מְצָד

Judges 6:2 הַמְּצָדֽוֹת׃ the strongholds

and the hand of Midian prevailed against Israel. Because of the Midianites, the Israelites prepared shelters for themselves in the mountains, caves, and strongholds.

1 Samuel 23:14 בַּמְּצָד֔וֹת in the strongholds

And David stayed in the wilderness strongholds and in the hill country of the Wilderness of Ziph. Day after day Saul searched for him, but God would not deliver David into his hand.

Here: 'In the strongholds': places that are hard to reach, such as crags, cliff-tops and defensible caves. They are not built castles. The word comes from the same root as Masada.

1 Samuel 23:19 בַמְּצָדוֹת֙ in the strongholds

Then the Ziphites came up to Saul at Gibeah and said, “Is not David hiding among us in the strongholds at Horesh, on the hill of Hachilah south of Jeshimon?

Here: Natural mountain refuges: rocky heights, ledges and caves that are hard to reach and easy to defend. These are not built castles. The word belongs to the same family as the name Masada.

1 Samuel 23:29 בִּמְצָד֥וֹת in [the] strongholds of

And David went up from there and lived in the strongholds of En-gedi.

Here: "In the strongholds of." These are natural fortresses: hard-to-reach heights, ledges and caves in the cliffs, not built forts. The word comes from the same root as Masada, the famous rock fortress a few miles further south on the same shore.

1 Chronicles 11:7 בַּמְצָ֑ד in the fortress

So David took up residence in the fortress; that is why it was called the City of David.

Here: "In the stronghold." This is the fortified hilltop citadel called "the stronghold of Zion" in v. 5. It is a rock-and-wall defensive position, not a palace.

1 Chronicles 12:8 לַמְצַ֨ד to the fortress

Some Gadites defected to David at his stronghold in the wilderness. They were mighty men of valor, trained for battle, experts with the shield and spear, whose faces were like the faces of lions and who were as swift as gazelles on the mountains:

Here: A hard-to-reach mountain fortress or refuge, like the rocky hideouts David used in the Judean wilderness (1 Samuel 23:14, 29).

1 Chronicles 12:16 לַמְצָ֖ד to the fortress

Other Benjamites and some men from Judah also came to David in his stronghold.

Isaiah 33:16 מְצָד֥וֹת [will be] strongholds of

he will dwell on the heights; the mountain fortress will be his refuge; his food will be provided and his water assured.

Here: Natural or fortified hilltop strongholds, the hard-to-reach places where people hid from an enemy (the same root gives the name Masada). The plural suggests a whole ring of fortresses.

Jeremiah 48:41 וְהַמְּצָד֖וֹת and the strongholds

Kirioth has been taken, and the strongholds seized. In that day the heart of Moab’s warriors will be like the heart of a woman in labor.

Jeremiah 51:30 בַּמְּצָד֔וֹת in the strongholds

The warriors of Babylon have stopped fighting; they sit in their strongholds. Their strength is exhausted; they have become like women. Babylon’s homes have been set ablaze, the bars of her gates are broken.

Here: 'In the strongholds': fortified, hard-to-reach positions (the same root as Masada). The fortress has stopped being a base to fight from and become a place to hide.

Ezekiel 33:27 בַּמְּצָד֥וֹת [are] in the strongholds

Tell them that this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘As surely as I live, those in the ruins will fall by the sword, those in the open field I will give to be devoured by wild animals, and those in the strongholds and caves will die by plague.