Bible Encyclopedias

Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature

Monument

is the incorrect rendering in Isaiah 65:4 for נָצוּר, nzatsur', a guarded place (" hidden thing," as in Isaiah 48:6; elsewhere "besieged," etc.), such as caves (so the Sept. σπήλαιον ), or the adyta or shrines of heathen temples (so the Vulg. delubra), as places of idolatrous or illicit devotion. It was anciently a practice in most nations for persons to resort to the sepulchres for the purpose of magic or necromancy, and this still holds its ground in India and other Oriental countries. (See SUPERSTITION).

In the Apocrypha, "monument" is the correct rendering in Wisdom of Solomon 10:7 for μνημεῖον , but inexactly in 1 Maccabees 13:27 for ᾠκοδόμησε, and in 2 Maccabees 15:6 for τρόπαιον . (See TOMB).

For the monuments of Egypt and Assyria, see those countries respectively.