SUBJECT · Complete Bible Study

Tower

“The tower of the flock,” or the tower of Ader, Micah iv, 8. It is said this tower was in the neighbourhood of Bethlehem, Gen. This unified study connects 7 installed resource categories without replacing their source records.

View overview sources
  • Historical Reference: Nave’s Topical Bible — Public domain
  • Historical Reference: Easton’s Bible Dictionary (1897)
  • Historical Reference: A Biblical and Theological Dictionary
  • Historical Reference: concordance
  • Historical Reference: Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible lexical data / BDB-Strong mapping
  • Historical Reference: STEPBible TBESG (based primarily on Abbott-Smith)
  • Historical Reference: A Greek-English Lexicon to the New Testament
  • Historical Reference: Installed reference work

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Study overview

Study at a glance

Subject type
Subject
Strong’s
H4026, G4444, H0969, H0971, H0975
Hebrew
מִגְדָּל · migdâl
Greek
πύργος · purgos

Strong’s and original-language information

Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible lexical data / BDB-Strong mapping

מִגְדָּל

H4026
Transliteration
migdâl
Pronunciation
mig-dawl'
Language
Hebrew
Indexed occurrences
51

Glosses

tower, castle, flower, tower. Compare the names following.

Lexicon definition

a tower (from its size or height)

by analogy, a rostrum

figuratively, a (pyramidal) bed of flowers

Abbott-Smith Greek Lexicon

πύργος

G4444
Transliteration
purgos
Language
Greek
Part of speech
G:N-M
Indexed occurrences
4

Glosses

tower

Lexicon definition

πύργος, -ου, ὁ [in LXX chiefly for מִגְדָּל ;] a tower: Luk.13:4; of a watch-tower in a vineyard (Isa.5:2): Mat.21:33, Mrk.12:1, and prob., Luk.14:28.† (AS)

A Greek-English Lexicon to the New Testament

Πύργος

G4444
Transliteration
pýrgos
Language
Greek
Indexed occurrences
4

Glosses

tower

Lexicon definition

a tower, Mat. 21.33. Mar. 12.1. Lu. 13.4; genr. a castle, palace, Lu. 14.28.

Strong’s Hebrew and Greek Lexicon

בָּחוֹן

H0969
Transliteration
bâchôwn
Pronunciation
baw-khone'
Language
Hebrew
Indexed occurrences
1

Glosses

tower.

Lexicon definition

an assayer or metals

Strong’s Hebrew and Greek Lexicon

בַּחִין

H0971
Transliteration
bachîyn
Pronunciation
bakh-een'
Language
Hebrew
Indexed occurrences
1

Glosses

tower.

Lexicon definition

a watch-tower of besiegers

Strong’s Hebrew and Greek Lexicon

מִגְדָּל

H4026
Transliteration
migdâl
Pronunciation
mig-dawl'
Language
Hebrew
Indexed occurrences
51

Glosses

castle, flower, tower. Compare the names following.

Lexicon definition

a tower (from its size or height)

by analogy, a rostrum

figuratively, a (pyramidal) bed of flowers

Complete dictionary entries

Easton’s Bible Dictionary (1897)

Towers

Of Babel (Gen. 11:4), Edar (Gen. 35:21), Penuel (Judg. 8:9, 17), Shechem (9:46), David (Cant. 4:4), Lebanon (7:4), Syene (Ezek. 29:10), Hananeel (Zech. 14:10), Siloam (Luke 13:4). There were several towers in Jerusalem (2 Chr. 26:9; Ps. 48:12). They were erected for various purposes, as watch-towers in vineyard (Isa. 5:2; Matt. 21:33) and towers for defence.

Source: Easton’s Bible Dictionary (1897) · View data sources

A Biblical and Theological Dictionary

TOWER

“The tower of the flock,” or the tower of Ader, Micah iv, 8. It is said this tower was in the neighbourhood of Bethlehem, Gen. xxxv, 21, and that the shepherds, to whom the angel revealed the birth of our Saviour, were near to this tower, Luke ii, 8, 15. Many interpreters assert, that the passage of Micah, in which mention is made of the tower of the flock: “And thou tower of the flock, the strong hold of the daughter of Zion,” is to be understood of the city of Bethlehem, out of which our Saviour was to come. Others maintain, that the prophet speaks of the city of Jerusalem, in which there was a tower of this name, through which the flocks of sheep were driven to the sheep-market. “From the tower of the watchmen to the fenced city,” 2 Kings xvii, 9. This form of speaking expresses in general all the places of the country, from the least to the greatest. The towers of the watchmen, or of the shepherds, stood alone in the midst of the plain, in which the shepherds and herdsmen who looked after the flocks, or watchmen, might lodge. King Uzziah caused several towers to be built for the shepherds in the desert, and made many cisterns there, because he had a great number of flocks, 2 Chronicles xxvi, 10. The tower of the flock, and that which Isaiah, v, 2, notices, which was built in the midst of a vineyard, were of the same kind.

Source: A Biblical and Theological Dictionary · View data sources

Concordance

Strong's Concordance

Tower

Indexed occurrences: 33

Source: Strong's Concordance · View data sources

Strong's Concordance

Towers

Indexed occurrences: 21

Source: Strong's Concordance · View data sources

All Scripture references61 references

Topical Bible

Nave's Topical Bible

TOWER

Entry:
Nave’s Topical Bible references for TOWER.

Source: Nave's Topical Bible · View data sources

Nave's Topical Bible

TOWERS

Entry:
Nave’s Topical Bible references for TOWERS.

Source: Nave's Topical Bible · View data sources

Sources

Ancient Context9 items

Josephus Antiquities Whiston

Concerning The Tower Of Babylon, And The Confusion Of Tongues.

Antiquities Book 1, Chapter 4

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Josephus Antiquities Whiston

How Jehu Was Anointed King, And Slew Both Joram And Ahaziah; As Also What He Did For The Punishment Of The Wicked.

Antiquities Book 9, Chapter 6

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Josephus Antiquities Whiston

Concerning Nebuchadnezzar And His Successors And How Their Government Was Dissolved By The Persians; And What Things Befell Daniel In Media; And What Prophecies He Delivered There.

Antiquities Book 10, Chapter 11

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Josephus Antiquities Whiston

How Aristobulus, When He Had Taken The Government First Of All Put A Diadem On His Head, And Was Most Barbarously Cruel To His Mother And His Brethren; And How, After He Had Slain Antigonus, He Himself Died.

Antiquities Book 13, Chapter 11

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Josephus Antiquities Whiston

How Alexander When He Had Taken The Government Made An Expedition Against Ptolemais, And Then Raised The Siege Out Of Fear Of Ptolemy Lathyrus; And How Ptolemy Made War Against Him, Because He Had Sent To Cleopatra To Persuade Her To Make War Against Ptolemy, And Yet Pretended To Be In Friendship With Him, When He Beat The Jews In The Battle.

Antiquities Book 13, Chapter 12

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Josephus Antiquities Whiston

How Alexandra By Gaining The Good-Will Of The Pharisees, Retained The Kingdom Nine Years, And Then, Having Done Many Glorious Actions Died.

Antiquities Book 13, Chapter 16

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Josephus Antiquities Whiston

How Herod Rebuilt The Temple And Raised It Higher And Made It More Magnificent Than It Was Before; As Also Concerning That Tower Which He Called Antonia.

Antiquities Book 15, Chapter 11

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Josephus Antiquities Whiston

How Herod Celebrated The Games That Were To Return Every Fifth Year Upon The Building Of Cæsarea; And How He Built And Adorned Many Other Places After A Magnificent Manner; And Did Many Other Actions Gloriously

Antiquities Book 16, Chapter 5

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Josephus Antiquities Whiston

How The Samaritans Made A Tumult And Pilate Destroyed Many Of Them; How Pilate Was Accused And What Things Were Done By Vitellius Relating To The Jews And The Parthians.

Antiquities Book 18, Chapter 4

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Related UNLEARN Content26 items

Topic

TOWER

Nave’s Topical Bible references for TOWER.

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Topic

TOWERS

Nave’s Topical Bible references for TOWERS.

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Dictionary

Babel, tower of

The name given to the tower which the primitive fathers of our race built in the land of Shinar after the Deluge (Gen. 11:1-9). Their object in building this tower was probably that it might be seen as a rallying-point in the extensive plain of Shinar, to which they had emigrated from the uplands of Armenia, and so prevent their being scattered abroad. But God interposed and defeated their design by condounding their language, and hence the name Babel, meaning "confusion." In the Babylonian tablets there is an account of this event, and also of the creation and the deluge. (See [43]CHALDEA.) The Temple of Belus, which is supposed to occupy its site, is described by the Greek historian Herodotus as a temple of great extent and magnificence, erected by the Babylonians for their god Belus. The treasures Nebuchadnezzar brought from Jerusalem were laid up in this temple (2 Chr. 36:7). The Birs Nimrud, at ancient Borsippa, about 7 miles south-west of Hillah, the modern town which occupies a part of the site of ancient Babylon, and 6 miles from the Euphrates, is an immense mass of broken and fire-blasted fragments, of about 2,300 feet in circumference, rising suddenly to the height of 235 feet above the desert-plain, and is with probability regarded as the ruins of the tower of Babel. This is "one of the most imposing ruins in the country." Others think it to be the ruins of the Temple of Belus.

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Bulwarks

Mural towers, bastions, were introduced by king Uzziah (2 Chr. 26:15; Zeph. 1:16; Ps. 48:13; Isa. 26:1). There are five Hebrew words so rendered in the Authorized Version, but the same word is also variously rendered.

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Castle

A military fortress (1 Chr. 11:7), also probably a kind of tower used by the priests for making known anything discovered at a distance (1 Chr. 6:54). Castles are also mentioned (Gen. 25:16) as a kind of watch-tower, from which shepherds kept watch over their flocks by night. The "castle" into which the chief captain commanded Paul to be brought was the quarters of the Roman soldiers in the fortress of Antonia (so called by Herod after his patron Mark Antony), which was close to the north-west corner of the temple (Acts 21:34), which it commanded.

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Edar

Tower of the flock, a tower between Bethlehem and Hebron, near which Jacob first halted after leaving Bethlehem (Gen. 35:21). In Micah 4:8 the word is rendered "tower of the flock" (marg., "Edar"), and is used as a designation of Bethlehem, which figuratively represents the royal line of David as sprung from Bethlehem.

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Fenced cities

There were in Palestine (1) cities, (2) unwalled villages, and (3) villages with castles or towers (1 Chr. 27:25). Cities, so called, had walls, and were thus fenced. The fortifications consisted of one or two walls, on which were towers or parapets at regular intervals (2 Chr. 32:5; Jer. 31:38). Around ancient Jerusalem were three walls, on one of which were ninety towers, on the second fourteen, and on the third sixty. The tower of Hananeel, near the north-east corner of the city wall, is frequently referred to (Neh. 3:1; 12:39; Zech. 14:10). The gateways of such cities were also fortified (Neh. 2:8; 3:3, 6; Judg. 16:2, 3; 1 Sam. 23:7). The Hebrews found many fenced cities when they entered the Promised Land (Num. 13:28; 32:17, 34-42; Josh. 11:12, 13; Judg. 1:27-33), and we may estimate the strength of some of these cities from the fact that they were long held in possession by the Canaanites. The Jebusites, e.g., were enabled to hold possession of Jerusalem till the time of David (2 Sam. 5:6, 7; 1 Chr. 11:5). Several of the kings of Israel and Judah distinguished themselves as fortifiers or "builders" of cities.

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Gammadim

(Ezek. 27:11) brave warriors; R.V. marg., "valorous men;" others interpret this word as meaning "short-swordsmen," or "daring ones", the name of a class of men who were defenders of the towers of Tyre.

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Jezreel, Tower of

One of the turrets which guarded the entrance to the city (2 Kings 9:17).

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Magdala

tower; greatness

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Migdal-Edar

Tower of the flock, a place 2 miles south of Jerusalem, near the Bethlehem road (Gen. 35:21). (See [402]EDAR.)

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Migdal-el

Tower of God, a fortified city of Naphtali (Josh. 19:38), supposed by some to be identical with Magdala (q.v.).

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Migdal-gad

Tower of fortune, a town in the plains of Judah, probably the modern el-Mejdel, a little to the north-east of Ascalon (Josh. 15:37).

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Migdalel

tower of God

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Migdalgad

tower compassed about

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Migdol

a tower

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Mizpah

Mizpeh, a watch-tower; speculation

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Ophel

a tower; darkness; small white cloud

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Oven

Heb. tannur, (Hos. 7:4). In towns there appear to have been public ovens. There was a street in Jerusalem (Jer. 37:21) called "bakers' street" (the only case in which the name of a street in Jerusalem is preserved). The words "tower of the furnaces" (Neh. 3:11; 12:38) is more properly "tower of the ovens" (Heb. tannurim). These resemble the ovens in use among ourselves. There were other private ovens of different kinds. Some were like large jars made of earthenware or copper, which were heated inside with wood (1 Kings 17:12; Isa. 44:15; Jer. 7:18) or grass (Matt. 6:30), and when the fire had burned out, small pieces of dough were placed inside or spread in thin layers on the outside, and were thus baked. (See [455]FURNACE.) Pits were also formed for the same purposes, and lined with cement. These were used after the same manner. Heated stones, or sand heated by a fire heaped over it, and also flat irons pans, all served as ovens for the preparation of bread. (See Gen. 18:6; 1 Kings 19:6.)

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Ramath-mizpeh

elevation of the watch-tower

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Ramathaim-zophim

the two watch-towers

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Shinar, The Land of

LXX. and Vulgate "Senaar;" in the inscriptions, "Shumir;" probably identical with Babylonia or Southern Mesopotamia, extending almost to the Persian Gulf. Here the tower of Babel was built (Gen. 11:1-6), and the city of Babylon. The name occurs later in Jewish history (Isa. 11:11; Zech. 5:11). Shinar was apparently first peopled by Turanian tribes, who tilled the land and made bricks and built cities. Then tribes of Semites invaded the land and settled in it, and became its rulers. This was followed in course of time by an Elamite invasion; from which the land was finally delivered by Khammurabi, the son of Amarpel ("Amraphel, king of Shinar," Gen. 14:1), who became the founder of the new empire of Chaldea. (See [582]AMRAPHEL.)

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Siloam, Tower of

Mentioned only Luke 13:4. The place here spoken of is the village now called Silwan, or Kefr Silwan, on the east of the valley of Kidron, and to the north-east of the pool. It stands on the west slope of the Mount of Olives. As illustrative of the movement of small bands of Canaanites from place to place, and the intermingling of Canaanites and Israelites even in small towns in earlier times, M.C. Ganneau records the following curious fact: "Among the inhabitants of the village (of Siloam) there are a hundred or so domiciled for the most part in the lower quarter, and forming a group apart from the rest, called Dhiabrye, i.e., men of Dhiban. It appears that at some remote period a colony from the capital of king Mesha (Dibon-Moab) crossed the Jordan and fixed itself at the gates of Jerusalem at Silwan. The memory of this migration is still preserved; and I am assured by the people themselves that many of their number are installed in other villages round Jerusalem" (quoted by Henderson, Palestine).

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Tongues, Confusion of

At Babel, the cause of the early separation of mankind and their division into nations. The descendants of Noah built a tower to prevent their dispersion; but God "confounded their language" (Gen. 11:1-8), and they were scattered over the whole earth. Till this time "the whole earth was of one language and of one speech." (See [637]SHINAR.)

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Tower of the furnaces

(Neh. 3:11; 12:38), a tower at the north-western angle of the second wall of Jerusalem. It was probably so named from its contiguity to the "bakers' street" (Jer. 37:21).

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Towers

Of Babel (Gen. 11:4), Edar (Gen. 35:21), Penuel (Judg. 8:9, 17), Shechem (9:46), David (Cant. 4:4), Lebanon (7:4), Syene (Ezek. 29:10), Hananeel (Zech. 14:10), Siloam (Luke 13:4). There were several towers in Jerusalem (2 Chr. 26:9; Ps. 48:12). They were erected for various purposes, as watch-towers in vineyard (Isa. 5:2; Matt. 21:33) and towers for defence.

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