# What Was the Millo in the Bible? > The Millo is a filled rampart in the city of David. David built from Millo inward, Solomon built it and repaired his father’s breaches, and Hezekiah repaired it. The house of Millo at Shechem is a different place. - Canonical: https://apologetics.wiki/christianity/what-was-the-millo-in-the-bible - Religions: Christianity - Denominations: none - Beliefs: none - Tags: millo, jerusalem, david - Updated: 2026-10-13 The Millo is part of David’s city that the kings built or repaired. [2 Samuel 5:9](/bible/2-samuel/5/9) [(1)](#ref-1) says David dwelt in the fort, called it the city of David, and built round about from Millo and inward. [1 Kings 9:15](/bible/1-kings/9/15) [(2)](#ref-2) lists Millo with the temple, Solomon’s house, the wall of Jerusalem, Hazor, Megiddo, and Gezer. [2 Chronicles 32:5](/bible/2-chronicles/32/5) [(4)](#ref-4) says Hezekiah repaired Millo in the city of David. The Hebrew word page, [Millo (H4407)](/bible/hebrew/milo-h4407), glosses it as a rampart, as filled in, that is, the citadel. The house of Millo at Shechem in [Judges 9](/bible/judges/9) [(6)](#ref-6) is not that Jerusalem work. ## Key Points - [2 Samuel 5:7](/bible/2-samuel/5/7) [(1)](#ref-1) says David took the stronghold of Zion, “the same is the city of David.” [2 Samuel 5:9](/bible/2-samuel/5/9) says he built from Millo inward. - [1 Kings 9:15](/bible/1-kings/9/15) [(2)](#ref-2) is Solomon’s levy for the house of the Lord, his own house, Millo, and the wall of Jerusalem, with Hazor, Megiddo, and Gezer. [1 Kings 9:24](/bible/1-kings/9/24) says that after Pharaoh’s daughter came up out of the city of David, he built Millo. [1 Kings 11:27](/bible/1-kings/11/27) says Solomon built Millo and repaired the breaches of the city of David his father. - [1 Chronicles 11:8](/bible/1-chronicles/11/8) [(3)](#ref-3) says he built the city from Millo round about, and Joab repaired the rest. [2 Chronicles 32:5](/bible/2-chronicles/32/5) [(4)](#ref-4) says Hezekiah repaired Millo in the city of David when he strengthened the broken wall. - [2 Kings 12:20](/bible/2-kings/12/20) [(5)](#ref-5) says Joash was killed in the house of Millo, which goes down to Silla. He was buried in the city of David. [Judges 9:6](/bible/judges/9/6) [(6)](#ref-6) is a different house of Millo, at Shechem, with the men who made Abimelech king. - The lexicon line on [Millo (H4407)](/bible/hebrew/milo-h4407) is “a rampart (as filled in), i.e. the citadel,” and it points to H1037, Beth-Millo, “the name of two citadels.” The verb “to fill” is מָלֵא ([H4390](/bible/hebrew/male-h4390)). This page does not identify the rampart with a particular excavated terrace. ## David and the City of David [2 Samuel 5:9](/bible/2-samuel/5/9) [(1)](#ref-1): > So David dwelt in the fort, and called it the city of David. And David built round about from Millo and inward. [2 Samuel 5:7](/bible/2-samuel/5/7) names the place he took: the stronghold of Zion, the same is the city of David. The building note is “from Millo and inward.” The verse does not give a length, a height, or a modern street. [1 Chronicles 11:8](/bible/1-chronicles/11/8) [(3)](#ref-3) retells the work: “And he built the city round about, even from Millo round about: and Joab repaired the rest of the city.” The Hebrew token in [2 Samuel 5:9](/bible/2-samuel/5/9) is the word the interlinear files as מִלּוֹא ([millô, H4407](/bible/hebrew/milo-h4407)), with the article on the form in the verse. Letters inside the word run right to left on that page. The lexicon gloss there calls it a rampart as filled in, the citadel. מָלֵא ([H4390](/bible/hebrew/male-h4390)) is the verb “to fill,” which is the ordinary sense behind the English “filled in.” The verse itself says David built. It does not narrate a filling ceremony. ## Solomon and Hezekiah [1 Kings 9:15](/bible/1-kings/9/15) [(2)](#ref-2) gives the reason for the levy Solomon raised: to build the house of the Lord, his own house, Millo, the wall of Jerusalem, Hazor, Megiddo, and Gezer. Millo sits in that list between his house and the wall, and before the three cities outside Jerusalem. [1 Kings 9:24](/bible/1-kings/9/24) times one stage of the work: Pharaoh’s daughter came up out of the city of David to the house Solomon had built for her, and “then did he build Millo.” [1 Kings 11:27](/bible/1-kings/11/27), in the account of Jeroboam’s revolt, says Solomon built Millo and repaired the breaches of the city of David his father. [2 Chronicles 32:5](/bible/2-chronicles/32/5) [(4)](#ref-4) is Hezekiah, before Sennacherib: he built up the broken wall, raised it to the towers, built another wall outside, “and repaired Millo in the city of David,” and made darts and shields. The repair is in the city of David, with the walls. The verse does not call Millo a temple. ## The House of Millo [Judges 9:6](/bible/judges/9/6) [(6)](#ref-6) says all the men of Shechem and all the house of Millo went and made Abimelech king, by the plain of the pillar that was in Shechem. [Judges 9:20](/bible/judges/9/20) names “the house of Millo” again, with the men of Shechem, in Jotham’s warning. The place in those verses is Shechem. It is not David’s Zion. [2 Kings 12:20](/bible/2-kings/12/20) [(5)](#ref-5) uses the same English phrase in Jerusalem’s story: Joash’s servants slew him “in the house of Millo, which goeth down to Silla.” [2 Kings 12:21](/bible/2-kings/12/21) says they buried him in the city of David. The lexicon note on H4407 points to H1037, Beth-Millo, “the name of two citadels.” Judges 9 and 2 Kings 12 are the two “house of Millo” scenes. This page does not decide which stones, if any, still stand. [Deuteronomy 34:1](/bible/deuteronomy/34/1) is Moses on Mount Nebo, looking at the land. Nebo is not Millo, and the verse does not mention the rampart. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### Where Was the Millo? In David’s city. [2 Samuel 5:7–9](/bible/2-samuel/5) [(1)](#ref-1) puts it with the stronghold of Zion that he called the city of David, and he built from Millo inward. [2 Chronicles 32:5](/bible/2-chronicles/32/5) [(4)](#ref-4) says Hezekiah repaired Millo in the city of David. The Shechem house of Millo in [Judges 9:6](/bible/judges/9/6) [(6)](#ref-6) is the other citadel the lexicon’s cross-reference names. ### Who Built the Millo? [2 Samuel 5:9](/bible/2-samuel/5/9) [(1)](#ref-1) says David built round about from Millo and inward. [1 Kings 9:24](/bible/1-kings/9/24) [(2)](#ref-2) and [1 Kings 11:27](/bible/1-kings/11/27) say Solomon built Millo and repaired the breaches of the city of David. [2 Chronicles 32:5](/bible/2-chronicles/32/5) [(4)](#ref-4) says Hezekiah repaired it. [1 Chronicles 11:8](/bible/1-chronicles/11/8) [(3)](#ref-3) adds that Joab repaired the rest of the city. ### Is the House of Millo the Same Place? [Judges 9:6](/bible/judges/9/6) [(6)](#ref-6) is Shechem. [2 Kings 12:20](/bible/2-kings/12/20) [(5)](#ref-5) is the house of Millo where Joash was killed, and the next verse buries him in the city of David. The lexicon calls Beth-Millo the name of two citadels. The Jerusalem Millo of Samuel, Kings, and Chronicles is the rampart in the city of David. ## Keep Reading - [2 Samuel 5](/bible/2-samuel/5) - [1 Kings 9](/bible/1-kings/9) - [Millo (H4407)](/bible/hebrew/milo-h4407) - [The Bible](/bible) - [Christianity](/christianity) - [Common Arguments](/common-arguments/christianity#what-was-the-millo-in-the-bible) ## Passages Quoted on This Page ### 1 Kings 9:15 King James Version. > And this is the reason of the levy which king Solomon raised; for to build the house of the LORD, and his own house, and Millo, and the wall of Jerusalem, and Hazor, and Megiddo, and Gezer. ### 2 Chronicles 32:5 King James Version. > Also he strengthened himself, and built up all the wall that was broken, and raised it up to the towers, and another wall without, and repaired Millo in the city of David, and made darts and shields in abundance. ### 2 Samuel 5:7 King James Version. > Nevertheless David took the strong hold of Zion: the same is the city of David. ### 1 Kings 9:24 King James Version. > But Pharaoh’s daughter came up out of the city of David unto her house which Solomon had built for her: then did he build Millo. ### 1 Kings 11:27 King James Version. > And this was the cause that he lifted up his hand against the king: Solomon built Millo, and repaired the breaches of the city of David his father. ### 2 Kings 12:20 King James Version. > And his servants arose, and made a conspiracy, and slew Joash in the house of Millo, which goeth down to Silla. ### Judges 9:6 King James Version. > And all the men of Shechem gathered together, and all the house of Millo, and went, and made Abimelech king, by the plain of the pillar that was in Shechem. ### Judges 9:20 King James Version. > But if not, let fire come out from Abimelech, and devour the men of Shechem, and the house of Millo; and let fire come out from the men of Shechem, and from the house of Millo, and devour Abimelech. ### 2 Kings 12:21 King James Version. > For Jozachar the son of Shimeath, and Jehozabad the son of Shomer, his servants, smote him, and he died; and they buried him with his fathers in the city of David: and Amaziah his son reigned in his stead. ### Deuteronomy 34:1 King James Version. > And Moses went up from the plains of Moab unto the mountain of Nebo, to the top of Pisgah, that is over against Jericho. And the LORD shewed him all the land of Gilead, unto Dan, ### 2 Samuel 5:7–9 King James Version. > [5:7] Nevertheless David took the strong hold of Zion: the same is the city of David. [5:8] And David said on that day, Whosoever getteth up to the gutter, and smiteth the Jebusites, and the lame and the blind, that are hated of David’s soul, he shall be chief and captain. Wherefore they said, The blind and the lame shall not come into the house. [5:9] So David dwelt in the fort, and called it the city of David. And David built round about from Millo and inward. ## Sources Numbered to match the HTML References list. Item 1 is `#ref-1` under `#references`. Scripture links to the King James Version on this site. 1. [2 Samuel, 5:7–9](https://apologetics.wiki/bible/2-samuel/5). King James Version 2. [1 Kings, 9:15; 9:24; 11:27](https://apologetics.wiki/bible/1-kings/9/15). King James Version 3. [1 Chronicles, 11:8](https://apologetics.wiki/bible/1-chronicles/11/8). King James Version 4. [2 Chronicles, 32:5](https://apologetics.wiki/bible/2-chronicles/32/5). King James Version 5. [2 Kings, 12:20](https://apologetics.wiki/bible/2-kings/12/20). King James Version 6. [Book of Judges, 9:6; 9:20](https://apologetics.wiki/bible/judges/9/6). King James Version ## See Also - [What Is the Temple Mount in Islam?](https://apologetics.wiki/islam/what-is-the-temple-mount-in-islam) — Muslims call the Temple Mount Al-Aqsa and the Noble Sanctuary. Qur’an 17:1 names the night journey to al-Masjid al-Aqsa. The Bible places Solomon’s temple and Jesus there. - [Baptist vs Catholic: What's the Difference?](https://apologetics.wiki/christianity/baptist-vs-catholic) — The Baptist Faith and Message beside the Catechism of the Catholic Church on authority, baptism, justification, Mary and the saints, the pope, and the Lord’s Supper. - [Can Eastern Orthodox Priests Marry?](https://apologetics.wiki/eastern-orthodox/can-eastern-orthodox-priests-marry) — An Orthodox clergy answer says a married man may be ordained deacon or priest, once, and may not marry after ordination. The OCA’s Trullo essay says bishops are celibate. Catholic Canon 277 binds clerics to celibacy. Anglican Article XXXII says priests may marry. - [Can You Lose Your Salvation? What Each Church Teaches About "Once Saved, Always Saved"](https://apologetics.wiki/christianity/once-saved-always-saved) — Can a Christian lose salvation? Official teaching from Catholic, Orthodox, Lutheran, Reformed, Baptist, Methodist, Pentecostal, and other churches, with the King James verses each side cites. - [Catholic vs Protestant: What's the Difference?](https://apologetics.wiki/christianity/catholic-vs-protestant) — Catholics are Christians. The difference is authority, justification, the sacraments, Mary and the saints, purgatory, and the pope, in each church’s own words.