Hebrew word · H4028
מִגְדַּל־גַּד
umigdal-
Migdal-gad
migdal means a tower: a watchtower in a vineyard or field (Isa 5:2), a defensive tower in a city wall, or a small fort. gad means "fortune, good luck" (Gen 30:11, where Leah says "with good fortune" and names her son Gad).
Appears 2 times in 1 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·
What it means
§ Migdal-gad = "tower of God"
one of the fortified cities of Judah
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 Joshua 15:37
- Range of meaning
migdal means a tower: a watchtower in a vineyard or field (Isa 5:2), a defensive tower in a city wall, or a small fort. gad means "fortune, good luck" (Gen 30:11, where Leah says "with good fortune" and names her son Gad). It is also the name of a Semitic god of fortune (Isa 65:11, "who set a table for Gad," often translated "Fortune").
- Against the English
English versions give "Migdal-gad" or "Migdal Gad." Readers who don't know that migdal means "tower," and who know Gad only as a tribe, can wrongly assume a connection with the tribe of Gad.
- How it drifted
Not a translation drift as such. It is a reading problem: the English reader's best-known "Gad" is the tribe.
- Used elsewhere in the period
Several Canaanite place names contain the god-name Gad, for example Baal-gad (Josh 11:17). Many towns were called "Migdal-X" (Migdal-el, Josh 19:38; Migdol in Egypt). Proposed locations include Khirbet el-Mejdeleh near Beit Guvrin and, less likely because it lies on the coast, el-Majdal near Ashkelon. None is certain.
Similar words
Where it appears
Joshua · 2
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Joshua 15:37 וּמִגְדַּל־ גָּֽד׃ and Migdal, Gad
Zenan, Hadashah, Migdal-gad,
Here: "And Migdal-," the first half of a two-word name. Migdal means a tower or fortified lookout. The name points to a place known for a watchtower or small fort.
Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.