Migdol
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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,<ref name = Vygus>M. Vygus. Middle Egyptian dictionary, p. 627</ref> or mgatir<ref name = Budge>Template:Cite book</ref> 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."<ref name=":0">Template:Cite journal</ref> 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.<ref name=":0" />
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.<ref name=":0" />
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:<ref>Falk, D. A. (2018). "What We Know about the Egyptian Places Mentioned in Exodus". TheTorah.com.</ref> Papyrus Anastasis V (20:2-3) implies that Migdol was built by Pharaoh Seti I of the 19th dynasty,<ref>The site is referred to as, e.g., “Migdol of Seti-Merneptah (Seti I).” Gardiner, LEM, 67.</ref> 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,<ref>The map is located in the Hypostyle Hall at Karnak Temple.</ref> which has been located at Tell el-Borg,<ref>It was excavated by James Hoffmeier from 1998-2007; James K. Hoffmeier, Excavations in North Sinai: Tell el-Borg I (Winona Lake: Eisenbrauns, 2014), 1-33.</ref> near the north coast of the Sinai Peninsula and the estuary of the Ballah Lakes.<ref>James K. Hoffmeier and Stephen O. Moshier, “The Ways of Horus,” Excavations in North Sinai: Tell el-Borg I. ed. James K. Hoffmeier (Winona Lake, IA: Eisenbrauns, 2014), 44.</ref> Its exact location has been identified with the site of T-211.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="Ho2008">Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
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 (Template:Bibleverse).
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.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
Ezekiel referred to Migdol in describing the length of the land of Egypt "from Migdol to Syene (Aswan)". (Template:Bibleverse, Template:Bibleverse).
The letters of Šuta refer to a "Magdalu in Egypt" which Albright identified with the Hebrew Bible's Migdol.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
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.