Millo" (1 Kings ix. 24). The Israelites employed upon the work were the children of Joseph, and their superintendent was Jeroboam, an Ephraimite, probably already acquainted with the similar work at Shechem (1 Kings xi. 28). It is stated in the Septuagint that Jeroboam completed the fortifications at Millo, and was long afterwards known as the man who had "enclosed the City of David." The work was so well done that Jerusalem was never again attacked from this side, although previously this side was found the most vulnerable, both by David and by the children of Simeon and Judah in earlier time.
If we are to find a Hebrew etymology for the name Millo, it seems to be a noun formed in the usual way by prefixing the letter M to the Aramæan verb l'va, equivalent to the Hebrew lavah,[1] having the meaning to wind or twist, and used to describe stairways as well as serpents and garlands. A dam across the Tyropœon would require the construction of two stairways at least, one from the bed of the Tyropœon to the top of the dam on the Ophel side, and one from the High Town down to the dam on the west.
The Death of Athaliah.—This incident affords indications of locality in beautiful agreement with Nehemiah. When this queen-mother heard that her son, the king, had been killed by Jehu, she snatched at the sovereignty for herself, and her policy was to slay all the seed royal. But one little child escaped, carried off by its nurse, and they were secreted in the Temple by Jehoiada, the high priest. In the seventh year Jehoiada assembled the chiefs of the people in the Temple, produced the little child Joash, stood him upon the platform (or by the pillar) appropriated to the kings, and said, This is the rightful heir! The chiefs shouted their joy, when Athaliah heard the noise and rushed into the Temple to learn the cause. That she should hear so readily and find such easy access to the Temple, accords
- ↑ The resemblances are better seen in the Hebrew.
