Bible Dictionary
TOWER OF LEBANON
The Tower of Lebanon is mentioned in Song of Solomon 7:4 as looking toward Damascus. It is understood as a prominent tower-like feature in the eastern Lebanon range, possibly associated with the summit region of Hermon.
Definition
The Tower of Lebanon is a tower-like feature mentioned in the Song of Solomon and described as looking toward Damascus. It is associated with the eastern range of Lebanon.
Biblical Usage
The phrase occurs in the poetic description of the beloved’s beauty. Its reference to Damascus supplies the directional description of the tower.
Historical Background
The source identifies it with something in the eastern Lebanon range, possibly the chief summit of Hermon. A tower-like temple had stood there from ancient times, and the summit offered an extensive view in which Damascus appeared comparatively near.
Historical Bible Dictionaries
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (ISBE)
<p>(mighdal ha-lebhanon): (So 7:4)): The designation "which looketh toward Damascus" compels us to identify it with some portion of, or something in, the eastern range of "Lebanon, toward the sun-rising" (Jos 13:5). It would then of necessity correspond to the chief summit of Hermon, on which there has been from ancient times also a tower-like temple, and from which the view is almost of boundless extent, Damascus with its gardens and groves being surprisingly near and appearing like a beautiful island in a wide extended sea.</p><p>See LEBANON.</p><p>W. M. Christie</p>