enerations be worshipping": therefore it is said at this day, ‘In this mountain did Abraham worship before J”.”*
grounds for it are stated most fully by Stanley, SP pp. 251f., and Grove in Smith’s DB, s.v. MoriséH: Abraham saw the spot ‘afar off,’ ‘on the third day’ (v.*) after leaving ‘the land of the Philistines’ (21%)—a statement which suits the distances much better if the goal of his journey were Gerizim than if it were Jerusalem ; Gerizim, moreover, is an elevation which a traveller ap- proaching from the S. might ‘lift up his eyes’ (224) and see conspicuously at a distance, which is not the case with Jerusalem. In view of the rivalr which prevailed in later times between the Samari- tans and the Jews, the preference of the former for Gerizim does not count for much ; and with regard to the other arguments it may be doubted whether, in a narrative which cannot be by an eye-witness or contemporary of the facts recorded, the expressions used are not interpreted with undue strictness. The presumption derived from v." is strong, that in the view of the narrator the Temple hill was the scene of Abraham’s trial (cf. JEHOVAH-JIREH ; and HGHL p. 334n.). But of course Gerizim might, equally with Jerusalem, have been (so far as we know) within the undefined limits of the ‘land of Moriah,’ as it certainly would be within the limits of the ‘land of the Amorites,’
MORNING.—See TIME.
MORROW.—Both ‘morn’ and ‘morrow’ are formed from Anglo-Sax. morgen, the former by contraction, the latter by changing the g to w and dropping the (whence morwe=morrow); and ‘morning’ is the same, with subst. suffix -ing. Thus ‘morn,’ ‘ morning,’ ‘ morrow,’ and ‘ to- morrow’ (with prep. to=‘for’ or ‘on’) are all one and the same word, and have all the same meaning. They mean either early in the day= mod. ‘morning,’ or next day =mod. ‘ tomorrow.’
The word ‘morrow’ about 1611 usually means next day (‘tomorrow’), but sometimes it is used for ‘morning.’ Thus 18 3017, Cov. ‘And David smote them from the morow tyll the even’; Shaks. Lucrece, 1571—
* She looks for night, and then she longs for morrow.”
In AV 775 40ker is translated ‘ morrow’ in Ly 22”, Nu 22", Est 2, Zeph 3%, and ‘tomorrow’ in Nu 16°, 1 Καὶ 9°, Est 5. RV changes into ‘morning’ in Ly 22”, Nu 16° 294), 1 § 919, Est 54, but leaves the other two unchanged. Now 6é0ker usually means ‘morning,’ and is mostly rendered so in AV ; but the editors of the Oxf. Heb. Lex. believe that the meaning is ‘tomorrow’ in the following places : Ex 1619. 2. 33. 94 99% 3425, Ly 715 29%, Nu 16 2241,1S 9%, Zeph 85. If they are right, as they appear to be, some passages should have been left ‘morrow’ or ‘tomorrow’ by RV, and some that have ‘morning’ in AV should have been changed to ‘tomorrow.’ But as regards AV itself, it seems robable that, in every case in which ‘ morrow’ is ound, the translators intended to express what we now express by ‘tomorrow.’ J. HASTINGS.
S. R. DRIVER.
MORTAR (77>, waz>).—Probably the first kind of mortar may have been, as is generally supposed, two stones, between which the grain was pounded. Mortars in Syria and Palestine were anciently of wood, and the larger ones were cut out of the trunk of a tree, the sindiydn, or evergreen oak, being preferred.
The passage in Pr 27” (on which see Expos Times, March and April 1897, pp. 287, 336) cee not, of course, refer to any custom in Syria or Palestine of pounding men in a mortar (a>). The reference seems to be to the custom ot making /ibdy, a favourite dish in Syria (see MILL). The more the /iddy is pounded, the more excellent
438 MORTAR
MOSES
it becomes. Hours are spent in beating it, and certain women are celebrated for their skill in preparing it. It is very hard work, and requires strong as well as skilful arms to make it.
In Syria at the present time there are two kinds of mortars used: small ones are made of wood, and the large ones of stone. The wooden mortars are generally used for pounding coffee or spices. They are often beautifully carved, and the pestle is sometimes 2 ft. long.* The stone mortars are now preferred for making kibby; they are large ree heavy, and the pestle is a heavy block of wood,
Lifting a stone mortar with one hand and rais- ing it above the head, was a favourite test of strength among the young men of the villages of Lebanon a few years ago. W. CARSLAW.
MORTAR (AV morter).—In Gn 113 it is said that the builders of the tower of Babel used slime or bitumen (139) instead of mortar (15h, Arab. hiimméir, asphalt or bitumen).
Asphalt or BITUMEN (wh. see) is found on the shores of the Dead Sea, and at Hasbeyah near Mt. Hermon, but it is not used in Palestine or Syria in building. The most common material in use for that purpose is clay (wh. see), and the ordinary Arabic word for mortar is ¢in, which properly means clay. Walls of houses are plastered inside with clay, but the clay must be well trodden and mixed with water to a proper consistence, else, if too dry, it will not edtinre: but crack and fall off. In Ezk 13” the Arab. VS has ‘dry clay’ (¢défal) instead of ‘untempered mortar.’