Hebrew word · H1714

דֶּ֫גֶל

degel

standard

(1) A standard or banner: a pole-mounted sign that a military group rallies to. (2) By extension, the military unit or division organized under that sign. The related verb dagal means 'to set up a banner' or 'to be bannered' (Ps 20:5; Song 6:4, 10, 'awesome as bannered troops').

Appears 14 times in 14 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

banner, standard

Abridged from Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of Numbers 1:52

Range of meaning

(1) A standard or banner: a pole-mounted sign that a military group rallies to. (2) By extension, the military unit or division organized under that sign. The related verb dagal means 'to set up a banner' or 'to be bannered' (Ps 20:5; Song 6:4, 10, 'awesome as bannered troops').

Against the English

Most English versions say 'standard' (KJV, WEB, BSB, ESV, NASB) or 'banner' (NIV, NLT). Both pick sense (1). Some scholars argue that sense (2), 'division' or 'unit', is primary in Numbers. Modern readers may hear 'standard' as 'a norm or benchmark', which has nothing to do with this word.

How it drifted

'Standard' in the sense of a military flag is now an uncommon use in English. Most people meet the word meaning 'a level of quality'.

Used elsewhere in the period

Outside Numbers 1–2 and 10 (where it occurs again and again for the four camp groupings), degel appears in Song 2:4 ('his banner over me is love'). In the Jewish military colony at Elephantine in Egypt (Aramaic papyri, 5th century BC), degel is the normal term for a garrison unit, named after its commander ('the degel of X'). The Dead Sea Scrolls War Scroll (1QM) uses degel for both battle units and their inscribed banners. Lexicons (HALOT, BDB) list both 'banner' and 'division/unit'.

From the study of Song of Songs 2:4

Range of meaning

Outside the Song, the word appears only in Numbers 1–2 and 10. There it is the standard of each tribal division in Israel's camp ("each by his own standard", Num 1:52; 2:2), and by extension the unit gathered under it. The related root dgl appears in the Song at 5:10, where he is dāgûl, "conspicuous, outstanding" among ten thousand. It also appears at 6:4 and 6:10, where she is "awesome as nidgālôt", traditionally "troops with banners" (some read "awesome as the visions" or "as the stars"). The core picture is something raised up to be seen, which marks a group and shows who belongs to whom.

Against the English

"Banner" is broadly right, but a modern reader may picture a decorative cloth hung on a wall, a festival streamer, or a canopy spread out to cover someone. A degel is a military-style emblem on a pole. It is held up so everyone can see and rally to it, and it announces identity and belonging. NLT drops the image entirely and gives the meaning ("it's obvious how much he loves me"). That captures the public side but loses the picture.

How it drifted

The English drifted less than the image did. Through hymns and children's songs, "banner" came to sound like a protective covering spread over the believer. It also merged with "The LORD is my banner" in Exodus 17:15, which uses a different Hebrew word (nēs).

Used elsewhere in the period

In the Aramaic papyri from Elephantine (Jewish military colonists in Egypt, 5th century BC), dgl is the standard word for a military detachment, named after its commander. In the Dead Sea Scrolls, the War Scroll (1QM) uses degel for the battle standards and units of the end-time army. Akkadian has dagālu, "to look at, gaze", and diglu, "sight, look, intention". On this basis some scholars (for example Marvin Pope in the Anchor Bible) render 2:4 "his intention toward me was love".

From the study of Numbers 2:3

Range of meaning

Two related meanings: (1) a standard or banner, a pole-mounted sign that a group rallies around; (2) the military unit that marches under it, a troop or division. In the Hebrew Bible it appears almost only in Numbers 1–2 and 10, plus Song of Songs 5:10 (debated) and the related verb in Song 6:4, 10 ('awesome as bannered troops').

Against the English

Most English versions say 'standard' or 'banner', which brings to mind a flag with a design on it. Several modern versions, along with the old Greek translation, lean toward 'division' or 'company'. The text never describes what a degel looked like.

How it drifted

'Standard' is a reasonable rendering. What drifts is the picture: readers imagine flags with tribal emblems (lion, ox, man, eagle). Those emblems come from later Jewish tradition, not from Numbers.

Used elsewhere in the period

In Aramaic papyri from the Jewish military colony at Elephantine, Egypt (5th century BC), dgl is the regular term for a military detachment, named after its commander. The Greek Septuagint renders degel in Numbers 2 with tagma, 'ordered unit, division'. The Dead Sea War Scroll (1QM) describes inscribed battle banners for the tribes and units of an ideal Israel at war.

Where it appears

Numbers · 13

  1. Numbers 1:52 דִּגְל֖וֹ standard his

    The Israelites are to camp by their divisions, each man in his own camp and under his own standard.

    Here: A military marker: a pole-mounted sign or banner that a unit rallies to. It can also mean the unit grouped under it. Here it names the smaller grouping inside each camp that a man belongs to and lines up with.

  2. Numbers 2:2 דִּגְל֤וֹ standard his

    “The Israelites are to camp around the Tent of Meeting at a distance from it, each man under his standard, with the banners of his family.

  3. Numbers 2:3 דֶּ֛גֶל [will be] [the] standard of

    On the east side, toward the sunrise, the divisions of Judah are to camp under their standard: The leader of the Judahites is Nahshon son of Amminadab,

    Here: The "standard" of Judah's camp, but also very likely the military unit grouped under that standard (see studies). The whole three-tribe group forms one degel.

  4. Numbers 2:10 דֶּ֣גֶל [the] standard of

    On the south side, the divisions of Reuben are to camp under their standard: The leader of the Reubenites is Elizur son of Shedeur,

  5. Numbers 2:17 לְדִגְלֵיהֶֽם׃ ס to standards their

    In the middle of the camps, the Tent of Meeting is to travel with the camp of the Levites. They are to set out in the order they encamped, each in his own place under his standard.

  6. Numbers 2:18 דֶּ֣גֶל [the] standard of

    On the west side, the divisions of Ephraim are to camp under their standard: The leader of the Ephraimites is Elishama son of Ammihud,

  7. Numbers 2:25 דֶּ֣גֶל [the] standard of

    On the north side, the divisions of Dan are to camp under their standard: The leader of the Danites is Ahiezer son of Ammishaddai,

  8. Numbers 2:31 לְדִגְלֵיהֶֽם׃ פ to standards their

    The total number of men in the camp of Dan is 157,600; they shall set out last, under their standards.”

  9. Numbers 2:34 לְדִגְלֵיהֶם֙ to standards their

    So the Israelites did everything the LORD commanded Moses; they camped under their standards in this way and set out in the same way, each man with his clan and his family.

  10. Numbers 10:14 דֶּ֣גֶל [the] standard of

    First, the divisions of the camp of Judah set out under their standard, with Nahshon son of Amminadab in command.

  11. Numbers 10:18 דֶּ֛גֶל [the] standard of

    Then the divisions of the camp of Reuben set out under their standard, with Elizur son of Shedeur in command.

  12. Numbers 10:22 דֶּ֛גֶל [the] standard of

    Next, the divisions of the camp of Ephraim set out under their standard, with Elishama son of Ammihud in command.

  13. Numbers 10:25 דֶּ֚גֶל [the] standard of

    Finally, the divisions of the camp of Dan set out under their standard, serving as the rear guard for all units, with Ahiezer son of Ammishaddai in command.

Song of Songs · 1

  1. Song of Songs 2:4 וְדִגְל֥וֹ and standard his

    He has brought me to the house of wine, and his banner over me is love.

    Here: "And his standard". A degel is the identifying sign raised over a company or tribe, the thing people look at to see who belongs to whom. Some scholars take it from a related Akkadian word (Akkadian is the ancient language of Babylon and Assyria) meaning "look, intention", which gives "his look/intent toward me".

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.