Hebrew word · H4024

מִגְדֹּל

migdol

Migdol

Migdol was a frontier fortress in the north-east Delta, on the route from Sinai. Syene was Aswan at the First Cataract, Egypt's classic southern edge. Cush was the Nubian kingdom beyond it.

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

What it means

§ Migdol = "tower"

a fortified city on the Egyptian border

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 Ezekiel 29:10

Range of meaning

Migdol was a frontier fortress in the north-east Delta, on the route from Sinai. Syene was Aswan at the First Cataract, Egypt's classic southern edge. Cush was the Nubian kingdom beyond it. 'From X to Y' with the two extreme points is a Hebrew way of saying 'the whole land', like 'from Dan to Beersheba'.

Against the English

KJV/WEB 'from the tower of Syene (Seveneh)' makes one place in the far south and so loses the north-to-south sweep. KJV's 'Ethiopia' points modern readers to the wrong country.

How it drifted

KJV followed the Masoretic accents, which link the two words, and the common meaning of migdol as 'tower'. 'Ethiopia' comes from the Greek Aithiopia, which the Septuagint used for Cush. To ancient Greeks it meant the lands south of Egypt in general, not the later Abyssinian state.

Used elsewhere in the period

The same phrase appears in Ezek 30:6. Migdol is a place where Judean refugees settled in Jer 44:1 and 46:14 (cf. Exod 14:2). Syene appears in Isa 49:12 according to some readings ('Sinim', with 1QIsaᵃ reading סונים). The 5th-century BC Aramaic papyri from Elephantine, the island opposite Syene, record a Jewish garrison community there.

From the study of 2 Samuel 22:51

Range of meaning

migdôl: a tower, especially a fortified watchtower or citadel on a city wall or in a field (Judg 9:51; Isa 5:2), and so a place of safety. magdîl: Hiphil participle (a causative verb form) of gādal, 'to be great', so 'making great, magnifying, giving great things'.

Against the English

The KJV and NASB follow the vowels: 'tower of salvation/deliverance'. The BSB, ESV, NIV, WEB and YLT follow the consonants and Psalm 18: 'great salvation', 'great victories', 'magnifying'.

Used elsewhere in the period

Psalm 18:50 (Heb. 18:51) has מַגְדִּל, 'making great'. The Septuagint of 2 Samuel has μεγαλύνων, 'magnifying', and the Vulgate has magnificans. The Masoretes (the medieval scribes who added the vowels) had the reading tradition 'tower' for Samuel. That reading may come from the song's fortress language or from 'a strong tower is the name of the LORD' (Prov 18:10).

From the study of Jeremiah 44:1

Range of meaning

A common Semitic noun meaning 'tower, fortified tower' (the same root as Magdala in the Gospels). Used as a place name for a fortress on Egypt's north-eastern border. Egyptian texts of the New Kingdom borrowed the word as mktr for frontier forts.

Against the English

English versions just transliterate it. Readers miss that the name says 'fortress', and that it is the frontier post on the road from Judah.

Used elsewhere in the period

Mentioned in the Exodus route (Exodus 14:2; Numbers 33:7, though that may be a different or older fort) and in Ezekiel's phrase 'from Migdol to Syene' (Ezekiel 29:10; 30:6), meaning 'from the north-east border to the far south'. Egyptian frontier forts are known archaeologically in the north Sinai and eastern Delta (e.g. Tell el-Herr and Tell Qedua). Which of them is Jeremiah's Migdol is not settled.

Where it appears

Exodus · 1

  1. Exodus 14:2 מִגְדֹּ֖ל Migdol

    “Tell the Israelites to turn back and encamp before Pi-hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea. You are to encamp by the sea, directly opposite Baal-zephon.

Numbers · 1

  1. Numbers 33:7 מִגְדֹּֽל׃ Migdol

    They set out from Etham and turned back to Pi-hahiroth, opposite Baal-zephon, and they camped near Migdol.

2 Samuel · 1

  1. 2 Samuel 22:51 מִגְדּ֖וֹל [the] tower

    Great salvation He brings to His king. He shows loving devotion to His anointed, to David and his descendants forever.”

    Here: As vocalized, a fortified tower, the strong point of a city wall, matching the song's opening pictures of God as rock, fortress and refuge (22:2–3). The written consonants instead give a verb form, 'he makes great', so the line would say God magnifies or multiplies his king's victories. The supplied transliteration 'mig.dil' mixes the two readings.

Jeremiah · 2

  1. Jeremiah 44:1 בְּמִגְדֹּל֙ in Migdol

    This is the word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the Jews living in the land of Egypt—in Migdol, Tahpanhes, and Memphis—and in the land of Pathros:

    Here: 'In Migdol', meaning 'tower' or 'fortress'. A frontier fort on Egypt's north-eastern edge, the first place you would reach coming from Judah.

  2. Jeremiah 46:14 בְמִגְדּ֔וֹל in Migdol

    “Announce it in Egypt, and proclaim it in Migdol; proclaim it in Memphis and Tahpanhes: ‘Take your positions and prepare yourself, for the sword devours those around you.’

    Here: The name means 'tower' or 'fortress'. It was a frontier stronghold on Egypt's north-eastern border, the first place an army from Asia would reach.

Ezekiel · 2

  1. Ezekiel 29:10 מִמִּגְדֹּ֥ל from Migdol

    therefore I am against you and against your rivers. I will turn the land of Egypt into a ruin, a desolate wasteland from Migdol to Syene, and as far as the border of Cush.

    Here: 'From Migdol'. Migdol was a fortress town on Egypt's north-eastern frontier, near the Delta and the Sinai road. The name is also the ordinary word for 'tower', and that is where KJV's 'tower of Syene' comes from.

  2. Ezekiel 30:6 מִמִּגְדֹּ֣ל from Migdol

    For this is what the LORD says: The allies of Egypt will fall, and her proud strength will collapse. From Migdol to Syene they will fall by the sword within her, declares the Lord GOD.

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