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Bible Encyclopedias
Castle
Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature
or is the rendering in the A. V. of the following words in certain passages:
אִרְמוֹן, armon´, a fortress (Proverbs 18:19; elsewhere uniformly "palace"); טִירָה, tirah´, a wall ("row," Ezekiel 46:23), hence an enclosure, e.g. a fortress ("palace," Song of Solomon 8:9), or a nomade hamlet of palisades (Genesis 25:16; Numbers 21:10; 1 Chronicles 6:54; "palace," Ezekiel 25:4; poetically "habitation," Psalms 69:25); בִּרָנִיטת, biranith´ [from the synonymous בִּירָה, birah´, "palace;" (See BARIS) ], a citadel (2 Chronicles 17:12; 2 Chronicles 27:4); מִגְדָּל, migdal´ (1 Chronicles 27:25), a tower (as elsewhere rendered); מְצָד, metsad´ (1 Chronicles 11:7), or מְצוּדָה, metsudah´ (1 Chronicles 11:5), a fort or stronghold (as elsewhere usually rendered); ἀκρόπολις , acropolis (2 Maccabees 4:27; 2 Maccabees 5:5); πύργος, a tower along a wall (2 Maccabees 10:18; 2 Maccabees 10:20; 2 Maccabees 10:22); παρεμβωλή, a military enclosure (Acts 21:34; Acts 21:37; Acts 22:24; Acts 23:10; Acts 23:16; Acts 23:32) or station ("camp," Hebrews 11:34; Hebrews 13:11; Hebrews 13:13; Revelation 20:9). (See TOWER); (See PALACE,) etc.
Castles among the Hebrews were a kind of military fortress, frequently built on an eminence (1 Chronicles 11:7). The priests' castles, mentioned in 1 Chronicles 6:54, may also have been a kind of tower, for the purpose of making known anything discovered at a distance, and for blowing the trumpets, in like manner as the Mohammedan imams ascend the minarets of the mosques at the present day to call the people to prayers. The castles of the sons of Ishmael, mentioned in Genesis 25:16, were watch-towers, used by the nomad shepherds for security against marauders. The "castle" in Acts 21:34, refers to the quarters of the Roman soldiers at Jerusalem in the fortress Antonia (q.v.), which was adjacent to the Temple and commanded it. (See FORTIFICATION).
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McClintock, John. Strong, James. Entry for 'Castle'. Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature. https://www.studylight.org/encyclopedias/eng/tce/c/castle.html. Harper & Brothers. New York. 1870.
