MAGISTRATE

probable that Jehoiachin, and afterwards Shealtiel and Zerubbabel held the first rank among them, or, in other words, were their princes. After their return to their native country, the Hebrews obeyed their pacha, or president. Such were Zerubbabel, Ezra, and Nehemiah, who were invested with ample powers for the purposes of government. (Ezra 7. 25.) When, from any cause, there was no person authorized by the civil government to act as president, the high-priest commonly undertook the government of the state. This state of things continued while the Jews were under the Persians and Greeks, until the time of Antiochus Epiphanes, in whose reign they appealed to arms, shook off the yoke of foreign subjugation, and having obtained their freedom, made their high-priests princes, and at length kings. The Jews, likewise, who were scattered abroad, and had taken up their residence in countries at a distance from Palestine, had rulers of their own. The person who sustained the highest office among those who dwelt in Egypt, was denominated Alabarchus; the magistrate at the head of the Syrian Jews was denominated Archon.

While the Jews were under the Roman government, they enjoyed the privilege of referring litigated questions to referees, whose decisions in reference to them the Roman prætor was bound to see put in execution.

After the subjugation of the Jews by the Romans, certain provinces of Judæa were governed by that class of magistrates denominated tetrarchs. The office of tetrarch is said to have had its origin from the Gauls. Having at a certain time made an incursion into Asia Minor, they succeeded in taking from the king of Bithynia that part of it, which is denominated, from their own name, Galatia. The Gauls who made this invasion consisted of three tribes, and each tribe was divided into four parts or tetrarchates, each of which obeyed its own tetrarch. The tetrarch was of course subordinate to the king. The appellation of tetrarch, which was thus originally applied to the chief magistrate of the fourth part of a tribe, subject to the authority of the king, was afterwards extended in its application, and applied to any governors, subject to some king or emperor, without reference to the fact, whether they ruled or not precisely the fourth part of a tribe or people. Herod Antipas, accordingly, and Philip, although they did not rule so much as a fourth part of Judæa, were denominated tetrarchs. (Matt. 14. 1; Luke 9. 7; Acts 13. 1.) Although this class of rulers were dependant upon Cæsar, that is, the Roman emperor, they, nevertheless, governed the people who were committed to their immediate jurisdiction, as much according to their own choice and discretion, as if they had not been thus dependant. They were inferior, however, in point of rank to the ethnarchs, who, although they did not publicly assume the name of king, were addressed with that title by their subjects; as was the case with respect to Archelaus. (Matt. 2. 22.)

A class of magistrates well known among the Romans, termed procurators, are denominated in the New Testament yeμoves, but it appears that they are called by Josephus ETTроTot. Judæa, after the termination of the ethnarchate of Archelaus, was governed by rulers of this description, and likewise during the period which immediately succeeded the reign of Herod Agrippa. Augustus made a new partition of the provinces of the Roman empire into provincia senatoriæ, which were left under the nominal care of the senate, and provinciæ imperatoriæ vel Cæsarum, which were under the direct control of the emperor. To their provinces the senate sent officers for one year, called proconsuls, with only a civil power, and neither military command nor authority

over the taxes: those sent to command in the imperial provinces were called legati Cæsaris pro consule, &c., and had much greater powers. In each of these provinces, of both kinds, there was, besides the president, an officer called procurator Cæsaris, who had the charge of the revenue, and who sometimes discharged the office of a governor or president, especially in a small province, or in a portion of a large one, where the president could not reside; as did Pilate, who was procurator of Judea, which was annexed to the provincia imperatoria of Syria; hence he had the power of punishing capitally, which the procurators did not usually possess; so also Felix, Festus, and the other procurators of Judæa. Some of the procurators were dependant on the nearest proconsul or president; for instance, those of Judæa were dependant on the proconsul, governor, or president, of Syria. They enjoyed, however, great authority, and possessed the power of life and death. The only privilege, in respect to the officers of government, that was granted by the procurators of Judæa to that nation, was the appointment from among them of persons to manage and collect the taxes. In all other things they administered the government themselves, except that they frequently had recourse to the counsel of other persons. (Acts 23. 24-35; 25. 23.)

The military force that was granted to the procurators of Judæa, consisted of six cohorts, of which five were stationed at Cæsarea, where the procurator usually resided, and one at Jerusalem, in the tower of Antonia, which was so situated as to command the Temple. (Acts 10. 1; 21. 32.) It was the duty of the military cohorts to execute the procurator's commands and to repress seditions. (Matt. 8. 5; 27. 27; Mark 15. 16; John 19.23.) On the return of the great festivals, when there were vast crowds of people at Jerusalem, the procurators themselves went from Cæsarea to that city in order to be at hand to suppress any commotions which might arise. (Matt. 27. 2-65; John 18. 29; 19. 38.)

The apxwv mentioned in Luke 12. 58, rendered "magistrate" in our version, is a term applied to magistrates of any kind; for example, to the high-priest, (Acts 23. 5,) civil judges, (16. 19,) rendered "rulers,” a ruler of a synagogue. (Luke 8. 41.) It was also applied to persons of influence among the Pharisees and other sects at Jerusalem, who were also members of the Sanhedrin. (Luke 14. 1.)

MAGOG. See GOG AND Magog.

MAHALATH, ♫ This word occurs in the title of Psalms 53 and 88. It is most probably the kind cannot now be determined. The Septuagint and name of a musical instrument, but of what particular Vulgate, like our version, have not attempted to explain the word. Gesenius mahhlet, or cithara; others think it the flute. says it was probably the Ethiopian A less chorus, has been advocated by some writers. Calmet probable opinion, that it means a kind of dance, or a concludes that the word means a dance, referring to such dances as were used at particular festivals, (Exod. that the psalm is addressed to the chief musician who 15. 20; Judges 21. 21; 1Sam. 18. 6,) and understands had the superintendence and direction of such dances. Jerome, Houbigant, and others render it "chorus," in which Rosenmüller concurs, and from the term is Leannoth, in Psalm 88, the latter thinks it refers to singing in alternate choruses, accompanied by musical instruments similar to pipes or flutes, deriving the word from hhalel, to perforate.

MAHANAIM, □ (Gen. 32. 2,) a city on the east of Jordan, between the tribes of Gad and Manasseh, to the first of which it once belonged, but was afterwards transferred to the Levites. (Josh. 13. 26,30; 21. 38.) It appears to have been a place of great strength, and was therefore selected by Abner as the residence of Ishbosheth, the son of Saul, during the war between him and David, (2Sam. 2. 8;) and it was probably for the same reason that David withdrew to this place during the rebellion of his son Absalom. (2Sam. 17. 24-27.) Near it the troops of David defeated those of his rebellious son. (ch. 18. 6-8.) The precise situation of this town cannot now be ascertained: the patriarch Jacob gave it its name, which signifies two camps, or two hosts of angels, because in this place he had a vision of angels coming to meet him.

was a place near מחנה דן,MAIIANEII DAN

Kirjath-jearim in the tribe of Judah, where six hundred
Danites encamped in their way to Laish. (Judges 18. 12.)
Its name signifies "the camp
of Dan."

MAHER-SHALAL-HI ASH-BAZ, in unb

(He hasteneth to the prey,) (Isai. 8. 1-3,) a name given by the Lord to one of the sons of the prophet Isaiah. The prophet says, (v. 18,) "Behold, I, and the children whom the Lord hath given me, are for signs and for wonders in Israel from the Lord of hosts, which dwelleth in Mount Zion."

MAIL, COAT OF. See ARMS, ARMOUR, ARMY. MAIN-SAIL. The word aρTeμwv, (Acts 27. 40,) rendered in our version "main-sail," is considered by some authorities to refer to a top-sail; while others think it was the jib. See SHIP.

MAJESTY, hadar, (Psalm 104. 1,) signifies generally pomp, glory; it is here used of the infinite dignity and glory of God. The chief distinctions of majesty mentioned in the Scriptures were the royal apparel, the crown, the throne, and the sceptre. See KING.

MAKHELOTH, лp (Numb.33.25,) (Places of convocation,) one of the encamping places of the Israelites in the desert. Its locality is unknown, but Calmet says it is thought by some writers to be Malathis, which Eusebius and Jerome place twenty miles from Hebron, in the south of Judah.

MAKING BARE THE ARM. In Isaiah 52. 10 we read, “The Lord hath made bare his holy arm in the of all the nations; and all the ends of the earth eyes shall see the salvation of our God."

Mr. Jowett observes, "The use of the Oriental dress which I now wear brings to mind various Scriptural illustrations. The figure in Isaiah, "The Lord hath made bare his holy arm,' is most lively; for the loose sleeve of the Arab shirt, as well as that of the outer garment, leaves the arm so completely free, that, in an instant, the left hand passing up the right arm makes it bare; and this is done when a person, a soldier, for example, about to strike with the sword, intends to give his right arm full play. The image represents Jehovah as suddenly prepared to inflict some tremendous, yet righteous judgment, so effectual 'that all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of God.""

preparing for the battle: he takes the robe from his right arm, that being thus uncovered, 'made bare,' it may the more easily perform its office. 'Tell your boasting master to get ready his army, for our king has shown his shoulder,' that is, uncovered it. 'Alas! I have heard that the mighty sovereign of the neighbouring kingdom has pointed to his shoulder,' that is, he is ready to come against us. See two men disputing; should one of them point to his right arm and shoulder, the other will immediately fall into a rage, as he knows it amounts to a challenge, and says in effect, 'I am thy superior.' Thus may be seen men at a distance, when defying each other, slapping each his right hand or shoulder. Jehovah, in reference to the nations of the earth, 'hath made bare his holy arm. . . . And all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God.'"

...

MAKKEDAH, TP (Josh. 10. 10,) a city in the plain of the tribe of Judah, was formerly a royal city of the Canaanites. Here Joshua secured and put to death the five confederated kings. He then destroyed the place itself and marched to Libnah. (Josh. 10. 16-29.)

under

MALACHI, Sept. Maλaxias, was the last of the minor prophets, of whom so little is known that it has been doubted whether his name be a proper name, or only a generic term, signifying the angel of the Lord, a messenger, a prophet. It appears from Haggai 1. 13, compared with Malachi 3. 1, that in those times the appellation of Malachi-Jehovah, or the messenger of the Lord, was given to the prophets. The Septuagint translators have rendered Malachi, “his angel," instead of "my angel," as the Hebrew word implies; and several of the Fathers have quoted Malachi under the name of "the angel of the Lord." The author of the Lives of the Prophets, under the name of Epiphanius Dorotheus, and the Chronicon Alexandrinum, profess to be better informed: they say that Malachi was of the tribe of Zebulun, and a native of Saapha; that he died very young, and that the name Malachi was given to him because of his angelical mildness. Origen and some others entertained the extravagant notion that he was an incarnate angel; another writer identifies him with Mordecai. Calmet, after Jerome and some other ancient writers, thinks that Malachi was the same person as Ezra, who wrote the canonical book that passes his name, and was governor of the Jews after their return from the Captivity. As he revised the Holy Scriptures, and collected the Canon of the Old Testament, and performed various other important services to the Jewish church, Ezra has been considered both by ancient Jewish, and also by the early Christian writers, as a very extraordinary person sent from God, and therefore they thought him very appropriately denominated Malachi: but the arguments adduced in support of this opinion rest on no solid foundation; and it seems clear that Malachi was a distinct person from Ezra, and (as Rosenmüller observes,) the whole argument of his book proves that he flourished after the return from the Captivity. That he was contemporary with Nehemiah was the unvarying opinion of the ancient writers, and is placed beyond a doubt by the subjects contained in his book, which present the same aspect of things as in Nehemiah's time: thus, the prophet speaks of the Temple, as having been built a considerable time; he introduces the Jews as complaining of the unfavourable state of their affairs; and finds occasion of censure with respect to the heathen wives, whom Nehemiah after some time separated from the

MALACHI

people, (Nehem. 13. 23-30;) the withholding of tithes is censured, which was also noticed by Nehemiah. (13. 5.) From all these circumstances, it appears that Malachi prophesied while Nehemiah was governor of Judæa, more particularly after his second coming from the Persian court; and he appears to have contributed the weight of his exhortations to the restoration of the Jewish polity, and the final reform established by that pious and excellent governor. Dr. Kennicott places him about the year 420 before Christ, which date is adopted by Dr. Hales as sufficiently agreeing with the description of Josephus and the varying dates of chronologers.

The occasion and the scope of the writings of Malachi may be briefly stated. The Jews having rebuilt the Temple and re-established the worship of Jehovah, after the death of Zerubbabel and Joshua, relapsed into their former irreligion in consequence of the negligence of the priests. Although they were subsequently reformed during the governments of Ezra and Nehemiah, yet they fell into gross abuses after the death of Ezra, and during Nehemiah's absence at the court of Persia. The prophet Malachi was therefore commissioned to reprove the priests and people, more particularly after Nehemiah's second return, for their irreligious practices, and to invite them to reformation and repentance by promises of the great blessings that should be bestowed at the advent of the Messiah. Malachi prophesied of the coming of John the Baptist, and of the coming of Our Saviour. (ch. 3.) He speaks of the abolition of sacrifices under the old law, and of the sacrifice of the New Covenant. (1. 10,13; 4. 5,6.) With him the Old Testament prophecies conclude.

"The last of the prophetical books," says Bishop Lowth, "that of Malachi, is written in a kind of middle style, which seems to indicate that the Hebrew poetry, from the time of the Babylonish captivity, was in a declining state, and being past its prime and vigour, was then fast verging towards the debility of age."

MALCHUS, Maλxos, (John 18. 10,) was a servant of Caiaphas, the high-priest, whose name St. John has preserved. Malchus being one of the company that was commanded to seize Our Lord in the garden of Gethsemane, Peter cut off his right ear, which, however, was instantly restored and the wound healed by the omnipotent touch of Jesus, who thus conferred upon him a signal act of mercy at a most critical time. The miraculous healing of Malchus presents an admirable union of justice, power, and goodness; and could not fail to convince the Apostles of the truth of Our Lord's declaration, that no man could take his life from Him, and that He only had power to lay it down and resume it again. It has indeed been asked, how such a miracle made so little impression upon the company which Judas conducted. The reply is easy: the whole transaction took place in an instant: Peter struck Malchus with a sword; Jesus stood still, with one hand stopped the apostle, and with the other healed the servant; while those who were present, in the middle of the night and by the flickering light of torches, had scarcely time to perceive what was passing.

and the night in which it was said, There is a man child conceived." (ch. 3. 3.) Dr. Boothroyd prefers to read, "Perish the day wherein I was born; the night it was said, Lo! a man child;" but Dr. Adam Clarke considers the last word of the verse should be taken in the sense of being born; and the Tamul translation takes the same view. The prophet Jeremiah also says, "Cursed be the man who brought tidings to my father, saying, A man child is born unto thee; making him very glad.” (ch. | 20. 15.)

"People in the East," Roberts informs us, "evince great anxiety to have male children. At the period of accouchement the husband awaits the result in an adjoining room, or the garden, and so soon as the affair shall be over, should the little stranger be a son, the nurse rushes outside, and beats the thatch on the roof three times, and exclaims aloud, 'A male child! a male child! a male child is born!' Should the infant be a female, not a word is said, and the father knows what is the state of the case. When a person conducts himself in an unmanly way, the people ask, 'Did they not beat the roof for you? Was it not said to your father, A male child is born?"

MALLOWS, malluach, (Job 30. 4;) Sept. aλipa; Vulg. arborum cortices. Job, in lamenting his calamities, complains that he has become contemptible to persons so miserably poor that "they cut up malluach by the bushes, and juniper roots for their meat." What malluach was, has been much disputed. Gesenius says it was the Atripex halimus of Linnæus, a plant growing in Palestine, and resembling a salad, the fresh leaves of which serve as food for the poor, either raw or boiled; others suppose that it was a species of marsh samphire, the Salicornia fruticosa, mentioned by Theophrastus, under the name of άλιμος, or άλιμον, saltwort, of which word the aλipa of the Septuagint is the plural form. Dr. Mason Good thinks that "the real plant is a species of salsola, or saltwort. The salsola, saltwort, or kali, is, in modern botany, an extensive genus of plants, comprising not less than two or three and twenty different species, of which some are herbaceous, and others shrubby, several of them common to Asia, and not a few indigenous to a dry sandy soil. They have all a saline

and bitter taste."

been applied to a plant not for its taste, but for its appearThe term malluach, or saltwort, however, might have ance, and then it might suggest a species of mesembryanthemum, or ice plant, which in the driest soils is covered of salt. The species of mesembryanthemum are exceedwith crystals that may sometimes be compared to grains. ingly numerous, and abound in the sandy tracts of Palesnature, exhibiting great variety in the form and appeartine and Edom, in all instances of a succulent and fleshy ance of the leaves. The flowers are in general large, with numerous stamens, and they present a pleasing contrast to the cheerless waste around, and the arid soil beneath.

possible to state positively what plant is meant, but the In this, as in so many other instances, it may be imrendering of our version seems preferable to that of the various commentators from whom we have quoted, as we have good evidence of mallows being used for food by the poor in Syria. "Master Biddulph," as given in Purchas his Pilgrimes, travelling from Aleppo to Jerusalem, (in March, 1600,) halted at a village called Laemine, and "after the showre, while our horses were preparing, we walked into the fields neere unto the church, and saw many poore people gathering mallows and three-leafed grasse, and asked them what they did with it; and they answered that it was all their food,

MAN

the divine traces the higher relations that connect man with his Creator, with superior beings and a future world. All these topics, except the last, however, are foreign to the nature of this work, and this article will, therefore, consist only of notices of a few Scriptural allusions. See ADAM.

Man, in Scripture, is sometimes put for the body, (2Cor. 4. 16;) or for the sins and corruptions of human nature. (Ephes. 4. 22.) It is employed in reference to the Church. (Eph. 2. 15.) “A perfect man," (Ephes. 4. 13,) refers to a strong and firm believer. Angels are styled men, (Acts 1. 10;) the term was also applied by the centurion at the crucifixion to Our Lord Jesus Christ. (Mark 15. 39.)

The Psalmist says, "I am forgotten as a dead man out of mind; I am like a broken vessel." (Psalm 31.12.) Roberts remarks that, in India, it is sometimes said of the man who is reduced to poverty, "Yes, I am now a corpse to all my former friends." "What is a man without money? a walking corpse!" "I am now a broken chatte, a potsherd." "Truly I am like the tam-bat-tam, the drum with its head broken." "I am of no use; no one enjoys me." In Judges 4. 10 we read, "And Barak called Zebulun and Naphtali to Kedesh; and he went up with ten thousand men at his feet: and Deborah went up with him." The same writer observes, "The phrase men at his feet,' did not, I believe, refer to any particular class of soldiers, but applied to all, whether they fought in chariots, on horses, or on foot. This form of speech is used in Eastern books, to show how many obey or serve under the general. It may be taken from the action of a slave, being prostrate at the feet of his master, denoting submission or obedience. In this way devotees, when addressing the gods, always speak of themselves as being at their feet. When the Orientals speak of the king of England, they often allude to the millions who are at his feet. The governors, generals, or judges in the East, are said to have the people of such countries, or armies, or districts, at their feet. Nay, it is common for masters, and people of small possessions, to speak of their domestics as being at their feet. It is therefore heard every day, for I will send my servants,' "those at my feet.””

MAN OF GOD, ON W'N esh ha-Elohim. This term usually signifies a prophet; a man devoted to God and to his service. Moses is called in a peculiar manner, “the man of God." (Deut. 33. 1; Josh. 14. 6.) MAN OF SIN. See ANTICHRIST.

MAN, SON OF. Our Saviour frequently calls himself "the Son of man," in allusion, probably, to the prophecy of Daniel, in which the Messiah is spoken of under that title. (Dan. 7. 13.) See MESSIANI.

MANAEN, Mavany, was a Christian prophet and teacher, who had been educated with Herod Agrippa I. (Acts 13. 1.) It has been conjectured he was the son of that Manaem (Mavanμos), mentioned by Josephus, who predicted the future greatness of Herod.

I. MANASSEH, Sept. Mavaoons, the eldest son of Joseph, was born in Egypt, but being adopted by his grandfather, inherited equally with the sons of Jacob. (Gen. ch. 48.) Little is known of his personal history; of his descendants, at the time of the first numbering of the Israelites, (Numb. 1. 35,) there were 32,200 fighting men. The name Manasseh signifies "forgetfulness," because Joseph said, "God hath

made me forget all my toil, and all my father's house." When Jacob was on his death-bed, Joseph brought his two sons to him, that his father might give them his last blessing. (Gen. ch. 48.) Jacob preferred Ephraim to Manasseh, though the younger, saying, "His younger brother shall be greater than he," a prophecy which we see was fulfilled, as Moses, in his last blessing of the tribes, speaks of "the ten thousands of Ephraim, and the thousands of Manasseh." (Deut. 33. 17.)

The province of the tribe was situated half on the other side, and half on this side of the Jordan. (Josh. 17. 18.) The region allotted to the half-tribe of Manasseh on the eastern side of the Jordan was bounded on the south by the territory of the tribe of Gad; by the Sea of Cinnereth, (afterwards called the Lake of Gennesareth and the Sea of Galilee,) and the course of the river Jordan from its source towards that sea, on the west; by Mount Lebanon, or more properly Mount IIermon, on the north and north-east; and by Mount Gilead on the east. Its principal cities were Ashtaroth-Carnaim, Beeshterah, Bethsaida, Gadara, Gerasa, Geshur, Jabesh-Gilead, and Lodebar. This tribe was greatly indebted to the bravery of Jair, who took three-score cities, besides several small towns and villages, which he called HavothJair, or the dwellings of Jair. (Numb. 32. 41; 1Chron. 2. 23.) The boundaries of the district of the other half-tribe on the western side of the Jordan cannot be ascertained with precision. Its chief places were Abelmeholath, Bethabara, Bethshan, afterwards called Scythopolis, Bezek, Endor, Enon, Gath-rimmon, Megiddo, Ophrah, Salim, and Tirzah.

II. MANASSEH, the fourteenth king of Judah, succeeded his father Hezekiah at the age of twelve years. In the early part of his reign, probably led aside by the profligate counsels of those who hated the reformation introduced by the pious Hezekiah, he proved a most wicked and idolatrous prince; and for his various crimes was carried captive into Babylon, about the twentysecond year of his reign. But upon his penitence and confession of his sins, he was delivered out of captivity and restored to his country, after, it is supposed, about a year's absence, perhaps through the medium of some revolution in the Assyrian empire. The remainder of his life and reign was as exemplary as its commencement had been profligate and wicked. The worship of God was restored, the fortifications of Jerusalem were repaired and strengthened, and military officers were placed in all the fenced cities of Judah. (2Chron. ch. 33.) Manasseh died at Jerusalem, and was buried "in the garden of his own house, in the garden of Uzza.” (2Kings 21. 18.) He was succeeded by his son Amon.

"THE PRAYER OF MANASSES, king of Judah, when he was holden captive in Babylon," forms a portion of the Apocrypha, and, though not unworthy of the occasion on which it is pretended to have been composed, was never recognised as canonical. It is rejected as spurious even by the Church of Rome. In 2Chronicles 33. 18,19, there is mention of a prayer by the king, which is said to be written "in the Book of the Kings of Israel,” and also "among the sayings of the seers;" but it is evident that this composition, which abounds with deeply pious and penitent expressions, cannot be the prayer there alluded to; for it never was extant in Hebrew, nor can it be traced to a higher source than the Vulgate Latin version. As it is mentioned by no writer more ancient than the pseudo-Clement, in the pretended Apostolical Constitutions, which were compiled in the fourth century, it is probable that this prayer was composed by some unknown person, who thought he could supply the loss of the original.