-
Articles_of_he_Bishop_of_Uramiah, page : 81
Mispha still maintained its sacred character as late as the
time of the Maccabees during the reign of King Antiochus (l).
Now, what does the word Mispa mean? It is generally
translated into a "watch-tower." It belongs to that class of
Semitic nouns - Asma 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 from sapha, an
archaic word for "stone." The usual word for stone in
Hebrew is iben, and in Arabic hajar. The Syriac for stone
is kipa. But safa 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
time of the Maccabees during the reign of King Antiochus (l).
Now, what does the word Mispa mean? It is generally
translated into a "watch-tower." It belongs to that class of
Semitic nouns - Asma 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 from sapha, an
archaic word for "stone." The usual word for stone in
Hebrew is iben, and in Arabic hajar. The Syriac for stone
is kipa. But safa 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