The moon was from an early period an object of idolatrous worship, both immediately, as seen in the sky, and mediately, as represented by a con ceived personal deity. Thus, while the Pelasgians, Teutons, Celts, and even the Carthaginians (occa sionally; cf. Polyb. vii. 9. 2), worshipped the orb itself, nations more advanced in culture had their special moon-gods. Such was the Anaitis or Tanais of the Armenian tribes ; the Astarte of the Phoenicians; the Ashteroth-Carnaim of the Syrians ; the Sin of the Babylonians and Assyrians ; the Isis, and perhaps the Neith (comp. Hitzig on ye r. vii. 18, in the Exeget. Ha'b. zum A. T.), of the Egyptians ; the Artemis of the Greeks ; and the Diana of the Latins. In Chaldrea the moon was worshipped as the queen of Heaven, and atom thence this form of idolatry was transported into Judma. The existence of moon-worship, however, most have been known to the Hebrews long before this, for we find it expressly alluded to in the book of Job (xxxi. 26, 27), and specifically denounced in the law of Moses (Dent. iv. 19 ; xvii. 3) ; but it was not till the reign of Manasseh, in the 7th cen tury B.C., that this form of idolatry was formally introduced among the chosen people (2 Kings xxiii. 5). From this time to the captivity it pro bably was never at any time wholly extirpated from the land. The prophet Jeremiah frequently refers to it as a deadly and prevailing evil among the people in his day (vii. 18 ; viii. 2 ; xix. 13 ; xliv. 17 19, 25). From these passages we learn also some thing as to the rites of this worship. The moon was reverenced as the Queen of Heaven' wotgro, an epithet which Gesenius would under stand of the star Venus, but which undoubtedly refers to the moon ; comp. the Siderum regina bicomis' of Horace, Carte. Sae. 35. Her worship was especially cultivated by women (for which there might be a natural reason in the monthly affection to which they are subject) ; and the offerings presented by them consisted of incense (a Kings xxui. 5), of libations or drink-offerings, and of cakes, into the composition of which oil largely entered, according to some (Etymol. Mag., and Suidas, s. v. xa6covai), and according to others, in gredients of a resinous character (Theodoret, ots yer. vii. 18). From the reference to this worship in Job. xxxi. 27, we learn also that the kissing of the hands was one of its modes. There is no evi dence that the cruel and impure rites with which the worship of the Phoenician and the Assyrian moon-deities was celebrated were followed by the Hebrews.—W. L. A.
MOR (1\ *) is the well-known substance myrrh, the urippa and of the Greeks. The Greek ikelppa and the Latin myrrha are no doubt derived from the Hebrew mar, or Arabic,, mill-, though some of the ancients traced them to the mythological Myrrha, daughter of Cinyras, king of Cyprus, who fled to Arabia, and was changed into this tree (Ov. Art. Am. i. 288). Myrrh is the exudation of a little-known tree found in Arabia, but much more extensively in Abyssinia. It formed an article of the earliest commerce, was highly esteemed by the Egyptians and Jews, as well as by the Greeks and Romans, as it still is both in the East and in Europe. The earliest notice of it occurs in Exod. xxx. 23, Take thou also unto thee principa: spices, of pure myrrh (morderor) soo shekels.' It is afterwards mentioned in Esther ii. 12, as em ployed in the purification of women; in Ps. xlv. 8, as a perfume ; also in several passages of the Song of Solomon (iv. 6 ; v. 5, 13), in both which
passages Rosenmiiller states that in the original it is stilicidions or profluent myrrh. Under its Greek name, °w.f.,' pva, we find it mentioned in Matt, ii. II, among the gifts presented by the wise men of the East to the infant Jesus—' gold, and frankin cense, and myrrh.' It may be remarked as wor thy of notice, that myrrh and frankincense are frequently mentioned together. In Mark xv. 23, we learn that the Roman soldiers ' gave him (Jesus) to drink 'vine mingled with myrrh ; but he received it not.' The Apostle John (xix. 39) says, ' There came also Nicodemus, and brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes [AHALIM], about an hundred pound weight,' for the purpose of embalming the body of our Saviour.
The ancients generally describe myrrh as a pro duct of Arabia ; that in this they were correct is proved by Ehrenberg and Hemprich, who found a small tree in Arabia near Gison, on the borders of Arabia Felix, off which they collected pieces of myrrh, which, when brought home and analysed, was acknowledged to be genuine. It is an inte resting fact that the specimens of the myrrh-plant brought by Mr. Johnson from the confines of Abyssinia seem to be of the same species. This is the Balsamodendron Ilfyrrha of botanists, and which we here figure from Nees von Esenbech's plate of Ehrenberg's plant. By some it is sup posed to be produced by another species of Bal samodendron, the Anzyris kataf of Forskal, which differs little from A. kdfal. Belon supposed it to be produced in Syria, and says, that near Rama he met with a thorny shrub, with leaves resem bling acacia, which he believed to be that produc ing myrrh (Mimosa agrestis, Spr.) Similar to this is the information of the Arabian author Abu'l Fadli, quoted by Celsius, who says, that mur is the Arabic name of a thorny tree resembling the acacia, from which flows a white juice, which thickens and becomes a gum.
Several kinds of myrrh were known to the ancients, and are described by Dioscorides under the name of Stacie, Gabirea, Troglodytica, Kau kalis, Aminasa, Ergasima. So the Arab authors mention several varieties, as t. mur saf, 2. mar fortarelch; 3. mar jushee ; and in modern com merce we have Turkish and East Indian myrrh, and different names used to be, and are still applied to it, as red and fatty myrrh, myrrh in tears, in sorts, and myrrh in grains. In the Bible also several kinds of myrrh are enumerated, respecting which various opinions have been entertained. Thus, in Exod. xxx. 23, the words mor-deror have been variously translated myrrha prima, electa, ingenua, excellens, etc. dherar, in Arabic, according to Celsius, means an aromatic powder, and mur dheroree, in Arabic, like mor decor in Hebrew, signifies ntyrrheus pelvis. This may be the correct meaning, but it is curious that the Arabians should apply the term Kus3-al-zarire to another famed aromatic, the sweet cane of Scripture. Hence there may be a connection between these similarly sounding terms. Rosen miiller says, Luther correctly translates the Hebrew expression, which properly denotes spontaneously profluent myrrh.' The same kind of myrrh is in the Song of Solomon (chap: v. 13); called stilicidious or profluent myrrh (mor ober), usually translated myrrhanz electam et prwstantis simam, transeuntem, etc. (Gels. 1. c. p. 528). Another kirid of myrrh is said to be indicated by the word Nataf, translated stacte, which occurs in Exod. xxx. 34 ; but on this opinions have differed [NATAF].