Hebrew word · H1785

דָּיֵק

dayek

fort

A specialised military noun for siege works. It occurs only six times, always in sieges: 2 Kgs 25:1; Jer 52:4; Ezek 4:2; 17:17; 21:22 (Heb. 21:27); 26:8. Lexicons give 'siege-wall, bulwark, siege-works' (BDB, HALOT). Some scholars think it means a siege tower or watch-towers.

Appears 6 times in 6 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

bulwark, siege-wall, sidewall

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 Jeremiah 52:4

Range of meaning

A specialised military noun for siege works. It occurs only six times, always in sieges: 2 Kgs 25:1; Jer 52:4; Ezek 4:2; 17:17; 21:22 (Heb. 21:27); 26:8. Lexicons give 'siege-wall, bulwark, siege-works' (BDB, HALOT). Some scholars think it means a siege tower or watch-towers. Most take it as a wall or rampart encircling the city (a circumvallation), whether or not it included towers. Its origin is uncertain; some suggest a loanword from Akkadian, but that is not settled.

Against the English

KJV and WEB 'forts' and YLT 'a fortification' suggest stand-alone strongholds. BSB and NASB 'siege wall' and ESV/NIV 'siegeworks' are closer. NLT's 'siege ramps' narrows the word to one particular structure.

How it drifted

In 1611 'fort' could mean any fortified work. Today it suggests a self-contained military post or castle, which is not what the Hebrew describes.

Used elsewhere in the period

In Ezekiel 4:2 it appears in a list of siege equipment: siege works (dayeq), ramp (sollelah), camps and battering rams. That shows it is something separate from the earth ramp. Assyrian palace reliefs of the siege of Lachish (701 BC) show the kinds of works involved. The Septuagint of 2 Kgs 25:1 renders it periteichos, 'surrounding wall'. LXX Jeremiah 52:4 appears to paraphrase it as building around the city 'with squared stones'.

From the study of 2 Kings 25:1

Range of meaning

A technical siege term found only in 2 Kings 25:1; Jeremiah 52:4; Ezekiel 4:2; 17:17; 21:22 (Heb. 21:27); 26:8. Lexicons give "bulwark, siege-wall" (BDB) or "siege-wall / circumvallation", with "siege tower" noted as an alternative (HALOT). In Ezekiel it appears alongside the siege ramp (sōləlâ) and battering rams, which suggests a distinct element of the siege apparatus. It is not the ramp itself.

Against the English

KJV and WEB "forts", YLT "a fortification", BSB and NASB "a siege wall", NIV and ESV "siege works", NLT "siege ramps." "Forts" suggests freestanding garrisons. "Siege ramps" merges dāyēq with a different Hebrew word (sōləlâ). "Siege wall" and "siege works" are closest.

How it drifted

In 1611 English "fort" could mean any defensive or offensive earthwork. Today it suggests a self-contained fortress or military post, so the image of a ring around the city is lost.

Used elsewhere in the period

Neo-Assyrian palace reliefs (e.g. the Lachish reliefs of Sennacherib, c. 701 BC) show the standard Mesopotamian siege kit: encircling camps, ramps, rams and towers. The Babylonians inherited these methods. The Septuagint renders the word here with a term for a surrounding wall (peritoichos, as best I recall). In Jeremiah 52:4 the Greek reads something like "they built around it with squared stones", which also points to an encircling wall.

Where it appears

2 Kings · 1

  1. 2 Kings 25:1 דָּיֵ֥ק a siege-wall

    So in the ninth year of Zedekiah’s reign, on the tenth day of the tenth month, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon marched against Jerusalem with his entire army. They encamped outside the city and built a siege wall all around it.

    Here: A rare military term (six occurrences) for siege works. Most likely a continuous wall or line of earthworks thrown up around the city to seal it off, possibly with watch- or assault-towers. Singular in Hebrew, but it describes a system of works.

Jeremiah · 1

  1. Jeremiah 52:4 דָּיֵ֖ק a siege-wall

    So in the ninth year of Zedekiah’s reign, on the tenth day of the tenth month, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon marched against Jerusalem with his entire army. They encamped outside the city and built a siege wall all around it.

    Here: A rare technical military term for siege works: probably a wall or rampart thrown around the city, possibly including towers. It is singular, treated as one encircling system.

Ezekiel · 4

  1. Ezekiel 4:2 דָּיֵ֔ק a siege-wall

    Then lay siege against it: Construct a siege wall, build a ramp to it, set up camps against it, and place battering rams around it on all sides.

  2. Ezekiel 17:17 דָּיֵ֑ק a siege-wall

    Pharaoh with his mighty army and vast horde will not help him in battle, when ramps are built and siege walls constructed to destroy many lives.

  3. Ezekiel 21:22 דָּיֵֽק׃ a siege-wall

    In his right hand appears the portent for Jerusalem, where he is to set up battering rams, to call for the slaughter, to lift a battle cry, to direct the battering rams against the gates, to build a ramp, and to erect a siege wall.

  4. Ezekiel 26:8 דָּיֵ֗ק a siege-wall

    He will slaughter the villages of your mainland with the sword; he will set up siege works against you, build a ramp to your walls, and raise his shields against you.

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