Memorial

Memorial [nave]

MEMORIAL
Passover, Ex. 12:14.
See: Passover.
Firstborn set apart as a, Ex. 13:12-16.
Pot of maa, Ex. 16:32-34.
Feast of tabernacles, Lev. 23:43.
Shoulder stones of the ephod, Ex. 28:12.
Lord's supper, Luke 22:19; 1 Cor. 11:24-26.
See: Pillar.

MEMORIAL; MEMORY [isbe]

MEMORIAL; MEMORY - me-mo'-ri-al, mem'-o-ri ('azkarah, zekher, zekher, zikkaron; mnemosunon): "Memorial" as the translation of 'azkdrah is a sacrificial term, that which brings the offerer into remembrance before God, or brings God into favorable remembrance with the offerer; it is used of the burning of a portion of the meal offering, the Revised Version (British and American) (the King James Version "meat-offering"); better, cereal offering, on the altar (Lev 2:2, the Revised Version (British and American) "as the memorial"; Lev 2:9,16; 5:12, the Revised Version (British and American) "as"; Lev 24:7; Nu 5:26, the Revised Version (British and American) "as"); as the translation of zekher (zekher), zikkaron, it is a memorial in the sense of a remembrance (zekher, zekher, Ex 3:15; the memorial (name) of Yahweh); hence, we have in the Revised Version (British and American) "memorial name" for "remembrance" (Ps 30:4 the American Standard Revised Version; Ps 97:12, the English Revised Version "holy name," marin "Hebrew memorial"; Ps 102:12; 135:13; Isa 26:8; Hos 12:5, the English Revised Version "memorial"); for "memorial" (Est 9:28; Ps 9:6, the American Standard Revised Version "remembrance"); zikkaron, "a remembrance" (Ex 12:14; 13:9; Lev 23:24; Nu 5:15 (of the meal offering); Josh 4:7; Neh 2:20; Zec 6:14); the Passover feast was to be in this sense "a memorial .... for ever" (Ex 12:14; 13:9); so also the shema` (Dt 6:4 f) ; "memorial" occurs in The Wisdom of Solomon 4:1 (mneme), the Revised Version (British and American) "memory"; The Wisdom of Solomon 4:19; Ecclesiasticus 45:1 (mnemosunon); Ecclesiasticus 49:1; 1 Macc 3:7; 12:53, the Revised Version (British and American) "memorial."

"Memorial" occurs in the New Testament as the translation of mnemosunon, "a token of remembrance" (Mt 26:13; Mk 14:9; Acts 10:4, "Thy prayers and thine alms are gone up for a memorial before God," which suggests the sense in which "memorial" was used in the sacrificial ritual, and also the "better sacrifices" of the new dispensation).

Memory is the translation of zekher (zekher) (Ps 109:15; 145:7; Prov 10:7; Eccl 9:5; Isa 26:14, the Revised Version (British and American) "remembrance"); it occurs also in 1 Macc 13:29; 2 Macc 7:20. Katecho, "to have or hold fast," is rendered in 1 Cor 15:2 the King James Version "keep in memory," margin "hold fast," the American Standard Revised Version "hold fast," the English Revised Version "hold it fast," i.e. the word preached to them.

W. L. Walker

Memorial [baker]

[N]

The concept of "remembering" recurs prominently in the Bible, particularly in the Old Testament. God remembers his covenant with his people, whereupon God's people are enjoined to remember him. Remembering, frequently placed in opposition to "forgetting, " focuses not only upon the past, but upon the present and future as well (Eccl 11:8).

God Remembering. In the Old Testament God may remember to have mercy or to judge. God's covenant with his people lies behind each occasion of God's memory, whether for grace or retribution. God's remembrance often yields forgiveness (Jer 31:34). Calling on God to remember his people (or an individual) is the essence of prayer. When God recalls iniquity, remembering is synonymous with pronouncing judgment (Psalm 109:14; Hosea 7:2). Not remembering the memory of the wicked is one of God's ultimate expressions of judgment (Psalm 34:16) in contrast to the memory of the upright, which is a blessing (Prov 10:7).

Human Remembrance of God. The most prevalent use of remembrance in the Bible is the command to remember the Lord and his mighty deeds. No biblical book utilizes this motif more fully than Deuteronomy, where God exhorted the people to remember him, the exodus, and the wilderness experience in order to prepare themselves for the conquest of Canaan. Even the Shema (6:4-12) stresses remembering the Lord as the fundamental element in the Israelites' theological education.

Psalm 105 is entirely devoted to rehearsing God's wondrous deeds. Ezekiel provides another notable example, but he often uses memory to chastise Israel for her sins (16:60-63).

Perhaps the single most significant expression of remembering God rests with God's self-disclosure through his name (Exod 3:14-15). Israel must remember their God as the "God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, " the "I am, " forever.

The "memorial" is equivalent to a "sign" in the Bible. Numerous items and institutions serve as a reminder of Yahweh. The rainbow, which portended God's promise, symbolized the Noahic covenant; phylacteries recalled the Law (Exod 13:16); and the Sabbath commemorated God's rest from his creative activity (Exod 20:8-11).

Finally, even the gospel represents the recollection of God's mightiest act of salvation. This memory is epitomized in the Lord's Supper (1 Cor 11:24-25) whose purpose is to lead believers to recall the atoning work of Christ.

George L. Klein