Tower

We meet with an account of many towers in the word of God. The tower of Babel. (Gen. xi. 9.) The tower of Edar. (Gen. xxxv. 21.) The Migdol at Pihahiroth. (Exod. 14. 2.) The tower of Shechem, (Judges ix. 46.) and the like. And we meet with the word tower sometimes made use of by way of figure, such as the tower of the flock, and God is my high tower, &c. The Hebrews called every tower by the general name of Migdol. The church is beautifully compared by Christ to a tower in one of the Songs, Chap. 4: 4. Thy neck (saidJesus) is like the tower of David, builded for an armoury; whereon there hang a thousand bucklers, all shields of mighty men." What a gracious act in the Lord Jesus was it thus to speak of his church under such a comparison! The tower of David, it is well known, was the strong hold of Zion which he took from the Jebusites, which anciently possessed what was not their right, Jerusalem. Now then as David here typified Christ driving out the strong man armed, who possessed the Lord’s Zion not by right, but by deceit; sowhen the church was put in possession by her conquering Lord, her neck, by which may be considered all her members united to the head, even the Lord Jesus, becomes like a tower, impregnable, and which Christ, the true David, builded for an armoury (for it is Christ that builds all, and supports and gives life and strength, to all). Here then on him and his building they hang all their bucklers and shields, even to a thousand and ten thousand; for all is founded in him, and to him, and by him; on him himself they hang all theglory of his Father’s house? And what endears the whole is, that the humblest and east, as well as the highest and the best, are like this neck, like the tower of David, united to the head. For in this gospel day to which the whole refers; "he that is feeble among them at that day shall be as David, and the house of David shall be as God, as the Angel of the Lord before them, (Isaiah xx2: 22, to the end, Zech. x2: 8.) It is very blessed to behold Jesus using such strong and beautiful figures to shew his people’s union and onenesswith him, and their everlasting safety and security in him.

“The tower of the flock,” or the tower of Ader, Mic 4:8. It is said this tower was in the neighbourhood of Bethlehem, Gen 35:21, and that the shepherds to whom the angels revealed the birth of our Saviour were near to this tower, Luk 2:8; Luk 2:15. Many interpreters assert, that the passage of Micah: in which mention is made of the tower of the flock: “And thou tower of the flock, the strong hold of the daughter of Zion,” is to be understood of the city of Bethlehem, out of which our Saviour was to come. Others maintain, that the prophet speaks of the city of Jerusalem, in which there was a tower of this name, through which the flocks of sheep were driven to the sheep-market. “From the tower of the watchmen to the fenced city,” 2Ki 17:9. This form of speaking expresses in general all the places of the country, from the least to the greatest. The towers of the watchmen, or of the shepherds, stood alone in the midst of the plain, in which the shepherds and herdsmen who looked after the flocks, or watchmen, might lodge. King Uzziah caused several towers to be built for the shepherds in the desert, and made many cisterns there, because he had a great number of flocks, 2Ch 26:10.

The tower of the flock, and that which Isa 5:2, notices, which was built in the midst of a vineyard, were of the same kind.

TOWER OF BABEL. See BABEL.

TOWER OF SHECHEM was a citadel, or fortress, standing upon a higher ground than the rest of the city, and capacious enough to contain above a thousand persons. This tower, filled with the inhabitants of Shechem, was burned by Abimelech down to the very ground, together with those who had taken refuge in it.

Tower. Watch-towers, or fortified posts, in frontier, or exposed situations, are mentioned in Scripture, as the tower of Edar, etc., Gen 35:21; Isa 21:5; Isa 21:8; Isa 21:11 Mic 4:8; etc.; the tower of Lebanon. 2Sa 8:6. Besides these military structures, we read in Scripture, of towers built in vineyards, as an almost necessary appendage to them. 1Sa 5:2; Mat 22:33; Mar 12:1. Such towers are still in use in Palestine, in vineyards, especially near Hebron, and are used as lodges, for the keepers of the vineyards.

Often referred to in scripture as a place of security, and also as a place of defence, on which watchmen were stationed. There were such on the walls of Jerusalem. Psa 48:12; Psa 61:3; 2Ki 9:17. The term is also used symbolically: "the name of Jehovah is a strong tower." Pro 18:10.

TOWER.—‘Tower’ (πύργος) is mentioned three times in the Lord’s teaching: in the parable of the Wicked Husbandmen (Mat 21:33, Mar 12:1), in the allusion to an accident in Siloam which led to the loss of eighteen lives (Luk 13:4), and in the illustration of the builder who was unable to complete his undertaking (Luk 14:28). Two, if not three, kinds of tower may be referred to in these passages:—(1) The builder who exposed himself to ridicule by beginning what he could not finish (Luk 14:28) may be thought of as building a house. The larger houses in the Holy Land are sometimes provided at one end with a tower-like annex. A good representation of one in the neighbourhood of Sidon is given in the Polychrome Bible (‘Judges,’ p. 59). The ‘alîyyâh or upper storey, seen from a little distance, must suggest a tower rather than a dwelling-house (see also Land and Book, ed. 1874, p. 160). (2) The tower in Siloam (ἐν τῷ Σιλωάμ, Luk 13:4) may have been connected with some fortifications. The walls of ancient Oriental cities were generally provided with towers at frequent intervals. Many illustrations could be given from Assyrian sculptures, and the old wall in the Jerusalem of the 1st cent. a.d. had sixty towers (Josephus BJ v. iv. 3), two of which, Hippicus and Phasaelus, are probably represented to some extent by two of the towers of the modern citadel, the latter being partly preserved in the so-called David’s Tower (Picturesque Palestine, i. pp. 1, 5, 7–11). Edersheim (Life of Jesus the Messiah, ii. 222) suggests that the tower may have been connected with the building of the aqueduct constructed by Pilate with money taken from the temple treasury (Josephus Ant. xviii. iii. 2; BJ ii. ix. 4); but that is unsupported conjecture. If the Tower was situated literally in Siloam, the nature of the ground may help to explain the accident. The village of Silwân, which represents the ancient Siloam, ‘is built on a steep escarpment of rock, on which a building with good foundations would stand for ever; ill-laid foundations would drop their superstructure to the very bottom of the valley’ (Hasting’s Dictionary of the Bible , art. ‘Tower’). For the Tower of Antonia see art. Jerusalem. (3) The vineyard tower referred to in the two other passages (Mat 21:33, Mar 12:1; cf. Is 5:2) can be illustrated from ancient ruins and modern practice. Tristram remarks (Eastern Customs in Bible Lands, p. 139 f.) that ‘in many cases we still find the remains of the solidly-built tower which commanded a view of the whole enclosure, and was probably the permanent residence of the keeper through the summer and autumn.’ Dr. W. Wright observes that every vineyard and garden in Syria has its tower (Palmyra and Zenobia, p. 332 f.). A representation is given in that work (p. 279) of a stone tower in the Hauran constructed of black basalt, with a stone loft at the height of 14 feet, reached by a spiral staircase (see also Porter, Jerusalem, Bethlehem, and Bethany, p. 18; Stanley, Sinai and Palestine, 421).

Literature.—Besides the authorities cited above, see Heber-Percy, Bashan and Argob, p. 123 ff.; Swete on Mark 12.

W. Taylor Smith.

(Hebr. ):

By: Emil G. Hirsch, Immanuel Benzinger

A building of strength or magnificence (Isa. ii. 15; Cant. iv. 4, vii. 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 (Isa. v. 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," Gen. xxxv. 21; Micah iv. 8), and it is expressly stated that Uzziah built such structures in the desert for his enormous herds (II Chron. xxvi. 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 (Neh. iii. 1), and the angles and gates being likewise protected by strong towers (II Kings ix. 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. vii. 142). The citadel forming the center of a fortified city was also termed "migdol" (Judges viii. 9, ix. 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 ix. 46).

TOWER.—See Fortification and Siegecraft, §§ 2, 4. For ‘Tower of Babel’ see Tongues [Confusion of].

tou´ẽr. See FORTIFICATION, I., 5.; CITY, II., 1.

2Sa 22:51 (b) The tower is a type of the high and safe place occupied by the children of GOD who hide in CHRIST and dwell in the secret place of the Most High. (See also Psa 18:2; Psa 61:3; Psa 144:2; Pro 18:10).

Son 7:4 (a) Ivory is very valuable and beautiful. A tower is firm and substantial. These qualities are evidently referred to as characteristic of the bride. The tower of Lebanon was evidently a lookout tower, facing Syria where the watchman could discern quickly the coming of the enemy. It probably means that the bride had a great sense of discernment and could easily and quickly discern that which was evil or wrong, or was from the enemy.

Jer 6:27 (a) Jeremiah was the center of GOD’s work and power among the people of Israel. From him came the words of warning and entreaty. Through him GOD sent His messages, His commands, and made known His desires.

Mic 4:8 (a) Mount Zion is a high, rocky fortress, quite difficult to ascend, very steep. It was recognized as the very center of the defense of Jerusalem and of Judah.

Mat 21:33 (b) This tower probably represents Mount Zion in the midst of Israel, and of Jerusalem, and was a watch-tower from which the enemy could be seen for many miles away. CHRIST is referring partly to the history of Israel, and partly to the present time when He is away in the far country.

Luk 14:28 (b) This is a type of any great work of GOD which a man of GOD builds for the honor of the Lord JESUS CHRIST. This is illustrated in the great school built by Moody in Chicago, the great work in China built by Hudson Taylor, and the wonderful work in the Sudan built by R. V. Bingham. GOD would have all His children building something for His glory.