ma.gal denotes a track or course, used both for an army’s encampment area and for the paths by which people walk.

The dominant usage presents a track or course as the route associated with a person’s conduct: it may be made straight, level, upright, crooked, or unstable. In the Samuel scenes, the singular form identifies the track-like area where Saul lies and where the army comes out.

1. A course or path of conduct · dominant

   In Proverbs 4:11 the plural construct form occurs in the clause about being led in “tracks of uprightness,” while Proverbs 4:26 calls for making the track of one’s foot straight. Isaiah 59:8 places the plural form in a clause where people have twisted their paths, and Psalm 17:5 links the tracks with secure steps that do not shake.

   Proverbs 4:11Proverbs 4:26Isaiah 59:8Psalm 17:5Psalm 23:3Proverbs 2:15
2. A track-like place in a military setting · common

   In 1 Samuel 17:20 the singular absolute form occurs as David comes to the track while the army comes out to the rank. In 1 Samuel 26:5 and 1 Samuel 26:7, Saul is described as lying asleep in the track, with Abner and the people around him.

   1 Samuel 17:201 Samuel 26:51 Samuel 26:7

In the Anselm Project Bible: The APB commonly presents the term with “track” or “tracks,” while Psalm 23:3 uses “paths of righteousness.” In a few supplied verses, including Psalm 140:6 and Psalm 65:12, the term’s specific English contribution is not clear from the whole-verse translation.