The Tower That Bears a Questionable Name

There is a place in the inheritance of Judah, mentioned only once in all of Scripture, that stands as a silent sentinel over a mystery. It appears in Joshua 15:37, nestled among the towns of the lowland: “Zenan, and Hadashah, and Migdalgad.” The name itself is a compound—migdal meaning “tower,” and Gad meaning “fortune” or “good luck.” This single occurrence carries a weight far beyond its brevity, for it speaks of a tower dedicated to a thing that cannot save. The usage count is one, yet that one mention echoes through the ages as a warning and a promise.

The Tower of Fortune: Etymology and the Hidden Letters

The word Migdal-Gad (מִגְדַּל־גָּד) is woven from two threads. The first, migdal, comes from the root gadal, meaning “to be great” or “to be magnified.” A tower is a place of elevation, a structure that rises above the plain, a symbol of strength and watchfulness. The second thread, Gad, is the name of Jacob’s seventh son, born of Zilpah, Leah’s handmaid. Leah named him Gad, saying, “How fortunate!” (Genesis 30:11). Yet the word Gad also carries a darker resonance in Israel’s history—it became associated with the pagan deity of fortune, the same god the rebellious Israelites secretly worshipped in the valley of Hinnom (Isaiah 65:11). The ancient sages teach that a name is not merely a label but a destiny. Here, a tower is raised to fortune—to the belief that luck, chance, or a nameless power can be a stronghold. The paleo-Hebrew letters tell the story: mem (water, chaos), gimel (camel, carrying), dalet (door, pathway), lamed (staff, authority), and gimel again, ending with dalet. It is a picture of a doorway carried through chaotic waters by a staff of authority—but the authority is misplaced, leaning on fortune rather than the God who opens and shuts doors.

The Naming Context: A Land Divided, A People Tested

Migdal-Gad appears in the catalogue of Judah’s inheritance, a list of cities that marked the boundaries of the tribe chosen to carry the scepter (Genesis 49:10). The book of Joshua records these names with the precision of a surveyor, for the land was not merely dirt and stone—it was the promise of Abraham made tangible. Yet within this holy geography, a town called “Tower of Fortune” stands as a test. Why would the people of God give such a name to a settlement? Jewish tradition holds that the naming of places often reflected the spiritual condition of those who built them. Perhaps Migdal-Gad was a Canaanite city absorbed into Judah, its name left as a reminder of the worship that had to be purged. Or perhaps, in a moment of weakness, Israel themselves built it as a declaration that their prosperity came from luck rather than from the hand of the Lord. The text does not explain; it only records. And in that silence, you are invited to search your own heart: do you have towers in your life named after fortune?

The Defining Moment: A Single Witness in the Text

Joshua 15:37 is the sole appearance of this name in the Tanakh, and it arrives without fanfare. There is no battle, no prophecy, no dramatic encounter. The verse simply lists Migdal-Gad among the twenty-nine cities of the lowland region. Yet this very obscurity is its defining moment. The rabbis of old observed that what is hidden often contains greater treasure than what is displayed. This tower appears once, and then vanishes—as if to teach that the pursuit of fortune is a fleeting thing. The lowland, or Shephelah, was the buffer zone between the coastal plains of the Philistines and the hill country of Judah. It was a place of constant struggle, where faith was tested by the proximity of enemies. To build a tower to fortune in such a place was to mock the God who had delivered Israel from Egypt, parted the sea, and brought down the walls of Jericho. The single mention of Migdal-Gad stands as a witness against every generation that has trusted in luck rather than in covenant.

The Failure and the Fall: The Idolatry of Good Luck

The tragedy of Migdal-Gad is not that it was destroyed—Scripture does not record its fall—but that it was built at all. The prophet Isaiah thundered against those who “prepare a table for Gad” (Isaiah 65:11), a direct reference to offering sacrifices to the god of fortune. This was not an abstract sin; it was a betrayal of the first commandment. The failure of Israel was always the same: they forgot that their prosperity came from the Lord who brought them out of the iron furnace. They looked to the nations around them, saw their altars to chance and fate, and thought that perhaps a little luck would secure their future. But fortune is a fickle master. The tower that stood for good luck could not withstand the judgment of God. The apostolic tradition teaches that every idol is a lie, and a lie cannot be a foundation. Migdal-Gad is a monument to misplaced trust—a lesson carved in stone that you are not to build your life on the shifting sands of chance.

The Covenant Promise: From a Tower of Fortune to a Tower of the Flock

Yet even in this obscure name, there is a thread of redemption. The word migdal appears elsewhere in Scripture with a far holier significance. The prophet Micah speaks of the “tower of the flock” (Migdal Eder, Micah 4:8), a place connected to the Messiah’s birth. The sages teach that the same word for “tower” that marked a place of pagan fortune could be transformed into a watchtower over the sheep of Israel. The covenant promise is this: the Lord does not abandon the places that bear tainted names. He redeems them. The lowland cities of Judah, including Migdal-Gad, were part of the land given to the tribe that would produce David and, ultimately, the Son of David. The very geography of redemption passes through these towns. Your own life may have places named after fortune, chance, or failure—but the Lord’s covenant is not broken by the names you have given to your towers. He can rename them.

The Gematria of 84: The Number of the Longing

The letters of Migdal-Gad sum to eighty-four. In the Hebrew numerical system, eighty-four is the value of the word pedut, meaning “ransom” or “redemption.” It is also the number of years that the prophetess Anna waited in the Temple, serving God with fasting and prayer, until she saw the infant Yeshua (Luke 2:36-38). The number eighty-four is not random—it is the sum of seven times twelve, a number of divine perfection multiplied by the number of Israel’s tribes. The rabbis of old observed that redemption often comes after a period of waiting, and that the number of completion is often preceded by the number of expectation. Migdal-Gad, the tower of fortune, carries within its very numerical value the promise that the ransom of God will come. The tower built by human hands to honor luck cannot stand against the tower of God’s redemption. The number eighty-four whispers that even in a place of misplaced trust, the Lord is preparing a ransom.

Yeshua and the Tower of the True Fortune

The Messiah Yeshua came to tear down every tower built to fortune and to raise up a tower of grace. In the Gospel of John, He declared, “I am the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6). The word “truth” in Hebrew is emet, the same letters that form the seal of God. Yeshua did not come to offer you good luck—He came to offer you Himself. The tower of fortune is a lie because it promises security without relationship, blessing without covenant. But the Messiah is the true Migdal, the tower of strength, into whom the righteous run and are safe (Proverbs 18:10). He took upon Himself the curse of misplaced faith, dying on a Roman cross that looked like the ultimate failure of fortune, yet became the ultimate victory of divine purpose. Where Migdal-Gad offered a tower of chance, Yeshua offers a tower of steadfast love. The early church understood that every name in the land of Judah, even the forgotten ones, pointed to the One who would fulfill every promise and redeem every failure.

A Call to Examine Your Towers

And so I ask you, beloved—what towers have you built in your life? Have you raised a Migdal-Gad in your heart, trusting in the fortune of a career, the luck of a relationship, the chance of a financial windfall? The name appears only once in Scripture, as if to say: do not let this be the foundation of your life. The Lord who numbered the cities of Judah has numbered your days, and He does not deal in chance. He deals in covenant. The tower of fortune will crumble, but the tower of the Lord stands forever. Repent of the altars you have built to luck, and run into the strong tower of Yeshua the Messiah. He is the ransom, the redemption, and the true fortune of your soul. May you tear down what must fall, and may the only tower that remains in your life be the one that bears His name.