on their work in the Holy Place were then able to see into the Most Holy and to have impressed upon them the fact that this compartment contained no Ark representing God’s presence with them. This action by God confirmed that the atonement sacrifices offered by the Jewish high priest were now no longer of value and there was no need for the services of the Levitical priesthood anymore.—Matt. 27:51; 23:38; Heb. 9:1-15.

SYMBOLIC USE

The Most Holy compartment in the tent of meeting or the tabernacle contained the ark of the covenant, which symbolized Jehovah’s presence. Therefore the Most Holy was used, figuratively, to represent the dwelling place of Jehovah God, heaven itself. The inspired writer of the letter to the Hebrews gives us this interpretation of matters when he compares the entry of Israel’s high priest into the Most Holy once a year, on the Day of Atonement, with the entry of the great High Priest Jesus Christ into what the Most Holy symbolized, once for all time with his sacrifice for sins. He explains: “Into the second compartment [the Most Holy] the high priest alone enters once a year, not without blood, which he offers for himself and for the sins of ignorance of the people. . . . This very tent is an illustration for the appointed time that is now here . . . However, when Christ came as a high priest of the good things that have come to pass through the greater and more perfect tent not made with hands, that is, not of this creation, he entered, no, not with the blood of goats and of young bulls, but with his own blood, once for all time into the holy place and obtained an everlasting deliverance for us. Therefore it was necessary that the typical representations of the things in the heavens should be cleansed by these means [blood of animal sacrifices sprinkled on them], but the heavenly things themselves with sacrifices that are better than such sacrifices. For Christ entered, not into a holy place made with hands, which is a copy of the reality, but into heaven itself, now to appear before the person of God for us.”—Heb. 9:7-12, 23, 24.

So Jesus Christ as the great High Priest according to the manner of Melchizedek fulfilled what Israel’s high priest of the line of Aaron could do only typically when entering into the earthly Most Holy. (Heb. 9:24) The spiritual brothers of Christ, joint heirs with him, are strengthened by the words of the same letter to the Hebrews, that “we who have fled to the refuge may have strong encouragement to lay hold on the hope set before us. This hope we have as an anchor for the soul, both sure and firm, and it enters in within the curtain, where a forerunner has entered in our behalf, Jesus, who has become a high priest according to the manner of Melchizedek forever.”—Heb. 6:18-20.

Again these Christians are encouraged to feel fully free and confident to approach God and to hold fast to their hope without wavering by the further words: “Therefore, brothers, since we have boldness for the way of entry into the holy place by the blood of Jesus, which he inaugurated for us as a new and living way through the curtain, that is, his flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us approach with true hearts in the full assurance of faith, having had our hearts sprinkled from a wicked conscience and our bodies bathed with clean water. Let us hold fast the public declaration of our hope, without wavering, for he is faithful that promised.”—Heb. 10:19-23.

MOTH

A four-winged insect resembling a butterfly but differing from the latter in that its feelers usually are feathery and not terminated by distinct knobs. When at rest the moth’s wings are not held erect, as is often the case with butterflies. Instead, they are either folded back flat over the insect’s body or held flat at its sides. Also, moths are generally nocturnal. The insect referred to in Scripture is evidently the clothes moth, particularly in its destructive larval stage. (Job 13:28; Ps. 39:11; Isa. 50:9; 51:8; Hos. 5:12; Matt. 6:19, 20; Luke 12:33; Jas. 5:2) The ease with which a moth can be crushed was a figure employed by Eliphaz with reference to the frailty of mortal man.—Job 4:17, 19, 20.

Female clothes moths lay their eggs on woolen or silk fabrics, or furs, distributing them so that emerging caterpillars will have ample room and material on which to feed. The caterpillars will not eat until they have first protected themselves with a “house” or case constructed from the available fibers. In this “house” they remain as they feed.—Job 27:18.

Commenting on the building procedure followed by a clothes moth caterpillar that was placed on a desk covered with a cloth, James Rennie, in his book Insect Architecture, pages 192, 193, writes: “It did not cut a single hair till it selected one for the foundation of its intended structure. This it cut very near the cloth, in order, we suppose, to have it as long as possible; and placed it on a line with its body. It then immediately cut another, and placing it parallel to the first, bound both together with a few threads of its own silk. The same process was repeated with other hairs, till the little creature had made a fabric of some thickness, and this it went on to extend till it was large enough to cover its body; . . . We remarked that it made choice of longer hairs for the outside than for the parts of the interior, which it thought necessary to strengthen by fresh additions; but the chamber was ultimately finished by a fine and closely-woven tapestry of silk.”

MOTHER

[Heb., ʼem; Gr., meʹter].

Like the word ʼav (father), the word ʼem (mother) is a mimetic word, one of the first lip sounds of a baby. It is used to designate the immediate mother of an individual, an ancestress, Adam’s wife Eve being “the mother of everyone living” (Gen. 3:20; 1 Ki. 15:10), stepmother (Gen. 37:10; compare Genesis 30:22-24; 35:16-19), also in a number of figurative ways.

The desire to have a large family was deeply implanted in the heart of Hebrew women especially, because of God’s promise to make Israel a populous nation and the people through whom the seed of promise would come.(Gen. 18:18; 22:18; Ex. 19:5, 6) For one to be childless was considered to be one of the greatest of misfortunes. (Gen. 30:1) Under the Law covenant a woman was religiously “unclean” after the birth of a male child for forty (seven plus thirty-three days), and after the birth of a female child for double this amount of time, or eighty days (fourteen plus sixty-six days). (Lev. 12:2-5) For the seven and the fourteen days respectively she was unclean to all persons, including her husband, but for the thirty-three and sixty-six days respectively she was unclean only as to holy things and things connected with religious services at the sanctuary.

Hebrew mothers breast-fed their children till they were three years old, and sometimes up until the age of five years or longer, in the belief that the longer the child was suckled the stronger it would grow. Where the mother died or could not provide a sufficient supply of milk, a nurse was employed. Hence, “babes and sucklings” of the Bible could include those old enough to be weaned, old enough to have some knowledge to be able to praise Jehovah and to be trained at the sanctuary.—Matt. 21:15, 16; 1 Sam. 1:23, 24; 2:11.

There was a special closeness between the mother and the children because the mother took immediate care of the children until the time after weaning when the father would begin to guide more personally the child’s education. The mother’s position in the household was one of recognized importance. She was to be respected even in her very old age. (Ex. 20:12; 21:15, 17; Prov. 23:22; Deut. 5:16; 21:18-21; 27:16) Of course, her position was always secondary to that of her husband, whom she was to respect and obey. As a child Jesus kept in subjection to his foster-father Joseph and his mother Mary.—Luke 2:51, 52.

Where the father had more than one wife the sons would distinguish their real mother from their father’s other wives by using the designation “mother.” Half brothers were distinguished from full brothers by the expression “sons of my mother.”—Judg. 8:19; Gen. 43:29.

The mother was required to transmit the instructions and commands of the father to the children and see that these were carried out. (Prov. 1:8; 6:20; 31:1) The mother was the manager of her household under her husband’s headship. Bearing and rearing children in a right way kept her busy and protected her to a great extent from becoming a gossiper or a meddler in other people’s affairs. As long as she continued in the faith, this proved to be a very great safeguard for her. (1 Tim. 5:9-14; 2:15) A good mother had to prepare food and cloth as well as articles of clothing for her children and other members of the household, and the father of her children as well as her sons could well commend and praise such a woman before others.—Prov. 31:15, 19, 21, 28.

FIGURATIVE USE

The word “mother” is applied at Judges 5:7 in the sense of a woman who assists and cares for others. Paul referred to his gentleness toward those to whom he brought God’s truth, his spiritual children, as that of a “nursing mother.” (1 Thess. 2:7) Because of the close spiritual relationship, Christian women are likened to mothers and sisters of their fellow Christians, and are to be treated with the same respect and chastity. (Mark 3:35; 1 Tim. 5:1, 2) Christian wives who follow the good example of Abraham’s wife Sarah are termed her “children.” (1 Pet. 3:6) Since man’s body was made “out of dust from the ground,” the earth may figuratively be likened to his “mother.” (Gen. 2:7; Job 1:21) A city is depicted as a mother, the inhabitants of which are considered her children. (2 Sam. 20:19) In the case of Jerusalem, the city as the seat of government stood for the entire nation, and the people of Israel as individuals were considered her children. (Gal. 4:25, 26; Ezek. 23:4, 25; compare Psalm 137:8, 9.) Also, a large city was considered as a mother to her surrounding “dependent towns,” or, literally, “daughters.” (Ezek. 16:46, 48, 53, 55; see also the New World Translation, 1960 edition, footnotes.) Babylon the Great, “the great city,” is called “the mother of the harlots and of the disgusting things of the earth.”—Rev. 17:5.

MOUNT, MOUNTAIN

Land masses projecting conspicuously higher than hills are called mountains. However, the distinction between hills and mountains is relative. In an area of low hills a mountain may be only a few hundred feet higher than the surrounding lanscape, while in more mountainous regions the lesser summits may also be called hills, even though much higher than an isolated mountain like the 1,843-foot (562-meter) Mount Tabor.—Judg. 4:6.

The Hebrew word har refers not only to individual mountains, including Mount Sinai, Mount Gerizim, Mount Ebal, Mount Gilboa and Mount Zion (Ex. 19:11; Deut. 11:29; 1 Sam. 31:8; Isa. 4:5), but also to mountain ranges like that of Ararat (Gen. 8:4), and to entire elevated regions like the mountainous regions of Ephraim (Josh. 17:15), Naphtali (Josh. 20:7), Gilead (Deut. 3:12), and those regions anciently occupied by the Amorites and Ammonites. (Deut. 1:7, 20; 2:37) The related Hebrew word ha·rarʹ (Jer. 17:3) and the Aramaic word tur (Dan. 2:35) also designate mountains.

MOUNTAINS OF PALESTINE

Palestine on the whole is a rather mountainous land, though it possesses few impressive peaks. West of the Jordan River there are the mountains of Judah in the S, including Mount Moriah, Mount Zion and the Mount of Olives. (2 Chron. 3:1; Ps. 48:2; Mark 13:3) The central section of this range extends NE to Mount Gilboa (1 Sam. 31:1) and contains the mountains of Ephraim and Samaria, with the historic peaks of Gerizim and Ebal. (Josh. 19:50; Deut. 11:29) To the N-NW the Mount Carmel spur juts out into the Mediterranean Sea.—Jer. 46:18.

The valley of Esdraelon divides the primary range from a second range farther N. This latter range includes Mount Tabor (Judg. 4:6) and the coastal chain of Lebanon mountains.—Judg. 3:3; 1 Ki. 5:6.

East of the Rift Valley are the plateaus of Edom and Moab (2 Chron. 20:10), the high cliffs along the eastern side of the Dead Sea, Mount Nebo, from which Moses viewed the Promised Land, and the tableland E of the Jordan Valley, which averages about 2,000 feet (610 meters) in elevation. (Deut. 3:10; 34:1-3; Josh. 13:8, 9; 20:8) This mountainous region continues northward to meet the Anti-Lebanon range, with its majestic Mount Hermon, the highest peak in the entire Palestinian region.—Song of Sol. 4:8.

VALUE OF MOUNTAINS

Mountains influence the climate and rainfall, collect the water and channel it down to the rivers, or hold it in underground reservoirs that feed springs in the valleys below. (Deut. 8:7) Their slopes have supported trees (2 Chron. 2:16, 18), vineyards, and various crops. (Ps. 72:16; Prov. 27:25; Isa. 7:23-25; Jer. 31:5) Their higher elevations have served as threshing floors. (Isa. 17:13) Mountains have accorded natural protection from invading armies (Ps. 125:2), offered refuge and storage places in time of danger (Gen. 19:17, 30; Judg. 6:2; Matt. 24:16; compare Revelation 6:15) and shelter for wildlife. (Ps. 50:10, 11; 104:18; Isa. 18:6) They have provided sites for cities. (Matt. 5:14) Mining operations have yielded useful ores. (Deut. 8:9) Also, valuable building stones have been quarried from mountains.—1 Ki. 5:15-17.

JEHOVAH’S POSSESSION

All mountains belong to Jehovah God by reason of his being their Former. (Ps. 95:4; Amos 4:13) However, the words “mountain of Jehovah” or ‘of God’ often apply in a special way to mountains where Jehovah revealed his presence. These include Mount Sinai or Horeb (Ex. 3:1; Num. 10:33) and the mountain associated with Jehovah’s sanctuary.—Ps. 24:3.

FIGURATIVE AND PROPHETIC USE

Sometimes the term ‘mountain’ applies to the soil, vegetation and trees on the mountain’s surface. (Compare Psalm 83:14.) Of Jehovah, the psalmist says: “He touches the mountains, and they smoke.” (Ps. 104:32; 144:5, 6) This may point to the fact that lightning can set mountain forests on fire, thereby causing a mountain to smoke. The effects of a severe storm appear to be described when the Bible speaks of mountains ‘melting’ or ‘flowing away.’ (Judg. 5:5; Ps. 97:5) Heavy rains produce streams and raging torrents that wash the soil away, as if melting it. Similarily, the expression of Jehovah’s anger against the nations was foretold to result in such slaughter that the blood of the slain would melt the mountains, that is, wash the soil away. (Isa. 34:1-3) For mountains to “drip with sweet wine” means that the vineyards occupying their slopes would produce abundantly.—Joel 3:18; Amos 9:13.

At Mount Sinai the revelation of Jehovah’s presence was attended by such physical manifestations as lightning, smoke and fire. Also the mountain trembled. (Ex. 19:16-18; 20:18; Deut. 9:15) It appears that this and other physical phenomena provide the basis for figurative expressions found elsewhere in the Bible. (Compare Isaiah 64:1-3.) The trembling of Mount Sinai evidently is referred to under the figure of ‘mountains skipping about like rams.’ (Ps. 114:4, 6) ‘Setting the foundations of mountains ablaze’ perhaps alludes to volcanic activity (Deut. 32:22), and the ‘foundations of the mountains becoming agitated’ refers to their shaking, possibly caused by an earthquake.—Ps. 18:7.