MIGDAL-EDER.—See Eber, No. 14.
MIGDAL-EL ($x$un; B Μεγαλααρείμ, A May- δαλιηωράμ, the following name Horem being incor- porated).—‘ The Tower of God,’ a town of Naph- tali (Jos 1938) between Iron and Horem. he exact site is uncertain, though Eusebius (Onom. s.v.) places it between Dora (7 απέϊγα) and Ptole- mais (Acre), and 9 miles from the first. In this case it would correspond with Athlit. But the territory of Naphtali did not extend so far, and the site must rather be looked for in one of the numerous Mejdels of N. Palestine. See, further, Dillm. Jos. ad loc. A. H. SAYCE.
MIGDAL-GAD (73-5220 ‘ tower of Gad’; B Mayada Γάδ, A Μαγδὰλ Γ΄ ; Vulg. Magdal-Gad).—Men- tioned only (Jos 1557) in the list of the cities of the lot of Judah, together with Zenan and Hada- shah, neither of which has been identified. It is one of the group of sixteen cities which are found in various parts of the Shephélah, so that there is no clue as to the position. Of the same
up, Makkedah, Gederoth, Beth-dagon, and aamah have been found to the north, Lachish and Eglon to the south, and Socoh, Adullam, Azekah, and Jarmuth to the east of the Shephélah. The name, the ‘Tower of Gad’ (‘ Fortune’), may refer to the ancient worship of Gad (good luck or fortune) among the Canaanites. Gesenius con- jectures that Gad was the planet Jupiter. In the north of Palestine the modern representation of Baal-gad is conjectured (BRP iii. 409) to be Bénias, which is known to have been the sanctuary of Pan; but there is nothing whatever at present known of the remains in the Shephélah to allow of any conjectures concerning Migdal-gad.
There is a town named Mejdel about 24 miles north-east of Ashkelon (‘Askalan) which is sug- gare as ie the site of Migdal-gad, ental
om the resemblance of the first portion of the name. It is the most important modern town of the district (NdAiet el-Mejdel), has a good weekly market, and a population of about 1500 inhabitants. There is a bazaar in the town; rope-making is carried on outside; the inhabitants are traders, rich and prosperous, and there is a bustle and activity about the place contrasting with most towns in Palestine. There is a mosque with a very con- spicuous minaret, seen for a long distance inland.
he houses are of mud, the water supply from wells and a pond to the east, where there is also a grove of palms. To the north are olive groves
MIGRON
with large trees, and it is a rich corn country. The sandy dunes are encroaching on the west close on to the town.
Eusebius and Jerome (Onom.) mention Magdala, but give no information. This town may be the Magdolon (Μάγδολον) mentioned by Herodotus (ii. 159) where Pharaoh-necho conquered the Syrians (B.C. 608). As the conquest of Cadytis (Jern- salem 3) follows, it is aie conjectured that the Magdolon of Herodotus is the Migdol of the Old Testament (Ex 14°, Nu 337), situated in Lower Egypt (Eusebius, Prep. Evang. ix. 15).
LrreraTuRE.—Dillmann, Jos. ad loc. ; Guérin, Judée, ij. 131; Buhl, GAP 189; Baedeker-Socin, Pal.2 210.
C. WARREN.
MIGDOL (i120, δ, Μάγδωλον), the name of one or more places on the frontier of Egypt. The word is Semitic, and means ‘tower’ ; it is commonly found in composition, as in the names Migdal-el, Migdal- eder, Migdal-gad. Similarly in Egyp. inscriptions of the 19th and 20th Dynasties, at a time when many Semitic words were adopted into the hieroglyphic vocabulary, the word occurs compounded witha the names of different Pharaohs, etc., to designate what appear to have been fortresses on the eastern fron- tier. In OT, however, the simple form Migdol is always found whenever the place in question is in
Egypt. ᾿
n Ex 143, Nu 337 ‘ Migdol’ refers to a place situated between Goshen and the Red Sea, and near the spot where the Israelites crossed the latter. According to a papyrus, there was in this Ἐρξ ΟΣ; near Succoth, a Migdol of the Pharaoh
eti I.
In Jer 44 and 46% Migdol, Noph (Memphis), and Tahpanhes ems) are ae as the cities in which the Jews dwelt in Egypt, together with the country of Pathros (the south country, or Ezekiel twice mentions Migdol as
ΘΝ extremity of the country, the other extremity being Syene (‘from Migdol to Syene,’ the marginal rendering in Ezk 9910 30°, preferable to AV and RV). One of the 2 al routes from Palestine passed along the Wady Tumilat; it is possible that the Migdol of Ex was the first station in Egypt on this route from Syria, and was thus considered as marking the N.E. frontier. But a Roman Itinerary} mentions a Magdolo nearer the coast, only 12 miles south of Pelusium, and this situation (perhaps at the modern Tell el-Hér) agrees still better with the biblical indications. Mashttl, the present form in which the name Migdol occurs in Egypt, is derived through the Coptic; it is found as a village-name three times—twice in the eastern Delta, and once in Middle Egypt. But none of these Mashtfls can be identified with a biblical Migdol. F. Lu. GRIFFITH.
MIGRON (ἡ; B Μαγών, Luc. Mayeddu).—4. A place in Benjamin, in the neighbourhood of Gibeah (1S 143. There are reasons for suspecting that the vocalization of the MT is incorrect, an that a proper name should not be read here at all. The Syr. read 333 ‘by the threshing-floor,’ and Wellh. (Sam. ad loc.) proposes }2323, with the same meaning. This is accepted by Budde (in 5.807), who objects to Klostermann’s emendation © 22 ‘in the common-land,’ that this is hardly an old enough word to be used here. If p> be taken as a proper name, it is a question whether it is to be identified with—2. Migron of Is 10*(B Μαγεδώ, A Μαγεδδώ, i.e. Megiddo, which of course is out οἱ the question). The prophet, in his (ideal) descrip- tion of the Assyrian invasion, mentions Migron as one of the stages in the march of the enemy, and appears to place it north of Michmash, and thus at a considerable distance from Gibeah (cf. v.27), W. R. Smith, indeed, proposes (Journ, of