Macedonia - in New Testament times, was a Roman province lying north of Greece. It was governed by a propraetor with the title of proconsul. Paul was summoned by the vision of the "man of Macedonia" to preach the gospel there ( Acts 16:9). Frequent allusion is made to this event ( Acts 18:5;Acts 19:21; Rom. 15:26; 2 Cor. 1:16;2 Cor 11:9; Phil. 4:15). The history of Paul's first journey through Macedonia is given in detail in Acts 16:10-17:15. At the close of this journey he returned from Corinth to Syria. He again passed through this country (20:1-6), although the details of the route are not given. After many years he probably visited it for a third time (Phil. 2:24; 1 Tim. 1:3). The first convert made by Paul in Europe was (Acts 16:13-15) Lydia (q.v.), a "seller of purple," residing in Philippi, the chief city of the eastern division of Macedonia.

Machaerus - the Black Fortress, was built by Herod the Great in the gorge of Callirhoe, one of the wadies 9 miles east of the Dead Sea, as a frontier rampart against Arab marauders. John the Baptist was probably cast into the prison connected with this castle by Herod Antipas, whom he had reproved for his adulterous marriage with Herodias. Here Herod "made a supper" on his birthday. He was at this time marching against Aretas, king of Perea, to whose daughter he had been married. During the revelry of the banquet held in the border fortress, to please Salome, who danced before him, he sent an executioner, who beheaded John, and "brought his head in a charger, and gave it to the damsel" ( Mark 6:14-29). This castle stood "starkly bold and clear" 3,860 feet above the Dead Sea, and 2,546 above the Mediterranean. Its ruins, now called M'khaur, are still visible on the northern end of Jebel Attarus.

Machbanai - clad with a mantle, or bond of the Lord, one of the Gadite heroes who joined David in the wilderness (1 Chr. 12:13).

Machir - sold. (1.) Manasseh's oldest son ( Josh. 17:1), or probably his only son (see 1 Chr. 7:14,1 Chr. 7:15; comp. Num. 26:29-33; Josh. 13:31). His descendants are referred to under the name of Machirites, being the offspring of Gilead ( Num. 26:29). They settled in land taken from the Amorites ( Num. 32:39,Num. 32:40; Deut. 3:15) by a special enactment ( Num. 36:1-3; Josh. 17:3, Josh. 17:4). He is once mentioned as the representative of the tribe of Manasseh east of Jordan ( Judg. 5:14).

(2.) A descendant of the preceding, residing at Lo-debar, where he maintained Jonathan's son Mephibosheth till he was taken under the care of David (2 Sam. 9:4), and where he afterwards gave shelter to David himself when he was a fugitive 2 Sam 17:27).

Machpelah - portion; double cave, the cave which Abraham bought, together with the field in which it stood, from Ephron the Hittite, for a family burying-place (Gen. 23). It is one of those Bible localities about the identification of which there can be no doubt. It was on the slope of a hill on the east of Hebron, "before Mamre." Here were laid the bodies of Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebekah, Jacob and Leah ( Gen. 23:19;Gen 25:9;Gen 49:31;Gen 50:13). Over the cave an ancient Christian church was erected, probably in the time of Justinian, the Roman emperor. This church has been converted into a Mohammedan mosque. The whole is surrounded by the el-Haram i.e., "the sacred enclosure," about 200 feet long, 115 broad, and of an average height of about 50. This building, from the immense size of some of its stones, and the manner in which they are fitted together, is supposed by some to have been erected in the days of David or of Solomon, while others ascribe it to the time of Herod. It is looked upon as the most ancient and finest relic of Jewish architecture.

On the floor of the mosque are erected six large cenotaphs as monuments to the dead who are buried in the cave beneath. Between the cenotaphs of Isaac and Rebekah there is a circular opening in the floor into the cavern below, the cave of Machpelah. Here it may be that the body of Jacob, which was embalmed in Egypt, is still preserved (much older embalmed bodies have recently been found in the cave of Deir el-Bahari in Egypt, see PHARAOH ), though those of the others there buried may have long ago mouldered into dust. The interior of the mosque was visited by the Price of Wales in 1862 by a special favour of the Mohammedan authorities. An interesting account of this visit is given in Dean Stanley's Lectures on the Jewish Church. It was also visited in 1866 by the Marquis of Bute, and in 1869 by the late Emperor (Frederick) of Germany, then the Crown Prince of Prussia. In 1881 it was visited by the two sons of the Prince of Wales, accompanied by Sir C. Wilson and others. (See Palestine Quarterly Statement, October 1882).

Madai - middle land, the third "son" of Japheth ( Gen. 10:2), the name by which the Medes are known on the Assyrian monuments.

Madmannah - dunghill, the modern el-Minyay, 15 miles south-south-west of Gaza ( Josh. 15:31; 1 Chr. 2:49), in the south of Judah. The Pal. Mem., however, suggest Umm Deimneh, 12 miles north-east of Beersheba, as the site.

Madmen - ibid., a Moabite town threatened with the sword of the Babylonians ( Jer. 48:2).

Madmenah - ibid., a town in Benjamin, not far from Jerusalem, towards the north ( Isa. 10:31). The same Hebrew word occurs in Isa. 25:10, where it is rendered "dunghill." This verse has, however, been interpreted as meaning "that Moab will be trodden down by Jehovah as teben [broken straw] is trodden to fragments on the threshing-floors of Madmenah."

Madness - This word is used in its proper sense in Deut. 28:34, John 10:20, 1 Cor. 14:23. It also denotes a reckless state of mind arising from various causes, as over-study ( Eccl. 1:17;Eccl 2:12), blind rage ( Luke 6:11), or a depraved temper ( Eccl. 7:25;Eccl 9:3; 2 Pet. 2:16). David feigned madness (1 Sam. 21:13) at Gath because he "was sore afraid of Achish."

Madon - strife, a Canaanitish city in the north of Palestine ( Josh. 11:1;Josh 12:19), whose king was slain by Joshua; perhaps the ruin Madin, near Hattin, some 5 miles west of Tiberias.

Magdala - a tower, a town in Galilee, mentioned only in Matt. 15:39. In the parallel passage in Mark 8:10 this place is called Dalmanutha. It was the birthplace of Mary called the Magdalen, or Mary Magdalene. It was on the west shore of the Lake of Tiberias, and is now probably the small obscure village called el-Mejdel, about 3 miles north-west of Tiberias. In the Talmud this city is called "the city of colour," and a particular district of it was called "the tower of dyers." The indigo plant was much cultivated here.

Magdalene - a surname derived from Magdala, the place of her nativity, given to one of the Marys of the Gospels to distinguish her from the other Marys ( Matt. 27:56,Matt. 27:61;Matt 28:1, etc.). A mistaken notion has prevailed that this Mary was a woman of bad character, that she was the woman who is emphatically called "a sinner" ( Luke 7:36-50). (See MARY.)

Magic - The Jews seem early to have consulted the teraphim (q.v.) for oracular answers ( Judg. 18:5,Judg. 18:6; Zech. 10:2). There is a remarkable illustration of this divining by teraphim in Ezek. 21:19-22. We read also of the divining cup of Joseph ( Gen. 44:5). The magicians of Egypt are frequently referred to in the history of the Exodus. Magic was an inherent part of the ancient Egyptian religion, and entered largely into their daily life.

All magical arts were distinctly prohibited under penalty of death in the Mosaic law. The Jews were commanded not to learn the "abomination" of the people of the Promised Land ( Lev. 19:31; Deut. 18:9-14). The history of Saul's consulting the witch of Endor (1 Sam. 28:3-20) gives no warrant for attributing supernatural power to magicians. From the first the witch is here only a bystander. The practice of magic lingered among the people till after the Captivity, when they gradually abandoned it.

It is not much referred to in the New Testament. The Magi mentioned in Matt. 2:1-12 were not magicians in the ordinary sense of the word. They belonged to a religious caste, the followers of Zoroaster, the astrologers of the East. Simon, a magician, was found by Philip at Samaria ( Acts 8:9-24); and Paul and Barnabas encountered Elymas, a Jewish sorcerer, at Paphos ( Acts 13:6-12). At Ephesus there was a great destruction of magical books ( Acts 19:18,Acts 19:19).

Magicians - Heb. hartumim, ( dan. 1:20) were sacred scribes who acted as interpreters of omens, or "revealers of secret things."

Magistrate - a public civil officer invested with authority. The Hebrew shophetim, or judges, were magistrates having authority in the land ( Deut. 1:16,Deut. 1:17). In Judg. 18:7 the word "magistrate" (A.V.) is rendered in the Revised Version "possessing authority", i.e., having power to do them harm by invasion. In the time of Ezra Judg 9:2) and Nehemiah Judg 2:16; Judg 4:14; Judg 13:11) the Jewish magistrates were called seganim, properly meaning "nobles." In the New Testament the Greek word archon, rendered "magistrate" ( Luke 12:58; Titus 3:1), means one first in power, and hence a prince, as in Matt. 20:25, 1 Cor. 2:6,1 Cor. 2:8. This term is used of the Messiah, "Prince of the kings of the earth" ( Rev. 1:5). In Acts 16:20, Acts 16:22, Acts 16:35, Acts 16:36, Acts 16:38, the Greek term strategos, rendered "magistrate," properly signifies the leader of an army, a general, one having military authority. The strategoi were the duumviri, the two praetors appointed to preside over the administration of justice in the colonies of the Romans. They were attended by the sergeants (properly lictors or "rod bearers").

Magog - region of Gog, the second of the "sons" of Japheth ( Gen. 10:2; 1 Chr. 1:5). In Ezekiel 1 Chr 38:2;1 Chr 39:6) it is the name of a nation, probably some Scythian or Tartar tribe descended from Japheth. They are described as skilled horsemen, and expert in the use of the bow. The Latin father Jerome says that this word denotes "Scythian nations, fierce and innumerable, who live beyond the Caucasus and the Lake Maeotis, and near the Caspian Sea, and spread out even onward to India." Perhaps the name "represents the Assyrian Mat Gugi, or 'country of Gugu,' the Gyges of the Greeks" (Sayce's Races, etc.).

Magor-missabib - fear on every side, ( Jer. 20:3), a symbolical name given to the priest Pashur, expressive of the fate announced by the prophet as about to come upon him. Pashur was to be carried to Babylon, and there die.

Mahalaleel - praise of God. (1.) The son of Cainan, of the line of Seth ( Gen. 5:12-17); called Maleleel ( Luke 3:37).

(2.) Neh. 11:4, a descendant of Perez.

Mahalath - a lute; lyre. (1.) The daughter of Ishmael, and third wife of Esau ( Gen. 28:9); called also Bashemath ( Gen. 36:3).

(2.) The daughter of Jerimoth, who was one of David's sons. She was one of Rehoboam's wives (2 Chr. 11:18).

Mahalath Leannoth Maschil - This word leannoth seems to point to some kind of instrument unknown (Ps. 88, title). The whole phrase has by others been rendered, "On the sickness of affliction: a lesson;" or, "Concerning afflictive sickness: a didactic psalm."

Mahalath Maschil - in the title of Ps. 53, denoting that this was a didactic psalm, to be sung to the accompaniment of the lute or guitar. Others regard this word "mahalath" as the name simply of an old air to which the psalm was to be sung. Others, again, take the word as meaning "sickness," and regard it as alluding to the contents of the psalm.

Mahanaim - two camps, a place near the Jabbok, beyond Jordan, where Jacob was met by the "angels of God," and where he divided his retinue into "two hosts" on his return from Padan-aram ( Gen. 32:2). This name was afterwards given to the town which was built at that place. It was the southern boundary of Bashan ( Josh. 13:26,Josh. 13:30), and became a city of the Levites ( Josh 21:38). Here Saul's son Ishbosheth reigned (2 Sam. 2:8,2 Sam. 2:12), while David reigned at Hebron. Here also, after a troubled reign, Ishbosheth was murdered by two of his own bodyguard (2 Sam. 4:5-7), who brought his head to David at Hebron, but were, instead of being rewarded, put to death by him for their cold-blooded murder. Many years after this, when he fled from Jerusalem on the rebellion of his son Absalom, David made Mahanaim, where Barzillai entertained him, his headquarters, and here he mustered his forces which were led against the army that had gathered around Absalom. It was while sitting at the gate of this town that tidings of the great and decisive battle between the two hosts and of the death of his son Absalom reached him, when he gave way to the most violent grief (2 Sam. 17:24-27).

The only other reference to Mahanaim is as a station of one of Solomon's purveyors (1 Kings 4:14). It has been identified with the modern Mukhumah, a ruin found in a depressed plain called el-Bukie'a, "the little vale," near Penuel, south of the Jabbok, and north-east of es-Salt.

Mahaneh-dan - Judg. 18:12 = "camp of Dan " 13:25 (R.V., "Mahaneh-dan"), a place behind (i.e., west of) Kirjath-jearim, where the six hundred Danites from Zorah and Eshtaol encamped on their way to capture the city of Laish, which they rebuilt and called "Dan, after the name of their father" Dan 18:11-31). The Palestine Explorers point to a ruin called 'Erma, situated about 3 miles from the great corn valley on the east of Samson's home.