MILLET

The fundamental difficulty in erecting it into a doctrine ot essential Cliristiamty is tliat it presupposes conditions and expectations, carried over from Judaism, wliicii tlie course of history has shown to be without foundation. Shailer Mathews. BULLET (probably Panicum mUiaceum or perhaps Andropogon sorghum) is mentioned in Ezl£ 4' (only) as an ingredient in bread. See Food, § 2.

MILLO. — A place near Shechem (the name of wtiich would be better rendered Beth-millo, without translating the first element ['house ot Millo,' AV and RV]), quite unlcnown, the inhabitants of which were associated in the coronation of Abimelech (Jg 9'- "). Joash was slain at a ' Beth-millo, on the way that goeth down to Silla' (2 K 12»). Whether this be the same place, or whether (perhaps more likely) it was somewhere near Jerusalem, and (if so) where or what it may have been, are questions to which no answer can be given. On the 'Millo' ot 2 S 59, 1 K 11" etc., see Jerusalem, II, § 2. R. A. S. Macauster. VSISMA'SS. — The name of a S. W. Arabian people dwell-ing north ot the Sabseans (Sheba), who in the 9th and 8th cents. B.C. became a powerful nation with a dominion stretcliing north to the peninsula ot Sinai. It is supposed by recent scholars that they are meant by the Me'unim or (better) Me'inim, who are named in 1 Ch 4" as dwelling in the Negeb, in 2 Ch 26' along with Arabians, and in 2 Ch 20' (by correction) along with the Ammonites. In all these passages the LXX understand Minaeans. J. F. M'Curdy.

MIND. — See Psychology.

MINIABIIN.— 1. A Levite (2 Ch SI"). 2. Neh 12" = Mijamin of 1 Ch 24', Neh 10' 12'. 3. A priest who toolc part in the ceremony of the dedication of the walls (Neh 12").

KINING AND METALS.— Though Palestine proper is deficient in mineral resources, yet these were present to some extent on its borders, and were not only abun-dantly found, but even largely developed, in other parts of the ancient East. The Scripture references to mining, accordingly, though not very numerous, are sufficiently definite. Such a passage as Dt 8' (cf. SS^s), though inapphcable to Palestine proper, may hold good of the Lebanon district or (as has been suggested by some) of the Sinaitic region. The classical description of the miner's life in Job 28 is evidently based on observation. It depicts the adventurous and toilsome character of the quest, the shafts sun]£ and the galleries tunnelled in the roclc, the darkness, the waters that have to be drained away, the hidden treasures of precious stones and metals that reward the effort and the Ingenuity ot man.

The list ot metals in Nu 3122 includes all those that are mentioned in Scripture, viz. gold, silver, 'brass,' iron, tin, and lead. All these are again enumerated in Ezk 27'2- "• ^ as articles of Tyrian commerce.

Brass. — Tliis EngUsh word, as late as 1611, denoted copper or bronze (an alloy of copper and tin) rather than the modern brass (an alloy of copper and zinc). Hence, where ' brass ' occurs in EV, copper or bronze is to be understood (see RVra on Gn ^, and art. Brass).

Copper occurs once in AV (Ezr 8", RV ' bright brass'). But see on 'Brass' above and 'Steel' below.

Gold is a metal the use of which can be traced back to the earliest times of civilization. As a medium ot currency it was reckoned by weight, in shekels and talents, coinage being unknown among the Jews before the Exile. While it figured in the history ot Israel from the beginning (see the spoils of Egypt [Ex 12^1, Midian [Nu 3262, jg gai]^ and Jericho [Jos T"]), it became specially plentiful in Palestine in the time of Solomon (1 K 10"- 21), f)he main sources of it being Ophir (1 K 92s lO'i), Tarshish (1 K 1022), and Sheba (1 K II2, Ps 72i6). Another gold-producing country was Havilah (Gn 2"). Of these localities Havilah and Sheba were Arabian.

MINING AND METALS

Ophir (wh. see) may have been the same, though its situation has also been sought in India and S. Africa. For goldsmiths see Neh 3'8- 21. 32, is 40" 41' 46», also (RV) Jer 10»- " 511'. The products of their art com-prised beaten work (Ex 25" 37"- 22, Nu S" 37', 1 K lO'"-, 2 Ch 91"), plating (Ex 25"- 24 262"- » 30s), and wire or thread for embroidery (Ex 39').

Iron appears to have come into use later than copper or bronze. Its ores are found in the Lebanon district, in the region ot Sinai, and sparsely in Egypt. The most famous ancient seat ot its manufacture was among the Chalybes in the Highlands ot Assyria. Mining for the ore is mentioned in Job 282; the 'iron furnace' in Dt 420, 1 K 8", Jer 11<; and the forge in Is 4412. In modern times iron is separated from its ores as cast iron, from which wrought iron and steel are subse-quently prepared. But in ancient times the temperature necessary to melt iron was unavailable, and it must have been produced as wrought iron, which is still obtained by primitive smelting processes in various parts ot the world. The uses of iron alluded to in Scripture are very varied, but call for no special comment. In Dt 3" and possibly in Am 1' 'iron' means black

Lead is mentioned in Jer 62', Ezk 2218-22 in connexion with the smelting of silver (see 'Silver' below). Its weight is referred to in Ex 151°. The 'ephah' in Zee 5'- ' has a leaden covering. Rock-cut inscriptions were made more durable by having the chiselled letters filled up with lead (Job 192«).

Silver, like gold, was a very early medium ot exchange (Gn 231s- i«). The Heb. and Gr. words for silver are often rendered 'money' in EV. There are frequent references in OT to the use of this metal for vessels and ornamental work. In NT there is special mention of the guild of silversmiths at Ephesus, and ot the ' shrines ' or models ot the temple of Diana which were their most profitable article of trade (Ac 192<). Among the sources ot the metal, Arabia (2 Ch 9") and Tarshish (2 Ch 921, Jer 10', Ezk 2712) are named. The commonest ore ot silver is argentiferous galena, which contains a large quantity ot lead, and in which other metals may also be present. In the course of smelting the lead combines with the other impurities to form a heavy 'slag,' which separates by its weight from the molten silver, leaving the latter pure. This process is referred to, usually in a figurative moral sense, in Ps 661° (cf. Is 481°), Pr 17' 25' 2721, Zee 13", Mai 3', and especially in Jer 628-3» and Ezk 22i'-22. In the last two passages lead is the most prominent impurity, the others being 'brass,' iron, and tin. The mixture ot these was the refuse or 'dross 'of silver (see also Is 122- 2s).

Steel (2 S 22", Job 20*1, Ps IS", Jer IS") is a mistaken translation in AV of the words elsewhere rendered 'brass.' RV has 'brass' in these passages, and copper or bronze is to be understood. Only in Nah 2^ (RV) is ' steel ' possibly a correct rendering. Steel is a form of iron containing more carbon than wrought iron. It is capable not only ot being welded but also cast, and tempered to various degrees of hardness and elasticity.

Tin derived its importance from its use as a con-stituent of bronze (an alloy of copper and tin). It is mentioned as an article of Tyrian commerce in Ezk 2712, and as an impurity in silver in Ezk 22i8 (cf. Is 125, RVm 'alloy'). Its earliest sources are uncertain, but it appears to have come to the East from the West. It is known that the Phoenicians obtained it from the Scilly Isles and Cornwall.

Flint is a form of silica, and occurs abundantly, in the form of nodules, in many of the limestone rocks of Palestine. It is exceedingly hard, and its property ot sparking when struck on steel or on another flint provided a very ancient and common means ot obtain-ing fire (2 Mac 10'). Flint has a sharp edge when broken or chipped, and was used tor primitive weapons and instruments of many kinds — arrow-heads, knives.

619