RELIABILITY OF THE BIBLE TEXT

Appreciation of the reliability of the Bible is greatly enhanced when it is realized that, by comparison, there are only very few extant manuscripts of the works of classical secular writers and none of these are original, autograph manuscripts. Though they are only copies made centuries after the death of the authors, present-day scholars accept such late copies as sufficient evidence of the authenticity of the text.

Extant Hebrew manuscripts of the Scriptures are not as numerous as the manuscripts of the Christian Greek Scriptures. However, they were prepared with great care. Respecting the text of the Hebrew Scriptures scholar William Henry Green observed: “It may be safely said that no other work of antiquity has been so accurately transmitted.” The late Bible text scholar Sir Frederic Kenyon made this reassuring statement in the introduction to his seven volumes on the “Chester Beatty Biblical Papyri” (published in 1933 in London, p. 15): “The first and most important conclusion derived from the examination of them [the Papyri] is the satisfactory one that they confirm the essential soundness of the existing texts. No striking or fundamental variation is shown either in the Old or the New Testament. There are no important omissions or additions of passages, and no variations which affect vital facts or doctrines. The variations of text affect minor matters, such as the order of words or the precise words used . . . But their essential importance is their confirmation, by evidence of an earlier date than was hitherto available, of the integrity of our existing texts. In this respect they are an acquisition of epoch-making value.”

Concerning the Christian Greek Scriptures Sir Frederic Kenyon stated in his book The Bible and Archaeology (published in 1940): “The interval then between the dates of original composition and the earliest extant evidence becomes so small as to be in fact negligible, and the last foundation for any doubt that the Scriptures have come down to us substantially as they were written has now been removed. Both the authenticity and the general integrity of the books of the New Testament may be regarded as finally established.”—Pp. 288, 289.

Centuries ago, Jesus Christ, “the faithful and true witness” (Rev. 3:14), repeatedly and emphatically confirmed the genuineness of the Hebrew Scriptures, as did his apostles. (Luke 24:27, 44; Rom. 15:4) Extant ancient versions or translations further bespeak the exactness of the preserved Hebrew Scriptures. Manuscripts and versions of the Christian Greek Scriptures bear unassailable testimony to the marvelous preservation and accurate transmission of that portion of God’s Word. We are therefore now favored with an authentic, thoroughly reliable Bible text. A thoughtful examination of preserved manuscripts of the Holy Scriptures bears eloquent testimony to their faithful preservation and permanence, giving added meaning to the inspired statement: “The green grass has dried up, the blossom has withered; but as for the word of our God, it will last to time indefinite.”—Isa. 40:8; 1 Pet. 1:24, 25.

MAOCH

(Maʹoch) [oppressed, bruised].

Father of Achish, king of the Philistine city of Gath, with whom David and his six hundred men found refuge from Saul. (1 Sam. 27:1-3) He may be the same person as the Maacah of 1 Kings 2:39, though such identification is not positive. The name Maacah is quite similar to Maoch and it is possible that Achish, who was ruling when David was outlawed, was still the Philistine king of Gath at the commencement of Solomon’s rule.

MAON

(Maʹon) [dwelling].

1. A descendant of Caleb through Shammai. Maon may have been the father of Beth-zur’s inhabitants or the principal man or founder of that city.—1 Chron. 2:42, 45.

2. A city in the mountainous region of Judah. (Josh. 15:20, 48, 55) Israel’s King Saul pursued David and his men into the wilderness area surrounding Maon. But news of a Philistine raid forced Saul to abandon the chase. (1 Sam. 23:24-28) Later, David’s men were treated inhospitably by Nabal, a rich landowner apparently residing at Maon. (1 Sam. 25:2-11) This city is identified with Tell Maʽin atop a high hill about eight and a half miles (14 kilometers) S of Hebron.

MARA

(Maʹra) [bitter].

The name Mara was suggested by Elimelech’s widow for herself to express the bitterness she experienced due to being bereaved of her husband and her sons Mahlon and Chilion. Naomi had left Bethlehem with a husband and two sons (Ruth 1:1, 2), but returned from Moab as a saddened, childless widow. At that time her old friends, the women of Bethlehem, asked: “Is this Naomi?” Still grief-stricken, she replied: “Do not call me Naomi [meaning “my pleasantness”]. Call me Mara [meaning “bitter”], for the Almighty has made it very bitter for me. I was full when I went, and it is empty-handed that Jehovah has made me return.”—Ruth 1:19-21.

MARAH

(Maʹrah) [bitterness].

One of Israel’s early encampments in the Sinai Peninsula. It was named “Marah” (bitterness) because of the unpalatable water found there. (Ex. 15:23; Num. 33:8) Although having only recently been delivered from the Egyptians at the Red Sea, the Israelites gave way to faithless murmuring when they were unable to drink the water at Marah. Thereafter, at Jehovah’s direction, Moses cast a tree into the water and it became sweet. The Bible does not specify the kind of tree and so there is no basis for identifying it. Of course, Jehovah could have directed Moses to a particular variety having natural properties for sweetening the water. But there is no need to seek a “scientific” or “natural” explanation, as the healing of the water was doubtless miraculous.—Ex. 15:23-25; compare 2 Kings 2:19-22; 4:38-41.

Jehovah used the circumstances at Marah to test the Israelites as to their faith in his ability to care for them. Since bad water can cause disease (2 Ki. 2:19), the sweetening of the water illustrated Jehovah’s ability to preserve the Israelites from the maladies experienced by the Egyptians. The “regulation” Jehovah then taught the Israelites was: Obedience to him as their God would prevent their being afflicted by the maladies he put upon the Egyptians.—Ex. 15:25, 26.

Marah is usually identified with ʽAin Hawarah. Lying as it does about forty-five miles (72 kilometers) S-SE of modern Suez, this site is just a few miles inland from the Red Sea.

MARBLE

A crystalline limestone (calcium carbonate) of close grain that varies in color, texture and crystal structure, and which is capable of taking a high polish. Its color ranges from snow-white to numerous shades of gray, brown, yellow, red, green and black. Streaks or veins are due to impurities of metal oxides and carbonaceous matter.

It is uncertain whether Solomon made use of marble in his building program. Josephus says “white stone” was used, but the Hebrew word usually translated “marble” at 1 Chronicles 29:2 probably denotes “alabaster” and is thus rendered in some translations. (JB, NW) This is in agreement with A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament by Brown, Driver and Briggs, 1952, page 1010, and Lexicon in Veteris Testamenti Libros by Koehler & Baumgartner, 1953, page 966.

Marble apparently was not found in Palestine. Lebanon, however, produced a variety of marbles; but the choicest specimens were found in the Aegean island of Paros and in Arabia. The Shulammite maiden, in describing her beloved shepherd companion to the ladies-in-waiting at the court of King Solomon, said: “His legs are pillars of marble based on socket pedestals of refined gold.” (Song of Sol. 5:15) The Persian palace at Shushan in the days of Queen Esther had marble Pillars, and its pavement in part was made of black marble. (Esther 1:6) Marble is also listed as one of the precious commodities of “the traveling merchants of the earth” who weep over the downfall of Babylon the Great.—Rev. 18:11, 12.

MAREAL

(Marʹe·al).

A boundary location of Zebulun. (Josh. 19:10, 11) Some would link Mareal with modern Tell Ghalta, lying E-NE of the suggested sites for Dabbesheth and Jokneam in the Valley of Jezreel. But its exact location is now unknown.

MARESHAH

(Ma·reʹshah) [perhaps, possession, or, head place].

1. A descendant of Judah who is called the “father” of Hebron. (1 Chron. 2:3, 42) While it might be concluded that Mareshah was the ancestor of the inhabitants of the city of Hebron, this is unlikely since the Hebron here mentioned had sons and thus was evidently a person.—1 Chron. 2:43.

2. A descendant of Judah through Shelah. Laadah is identified as the “father of Mareshah.” (1 Chron. 4:21) While it is possible that this Mareshah (or his father Laadah) founded the town of Mareshah, or that he is the same person as the Judahite mentioned above, there is no certainty about these matters.

3. One of a group of nine cities in the Shephelah region of Judah (Josh. 15:44), Mareshah occupied a position of strategic importance beside one of the valleys forming a natural route from the coastal plain up into the mountains and to Hebron. It is identified today with Tell Sandahannah, about one mile (1.6 kilometers) S-SE of Beit Jibrin, although the ancient name survives at nearby Khirbet Mirʽash. King Rehoboam, successor to Solomon, made a fortress city of Mareshah, thereby strengthening Judah’s defense against attack from that avenue of approach. (2 Chron. 11:5, 8) Zerah the Ethiopian swept up from the S with his huge force of a million men and was met at Mareshah by the army of King Asa, and the battle, resulting in a Judean victory by divine assistance, was fought in that area. Asa pursued the defeated Ethiopian force some thirty miles (48 kilometers) to Gerar, SW of Mareshah. (2 Chron. 14:9-13) Mareshah, also Maresha, was the hometown of the prophet Eliezer, who correctly foretold the failure of King Jehoshaphat’s joint maritime enterprise with Ahaziah of Israel.—2 Chron. 20:35-37.

Micah’s prophecy, warning apostate Judah and Israel of impending punishment, is notable for its frequent play on words, and the prophet appears to connect the name Mareshah with the Hebrew root word ya·rashʹ (“to possess”) in saying: “The dispossessor I shall yet bring to you, O inhabitress of Mareshah.”—Mic. 1:15.

In the postexilic period, Mareshah became known as Marissa and continued to be a site of considerable importance, though it became a Sidonian colony and later an Idumean stronghold. It was finally destroyed by the Parthians in 40 B.C.E.

MARINER

One who navigates or assists in the operation of a ship; a sailor or seaman. (1 Ki. 9:26, 27; Ezek. 27:8, 9; Rev. 18:17-19) The life of ancient mariners was a perilous one. In a storm-tossed sea they were practically helpless. Wrote the psalmist: “Because of the calamity their very soul finds itself melting. They reel and move unsteadily like a drunken man, and even all their wisdom proves confused. And they begin crying out to Jehovah in their distress.”—Ps. 107:26-28.

Acts 27:15-19 contains a vivid account of the measures taken by mariners during a storm. The skiff, which was towed along and evidently served as a lifeboat when needed, was hoisted aboard. Helps, possibly ropes or chains, were used to undergird the boat, that is, were passed around the hull of the ship and tightened on deck. The gear was lowered. This may mean that the mainsail was reduced. Items were thrown overboard to lighten the vessel, this serving to increase the ship’s buoyancy.—Compare Jonah 1:5; Acts 27:38; see SHIP.

MARK, I

[Gr., Marʹkos, from Lat., Marcus, meaning “a large hammer”].

The Roman surname of the son of Mary of Jerusalem. His Hebrew name was John, meaning “Jehovah has been gracious.” (Acts 12:12, 25) Mark was a cousin of Barnabas, was his traveling companion and that of other early Christian missionaries, and was inspired to write the Gospel bearing his own name. (Col. 4:10) Mark is the John Mark mentioned in the book of Acts and the John of Acts 13:5, 13.

He was evidently an early believer in Christ. His mother’s home was used as a place of worship by the early Christian congregation, which may mean that both she and Mark became Jesus’ followers before Christ’s death. (Acts 12:12) Since Mark alone mentions the scantily clad young man who fled on the night of Jesus’ betrayal, there is reason to believe that Mark himself was that young man. (Mark 14:51, 52) So it seems likely that Mark was present when the holy spirit was poured out on the some 120 disciples of Christ on Pentecost 33 C.E.—Acts 1:13-15; 2:1-4.

After they had carried out the relief ministration in Jerusalem, Barnabas and Saul (Paul) “returned and took along with them John, the one surnamed Mark.” It appears that Mark served as their attendant, perhaps caring for their physical needs while they traveled. (Acts 12:25; 13:5) For some undisclosed reason, when they arrived at Perga in Pamphylia, “John [Mark] withdrew from them and returned to Jerusalem.” (Acts 13:13) When Paul later set out on his second missionary journey, though Barnabas was determined to take Mark along the apostle “did not think it proper to be taking this one along with them, seeing that he had departed from them from Pamphylia and had not gone with them to the work.” “A sharp burst of anger” ensued and they separated, Barnabas taking Mark with him to Cyprus and Paul taking Silas with him through Syria and Cilicia.—Acts 15:36-41.

Some time thereafter, however, whatever breach there was between Paul, Barnabas and Mark was evidently healed, for Mark was with Paul in Rome and joined him in sending greetings to the Colossian Christians (c. 60-61 C.E.). Paul spoke favorably of him, saying: “Aristarchus my fellow captive sends you his greetings, and so does Mark the cousin of Barnabas, (concerning whom you received commands to welcome him if ever he comes to you).” (Col. 4:10) Mark is also among those mentioned by Paul as sending greetings to Philemon when the apostle wrote to him from Rome (also c. 60-61 C.E.). (Philem. 23, 24) Later (c. 65 C.E.), when Paul was again a prisoner in Rome, he specifically asked Timothy to “take Mark and bring him with you, for he is useful to me for ministering.”—2 Tim. 4:11.

John Mark also associated with Peter in Babylon, for he is mentioned as sending greetings in the apostle’s first letter (written about 62-64 C.E.). Peter calls him “Mark my son,” perhaps indicating the strong bond of Christian affection that existed between them. (1 Pet. 5:13; compare 1 John 2:1, 7.) Thus, Mark, once the cause of difficulty, gained the commendation and trust of prominent servants of God and enjoyed the yet greater privilege of being inspired to write an account of Jesus’ ministry.—See MARK, GOSPEL OF.

MARK, II

Anciently, marks, some in the form of an X, were used for various purposes. (Compare 1 Samuel 21:13.) Among non-Israelites animals and even slaves were branded with a mark as an indication of ownership. In the case of humans, such property marks were placed on a conspicuous part of the body, such as the forehead. Worshipers of false gods at