MESSIAH

rites, established the details of its organization by giving to its members varying gifts of the Spirit, over-sees its affairs, and is present within it. In fact, so intimate is His relation with the Church, that Christians may be said to be in Him, and He in them.

From this union of the believer with his Lord (gener-ally mediated in the Pauline thought by the presence of the Holy Spirit) comes the consummation of the salvation of the individual. Since He had triumphed over death, the believer in whom the Holy Spirit lived might also expect the gift of that spiritual body which was one element of the salvation wrought by Jesus in the case of the individual.

(iv.) Yet St. Paul would not say that the Christ was to reign eternally. After He had completed His work of Messianic deliverance, had finally conquered sin and death, and had established His glorious age. He was to give up the Kingdom to the Father that God might be all and in all (1 Co 15"). Thus, while thePauUne soteriological thought is Christo-centric, his theology is Theo-centric. Jesus is Christ in the sense that through Him God accomplishes the salvation of His people — with St. Paul no longer the Jewish nation, but individuals who, because of their relations with the Deliverer, have been wrought into a unity on earth and await an even nobler unity in heaven.

(3) In post-Pauline Apostolic thought the Messianic concept is stiU central, butjn its development we notice two tendencies, (a) There is the tendency, already present in primitive and Pauline Christianity, to find confirmation of the Messianic dignity of Jesus in the OT prophecies. "With their recollections of the historical career of Jesus, the Apostles saw in the OT Messianic meanings which had eluded the Pharisees. They did not, it is true, disregard those passages which set forth the royal dignity of the Christ, but they were far more concerned in arguing for the Messianic signifi-cance of those passages which foretold the victory of God's Anointed over death and the vicarious nature of His sufferings. Thus such passages as Ps 110 and Is 53 were seen to supplement each other-ftT teaching the consonance of the Messianic dignity with suffering.

As Christian thought developed, this tendency to find Messianic references in the OT set practically no limits to itself. In the Epistle to the Hebrews the essential features of the entire Hebrew cult are viewed as foreshadowings of the career and the glories of the Christ. In the prophetic fulfilments noticed by the writer of the First Gospel, the prophecy of the birth of a son to ' the virgin ' (Is 7") and the recall of Israel from Egypt (Hos 11') are also seen to be prophecies of the experience of Jesus (Mt 1^ 2"). The same was true of more incidental matters, such as His name and His description as the Nazarene (Mt 2^), while the experience of Jonah was regarded as a type of His burial and resurrection (12*"). Particularly was it seen that His vicarious character was foretold. In the Book of Revelation the Messianic future of Jesus and His Kingdom was still further elaborated by the copious utilization of apocalyptic thought. In the Apostolic Fathers the use of the OT as the basis for Ohristological thought involved an arbitrary exegesis which extended far beyond the Umits of proper method-ology; and events in the life of Jesus were found pre-dicted in sayings and events quite imused by the Apostles.

(6) The second tendency in post-Pauline Christo-logical interpretation is to re-state the Messianic signifi-cance of Jesus in terms of current philosophy. The most pronounced illustration of this is to be seen in the Johannine literature. Here the Christ is identified with the Logos, and His entire career is viewed as an illustration of the great conflict between light and dark-ness, life and death, the powers of Satan and the powers of God. In the Epistle to the Hebrews a tendency is to be seen towards the metaphysical conception of

MICAH, MICAIAH

Jesus as the Son of God — a tendency which was to find its outcome in the theological formulations of the 3rd and 4th centuries.

But in both these tendencies the fundamental con-ception of Messiahship is maintained. God is in Jesus reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing,their tres-passes to those who accept Him, and already engaged in the work of their salvation. The elemental concep-tion of the Messiah thus passed over into Christian thought. It carried vrith it, it is true, the figures of that interpretation which was born of the development of the Hebrew and Jewish thought. But these figures are not the essential element of Christianity. That is rather the message which the prophets themselves had applied exclusively to Israel, viz. that God would save His people through some personaUty in whom His spirit was particularly resident to empower Him for the work of salvation. Thus in the history of Jesus and in Christian experience this Divine salvation is set forth, not as ab extra, but as the result of the in-working of God in human lives, to which He comes through the mediation of faith in Jesus, His supreme revelation. To formulate and vindicate the message of this salvation is to exhibit the content of the gospel.

Shaileb Mathews.

METE. — 'To mete' is 'to measure,' and a 'mete-yard' (Lev iss*) is a merchant's measuring-stick.

METHEG-AMMAH.-' David took Metheg-ammah out of the hand of the Philistines' (2 S 8' AV and RVm). RV tr. 'the bridle of the mother-city,' which has been interpreted to mean authority over the metropolis, or the suzerainty exercised by the Philistines, — ^it being assumed that Gath was the leading city. In all prob-ability the text is corrupt beyond restoration. See, further, ExpT, Oct. 1899, p. 48, and Feb. 1906, p. 215.

W. F. Cobb.

METHUSELAH.— A Sethite, the father of Lamech, Gn 5™' (P), 1 Ch V, Lk 3" =Methushael in J's genealogy, 4". The name is interpreted by Holzinger as 'man of the javelin ' — a fitting name for a time when the earth was tuU of violence.

METHUSHAEL. — A Cainite, the father of Lamech, Gn 4" (J); Methuselah in P's genealogy (S^"). The interpretations of the name are various.

MEUNEH. — See Maani, Maon, Min.«!ans.

MEUZAL.— Ezk 27" AVm. See Uzai,.

ME-ZAHAB ("waters of gold'). — Father of Matred and grandfather of Mehetabel the vrife of Hadar (Hadad) , one of the kings of Edom (Gn 363»). The name Me-zahab is much more like that of a place than of a person. Holzinger suggests that it is the same name as appears in a corrupted form in Dt 1' as Dizahab (wh. see).

MEZOBAITE. — One of David's heroes is called in 1 Ch 11" ' Jaasiel the Mezobaite.' The text is doubtful.

MIBHAR. — In 1 Ch ll^' one of David's heroes appears as 'Mibhar the son of Hagri.' The parallel passage 2 S 23^ reads, 'of Zobah, Ban! the Gadite," which is probably the correct text.

MIBSAM.— 1. A son' of Ishma«l (Gn 25« = 1 Ch V>). 2. A Simeonite (1 Ch 4^).

MIBZAR ('fortification'). — A 'duke' of Edom (Gn 36« = 1 Ch 1").

MICA.— 1. Son of Merib-baal (Mephibosheth), 2 S 9"; called in 1 Ch 8"'- 9"'- Micah. See Micah, No. 3. 2. Son of Zichri (1 Ch 9", Neh ll") =Micaiah of Neh 12". 3. One of those who sealed the covenant (Neh 10").

MICAH, MICAIAH ('Who is like Jahweh?').— This name, which occurs at least twelve times in the OT, and is a woman's name as well as a man's, is spelt in three different ways; the full name is Micajahu, a partially shortened form is Micaiah, while a still shorter form is Micah. The more important of those who bore this

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