Difference between revisions of "Migdol"

<p> [[Migdol]] ( ''Mĭg'Dol'' ), ''Tower.'' 1. A place near the head of the Red Sea. &nbsp;Exodus 14:2; &nbsp;Numbers 33:7; &nbsp;Numbers 8:2. A fortified city in the northern limits of Egypt toward Palestine. &nbsp;Jeremiah 44:1; &nbsp;Jeremiah 46:14. This name is rendered "tower" in the phrase "from the tower of Syene," R. V. reads "Seveneh," &nbsp;Ezekiel 29:10; &nbsp;Ezekiel 30:6; but the margin correctly has "from Migdol to Syene"— ''I.E.,'' [[Syene]] the most southern border of Egypt, and Migdol the most northern. </p>

<li> A place mentioned in the passage of the Red Sea (&nbsp;Exodus 14:2; &nbsp;Numbers 33:7,8 ). It is probably to be identified with Bir Suweis, about 2 miles from Suez. <div> <p> '''Copyright Statement''' These dictionary topics are from M.G. Easton [[M.A., DD]]  Illustrated Bible Dictionary, Third Edition, published by [[Thomas]] Nelson, 1897. Public Domain. </p> <p> '''Bibliography Information''' Easton, Matthew George. Entry for 'Migdol'. Easton's Bible Dictionary. https://www.studylight.org/dictionaries/eng/ebd/m/migdol.html. 1897. </p> </div> </li>

<p> ''''' mig´dol ''''' , ''''' mig´dōl ''''' ( מגדּול , <i> ''''' mighdōl ''''' </i> ; Μαγδώλον , <i> ''''' Magdṓlon ''''' </i> ): This name ("the tower") is applied to two places on the east frontier of Egypt. </p> 1. &nbsp;Exodus 14:2; &nbsp;Numbers 33:7 : <p> In &nbsp;Exodus 14:2; &nbsp;Numbers 33:7 , the [[Hebrew]] camp, on the march from [[Etham]] after they had "turned" (apparently to the South), is defined as 'facing Pi-hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea, over against <i> ''''' [[Baal]] ''''' </i> - <i> ''''' zephon' ''''' </i> . It is thus to be sought (see [[Exodus]] ) West of the [[Bitter]] Lakes, and may have been a watchtower on the spur of <i> ''''' Jebel ''''' </i> <i> ''''' 'Ataḳah ''''' </i> . Israel was supposed to be "entangled in the land," and shut in in the "wilderness," between this range and the Bitter Lakes, then forming the head of the Red Sea. The exact site is unknown. In about 385 AD, Silvia, traveling from [[Clysma]] (Suez), was shown the sites above mentioned on her way to Heroopolis, but none of these names now survive. </p> 2. &nbsp;Jeremiah 44:1; &nbsp;Jeremiah 46:14 : <p> In &nbsp;Jeremiah 44:1; &nbsp;Jeremiah 46:14 , a Migdol is noticed with Memphis, and with Tahpanhes [[Septuagint]] "Taphnas"), this latter being supposed to be the Daphnai of Greek writers, now <i> ''''' Tell ''''' </i> <i> ''''' Defeneh ''''' </i> , West of <i> ''''' Ḳanṭarah ''''' </i> . The same place is probably intended in &nbsp;Ezekiel 29:10; &nbsp;Ezekiel 30:6 (compare &nbsp; Ezekiel 30:15-18 ), the borders of Egypt being defined as reaching "from Migdol to Syene" (see the Revised Version margin), as understood by the Septuagint translators. The Antonine [[Itinerary]] places Migdol 12 miles South of Pelusium, and the site appears to have been at or near <i> ''''' Tell ''''' </i> <i> ''''' es ''''' </i> <i> ''''' Samûṭ ''''' </i> , the Egyptian name, according to Brugsch ( <i> Hist </i> , II, 351), being Samut. This Migdol was thus apparently a "watchtower" on the main road along the coast from Palestine, which is called (&nbsp;Exodus 13:17 ) "the way of the land of the Philistines," entering Egypt near Daphnai. </p> These Sites Not Identical. <p> We are specially told that this was not the route taken at the exodus, and this Migdol cannot therefore be the same as (1), though Brugsch, in consequence of a theory as to the exodus which has not been accepted by other scholars, has confused the two sites, as apparently does the Antonine Itinerary when placing [[Pithom]] on the same route leading to Zoan. Brugsch ( <i> [[Geography]] </i> , III, 19) supposes the Egyptian town name <i> ''''' Pa ''''' </i> - <i> ''''' Ma'kāl ''''' </i> (with the determinative for "wall" added) to stand for Migdol, but the prefix " <i> ''''' Pa ''''' </i> -" ("city") seems to show that this word is purely native, and not Semitic, to say nothing of philological objections. This town may, however, have lain in the required direction, according to a scribe's report of the time of Seti 2 (or about 1230 BC). </p> <p> As much confusion has been created by quoting this report as illustrative of the exodus, the actual words according to Brugsch's translation may be given ( <i> History </i> , II, 132): "I set out from the hall of the royal palace on the 9th day of Epiphi, in the evening, after the two servants. I arrived at the fortress Thuku ( <i> ''''' T ''''' </i> - <i> ''''' k ''''' </i> - <i> ''''' u ''''' </i> ) on the 10th of Epiphi. I was informed that the men had resolved to take their way toward the South. On the 12th I reached Khetam. There I was informed that grooms who had come from the neighborhood (of the "sedge city") reported that the fugitives had already passed the rampart ( <i> ''''' Anbu ''''' </i> or "wall"), to the North of the Ma'ktal of King Seti Minepthah." As to the position of this "wall," see [[Shur]] . </p>

<p> (Heb. Migdol', '''''מַגְדּוֹל''''' '','' a ''Tower;'' Sept. '''''Μάγδωλον''''' or '''''Μαγδωλόν''''' ), a town in Lower Egypt (&nbsp;Jeremiah 44:1; &nbsp;Jeremiah 46:14), the northern limit of the country (opposite Syene, &nbsp;Ezekiel 29:10; &nbsp;Ezekiel 30:6). It is apparently the ''Magdolum'' of the ''Antonine Itinerary'' (p. 171), situated twelve Roman miles from Pelusium; and, as it is doubtless also the place mentioned (&nbsp;Exodus 14:2; &nbsp;Numbers 33:7) in the description of the passage of the Red Sea by the Israelites (see Gesenius, ''Thesaur.'' page 268; Ewald, ''Isr. Gesch.'' 2:55), a difficulty has been experienced from the statements of those texts that this occurred "between Migdol and the sea," and "before Migdol," arising from the much greater distance of this locality from Pelusium, which the explanation of [[Hengstenberg]] (Mos. u. Aeg. page 58 sq.), that these expressions simply refer to the general region within which the Israelites were hemmed, scarcely meets. It is therefore better to regard the distance given in the Itinerary as somewhat vague, so that Migdol may have been situated sufficiently near to be said to be opposite the scene of the miracle. (See [[Exode]]). </p> <p> The name has been traced in the [[Coptic]] ''Meshtol,'' which signifies ''Many'' hills (Champollion, ''L'Egypte Sous Les Pharaons,'' 2:79), and has been referred (see Niebuhr, ''Descr. Arabice,'' page 409) to the ''Meshtul'' of [[Arabian]] geographers, in the province of Sharkje, in Lower Egypt, on the island Myeephor (Rosenmuller, ''Alterth.'' 3:260); but it is better (with Forster, ''Ep. [[Ad]] Michael.'' page 29) to consider it as alluding to a mountainous situation (suitable for a watch-tower on the frontier), and we may then (with Tischendorf, ''De Israel. Per [[Mare]] Rubrum Transitu,'' page 25 sq.; Kutscheit, ''Lepsius U. Der Sinai,'' page 6 sq.; and other earlier travellers) identify it with Jebel ''Ataka'' (see Olin's ''Travels In The East,'' 1:350). The only objection to this identification that remains, worthy of consideration, is that, according to some travellers, a gentle slope, some two or three miles wide, intervenes between this range of hills and the sea-shore, containing many camel-paths, and offering an easy escape for the Israelites hemmed in by the Egyptians that came down upon them, through [[Wady]] Tuwarik (Aiton's Lands of the Messiah, page 120); but it is doubtful whether so extensive a shore existed here anciently (see ib. page 106), and even if this margin were not at that time covered by the waves, it may easily have been preoccupied by a detachment of the Egyptian troops sent round by way of the isthmus to cut off the retreat of the Israelites. [[Herodotus]] (2:159) doubtless alludes to this place under the name of Magdolum, which he describes as a frontier town towards Palestine, where [[Josiah]] was slain by Necho; evidently confounding it with Megiddo. (See [[Passage Of Red Sea]]). </p>