Bible Encyclopedias
Tower

The 1901 Jewish Encyclopedia

Search for…

Enter query below:

or

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W Y Z

Prev Entry
Tours

Next Entry
Toy, Crawford Howell

Resource Toolbox

Print Article

Additional Links

Concordances
Nave Topical Bible
• Tower
Thompson Chain Reference
• Towers
• Babel, Tower of
Torrey Topical Textbook
• Towers
Dictionaries
American Tract Society
• Towers
CARM Theological Dictionary
• Babel, Tower of
Easton's Bible Dictionary
• Towers
• Tower of the Furnaces
• Siloam, Tower of
•   (only first 3 shown)
Fausset Bible Dictionary
• Towers
• Siloam, Tower of
• Meah, Tower of
•   (only first 3 shown)
Holman Bible Dictionary
• Tower
• Ovens, Tower of the
• Meah, Tower of
•   (only first 3 shown)
Hastings' BibleDictionary
• Watch Tower
• Tower
• Hammeah, the Tower of
•   (only first 3 shown)
Hastings' NT Dictionary
• Tower
King James Dictionary
• Tower
Morrish Bible Dictionary
• Tower
• Siloam, Tower in
• Lebanon, Tower of
•   (only first 3 shown)
1910 New Catholic Dictionary
• Towers, Round
• Round Towers
Hawker's Poor Man's Dictionary
• Tower
Smith Bible Dictionary
• Tower
• Siloam Tower in
• Edar Tower of
•   (only first 3 shown)
Vines' Expository Dictionary
• Tower
• Tower
Wilson's Bible Types
• Tower
Webster Dictionary
• Towering (2)
• Towering
• Towered (2)
•   (only first 3 shown)
Watson's Theological Dictionary
• Tower
Encyclopedias
1911 Encyclopedia Britannica
• Eiffel Tower
• The Tower of London
• Tower
Condensed Biblical Cyclopedia
• Tower of Babel
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
• Babel, Tower of
• David, Tower of
• Furnaces, Tower of the
•   (only first 3 shown)
Kitto Biblical Cyclopedia
• Babel Tower of
McClintock and Strong's Bible Encyclopedia
• Jezreel, Tower of
• Pile-Tower, or Pele-Tower
• Rood-Steeple, or Rood-Tower.
•   (only first 3 shown)
The Nuttall Encyclopedia
• Eiffel Tower
• Leaning Tower
• Martello Towers
•   (only first 3 shown)
The Catholic Encyclopedia
• Tower of Babel
The Jewish Encyclopedia
• Abraham, Tower of
• Babel, Tower of
• Hammeah, Tower of
•   (only first 3 shown)
Lexicons
• ܡܰܓ݂ܕ݁ܠܳܐ
• πύργος
• אַרְמוֹן
• בָּחוֹן
• בַּחוּן , בַּחִין
•   (only first 3 shown)

A building of strength or magnificence (Isaiah 2:15; Song of Solomon 4:4, 7:4), and, with a more limited connotation, a watch-tower in a garden or vineyard or in a fortification. It was customary to erect watch-towers in the vineyards for the guards (Isaiah 5:2), and such round and tapering structures may still be seen in the vineyards of Judea. Similar towers were built for the protection of the flocks by the shepherd, in the enclosures in which the animals were placed for the night (comp. the term "tower of the flock," Genesis 35:21; Micah 4:8), and it is expressly stated that Uzziah built such structures in the desert for his enormous herds (2 Chronicles 26:10). Around these towers dwellings for shepherds and peasants doubtless developed gradually, thus often forming the nuclei of permanent settlements.

Towers for defense were erected chiefly on the walls of fortified cities, the walls themselves being strengthened by bastions (Nehemiah 3:1), and the angles and gates being likewise protected by strong towers (2 Kings 9:17). Thus the walls of the city of Jerusalem were abundantly provided with towers in antiquity, and the ancient tower of Phasael (the so-called "tower of David") in the modern citadel is an excellent specimen of this mode of defense, its substructure being of massive rubblework, and the ancient portion of the tower erected upon it being built of immense square stones (for illustration see Jew. Encyc. 7:142). The citadel forming the center of a fortified city was also termed "migdol" (Judges 8:9, 9:46). It was usually erected at the highest point of the city, and formed the last place of refuge in case the town was besieged and its walls stormed (Judges 9:46).