Ensign

Smith's Bible Dictionary

Ensign. (Hebrew, nes , in the Authorized Version, generally "ensign," sometimes "standard";

degel "standard," with the exception of  Song of Solomon 2:4, "banner;"

oth "ensign").

This distinction between these three Hebrew terms is sufficiently marked by their respective uses.

Nes is a Signal , and not a military standard. It is an occasional signal, which was exhibited on the top of a pole from a bare mountain-top,  Isaiah 13:2;  Isaiah 18:3;

degel is a military Standard for a large division of an army; and

oth is a military Standard for a small one. Neither of them, however, expresses the idea which "standard" conveys to our minds, namely, A flag.

The standards in use among the Hebrews probably resembled those of the Egyptians and Assyrians - a figure or device of some kind elevated on a pole; usually a sacred emblem, such as an animal, a boat, or the king's name.

Webster's Dictionary

(1): ( n.) A signal displayed like a standard, to give notice.

(2): ( v. t.) To distinguish by a mark or ornament; esp. (Her.), by a crown; thus, any charge which has a crown immediately above or upon it, is said to be ensigned.

(3): ( n.) A commissioned officer of the lowest grade in the navy, corresponding to the grade of second lieutenant in the army.

(4): ( v. t.) To designate as by an ensign.

(5): ( n.) Formerly, a commissioned officer of the army who carried the ensign or flag of a company or regiment.

(6): ( n.) Sign; badge of office, rank, or power; symbol.

(7): ( n.) A flag; a banner; a standard; esp., the national flag, or a banner indicating nationality, carried by a ship or a body of soldiers; - as distinguished from flags indicating divisions of the army, rank of naval officers, or private signals, and the like.

Hawker's Poor Man's Concordance And Dictionary

An ensign, as a banner, set up as a trophy of victory, or for a declaration of war. I should not have thought it necessary to have noticed it, but because Christ is said to be set up as an ensign to the people, and to call the nations from afar; alluding, perhaps, to both the Jewish and Gentile church. (See  Isaiah 5:26; Isa 11:10-12) And the reader will forgive me when I add, that it is blessed to behold the Lord Jesus under, this figure. For He and He alone, is: the Standard-bearer among ten thousand. So hath he been in JEHOVAH'S view, from all eternity. His victories mark him in the one point, and his warfare for his church mark him for the other. So that He is the signal of war to all his redeemed, for their contests with sin, death, and hell. Oh! may the Holy Ghost lift him up to my soul continually, that the Amaleks of the day may have no momentary success, until that my God hath put out, as he hath sworn, the name of Amalek from under heaven! ( Exodus 17:10-16)

See Banner

King James Dictionary

EN'SIGN, n. en'sine. L. insigne, insignia, from signum, a mark impressed, a sign.

1. The flag or banner of a military band a banner of colors a standard a figured cloth or piece of silk, attached to a staff, and usually with figures, colors or arms thereon, borne by an officer at the head of a company, troop or other band. 2. Any signal to assemble or to give notice.

He will lift up an ensign to the nations.  Isaiah 5

Ye shall be left as an ensign on a hill.  Isaiah 30

3. A badge a mark of distinction, rank or office as ensigns of power or virtue. 4. The officer who carries the flag or colors, being the lowest commissioned officer in a company of infantry. 5. Naval ensign, is a large banner hoisted on a staff and carried over the poop or stern of a ship used to distinguish ships of different nations, or to characterize different equadrons of the same navy.

Easton's Bible Dictionary

The Hebrew word Degel Denotes the standard given to each of the four divisions of the host of the Israelites at the Exodus (  Numbers 1:52;  2:2;  10:14 ). In  Song of Solomon 2:4 it is rendered "banner." We have no definite information as to the nature of these military standards. (See Banner .)

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.

Bibliography Information Easton, Matthew George. Entry for 'Ensign'. Easton's Bible Dictionary. https://www.studylight.org/dictionaries/eng/ebd/e/ensign.html. 1897.

Wilson's Dictionary of Bible Types

 Isaiah 5:26 (b) This is typical of a banner at the head of victorious troops conquering the enemy. GOD does this for His people.

Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible

Ensign . See Banner.

Morrish Bible Dictionary

See STANDARD.

Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature

is the renderinn in the Auth. Vers. for two Hebrew words: אוֹת , Oth (the flag of a single tribe,  Numbers 2:2), a Sign or Token, as elsewhere rendered; נֵס , nes (a lofty Signal, e.g. a "pole,"  Numbers 21:8-9), a ship's Standard Or Flag ("sail,"  Isaiah 33:23;  Ezekiel 27:7), a Beacon or Signal on a hill, chiefly on the irruption of an enemy, in order to point out to the people a place of rendezvous. There is a third and more emphatic word relating to the subject, namely, דֶּגֶל , de'gel (from דָּגִל , to cover), which, however, is in. variably rendered "standard" (except  Song of Solomon 2:1-17, "banner"). The distinction between these three Hebrew terms is sufficiently marked by their respective uses: NES is a signal; DEGEL, a military standard for a large division of an army; and OTH, the same for a small one. Neither of them, however, expresses the idea which "standard" conveys to our minds, viz. a flag; the standards in use among the Hebrews probably resembled those of the Egyptians and Assyrians — a figure or device of some kind elevated on a pole. (See Banner).

1. The notices of the Nes or "ensign" are most frequent; it consisted of some well-understood signal which was exhibited on the top of a pole from a bare mountain top ( Isaiah 13:2;  Isaiah 18:3) — the very emblem of conspicuous isolation ( Isaiah 30:17). Around it the inhabitants mustered, whether for the purpose of meeting an enemy ( Isaiah 5:26;  Isaiah 18:3;  Isaiah 31:9), which was sometimes notified by the blast of a trumpet ( Jeremiah 4:21;  Jeremiah 51:27); or as a token of rescue ( Psalms 60:4;  Isaiah 11:10;  Jeremiah 4:6); or for a public proclamation ( Jeremiah 1:1-19;  Jeremiah 2:1-37); or simply as a gathering point ( Isaiah 49:22;  Isaiah 62:10). What the nature of the signal was we have no means of stating; it has been inferred from  Isaiah 33:23, and  Ezekiel 27:7, that it was a flag: we do not observe a flag depicted either in Egyptian or Assyrian representations of vessels (Wilkinson, 3:211; Bonomi, pages 166,167); but, in lieu of a flag, certain devices, such as the phoenix, flowers, etc., were embroidered on the sail, whence it appears that the device itself, and perhaps also the sail bearing the device, was the Nes or "ensign." It may have sometimes been the name of a leader, as implied in the title which Moses gave to his altar, "Jehovahnissi" ( Exodus 17:15). It may also have been, as Michaelis (Suppl. page 1648) suggests, a blazing torch. The important point, however, to be observed is, that the nes was an occasional signal, and not a military standard, and that elevation and conspicuity are implied in the use of the term: hence it is appropriately applied to the "pole" on which the brazen serpent hung ( Numbers 21:8), which was indeed an "ensign" of deliverance to the pious Israelite: and again to the censers of Korah and his company, which became a "sign" or beacon of warning to Israel ( Numbers 16:38). (See Signal).

2. The term Degel is used to describe the standards which were given to each of the four divisions of the Israelitish army at the time of the Exodus ( Numbers 1:52;  Numbers 2:2;  Numbers 10:14 sq.). Some doubt indeed exists as to its meaning in these passages, the Sept. and Vulgate regarding it not as the standard itself, but as a certain military division annexed to a standard, just as a Vexilumi is sometimes used for a body of soldiers (Tacitus, Hist. 1:70; Livy, 8:8). The sense of Compact And Martial Array does certainly seem to lurk in the word; for in  Song of Solomon 6:4;  Song of Solomon 6:10, the brilliant glances of the bride's eyes are compared to the destructive advance of a well. arrayed host, and a similar comparison is employed in reference to the bridegroom ( Song of Solomon 5:10); but, on the other hand, in  Song of Solomon 2:4, no other sense than that of a "banner" will suit, and we therefore think the rendering in the A.V. correct. No reliance can be placed on the term in  Psalms 20:5, as both the sense and the text are matters of doubt (see Olshausen and Hengstenberg, in loc.). A standard implies, of course, a standard-bearer; but the supposed notice to that officer in  Isaiah 10:18, is incorrect, the words meaning rather "as a sick man pineth away;" in a somewhat parallel passage ( Isaiah 59:19) the marginal version is to be followed rather than the text. The character of the Hebrew military standards is quite a matter of conjecture; they probably resembled the Egyptian, which consisted of a sacred emblem, such as an animal, a boat, or the king's name (Wilkinson, 1:294). Rabbinical writers state the devices to have been as follows: for the tribe of Judah, a lion; for Reuben, a man; for Ephraim, an ox; and for Dan, an eagle (Carpzov, Crit. Ap. page 667); but no reliance can be placed on this. As each of the four divisions, consisting of three tribes, had its standard, so had each tribe its " sign" (Oth) or "ensign," probably in imitation of the Egyptians, among whom not only each battalion, but even each company, had its particular ensign (Wilkinson, 1.c.). We know nothing of its nature. The word occurs figuratively in  Psalms 74:4, apparently in reference to the images of idol gods. (See Standard).