The Torah closes its long list of Edomite chieftains with two final names: Magdiel and Iram. For most readers, they are just names. Targum Pseudo-Jonathan on (Genesis 36:43) pauses on Magdiel long enough to unfold an entire philosophy.
Why was he called Magdiel? From the name of his city whose migdol — tower — was strong. The Hebrew root migdal means tower. Magdiel was the man of the tower. His fortress was thick-walled, tall, unshakable. He was named not for his virtue, not for his wisdom, not for any act of righteousness, but for the architecture he hid inside.
The sages will later identify Magdiel with Rome — the great tower-empire, the city on seven hills whose walls seemed eternal (see Bereshit Rabbah 83:4). Every generation of exile saw a new Magdiel. Every generation watched a tower rise and thought it would never fall.
But notice how the Targumist tells the story. Magdiel is not the final word. He is the last of the Edomite chiefs. After him, nothing. The tower that named him will also outlive him by not very long. Isaiah put it cleanly: the lofty city he lays low — to the ground, to the dust (Isaiah 26:5).
Name yourself for a tower, the Targum is whispering, and you have named yourself for something that will fall. The only name that endures is the one built on the covenant — which has no walls, and therefore cannot be breached.