The 

        New Revised Standard Version treats the word as a common noun and 

        translates “the fortress.”

MISHAEL (מישאל, who is what God is)    1. A Levite, son of Uzziel and cousin

        of Aaron, who with his brother Elzaphan were ordered to dispose of the 

        bodies of Nadab and Abihu who had desecrated the Lord’s altar.

                  2.  One of those who stood beside Ezra during the public reading of 

        the law (Nehemiah 8).       3.  One of Daniel’s three friends, surnamed by

        the Babylonians Meshach (Dan. 1,2; See Shadrach entry)

MISHAL  (משאל, petition) A Levitical town on the border of Asher, no. 39 in 

        the list of towns conquered by Thut-mose III.  Its exact location is unknown.

MISHAM  (משעם, cleansing )  A Benjaminite; one of those who built Ono and 

        Lod (I Chronicles 8).

MISHMA (משמע, hearing)    1. A son of Ishmael and hence the name of an

        Arabian people (Genesis 25; I Chron 1).      2.  A descendant of Simeon, 

        and son of Mibsam and Mishma. The presence of these names in I Chroni-

        cles 4 may indicate that the two were Arabian tribes that had become affi-

        liated with Simeon.

MISHMANNAH  (משמנה, fatness)  One of the famed Gadite warriors who 

        joined the proscribed followers of David at Ziklag; he subsequently be- 

        came an officer in David’s army (I Chronicles 12).

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MISHNA  (משנה, duplicate)  A term used generally to denote the body of 

        Jewish law transmitted orally.  More specifically, the term “Mishna” de-

        notes the collection of oral laws compiled by Rabbi Judah the Prince 

        (135 A.D.).  The Mishna is divided into six orders, which are grouped 

        into 63 treatises, embracing the whole of the Jewish religious and legal 

        system.

MISHRAITES (משרעי) One of the families of Kiriath-jearim, from whom came

        the Zorathites and the Eshtaolites (I Chronicles 2). 

MISPAR  (מספר, relation, narration)  One of those who returned with Zerub-

        babel from the Exile.

MISREPHOTH-MAIM (מים משרפות, water flowing)  A place in the neigh-

        borhood of Sidon; now called ‘Ain Mesherfi.   The name may mean 

        “lime-burning at the water.”  Joshua pursued the Canaanites from Merom 

        as far as Misrephoth-maim.

MISSIONS.  The sending of a deity’s representatives to convey a message or 

        carry out a task.  In a larger sense, activities of a religious community de-

        dicated to spreading its faith in other communities.  Messengers have tra-

        veled back and forth between peoples, bearing messages and performing 

        acts as empowered representatives of their senders, who were often kings

        sending messages from their god.   So far as is known, there was little de-

        liberate attempt in antiquity to convert people from one religion to another

        except through political and military action.  Assyrian imperialism resulted

        in certain religious obligations being imposed upon their vassals.

                   There is impressive evidence for the wide diffusion of certain religi-

        ous cults.  Egyptian gods were worshiped in Phoenicia.  Deities of Ur from 

        eastern Asia Minor were worshiped at Haran and Qatna in Syria.  Canaa-

        nite deities had temples and considerable popularity in Egypt during the 

        New  Empire.  The Mitannian king sent the goddess Ishtar of Nineveh her-

        self to Egypt in order to receive the honor due her from the pharaoh. 

                   The  Philistines seem to have taken over a god who is attested a 

        thousand years earlier in eastern Syria, and the Canaanite Baal in many 

        cases was the storm-god Hadad from the same region.  The diffusion of 

        worship of certain gods and goddesses thus is well known long before mis-

        sionary activities in the modern sense of the term.  This is closely tied with

        diffusion of other cultural features, and may very well have been a direct 

        result of migrations of peoples as well.

                    It is not, therefore, surprising that examples of such religious diffu-

        sion are to be found in the Bible.  Canaanite deities were received in Israe-

        lites cities.  Ahab and Athaliah evidently established the cult of the Tyrian 

        Baal as the official state religion.  The king of Moab sent to northern Syria 

        for the diviner Balaam to curse Israel.  The king of Damascus sent an offi-

        cer, Naaman, to the king of Israel to be healed of leprosy. 

                   In addition to this type of propagation of particular religious tradi-

        tions carried by political, economic, and personal concerns, there is some 

        reason to believe that the Old Testament faith was at the beginning an ac-

        tive missionary religion.  Joshua 24 seems to speak to those outside the 

        religious community urging them to transfer their religious loyalty to Yah-

        weh.  Accounting for the large population of the twelve tribes even before 

        the monarchy, makes it necessary to assume that a considerable part of 

        Palestine's population was converted to Yahwism during the Conquest.

                   After the initial formation of the 12-tribe federation, there seems to 

        have been little further expansion.  It is not at all certain that obligations to 

        Yahweh were imposed upon non-Israelite peoples.  Though the prophets 

        occasionally addressed oracles of Yahweh to foreign nations from Amos 

        on, the first direct statements of conversion comes from the time of the 

        Exile.  The Book of Jonah also presupposes a missionary activity to a fo-

        reign people.  The missionary activities of Judaism also are well attested, 

        and evidently had considerable success in the Greek period.

                   The extent to which early Christianity followed previous Jewish 

        customs and patterns in its mission to non-Jews cannot be determined 

        with certainty.  The differences historically are too great to regard rabbi-

        nic Judaism as the historical model for the Christian apostles.   Rather, 

        the prophets of the Old Testament seem to correspond much more close-

        ly to the early Christian conception of their function.

  

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                   Regardless of the historical problem of the apostolic function's ante-

        cedent, there can be no doubt that the Christian community from the very 

        beginning regarded the proclamation of the message of the Gospel to all 

        peoples as a most important aspect of its religious obligation.  Though the 

        book of Acts gives much information about Barnabas and Peter's missio-

        nary journeys among others, little is known in detail about the beginnings 

        of the churches in Damascus, Lydda, Antioch, and Rome.  There can be 

        little doubt that the persecution directly resulted in more widespread missio-

        nary activities, and very soon these activities were directed to non-Jewish 

        peoples as well as Jews.  Paul’s mission to the Gentiles is thus continua-

        tion on a wider scale of that which had begun at the time of his conversion.

MIST (אד (ade), vapor; נשאים (ne si eem), lift up; ענן (‘oh nen), cloud; 

        atmiV (at mis), vapor, smoke)  In Genesis 2, ‘ad refers to the water which

        was essential to God’s creation of organic life.  The origin of ‘ad is in the 

        Akkadian edu, which indicates an underground source of fresh water.  Job 

        36 suggests a Palestinian adaptation of this idea, in that God distills rain 

        from the mist which rises from the earth.   God ‘s creative power is attes-

        ted by the “mist” which he causes to come up “from the ends of the earth.”

MITANNI.  An important kingdom in northern Mesopotamia during the Amarna

        Age (1400s-1300s).  While the main population was Hurrian, the aristo-

        cracy was Indo-Iranian warlords.  At the height of Egyptian power under 

        Thut-mose III (1502-1448 B.C.), the Euphrates River was the border be-

        tween Mitanni and the Egyptian Empire.  Mitanni princesses achieved 

        great influence in Pharaoh’s court circles.  The importance of Mitanni in 

        the Bible world is cultural.  The ruler of Jebusite Jerusalem bears a Hur-

        rian title.

MITHKAH (מתקה, sweetness) An Israelite wilderness station after Hazeroth.

        The location is unknown.

MITHNITE (מתני, from the root “to be firm”) A title applied to Joshaphat, 

        one of David’s army (I Chron. 11).

MITHREDATH  (מתרדת, gift of Mithra)  1. The treasurer under Cyrus king of 

        Persia who delivered the temple vessels to Sheshbazzar to be returned to

        Jerusalem.      2. A Syrian officer in the reign of Artaxerxes II who was 

        among those opposing the rebuilding of Jerusalem.

MITYLENE (Mitulhnh)  The chief city of the Aegean island of Lesbos off the 

        southeast coast of Asia Minor, on the route of Paul’s third journey. 

                   See also the entry in the Old Testament Apocrypha/Influences 

        Outside the Bible section of the Appendix.

                   In New Testament times the city was a favorite residence for in-

        fluential Romans, regaining its freedom after losing it for a time under 

        Vespasian.  It was devastated by an earthquake in 151-152 A.D.  In the 

        return to Syria from Achaia, Paul and his companions sailed from the 

        west coast port of Assos to Mitylene, departing the following day to-

        ward Miletus.

MIXED MULTITUDE  (אספסף (‘ah sa pes oof)) A mixed heterogeneous group

        of camp followers who joined the Hebrews in the exodus from Egypt 

        (Exodus 12).

MIZAR  (מצער, littleness)  A mountain mentioned in connection with the region 

        of the Jordan and Mount Hermon.   Quite possibly it is merely an adjective

        used to contrast the majestic Hermon with the “smallest” mountain (Psalm

        42).  The site is unidentified.

MIZPAH, MIZPEH (מצפה, watch-tower)  The name of 5 towns in Palestine 

        and neighboring lands. 

                   1.  Mizpah of Gilead—In Genesis 31, Jacob is moving south to-

        ward the “mountain of Gilead” and only later crosses the Jabbok.  Many

        proposals have been made for the identification of the site, but the most 

        likely region is in northern Gilead.  Laban proposed a covenant with Jacob

        after a quarrel.  The event was solemnized by the erection of a pillar and 

        by a heap of stones.  The two covenant makers called the cairn the “heap 

        of witness.”  Laban in Aramaic, Jacob in Hebrew.  It became known as 

        Mizpah in memory of Jacob’s words:  “Yahweh watch between you & me.”

   

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                   In Jephthah’s time the Ammonites mobilized forces in order to drive 

        the Israelites out of Gilead. The Israelites were encamped at Mizpah, and 

        there they entered into a bond with Jephthah.  When he returned home to

        Mizpah, he  was greeted by his daughter and was compelled to fulfill his 

        terrible vow by sacrificing her.

                   2.  The land of Mizpah—A region to the north of Palestine.  The Is-

        raelites under Joshua chased them as far as Great Sidon and eastward as 

        far as the valley of Mizpeh.  It may be in the region of modern Banias.

                   3.  Mizpeh of Judah—One of the cities assigned to the tribe of Ju-

        dah in Central Palestine for the settlement of the land (Joshua 15).

                   4.  Mizpeh of Moab—The location of the site is unknown.  It was at 

        Mizpeh of Moab that David delivered his parents into the custody of the 

        Moabite king (I Samuel 22).

                   5.  Mizpah of Benjamin—A city of Benjamin on the border be-

        tween Judah and Israel, the most important of all the Old Testament refe-

        rences to Mizpah.  The site of Mizpah of Benjamin is one of the most con-

        troversial of Palestinian topography.   One possibility is the lofty and im- 

        pressive height some 8 km to the north of Jerusalem.

                   Another is the ancient mound of Tell en-Nasbeh, about 13 km to the

        north of Jerusalem, situated on top of a large rounded limestone hill with 

        sharp slopes on all sides; it was in all likelihood the boundary fortress be-

        tween Judah and Israel.  The archaeological remains uncovered at Tell en-

        Nasbeh fit the history of Mizpah closely, from the beginning of the Iron 

        Age (1200 B.C.), into the Persian Age or even Hellenistic times.  The area 

        inside the walls was 2.76 hectares, and the walls were the most impressive

        of any Palestinian mound exposed up to that time.  The great gate facing 

        the north contained a large court, and in it were benches upon which the 

        elders doubtless sat to hear disputes.

                   A critical scrutiny of relevant texts in which this Mizpah is men-

        tioned reveals the fact that in one set of passages it is the place of prayer 

        and worship for all Israel, while in another its importance is military and 

        political.  The passages which refer to Mizpah as a worship center are late,

        have little claim to being historical, and contradict surrounding, reliable 

        passages.  Following Judah’s fall in 597 B.C., after Jerusalem and the tem-

        ple were destroyed, Mizpah became the Babylonian provincial capital and 

        the worship center.

                   Mizpah appears for the first time in the list of cities assigned to the 

        tribe of Benjamin after the Conquest.   The first historical reference of 

        great importance comes in the context of the boundary wars between Ju-

        dah and Israel.  King Baasha of Israel undertook the building of a fortress 

        at Ramah, but the king of Aram, as an ally of Judah, forced him to give up 

        Ramah.  Asa countered Baasha’s aggressive acts by fortifying Geba and 

        Mizpah.

                   Mizpah again emerges as an important center after Jerusalem's fall.

        Gedaliah was appointed governor.   He gathered his weak band of follo-

        wers and sought to inspire them with hope and courage.  Ishmael fell upon

        Gedaliah and murdered him.  The signal of revolt had been raised, and Ish-

        mael was forced to flee to the land of Ammon.  What happened to Mizpah 

        in the succeeding months and years we do not know.

MIZRAIM  (מצרים)  This is the regular Hebrew word for Egypt.  It is possible

        that in a few instances it refers to the land of Musri, located in Asia.  Later

        Assyrians speak about Musru and Musri in a way which indicates that they 

        mean Egypt.  The name means “march” and could be used about several 

        kinds of “border country.”

MIZZAH  (מזה, fear) An Edomite clan chief, the last of the four sons of Reuel 

        (Genesis 36; I Chronicles 1).

MNASON  (Mnaswn)  A Christian with whom Paul lodged on his final visit 

        to Jerusalem; it is a common Greek name.   He seems to be an early disci-

        ple from Cyprus, although not one of the Twelve.  More plausibly, he was

        an early convert. 

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