MISHOR oici+mr; ; Mcathp ,,, Alex. p ; also reaunj ; planities and eampestria ; A. V., Me plain). This word is applied in Scripture to any plain or level tract of land, as in I Kings xx. 23, and 2 Chron. xxvi. so ; but in a number of pas sages it is used with the article as the proper name of the plateau of Moab ; and when thus employed it is generally rendered p in the Septuagint (Dent. iii. so ; Josh. xiii. 9, 16, 17, 21 ; Jer. xlviii. S, 21). Dean Stanley, with his usual accurate ap preciation of the graphic touches of natural scenery given in Scripture, brings out the meaning of this word : The smooth downs (of Moab) received a special name (Mishor), expressive of their contrast with the rough and rocky soil of the west' (Sin. and Pal., p. 317) ; and probably, it might be added, in contrast with the wooded heights and picturesque vales of Gilead. The word comes from the root ltg', to be level or just,' and is some times employed in a moral sense (Ps. xlv. 6 ; cxliii. to). Stanley supposes that the whole of the up land downs east of the Jordan are called Mishor, and that this fact fixes the true site of the battle of Aphek (i Kings xx. 23, seq.) It seems doubtful, however, whether the word Mishor, in the descrip tion of that battle, will bear the meaning thus assigned to it. It appears to be simply put in op
position to hartm, hills.' Their gods are gods of the hills, therefore they were stronger than we, but let us fight against them in Me plain' (viishor). In 2 Chron. xxvi. to, mishor also means a plain' west of the Jordan. As a proper name, or a spe cial appellative, it was given only to the great pla teau of Moab, even as distinguished from that of Basilan (Dent. iii. so). This plateau commences at the summit of that range of hills, or rather lofty banks, which bounds the Jordan valley, and ex tends in a smooth, gently undulating surface, far out into the desert of Arabia. Medeba was one of its chief cities, and hence it is twice called the Mishor of Medeba' (Josh. xiii. 9, 16). It formed the special subject of the awful curse pronounced by Jeremiah—' Judgment is come upon the land of Mishor' cnnn Yid ; xlviii. 20. It was chiefly celebrated for its pastures ; but it also contained a number of large and strong cities, the ruins of which still dot its surface (Porter's Damasc-as, 183, sty.)—J. L. P.