Hebrew word · H4565

מִסְתָּר

bamistarim

hiding

A hidden place, a hiding place, a secret spot. Used for ambush-lairs (Ps 10:8–9; Lam 3:10) and for places of concealment (Isa 45:3, "hidden treasures"; Jer 23:24; 49:10).

Appears 10 times in 10 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

1) secret place, hiding place

1a) secret place

1b) hiding place

1b1) for protection

1b2) for perpetration of crime

Abridged from Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of Jeremiah 13:17

Range of meaning

A hidden place, a hiding place, a secret spot. Used for ambush-lairs (Ps 10:8–9; Lam 3:10) and for places of concealment (Isa 45:3, "hidden treasures"; Jer 23:24; 49:10).

Against the English

Most versions have "in secret". KJV and YLT keep the plural "secret places". NLT has "alone".

Used elsewhere in the period

From the root s-t-r, "to hide". Jer 23:24: "Can anyone hide in secret places (mistarim) so that I cannot see him?"

From the study of Psalm 10:8

Range of meaning

A hidden place, or secrecy itself. It comes from the root satar, "to hide, conceal."

Against the English

KJV and ESV-style renderings of "secret" or "hiding places" are accurate. BSB's "in ambush" gets the sense but hides the link to "hidden" in verse 11.

Used elsewhere in the period

It is used of a lion in cover (Psalm 17:12; Lamentations 3:10), of attackers shooting at the blameless (Psalm 64:4) and of devouring the poor in secret (Habakkuk 3:14). Jeremiah 23:24 asks whether anyone can hide in such places so that God cannot see. Deuteronomy 27:24 pronounces a curse on whoever strikes a neighbor "in secret," using the same root.

From the study of Lamentations 3:10

Range of meaning

A hidden place or place of concealment. It is used for an ambusher's or predator's cover (Ps 10:8–9; 17:12; Jer 49:10) and for places where a person tries to hide (Jer 13:17; 23:24; Isa 45:3 'treasures of secret places'). It comes from the root s-t-r, 'to hide.'

Against the English

KJV and YLT say 'secret places' and 'secret hiding-places'; BSB and WEB say 'hiding' and 'in ambush.' 'Secret place' can call up the devotional 'secret place of the Most High' (Ps 91:1, which uses a related word, sēter), but here the word means the predator's cover.

How it drifted

In devotional English, 'secret place' has come to mean intimate shelter with God, mostly from Ps 91:1 KJV. Here the related word means the opposite: the cover from which God attacks.

Used elsewhere in the period

Ps 10:8–9 and Ps 17:12 both have the lion or the wicked man 'in hiding places' (mistārîm) waiting to strike the helpless. Jer 23:24 asks: 'Can anyone hide himself in hiding places (mistārîm) so that I cannot see him?'

Where it appears

Psalms · 4

  1. Psalm 10:8 בַּֽ֭מִּסְתָּרִים in <the> hiding places

    He lies in wait near the villages; in ambush he slays the innocent; his eyes watch in stealth for the helpless.

    Here: In the hiding places: the same word is used for a lion's cover (Psalm 17:12; Lamentations 3:10). Its root returns in verse 11, where this man says God has "hidden" his face.

  2. Psalm 10:9 בַּמִּסְתָּ֨ר׀ in <the> hiding place

    He lies in wait like a lion in a thicket; he lurks to seize the oppressed; he catches the lowly in his net.

    Here: 'In the hiding place': a spot chosen so he can't be seen. The same word (plural) closes verse 8, so the hiddenness keeps coming back.

  3. Psalm 17:12 בְּמִסְתָּרִֽים׃ in hiding places

    like a lion greedy for prey, like a young lion lurking in ambush.

  4. Psalm 64:4 בַּמִּסְתָּרִ֣ים in <the> secret places

    ambushing the innocent in seclusion, shooting suddenly, without fear.

Isaiah · 1

  1. Isaiah 45:3 מִסְתָּרִ֑ים secret places

    I will give you the treasures of darkness and the riches hidden in secret places, so that you may know that I am the LORD, the God of Israel, who calls you by name.

    Here: "Of hiding places," the secret spots where something is kept out of sight (the same word is used of an ambusher's lurking places in Psalm 10:8–9). It matches "darkness" in the first half of the line: concealed wealth, now handed over.

Jeremiah · 3

  1. Jeremiah 13:17 בְּמִסְתָּרִ֥ים in secret places

    But if you do not listen, I will weep in secret because of your pride. My eyes will overflow with tears, because the LORD’s flock has been taken captive.

    Here: "In hidden places." The word is plural and concrete: out-of-sight spots, like the places where an ambusher or animal lies hidden (Ps 10:8–9). The prophet will grieve in private, away from a public that will not listen.

  2. Jeremiah 23:24 בַּמִּסְתָּרִ֛ים in <the> hiding places

    “Can a man hide in secret places where I cannot see him?” declares the LORD. “Do I not fill the heavens and the earth?” declares the LORD.

    Here: "In the hiding places". It comes from the same root as the verb just before it, so the line sounds like "hide himself in the hidey-holes". The word is used elsewhere for a lion's lair and for an ambusher's lurking spot.

  3. Jeremiah 49:10 מִסְתָּרָ֔יו hiding places its

    But I will strip Esau bare; I will uncover his hiding places, and he will be unable to conceal himself. His descendants will be destroyed along with his relatives and neighbors, and he will be no more.

Lamentations · 1

  1. Lamentations 3:10 בְּמִסְתָּרִֽים׃ in hiding places

    He is a bear lying in wait, a lion hiding in ambush.

    Here: 'In hidden places': the thicket or cover where a predator crouches unseen before it springs. The plural suggests cover everywhere, so there is no safe route. It matches the blocked and twisted paths of verse 9.

Habakkuk · 1

  1. Habakkuk 3:14 בַּמִּסְתָּֽר׃ in the secret place

    With his own spear You pierced his head, when his warriors stormed out to scatter us, gloating as though ready to secretly devour the weak.

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.