Memorial

Memorial - (Webster's 1828 Dictionary)

MEMO'RIAL, a. [L.memorialis. See Memory.]

1. Preservative of memory.

There high in air memorial of my name,

Fix the smooth oar, and bid me live to fame.

2. Contained in memory; as memorial possession.

MEMO'RIAL, n. That which preserves the memory of something; any thing that serves to keep in memory. A monument is a memorial of a deceased person, or of an event. The Lord's supper is a memorial of the death and sufferings of Christ.

Churches have names; some as memorials of peace, some of wisdom, some of the Trinity.

1. Any note or hint to assist the memory.

Memorials written with king Edward's hand shall be the ground of this history.

2. A written representation of facts, made to a legislative or other body as the ground of a petition, or a representation of facts accompanied with a petition.

Memory - (Webster's 1828 Dictionary)

MEM'ORY, n. [L. memoria; Gr. to remember, from mind, or the same root. See Mind.]

1. The faculty of the mind by which it retains the knowledge of past events, or ideas which are past. A distinction is made between memory and recollection. Memory retains past ideas without any, or with little effort; recollection implies an effort to recall ideas that are past.

Memory is the purveyor of reason.

2. A retaining of past ideas in the mind; remembrance. Events that excite little attention are apt to escape from memory.

3. Exemption from oblivion.

That ever-living man of memory,

Henry the fifth.

4. The time within which past events can be remembered or recollected, or the time within which a person may have knowledge of what is past. The revolution in England was before my memory; the revolution in America was within the author's memory.

5. Memorial; monumental record; that which calls to remembrance. A monument in London was erected in memory of the conflagration in 1666.

6. Reflection; attention.

MEM'ORY, v.t. To lay up in the mind or memory. [Not used.]

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 (Le 2:2, the Revised Version (British and American) "as the memorial"; Le 2:9,16; 5:12, the Revised Version (British and American) "as"; Le 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; Ho 12:5, the English Revised Version "memorial"); for "memorial" (Es 9:28; Ps 9:6, the American Standard Revised Version "remembrance"); zikkaron, "a remembrance" (Ex 12:14; 13:9; Le 23:24; Nu 5:15 (of the meal offering); Jos 4:7; Ne 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` (De 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; Mr 14:9; Ac 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; Pr 10:7; Ec 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 1Co 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

Definition

The term “memorial” refers to an action or object that causes someone or something to be remembered.

• This word is also used as an adjective to describe something that is to remind them of something, as in a “memorial offering,” a “memorial portion” of a sacrifice or “memorial stones.”
• In the Old Testament memorial offerings were made so the Israelites would remember what God had done for them.
• God told the Israelite priests to wear special clothing that had memorial stones. These stones had the names of the twelve tribes of Israel engraved on them. These were perhaps to remind them of God’s faithfulness to them.
• In the New Testament, God honored a man named Cornelius because of his charitable deeds for the poor. These deeds were said to be a “memorial” before God.

Translation Suggestions

• This could also be translated as “lasting reminder.”
• A “memorial stone” could be translated as a “stone to remind them (of something).”

Bible References

• Acts 10:4
• Exodus 12:12-14
• Isaiah 66:3
• Joshua 4:6-7
• Leviticus 23:23-25

Word Data

• Strong’s: H2142, H2146, G34220