Murphy, James, D.D., a minister of the (Dutch) Reformed Church, was born near Khinebeck, N, Y., in 1788; graduated at New Brunswick Theological Semi- nary, 1H14 ; and was pastor of several Reformed church- es, chietly in the valley of the ilohawk and in Herkimer County, N. Y, ; and died in 1857 at Frankfort, where he was then jjastor. He was an evangelical preacher of superior abilities, fond of study, and particularly of classical and scientific pursuits. His volume entitled Geologi/ consistent with the Bible is a creditable monu- ment of his proficiency in that department of natural science, up to the period of its date. He was prominent in the coimcils of the Church, and for many years was an attive trustee of Union College. (W. J, R, T,)
Murrain ("^l^^, de'ber, destruction, especially by a "pestilence," as the word is elsewhere rendered; plur, "plagues" in Hos, xiii, 14), the fifth ])lague with which the Egyptians were visited when they held the He- brews in bondage (Kxod, ix, 3). See I'laguks of
Egypt. This consisted in some distemper that residte<l in a sudden and dreadful mortality among the cattle in the field, including horses, asses, camels, oxen, and sheep. It was, however, confined to the Egyptian cat- tle, and to those that were in the field ; for though the cattle of the Hebrews breathed the same air, and drank the same water, and fed in the same pastures, not a creature of theirs died (Exod. ix, G). The Egyptian cattle that survived in the sheds, and were afterwards sent into the fields, were destroyed by the succeeding storm of fire and hail. Wilkinson has obserted {Anc. Fg. i, 48, 49) that " the custom of feeding some of their herds in sheds accords with the scriptural account of the preservation of the cattle which had been 'brought home' from the field ; and explains tlie apparent con- tradiction of the destruction of ' all the cattle of Egypt' by the murrain, and the subsefiuent destruction of the cattle by the hail (Exod. ix, 3, 19, 20); those which ' were in the field' alone having suffered from the pre- vious plague, and those in the stalls or 'houses' having been preserved." In the grievous murrain, and in the grievous hail, many, if not all, the war-horses must have escaped, as they were not ' in the field,' but in the 'stables or houses' (Exod. xiv, 27, 28; xv, 21)." See Stai.i,. In the Description de FEgypte (xvii, 12G), it is said that murrain breaks out from time to time in Egj-pt with so much severity that they are compelled to send to Syria or the islands of the Archipelago for a new supply of oxen. It is also stated (ib. p. G2) that, since about the year 1786 a disease very much dimin- ished the number of oxen, they began to make use of the buffalo in their place for watering the fields, and the practice is continued in later times. See Pesti- lence.
Murray, Alexander (1), D.D., an eminent Scotch divine, noted as an Orientalist, was born at Dunkitterick, Oct. 22, 1775, of very humble parentage, and therefore enjoyed scarcely any educational advantages in early life. It was not till he had reached his sixth year that he was taught the alphabet of his mother-tongue. "His father" (a shepherd), .says his biographer, "in that year laid out a halfpenny in the purchase of a catechism, and from the letters and syllables on the face of the book he began to teach his son the elements of learning. It was however emphatically ' a good book,' and only to be handled on Sundays or other suitable occasions; it; was therefore commonly locked up, and throughout the winter the old man, who had himself been taught read- ing and writing in his youth, drew for his son the fig- ures of the letters in his written hand on the board of an old wool-card with the black end ofa burned heather- stem. In this way young Jlurray was initiated into literature; and working continually with his board and brand, he soon became a reader and writer. The cate- chism was at length presented, and in a month or so he could read the easier parts of it. In the summer of
1782 he got a Psalm-book, then a New Testament, and at last a Bible, a book which he had heard read every night at family worship, which he often longed to get hold of, but which he was never allowed to open or even touch. He now read constantly, and having a good memory, he remembered well and would repeat numerous psalms and large portions of Scripture. In
1783 his reading and memory had become tlie wonder of the rustic circle in which he lived, and a wish began to be generally entertained that he should be sent to school." An uncle of the boy, attracted by the precoc- ity of the youth, finally sent him to (Jalloway school
j in his ninth year. He remained there for a while onlj', and was then obliged to return home to help his father in the fiehls. In 1790, however, he found means to re- sume his studies, and he made his way rapidly therc-
j after. In 1794, being then already master of the (Jreek, Latin, Hebrew, and French, which he had mainly ac- quired without an instructor, he was brought to the