H5550 H5550
Siege mound, siege ramp — an earthen embankment raised against city walls during military assault
The noun סֹלְלָה (solelah) designates the earthen siege ramp or mound that ancient armies constructed to breach fortified cities. Attackers piled earth, rubble, and timber against the wall until soldiers and battering rams could reach the upper defenses. The word appears exclusively in military contexts: Joab builds one against Abel Beth-Maacah (2 Sam 20:15), the Assyrians threaten Jerusalem with one (2 Kgs 19:32; Isa 37:33), and Ezekiel's symbolic siege of Jerusalem features a mound (Ezek 4:2). Jeremiah uses it repeatedly for the Babylonian siege works around Jerusalem (Jer 6:6; 32:24; 33:4). Spanish 'terraplén/rampa de asedio' and English 'siege ramp' both convey the military engineering precisely.
Senses
1. siege mound, siege ramp — An earthen ramp or embankment constructed against the exterior of a fortified city wall during siege operations, enabling attackers to bring battering rams and troops to wall height. Joab raises one against Abel Beth-Maacah (2 Sam 20:15), Sennacherib threatens but never builds one against Jerusalem (2 Kgs 19:32; Isa 37:33), Nebuchadnezzar's engineers construct them at Jerusalem (Jer 32:24; 33:4), and Ezekiel models one prophetically (Ezek 4:2; 21:27). Daniel 11:15 projects the image into apocalyptic military campaigns. Spanish 'terraplén' and German 'Belagerungswall' reflect the construction imagery. 11×
AR["الْمَتَارِسُ", "الْمَتَارِسِ", "متراسًا", "مِتْرَسًا", "مِتْرَسٍ", "مِتْرَسَةً", "مِصَطَبَةً"]·ben["-ঢিবি", "-ঢিবিগুলির", "ঢিবি", "বাঁধ", "মাটির-ঢিবি", "মাটির-প্রাচীর"]·DE["Belagerung-ramp", "Belagerungsdamm", "[הסללות]", "[סללה]", "ein-Belagerung-mound"]·EN["a-siege-mound", "mound", "siege-mound", "siege-ramp", "the-siege-ramps"]·FR["[הסללות]", "[סוללה]", "[סללה]", "rempart", "siège-ramp", "un-siège-mound"]·heb["ה-סוללות", "סוללה"]·HI["डेर", "ढेर", "दमदमा", "दमदमे", "दमदमों"]·ID["kubu-pertahanan", "tanggul", "tanggul,", "tanggul-pengepungan", "tembok-pengepungan", "tembok-tembok-pengepungan", "timbunan"]·IT["[הסללות]", "[סללה]", "assedio-ramp", "terrapieno", "un-assedio-mound"]·jav["bentèng-bentèng", "bumi", "gunungan-pangepungan", "tanggul", "tanggul-tanggul", "timbunan"]·KO["공격-경사로를", "공격-단", "공격-둑들", "공성-단을", "그-괴성들이", "늨을", "상투를", "토성을"]·PT["aterro", "os-baluartes", "rampa", "uma-muralha"]·RU["вал", "вала", "насыпей", "насыпи", "насыпь", "строить"]·ES["las-rampas", "los-terraplenes", "rampa", "rampa-de-asedio", "terra-plén", "terraplén"]·SW["boma", "chungu", "jaa", "maboma", "ngome", "tuta"]·TR["kuşatma-rampaları", "rampa", "rampalara-o", "toprak-yığını"]·urd["مورچہ", "مورچے", "مٹی-کا-ڈھیر", "پشتہ", "پشتے", "چبوترہ", "ڈھیر", "ڈھیروں", "گراؤ"]
Related Senses
H1129 1. Qal: build, construct (316×)H2691a 1. court, courtyard, enclosure (142×)G4864 1. synagogue, place of Jewish assembly (56×)G5438 1. prison, place of confinement (41×)H4013 1. fortress, stronghold (37×)H0875 1. well, cistern (dug water source) (35×)H0352b 1. pillar or jamb of gateway (32×)H2474 1. window, opening in wall (32×)H1406 1. roof / rooftop (31×)H4609b 1. steps, stairs, stairway (31×)H1129 2. Nifal: be built, be established (30×)H0361 1. portico, porch (architectural structure) (27×)H1129 3. Qal participle: builder (27×)H1219 1. fortified, inaccessible (25×)H4581 1. fortress, stronghold (25×)H3805 1. capital of a pillar (24×)H4350 1. stand, base, pedestal (24×)H0759 1. palace, royal residence (21×)H4692 1. siege, besiegement (20×)G3618 1. build or construct physically (19×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
† סֹלְלָה n.f. mound;—ס׳ 2 S 20:15 + 7 times; סוֹלְלָה Dn 11:15; pl. סֹלְלוֹת Je 32:24; 33:4.—שָׁפַךְ ס׳ עַל־הָעִיר cast up mound against the city, besieging it, 2 K 19:32 = Is 37:33, Je 6:6; Ez 4:2; 26:8; c. אֶל 2 S 20:15 (error for על); without על העיר Ez 17:17; 21:27; Dn 11:15; without vb. Je 32:24; 33:4.