Hebrew word · H4039

מְגִלָּה

megilah

scroll

A scroll: a roll of leather or papyrus, from the root gālal, “to roll”. In 2:9 it is called mĕgillat-sēper, “a scroll of writing / a document”. The same word is used for Jeremiah’s dictated scroll (Jer 36) and the flying scroll in Zech 5:1–2.

Appears 21 times in 19 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

roll, book, writing

Aramaic equivalent: me.gil.lah (מְגִלָּה "scroll" H4040)

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 3:1

Range of meaning

A scroll: a roll of leather or papyrus, from the root gālal, “to roll”. In 2:9 it is called mĕgillat-sēper, “a scroll of writing / a document”. The same word is used for Jeremiah’s dictated scroll (Jer 36) and the flying scroll in Zech 5:1–2.

Against the English

KJV “roll” is old-fashioned but exactly right. “Scroll” in modern versions is equivalent.

Used elsewhere in the period

Jer 36 (the scroll Baruch wrote and the king burned). Zech 5:1–2. Ps 40:7 (“the scroll of the book”). The later Jewish term Megillah, for books such as Esther read from scrolls, comes from this word.

From the study of Jeremiah 36:2

Range of meaning

A roll or scroll: a long strip of writing material (papyrus sheets glued together, or prepared leather) written in columns and rolled up for storage. The word comes from galal, “to roll.” It always names the physical form of a written text.

Against the English

“Scroll” (BSB, WEB) is accurate. The KJV's “roll” is also accurate, though “roll of a book” sounds odd today.

Used elsewhere in the period

The word is rare and comes almost entirely from the late monarchy and exile: Jer 36 (about 14 times), Ezek 2:9; 3:1–3 (the scroll the prophet eats), Zech 5:1–2 (the flying scroll), Ps 40:7 (“in the scroll of the book it is written of me”), and Aramaic in Ezra 6:2. Later Judaism used megillah for the five festival scrolls, such as the Megillah of Esther. The Dead Sea Scrolls show what such scrolls looked like: columns of text read by unrolling. Verse 23 calls these columns delatot, literally “doors.”

From the study of Psalm 40:7

Range of meaning

A roll or scroll, from gālal, 'to roll'. It is a long strip of leather or papyrus written in columns and rolled up. The word appears mostly in later biblical books (Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Zechariah, Ezra) and in this psalm.

Against the English

'Scroll' (BSB, ESV, NIV, NASB) and 'roll' (YLT) are accurate. The KJV's 'volume' meant the same thing in 1611, since Latin volumen is a roll, but today it suggests a bound book or one book in a set.

How it drifted

The KJV took 'volume' from Jerome's Latin 'in volumine libri'. Once the codex (bound book) became the normal form of a book, 'volume' stopped meaning 'roll'.

Used elsewhere in the period

The phrase mᵉgillat-sēper occurs in Jer 36:2, 4 (Baruch's scroll of Jeremiah's oracles) and Ezek 2:9 (the scroll handed to the prophet, written on front and back). The Septuagint translates it kephalis bibliou, 'roll of a document', here and in Ezekiel 2:9. Scrolls found among the Dead Sea Scrolls show the physical form.

Where it appears

Psalms · 1

  1. Psalm 40:7 בִּמְגִלַּת־ in [the] scroll of

    Then I said, “Here I am, I have come—it is written about me in the scroll:

    Here: 'In' plus 'scroll': a rolled-up sheet of leather or papyrus, from the root 'to roll'. It is joined to the next word to make 'a scroll-document'.

Jeremiah · 14

  1. Jeremiah 36:2 מְגִלַּת־ a scroll of

    “Take a scroll and write on it all the words I have spoken to you concerning Israel, Judah, and all the nations, from the day I first spoke to you during the reign of Josiah until today.

    Here: “A scroll of…”: a long strip of writing material that was rolled up, from the verb galal, “to roll.” This is the physical object that the king will later cut up and burn, column by column (v. 23).

  2. Jeremiah 36:4 מְגִלַּת־ a scroll of

    So Jeremiah called Baruch son of Neriah, and at the dictation of Jeremiah, Baruch wrote on a scroll all the words that the LORD had spoken to Jeremiah.

  3. Jeremiah 36:6 בַמְּגִלָּ֣ה in the scroll

    so you are to go to the house of the LORD on a day of fasting, and in the hearing of the people you are to read the words of the LORD from the scroll you have written at my dictation. Read them in the hearing of all the people of Judah who are coming from their cities.

  4. Jeremiah 36:14 הַמְּגִלָּ֗ה הַמְּגִלָּה֙ the scroll

    Then all the officials sent word to Baruch through Jehudi son of Nethaniah, the son of Shelemiah, the son of Cushi, saying, “Bring the scroll that you read in the hearing of the people, and come here.” So Baruch son of Neriah took the scroll and went to them.

  5. Jeremiah 36:20 הַמְּגִלָּ֣ה the scroll

    So the officials went to the king in the courtyard. And having stored the scroll in the chamber of Elishama the scribe, they reported everything to the king.

  6. Jeremiah 36:21 הַמְּגִלָּ֔ה the scroll

    Then the king sent Jehudi to get the scroll, and he took it from the chamber of Elishama the scribe. And Jehudi read it in the hearing of the king and all the officials who were standing beside him.

  7. Jeremiah 36:23 הַמְּגִלָּ֔ה the scroll

    And as soon as Jehudi had read three or four columns, Jehoiakim would cut them off with a scribe’s knife and throw them into the firepot, until the entire scroll had been consumed by the fire.

    Here: From a root meaning "to roll": a rolled-up writing. Here it holds twenty-plus years of Jeremiah's oracles (v. 2), written down by Baruch.

  8. Jeremiah 36:25 הַמְּגִלָּ֑ה the scroll

    Even though Elnathan, Delaiah, and Gemariah urged the king not to burn the scroll, he would not listen to them.

  9. Jeremiah 36:27 הַמְּגִלָּה֙ the scroll

    After the king had burned the scroll containing the words that Baruch had written at Jeremiah’s dictation, the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah:

  10. Jeremiah 36:28 מְגִלָּ֣ה הַמְּגִלָּה֙ a scroll, the scroll

    “Take another scroll and rewrite on it the very words that were on the original scroll, which Jehoiakim king of Judah has burned.

  11. Jeremiah 36:29 הַמְּגִלָּ֤ה the scroll

    You are to proclaim concerning Jehoiakim king of Judah that this is what the LORD says: You have burned the scroll and said, ‘Why have you written on it that the king of Babylon would surely come and destroy this land and deprive it of man and beast?’

  12. Jeremiah 36:32 מְגִלָּ֣ה a scroll

    Then Jeremiah took another scroll and gave it to the scribe Baruch son of Neriah, and at Jeremiah’s dictation he wrote on it all the words of the scroll that Jehoiakim king of Judah had burned in the fire. And many similar words were added to them.

Ezekiel · 4

  1. Ezekiel 2:9 מְגִלַּת־ a scroll of

    Then I looked and saw a hand reaching out to me, and in it was a scroll,

    Here: A rolled-up sheet of leather or papyrus, from a root meaning "to roll." It is still rolled when Ezekiel first sees it. Verse 10 has it unrolled in front of him.

  2. Ezekiel 3:1 הַמְּגִלָּ֣ה the scroll

    “Son of man,” He said to me, “eat what you find here. Eat this scroll, then go and speak to the house of Israel.”

    Here: The rolled document of 2:9–10. It was written on both sides with laments, mourning and woe, and it is now handed to the prophet to swallow.

  3. Ezekiel 3:2 הַמְּגִלָּ֥ה the scroll

    So I opened my mouth, and He fed me the scroll.

  4. Ezekiel 3:3 הַמְּגִלָּ֣ה the scroll

    “Son of man,” He said to me, “eat and fill your stomach with this scroll I am giving you.” So I ate, and it was as sweet as honey in my mouth.

    Here: A rolled document, from the verb 'to roll'. It is the scroll Ezekiel saw in 2:9–10, written on both sides with 'laments, mourning and woe'.

Zechariah · 2

  1. Zechariah 5:1 מְגִלָּ֥ה a scroll

    Again I lifted up my eyes and saw before me a flying scroll.

    Here: A written scroll, from a root meaning 'to roll'. Verse 2 shows it unrolled and enormous, and verse 3 shows it carries the written curse. The hearers would picture a document, a sheet of leather or papyrus covered in writing.

  2. Zechariah 5:2 מְגִלָּ֣ה a scroll

    “What do you see?” asked the angel. “I see a flying scroll,” I replied, “twenty cubits long and ten cubits wide.”

    Here: A document rolled up for storage, from the root galal, "to roll". Here it has to be unrolled and open, because v. 3 describes writing on both of its sides.

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