corn-ship which had wintered in the island, in which they proceeded on
their voyage to Rome (Acts 28:13, 14).
- MELONS only in Numbers 11:5, the translation of the Hebrew abattihim,
the LXX. and Vulgate pepones, Arabic britikh. Of this plant there are
various kinds, the Egyptian melon, the Cucumus chate, which has been
called “the queen of cucumbers;” the water melon, the Cucurbita citrullus;
and the common or flesh melon, the Cucumus melo. “A traveller in the
East who recollects the intense gratitude which a gift of a slice of melon
inspired while journeying over the hot and dry plains, will readily
comprehend the regret with which the Hebrews in the Arabian desert
looked back upon the melons of Egypt” (Kitto). - MELZAR probably a Persian word meaning master of wine, i.e., chief
butler; the title of an officer at the Babylonian court (Daniel 1:11, 16) who
had charge of the diet of the Hebrew youths. - MEMPHIS only in Hos. 9:6, Hebrew Moph. In Isaiah 19:13; Jeremiah
2:16; 46:14, 19; Ezekiel 30:13, 16, it is mentioned under the name Noph. It
was the capital of Lower, i.e., of Northern Egypt. From certain remains
found half buried in the sand, the site of this ancient city has been
discovered near the modern village of Minyet Rahinch, or Mitraheny,
about 16 miles above the ancient head of the Delta, and 9 miles south of
Cairo, on the west bank of the Nile. It is said to have been founded by
Menes, the first king of Egypt, and to have been in circumference about 19
miles. “There are few remains above ground,” says Manning (The Land of
the Pharaohs), “of the splendour of ancient Memphis. The city has utterly
disappeared. If any traces yet exist, they are buried beneath the vast
mounds of crumbling bricks and broken pottery which meet the eye in
every direction. Near the village of Mitraheny is a colossal statue of
Rameses the Great. It is apparently one of the two described by
Herodotus and Diodorus as standing in front of the temple of Ptah. They
were originally 50 feet in height. The one which remains, though mutilated,
measures 48 feet. It is finely carved in limestone, which takes a high
polish, and is evidently a portrait. It lies in a pit, which, during the
inundation, is filled with water. As we gaze on this fallen and battered
statue of the mighty conqueror who was probably contemporaneous with
Moses, it is impossible not to remember the words of the prophet Isaiah,
19:13; 44:16-19, and Jeremiah, 46:19.”