Ezel (Hastings' Dictionary)
The spot where Jonathan arranged to meet David before the latter's final departure from the court of Saul (I S 20'°). The place is not mentioned else- where, and it is now generally admitted that the Heb. te.xt of this pa.ssage is corrupt. The true reading seems to have been preserved by the LXX, which renders v." Kal Ka6-i)<rji irapd t6 "Epiyd^ (A, Ifiyov) iKcivo, and again, at v." end (where the same place is mentioned), renders /coi Aai/ei5 aviaTri i.irh Tou afiyafi (A, toC inrvov).
The translators evi- dently had the same word before them in both verses, and did not understand it ; they therefore simply transliterated the Hebrew. If, then, we restore from the LXX in v." (m^n) iVn 3!-;xri = ' yonder cairn,' for ^ik.t pxn ; and in v." ^j-jNn 'jjko = 'from beside the cairn,' for 3]3i Sskd, the un- known 'Ezel' of V." dis,appears, and the in- ilclinite terms of v." are replaced by a suitable reference to v."* (so Thenius, Wellh., Driver, Uudde; cf. W. R. Smith, OTJC'^Oi.) J.
F. Stenninq. EZEM (a-iii), 1 Ch 4».— See Azmon.
This topic also has an entry in the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia. Both articles offer independent scholarly perspectives.
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia on Ezel
Ezel e'-zel (ha-'azel; Septuagint para to ergab ekeino): As it stands, the narrative in 1Sa 20:19 records the tryst of Jonathan with David at the stone Ezel. The name occurs only here. There is general agreement that the text is corrupt, but there is no agreement as to how it should be restored. The Septuagint reads "this mound" (the Revised Version (British and American), margin), or "yonder cairn"; and in 1Sa 20:41 instead of "out of a place toward the South" it reads "from beside the mound" or "cairn." Dr. Cheyne suggests "yonder juniper tree" (Encyclopaedia Biblica, under the word). ⇒See a list of verses on EZEL in the Bible. ⇒See also the McClintock and Strong Biblical Cyclopedia.
Smith's Bible Dictionary on Ezel
(departure), The stone, a well-known stone in the neighborhood of Saul’s residence, the scene of the parting of David and Jonathan. (1 Samuel 20:19)
Fausset's Bible Dictionary on Ezel
("the stone".) Near Saul's house, the scene of David and Jonathan's parting (1Sa 20:19). At 1Sa 20:41 instead of "out of a place toward the S." Smith's Bible Dictionary reads, "David arose from close to the stone heap" ('argob for negeb; so Septuagint). But KJV is better, from the side of the S., in relation to Jonathan's position; accordingly David next flees southward, to Nob.
References
- Orr, J. (ed.) (1915) The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia. Chicago: Howard-Severance Company. [Public Domain]
- Easton, M.G. (1893) Easton's Bible Dictionary. 3rd edn. Thomas Nelson. [Public Domain]
- Nave, O.J. (1897) Nave's Topical Bible. Topical Bible Publishing Co.. [Public Domain]
- Hastings, J. (ed.) (1909) A Dictionary of the Bible. Edinburgh: T&T Clark. [Public Domain]
- Smith, W. (ed.) (1884) Smith's Bible Dictionary. London: John Murray. [Public Domain]
- Fausset, A.R. (1878) Fausset's Bible Dictionary. [Public Domain]A Critical and Expository Bible Cyclopaedia