MINISH
etc.
For
the
latter
see
Ex
i^
RV,
Jos
S'-
»
RV.
In
other
Scripture
references
to
flint
its
hardness
is
chiefiy
in
view
(Dt
32i3,
Job
28=
RV,
Is
5"
50',
Ezk
3').
Marble
is
limestone
(carbonate
of
lime),
hard
and
close-grained
enough
to
be
polished.
The
purest
forms
are
white,
but
many
coloured
varieties
are
highly
valued.
Marble
was
among
the
materials
prepared
by
David
for
the
Temple
(1
Ch
29^).
Josephus
(.Ant.
vm.
iii.
2,
9)
says
that
Solomon's
Temple
was
built
of
white
stone
from
Lebanon,
but
the
stones
exposed
in
the
Jews'
WaiUng
Place
appear
to
be
from
the
neighbour-hood
of
Jerusalem,
probably
from
the
quarries
under
Bezetha.
Marble
supplies
a
simile
in
Ca
S'^,
and
is
mentioned
among
the
merchandise
of
'Babylon'
in
Rev
18".
James
Patrick.
MINISH.
—
The
mod.
form
is
'diminish.'
'Minish'
occurs
in
AV
in
Ex
5",
Ps
lOT^,
and
RV
introduces
it
at
Is
19",
Hos
81°;
but
Amer.
RV
prefers
'diminish'
everywhere.
MINISTER.
—
The
word
'minister*
comes
from
the
Lat.
mOTis«er='
servant,'
and
generally
it
may
be
said
that
wherever
it
is
found
in
the
Bible,
whether
in
OT
or
in
NT,
its
original
meaning
is
its
primary
one,
service
being
the
idea
it
is
specially
meant
to
convey.
1.
In
OT
it
is
used
(corresponding
to
the
same
Heb.
word
in
each
case)
of
Joshua
as
the
personal
attendant
of
Moses
(Ex
24i3,
Jos
l'),
of
the
servants
in
the
court
of
Solomon
(1
K
10*),
of
angels
and
the
elemental
forces
of
nature
as
the
messengers
and
agents
of
the
Divine
will
(Ps
103«'
104«;
cf.
He
1'-
"),
but,
above
all,
of
the
priests
and
Levites
as
the
servants
of
Jehovah
in
Tabernacle
and
Temple
(Ex
2S^,
1
K
8",
Ezr
8",
and
constantly).
The
secular
uses
of
the
Heb.
word,
standing
side
by
side
with
the
sacred,
show
that
it
was
not
in
itself
a
priestly
term.
Ministry
was
not
necessarily
a
priestly
thing,
though
priesthood
was
one
form
of
ministry.
2.
In
NT
several
Gr.
words
are
tr.
'minister,'
three
cf
which
call
for
notice.
(1)
hypSreles
is
found
in
Lk
1*
420,
Ac
13'
26i«,
1
Co
4i.
In
two
of
these
cases
RV
has
properly
substituted
'attendant'
for
'minister'
to
avoid
misconception.
The
'minister'
(Lk
42«)
to
whom
Jesus
handed
the
roll
in
the
synagogue
at
Nazareth
was
the
hazzan,
corresponding
to
the
English
verger
or
Scotch
beadle.
John
Mark
(Ac
13')
was
the
minister
of
Barnabas
and
Saul
in
the
same
sense
as
Joshua
was
of
Moses,
—
he
was
their
attendant
and
assistant.
In
the
other
cases
hyperetSs
is
used
of
the
minister
of
Christ
or
of
the
word
in
a
sense
that
is
hardly
distinguishable
from
that
of
diakonos
as
under.
(2)
leitourgos.
—
In
classical
Gr.
this
word
with
its
cognates
is
appUed
to
one
who
renders
special
services
to
the
commonwealth,
without
any
suggestion
of
a
priestly
ministry.
But
in
the
LXX
it
was
regularly
applied,
especially
in
its
verbal
form,
to
the
ritual
ministry
of
priests
and
Levites
in
the
sanctuary,
and
so
by
NT
times
had
come
to
connote
the
idea
of
a
priestly
function.
What
we
have
to
notice,
however,
is
that
no
NT
writer
uses
it
so
as
to
suggest
the
dis-charge
of
special
priestly
functions
on
the
part
of
an
official
Christian
ministry.
Either
the
reference
is
to
the
old
Jewish
ritual
(Lk
1^,
He
9^
10"),
or
the
word
is
employed
in
a
sense
that
is
purely
figurative
(Ro
15",
Ph
2")
;
or,
again,
is
applied
to
a
ministration
of
Christian
charity
(2
Co
912,
Ph
2^-
so)
or
of
prayer
(Ac
13^;
cf.
v.'),
from
which
all
ideas
of
priestly
ritual
are
clearly
absent.
(3)
dialconoa.
—
Even
more
significant
than
the
uses
to
which
leitourgos
and
its
cognates
are
put
in
the
NT
is
the
fact
that
they
are
used
so
seldom,
and
that
diakonos
and
diakonia
are
found
instead
when
the
ideas
of
minister
and
ministry
are
to
be
expressed.
This
corresponds
with
the
other
fact
that
the
priesthood
of
a
selected
class
has
been
superseded
by
a
universal
Christian
priesthood,
and
that
a
ministry
of
lowliness
and
serviceableness
(which
diakonos
specially
implies)
has
taken
the
place
of
the
old
ministry
of
exclusive
MINISTRY
privilege
and
ritual
performance,
diakonia
is
the
distinctive
Christian
word
for
'ministry,'
and
diakonos
for
'minister.'
But
these
nouns
and
the
related
verb
are
used
in
the
NT
with
a
wide
range
of
appUcation.
The
personal
services
rendered
to
Jesus
by
Martha,
Mary,
and
other
women
(Lk
10",
Jn
12^,
Mt
27*5),
and
to
St.
Paul
by
Timothy,
Erastus,
and
Onesimus
(Ac
19*',
Philem
''),
are
described
as
forms
of
ministry.
The
man
who
serves
and
follows
Christ
is
His
niinister
(Jn
122«;
'my
diakonos'
is
the
expression
in
the
original);
and
the
minister
of
Christ
will
not
fail
to
minister
also
to
the
brethren
(1
Co
12=,
1
P
4").
But
while
every
true
Christian
is
a
minister
of
Christ
and
of
the
brethren,
there
is
a
ministry
of
particular
service
out
of
which
there
gradually
emerges
the
idea
of
a
special
Christian
ministry.
We
may
find
the
roots
of
the
idea
in
our
Lord's
words
to
His
disciples,
'
Who-
soever
would
become
great
among
you
shall
be
your
minister,
.
.
.
even
as
the
Son
of
man
came
not
to
be
ministered
unto,
but
to
minister,
and
to
give
his
life
a
ransom
for
many'
(Mt
20'»»).
The
minister
at
first
was
one
who
was
distinguished
from
others
by
his
larger
services.
He
did
not
hold
an
office,
but
discharged
a
function.
There
were
differences
of
function,
indeed,
and,
above
all,
the
distinction
between
those
who
were
ministers
of
the
word
(Ac
6«,
2
Co
3«,
Eph
3»-
')
and
those
who
ministered
by
gracious
deed
(Ac
e"-)-
But
whatever
might
be
the
'diversities
of
ministrations'
(1
Co
125),
the
word
diakonos
covered
them
all.
At
a
later
stage,
when
differences
of
function
have
begun
to
harden
into
distinctions
of
office,
the
name
diakonos
is
specially
appropriated
to
the
deacon
(wh.
see)
as
distinguished
from
the
presbyter
or
bishop
(Ph
1',
1
Ti
3'-").
But
diakonos
still
continues
to
be
used
in
its
wider
sense,
for
Timothy,
who
was
much
more
than
a
deacon,
is
exhorted
to
be
'
a
good
minister
(diakonos)
of
Jesus
Christ'
(1
Ti
#).
See
following
article.
J.
C.
Lambebt.
MINISTRY.—
Theforegoing
art.
has
sufficiently
dealt
with
the
general
idea
of
ministry,
but
something
remains
to
be
said
more
particularly
of
the
foreshadowings
and
beginnings
of
an
official
Christian
ministry
as
these
are
found
in
the
NT.
The
earliest
historical
datum
is
the
distinction
drawn
by
the
Twelve
between
the
'diakonia
of
the
word'
and
the
'diakonia
of
tables'
(Ac
62-
*)
—
a
distinction
that
constantly
reappears
in
the
writings
of
St.
Paul
(e.g.
Ro
126-8,
1
Co
1"
9"
1228),
though
by
and
by
the
latter
of
these
two
ministries
widens
out
so
as
to
Include
many
other
matters
besides
the
care
of
the
poor.
These
two
forms
may
be
broadly
distinguished
as
a
general
and
prophetic
ministry
on
the
one
hand,
a
local
and
practical
on
the
other.
1.
General
and
prophetic—
Ac
e"-
shows
that
from
the
first
the
Twelve
recognized
that
they
were
Divinely
called
to
be
ministers
of
the
word,
i.e.
preachers
of
the
gospel;
and
St.
Paul
repeatedly
affirms
the
same
thing
regarding
himself
(1
Co
1"
9",
2
Co
36
4',
Col
128).
But
it
was
not
the
Apostles
only
who
discharged
this
high
spiritual
function.
Besides
Apostles,
a
word
which
is
used
in
a
wider
as
well
as
a
narrower
sense
(see
Ac
14",
Ro
16';
cf.
Didache,
xi.
4
ff.),
the
Church
had
also
prophets
and
evangelists
and
teachers,
all
of
them,
in
somewhat
different
ways
no
doubt,
fulfilling
this
same
task
of
proclaiming
the
word
(1
Co
1228-
'»,
Eph
4";
for
prophets,
see
also
Ac
11"
IS^^
21ii>;
for
evangelists,
Ac
21*,
2
Ti
4=;
for
teachers,
Ac
13',
1
Ti
2',
2
Ti
1"),
and
moving
about
from
place
to
place
in
order
to
do
so.
That
the
prophetic
ministry
inits
various
forms
was
a
ministry
of
function
and
not
of
stated
office,
is
shown
by
the
fact
that
the
same
person
might
be
at
once
apostle,
prophet,
and
teacher
(cf.
Ac
13'
14",
1
Ti
2',
2
Ti
lu).
2.
Localandpractical.—
Of
thisthe
Seven
of
Jerusalem
furnish
the
earliest
examples.
Their
special
duties,
when
we
first
meet
them,
are
restricted
to
the
care
of
the
poor,
and
in
particular
to
the
charge
of
the
'daily
