but
it
held
a,
vast
population
till
after
the
Arab
con-
i
It
should
be
noticed
that
a
double
interpretation
quest,
when
it
rapidly
declined.
The
growth
of
Postat
is
apparently
given
throughout,
each
of
the
words
"
~
having
perhaps
been
read
in
two
ways,
and
the
meanings
combined
(see
art.
'Mene
Mene
Tekel
Upharsin'
in
Hastings'
DB
for
details).
Another
possible
rendering
and
Cairo
was
accompanied
by
the
destruction
of
all
the
stone
buildings
in
Memphis
for
the
sake
of
the
materials,
but
the
necropolis
still
bears
witness
to
its
former
magniflcence.
The
bull
Apis
(Egyp.
Hapi)
(whose
name
is
read
in
LXX
at
Jer
46"
'
Why
did
Apis
flee
from
thee?')
was
worshipped
at
Memphis
as
sacred
to
Ptah
(Hephaestus),
the
principal
god
of
the
city.
F.
Ll.
Griffith.
MEMtJCAIT.
—
One
of
the
seven
princes
of
Persia
who
had
access
to
the
royal
presence
(Est
!"•
"•
").
MENAHEM,
one
of
the
latest
kings
of
Israel,
was
a
usurper,
like
so
many
other
monarchs
in
this
period.
He
and
Shallum
planned
to
seize
the
throne
about
the
same
time
(2
K
15'"),
Shallum
having
possession
of
Samaria,
while
Menahem
commanded
the
ancient
fortress
and
former
capital,
Tirzah.
War
raged
for
a
brief
time
with
unusual
ferocity,
resulting
in
the
defeat
of
Shallum.
Menahem
seems
not
to
have
felt
secure
on
the
throne,
and
to
have
purchased
the
help
of
Assyria
by
paying
a
heavy
tribute
to
Tiglath-pileser
(called
Pul
in
2
K
IS").
Or
we
may
suppose
the
Assyrians
to
have
invaded
the
country
because
it
was
so
weakened
by
civil
war
that
it
could
no
longer
make
effective
resis-tance.
The
tribute
was
a
thousand
talents
of
silver,
and
it
was
raised
by
a
direct
tax
on
the
holders
of
landed
property.
The
assessment
of
sixty
shekels
each
shows
that
there
were
sixty
thousand
proprietors
in
Israel
at
this
time.
From
the
Assyrian
sources
we
learn
that
this
tribute
was
paid
in
the
year
738
b.o.
It
is
interesting
to
note^
that
in
the
literature
of
Juda-ism
Menahem
(='
Comforter')
is
a
title
of
the
Messiah.
H.
P.
Smith.
mENE
KENE
TEKEL
UFHABSDT.—
The
words
of
the
handwriting
on
the
wall,
which,
according
to
Dn
S^-
^,
appeared
mysteriously
at
Belshazzar's
feast,
and
was
successfully
deciphered
by
Daniel
alone
(vv.M-28).
In
v.''
the
words
of
the
inscription
('the
writing
.
.
.
inscribed,'
RV)
are
given
as
above,
but
in
the
explanation
(vv.^-''')
are
quoted
in
a
divergent
form,
and
no
account
is
taken
of
the
repetition
of
the
first
word.
This
discrepancy
can
best
be
accounted
for
by
assuming
that
the
words
of
the
inscription
as
given
in
v.™
already
lay
in
their
present
form
before
the
author,
and
are
not
the
product
of
his
free
Invention;
while
vv.'"-'''
are
the
result
of
'
an
attempt
to
extract
from
the
words,
in
spite
of
grammar,
a
meaning
suitable
to
the
occasion.'
What,
then,
is
the
real
significance
of
the
mysterious
words?
As
has
been
shown
by
M.
Clermont-Ganneau
in
the
Journal
Asiaiique
for
1886,
they
are
really
names
of
weights.
Mene
is
the
Aram,
equivalent
of
the
Heb.
maneh
(Ezk
45'^,
Ezr
2")
and
=mina;
tekel
=
shekel;
and
pharsin
is
a
plural,
and
probably
represents
a
word
(perds
lit.
'division')
which
means
half-mina.
Thus
the
four
words
read
consecutively:
'A
mina,
a
mina,
a
shekel,
and
half-minas.'
The
enigmatic
character
of
the
combination
apparently
consisted
partly
in
the
manner
in
which
the
words
were
supposed
to
have
been
written
—
perhaps
in
some
unfamiUar
form
of
Aramaic
cursive
or
with
some
curious
inversion
in
arrangement
—
and
partly
in
determining
their
import
even
when
read.
The
appositeness
of
a
Ust
of
three
weights
in
such
a
connexion
is
not
obvious.
In
deducing
a
meaning
fitted
to
the
occasion
Daniel's
skill
as
an
interpreter
of
riddles
is
strikingly
set
forth.
Each
of
the
mysterious
words
is
invested
with
a
meaning
suggested
by
etymo-logical
affinities.
The
term
for
'mina'
is
connected
with
a
root
meaning
'to
number';
hence
it
signifies
'
God
hath
numbered
thy
kingdom
and
brought
it
to
an
end':
'shekel'
is
connected
with
a
root
meaning
'to
weigh,'
and
hence
—
'thou
hast
been
weighed
in
the
balance
and
found
wanting':
'half-mina'
(perOs)
suggests
a
double
play;
'thy
kingdom
is
divided
(peris)
and
given
to
the
Persians
(Aram.
pSros='
Persian').
He
has
counted,
counted,
weighed,
and
they
assess'
(?a
commercial
formula).
Possibly
'
an
actual
inscription
found
on
the
walls
of
the
palace
at
Babylon,
or,
at
any
rate,
found
somewhere,
was
worked
by
the
author
of
Daniel
into
this
dramatic
scene
and
arbitrarily
explained'
(D.
S.
Margoliouth,
ib.).
G.
H.
Box.
MENELATJS.
—
Brother
of
Simon
the
Benjamite
(2
Mac
3<),
or,
according
to
Josephus
(,Ant.
xii.
v.
1),
a
younger
brother
of
Jason
and
Onias.
He
purchased
the
office
of
high
priest
from
Antiochus
Epiphanes
for
the
sum
of
660
talents
(c.
B.C.
172),
thereby
causing
the
deposition
of
Jason,
who
had
obtained
the
office
by
similar
corrupt
means.
Being
unable,
through
lack
of
funds,
to
pay
the
required
sura,
he
was
cited
to
appear
before
the
king,
but,
finding
the
latter
absent
on
warfare,
he
plundered
the
Temple
of
sacred
vessels
and
thereby
found
means
to
silence
his
enemies.
Having
secured
the
death
of
Onias
in.,
who
threatened
to
divulge
the
sacrilege
(2
Mae
4"-m),
he
became
so
unpopular
that
Jason
marched
against
hira
to
recover
the
office
he
had
lost
(5'-'°).
After
this
attempt
of
Jason,
which
ended
in
failure,
Menelaus
is
lost
to
sight
for
some
years,
but
finally
suffered
death
at
the
hands
of
Antio-chus
Eupator
(c.
B.C.
163).
T.
A.
Moxon.
MENESTHEUS.—
Thefatherof
Apollonius(2Mac42i).
MENI.—
A
deity
named
with
Gad
in
Is
65":
'Ye
that
.
.
.
prepare
a
table
for
Gad,
and
that
fill
up
mingled
wine
for
Menl.'
Gad
is
Fortune,
and
Meni
Destiny.
The
name
has
been
correlated
with
the
Arab.
Manat,
and
with
a
supposed
Bab.
god
Manu.
manah
in
Heb.
means
'to
number,'
and
so
'to
apportion.'
The
name
of
this
god
of
Destiny
has
been
seen
in
Manasseh
and
in
the
name
of
one
of
the
sons
of
Anak,
Ahiman,
in
Nu
13Z2.
See
Gad.
W.
F.
Cobb.
MENNA.
—
An
ancestor
of
Jesus
(Lk
3'^).
MENUHAH
(Jg
20«).—
We
should
perhaps
read
Manahath
(wh.
see),
or,
better,
'from
Nohah.'
In
1
Ch
82
Nohah
is
a
clan
of
Benjamin.
MENUHOTH.—
See
Manahathites.
MEONENIM,
OAK
OF.—
A
place
mentioned
only
in
Jg
9"
as
being
near
Shechem.
It
is
agreed
that
the
rendering
should
be
'oak
of
the
diviners,'
but
the
derivation
of
the
word
me'
Snenlm
is
uncertain.
There
is
a
cognate
Arabic
word,
however,
which
is
used
of
the
hum
of
insects
and
the
whispering
of
leaves,
and
it
is
tempting,
therefore,
to
connect
me'
dnenlm
with
such
a
phenomenon
as
the
'
sound
of
a
marching
in
the
tops
of
the
balsams'
of
2
S
S",
where
the
rusthng
of
the
leaves
is
the
sign
of
the
presence
of
Jahweh,
as
the
rustUng
of
the
leaves
of
the
oaks
of
Dodona
proclaimed
the
will
of
Zeus.
w.
F.
Cobb.
MEONOTHAI.—
Son
of
Othniel
(1
Ch
4").
MEPHAATH.—
A
city
of
Reuben
(Jos
13>»);
assigned
to
the
Levites
(21",
1
Ch
6");
a
Moabite
city
in
Jer
482'.
In
the
4th
cent.
a.d.
it
is
said
to
have
been
the
station
of
a
Roman
garrison.
MEPHIBOSHETH.—
1.
A
son
of
Jonathan
(2
S
4<),
called
also
in
1
Ch
8«
9"
Merib(b)aal,
really
the
original
form
of
the
name
'Baal
contends'
or
'Baal's
warrior.'
David,
on
succeeding
to
the
throne,
instead
of
destroy-ing
all
the
family
of
Saul,
as
was
usual
on
such
occasions,
spared
Mephibosheth
out
of
regard
for
his
father
Jon-athan
(2
S
9').
Mephibosheth
was
five
years
old
when
Saul
fell
on
Mt.
Gilboa,
and
in
the
flight
of
the
royal
household
after
the
battle
he
was
so
seriously
injured
by
a
fall
as
to
become
lame
in
both
his
feet
(2
S
4'').
In
that
warlike
age
such
a
bodily
weakness
prevented
him
from
becoming
a
rival
of
David,
and
no
doubt
