Gath, has been suggested as a possible identification. The composite name Moresheth-gath (Mic. 1:14) implies that the city was in some way associated with Gath. Perhaps it was at times dominated by that Philistine city, since the Philistines controlled places other than their five major cities (Gath being one of the five).—1 Sam. 6:18; 27:5.

Some view Micah 1:14 as a play on the name “Moresheth” (“possession”). The Hebrew term for “parting gifts” in this text signifies a person or possession that is temporarily or permanently given up or sent away. Accordingly, Zion (Mic. 1:13) would lose this city, Moresheth itself constituting the “parting gifts.”

MORIAH

(Mo·riʹah) [possibly, Jah provides].

The name of the rocky eminence on which Solomon built a magnificent temple to Jehovah. Earlier his father David had purchased the site from the Jebusite Araunah (Ornan) in order to erect an altar there, as this was the divinely indicated means for ending a scourge resulting from David’s sin in connection with the taking of a census.—2 Sam. 24:16-25; 1 Chron. 21:15-28; 2 Chron. 3:1; see ARAUNAH.

Ancient Jewish tradition links the temple site with the mountain in the “land of Moriah” where Abraham, at God’s command, attempted to offer up Isaac. (Gen. 22:2; see Antiquities of the Jews, Book VII, chap. XIII, par. 4.) This would make the “land of Moriah” the mountainous region around Jerusalem. It was to the “land of Moriah” that Abraham traveled from the vicinity of Beer-sheba, and, on the third day, he saw from a distance the divinely designated place for the sacrifice. (Gen. 21:33, 34; 22:4, 19) This could be said regarding Mount Moriah. The trip of some fifty miles (80 kilometers) from Beer-sheba to Mount Moriah would conceivably have taken more than two full days. As to the visibility of Mount Moriah from a distance, The International Standard Bible Encyclopædia (Vol. III, p. 2082) notes: “Moriah at Jerus[alem] can be distinctly seen from the old caravan road about 9 miles on the way to Hebron, and again from a hill just north of Hebron. Moreover from the place 9 miles distant, it is Moriah that is visible and not the greater mount, now called Zion.”

Mount Moriah evidently was a sufficient distance from the Salem of Abraham’s time so that the attempted sacrifice of Isaac did not take place in full view of the city’s inhabitants. There is no record that these witnessed the incident or tried to interfere. That the site was somewhat isolated centuries later may be inferred from the fact that in David’s day there was a threshing floor on Mount Moriah. However, no mention is made of any buildings on the site.—2 Chron. 3:1.

Today the Mohammedan mosque known as the Dome of the Rock (or, Mosque of Omar) is situated atop Mount Moriah.

MORTAR, I

A vessel having a bowl-shaped interior in which grain, spices, olives, or other substances were pulverized by pounding with a pestle.

Egyptian tomb paintings depict mortars with considerable capacity. These were probably wooden mortars and likely the pestles were made of metal. One tomb painting shows two men at one mortar, alternately raising and dropping metal pestles (club-shaped at both ends), which they gripped at the center with both hands. The painting indicates that after a quantity of material in the mortar had been pounded sufficiently, it was sifted into another container and the coarser remains were returned to the mortar for further pounding.

In the wilderness the Israelites prepared manna for consumption by grinding it in hand mills or pounding it in a mortar.—Num. 11:7, 8.

The finest olive oil was obtained by beating the olives in a mortar with a pestle. This produced oil from only the olive meat, whereas a press crushed the seeds also. Pure, beaten olive oil was required for burning in the lampstand in the tent of meeting. Beaten oil was also used in connection with the “constant burnt offering” and evidently in the holy anointing oil. Incense beaten into powder was used in the sanctuary.—Ex. 27:20, 21; 29:40, 42; 30:23-25, 35, 36.

Since a mortar has a hollow interior, it is suitably used in the Bible to describe the configuration of a specific land area. For instance, according to Judges 15:18, 19, God provided drinking water for Samson by splitting open a “mortar-shaped hollow” in Lehi. Also, a certain section of Jerusalem, the “Maktesh” or “Mortar-Quarter” (Heb., Makh·teshʹ, meaning “a mortar”), may have been so named to identify a basinlike hollow or depression in that area of the city.—Zeph. 1:11.

Grain reduced to flour in a mortar undergoes very severe treatment. Therefore, the Scriptures use this procedure illustratively, saying: “Even if you should pound the foolish one fine with a pestle in a mortar, in among cracked grain, his foolishness will not depart from him.”—Prov. 27:22.

MORTAR, II

A composition applied to bricks and stones to cement them together (as in a wall) or used as a wall coating. (Lev. 14:42, 45; 1 Chron. 29:2; Isa. 54:11; Jer. 43:9) A weather-resistant mixture (properly termed “mortar”) of lime, sand and water was used in the construction of the finer homes in ancient Palestine. Another type of mortar, used as plaster, was prepared by blending sand, ashes and lime. Sometimes oil was added to the mixture, or the wall was coated with oil after it was plastered to produce a nearly waterproof surface. In Egypt (even up to modern times) mortar used for wall plaster has been composed of two parts clay, one part lime and one part straw and ashes.

Instead of conventional mortar, the builders of the tower of Babel used bitumen, which “served as mortar for them.” (Gen. 11:3) The later Babylonians likely obtained their bitumen for mortar from the subterranean fountains near the city of Hit located not far from Babylon on the Euphrates River. According to Herodotus (I, 179), hot asphalt (bitumen) was used as cement or mortar when building up the sides of Babylon’s moat and when constructing the city’s wall.

While the Israelites were slaves in Egypt, the Egyptians “kept making their life bitter with hard slavery at clay mortar and bricks.” (Ex. 1:14) Later, in Palestine, clay mortar and mud bricks served the Israelites as basic building materials in areas where little good-quality building stone was available. The mortar was mixed to about the consistency of molasses, usually by trampling it with the feet. Chopped straw was combined with the mortar to increase the cohesiveness of the mixture.

Clay mortar or mud, frequently mixed with small stones or straw, was evidently also used for wall plaster in the past, even as it has been in recent times. It was applied over walls to afford them greater protection from the weather. Walls in ancient times were often built of sun-dried bricks, which were not lastingly resistant to wet weather. Therefore, in order to protect a new wall or to save and strengthen a damaged wall, a coat of mortar or plaster was sometimes applied. However, if only whitewash or bad mortar containing little or no lime was daubed on such a wall, it could not be expected to withstand severe storms.—Compare Ezekiel 13:11-16.

MOSERAH, MOSEROTH

(Mo·seʹrah, Mo·seʹroth) [perhaps, band(s) (as a fetter); or, chastisement, possibly alluding to Aaron’s death].

The place where the Israelites were encamped when Aaron died. (Deut. 10:6) It was evidently near Mount Hor (whereon Aaron died), but its exact location is unknown. (Num. 33:38) Some scholars tentatively locate Moserah seventeen miles (27 kilometers) W-SW of Jebel Madurah (Mount Hor?). The plural form of Moserah,