Mattan
“Gift”
Summary
Mattan, meaning 'gift,' was the name of two men in the Old Testament: a priest of Baal killed when Athaliah was overthrown, and the father of a prince who persecuted Jeremiah.
☩Priest of Baal
Mattan was a priest of Baal in Jerusalem during the reign of Queen Athaliah, who had promoted Baal worship in Judah. When Jehoiada the priest organized the coup that placed young Joash on the throne, the people entered the temple of Baal, destroyed its altars and images, and slew Mattan the priest before the altars where he had served the false god.
☩Father of Shephatiah
Another Mattan was the father of Shephatiah, one of the princes who accused Jeremiah of weakening the people's resistance to Babylon and cast him into a muddy cistern to die. The prophet was rescued only through the intervention of Ebed-melech the Ethiopian.
References
- 1.John McClintock and James Strong, "Mattan," in Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature, vol. V (Harper & Brothers, 1867–1887).
- 2.James Orr (ed.), "Mattan," in International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, vol. III (Howard-Severance Company, 1915).