Ensign

13 verses

Numbers

And the children of Israel shall pitch their tents, every man by his own camp, and every man by his own standard, throughout their hosts.

Psalms

Psalms 20:5

We will rejoice in thy salvation, and in the name of our God we will set up our banners: the LORD fulfil all thy petitions.

Psalms 74:4

Thine enemies roar in the midst of thy congregations; they set up their ensigns for signs.

Isaiah

Isaiah 5:26

And he will lift up an ensign to the nations from far, and will hiss unto them from the end of the earth: and, behold, they shall come with speed swiftly:

Isaiah 11:10

And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek: and his rest shall be glorious.

Isaiah 11:12

And he shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth.

Isaiah 18:3

All ye inhabitants of the world, and dwellers on the earth, see ye, when he lifteth up an ensign on the mountains; and when he bloweth a trumpet, hear ye.

Isaiah 30:17

One thousand shall flee at the rebuke of one; at the rebuke of five shall ye flee: till ye be left as a beacon upon the top of a mountain, and as an ensign on an hill.

Isaiah 31:9

And he shall pass over to his strong hold for fear, and his princes shall be afraid of the ensign, saith the LORD, whose fire is in Zion, and his furnace in Jerusalem.

Isaiah 49:22

Thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, I will lift up mine hand to the Gentiles, and set up my standard to the people: and they shall bring thy sons in their arms, and thy daughters shall be carried upon their shoulders.

Isaiah 62:10

Go through, go through the gates; prepare ye the way of the people; cast up, cast up the highway; gather out the stones; lift up a standard for the people.

Jeremiah

Jeremiah 4:6

Set up the standard toward Zion: retire, stay not: for I will bring evil from the north, and a great destruction.

Jeremiah 50:2

Declare ye among the nations, and publish, and set up a standard; publish, and conceal not: say, Babylon is taken, Bel is confounded, Merodach is broken in pieces; her idols are confounded, her images are broken in pieces.

From Easton's Bible Dictionary

Matthew George Easton, 1897

(1.) Heb. ‘oth, a military standard, especially of a single tribe (Num. 2:2). Each separate tribe had its own “sign” or “ensign.”

(2.) Heb. nes, a lofty signal, as a column or high pole (Num. 21:8, 9); a standard or signal or flag placed on high mountains to point out to the people a place of rendezvous on the irruption of an enemy (Isa. 5:26; 11:12; 18:3; 62:10; Jer. 4:6, 21; Ps. 60:4). This was an occasional signal, and not a military standard. Elevation and conspicuity are implied in the word.

(3.) The Hebrew word degel denotes the standard given to each of the four divisions of the host of the Israelites at the Exodus (Num. 1:52; 2:2; 10:14). In Cant. 2:4 it is rendered “banner.” We have no definite information as to the nature of these military standards. (See BANNER.)

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From Smith's Bible Dictionary

William Smith, 1884

(nes ; in the Authorized Version generally "ensign," sometimes "standard;" degel , "standard," with the exception of (Solomon 2:4) "banner;" oth , "ensign"). This distinction between these three Hebrew terms is sufficiently marked by their respective uses. Nes is a signal , and not a military standard. It is an occasional signal, which was exhibited on the top of a pole from a bare mountain-top, (Isaiah 13:2; 18:3) degel a military standard for a large division of an army; and oth the same for a small one. Neither of them, however, expresses the idea which "standard" conveys to our minds, viz. a flag. The standards in use among the Hebrews probably resembled those of the Egyptians and Assyrians --a figure or device of some kind elevated on a pole; usually a sacred emblem, such as an animal, a boat, or the king’s name.