Hebrew word · H4675

מִצָּבָה

mitzavah

guard

From the root נצב "to take a stand, be stationed": a post, garrison, guard detachment. Related forms מַצָּב (v. 1, 4, 11) and נְצִיב (13:3, a Philistine post or official).

Appears 2 times in 2 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

guard, watch, army

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 1 Samuel 14:12

Range of meaning

From the root נצב "to take a stand, be stationed": a post, garrison, guard detachment. Related forms מַצָּב (v. 1, 4, 11) and נְצִיב (13:3, a Philistine post or official).

Against the English

"Garrison" (KJV, WEB) can suggest a large fortress; "outpost" (BSB) or "station" (YLT) better fits a small forward position on a cliff top.

Used elsewhere in the period

Used again for the Philistine post in 1 Sam 14:15 and in Zech 9:8 (a guard). Not to be confused with מַצֵּבָה, the standing stone or pillar.

From the study of Zechariah 9:8

Range of meaning

Built on the root נצב, 'to stand, station'. The related nouns מַצָּב / מַצָּבָה mean a post, station, or military garrison (1 Sam 13:23; 14:12). The vowels in the Hebrew text could also be taken as the preposition 'from' plus צָבָא 'army', written with a final ה instead of א.

Against the English

KJV 'because of the army', NASB and BSB 'because of an army', and WEB 'against the army' follow the vowels of the Hebrew text. ESV and NRSV 'as a guard' and NIV 'to guard it' follow the noun reading. Both are defensible.

Used elsewhere in the period

1 Samuel 14:12 uses the related word for the Philistine outpost. The Septuagint renders it ἀνάστημα, something 'set up / raised' (a post or bulwark), which supports a noun reading. The Vulgate paraphrases with 'those who serve as soldiers for me'.

Where it appears

1 Samuel · 1

  1. 1 Samuel 14:12 הַמַּצָּבָ֜ה the garrison

    So the men of the outpost called out to Jonathan and his armor-bearer, “Come on up, and we will teach you a lesson!” “Follow me,” Jonathan told his armor-bearer, “for the LORD has delivered them into the hand of Israel.”

    Here: "The outpost": the forward Philistine position on the cliff above the pass at Michmash (called מַצַּב in vv. 1, 4, 11). From the root "to take a stand" — a stationed post, not a fortified city.

Zechariah · 1

  1. Zechariah 9:8 מִצָּבָה֙ a guard

    But I will camp around My house because of an army, because of those who march to and fro, and never again will an oppressor overrun My people, for now I keep watch with My own eyes.

    Here: The hardest word in the verse. Read as a noun, it means 'as a guard / garrison' (the related word in 1 Sam 14:12 means a military outpost). Read with the vowels in the Hebrew text, it means 'because of / against an army'. Either way the picture is military: God himself is the guard posted at his house.

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