MIRIAM

credible. It is Christ's moral character and religious consciousness that help us to believe that He wrought wonderful works. The NT recognizes that a miracle proves only superhuman power (2 Th 2»); only it its character is good, is it proved Divine. In the OT prophecy is declared false, not only when unfulfilled (Dt 18«), but also when it leads to idolatry (13=). The moral test, which can be appUed to the miracles of the Gospels, shows the irrelevancy, not to say the ffippancy, of Matthew Arnold's sneer about the turning of a pen into a pen-wiper as the proof of a doctrine. The miracles of the Gospels are constituent elements of Christ's moral perfection. His grace towards men. While the miracles are represented in the Gospels as not in them-selves sufBcient to generate faith (Jn 11" 12"), yet it is afBrmed that they arrested attention and strength-ened faith (Mt 8", Lk S> 7", Jn 2" 6"). Christ Himself is reported as appeaUng to them as witness (Jn S^*), but the appeal seems deprecatory, as elsewhere He rates low the faith that rests on seeing miracles (Jn i'^ 14"), while condemning the unbelief that resists even this evidence (Mt 11™). At the beginning of the Christian Church the miracles had some value as evidence. To-day the change Christ has wrought in human history is the most convincing proof of His claim; but we must not ignore the value the miracles had when they occurred, and their value to us still as works of Christ, showing as signs His grace. Alfked E. Gabvie.

MIRIAjyi. — 1 . The sister of Moses and Aaron, probably older than either. It was she who watched Moses in the ark of bulrushes (Ex 2iff). She is called 'the prophetess,' and led the women In the song of victory at the Red Sea (Ex IS^"'). In the course of the wilder-ness wanderings she combined with Aaron against Moses, and was punished by leprosy, which was healed in answer to the prayer of Moses (Nu 12i-i»). She died in Kadesh towards the end of the wilderness journey (Nu 20'). Her story is referred to in Dt 248-8 jn connexion with the ceremonial law of leprosy, and in Mic G> she is spoken of along with Moses and Aaron as a leader of the people.

The name Miriam becomes in Greek Ma nam and Mariamne, a!3d,Maria, our Mary and is probably of Egyptian derivation (mer Amon, ' beloved of Amon ').

2. A man (or woman) of the family of Caleb (1 Ch i").

W. F. Boyd.

MIRBIAH.— Eponym of a Benjamlte family (1 ChS").

MIRROR. — See Glass.

MISAEL.— 1. lEs9«=]VIishael, NehS'. 2.Three«> = Uishael, No. 3.

SEISGAB. — Mentioned along with Nebo and Kiria-thaim in the oracle against Moab (Jer 48'). Perhaps it is not intended as a proper name. The same Heb. term occurs in Is 25'^, where both AV and RV tr. ' high fort" (cf. 2 S 22=, Ps 9' bis 18^ 46'- " 48' 59«- '5- " 622- » 9422 1442, Is 3316).

SaSHAEL.— 1. A Kohathite (Ex &^, Lv lO*). 2. One of Ezra's supporters (Neb 8*); called in 1 Es 9" Misael. 3. See Meshach.

IfftSHAL.— A town of Asher (Jos 19^), given to the Gershonite Levites (215») = 1 Ch 6" Mashal. The site is unknown.

MISHAM.— Eponymof a Benjamite family (1 Ch 8'^)

MISHMA.— 1. A son of Ishmael (Gn 25'« = 1 Ch 1"). 2. The eponym of a Simeonite family (1 Ch 4^').

MISHMAHNAH.— A Gadite chief (1 Ch 12'«).

MISHNA.— See Talmud.

MISHRAITES.— A family of'Kiriath-jearim (1 Ch 2").

lynSPAR. — One of the exiles who returned with Zerub. (Ezr 2') = Neh 7' Mispereth, 1 Es 5« Aspharasus.

mSPERETH.— See preceding article.

MISREPHOTH -MAIM.— From the Waters of Merom the defeated Canaanites Sed to Great Zidon, and unto

MITYLENB

Misrephoth-maim (Jos lis), it marksthe S. boundary of the Zidonians, who had not been driven out by Joshua (131). The Ladder of Tyre formed a natural limit to the territory of the Zidonians. On the slope of Bos en-Nagtirah, the most southerly of the promon-tories forming the 'Ladder,' is found a site called Musheirifeh, which Thomson (LB) with great probability identifies with Misrephoth-raaim. W. Ewing.

MITE. — See Money, § 7.

MITHKAH.— One of the 12 'stations' (Nu 33W- »).

MITHNITE. — A gentilic name applied to one of David's officers in 1 Ch 11". The text is doubtful.

MITHRADATES.— 1. 1 Es 2" =Mithredath, Ezr 1*. 2. (AV Mithridates) 1 Es 2'«=mithredath, Ezr V.

MITHREDATH (Pers.=' given by Mithra, or the sun'). — 1. The Persian treasurer, whom Cyrus com-manded to deUver to Sheshbazzar the sacred vessels (Ezr 18=1 Es 2" Mithradates). 2. Apparently a Persian ofilcer stationed in Samaria. Together with his colleagues he wrote to Artaxerxes (Longimanus) to hinder the re-building of the walls of Jerusalem (Ezr 4' = 1 Es 2'5 Mithiadates).

MITRE. — With the exception of Zee 3* where it represents the Heb. tsanlph or turban (for which see Dresb, § 5 a), and Ezk 212« RV (see below), 'mitre' in EV is used exclusively of the characteristic headdress of the Jewish high priest. The ' mitre' (Heb. mitsnepheth, from the same root, signifying to 'wind round,' as tsanlph) was an elaborate species of turban, composed of a long swathe of 'fine Unen' (Ex 288'), 16 cubits in length, according to the Talmud. Its precise form, how-ever, is uncertain; the descriptions given by Josephus of the high-priestly mitre of his day, besides being obscure in themselves, agree neither with one another nor with the OT text.

On the now common assumption that the Priests' Code originated in Babylonia, it is probable that the mitre was intended'to have the conical form character-istic of the tiara of the Babylonian kings. For orna-ment it had ' a plate of gold,' on which were engraved two Hebrew words signifying ' hoUness to J" ' (Ex 28=8, Lv 8»; cf. Sir 45'^). The plate rested on the front of the mitre, and was kept in position by a blue-purple ribbon (Ex 28" 398'), which probably served as a fillet and was tied behind, perhaps with the ends hang-ing down, as in the case of the jewelled diadem or fillet worn by the Assyrian kings. Hence the fillet could be described as 'the holy crown' (Lv 8'), and by ben-Sira as 'a diadem (EV 'crown') of gold upon the mitre' (Sir 45'^). The royal crown of Judah, according to Ezekiel (2128), consisted of the same two parts (see Heb. text in each case): 'remove the mitre (RV), and take off the diadem (EV 'crown').' This passage is our warrant for saying that the headdress prescribed for the high priest in the Priests' Code, consisting of mitre and diadem, is intended to signify that the high priest shall unite in his person the highest office in both Church and State.

The headdress of the high priest is always distinguished from that of his subordinates, for which see Bonnet.

A. R. S. Kennedy. MITYLENE was the chief town of Lesbos on its E. coast, subsequently giving its name to the whole island. It was one of the early iEoUan colonies, and one of the earUest homes of Greek lyric poetry — the birthplace of Sappho and Alcaeus. It attained great naval power, and founded colonies such as Sigeum and Assos. It took a prominent part in the Ionian revolt, but helped Xerxes against Greece. It joined the Athenian alliance, but revolted in B.C. 428 and was nearly annihilated. After opposing Rome in the Mithradatic War, it was made a free city. It has belonged to the Turks since a.d. 1462. Its mention in Ac 20" is merely incidental, — St. Paul's ship spent a night there. A. E. Hillahd.

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