Mixed multitude - ( Ex. 12:38), a class who accompanied the Israelites as they journeyed from Rameses to Succoth, the first stage of the Exodus. These were probably miscellaneous hangers-on to the Hebrews, whether Egyptians of the lower orders, or the remains of the Hyksos (see EGYPT ; MOSES 02), as some think. The samething happened on the return of the Jews from Babylon ( Neh. 13:3), a "mixed multitude" accompanied them so far.

Mizar - smallness, a summit on the eastern ridge of Lebanon, near which David lay after escaping from Absalom ( Ps. 42:6). It may, perhaps, be the present Jebel Ajlun, thus named, "the little", in contrast with the greater elevation of Lebanon and Hermon.

Mizpah - or Miz'peh, watch-tower; the look-out. (1.) A place in Gilead, so named by Laban, who overtook Jacob at this spot ( Gen. 31:49) on his return to Palestine from Padan-aram. Here Jacob and Laban set up their memorial cairn of stones. It is the same as Ramath-mizpeh ( Josh. 13:26).

(2.) A town in Gilead, where Jephthah resided, and where he assumed the command of the Israelites in a time of national danger. Here he made his rash vow; and here his daughter submitted to her mysterious fate ( Judg. 10:17;Judg 11:11,Judg. 10:34). It may be the same as Ramoth-Gilead ( Josh. 20:8), but it is more likely that it is identical with the foregoing, the Mizpeh of Gen. 31:23, Gen. 31:25, Gen. 31:48, Gen. 31:49.

(3.) Another place in Gilead, at the foot of Mount Hermon, inhabited by Hivites ( Josh. 11:3,Josh. 11:8). The name in Hebrew here has the article before it, "the Mizpeh," "the watch-tower." The modern village of Metullah, meaning also "the look-out," probably occupies the site so called.

(4.) A town of Moab to which David removed his parents for safety during his persecution by Saul (1 Sam. 22:3). This was probably the citadel known as Kir-Moab, now Kerak. While David resided here he was visited by the prophet Gad, here mentioned for the first time, who was probably sent by Samuel to bid him leave the land of Moab and betake himself to the land of Judah. He accordingly removed to the forest of Hareth (q.v.), on the edge of the mountain chain of Hebron.

(5.) A city of Benjamin, "the watch-tower", where the people were accustomed to meet in great national emergencies ( Josh. 18:26; Judg. 20:1, Judg. 20:3; Judg 21:1, Judg. 20:5; 1 Sam. 7:5-16). It has been supposed to be the same as Nob (1 Sam. 21:1;1 Sam 22:9-19). It was some 4 miles north-west of Jerusalem, and was situated on the loftiest hill in the neighbourhood, some 600 feet above the plain of Gibeon. This village has the modern name of Neby Samwil, i.e., the prophet Samuel, from a tradition that Samuel's tomb is here. (See NOB.)

Samuel inaugurated the reformation that characterized his time by convening a great assembly of all Israel at Mizpeh, now the politico-religious centre of the nation. There, in deep humiliation on account of their sins, they renewed their vows and entered again into covenant with the God of their fathers. It was a period of great religious awakening and of revived national life. The Philistines heard of this assembly, and came up against Israel. The Hebrews charged the Philistine host with great fury, and they were totally routed. Samuel commemorated this signal victory by erecting a memorial-stone, which he called "Ebenezer" (q.v.), saying, "Hitherto hath the Lord helped us" (1 Sam. 7:7-12).

Mizpar - number, one of the Jews who accompanied Zerubbabel from Babylon ( Ezra 2:2); called also Mispereth ( Neh. 7:7).

Mizraim - the dual form of matzor, meaning a "mound" or "fortress," the name of a people descended from Ham ( Gen. 10:6,Gen. 10:13; 1 Chr. 1:8,1 Chr. 1:11). It was the name generally given by the Hebrews to the land of Egypt (q.v.), and may denote the two Egypts, the Upper and the Lower. The modern Arabic name for Egypt is Muzr.

Mizzah - despair, one of the four sons of Reuel, the son of Esau ( Gen. 36:13,Gen. 36:17).

Mnason - reminding, or remembrancer, a Christian of Jerusalem with whom Paul lodged ( Acts 21:16). He was apparently a native of Cyprus, like Barnabas ( Acts 11:19,Acts 11:20), and was well known to the Christians of Caesarea ( Acts 4:36). He was an "old disciple" (R.V., "early disciple"), i.e., he had become a Christian in the beginning of the formation of the Church in Jerusalem.

Moab - the seed of the father, or, according to others, the desirable land, the eldest son of Lot ( Gen. 19:37), of incestuous birth.

(2.) Used to denote the people of Moab ( Num. 22:3-14; Judg. 3:30; 2 Sam. 8:2; Jer. 48:11, Jer. 48:13).

(3.) The land of Moab ( Jer. 48:24), called also the "country of Moab" ( Ruth 1:2,Ruth 1:6;Ruth 2:6), on the east of Jordan and the Dead Sea, and south of the Arnon ( Num. 21:13,Num. 21:26). In a wider sense it included the whole region that had been occupied by the Amorites. It bears the modern name of Kerak.

In the Plains of Moab, opposite Jericho ( Num. 22:1;Num 26:63; Josh. 13:32), the children of Israel had their last encampment before they entered the land of Canaan. It was at that time in the possession of the Amorites ( Num. 21:22). "Moses went up from the plains of Moab unto the mountain of Nebo, to the top of Pisgah," and "died there in the land of Moab, according to the word of the Lord" ( Deut. 34:5,Deut. 34:6). "Surely if we had nothing else to interest us in the land of Moab, the fact that it was from the top of Pisgah, its noblest height, this mightiest of the prophets looked out with eye undimmed upon the Promised Land; that it was here on Nebo, its loftiest mountain, that he died his solitary death; that it was here, in the valley over against Beth-peor, he found his mysterious sepulchre, we have enough to enshrine the memory in our hearts."

Moabite - the designation of a tribe descended from Moab, the son of Lot ( Gen. 19:37). From Zoar, the cradle of this tribe, on the south-eastern border of the Dead Sea, they gradually spread over the region on the east of Jordan. Rameses II., the Pharaoh of the Oppression, enumerates Moab (Muab) among his conquests. Shortly before the Exodus, the warlike Amorites crossed the Jordan under Sihon their king and drove the Moabites ( Num. 21:26-30) out of the region between the Arnon and the Jabbok, and occupied it, making Heshbon their capital. They were then confined to the territory to the south of the Arnon.

On their journey the Israelites did not pass through Moab, but through the "wilderness" to the east ( Deut. 2:8; Judg. 11:18), at length reaching the country to the north of the Arnon. Here they remained for some time till they had conquered Bashan (see SIHON ; OG ). The Moabite were alarmed, and their king, Balak, sought aid from th Midianites ( Num. 22:2-4). It was while they were here that the visit of Balaam (q.v.) to Balak took place. (See MOSES.)

After the Conquest, the Moabites maintained hostile relations with the Israelites, and frequently harassed them in war ( Judg. 3:12-30; 1 Sam. 14). The story of Ruth, however, shows the existence of friendly relations between Moab and Bethlehem. By his descent from Ruth, David may be said to have had Moabite blood in his veins. Yet there was war between David and the Moabites (2 Sam. 8:2;2 Sam 23:20; 1 Chr. 18:2), from whom he took great spoil (2 Sam. 8:2,2 Sam. 8:11,2 Sam. 8:12; 1 Chr. 11:22;1 Chr 18:11).

During the one hundred and fifty years which followed the defeat of the Moabites, after the death of Ahab (see MESHA ), they regained, apparently, much of their former prosperty. At this time Isaiah 1 Chr 15:1) delivered his "burden of Moab," predicting the coming of judgment on that land (comp. 2 Kings 17:3;2 Kings 18:9; 1 Chr. 5:25,1 Chr. 5:26). Between the time of Isaiah and the commencement of the Babylonian captivity we have very seldom any reference to Moab ( Jer. 25:21;Jer 27:3;Jer 40:11; Zeph. 2:8-10).

After the Return, it was Sanballat, a Moabite, who took chief part in seeking to prevent the rebuilding of Jerusalem ( Neh. 2:19;Neh 4:1;Neh 6:1).

Moabite Stone - a basalt stone, bearing an inscription by King Mesha, which was discovered at Dibon by Klein, a German missionary at Jerusalem, in 1868. It was 3 1/2 feet high and 2 in breadth and in thickness, rounded at the top. It consisted of thirty-four lines, written in Hebrew-Phoenician characters. It was set up by Mesha as a record and memorial of his victories. It records (1) Mesha's wars with Omri, (2) his public buildings, and (3) his wars against Horonaim. This inscription in a remarkable degree supplements and corroborates the history of King Mesha recorded in 2 Kings 3:4-27.

With the exception of a very few variations, the Moabite language in which the inscription is written is identical with the Hebrew. The form of the letters here used supplies very important and interesting information regarding the history of the formation of the alphabet, as well as, incidentally, regarding the arts of civilized life of those times in the land of Moab.

This ancient monument, recording the heroic struggles of King Mesha with Omri and Ahab, was erected about B.C. 900. Here "we have the identical slab on which the workmen of the old world carved the history of their own times, and from which the eye of their contemporaries read thousands of years ago the record of events of which they themselves had been the witnesses." It is the oldest inscription written in alphabetic characters, and hence is, apart from its value in the domain of Hebrew antiquities, of great linguistic importance.

Moladah - birth, a city in the south of Judah which fell to Simeon ( Josh. 15:21-26;Josh 19:2). It has been identified with the modern el-Milh, 10 miles east of Beersheba.

Mole - Heb. tinshameth ( Lev. 11:30), probably signifies some species of lizard (rendered in R.V., "chameleon"). In Lev. 11:18, Deut. 14:16, it is rendered, in Authorized Version, "swan" (R.V., "horned owl").

The Heb. holed ( Lev. 11:29), rendered "weasel," was probably the mole-rat. The true mole (Talpa Europoea) is not found in Palestine. The mole-rat (Spalax typhlus) "is twice the size of our mole, with no external eyes, and with only faint traces within of the rudimentary organ; no apparent ears, but, like the mole, with great internal organs of hearing; a strong, bare snout, and with large gnawing teeth; its colour a pale slate; its feet short, and provided with strong nails; its tail only rudimentary."

In Isa. 2:20, this word is the rendering of two words _haphar peroth_, which are rendered by Gesenius "into the digging of rats", i.e., rats' holes. But these two Hebrew words ought probably to be combined into one (lahporperoth) and translated "to the moles", i.e., the rat-moles. This animal "lives in underground communities, making large subterranean chambers for its young and for storehouses, with many runs connected with them, and is decidedly partial to the loose debris among ruins and stone-heaps, where it can form its chambers with least trouble."

Moloch - king, the name of the national god of the Ammonites, to whom children were sacrificed by fire. He was the consuming and destroying and also at the same time the purifying fire. In Amos 5:26, "your Moloch" of the Authorized Version is "your king" in the Revised Version (comp. Acts 7:43). Solomon (1 Kings 11:7) erected a high place for this idol on the Mount of Olives, and from that time till the days of Josiah his worship continued (2 Kings 23:10,2 Kings 23:13). In the days of Jehoahaz it was partially restored, but after the Captivity wholly disappeared. He is also called Molech ( Lev. 18:21;Lev 20:2-5, etc.), Milcom (1 Kings 11:5,1 Kings 11:33, etc.), and Malcham ( Zeph. 1:5). This god became Chemosh among the Moabites.

Money - Of uncoined money the first notice we have is in the history of Abraham ( Gen. 13:2;Gen 20:16;Gen 24:35). Next, this word is used in connection with the purchase of the cave of Machpelah ( Gen 23:16), and again in connection with Jacob's purchase of a field at Shalem ( Gen. 33:18,Gen. 33:19) for "an hundred pieces of money"=an hundred Hebrew kesitahs (q.v.), i.e., probably pieces of money, as is supposed, bearing the figure of a lamb.

The history of Joseph affords evidence of the constant use of money, silver of a fixed weight. This appears also in all the subsequent history of the Jewish people, in all their internal as well as foreign transactions. There were in common use in trade silver pieces of a definite weight, shekels, half-shekels, and quarter-shekels. But these were not properly coins, which are pieces of metal authoritatively issued, and bearing a stamp.

Of the use of coined money we have no early notice among the Hebrews. The first mentioned is of Persian coinage, the daric ( Ezra 2:69; Neh. 7:70) and the 'adarkon ( Ezra 8:27). The daric (q.v.) was a gold piece current in Palestine in the time of Cyrus. As long as the Jews, after the Exile, lived under Persian rule, they used Persian coins. These gave place to Greek coins when Palestine came under the dominion of the Greeks (B.C. 331), the coins consisting of gold, silver, and copper pieces. The usual gold pieces were staters (q.v.), and the silver coins tetradrachms and drachms.

In the year B.C. 140, Antiochus VII. gave permission to Simon the Maccabee to coin Jewish money. Shekels (q.v.) were then coined bearing the figure of the almond rod and the pot of manna.

Money-changer - ( Matt. 21:12; Mark 11:15; John 2:15). Every Israelite from twenty years and upwards had to pay ( Ex. 30:13-15) into the sacred treasury half a shekel every year as an offering to Jehovah, and that in the exact Hebrew half-shekel piece. There was a class of men, who frequented the temple courts, who exchanged at a certain premium foreign moneys for these half-shekels to the Jews who came up to Jerusalem from all parts of the world. (See PASSOVER.) When our Lord drove the traffickers out of the temple, these money-changers fared worst. Their tables were overturned and they themselves were expelled.

Month - Among the Egyptians the month of thirty days each was in use long before the time of the Exodus, and formed the basis of their calculations. From the time of the institution of the Mosaic law the month among the Jews was lunar. The cycle of religious feasts depended on the moon. The commencement of a month was determined by the observation of the new moon. The number of months in the year was usually twelve (1 Kings 4:7; 1 Chr. 27:1-15); but every third year an additional month (ve-Adar) was inserted, so as to make the months coincide with the seasons.

"The Hebrews and Phoenicians had no word for month save 'moon,' and only saved their calendar from becoming vague like that of the Moslems by the interpolation of an additional month. There is no evidence at all that they ever used a true solar year such as the Egyptians possessed. The latter had twelve months of thirty days and five epagomenac or odd days.", Palestine Quarterly, January 1889.

Moon - heb. yareah, from its paleness ( Ezra 6:15), and lebanah, the "white" ( Cant. 6:10; Isa. 24:23), was appointed by the Creator to be with the sun "for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years" ( Gen. 1:14-16). A lunation was among the Jews the period of a month, and several of their festivals were held on the day of the new moon. It is frequently referred to along with the sun ( Josh. 10:12; Ps. 72:5, Ps. 72:7, Ps. 72:17; Ps 89:36, Ps. 72:37; Eccl. 12:2; Isa. 24:23, etc.), and also by itself ( Ps. 8:3;Ps 121:6).

The great brilliance of the moon in Eastern countries led to its being early an object of idolatrous worship ( Deut. 4:19;Deut 17:3; Job 31:26), a form of idolatry against which the Jews were warned ( Deut. 4:19;Deut 17:3). They, however, fell into this idolatry, and offered incense (2 Kings 23:5; Jer. 8:2), and also cakes of honey, to the moon ( Jer. 7:18;Jer 44:17-19,Jer. 7:25).

Mordecai - the son of Jair, of the tribe of Benjamin. It has been alleged that he was carried into captivity with Jeconiah, and hence that he must have been at least one hundred and twenty-nine years old in the twelfth year of Ahasuerus (Xerxes). But the words of Esther do not necessarily lead to this conclusion. It was probably Kish of whom it is said (ver. 6) that he "had been carried away with the captivity."

He resided at Susa, the metropolis of Persia. He adopted his cousin Hadassah (Esther), an orphan child, whom he tenderly brought up as his own daughter. When she was brought into the king's harem and made queen in the room of the deposed queen Vashti, he was promoted to some office in the court of Ahasuerus, and was one of those who "sat in the king's gate" ( Esther 2:21). While holding this office, he discovered a plot of the eunuchs to put the king to death, which, by his vigilance, was defeated. His services to the king in this matter were duly recorded in the royal chronicles.

Haman (q.v.) the Agagite had been raised to the highest position at court. Mordecai refused to bow down before him; and Haman, being stung to the quick by the conduct of Mordecai, resolved to accomplish his death in a wholesale destruction of the Jewish exiles throughout the Persian empire ( Esther 3:8-15). Tidings of this cruel scheme soon reached the ears of Mordecai, who communicated with Queen Esther regarding it, and by her wise and bold intervention the scheme was frustrated. The Jews were delivered from destruction, Mordecai was raised to a high rank, and Haman was executed on the gallows he had by anticipation erected for Mordecai ( Esther 6:2-7:10). In memory of the signal deliverance thus wrought for them, the Jews to this day celebrate the feast (9:26-32) of Purim (q.v.).

Moreh - an archer, teacher; fruitful. (1.) A Canaanite probably who inhabited the district south of Shechem, between Mounts Ebal and Gerizim, and gave his name to the "plain" there ( Gen. 12:6). Here at this "plain," or rather (R.V.) "oak," of Moreh, Abraham built his first altar in the land of Palestine; and here the Lord appeared unto him. He afterwards left this plain and moved southward, and pitched his tent between Bethel on the west and Hai on the east ( Gen. 12:7,Gen. 12:8).

Moreh, the Hill of - probably identical with "little Hermon," the modern Jebel ed-Duhy, or perhaps one of the lower spurs of this mountain. It is a gray ridge parallel to Gilboa on the north; and between the two lay the battle-field, the plain of Jezreel (q.v.), where Gideon overthrew the Midianites ( Judg. 7:1-12).

Moresheth-gath - possession of the wine-press, the birthplace of the prophet Micah ( Judg 1:14), who is called the "Morasthite" ( Jer. 26:18). This place was probably a suburb of Gath.

Moriah - the chosen of Jehovah. Some contend that Mount Gerizim is meant, but most probably we are to regard this as one of the hills of Jerusalem. Here Solomon's temple was built, on the spot that had been the threshing-floor of Ornan the Jebusite (2 Sam. 24:24,2 Sam. 24:25; 2 Chr. 3:1). It is usually included in Zion, to the north-east of which it lay, and from which it was separated by the Tyropoean valley. This was "the land of Moriah" to which Abraham went to offer up his son Isaac ( Gen. 22:2). It has been supposed that the highest point of the temple hill, which is now covered by the Mohammedan Kubbetes-Sakhrah, or "Dome of the Rock," is the actual site of Araunah's threshing-floor. Here also, one thousand years after Abraham, David built an altar and offered sacrifices to God. (See JERUSALEM ; NUMBERING THE PEOPLE.)

Mortar - (Heb. homer), cement of lime and sand ( Gen. 11:3; Ex. 1:14); also potter's clay ( Isa. 41:25; Nah. 3:14). Also Heb. 'aphar, usually rendered "dust," clay or mud used for cement in building ( Lev. 14:42,Lev. 14:45).

Mortar for pulverizing ( Prov. 27:22) grain or other substances by means of a pestle instead of a mill. Mortars were used in the wilderness for pounding the manna ( Num. 11:8). It is commonly used in Palestine at the present day to pound wheat, from which the Arabs make a favourite dish called kibby.