English · KJV
H5550

סֹלְלָה

çôlᵉlâh /so-lel-aw'/ Ask about this word
Rootor סוֹלְלָה · active participle feminine of סָלַל, but used passively
Meaninga military mound, i.e. rampart of besiegers
KJV usagebank, mount.

Word Study

In depth

A plain-language study of çôlᵉlâh — the range of meaning it carries, how Scripture actually uses it, and where it points. Written for readers who don’t know the original language.

Core Meaning & Semantic Range

The Hebrew word çôlᵉlâh, represented by H5550, refers to a military mound or rampart of besiegers. It appears 11 times across 11 unique verses in the Bible. This term specifically denotes an earthen bank or rampart, a key element of ancient siege warfare, constructed to allow an attacking army to overcome a city's defenses.

Biblical Occurrences & Contextual Analysis

In biblical accounts, H5550 is consistently used to describe the physical act of preparing for conquest. Armies would cast H8210 up a bank H5550 against a fortified city to provide a platform for their assault (2 Samuel 20:15, 2 Kings 19:32). These structures were part of a larger strategy that often included building a fort H1785 and appointing battering rams H3733 (Ezekiel 4:2, Ezekiel 21:22). The purpose of the mounts H5550 was to enable an army to take H3920 a city, as seen when the Chaldeans came against Jerusalem Jeremiah 32:24.

Related Words & Concepts

Several related words help illustrate the environment of siege warfare associated with H5550:

  • H1785 dâyêq (fort): This word for a battering-tower often appears alongside H5550. A mount would be cast up and a fort would be built as part of a coordinated siege effort Ezekiel 26:8.
  • H2426 chêyl (trench, rampart): This term describes an intrenchment or bulwark. In one account, a bank H5550 was cast up against a city and stood H5975 in the trench H2426, positioning the attackers against the wall 2 Samuel 20:15.
  • H2719 chereb (sword): A cutting instrument like a sword is often mentioned as one of the instruments of destruction that accompanies a siege, along with the mounts H5550, famine, and pestilence Jeremiah 33:4.

Theological Significance

The theological significance of H5550 is tied to its role as an instrument of divine will, whether for judgment or deliverance.

  • Tool of Divine Judgment: The LORD commands the casting of a mount H5550 against Jerusalem, identifying it as "the city to be visited" for its oppression H6233 Jeremiah 6:6. This shows the siege mound as a tangible means of enacting God's punishment.
  • Fulfillment of Prophecy: Jeremiah acknowledges that the arrival of the mounts H5550 of the Chaldeans is the fulfillment of what the LORD had spoken would come to pass as a consequence of sin Jeremiah 32:24.
  • Sign of Divine Protection: Conversely, God's protection is demonstrated by the absence of a siege mound. The LORD promises that the king of Assyria "shall not come into this city... nor cast a bank against it" (Isaiah 37:33, 2 Kings 19:32).

Summary

In summary, H5550 is more than just a military term; it is a powerful symbol of conquest and judgment in the Old Testament. While physically a military mound used by armies to besiege cities, its presence or absence in the narrative often serves as a barometer of God's disposition toward a people. It represents the inevitable consequence of rebellion against God, but its prevention signifies His sovereign power to deliver and protect His people.

How the KJV Renders It

Translation

Strong’s lists the renderings but not their weight. These are counted from the King James text of the tagged verses — the bar under each is how often the translators actually reached for it. Select one to filter the occurrences below.

Grammatical Forms

Morphology

In the Hebrew Old Testament, this word appears as a noun across 11 occurrences, inflected in 2 grammatical forms — each row is one form, and the bar is how often it is that form. Select any form to read what each part of its name means, and to filter the occurrence list to it.

  • סֹלְלָה
  • סֹּלְלוֹת

Related Words

Related

Other entries the study above points to — each one is drawn from a reference it makes. Follow the trail to see how the words connect.

H8210 שָׁפַךְ a primitive root; to spill forth (blood, a libation, liquid metal; or even a solid, i.e. to mound up); also (figurativel H1785 דָּיֵק from a root corresp. to דּוּק; a battering-tower; fort. H3733 כַּר from כָּרַר in the sense of plumpness; a ram (as full-grown and fat), including a battering-ram (as butting); hence, a m H3920 לָכַד a primitive root; to catch (in a net, trap or pit); generally, to capture or occupy; also to choose (by lot); figurative H2426 חֵיל or (shortened) חֵל; a collateral form of חַיִל; an army; also (by analogy,) an intrenchment; army, bulwark, host, [phras H5975 עָמַד a primitive root; to stand, in various relations (literal and figurative, intransitive and transitive); abide (behind),

Theographic Context

Context

The people, places, and span of history the verses containing this word touch on — drawn from the theographic tagging of Scripture. Select any name to isolate its verses in the occurrence list.

Biblical Distribution

Distribution

Appears in 11 verses across 6 of the 39 books. Most frequent in Ezekiel (4 verses); never once in the other 33.

1
2 Samuel
1
2 Kings
1
Isaiah
3
Jeremiah
4
Ezekiel
1
Daniel

Every Occurrence

Concordance

Every verse where the word is tagged in the King James text. Filter by book, by the English word the translators chose, by grammatical form, or search within the verses.

Sources. Definition and numbering: James Strong, Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible (1890). Morphology: STEPBible / Tyndale House (CC BY). Verse tagging: the King James text keyed to Strong’s numbers. Every count on this page is computed from the tagged corpus, not estimated.