- MESHULLEMETH friend, the wife of Manasseh, and the mother of
Amon (2 Kings 21:19), Kings of Judah. - MESOPOTAMIA the country between the two rivers (Hebrews
Aram-naharaim; i.e., “Syria of the two rivers”), the name given by the
Greeks and Romans to the region between the Euphrates and the Tigris
(Genesis 24:10; Deuteronomy 23:4; Judges 3:8, 10). In the Old Testament
it is mentioned also under the name “Padan-aram;” i.e., the plain of Aram,
or Syria (Genesis 25:20). The northern portion of this fertile plateau was
the original home of the ancestors of the Hebrews (Genesis 11; Acts 7:2).
From this region Isaac obtained his wife Rebecca (Genesis 24:10, 15), and
here also Jacob sojourned (28:2-7) and obtained his wives, and here most
of his sons were born (35:26; 46:15). The petty, independent tribes of this
region, each under its own prince, were warlike, and used chariots in battle.
They maintained their independence till after the time of David, when they
fell under the dominion of Assyria, and were absorbed into the empire (2
Kings 19:13). - MESS a portion of food given to a guest (Genesis 43:34; 2 Samuel 11:8).
- MESSENGER (Hebrews mal’ak, Gr. angelos), an angel, a messenger who
runs on foot, the bearer of despatches (Job 1:14; 1 Samuel 11:7; 2
Chronicles 36:22); swift of foot (2 Kings 9:18). - MESSIAH (Hebrews mashiah), in all the thirty-nine instances of its
occurring in the Old Testament, is rendered by the LXX. “Christos.” It
means anointed. Thus priests (Exodus 28:41; 40:15; Numbers 3:3),
prophets (1 Kings 19:16), and kings (1 Samuel 9:16; 16:3; 2 Samuel 12:7)
were anointed with oil, and so consecrated to their respective offices. The
great Messiah is anointed “above his fellows” (Psalm 45:7); i.e., he
embraces in himself all the three offices. The Greek form “Messias” is
only twice used in the New Testament, in John 1:41 and 4:25 (R.V.,
“Messiah”), and in the Old Testament the word Messiah, as the rendering
of the Hebrew, occurs only twice (Dan 9:25, 26; R.V., “the anointed one”).
The first great promise (Genesis 3:15) contains in it the germ of all the
prophecies recorded in the Old Testament regarding the coming of the
Messiah and the great work he was to accomplish on earth. The
prophecies became more definite and fuller as the ages rolled on; the light
shone more and more unto the perfect day. Different periods of prophetic
revelation have been pointed out, (1) the patriarchal; (2) the Mosaic; (3)