Mich´mas or Michmash, a town of Benjamin (;; comp. 7:31), east of Beth-aven (), and south from Migron, on the road to Jerusalem (). The words of; , and , show that at Michmas was a pass where the progress of a military body might be impeded or opposed. It was perhaps for this reason that Jonathan Maccabeus fixed his abode at Michmas (); and it is from the chivalrous exploit of another hero of the same name, the son of Saul, that the place is chiefly celebrated (1 Samuel 13; ). Eusebius describes Michmas as a large village nine Roman miles from Jerusalem, on the road to Ramah. Travelers have usually identified it with Bir or el-Bireh; but Dr. Robinson recognizes it in a place still bearing the name of Mukhmas, at a distance and position which correspond well with these intimations. This is a village situated upon a slope to the north of a valley called Wady es-Suweinit. It is small, and almost desolate, but bears marks of having been once a place of strength and importance. There are many foundations of hewn stones, and some columns lie among them. The valley es-Suweinit, steep and precipitous, is probably the 'passage of Michmash' mentioned in Scripture. In it says Dr. Robinson, 'just at the left of where we crossed, are two hills of a conical, or rather spherical, form, having steep rocky sides, with small wadys running up between each so as almost to isolate them. One of them is on the side towards Jeba (Gibeah), and the other towards Mukhmas. These would seem to be the two rocks mentioned in connection with Jonathan's adventure (). They are not, indeed, so “sharp” as the language of Scripture would seem to imply; but they are the only rocks of the kind in this vicinity. The northern one is connected towards the west with an eminence still more distinctly isolated.'
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John Kitto was an English biblical scholar of Cornish descent.Born in Plymouth, John Kitto was a sickly child, son of a Cornish stonemason. The drunkenness of his father and the poverty of his family meant that much of his childhood was spent in the workhouse. He had no more than three years of erratic and interrupted education. At the age of twelve John Kitto fell on his head from a rooftop, and became totally and permanently deaf. As a young man he suffered further tragedies, disappointments and much loneliness. His height was 4 ft 8 in, and his accident left him with an impaired sense of balance. He found consolation in browsing at bookstalls and reading any books that came his way.
From these hardships he was rescued by friends who became aware of his mental abilities and encouraged him to write topical articles for local newspapers, arranging eventually for him to work as an assistant in a local library. Here he continued to educate himself.
One of his benefactors was the Exeter dentist Anthony Norris Groves, who in 1824 offered him employment as a dental assistant. Living with the Groves family, Kitto was profoundly influenced by the practical Christian faith of his employer. In 1829 he accompanied Groves on his pioneering mission to Baghdad and served as tutor to Groves's two sons. In 1833 Kitto returned to England via Constantinople, accompanied by another member of the Groves mission, Francis William Newman. Shortly afterwards he married, and in due course had several children.
A London publisher asked Kitto to write up his travel journals for a series of articles in the Penny Magazine, a publication read at that time by a million people in Britain, reprinted in America and translated into French, German and Dutch. Other writing projects followed as readers enquired about his experiences in the East amidst people living in circumstances closely resembling those of Bible times.
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