Page 56 - Demo

52idols and images, and then were saved from the hands of the Philistines (1 Sam. Vii.). It was here that the nation assembled and Saul was appointed king over Israel (1 Sam. X.). In short, every national question of great moment was decided at this Mispha or at Bethel. It seems that these shrines were built upon high places or upon a raised platform, often called Ramoth, which signifies a “high place.” Even after the building of the gorgeous Temple of Solomon (pbuh) , the Misphas were held in great reverence. But, like the Ka’ba at Makkah, these Misphas were often filled with idols and images. After the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple by the Chaldeans, the Mispha still maintained its sacred character as late as the time of the Maccabees during the reign of King Antiochus [1] .Now, what does the word Mispa mean? It is generally translated into a “watch-tower.” It belongs to that class of Semitic nouns -Asmá Zarf- which take or drive their name from the thing that they enclose or contain. Mispa is the place or building which derives its name fromsáphá, an archaic word for “stone.” The usual word for stone in Hebrew is iben, and in Arabic hajar. The Syriac for stone is kipa. Butsafa or sapha seems to be common to them all for some particular object or person when designated as a “stone.” Hence the real meaning of Mispa is the locality or place in which a sapha or stone is set and fixed. It will be seen that when this name, Mispa, was first given to the stone erected upon a heap of stone blocks, there was no edifice built around it. It is the spot upon which a sapha rests, that is called Mispa.[1] . The Bible, which I consulted, does not contain the so-called deuterocanonical orApocryphal books of the Old Testament. This Bible is published by the American Bible Society (New York, 1893). The title runs thus Ktbabbi Qaddisbi Dadiatbiqi Wadiatbiqi Kbadatt An S’ bad-watba Pousbaqa dmin lisbani qdimaqi. Matba ’ta d’dasta. Biblioneta d’ America [The Holy Books of the Old Testament and of the New Covenant (Testament), with the concordance or witnesses. Trans. from the ancient languages. Published at the Press of the American Bible Society. (The author).