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(Part 9rq of 11)
Migdol is Hebrew for tower. A migdol is a Syrian-styled tower per Bunson. (Smith: Dictionary 400), (Bunson: Encyclopedia 250-1)
Based on JC bible verses, Migdol is in Egypt; however, like many place names today, there was more than one location named Migdol.
1. Migdol was a site east of the Red Sea in Sinai (Egypt) where the Egyptians maintained a fortified tower with massive walls. This could be the same location as Kadesh which is described as a stronghold.
2. Migdol is a Syrian style fortress built at Medinet (Habu, Abu, Abou) in Upper Egypt by Ramesses III, Hyksos Shepherd King of Egypt. (Bunson: Encyclopedia 262). And we wonder why movies about Egypt show little to no black people. It's because those movies are portraying periods of time under rule by eventual lighter skinned tribes. Those portrayals represent recent history relatively speaking, and not the enormous amount of Egyptian rulership by black skinned people when no other color group existed. (Brugsch-Bey: History 398), (Taylor: Names 290)
3. Migdol, northwest of the Red Sea in Lower Egypt. There are heaps of debris at Tell-es-Samut on the eastern side of Lake Menzaleh. A little further to the northeast is Anbu (Shur, Gerrhon, Gerrha) Anbu is the first terminal point of the great military road, which led from the Delta by Khetam-Etham and Migdol to the desert of Shur. This understanding helps us go back and review the places the Israelites wandered in the desert and we will realize they wandered a long time on the west side of the Red Sea before crossing into Sinai. This goes against the Exodus story, especially the movie version. It took weeks for the Israelites to get out of Egypt and they took the road. (Brugsch-Bey: History 288-90, 549)
Mag'dolum (Migdol of the Old Testament) was about 12 miles S. of Pelusium in Lower Egypt along the coastal road that led between Aegypt and Phoenicia. (Smith: Dictionary 284), (Lewis: Astronomy 317)
4. Migol (Magdolum) in the Books of Kings and Chronicles is near the lake of Galilee. (Lewis: Astronomy 317)
5. Ar-Megiddo, a fortress on the northern slopes of Mount Carmel, in modern Israel. (Bunson: Encyclopedia 252)
6. Spelling variations of Migdol: Akar-Magedon, Armageddon, Har-Magedon, Har Megiddo, Kar-Magedon, Karma-geddon, Khar-Magedon, Makthel, Maktol, Magdol, Magdolon. Mag'dolum, Magedon, Megiddo, Samud, Samut, (Brugsch-Bey: History 284, 288-90, 443, 549), (UC#1036 Armageddon)
References:
small> Brugsch-Bey, Henry, A History Of Egypt Under The Pharaohs Derived Entirely From The Monuments, Vol I, Second Edition, (London: 1881), Translated & Edited From German by Smith, Phillip
Bunson, Margaret R. "Encyclopedia of Ancient Egypt, Revised Edition" (New York: 2002) Facts on File, Inc.
small>Lewis, Sir George Cornewall, An Historical Survey of the Astronomy Of The Ancients, (London: 1862)
Smith, William, Editor, "A Dictionary Of Greek & Roman Geography," John Murray (London:1873), Volume II, download pdf.
Taylor, Isaac, "Names and Their Histories: A Handbook of Historical Geography and Topographical Nomenclature," Rivingtons, (London:1898), Second Edition Revised, p. , download pdf.
