Word Study · Strong's H4679 · Hebrew
מְצַד
metsad
mets-ad'
Strong's 1890 spelling: mᵉtsad
“a fastness (as a covert of ambush)”
Strong's Dictionary · 1890 · public domain
a fastness (as a covert of ambush)
Rendered in the KJV as
castle, fort, (strong) hold, munition.
- 11occurrencesin the Old Testament
- 6 of 39Old Testament bookswhere the word stands
- 10inflected formsdistinct spellings
Across 11 occurrences
The word itself
Inflected forms · 10
- בַּמְּצָד֔וֹת2
- בַּמְצָ֑ד1
- בִּמְצָד֥וֹת1
- בַמְּצָדוֹת֙1
- בַּמְּצָד֥וֹת1
- הַמְּצָדֽוֹת׃1
- וְהַמְּצָד֖וֹת1
- לַמְצַ֨ד1
- לַמְצָ֖ד1
- מְצָד֥וֹת1
How it is rendered · 8
- in the strongholds3
- to the fortress2
- [are] in the strongholds1
- [will be] strongholds of1
- and the strongholds1
- in [the] strongholds of1
- in the fortress1
- the strongholds1
The sense the word carries at each spot — how the translators read it there, not a fixed translation.
How it parses · 7
- preposition with the article + noun · feminine plural4
- preposition with the article + noun · feminine singular2
- conjunction (“and”) + the definite article (“the”) + noun · feminine plural1
- noun · feminine plural · in construct (“…of”)1
- preposition + noun · feminine plural · in construct (“…of”)1
- preposition with the article + noun · feminine singular · in construct (“…of”)1
- the definite article (“the”) + noun · feminine plural1
Show the grammar codes as tagged
- HRd/Ncfpa · 4
- HRd/Ncfsa · 2
- HC/Td/Ncfpa · 1
- HNcfpc · 1
- HR/Ncfpc · 1
- HRd/Ncfsc · 1
- HTd/Ncfpa · 1
All 11, in canonical order
The ledger of occurrences
Where this word lives
- 1 Samuel3 of 11 · 27%
- 1 Chronicles3 of 11 · 27%
- Jeremiah2 of 11 · 18%
- Judges1 of 11 · 9%
- Isaiah1 of 11 · 9%
1 Samuel carries the most and opens below; every other book is one click.
1 Samuel3 occurrences
- 1 Samuel 23:14בַּמְּצָד֔וֹתbametzadotpreposition with the article + noun · feminine pluralAnd 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
- 1 Samuel 23:19בַמְּצָדוֹת֙vametzadotpreposition with the article + noun · feminine pluralThen 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: in the strongholds
- 1 Samuel 23:29בִּמְצָד֥וֹתbimtzadotpreposition + noun · feminine plural · in construct (“…of”)And David went up from there and lived in the strongholds of En-gedi.here: in [the] strongholds of
1 Chronicles3 occurrences
- 1 Chronicles 11:7בַּמְצָ֑דbamtzadpreposition with the article + noun · feminine singularSo David took up residence in the fortress; that is why it was called the City of David.here: in the fortress
- 1 Chronicles 12:8לַמְצַ֨דlamtzadpreposition with the article + noun · feminine singular · in construct (“…of”)Some Gadites defected to David at his stronghold in the desert. 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: to the fortress
- 1 Chronicles 12:16לַמְצָ֖דlamtzadpreposition with the article + noun · feminine singularOther Benjamites and some men from Judah also came to David in his stronghold.here: to the fortress
Jeremiah2 occurrences
- Jeremiah 48:41וְהַמְּצָד֖וֹתvehametzadotconjunction (“and”) + the definite article (“the”) + noun · feminine pluralKirioth 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.here: and the strongholds
- Jeremiah 51:30בַּמְּצָד֔וֹתbametzadotpreposition with the article + noun · feminine pluralThe 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