Hebrew word · H4686

מְצוּדָה

metzudat

fortress

(1) A stronghold or fortress, especially a high and hard-to-reach place: the “strongholds” where David hid from Saul (1 Sam 22:4–5; 24:22), and the stronghold of Zion (2 Sam 5:7, a related form). (2) In a closely related form, a hunting net or snare (Eccl 9:12; Ezek 12:13, “my net”).

Appears 21 times in 21 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

fastness, stronghold

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 Psalm 91:2

Range of meaning

(1) A stronghold or fortress, especially a high and hard-to-reach place: the “strongholds” where David hid from Saul (1 Sam 22:4–5; 24:22), and the stronghold of Zion (2 Sam 5:7, a related form). (2) In a closely related form, a hunting net or snare (Eccl 9:12; Ezek 12:13, “my net”). Both come from the root ṣwd, “to hunt.” The place-name Masada (Hebrew mĕṣādâ) comes from the same family.

Against the English

“Fortress” can call up a built castle with walls and towers. The biblical mĕṣûdâ is often a natural rock height that is safe because it is hard to reach, the kind of place a hunted man climbs to.

How it drifted

English “fortress” brings medieval pictures of built castles. The Hebrew picture is mostly a crag in the Judean wilderness.

Used elsewhere in the period

Psalm 18:2 (= 2 Sam 22:2) is very close to this verse: “YHWH is my rock and my fortress (mĕṣûdātî)… my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge (ʾeḥĕseh).” See also Ps 31:3; 71:3; 144:2. The Septuagint here has antilēmptōr / katafygē (“helper/supporter,” “refuge”), and elsewhere often uses words for a fortified place.

From the study of Psalm 18:2

Range of meaning

A mountain stronghold or fortified height, a place hard to get to and easy to defend. A related form, metsad or metsadah, gives the name Masada. A word spelled the same way means a hunting net. Lexicons such as BDB treat the two as separate words, and how they connect is uncertain.

Against the English

'Fortress' (most versions) or 'bulwark' (YLT) are fair. To a modern ear 'fortress' suggests a built castle, while the Hebrew usually means a natural rocky height used as a refuge, sometimes fortified.

Used elsewhere in the period

1 Samuel 22:4–5 and 24:22 call David's wilderness hideout 'the stronghold' (ha-metsudah). In 2 Samuel 5:7, Jerusalem's citadel is 'the stronghold of Zion' (metsudat tsiyyon), the place David captured and lived in.

From the study of Psalm 144:2

Range of meaning

A fortified stronghold, usually a natural high fastness such as a mountain hideout or crag fortress. It is related to the root ts-w-d ('to hunt'), probably as 'a place that is hard to hunt down' or 'a lookout'. A related form, metsudat tsiyyon, names the 'stronghold of Zion' David captured (2 Samuel 5:7).

Against the English

'Fortress' (BSB, KJV, WEB) is accurate. YLT 'bulwark' suggests a wall rather than a refuge on a height.

Used elsewhere in the period

It is used for David's hiding places while Saul hunted him (1 Samuel 22:4–5; 24:22). The same word family gives Masada (metsadah), Herod's cliff fortress by the Dead Sea. It appears with the same titles in Psalm 18:2 and 31:3; 71:3.

Where it appears

1 Samuel · 3

  1. 1 Samuel 22:4 בַּמְּצוּדָֽה׃ ס in the stronghold

    So he left them in the care of the king of Moab, and they stayed with him the whole time David was in the stronghold.

  2. 1 Samuel 22:5 בַּמְּצוּדָ֔ה in the stronghold

    Then the prophet Gad said to David, “Do not stay in the stronghold. Depart and go into the land of Judah.” So David left and went to the forest of Hereth.

  3. 1 Samuel 24:22 הַמְּצוּדָֽה׃ פ the stronghold

    So David gave his oath to Saul. Then Saul returned home, but David and his men went up to the stronghold.

2 Samuel · 5

  1. 2 Samuel 5:7 מְצֻדַ֣ת [the] stronghold of

    Nevertheless, David captured the fortress of Zion (that is, the City of David).

    Here: A fortified, hard-to-reach place, here the walled citadel of the Jebusites. Readers of Samuel already know the word from David's outlaw years, when he hid in 'the stronghold' (1 Sam 22:4–5; 24:22). The fugitive who lived in wilderness strongholds now takes the strongest one in the land.

  2. 2 Samuel 5:9 בַּמְּצֻדָ֔ה in the stronghold

    So David took up residence in the fortress and called it the City of David. He built it up all the way around, from the supporting terraces inward.

  3. 2 Samuel 5:17 הַמְּצוּדָֽה׃ the stronghold

    When the Philistines heard that David had been anointed king over Israel, they all went in search of him; but David learned of this and went down to the stronghold.

  4. 2 Samuel 22:2 וּמְצֻדָתִ֖י and stronghold my

    He said: “The LORD is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer.

    Here: 'And my stronghold.' This is a natural defensible height, the kind of wilderness hideout David used while Saul pursued him. Here it is a name for God himself.

  5. 2 Samuel 23:14 בַּמְּצוּדָ֑ה [was] in the stronghold

    At that time David was in the stronghold, and the garrison of the Philistines was at Bethlehem.

1 Chronicles · 2

  1. 1 Chronicles 11:5 מְצֻדַ֣ת [the] stronghold of

    The people of Jebus said to David, “You will never get in here.” Nevertheless, David captured the fortress of Zion (that is, the City of David).

    Here: A fortified, hard-to-reach position, usually on high ground. Here it is the walled citadel on the ridge above the Gihon spring, not a medieval-style castle.

  2. 1 Chronicles 11:16 בַּמְּצוּדָ֑ה [was] in the stronghold

    At that time David was in the stronghold, and the garrison of the Philistines was at Bethlehem.

Job · 1

  1. Job 39:28 וּמְצוּדָֽה׃ and a stronghold

    He dwells on a cliff and lodges there; his stronghold is on a rocky crag.

Psalms · 7

  1. Psalm 18:2 וּמְצוּדָתִ֗י and stronghold my

    The LORD is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer. My God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.

    Here: 'And my stronghold.' A hard-to-reach fortified height. It is the same word family as Masada, and the same word used for 'the stronghold' where David sheltered in 1 Samuel 22–24.

  2. Psalm 31:2 מְצוּד֗וֹת strongholds

    Incline Your ear to me; come quickly to my rescue. Be my rock of refuge, the stronghold of my deliverance.

    Here: 'Strongholds' (plural). It probably intensifies the idea, 'a fully fortified house, a fortress of fortresses'. The same word names David's wilderness hideouts (1 Sam 22:4–5; 23:14) and comes from the same root as the name Masada.

  3. Psalm 31:3 וּמְצוּדָתִ֣י and stronghold my

    For You are my rock and my fortress; lead me and guide me for the sake of Your name.

    Here: "And my stronghold": a hard-to-reach fortified height. It picks up "house of strongholds" from verse 2, so the request is now stated as fact.

  4. Psalm 66:11 בַמְּצוּדָ֑ה in the net

    You led us into the net; You laid burdens on our backs.

  5. Psalm 71:3 וּמְצוּדָתִ֣י and stronghold my

    Be my rock of refuge, where I can always go. Give the command to save me, for You are my rock and my fortress.

    Here: 'And my stronghold'. A metsudah is a hard-to-reach high place, often a natural fastness, where a hunted man is safe. David's wilderness hideouts are called by this word (1 Sam 22:4–5; 24:22).

  6. Psalm 91:2 וּמְצוּדָתִ֑י and stronghold my

    I will say to the LORD, “You are my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.”

    Here: “And my stronghold”: a high place that is hard to reach, often a natural rocky height. It is the kind of place David held in the wilderness. The word comes from a root linked to hunting, so it sits close to the hunter's trap in verse 3.

  7. Psalm 144:2 וּמְצוּדָתִי֮ and stronghold my

    He is my steadfast love and my fortress, my stronghold and my deliverer. He is my shield, in whom I take refuge, who subdues peoples under me.

    Here: 'And my stronghold': a fortified high place that is hard to get at. This is the kind of hideout David used when he was on the run (1 Samuel 22:4–5). The same root gives the name Masada.

Ezekiel · 3

  1. Ezekiel 12:13 בִּמְצֽוּדָתִ֑י in hunting net my

    But I will spread My net over him, and he will be caught in My snare. I will bring him to Babylon, the land of the Chaldeans; yet he will not see it, and there he will die.

    Here: "In my hunting-net." It comes from the root "to hunt" (tsud) and repeats the net picture in the second half of a matching pair. A word spelled the same way means "stronghold", which may be part of the irony: the king who runs from his fortress ends up in God's net.

  2. Ezekiel 13:21 לִמְצוּדָ֑ה <into> prey

    I will also tear off your veils and deliver My people from your hands, so that they will no longer be prey in your hands. Then you will know that I am the LORD.

  3. Ezekiel 17:20 בִּמְצֽוּדָתִ֑י in hunting net my

    I will spread My net over him and catch him in My snare. I will bring him to Babylon and execute judgment upon him there for the treason he committed against Me.

    Here: "In my snare": a second net word, from a root meaning "to hunt." Pairing two net words in a row is ordinary Hebrew poetic parallelism, and it makes the trap feel inescapable.

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