[Avodah] Arba'a Turim

[Micha Berger]

On Tue, Feb 24, 2026 at 12:00:12PM -0500, Akiva Miller via Avodah wrote:
> Most translations render "tur" as "row", but very unfortunately, most
> people read that without realizing that "row" is an ambiguous word. They
> think that the four turim are horizontal rows, like in a chart or table,
> with the first row on top, and the fourth on the bottom. But isn't it true
> that the predecessor to the Shulchan Aruch, namely the Arbaa Turim, is
> often depicted as four vertical *columns*?

As per your usage, we usually call a vertical row a "column".

...

> In our parsha, Onkelos translates "tur" as "sidra" - an orderly
> arrangement, like Wiktionary's first definition, not related to rows or
> columns. I believe this is also true of how "tur" is used in Melachim 1
> 7:12, Yechezkel 46:23, and Divrei Hayamim 2 4:3.
> In our parsha, Onkelos translates "tur" as "sidra" - an orderly
> arrangement...

>From which we get the word "tor", as in a turn or an appointment. I
thought of it as a row in time.

I think the usage in Melakhim is a (horizonal) row. The cedar beams
stood vertically, like the kerashim they replace, in a row.

Similarly, Yechezqeil's "hatiros" are layers of brick. Physical
horizontal row.

And Divrei haYamim is talking about rows of cow images "saviv saviv".

So I see all of the citations as talking about horizontal rows.

> Encyclopedia Talmudit, volume 1, has an article titled "Avnei Choshen
> v'Ephod", which brings two opinions at the top of column 93. According to
> the Pesikta Zutresa (Parshas Tetzaveh, and Chizkuni there), the four turim
> are horizontal rows, and the three jewels of each row are placed in the
> Choshen from right to left. According to Minchas Chinuch 99, the four turim
> are vertical columns; the first column being on the right, and the three
> jewels of each column are placed in the Choshen from top to bottom.

Despite my inability to find a use of "tur" to mean column, the
MC concludes it must mean that here because (1) symmetry would have
it match the columns of names on the avnei shoham; (2) the kohein
gadol's body is more of a column shape than a row; (3) we read
in columns of rows, eg amudim in a sefer Torah. 

This is after citing the Ramban as saying the names were arranged
horizonally.

The MC makes other arguments, but I am not sure how they differ from #3.

See a physical copy or
https://hebrewbooks.org/pdfpager.aspx?req=14093&pgnum=224
because the usual suspects are text only, so the tables he uses
to show you the layouts don't make sense.

Tir'u baTov!
-Micha

-- 
Micha Berger                 Today is the 35th day, which is
http://www.aishdas.org/asp   5 weeks in/toward the omer.
Author: Widen Your Tent      Malchus sheb'Hod: What is soul-like about
- https://amzn.to/2JRxnDF                submission, and how is it glorious?