Meholathite – Mephaath

Meholathite

me-ho'-la-thit (mecholathi): The Gentiledesignation of Adriel, the son of Barzillai, who married Merab, the daughter of King Saul (1 Samuel 18:19; 2 Samuel 21:8), the name Michal in 2 Samuel 21:8 being doubtless a copyist's error.

See ABEL-MEHOLAH.

Mehujael

me-hu'-ja-el (mechuya'el, mechiya'el, "smitten of God"): A descendant of Cain through Enoch and Irad (Genesis 4:18). The list in Genesis 5:12 ff is a working-over of the same material of genealogy by another hand at a different date of spelling (compare spelling of Chaucer and that of today). In that ease, Mehalalel would be the correspondent name to Mehujael (see Expository Times, X, 353).

Mehuman

me-hu'-man (me`human (Esther 1:10)): A eunuch of Ahasuerus, the first of the seven chamberlains.

Mehunim

me-hu'-nim (me`unim).

See MEUNIM.

Mekonah

me-ko'-na (mekhonah).

See MECONAH.

Melatiah

mel-a-ti'-a (melatyah, "Yah's deliverance"): A Gibeonite who assisted in building the wall of Jerusalem under Nehemiah (Nehemiah 3:7).

Melchi

mel'-ki (Tischendorf, Tregelles, Westcott and Hort, The New Testament in Greek, Melchei; Textus Receptus of the New Testament, Melchi): The name of two ancestors of Jesus according to Luke's genealogy, one being in the 4th generation before Joseph, the husband of Mary, the other being in the 3rd generation before Zerubbabel (Luke 3:24,Luke 3:28).

Melchiah

mel-ki'-a (malkhiyah, "Yah's king"): A priest and father of Pashur (Jeremiah 21:1 the King James Version); elsewhere and in the Revised Version (British and American) called MALCHIAH and MALCHIJAH (which see).

Melchias

mel-ki-as (Codex Vaticanus, Melcheias, Codex Vaticanus (b), Codex Alexandrinus, Melchias): Name of three men who had taken "strange wives":

(1) 1 Esdras 9:26 = "Malchijah" (Ezra 10:25).

(2) 1 Esdras 9:32 = "Malchijah" (Ezra 10:31).

(3) One of those who stood at Ezra's left hand when the law was read (1 Esdras 9:44) = "Malchijah" (Nehemiah 8:4), possibly identical with (1) or (2).

Melchiel

mel'-ki-el (Melchiel, Codex Vaticanus, Melcheiel): The father of Charmis, one of the governors of Bethulia (Judith 6:15). Other readings are Sellem and Mochisel.

Melchishua

mel-ki-shoo'-a (malkishua`, "king's help").

See MALCHI-SHUA.

Melchizedek; Melchisedec

mel-kiz'e-dek, and (the King James Version in the book of Hebrews) (malki-tsedheq, "Tsedheq, or Tsidhiq is my king" (Genesis 14:18 Psalms 110:4); Melchisedek (Hebrews 5:6,Hebrews 5:10; Hebrews 6:20; Hebrews 7:1,Hebrews 7:10,Hebrews 7:11,Hebrews 7:15,Hebrews 7:17)): The name is explained in Hebrews 7:2 as "king of righteousness," with "-i" as the old genitive ending; but the correct explanation is no doubt the one given above; compare Adoni-zedek in Joshua 10:1, where Septuagint with Judges 1:5–7 has Adonibezek. Melchizedek was king of Salem (= Jerusalem) and "a priest unto 'El `Elyon" (Genesis 14:18). He brought bread and wine to Abraham after the latter's victory over the kings, and also bestowed upon him the blessing of 'El `Elyon. Abraham gave him "a tenth of all," i.e. of the booty probably, unless it be of all his possessions. Genesis 14:22 identifies Yahweh with 'El `Elyon, the title of the Deity as worshipped at Jerusalem; and so Hebrews 7:1 ff, following Septuagint of Genesis 14:18 ff, calls Melchizedek. "priest of God Most High," i.e. Yahweh.

Skinner (Gen, 271, where Josephus, Ant, XVI, vi, 2, and Am M 6:1 are cited) points out that the Maccabees were called "high priests of God most high." Hence, some hold that the story of Melchizedek is an invention of Judaism, but Gunkel (Genesis 3, 285 ff) maintains that he is a traditional, if not a historical, character.

Psalms 110:4 makes the klng-priest who is addressed there a virtual successor of Melchizedek, and the kings of Jerusalem might well, as Gunkel suggests, have been considered successors of Melchizedek in the same way that Charlemagne was regarded as the successor of the Caesars, and the latter as successors of the Pharaohs in Egypt. This leads naturally to an early date being ascribed to Psalms 110:1–7.

The thought of a priest after the order of Melchizedek is taken up by the author of Hebrews. He wanted to prove the claim of Christ to be called priest. It was impossible, even had he so wished, to consider Jesus as an Aaronic priest, for He was descended from the tribe of Judah and not from that of Levi (7:14). The words of Psalms 110:4 are taken to refer to Him (Hebrews 5:5 f), and in Hebrews 7:5 ff the order of Melchizedek is held to be higher than that of Aaron, for the superiority of Melchizedek was acknowledged by Abraham (a) when he paid tithes to Melchizedek and (b) when he was blessed by Melchizedek, for "the less is blessed of the better." It might be added that Jesus can be considered a priest after the order of Melchizedek in virtue of His descent from David, if the latter be regarded as successor to Melchizedek But the author of He does not explicitly say this. Further, Aaron is only a "type" brought forward in He to show the more excellent glory of the work of Jesus, whereas Melchizedek is "made like unto the Son of God" (7:3), and Jesus is said to be "after the likeness of Melchizedek" (7:15).

Hebrews 7:1 ff presents difficulties. Where did the author get the material for this description of Melchizedek?

(1) Melchizedek is said to be "without father, without mother, (i.e.) without genealogy"; and

(2) he is described as "having neither beginning of days nor end of life"; he "abideth a priest continually."

The answer is perhaps to be had among the Tell el-Amarna Letters, among which are at least 6, probably 8, letters from a king of Urusalim to Amenophis IV, king of Egypt, whose "slave" the former calls himself. Urusalim is to be identified with Jerusalem, and the letters belong to circa 1400 BC. The name of this king is given as Abd-Khiba (or Abd-chiba), though Hommel, quoted by G.A. Smith, Jerusalem, II, 14, note 7, reads Chiba. Zimmer, in ZA, 1891, 246, says that it can be read Abditaba, and so Sayce (HDB, III, 335b) calls him `ebhedh tobh. The king tells his Egyptian overlord, "Neither my father nor my mother set me in this place: the mighty arm of the king (or, according to Sayce, "the arm of the mighty king") established me in my father's house" (Letter 102 in Berlin collection, ll. 9-13; also number 103, ll. 25-28; number 104, ll. 13-15; see, further, H. Winckler, Die Thontafeln von Tell-el-Amarna; Knudtzon, Beitrage zur Assyriologie, IV, 101 ff, 279 ff, cited by G.A. Smith, Jerusalem, II, 8, note 1).

It thus becomes clear that possibly tradition identified Melchizedek with Abd-Khiba. At any rate the idea that Melchizedek was "without father, without mother, (i.e.) without genealogy" can easily be explained if the words of Abd-Khiba concerning himself can have been also attributed to Melchizedek. The words meant originally that he acknowledged that he did not come to the throne because he had a claim on it through descent; he owed it to appointment. But Jewish interpretation explained them as implying that he had no father or mother. Psalms 110:4 had spoken of the king there as being "a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek," and this seems to have been taken to involve the perpetuity of Melchizedek also as priest. Melchizedek was then thought of as "having neither beginning of days" = "without father, without mother, without genealogy," and again as not having "end of life" = "abideth a priest continually." Hence, he is "made like unto the son of God," having neither beginning of days nor end of life. We get another New Testament example of Jewish interpretation in Galatians 4:21 ff. We have no actual proof that Melchizedek is identical with Abd-Khiba; possibly the reference to the former as being "without father," etc., is not to be explained as above. But why should Melchizedek, and he alone, of all the Old Testament characters be thought of in this way?

Westcott, Hebrews, 199, has a suggestive thought about Melchizedek: "The lessons of his appearance lie in the appearance itself. Abraham marks a new departure. .... But before the fresh order is established we have a vision of the old in its superior majesty; and this, on the eve of disappearance, gives its blessing to the new."

On the references to Melchizedek in Philo see Westcott, op. cit., 201; F. Rendall, Hebrews, App., 58 ff; and especially (with the passages and other authorities cited there) G. Milligan, Theology of Epistle to the Hebrews, 203 ff.

The conclusions we come to are:

(1) There was a tradition in Jerusalem of Melchizedek, a king in pre-Israelitish times, who was also priest to 'El `Elyon. This is the origin of Genesis 14:18 ff, where 'El `Elyon is identified with Yahweh.

(2) Psalms 110:1–7 makes use of this tradition and the Psalmist's king is regarded as Melchizedek's successor.

(3) The Epistle to the Hebrews makes use of

(a) Psalms 110:1–7, which is taken to be a prophecy of Christ, (b) of Genesis 14:18 ff, and

(c) of oral tradition which was not found in the Old Testament. It is this unwritten tradition that is possibly explained by the Tell el-Amarna Letters. See, further, articles by Sayce, Driver, and Hommel in Expository Times, VII, VIII.

See also JERUSALEM.

David Francis Roberts

Melea

me'-le-a, mel'-e-a (Melea): An ancestor of Jesus in Luke's genealogy (Luke 3:31).

Melech

me'-lek (melekh, "king"): Great-grandson of Jonathan, son of Saul, grandson of Mephibosheth or Meribbaal (1 Chronicles 8:35; 1 Chronicles 9:41).

Melicu

mel'-i-ku (melikhu, also melukhi, "regnant"): Same as MALLUCHI (which see).

Melita

mel'-i-ta (Melite, Acts 28:1): Is now generally identified with Malta. The former error in attributing the reference to the island of Meleda on the East coast of the Adriatic Sea was due to the ancient practice of employing the term Adria to include the Ionian and Sicilian seas.

Malta is the largest of a group of islands including Gozo and the islets Comino, Cominotto and Filfla, lying about 56 miles from the southern extremity of Sicily, 174 from the mainland of Italy, and 187 from the African coast. Malta itself is 17 1/2 miles long and 9 1/4 broad, and contains an area of 95 square miles. Its modern capital, Valetta, is situated in 35 degrees 54' North latitude and 14 degrees 31' East longitude.

The central position of Malta in the Mediterranean Sea gave it great importance as a naval station. It was probably at first a Phoenician colony, and later passed under the influence, if not domination, of the Sicilian Greeks. But the Romans captured it from the Carthaginians in 218 BC (Livy xxi.51) and attached it definitely to the province of Sicily. Under Roman rule the inhabitants were famous for their industry, especially in the production of textile fabrics, probably of native cotton. The celebrated vestis melitensis was a fine and soft material for dresses and for the covering of couches (Cicero Verr. ii.72,176; ii.74,183; iv.46,103; Diodorus v.12,22). At the time when Paul visited the island it would seem that the administration was entrusted to a deputy of the proprietor of Sicily, who is referred to as protos Melitaion (Acts 28:7; CIG, 5754), or Melitensium primus omnium (CIL, x, 7495) (see PUBLIUS). A bay 2 1/2 miles Northwest of Valetta, the mouth of which is held by tradition to be the place where the vessel that bore Paul ran ashore, tallies admirably with the description of the locality in Acts. The Admiralty charts indicate places near the west side of the entrance to the bay, where the depth is first 20 ft. and then 15 ft., while the rush of the breakers in front of the little island of Salmoneta and behind it suit the reference to a place "where two seas met" (Acts 27:41). The inlet is called the Bay of Paul. The topographical question has been exhaustively treated by Ramsay in Paul the Traveler.

George H. Allen

Melody

mel'-o-di: zimrah, a musical piece or song to be accompanied by an instrument (Isaiah 51:3); an instrument of praise (Amos 5:23); naghan, "to play on a stringed instrument," "Make sweet melody, sing many songs" (Isaiah 23:16); psallo to celebrate the praises of God with music (Ephesians 5:19).

See MUSIC.

Melons

mel'-unz (`abhattichim; compare Arabic battikh, the "water melon"; pepones): In Numbers 11:5, the melon is referred to as common in Egypt, and there can be no doubt that the variety indicated is the watermelon (Citrullus vulgaris) which is indigenous in tropical Africa. It has been cultivated in Egypt since the earliest times.

Melzar

mel'-zar (ha-meltsar; Septuagint Abiesdri, Theod. Hamelsad): Possibly a transliteration of the Babylonian Ameluucur, the officer to whom was entrusted the bringing-up of Daniel and his three companions (Daniel 1:11 the King James Version, the Revised Version (British and American) "the steward," margin "Hebrew: Hammelzar"). It has been suggested that the name is not the name of a person, but denotes the office of guardian, like the Babylonian maccaru. In this case the "l" would come by dissimulation from the first of the two "s" sounds, which on its side has come from an assimilated "n", the root being nacaru, "to protect" "to guard."

R. Dick Wilson

Mem

mam, mem "m" : The 13th letter of the Hebrew alphabet, transliterated in this Encyclopedia as "m". It came also to be used for the number 40.

See ALPHABET, for name, etc.

Member

mem'-ber

(1) yatsur; melos;

(2) shaphekhah, "membrum virile" (Deuteronomy 23:1)):

The first Hebrew word is derived from a root meaning "to knead," "to mold in clay," "to create." It therefore denotes any feature or part of the body. "So the tongue also is a little member, and boasteth great things" (James 3:5). "The members" is equivalent with "the body" (which see; compare Psalms 139:16 the King James Version). The members are not self-governing, but execute the orders of the mind, obeying either the lower nature in the commission of sin or iniquity, unrighteousness and uncleanness (Romans 6:13,Romans 6:19), or following the higher nature, the Divine impulses in the fulfilling of the law of Christ (6:19).

By nature, the "law in my members" (Romans 7:23) is opposed to the better nature (James 4:1) until by "regeneration" (which see) this condition is changed, when the Spirit of Christ becomes the governing power, using our members, i.e. all our abilities, in the execution of His plans. This is not done while we remain passive, but only when we have actively presented or yielded our members to His service (Romans 6:19). Therefore our bodies must not be desecrated by baser uses (1 Corinthians 6:15,1 Corinthians 6:19,1 Corinthians 6:20). The Lord Jesus illustrates the severe discipline which is needed to subdue the members of even the regenerate to perfect submission under the higher law of the Spirit by the simile of the right eye, which is to be plucked out, and the right hand, which is to be cut off (Matthew 5:29,Matthew 5:30), and Paul speaks of putting to death (the King James Version "mortifying") the "members which are upon the earth" (Colossians 3:5).

It is the difference in character and gifts of individual Christians which leads Paul to speak of the variety of members, which, though of manifold functions, are equally important to the completeness of the body. It is thus in the manifold variety of the body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:12–27; Ephesians 4:16), and Christians being members of Christ, who is the head (Ephesians 1:22; Ephesians 4:15; Ephesians 5:23), are members one of another (Romans 12:5; Ephesians 4:25).

In Deuteronomy 23:1 the Israelite Law against emasculation is referred to, and a religious disability is stated for the eunuch. Heathen Semites and other neighbors of Israel often castrated for religious purposes in the temple service of various divinities and for functions in princely palaces and harems. Heathen monarchs almost invariably had large numbers of these unfortunates, who frequently attained to positions of high power and responsibility. Herodotus states their frequent occurrence among the Persians (Hist. vi.32), and in the light of 2 Kings 20:18 and Daniel 1:3 it appears as not impossible that Daniel and his friends belonged to this class. In later years their existence is certain in Israel (1 Samuel 8:15 the Revised Version margin; Jeremiah 38:7; Matthew 19:12).

See also CONCISION; EUNUCH.

H. L. E. Luering

Memeroth

mem'-e-roth (Codex Alexandrinus, Mareroth; Codex Vaticanus here omits Memeroth and two other names; the King James Version Meremoth): A name in the genealogy of Ezra (1 Esdras 8:2) = "Meraioth" in Ezra 7:3, also "Marimoth" in 2 Esdras 1:2.

Memmius, Quintus

mem'-i-us, kwin'-tus (Kointos Memmios): One of the 2 Roman legates who bore a letter to the Jews after their victory over Lysias 163 BC (2 Macc 11:34). No Quintus Memmius is otherwise known to history, and no Memmius among the list of legates sent to Asia. Polybius (xxxi.18) mentions a Quintus and a Canuleius as sent to Egypt, 162 BC, and again (xxxiii.15) the same Quintus as sent as an ambassador to Rhodes, 153 BC. A Titus Memmius had been an envoy of the senate to Achaia and Macedonia before the date of this letter (Livy xliii.5). None of these is likely to be the one referred to in 2 Macc 11:34, and it is possible that no such person was sent with the letter, which is spurious.

See MANIUS.

S. Angus

Memorial; Memory

me-mo'-ri-al, mem'-o-ri ('azkarah, zekher, zekher, zikkaron; mnemosunon): "Memorial" as the translation of 'azkdrah is a sacrificial term, that which brings the offerer into remembrance before God, or brings God into favorable remembrance with the offerer; it is used of the burning of a portion of the meal offering, the Revised Version (British and American) (the King James Version "meat-offering"); better, cereal offering, on the altar (Leviticus 2:2, the Revised Version (British and American) "as the memorial"; Leviticus 2:9,Leviticus 2:16; Leviticus 5:12, the Revised Version (British and American) "as"; Leviticus 24:7; Numbers 5:26, the Revised Version (British and American) "as"); as the translation of zekher (zekher), zikkaron, it is a memorial in the sense of a remembrance (zekher, zekher, Exodus 3:15; the memorial (name) of Yahweh); hence, we have in the Revised Version (British and American) "memorial name" for "remembrance" (Psalms 30:4 the American Standard Revised Version; Ps 97:12, the English Revised Version "holy name," marin "Hebrew memorial"; Ps 102:12; 135:13; Isa 26:8; Ho 12:5, the English Revised Version "memorial"); for "memorial" (Esther 9:28; Psalms 9:6, the American Standard Revised Version "remembrance"); zikkaron, "a remembrance" (Exodus 12:14; Exodus 13:9; Leviticus 23:24; Numbers 5:15 (of the meal offering); Joshua 4:7; Nehemiah 2:20; Zechariah 6:14); the Passover feast was to be in this sense "a memorial .... for ever" (Exodus 12:14; Exodus 13:9); so also the shema` (Deuteronomy 6:4 f) ; "memorial" occurs in The Wisdom of Solomon 4:1 (mneme), the Revised Version (British and American) "memory"; The Wisdom of Solomon 4:19; Ecclesiasticus 45:1 (mnemosunon); Ecclesiasticus 49:1; 1 Macc 3:7; 12:53, the Revised Version (British and American) "memorial."

"Memorial" occurs in the New Testament as the translation of mnemosunon, "a token of remembrance" (Matthew 26:13; Mark 14:9; Acts 10:4, "Thy prayers and thine alms are gone up for a memorial before God," which suggests the sense in which "memorial" was used in the sacrificial ritual, and also the "better sacrifices" of the new dispensation).

Memory is the translation of zekher (zekher) (Psalms 109:15; Psalms 145:7; Proverbs 10:7; Ecclesiastes 9:5; Isaiah 26:14, the Revised Version (British and American) "remembrance"); it occurs also in 1 Macc 13:29; 2 Macc 7:20. Katecho, "to have or hold fast," is rendered in 1 Corinthians 15:2 the King James Version "keep in memory," margin "hold fast," the American Standard Revised Version "hold fast," the English Revised Version "hold it fast," i.e. the word preached to them.

W. L. Walker

Memphis

mem'-fis:

1. Name:

The ancient capital of Egypt, 12 miles South of the modern Cairo. This Greek and Roman form of the name was derived from the Coptic form Menfi (now Arabic Menf), the abbreviation of the Egyptian name Men-nofer, "the good haven." This name was applied to the pyramid of Pepy I, in the cemetery above the city; some have thought the city name to have been derived from the pyramid, but this is unlikely, as the city must have had a regular name before that. It may perhaps mean "the excellence of Mena," its founder. It appears still more shortened in Ho (9:6) as Moph (moph), and in Isa (19:13), Jer (2:16), and Eze (30:13) as Noph (noph).

2. Political Position:

The classical statements show that the city in Roman times was about 8 miles long and 4 miles wide, and the indications of the site agree with this. It was the sole capital of Position Egypt from the Ist to the XVIIth Dynasty; it shared supremacy with Thebes during the XVIIIth to XXVth Dynasties, and with Sais to the XXXth Dynasty. Alexandria then gradually obscured it, but the governor of Egypt signed the final capitulation to the Arabs in the old capital. While other cities assumed a political equality, yet commercially Memphis probably remained supreme until the Ptolemies.

3. The Founders and the City:

The oldest center of settlement was probably the shrine of the sacred bull, Apis or Hapy, which was in the South of the city. This worship was doubtless prehistoric, so that when the first king of all Egypt, Mena, founded his capital, there was already a nucleus. His great work was taking in land to the North, and founding the temple of the dynastic god Ptah, which was extended until its enclosure included as much as the great temple of Amon at Thebes, about 3 furlongs long and 2 furlongs wide. To the North of this was the sacred lake; beyond that, the palace and camp. Gradually the fashionable quarters moved northward in Egypt, in search of fresher air; the rulers had moved 10 miles North to Babylon by Roman times, then to Fostat, then Cairo, and lastly now to Abbasiyeh and Kubkeh, altogether a shift of 18 miles in 8,000 years.

4. Archaeological Results:

After the shrine of Apis the next oldest center is that of Ptah, founded by Mena. This was recently cleared in yearly sections by the British School, finding principally sculptures of the XVIIIth and XIXth Dynasties. The account of the north gate given by Herodotus, that it was built by Amenemhat III, has been verified by finding his name on the lintel. An immense sphinx of alabaster 26 ft. long has also been found. To the East of this was the temple of the foreign quarter, the temple of King Proteus in Greek accounts, where foreign pottery and terra cotta heads have been found. Other temples that are known to have existed in Memphis are those of Hathor, Neit, Amen, Imhotep, Isis, Osiris-Sokar, Khnumu, Bastel, Tahuti, Anubis and Sebek.

A large building of King Siamen (XXIst Dynasty) has been found South of the Ptah temple. To the North of the great temple lay the fortress, and in it the palace mound of the XXVIth Dynasty covered two acres. It has been completely cleared, but the lower part is still to be examined. The north end of it was at least 90 ft. high, of brickwork, filled up to half the height by a flooring raised on cellular brickwork. The great court was about 110 ft. square, and its roof was supported by 16 columns 45 ft. high.

The principal sights of Memphis now are the great colossus of Rameses II, the lesser colossus of the same, and the immense alabaster sphinx. The cemetery of the city is the most important in Egypt; it lies 2 miles to the West on the desert, and is known as Saqqareh, from So-kar, the god of the dead.

See SAQQAREH.

W. M. Flinders Petrie

Memucan

me-mu'-kan (memukhan; derivation unknown but probably of Persian origin (Esther 1:14,Esther 1:16,Esther 1:21)): One of "the seven princes of Persia and Media, who saw the king's face, and sat first in the kingdom." Ahasuerus consults these men, as those "that knew law and judgment," as to the proper treatment of the rebellious Vashti. Memucan is the spokesman of the reply. He recommends Vashti's deposition so that "all the wives will give to their husbands honor, both to great and small." This advice is adopted and incorporated into a royal decree--with what success is not said.

Menahem

men'-a-hem (menachem, "one who comforts"; Manaem; 2 Kings 15:14–22):

1. Accession and Reign:

Son of Gadi and 16th king of Israel. He reigned 10 years. Menahem was probably the officer in charge of the royal troops in Tirzah, one of the king's residences, at the time of the murder of Zechariah by Shallum. Hearing of the deed, he brought up his troops and avenged the death of his master by putting Shallum to death in Samaria. He then seized the vacant throne. His first full year may have been 758 BC (others, as seen below, put later).

2. Early Acts:

The country at this time, as depicted by Hosea and Amos, was in a deplorable condition of anarchy and lawlessness. Menahem, with a strong hand, enforced his occupation of the throne. One town only seems to have refused to acknowledge him. This was Tiphsah, a place 6 miles Southwest of Shechem, now the ruined village of Khurbet Tafsah. As Menahem is said to have attacked this enclosed city from Tirzah, lying to its North, it is probable that he took it on the way to Samaria, before proceeding to do battle with Shallum. If this was so, it is some explanation of the cruelty with which he treated its inhabitants (2 Kings 15:16). One such instance of severity was enough. The whole kingdom was at his feet. He proved to be a strong and determined ruler, and during the 9 or 10 years of his governorship had no further internecine trouble to contend with.

3. Menahem and Assyria:

But there was another source of disquiet. Assyria, under Pul, had resumed her advance to the West and threatened the kingdoms of Palestine. Menahem resolved on a policy of diplomacy, and, rather than risk a war with the conqueror of the East, agreed to the payment of a heavy tribute of 1,000 talents of silver. To raise this sum he had to assess his wealthier subjects to the extent of 50 shekels each. As there are 3,000 shekels in a talent of silver, it is obvious that some 60,000 persons, "mighty men of wealth," must have been laid under contribution in this levy--an indication at once of the enormity of the tribute, and of the prosperity of the country at the time. However short-sighted the policy, its immediate purpose was attained, which was that the hand of the Assyrian king "might be with him to confirm the kingdom in his hand" (2 Kings 15:19).

4. A Conflict of Dates:

A difficulty attaches to the dates of this period. The Pul of 2 Kings 15:19 and 1 Chronicles 5:26 is now identified with Tiglath-pileser III, who took this title on ascending the throne of Assyria in 745 BC. In an inscription of Tiglath-pileser, Menahem appears as Minehimmu Samarina (Menahem the Samarian), together with Racunnu (Rezin) of Damascus and Hirumu (Hiram) of Tyre. The date given to this inscription is 738 BC, whereas the last year we can give to Menahem is 749, or 10 years earlier.

5. Proposed Solutions:

The chronological difficulty which thus arises may be met in one of two ways. Either the inscription, like that on the black obelisk of Kurkh (see JEHU), was written some years after the events to which it refers and contains records of operations in which Tiglath-pileser took part before he became king; or Pekah--who was on the throne of Israel in 738 (?)--is spoken of under the dynastic name Menahem, though he was not of his family. The former of these hypotheses is that which the present writer is inclined to adopt. (By others the dates of Menahem are lowered in conformity with the inscription.)

See CHRONOLOGY OF THE OLD TESTAMENT.

6. Character:

Menahem attempted no reformation in the national religion, but, like all his predecessors, adhered to the worship of the golden calves. On this account, like them, he incurs the heavy censure of the historian.

W. Shaw Caldecott

Menan

me'-nan.

See MENNA.

Mene, Mene, Tekel, Upharsin

me'-ne, me'-ne, te'-kel, u-far'-sin, men'-a, men'a, tek'-el, oo-far'-sin (mene' ~mene' ~teqel ~upharcin; Theodotion, Mane, thekel, phares): These are the words that, according to Daniel's reading, were inscribed on the walls of Belshazzar's palace and that caused the great commotion on the occasion of his last feast (Daniel 5:25). As the only authority that we have for the reading is that of Daniel, it seems but fair that the interpretation of the terms be left to the person who gave us the text. According to his interpretation, there is a double sense to be found in the three different words of the inscription (Daniel 5:26–28).

Mene', which, however it is pointed, must be taken from the verb menah (Hebrew manah; Babylonian manu), is said to have indicated that God had numbered (the days of) Belshazzar's kingdom and finished it (or delivered it up). Both of these meanings can be shown to be proper to the menah.

Teqel, on the contrary, is interpreted as coming from two roots: the first, teqal, "to weigh," and the second, qal, "to be light or wanting" (Hebrew qalal; Babylonian qalalu).

Perec (or parcin) also is interpreted as coming from two roots: first, perac, "to divide" (Hebrew paras or parash; Babylonian parasu), and the second as denoting the proper name Parac, "Persia." Thus interpreted, the whole story hangs together, makes good sense, and is fully justified by the context and by the language employed. If the original text was in Babylonian, the signs were ambiguous; if they were in Aramaic, the consonants alone were written, and hence, the reading would be doubtful. In either case, the inscription was apparent but not readable, except by Daniel with the aid of God, through whom also the seer was enabled to give the proper interpretation. That Daniel's interpretation was accepted by Belshazzar and the rest shows that the interpretation of the signs was reasonable and convincing when once it had been made. We see, therefore, no good reason for departing from the interpretation that the Book of Daniel gives as the true one.

As to the interpretation of the inscription, it makes no difference whether the signs represented a mina, a shekel, and two perases, as has been recently suggested by M. Clermont-Ganneau. In this case the meaning was not so apparent, but the puns, the play upon the sounds, were even better. We doubt, however, if it can be shown that teqel means sheqel. On the old Aramaic documents of Egypt and Assyria, it is with one exception spelled sheqel. In the Targum of Onkelos, sheqel is always rendered by cela`; in the Peshitta and Arabic VSS, by mathqal; in the Samaritan Targum, by mathqal (except only perhaps in Genesis 23:16, where we have ethqel). In the Targum of Onkelos, wherever tiqla' occurs, it translates the Hebrew beqa` (Genesis 24:22 and Exodus 38:26 only). Mene', to be sure, may have meant the mina, and perec, the half-mina. The parash is mentioned in the inscription of Panammu and in an Aramaic inscription on an Assyrian weight. Besides this, it is found in the New Hebrew of the Mishna It is not found, however, in the Targum of Onkelos, nor in Syriac, nor in the Old Testament Hebrew; nor in the sense of half-shekel in the Aramaic papyri. While, then, it may be admitted that Daniel may have read, "A mina, a mina, a shekel, and two half-minas," it is altogether unlikely, and there is certainly no proof that he did. Yet, if he did, his punning interpretations were justified by the usage of ancient oracles and interpreters of signs, and also by the event.

R. Dick Wilson

Menelaus

men-e-la'-us (Menelaos): According to the less likely account of Josephus (Ant., XII, v, 1; XV, iii, 1; XX, x, 3), Menelaus was a brother of Jason and Onias III, and his name was really Onias. But it is very unlikely that there should be two brothers of the same name. The account of 2 Maccabees is more credible--that Menelaus was the brother of the notorious Simon who suggested to the Syrians the plundering of the temple; he was thus of the tribe of Benjamin (2 Macc 4:23; compare with 3:4) and not properly eligible to the high-priesthood. He was entrusted by Jason (171 BC), who had supplanted Onias, with contributions to the king of Syria, Antiochus Epiphanes, and by outbidding Jason in presents he secured the office of high priest for himself (2 Macc 4:23 f), 171 BC. Menelaus returned with "the passion of a cruel tyrant" to Jerusalem, and Jason fled. But as Menelaus failed to pay the promised amount, both he and Sostratus, the governor, were summoned to appear before the king. Lysimachus, the brother of Menelaus, was left at Jerusalem in the meantime as deputy high priest. The king was called from his capital to suppress an insurrection of Tarsus and Mallus. Menelaus took advantage of his absence to win over Andronicus, the king's deputy, by rich presents stolen from the temple. For this sacrilege Onias III sharply reproved him and fled to a sanctuary, Daphne, near Antioch. Andronicus was then further persuaded by Menelaus to entice Onias from his retreat and murder him (2 Macc 4:34 f)--an act against which both Jews and Greeks protested to the king on his return, and secured deserved punishment for Andronicus. Meanwhile, the oppression of Lysimachus, abetted by Menelaus, caused a bloody insurrection in Jerusalem, in connection with which a Jewish deputation brought an accusation against Menelaus on the occasion of Antiochus' visit to Tyre. Menelaus bribed Ptolemy, son of Dorymenes, to win over the king to acquit himself and secure the execution of "those hapless men, who, if they had pleaded even before Scythians, would have been discharged uncondemned" (2 Macc 4:39 ff). Menelaus returned in triumph to his office. But Jason, taking advantage of Epiphanes' absence in Egypt and a false rumor of his death, made a bloody but unsuccessful attempt upon the city, in order to secure his office again; his rival took refuge in the citadel. The king returned in fury, caused a three days' slaughter of the citizens, rifled the temple with Menelaus as guide, and left him as one of his agents to keep the Jews in subjection (2 Macc 5:1 ff). He appears next and for the last time in the reign of Eupator in 162 BC. Lysias, the king's chancellor, accused him to the king as the cause of all the troubles in Judea (2 Macc 13:3-8). Eupator caused him to be brought to Berea and there--before, according to 2 Maccabees, loc. cit., or after, according to Josephus, Ant, XII, ix, 7, the invasion of Judea by Eupator and Lysias--to be put to death by being flung from the top of a high tower into the ashes of which it was full--a fitting end for such a wretch.

S. Angus

Menestheus

me-nes'-thus, me-nes'-the-us (Menestheus Codex Alexandrinus, Menestheseos): The father of Apollonius, a general of Epiphanes (2 Macc 4:21 and in 2 Macc 4:4 the Revised Version (British and American), following a conjecture of Hort Menestheos for mainesthai heos the latter is retained in Swete and Fritzache]). "Son of Menestheus" is added to distinguish this Apollonius from "Apollonius, Son of Thrasaeus" (2 Macc 3:5) and "Apollonius, Son of Gennaeus" (2 Macc 12:2).

See APOLLONIUS.

Meni

me'-ni: Destiny, a god of Good Luck, possibly the Pleiades (Isaiah 65:11 margin).

See ASTROLOGY, 10; GAD.

Menna

men'-a (Menna Westcott and Hort, The New Testament in Greek, Tregelles, Tischendorf; Mainan Textus Receptus of the New Testament; the King James Version Menan): An ancestor of Jesus, a great-grandson of David (Luke 3:31).

Menuhah

men-u'-ha, men-u'-ka (menuchah, "place of rest"; the King James Version Menuchah): Rendered in Judges 20:43 the King James Version "with ease," the Revised Version (British and American) "at their resting-place." Both, however, have a marginal suggestion which would make the word a place-name, which would then more naturally read "from Nuhah over against Gibeah," thus describing the ground over which the slaughter of the Benjamites occurred. In 1 Chronicles 8:2 the word "Nohah" occurs as that of a Benjamite elan. The place intended is perhaps MANAHATH (which see).

Menuhoth

men-u'-hoth (menuchoth, "dwellings"; the King James Version manachti Manahethites): The first form is the Revised Version (British and American) transliterated in the name; the second form is the King James Version retained by the Revised Version (British and American) in the passages where the word occurs (1 Chronicles 2:52; compare 2:54). The people here spoken of by the King James Version as "half of the Manahethites" are mentioned as descendants of Salma (1 Chronicles 2:54), while those mentioned as Menuhoth are mentioned as descendants of Judah through Shobal, father of Kiriath-jearim. Both words are from the same root. the King James Version keeps the same designation for both passages, while the Revised Version (British and American) has marked the difference in spelling by changing the first passage and following the King James Version in the second. Both sections of the family belong to the Caleb clan, and it would seem that they became the dominant people in the otherwise unknown town of Manahath, so that it came to be regarded as belonging to Judah. It may be connected with the Menuchah (the Revised Version (British and American) "Menuhah") suggested as a place-name in Judges 20:43 margin. In the Septuagint, between Joshua 15:59 and 60, the names of 11 cities are inserted, among them being a Manocho whose Hebrew equivalent gives the word. It is difficult to identify, and the Vulgate (Jerome's Latin Bible, 390-405 A.D.) cuts the knot by translating "dimidium requietionum"!

See MANAHATH.

Henry Wallace

Meonenim, Oak Of

me-on'-e-nim, me-o'-ne-nim: ('elon me`onenim; Codex Vaticanus, Elonmaonemein, Codex Alexandrinus, druos apobleponton; the King James Version Plain of): This was a sacred tree which apparently could be seen from the gate of Shechem (Judges 9:37). No doubt it took its name from the soothsayers who sat under it, practicing augury, etc. Several times mention is made of sacred trees in the vicinity of Shechem (Genesis 35:4; Joshua 24:26; Judges 9:6, etc.). Where this tree stood is not known.

See AUGUR'S OAK.

Meonothai

me-on'-o-thi, me-o'-no-thi, me-o-no'-thi (me`onothai, "my dwellings"): A son of Othniel, nephew of Caleb (1 Chronicles 4:14). Possibly, as the King James Version margin suggests, and the Vulgate (Jerome's Latin Bible, 390-405 A.D.) and Complutensian Septuagint say, 1 Chronicles 4:13,1 Chronicles 4:14 should read "the sons of Othniel, Hathath and Meonothai; and Meonothai begat Ophrah," etc. The latter may be founder of the town of that name.

Mephaath

mef'-a-ath, me-fa'-ath (mepha`ath and meypha`ath, mopha`ath; Codex Vaticanus, Maiphaath, Mephaath): A city of the Amorites in the territory allotted to Reuben, named with Kedemoth and Kiriathaim (Joshua 13:18), and given to the Merarite Levites (Joshua 21:37; 1 Chronicles 6:79). It appears again as a Moabite town in Jeremiah 48:21. It was known to Eusebius and Jerome (Onom) as occupied by a Roman garrison, but the site has been lost.