Hebrew word · H2918

טִירָה

tirotam

encampment

An enclosed encampment: a ring of tents or huts, often bounded by a low wall of stones or brush, used by herders and their flocks. Elsewhere it means a row or course of stonework (Ezek 46:23) and a battlement or parapet (Song 8:9). The Levites' dwellings are also called ṭîrōt (1 Chr 6:54 [Heb 39]).

Appears 7 times in 7 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

1) encampment, battlement

1a) encampment, tent camp

1b) walled dwelling places, battlement (metaph.)

1c) row (of stones)

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 Genesis 25:16

Range of meaning

An enclosed encampment: a ring of tents or huts, often bounded by a low wall of stones or brush, used by herders and their flocks. It is used for the camps of Midian (Num 31:10), of the 'people of the east' (Ezek 25:4), and for the dwelling place of the wicked that will be left desolate (Ps 69:25 [Heb 26]). Elsewhere it means a row or course of stonework (Ezek 46:23) and a battlement or parapet (Song 8:9). The Levites' dwellings are also called ṭîrōt (1 Chr 6:54 [Heb 39]).

Against the English

KJV 'castles' and YLT 'towers' suggest stone fortifications. BSB/WEB 'encampments' and ESV/NASB 'encampments/camps' are much closer.

How it drifted

The Latin Vulgate's 'castella' (fortified places) shaped the KJV's 'castles.' In 1611 'castle' could still mean a small fortified camp, but readers now picture medieval stone keeps. The 'battlement' sense in Song 8:9 may also have pulled interpreters toward something built and military.

Used elsewhere in the period

Related words in other Semitic languages, such as Syriac and Jewish Aramaic ṭyārā and related forms, mean 'sheepfold, enclosure.' The Septuagint here gives epauleis, 'folds, farmsteads, stations for flocks.' Assyrian royal records describe the Arab tribes of North Arabia as tent-dwellers living around oases.

From the study of Psalm 69:25

Range of meaning

A walled enclosure: a camp ringed with stones, the settlement of a clan or tribe (often semi-nomadic), and by extension a battlement or row of stonework. HALOT gives 'stone-walled enclosure, encampment' and 'row of stones, battlement'.

Against the English

KJV/WEB 'habitation' and BSB/NIV 'place' are generic. ESV/NASB 'camp' is closer. YLT 'tower' follows the 'battlement' sense, which suits Song 8:9 but probably not a line paired with 'tents'.

How it drifted

'Habitation' is an old Latinate word for any dwelling. It flattens the clan-camp picture that 'encampment… tents' calls up.

Used elsewhere in the period

Genesis 25:16 (the twelve Ishmaelite chiefs listed 'by their villages and their encampments'); Numbers 31:10 (the Midianites' encampments burned); Ezekiel 25:4 (eastern tribes pitching their encampments in Ammon); 1 Chronicles 6:54 (the Levites' settlements); Song 8:9 ('a battlement of silver'). The Septuagint translates it here with epaulis, a farmstead or homestead with its pens.

Where it appears

Genesis · 1

  1. Genesis 25:16 וּבְטִֽירֹתָ֑ם and by encampments their

    These were the sons of Ishmael, and these were their names by their villages and encampments—twelve princes of their tribes.

    Here: Circular camps or enclosures of tents and low stone walls, the kind herders used. These are the camps of semi-nomadic people, not fortresses.

Numbers · 1

  1. Numbers 31:10 טִֽירֹתָ֑ם encampments their

    Then they burned all the cities where the Midianites had lived, as well as all their encampments,

1 Chronicles · 1

  1. 1 Chronicles 6:54 לְטִירוֹתָ֖ם to encampments their

    Now these were the territories assigned to the descendants of Aaron from the Kohathite clan for their settlements, because the first lot fell to them:

Psalms · 1

  1. Psalm 69:25 טִֽירָתָ֥ם encampment their

    May their place be deserted; let there be no one to dwell in their tents.

    Here: 'Their encampment': the stone-walled enclosure or settlement where a clan lived with its herds. The word sounds like a tribal camp, a family's home base, more than a house in town.

Song of Songs · 1

  1. Song of Songs 8:9 טִ֣ירַת a battlement of

    If she is a wall, we will build a tower of silver upon her. If she is a door, we will enclose her with panels of cedar.

Ezekiel · 2

  1. Ezekiel 25:4 טִירֽוֹתֵיהֶם֙ encampments their

    therefore I will indeed give you as a possession to the people of the East. They will set up their camps and pitch their tents among you. They will eat your fruit and drink your milk.

  2. Ezekiel 46:23 הַטִּיר֖וֹת the rows of stones

    Around the inside of each of the four courts was a row of masonry with ovens built at the base of the walls on all sides.

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