Topical Encyclopedia
Definition and Etymology:The term "mart" is not directly found in the Bible; however, it is often used in historical and literary contexts to refer to a marketplace or a place where goods are bought and sold. The concept of a marketplace is prevalent throughout the Bible, reflecting the economic and social activities of ancient times.
Biblical Context:In biblical times, marketplaces were central to the economic life of a community. They were places where people gathered not only to buy and sell goods but also to exchange news and ideas. The marketplace was a hub of activity and a vital part of daily life.
Old Testament References:While the specific term "mart" is not used, the concept of a marketplace is evident in several Old Testament passages. For example, in the book of Proverbs, wisdom is personified and described as calling out in the streets and public squares, which would include marketplaces (
Proverbs 1:20-21). The marketplace is depicted as a place where people gather, making it an ideal setting for the dissemination of wisdom.
In
Ezekiel 27, the prophet describes the city of Tyre as a bustling center of trade, likening it to a grand marketplace where merchants from many nations come to trade their goods. This passage highlights the importance of trade and commerce in the ancient world.
New Testament References:The New Testament provides several references to marketplaces, often in the context of Jesus' ministry. In the Gospels, Jesus is frequently depicted teaching and performing miracles in public spaces, including marketplaces. For instance, in
Matthew 11:16-17 , Jesus compares the generation to children sitting in the marketplaces, calling out to others. This imagery underscores the marketplace as a place of social interaction and public discourse.
In the account of Jesus cleansing the temple, He drives out those who were buying and selling, accusing them of turning the house of prayer into a "den of robbers" (
Matthew 21:12-13). This event highlights the tension between commercial activities and spiritual devotion, a theme that resonates with the prophetic critiques of economic injustice found in the Old Testament.
Cultural and Theological Significance:The marketplace in biblical times was more than just a place of commerce; it was a microcosm of society where various aspects of life intersected. It was a place where social, economic, and religious dynamics played out. The presence of Jesus in these spaces signifies His engagement with the everyday lives of people and His challenge to the prevailing social and economic norms.
Theologically, the marketplace serves as a backdrop for Jesus' teachings on wealth, justice, and the kingdom of God. His interactions in these settings often reveal the values of the kingdom, contrasting them with the materialism and exploitation that can characterize human economic systems.
Conclusion:While the term "mart" itself does not appear in the biblical text, the concept of the marketplace is integral to understanding the social and economic context of the Bible. It serves as a setting for significant teachings and events, reflecting the intersection of daily life and divine truth.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary
1. (
n.) A market.
2. (n.) A bargain.
3. (v. t.) To buy or sell in, or as in, a mart.
4. (v. t.) To traffic.
5. (n.) The god Mars.
6. (n.) Battle; contest.
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
MARKET; MARKETPLACE; MARTmar'-ket, mar'-ketplas, mart (ma`arabh, cachar; agora):
(1) Ma`arabh, from a root meaning "trading" and hence, goods exchanged, and so "merchandise" in the Revised Version (British and American), "market" in the King James Version, occurs only inEzekiel 27:13, 17, 19, 25, and is translated correctly "merchandise" in both the English Revised Version and the American Standard Revised Version.
(2) Cachar means a "trading emporium," hence, mart, and merchandise. It occurs only inIsaiah 23:3 (see MERCHANDISE).
(3) Agora, from root meaning "to collect," means a "town meeting-place," "resort of the people," so a place where the public generally met to exchange views and wares. No doubt, the central place soon filling up, the people thronged the adjoining streets, and so in time each street thus used came to be called agora, "marketplace"; translated "marketplace(s)" in 1 Esdras 2:18; Tobit 2:3;Matthew 11:16;Matthew 20:3;Matthew 23:7Mark 6:56;Mark 7:4;Mark 12:38Luke 7:32;Luke 11:43;Luke 20:46Acts 16:19;Acts 17:17; "Market of Appius" inActs 28:15 means, probably, "street" (see APPII FORUM).
The marketplace in New Testament times was the public open space, either simple or ornate, in town, city or country, where (Mark 6:56) the people congregated, not only for exchange of merchandise, but for one or more of the following purposes:
(1) a place where the children came together to sing, dance and play, a "back-to-date" municipal recreation center (Matthew 11:16, 17Luke 7:32);
(2) a place for loafers, a sort of ancient, irresponsible labor bureau where the out-of-work idler waited the coming of an employer with whom he might bargain for his services, usually by the day (Matthew 20:1-16);
(3) a place where the proud pretender could parade in long robes and get public recognition, "salutations in the market-places," e.g. the scribes and Pharisees against whom Jesus emphatically warns His disciples (Matthew 23:3-7Mark 12:38Luke 11:43;Luke 20:46);
(4) a place where the sick were brought for treatment, the poor man's sanatorium, a municipal hospital; Jesus "who went about doing good" often found His opportunity there (Mark 6:56);
(5) a place of preliminary hearing in trials, where the accused might be brought before rulers who were present at the time, e.g. Paul and Silas at Philippi (Acts 16:19);
(6) a place for religious and probably political or philosophical discussion (gossip also), a forum, a free-speech throne; no doubt often used by the early apostles not only as a place of proclaiming some truth of the new religion but also a place of advertisement for a coming synagogue service, e.g. Paul in Athens (Acts 17:17).
The Wisdom of Solomon 15:12 (the King James Version) has "They counted... our time here a market for gain," the Revised Version (British and American) "a gainful fair," margin "a keeping of festival," Greek panegurismos, "an assembly of all." Such assemblies offered particular opportunities for business dealings.
William Edward Raffety
MART
mart.
SeeMARKET.
Greek
1712. emporion -- a trading place... Neuter Transliteration: emporion Phonetic Spelling: (em-por'-ee-on) Short Definition:
market, market-house Definition: a place of traffic,
mart, market, market
...Strong's Hebrew
5505. sachar --mart, merchandise... 5504, 5505. sachar. 5506 .
mart, merchandise. Transliteration: sachar Phonetic
Spelling: (saw-khar') Short Definition:
mart.
...mart, merchandise
...831. Ashqelon -- a city of the Philistines
... Ashkelon, Askalon. Probably from shaqal in the sense of weighing-place (ieMart);
Ashkelon, a place in Palestine -- Ashkelon, Askalon. see HEBREW shaqal....
4819. markoleth -- probably place of trade, marketplace
... merchandise (1). merchandise. From rakal; amart -- merchandise. see HEBREW
rakal. 4818, 4819. markoleth. 4820 . Strong's Numbers.
5801. izzabon -- wares
... fair, ware. From azab in the sense of letting go (for a price, ie Selling); trade,
ie The place (mart) or the payment (revenue) -- fair, ware. see HEBREW azab....
Library
Christians Charged with an Obstinate Contempt of Death Instances...
... [736] Tertullian refers to Cleopatra's death also in his tract adMart.... [737] This
case is again referred to in this treatise (p. 138), and in adMart c. iv....
Some History of Tiberias. The Jerusalem Talmud was Written There...
... There inquiry is made by one, "What of themart of Tsur?""There is this inscription
there, "I Diocletianus, the king, built thismart of Tsur [or Tyre], to...
The Persecution of Diocletian.
... The little circle which surrounded Pamphilus did not escape. In the third year of
the persecution (Mart. of Pal.... (Pal.Mart. Cureton's ed. p.36 sq.; HE App....
Whether Martyrdom is an Act of Fortitude?
... fortitude. On the contrary, Cyprian says (Ep. adMart. et Conf.... persecutors.
Hence Cyprian says in a sermon (Ep. adMart. et Conf....
Catalogue of his Works.
... Eusebius himself refers to this work in four passages (HE VI.32, VII.32, VIII.13,
andMart. Pal. c.11).... Eccles. in a note on the first chapter of theMart....
Many Others, Both Men and Women, who Suffered in Various Ways.
... It was practiced apparently throughout Maximin's dominions; we are told of numbers
who were treated in this way, both in Egypt and Palestine (seeMart. Pal....
The Bishops of the Church that Evinced by their Blood the...
... [2558] ie Tyrannion. [2559] Silvanus, bishop of Gaza, is mentioned also inMart.
Pal. chaps.... [2561] Peleus and Nilus are mentioned inMart. Pal. chap....
Excursus on the Minor Orders of the Early Church.
... The name and the function, however, appear much earlier in the Christian
Church; eg, JustinMart., Apol. ii., 6 (p.45). The forms...
Luther's Catechisms. AD 1529.
... Enchiridion. Der kleine Catechismus f?�r die gemeine Pfarher und Prediger, gemehret
and gebessert durchMart. Luther.... Prediger.Mart. Lu....
Those in the Palace.
... Eusebius thinks. The martyrdoms of which he has heard belong rather to the
time after the Fourth Edict (see below,Mart. Pal. chap. 3...
Thesaurus
Mart (2 Occurrences)... 2. (n.) A bargain. 3. (vt) To buy or sell in, or as in, a
mart. 4. (vt) To traffic.
... Int. Standard Bible Encyclopedia. MARKET; MARKETPLACE;
MART.
...Marketplace (8 Occurrences)
... Int. Standard Bible Encyclopedia MARKET; MARKETPLACE;MART.... (2) Cachar
means a "trading emporium," hence,mart, and merchandise....
Market (24 Occurrences)
... Int. Standard Bible Encyclopedia. MARKET; MARKETPLACE;MART.... (2) Cachar
means a "trading emporium," hence,mart, and merchandise....
Merchandise (34 Occurrences)
... Version, but "traffic," "abundance of thy traffic," ie doing a thriving business:
"trade was good." (3) The place of trading, ie emporium,mart, etc.: cechorah...
Martha (12 Occurrences)
Wares (23 Occurrences)
... activity, property, possession, work, occupation, thing made, deed, business (Ezekiel
27:16, 18); (6) `izzabhon, "selling," trade, revenue,mart, letting go...
Traded (16 Occurrences)
... Ezekiel 27:15 The men of Dedan were thy traffickers; many isles were themart of
thy hand; they brought thee as tribute horns of ivory and ebony. (See RSV NIV)....
Markets (11 Occurrences)
... (DBY). Ezekiel 27:15 Sons of Dedan 'are' thy merchants, Many isles 'are' themart
of thy hand, Horns of ivory and ebony they sent back thy reward. (See RSV)....
Marshy (1 Occurrence)
Sihor (3 Occurrences)
... Isaiah 23:3 And by great waters the seed of Sihor, the harvest of the river,
is her revenue; and she is amart of nations. (KJV WBS YLT)....
Resources
Was the Apostle Paul actually a false prophet? | GotQuestions.orgMart: Dictionary and Thesaurus | Clyx.comBible Concordance •
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