Migdol

Since migdol could be used as a proper name, Migdol, or as a common noun, “tower,” two questions remain unresolved. What is the exact location of the site of Migdol? Do all of the references to Migdol refer to the same site, or was there more than one site in Egypt named Migdol? More than one site may have borne the name Migdol, though the evidence we have at hand is inconclusive. The Amarna Letters from Egypt refer to an Egyptian city named Maagdali, but information about its location is not given. See Amarna tell el. For instance a papyrus manuscript mentions the Migdol of Pharoah Seti I. This Migdol was located near Tjeku, the location of which is still debated. Some prefer to identify Tjeku with Succoth, modern-day tell el-Maskhutah, while others identify it with tell el-Her located further north near Pelusium. For this reason we may assume with some certainty that there were at least two sites named Migdol: the Migdol referred to by Jeremiah and Ezekiel located near Pelusium, and the Migdol on the route of the Exodus located near Succoth. Both may have been part of a line of border fortresses or migdols designed to provide protection for Egypt against invasion from the Sinai. See Watchtower, Egypt.

LaMoine DeVries