Migdol

Migdol, or migdal, is a Hebrew word (מגדּלה מגדּל, מגדּל מגדּול) which means either a tower (from its size or height), an elevated stage (a rostrum or pulpit), or a raised bed (within a river). Physically, it can mean fortified land, i.e. a walled city or castle; or elevated land, as in a raised bed, like a platform, possibly a lookout.

"Migdol" has been suggested as a loanword from Egyptian (mktr), ''mekter'',M. Vygus. Middle Egyptian dictionary, p. 627 or ''mgatir'' meaning "fort," "fortification," or "stronghold," and the corresponding term in Coptic is ⲙⲉϣⲧⲱⲗ ''meštôl''. (Figuratively, "tower" has connotations of proud authority.) However, the word clearly entered Egyptian from the original Northwest Semitic term ''magdalu'', which itself originated with the Akkadian verb ''dagalu'', meaning "to look ''or'' watch." The association of the toponym with watchtowers is confirmed by the relationship of sites bearing Arabic place names related to Ar. ''majdal'' or ''majdaluna'', which were strategically located along routes between Bronze Age centers.

Although archaeologically, ''migdol'' has been traditionally identified with a specific type of temple, examples of which have been discovered, for instance, at Hazor, Megiddo, Tel Haror, Pella and Shechem, no temples are identified as migdols in ancient sources, outside of associations made by biblical scholars with a single passage in Judges 9 referencing a Migdol-Shechem. This identificaiton can be regarded as questionable, and particularly so in light of the evidence offered by more than sixty toponyms in the Levant, which are associated with important vista points above major routes.

Places named Migdol or Migdal in the Hebrew Bible

The Book of Exodus records that the children of Israel encamped at Pi-Hahiroth between Migdol and the Red Sea, before their crossing. It also appears in a couple of extra-biblical sources: Papyrus Anastasis V (20:2-3) implies that Migdol was built by Pharaoh Seti I of the 19th dynasty, the same king who first established the city of Piramesses; according to a map of the Way of Horus, Migdol is east of the Dwelling of the Lion, which has been located at Tell el-Borg, near the north coast of the Sinai Peninsula and the estuary of the Ballah Lakes. Its exact location has been identified with the site of T-211.

The Book of Joshua referred to Migdal-Gad, 'tower of Gad', one of the fortified cities of Judah, and also to Migdal-El, 'tower of God', one of the fortified towns of Naphtali ().

Jeremiah referred to Migdol ( Jeremiah 44:1) in its near-geographical relation to Tahpanhes and Memphis, three Egyptian cities where the Jewish people settled after the Siege of Jerusalem (587 BC). At this time, the city's name had moved its location to Tell Qedua.

Ezekiel referred to Migdol in describing the length of the land of Egypt "''from Migdol to Syene (Aswan)''". (, ).

The letters of Šuta refer to a "Magdalu in Egypt" which Albright identified with the Hebrew Bible's Migdol.

Places in modern Israel named Migdal

Migdal is a town in the northern district of Israel, 8 km north of Tiberias.

Migdal Ha'emek is a city in modern-day Israel, situated on a large hill surrounded by the Kishon river, west of Nazareth.

References

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Torah places
Hebrew words and phrases