StrongerBible

dagal

דָּגַל

HebrewH1713“distinguished, outstanding, ...”

Appears 4 times · tap a cell to see the verses

Psa 20:5(6)Sng 5:10Sng 6:4Sng 6:10
Root family
Word studyResearch-gradedah-GAHLverb

What dagal means

to stand out and be seen: to be conspicuous, singled out, or raised up so as to catch the eye

TranslatabilityPartialCertaintyStrong

At its core this verb is about visibility. Its old root sense has to do with looking and being looked at, so to be this word is to be conspicuous: to stand above the crowd, to be marked out, to be raised up where everyone can see. It is not about being high in itself, but about being noticed.

The handful of times it appears fan out from that one idea.

  • A single person can stand out among thousands (Song of Songs 5:10).
  • A group can be so striking that it inspires awe, whether the picture is marching troops, the blazing stars, or simply the grandest sights in view (Song of Songs 6:4, 6:10).
  • A people can lift something up, or be lifted up themselves, in a moment of triumph before God (Psalm 20:5).

In every case the thread is the same: something is made prominent, set where it will be seen.

English Bibles often reach for the word "banner" here, because a closely related noun (דגל) came to mean a standard, an ensign, or a military division rallied around it. That connection is real, but the verb itself is about being conspicuous, and whether the flag picture is the right one is debated in more than one of these verses.

Nuances

1ato be distinguished, to stand out above the rest
TranslatabilityApproximateCertaintySettled
Sng 5:10
1bto be strikingly conspicuous, awe-inspiring in one's visible display
CertaintyContested
Sng 6:4Sng 6:10
Sng 6:4

What the plural participle refers to in this verse: an army arrayed with banners, the stars or constellations, or the awe-inspiring sights just named.

  • contestedAn army arrayed with banners, so the beloved is as awe-inspiring as marshaled troops.; Michael V. Fox, The Song of Songs and the Ancient Egyptian Love Songs (1985); Tremper Longman III, Song of Songs, NICOT (2001)
  • contestedThe stars or constellations in their brilliance, a heavenly term to stand beside the sun and moon of the surrounding lines.; S. D. Goitein, Ayummah Kannidgalot, Journal of Semitic Studies 10 (1965): 220-21; Ariel and Chana Bloch, The Song of Songs: A New Translation (1995)
  • minorityA pointer back to the grand sights just named (Tirzah, Jerusalem, the sun, the moon): as awesome as they are.; Robert Gordis, The Root DGL in the Song of Songs, Journal of Biblical Literature 88 (1969): 203-204; J. Cheryl Exum, Song of Songs, Old Testament Library (2005)
Sng 6:10

What the plural participle refers to in this verse: an army arrayed with banners, the stars or constellations, or the awe-inspiring sights just named.

  • contestedAn army arrayed with banners, so the beloved is as awe-inspiring as marshaled troops.; Michael V. Fox, The Song of Songs and the Ancient Egyptian Love Songs (1985); Duane Garrett, Song of Songs, WBC 23B (2004)
  • contestedThe stars or constellations, matched to the dawn, moon, and sun named in the same verse.; S. D. Goitein, Ayummah Kannidgalot, Journal of Semitic Studies 10 (1965): 220-21; Ariel and Chana Bloch, The Song of Songs: A New Translation (1995)
  • minorityA pointer back to the grand sights just named: as awesome as they are.; Robert Gordis, The Root DGL in the Song of Songs, Journal of Biblical Literature 88 (1969): 203-204
1cto raise something up in triumph, or to be lifted high, before God
CertaintyObscure
Psa 20:5(6)
Psa 20:5

How to read the one uncertain verb here: set up banners, be exalted, or shout for joy.

  • contestedWe will set up our banners in the name of our God, taking the verb from the noun for standard or banner.; Peter C. Craigie, Psalms 1-50, WBC 19, 2nd ed. (2004); Mitchell Dahood, Psalms I: 1-50, Anchor Bible 16 (1966)
  • minorityRead the root as be great or be magnified, as the earliest Greek translation already did.; Charles A. Briggs, A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Book of Psalms, ICC (1906)
  • minorityAdjust the word to we will shout for joy, matching the parallel line we will sing.; Hans-Joachim Kraus, Psalms 1-59: A Continental Commentary (1988)

What scholars say about dagal

Modern lexicography has moved away from treating the noun degel as primarily a physical flag and now anchors the root in the Akkadian cognate dagalu, to look or gaze, so that the verbal forms are read as being seen or conspicuous rather than as raising a flag. HALOT and DCH formally split the material into a look or be conspicuous verb and a separate banner root, while TDOT and NIDOTTE keep a single root with the trajectory to look, to be conspicuous, to be a raised marker. The passive participle at Song 5:10 is the anchor, read as distinguished or conspicuous across the commentary tradition; the plural participles at Song 6:4 and 6:10 are genuinely contested between an army with banners (Fox, Longman, Garrett), the stars or constellations (Goitein, Bloch and Bloch), and a deictic pointer to the sights just named (Gordis, Exum); and the hapax at Psalm 20:5 is textually uncertain, with the ancient versions and modern critics divided between set up banners, be magnified, and shout for joy.

Where scholars disagree about dagal

Whether the verbal forms reflect a single root meaning to be conspicuous or raised to be seen, or include a separate denominative verb to set up a banner derived from the noun.

  • majorityOne root: the verb means to be conspicuous, gazed upon, or standing out, cognate with Akkadian dagalu, to look; the banner idea belongs to the derived noun, not to a distinct verb.; Ludwig Koehler and Walter Baumgartner, The Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament, s.v. I דגל; G. Johannes Botterweck and Helmer Ringgren, eds., Theological Dictionary of the Old Testament, vol. III, s.v. דָּגַל
  • minorityTwo roots: alongside the look or be conspicuous verb stands a distinct denominative verb to raise a banner, invoked especially for the reading of Psalm 20:5.; David J. A. Clines, ed., The Dictionary of Classical Hebrew, vol. II, s.v. דגל II
In-depth research

This is a research paper, so it may be hard to read without scholarly background. It is useful if you want to dig even deeper into this word.

Sources

  • Ludwig Koehler and Walter Baumgartner, The Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament, s.v. I דגל, II דגלlexicon
  • Francis Brown, S. R. Driver, C. A. Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), 186-87, s.v. דָּגַלlexicon
  • David J. A. Clines, ed., The Dictionary of Classical Hebrew, vol. II (1995), 413-14, s.vv. דגל I, דגל IIlexicon
  • G. Johannes Botterweck and Helmer Ringgren, eds., Theological Dictionary of the Old Testament, vol. III, s.v. דָּגַל / דֶּגֶלdictionary
  • Robert Gordis, The Root DGL in the Song of Songs, Journal of Biblical Literature 88 (1969): 203-204article
  • S. D. Goitein, Ayummah Kannidgalot (Song of Songs vi.10): Splendid Like the Brilliant Stars, Journal of Semitic Studies 10 (1965): 220-21article
  • Marvin H. Pope, Song of Songs, Anchor Bible 7C (1977)commentary
  • Peter C. Craigie, Psalms 1-50, WBC 19, 2nd ed. (2004)commentary

AI-generated word study · claude-opus-4-8

All attested forms of דָּגַל

niphal participle f p absolute

נִּדְגָּלוֹת

Sng 6:4, Sng 6:10

qal imperfect 1cp

נִדְגֹּל

Psa 20:5

qal passive-participle m s absolute

דָּגוּל

Sng 5:10