• Mirror
    Aid to Bible Understanding

    • and later of tin, silver and even gold. It was probably not until the first century C.E. that mirrors of glass were introduced. Since the ancient mirrors were generally made of molten metal, they had to be highly polished so as to have good reflecting surfaces. Pounded pumice stone might be used for this purpose, it being applied periodically thereafter with a sponge that usually hung from the mirror itself. Nevertheless, ancient metal mirrors did not have as fine a reflecting surface as do today’s glass mirrors. That is why the apostle Paul could write: “At Present we see in hazy outline by means of a metal mirror.”—1 Cor. 13:12.

      Most of the ancient mirrors discovered in Palestine date from after the Babylonian exile and down to Roman times. Often the circular bronze mirrors were equipped with wooden or ivory handles. Some of these handles were engraved with circles or other ornamentation. Ancient Egyptian mirrors were made principally of copper (compare Exodus 38:8) and could be highly polished. Generally, Egyptian mirrors were round and had a wooden, metal or stone handle. Designs on the handles varied and included the figure of a woman, a flower, the head of the goddess Hathor, a bird and even a monster.

      FIGURATIVE USE

      The Scriptures at times refer to mirrors in a figurative or an illustrative way. At Job 37:18 the skies are figuratively likened to a metal mirror, the burnished face of which gives off a bright reflection. The disciple James used the mirror as figurative of God’s word when urging persons to become, not just hearers of the word, but doers of it. (Jas. 1:22-25) And the apostle Paul showed that Christians “reflect like mirrors the glory of Jehovah” in their ministry.—2 Cor. 3:18; 4:1.

  • Mishael
    Aid to Bible Understanding

    • MISHAEL

      (Mishʹa·el) [perhaps, who is what God is?].

      1. A Kohathite Levite and son of Uzziel. (Ex. 6:18, 22) After Aaron’s sons Nadab and Abihu were executed by Jehovah for offering illegitimate fire, Mishael and his brother Elzaphan carried their bodies outside the camp.—Lev. 10:1-5.

      2. The original name of one of Daniel’s three Judean companions who was named “Meshach” by the principal court official of Babylon.—Dan. 1:6, 7; see MESHACH.

      3. One of the men who stood at Ezra’s left hand when the copyist read from the book of the Law to the Jews assembled in Jerusalem after the Babylonian exile.—Neh. 8:3, 4.

  • Misrephoth-maim
    Aid to Bible Understanding

    • MISREPHOTH-MAIM

      (Misʹre·photh-maʹim) [literally, burning of waters].

      A point to which the Israelites pursued the armies of northern Canaanite kings allied with Jabin after having defeated them at the waters of Merom. (Josh. 11:1-5, 8) When the Promised Land was divided into inheritance portions, the area extending from Lebanon to Misrephoth-maim remained to be conquered. (Jos. 13:2, 6) Misrephoth-maim is usually associated with the ruins at Khirbet el-Musheirefeh, about twelve miles (19 kilometers) N of Acco (Acre). This location would have provided the citizens of Misrephoth-maim access to the cities in the plain of Acco and also the Huleh Basin. Perhaps Misrephoth-maim (“burning of waters”) got its name from the warm springs situated less than two hundred yards (183 meters) from the site.

  • Mist
    Aid to Bible Understanding

    • MIST

      Particles of water floating in the air that resemble very light rain. When warm humid air rises from the earth and cools to what is called the “dew point,” moisture condenses because cool air cannot hold as much water as warm air. If this occurs near the ground, it is called fog; if it takes place higher in the sky, it forms what is called a cloud. (Ps. 135:7; Prov. 25:14; Jer. 10:13; 51:16) Moisture that condenses on cool objects, such as the ground or vegetation (usually at night), is described as dew. (Ex. 16:13, 14; Judg. 6:36-40; see DEW.) Mist, on the other hand, is composed of airborne particles of moisture that are somewhat larger in size than fog particles, but smaller than raindrops.

      The Bible’s poetic description of these geophysical processes accords with scientific findings. Elihu tells how Jehovah, the Source of all heat and energy, first causes the moisture to be drawn up from the earth, and then allows it to trickle slowly and drip back in the form of rain and mist (Heb., ʼedh), as if filtered.—Job 36:27, 28.

      In the Genesis account of conditions here on the earth at a certain point during the creative “days” is found the only other occurrence of the Hebrew word ʼedh (mist). “Jehovah God had not made it rain upon the earth . . . But a mist would go up from the earth [including the streams, lakes and seas] and it watered the entire surface of the ground.”—Gen. 2:5, 6.

      FIGURATIVE USE

      In the city of Paphos on the island of Cyprus, Bar-Jesus (Elymas), a sorcerer and false prophet, opposed the apostle Paul as Paul was speaking to the proconsul Sergius Paulus. Paul told him that Jehovah’s hand was upon him and that he would be blind for a period of time. “Instantly a thick mist and darkness fell upon him.” Apparently his sight became misty or foggy, followed quickly by intense darkness.—Acts 13:4-11.

      The apostle Peter, in his warning against the false teachers and would-be corrupters who would quietly slip into the Christian congregation, says: “These are fountains without water, and mists driven by a violent storm, and for them the blackness of darkness has been reserved.” Travelers in the Middle