Modin was near the plain (1 Mac 165 δ); the monument built by Simon was clearly visible from the sea (1 Mac 13”); and we learn from Euseb. and Jerome, that Diospolis (Lydda) was not far distant. 2/-Medyeh itself is hidden from the sea by the slope of the hill; but immediately to the south a rocky eminence, er-Ras, with ancient remains, commands a view of the lower hills, the plain of Sharon, and the sea, while Lydda is seen at a distance of not over 6 miles, reposing among her fruitful olives. On the opposite side of the Wady, about half a mile west of the village, there are several tombs, one, associated with the name Sheikh el-Gharbdwi, claiming special interest on account of its size and construction. At one time it was thought this might prove to be the tomb of the Maccabees; but later investigation revealed its Christian origin. To these tombs Conder gives the name Kabir el-Yehiid. Of the ruins } mile to the south, called by Sandreezki Kabir el-Yehid, he speaks as Khirbet el-Medyeh. Guérin says an old inhabitant of the village gave the name Kvirbet el-Medyeh to the whole group of ruins. The tomb of the Maccabees is not yet identified. The place is about 16 miles from the coast. At this distance, to one looking from the sea, towards evening, with the sun behind him, such a monument would stand out with great distinctness, even if the details of the carving could not be plainly traced.
Lirgraturg. —PEF Mem. iii. 341ff.; Stanley, History of Jewish Ch. iii. 267, 318; G. A. Smith, HGHL1 212 n.; Conder,
Judas Maccabeeus, 84, 176; Schiirer, Η 1. i. 209f.; Guérin, Samarie, ii. 65 ff., 404 ff., Gadilée, i. 46 ff. W. EwIna.
MOETH (Mwéé).—1 Es 88=Noadiah of Ezr 85. See NoADIAH, No. 1.
MOLADAH (775\n).—A city in the south of Judah, Jos 15% (B Mwdadd, A Μωδαδά) ; reckoned to Simeon in 19? (B Κωλαδάμ, A Mwdadd) and 1 Ch 4% (B Μωαλδά, A Μωλαδά) ; peopled after the Captivity by Judahites, Neh 11% (BA om., ~°*™® Μωλαδά). In the 4th cent. A.D. (Onomast. s.v. ‘Arad’) a
lace called Malatha is located 4 Roman miles
‘om Arad (ef. Jos. Ant. Xvutl. vi. 2). This site is clearly the present Tell el-Milh, ‘hill of salt,’ and is that of an early town, but the modern name has no connexion with the Heb. Moladah, the site of which is unknown (cf. Buhl, GAP 183, who rightly points out that instead of 4 Roman miles from Arad, as Eusebius states, Tell el-Milh and Arad are double that distance apart) in spite of the identification with Tell el-Milh which is adopted by Robinson (BRP? ii. 201), Guérin (Judée, iii. 184 ff.), and others. C. R. ConDER.
MOLE.—Two words are tr4 in AV ‘mole.’ 1. n2vjn tinshemeth. This occurs twice in the list of unclean creatures: (a) As the name of a bird (Ly 1118 LXX πορφυρίων, AV ‘swan,’ RV ‘horned owl,’ m. ‘swan’; Dt 1416 LXX ἴβις, AV ‘swan,’ RV ‘horned owl.’ See SWAN, Οὐ). (ὁ) As the name of a ‘creeping thing’ at the end of a list of lizards (Lv 11” LXX ἀσπάλαξ, Vulg. talpa, AV ‘mole,’ RV ‘chameleon’). The authority of the LXX and Vulg. favours the rendering ‘mole.’ No true mole exists now in Palestine. The word
MOLECH, MOLOCH
MOLECH, MOLOCH 415
ἀσπάλαξ ῬΌΡΕΡΙΥ refers to the mole-rat Spalax sles, all., a rodent, the appearance and habits of which closely resemble those of the genuine mole. It is about the size and shape of a common brown rat, but with much shorter legs. The forelegs are aslapios for digging. The head is flattened from above downwards, with a wedge- shaped snout, which acts as a shovel in perforating the soil, and raising the hillocks which occur every few feet along the burrow. The fur is greyish- brown. The eyes are hardly to be made out at all, being quite rudimentary. The animal is nocturnal in its habits, and seldom seen above the surface. It is called by the Arabs khuld, plainly the cognate of héled, which EV tr. ‘ weasel.’ See CHAMELEON, WEASEL; and Di on Ly 11”.
2. ning ὑπ hdphér péréth (to be read ninzq5q hdpharparéth, see Dillm., ad loc.), τὰ μάταια, talpe. This expression is tr? in EV (Is 2”) ‘moles.’ The Lxk τὰ udraia=‘the vain things,’ sheds no light on the meaning. But the root Adphar= Arab. hafar, ‘to dig or burrow,’ and paréth re- calls Arab. far, generic for ‘rats’ and ‘mice.’ The compound name may be that of some digging or burrowing animal. There is a large number of such creatures in the Holy Land, of which we note: fam. Muride, the rats and mice, including aumerous species of Acomys, the Porcupine mouse ; Mus, the true rats and mice, of which there are a considerable number; Cricetus, the hamster ; Gerbillus and Psammomys, the sand rats; Spala- cide, the mole rats; pia, the jerboas; Myr- cide, the dormice, ete. It is most probable that the Heb. hdpharpdréth is generic for all such animals as burrow in waste places, as ‘bats,’ in the same e, is generic for the well-known winged tribe of dwellers in caves and ruins.
G. E. Post.
MOLECH, MOLOCH (abbn ham-Molech, always with the article except in 1 K 11’, Modéx, Vulg. Moloch).—The Heb. pointing does not represent the original pronunciation, but is intended to suggest bésheth, ‘shame’; just as -baal in Ishbaal and Meribaal was changed to -bosheth in Ishbosheth and Mephibosheth. Originally the word was simply ham-Melech, ‘the king.’ We find also the forms Milcom (0252), Maleam (τ, ᾿Αμελχόμ, μελχόμ, μολχόμ, μελχόλ, μολχόλ, Melcom), and Malcan ; see below.