In Kev 2 the prohibitions of idolatrous sacrifices and (ritual) immorality are once more brought to view, while in 1 Co G*'^" St. Paul urges the same restrictions, though without appealing to the Apostolic Decree. Nor, strangely enough, does he mention the Decree in Gal 2'''° ; this, however, would be sufficiently explained on the ground that the Apostle had emphasized its provisions (which, be it remembered, were not new, but had already found a regular place in the Jewish propaganda) in his missionary labours in the Galatian region (Ac 16^). In that case it was not necessary that he should complicate the deliverance of the Council as to the recognition of his gospel and his apostolic status by mentioning the Decree, and all the less so because the account in Ac 15 does not imply that St. Paul himself was charged with the duty of en- forcing its provisions in his missionary sphere.
We may sum up the whole by saying that while primitive Christianity originally set Moses and Jesus side by side, it came at length, in the pro- cess of development, to contrast tliera with each other, and St. John, in the Prolorae to his Gospel, gives expression to this result in nis great saying : 'The law was given by Moses; grace and truth came by Jesus Christ' (1").
Literature. — H. H. Wendt, Apostfl^jfi^chichle^, in Meyer's Kom7»M?i(ar, 1890 ; G. Hoennicke, Apmlrl^i'-xrhicMe, Leipzig, 1913 ; text-books of 2fT rheolvnv, hv B. 'Weiss (Eng. tr., 1882- S3), H. J. Holtzmann (21911), P. Peine (1910), G. B. Stevens (1899) ; E. B. Reuss, Hist, of Christian Tlteolofiy in the Apostolic Age, Eng. tr., 1872-74. i. 189, 205. etc. ; J. R. Cohu, St. Paul, 1911, p. 40 fl. ; A. E. Garvie, Stttdies of Paul and las Gospel, 1911, p. 192 £f. OLAF MOE.
MOTHER.— See Family.
MOUNT, MOUNTAIN («pos).—' Mountain ' is a somewhat elastic terra e.xpressing not only an
46
MOUNT, MOUNTAIN
MOURNING
isolated peak, but an extended ran<;e, or even a whole district of high elevation. I'alestine being an exceptionally mountainous country, it was natural that Biblical writers should often allude to its physical features ; but it is noteworthy that they spend little time in describiii;; the mere scenery. To the ancients mountains plajrcd a con- spicuous part in reli>:ion ; they werenot intrequently the scenes of theophanies, and when great men, such as Aaron and Moses, died, they were buried on the tops of mountains. Mountains are also the natural image fur eternal continuance and stability, liut even these monuments of hrmness and sta- bility are pictured as moved out of their place in the final cataclysm (Rev 6" 16=").
In apostolic history four conspicuous mountains are es])ecially referred to : the Mount of Olives, Sinai, Zion, and 'the Mount' (of Transfiguration).
1. The Mount of Olives (t6 ipoi tQv iXatuf, Ac 1'-). — In this passage it is related that after the Ascension the disciples returned ' unto Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet.' Apostolic history thus begins, geographically, where Gospel history leaves oH" (cf. Lk 24W-53, Mk 6">- •<>). The Mount of Olives, called by the Muslims Jebel et-Tvr (' Mountain of Light '), andJebel ez-Zcittcn {' Mount of Olives'), is the name of the somewhat elevated range (c. 2,650 ft.) lying due east of the Holy City and separated from it by the deep Kidron ravine. Its northern portion is called Scopus by Josephus {BJ V. ii. 3) ; its southern is known to the Arabs as Batti el-Hawa, and by m.any is identified as the ' Mount of Offence.' The distance from Jerusalem to its summit is 2,000 cubits, or about 6 furlongs. This was fixed by the Rabbis as the maximum distance to be travelled on the Sabbath day. The view from Olivet is one of the most extensive in all Palestine, including the Holy City, the hiU country of Judoea, much of the Jordan Valley, a l^ortion of the Dead Sea, and the broad sweep of the mountains of Gilead and Moab.
2. Mount Sinai (2<ra, Ac 7™- »', Gal 4"- =», He 8» 12'*-^). —In the first of these passages (Ac V^o- ssj the martyr Stephen recalls to his murderers' minds Moses' vision of the Burning Bush (Ex S'"-), and thus defends himself against the charge of speak- ing against Moses and the Law. In the second (Gal i"*-^) St. Paul makes Hagar, Abraham's bondwoman, representative of the earthly Jeru- salem and the bondage of the Law, whereas Sarah was free and represents the heavenly Jerusalem and the freedom of the gospel. Hagar's son Ishmael was a child according to the course of nature, whereas the birth of Isaac was according to the promise, and therefore a Divine event. The whole OT story is here allegorized, and is intended to show the incompatibility of a spirit of bondage with a spirit of sonship. Mount Sinai is usually identified with Jebel Musa (c. 7,000 ft. in altitude), though some prefer to identify it with Jebel Serbal (c. 6,500 ft.), a few miles to the N.W. of the former, both being located in the southern portion of the Sinai Peninsula. Of the two passages in Hebrews, the first (8^) affirms that the tabernacle constructed in the wilderness was a mere copy and shadow of the heavenly things, made by Moses according to the pattern that was showed him in the Mount (cf. Ex 25*). Even the furniture of the earthly tabernacle had its heavenly archetypes ; so also the priesthood of Aaron and his descendants is but a copy of the priesthood of Jesus. In the other passage from Hebrews ( 12''-^') the terrors of the Old Covenant, given at Sinai, are contrasted with the glories of the New. The words ' a mount' are not in the original of v.", but they are implied by the words ' mount Zion ' in v.^- (cf. v.""). The Apostle paints the theophany of Sinai (Ex 19) vividly, in order to appal his readers with the awful sanctity of