between these two great prophets, Moses and Jesus Christ. Both in infancy escaped the wholesale slaughter ordered by the respective rulers of their time. (Ex. 1:22; 2:1-10; Matt. 2:13-18) Moses was called out of Egypt with Jehovah’s “first-born,” the nation of Israel, Moses being the nation’s leader. Jesus was called out of Egypt as God’s firstborn Son. (Ex. 4:22, 23; Hos. 11:1; Matt. 2:15, 19-21) Both fasted for forty days in wilderness places. (Ex. 34:28; Matt. 4:1, 2) Both came in the name of Jehovah, Jesus’ name itself meaning “Salvation (or Help) of Jehovah.” (Ex. 3:13-16; Matt. 1:21; John 5:43) Jesus, like Moses, ‘declared the name of Jehovah.’ (Deut. 32:3; John 17:6, 26) Both were exceptional in meekness and humility. (Num. 12:3; Matt. 11:28-30) Both had the most convincing credentials that they were sent by God—astounding miracles of many sorts, Jesus Christ going farther than Moses by raising dead persons to life.—Ex. 14:21-31; Ps. 78:12-54; Matt. 11:5; Mark 5:38-43; Luke 7:11-15, 18-23.

Moses was mediator of the Law covenant between God and the nation of Israel. Jesus was Mediator of the new covenant between God and the “holy nation,” the spiritual “Israel of God.” (1 Pet. 2:9; Gal. 6:16; Ex. 19:3-9; Luke 22:20; Heb. 8:6; 9:15) Both served as judges and lawgivers. (Ex. 18:13; Mal. 4:4; John 5:22, 23; 13:34; 15:10) Moses was entrusted with and proved faithful to his stewardship in the ‘house of God.’ Jesus likewise showed faithfulness in God’s house; Moses, however, did so as an attendant, Christ as a Son. (Num. 12:7; Heb. 3:2-6) And even in death there was a parallel, God disposing of the bodies of both Moses and Jesus.—Deut. 34:5, 6; Acts 2:31; Jude 9.

After Moses took his stand as being a Hebrew rather than an Egyptian, Jehovah God anointed, that is to say, appointed Moses to be his prophet, and as such Moses was “the Christ” or “the Anointed (Appointed) One.” Jehovah’s spirit, of course, was upon Moses as a prophet. (Num. 11:16, 17, 24, 25) In that way Moses was “the Christ” of that time; but in order to come into that privileged position he had to give up the “treasures of Egypt” and let himself “be ill-treated with the people of God” and thus suffer reproach. But to Moses such “reproach of the Christ” was riches greater than all of Egypt’s wealth.—Heb. 11:24-26.

A parallel to this is found in Jesus Christ. According to the angel’s announcement at his birth in Bethlehem he was to become a “Savior, who is Christ the Lord.” He became Christ or “Anointed One” after the prophet John baptized him in the Jordan River. (Luke 2:10, 11; 3:21-23; 4:16-21) Thereafter he acknowledged that he was “the Christ” or Messiah. (Matt. 16:16, 17; Mark 14:61, 62; John 4:25, 26) Jesus Christ also kept his eye on the prize and despised the shame, as Moses had done. (Phil. 2:8, 9; Heb. 12:2) It is into this Greater Moses that the Christian congregation is baptized—into Jesus Christ, the foretold Prophet Liberator and Leader.—1 Cor 10:1, 2.

MOSQUITO

Any of a great variety of two-winged insects having a round head and long, slender five-jointed legs. Female mosquitoes are equipped with a strong proboscis that enables them to pierce the skin of man and animals, and to suck their blood. The Hebrew word qeʹrets, rendered “mosquito” (NW), appears as a noun only at Jeremiah 46:20, where it is used to represent the Babylonians under Nebuchadnezzar, the enemy to the north that would come against Egypt, the “pretty heifer.”

MOST HIGH

The Hebrew word ʽel·yohnʹ (Most High), used with reference to Jehovah, is also applied to other persons or things: King David, as above the other earthly kings (Ps. 89:20, 27), the place above the nations promised to Israel (Deut. 26:18, 19), the topmost basket (Gen. 40:17), the upper gate (2 Ki. 15:35), the upper pool (2 Ki. 18:17), the upper courtyard (Jer. 36:10), the uppermost story (Ezek. 41:7), the uppermost dining rooms (Ezek. 42:5), Upper Beth-horon (Josh. 16:5) and the upper source of the waters of Gihon. (2 Chron. 32:30) These uses illustrate that ʽel·yohnʹ denotes position rather than power.

When applied to Jehovah, “Most High” emphasizes his supreme position above all others. (Ps. 83:18) The title first appears at Genesis 14:18-20 with ʼEl (God), where Melchizedek is called “priest of the Most High God” and, in that capacity, blesses Abraham as well as the Most High God. “Most High” is used in combination with the divine name Jehovah (Gen. 14:22; Ps. 7:17) and the plural of excellence ʼElo·himʹ (God) (Ps. 78:56), and also appears alone.—Deut. 32:8; Ps. 9:2; Isa. 14:14.

The plural Aramaic form ʽel·yoh·ninʹ occurs at Daniel 7:18, 22, 25, 27, where it may be translated “Supreme One” (NW), the plural being the plural of excellence, majesty. The Aramaic form in the singular number, ʽil·layʹ (Most High) is used at Daniel 7:25.

The Greek word hyʹpsi·stos (Most High), as applying to Jehovah, is employed mainly by Luke, in his Gospel (twice in Gabriel’s announcement to Mary about the birth of Jesus) and in the Acts. (Luke 1:32, 35, 76; 6:35; 8:28; Acts 7:48; 16:17) The other occurrences are at Mark 5:7 and Hebrews 7:1.

MOST HOLY

The innermost room of the tabernacle and, later, of the temple. This compartment in the tabernacle was apparently cubical, each of its three dimensions being ten cubits (c. 14.6 feet or c. 4.4 meters); the dimensions of the Most Holy in the temple built by Solomon were twice those of the tabernacle, so that it was eight times as large in volume.—Ex. 26:15, 16, 18, 22, 23; 1 Ki. 6:16, 17, 20; 2 Chron. 3:8.

The high priest entered the Most Holy only on the annual Day of Atonement; at no time could any other person go beyond the curtain that hung between this room and the Holy Place. (Lev. 16:2) In the Most Holy the high priest was surrounded by the colorful embroidered cherubs on the tabernacle’s inner covering and on the curtain. (Ex. 26:1, 31, 33) In Solomon’s temple the walls and ceiling were of cedarwood covered with gold, and cherubs, palm-tree figures, gourd-shaped ornaments and blossoms were engraved on the walls.—1 Ki. 6:16-18, 29; 2 Chron. 3:7, 8.

The Scriptures outline three entries of the high priest into the Most Holy on atonement day, first with the golden censer of perfumed incense, fired by coals from off the altar, a second time with the blood of the bull, the sin offering for the priestly tribe, and finally with the blood of the goat, the sin offering for the people. (Lev. 16:11-15; Heb. 9:6, 7, 25) He sprinkled the blood of the animals on the ground before the golden ark of the covenant, on the cover of which were golden cherubs between which Jehovah figuratively was said to dwell. (Ex. 25:17-22; Lev. 16:14, 15) Jehovah’s presence was symbolized by a cloud that evidently shone as a bright light, being the sole light for this compartment of the tabernacle, which had no lampstand in it. While the tabernacle was in the wilderness, above the Most Holy resided a cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night, visible to the entire camp of Israel.—Ex. 13:22; 40:38; Num. 9:15; compare Psalm 80:1.

NO ARK IN LATER TEMPLES

Just when and under what circumstances the ark of the covenant disappeared is not known. Apparently the Babylonians did not capture it when they pillaged and destroyed the temple in 607 B.C.E., for the Ark is not listed among the temple articles carried off. (2 Ki. 25:13-17; Ezra 1:7-11) In the second temple, built by Zerubbabel, and in the more elaborate temple of Herod there was no Ark in the Most Holy. At the time of Jesus’ death God expressed his anger by causing the thick, heavy curtain that separated the Most Holy from the Holy Place to be ripped in two from top to bottom. The priests who were carrying