Hebrew word · H5550

סֹלְלָה

solelah

siege

From sālal, 'heap up, cast up' (a road or highway, Isa 57:14; 62:10). It means an earthen siege ramp or mound built against a city wall.

Appears 11 times in 11 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

mound

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 Isaiah 37:33

Range of meaning

From sālal, 'heap up, cast up' (a road or highway, Isa 57:14; 62:10). It means an earthen siege ramp or mound built against a city wall.

Against the English

KJV 'bank' meant an earthwork in 1611. Today it suggests a riverbank or a financial bank. 'Siege ramp' (BSB, NIV, NASB) or 'siege mound' (ESV) is clearer.

How it drifted

In older English 'bank' meant a raised ridge of earth. That military sense has faded.

Used elsewhere in the period

The pairing 'pour out a mound' (šāpak sōləlāh) recurs at 2 Sam 20:15, Ezek 4:2, 17:17, 21:22 [Heb. 27] and 26:8. See also Jer 6:6, 32:24 and 33:4. At Lachish archaeologists found the Assyrian siege ramp from 701 BCE, a huge heap of stones and soil against the southwest corner of the city. Opposite it the defenders built a counter-ramp. It is the earliest Assyrian siege ramp found so far.

From the study of Jeremiah 32:24

Range of meaning

An earthwork heaped up against a fortified wall: a siege mound or ramp. It comes from the verb salal, 'to heap up, raise a highway'. The word belongs to the vocabulary of siege warfare.

Against the English

KJV's 'mounts' was a normal word for an earthwork in 1611, but today it suggests horses or mountains. Modern versions say 'siege ramps' (BSB, WEB, NIV, NASB) or 'siege mounds' (ESV), which are accurate.

How it drifted

In English, 'mount' as a noun meaning a raised earthwork has fallen out of use. The Hebrew did not change; the English word did.

Used elsewhere in the period

In the Bible: 2 Samuel 20:15; 2 Kings 19:32 = Isaiah 37:33 (Sennacherib 'will not cast up a siege mound'); Jeremiah 6:6; 33:4; Ezekiel 4:2; 17:17; 21:22; 26:8. Outside the Bible, Assyrian palace reliefs of the siege of Lachish (701 BC) show ramps carrying battering rams up to the walls, and the actual Assyrian siege ramp at Lachish has been excavated (Ussishkin). Babylonian siege methods were similar.

Where it appears

2 Samuel · 1

  1. 2 Samuel 20:15 סֹֽלְלָה֙ a mound

    And Joab’s troops came and besieged Sheba in Abel-beth-maacah and built a siege ramp against the outer rampart of the city. As all the troops with Joab were battering the wall to topple it,

2 Kings · 1

  1. 2 Kings 19:32 סֹלְלָֽה׃ a mound

    So this is what the LORD says about the king of Assyria: ‘He will not enter this city or shoot an arrow into it. He will not come before it with a shield or build up a siege ramp against it.

Isaiah · 1

  1. Isaiah 37:33 סֹלְלָֽה׃ a mound

    So this is what the LORD says about the king of Assyria: ‘He will not enter this city or shoot an arrow into it. He will not come before it with a shield or build up a siege ramp against it.

    Here: An earthen ramp heaped against a wall so battering rams and towers could reach it. This was the basic tool of an Assyrian siege. A real example survives at Lachish, the Judean city Sennacherib took in this same campaign.

Jeremiah · 3

  1. Jeremiah 6:6 סֹלְלָ֑ה a mound

    For this is what the LORD of Hosts says: “Cut down the trees and raise a siege ramp against Jerusalem. This city must be punished; there is nothing but oppression in her midst.

  2. Jeremiah 32:24 הַסֹּלְל֗וֹת the mounds

    See how the siege ramps are mounted against the city to capture it. And by sword and famine and plague, the city has been given into the hands of the Chaldeans who are fighting against it. What You have spoken has happened, as You now see!

    Here: Ramps of packed earth and rubble that attackers built up against a city wall so they could bring battering rams and towers to its top. The word comes from a root meaning 'to heap up'.

  3. Jeremiah 33:4 הַסֹּלְל֖וֹת the mounds

    For this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says about the houses of this city and the palaces of the kings of Judah that have been torn down for defense against the siege ramps and the sword:

Ezekiel · 4

  1. Ezekiel 4:2 סֹֽלְלָ֑ה a mound

    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 סֹלְלָ֖ה a mound

    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 סֹלְלָ֖ה a mound

    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 סֹֽלְלָ֔ה a mound

    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.

Daniel · 1

  1. Daniel 11:15 סֽוֹלֲלָ֔ה a mound

    Then the king of the North will come, build up a siege ramp, and capture a fortified city. The forces of the South will not stand; even their best troops will not be able to resist.

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