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Psalms 60:9 — Word Study

Depth

WLCמִ֣י יֹ֭בִלֵנִי עִ֣יר מָצ֑וֹר מִ֖י נָחַ֣נִי עַד־ אֱדֽוֹם׃

BSAGileadGilʻâd MosesMᵉnashsheh EphraimʼEphrayim securitymâʻôwz headrôʼsh JudahYᵉhûwdâh to decreechâqaq

Word
Listen & take awayPsalms 60
English ↓ Download MP3 The Berean Standard Bible chapter audio already hosted for the site's Bible section — verse 9 is in this chapter.
Hebrew ↓ Download MP3 The Masoretic text of this chapter, read aloud. Read by Abraham Shmuelof, courtesy of Audio Scriptures International. Chapter divisions by the Academy of Ancient Languages..
Say the word Each Hebrew word carries its transliteration ('e.Dom) — no per-word recordings of the Hebrew exist to link to.
Take it away
Psalms 60:9quick helps
In a sentenceThe psalmist asks who will lead him to a fortified city and to Edom.
Who is speakingThe psalmist, expressing a desire for guidance.
Where we areA plea for help in a time of distress.
The hard wordמָצוֹר
Take awayThe search for leadership in challenging circumstances.
8 commentators on this verse Gill, Jamieson, Poole, Trapp & more — read them › clause subjectלְ The sentence as the grammar sees it Open the tree ›
How rare are these words?in the Old Testament

Every word here is used elsewhere in the Old Testament.

Bars are logarithmic — אֵת, the commonest word in the Hebrew Bible, stands about 11,000 times, so a linear scale would leave everything else invisible. Click a row to open that word.

Deep Study — Psalms 60:9

Sections marked generated are written from the data on this page rather than by a named author. Everything else — the lexicon entries, the cross references, the manuscript readings, the counts — is quoted from its source unchanged.

Context — A Plea for Guidancegenerated

8Moab is My washbasin; upon Edom I toss My sandal; over Philistia I shout in triumph.”
9Who will bring me to the fortified city? Who will lead me to Edom?
10Have You not rejected us, O God? Will You no longer march out, O God, with our armies?
11Give us aid against the enemy, for the help of man is worthless.

Psalms 60:9 expresses a deep yearning for direction and support in the face of adversity. The psalmist reflects on the challenges posed by enemies and the need for divine assistance to reach fortified cities and the land of Edom. This plea is set within a broader context of trust in God's power and presence, as seen in the preceding and following verses.


Cross References

ReferenceText (BSB)
1Judges 1:12–24And Caleb said, “To the man who strikes down Kiriath-sepher and captures it, I will give my daughter Acsah in marriage.”
21 Chronicles 11:6–17Now David had said, “Whoever is the first to strike down a Jebusite will become chief commander.” And Joab son of Zeruiah went up first, and he became the chief.
32 Samuel 11:1In the spring, at the time when kings march out to war, David sent out Joab and his servants with the whole army of Israel. They destroyed the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah, but David remained in Jerusalem.
42 Samuel 12:26–31Meanwhile, Joab fought against Rabbah of the Ammonites and captured the royal fortress.

The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge — 4 references, hung on the phrase they belong to


The Key Word יֹבִלֵנִי, Yoi.le.nigenerated

The verb יָבַל (yabal) means to conduct or lead, indicating an action of guiding someone to a destination. In this verse, it is in the Hiphil imperfect form, suggesting a future action by a masculine singular subject.

This word conveys a sense of movement towards something significant, reflecting the psalmist's desire for divine guidance to reach a place of security and strength.


How Translations Differ — measured against the Berean Standard Biblegenerated

This study reads the verse in the Berean Standard Bible, so the BSB is the wording every comparison below is made against.


Sentence Structuregenerated

The structure of the verse consists of two main clauses, each beginning with the interrogative pronoun מִי (mi), meaning 'who?'. The first clause asks about bringing to a fortified city, while the second asks about leading to Edom.

The parallel structure emphasizes the psalmist's urgent need for leadership and direction in both scenarios.


Septuagint Backgroundgenerated

In the Septuagint, the Hebrew verb יָבַל is rendered as γαλααδ, which suggests a focus on the act of leading or guiding, similar to the Hebrew meaning.

This choice indicates a consistent understanding of the need for divine guidance in both texts.


In plain words — the whole versegenerated

Psalms 60:9 shows the psalmist asking who can lead him to a fortified city and to Edom. This reflects a desire for help and guidance in difficult times.


Frequently Asked Questionsgenerated

What does the psalmist mean by a fortified city?

A fortified city represents a place of safety and strength, indicating a need for protection against enemies.

Why does the psalmist mention Edom?

Edom is significant as a region associated with conflict and opposition, highlighting the psalmist's plea for guidance in a challenging area.

What is the significance of the repeated question 'Who will...?'?

The repetition emphasizes the urgency of the psalmist's plea for leadership and direction in times of distress.

How does this verse relate to the overall theme of the psalm?

This verse reflects the overarching theme of seeking divine assistance and guidance amidst challenges, a common motif in the psalms.


Reflection Questionsgenerated

  1. In what areas of my life do I need guidance and support, like the psalmist?
  2. How can I seek God's direction when facing difficult decisions?
  3. What does it mean to me to rely on God as my leader?
  4. How can I encourage others who are searching for guidance in their lives?

The early church on this verse — how the Fathers read it

Augustine of Hippo references this verse to discuss the theme of divine guidance and leadership in his work on the Psalms.

Augustine of HippoExposition on Psalms 60 354–430
"Who will lead Me down into the city of standing round?" [Psalms 60:9].
Early Church Fathers on Psalms 60 →

Commentators on this verse — 8 expositors, verse by verse

Each of these wrote on Psalms 60:9 itself, not merely on the chapter around it.

John Gill1697–1771Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

Who will bring me [into] the strong city?.... Which some understand of Rabbah of the Ammonites, which Joab besieged, and sent to David to come and take it in person, 2 Samuel 12:26.

Read John Gill on Psalms 60 →
Robert Jamieson1802–1880Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown's Commentary

Who will bring me into the strong city? who will lead me into Edom? -Anticipation of, and prayer for, success in the expedition against Edom. Verse 9. Who will bring me into the strong city?

Read Robert Jamieson on Psalms 60 →
Matthew Poole1624–1679Matthew Poole's Commentary on the Holy Bible

Who will bring me? None can do it but God, as he declareth in the following verses. Into the strong city, i.e. the cities; the singular number for the plural, which is usual. Having beaten his enemies out of the field, and into their strong cities, from whence they hoped to renew the war, he desires God’ s assistance, whereby he may take their strong holds, and so secure himself from further attempts against him. Into Edom; which was a high and rocky country, , fortified by nature as well as by art, and therefore not to be invaded and subdued without a Divine hand.

Read Matthew Poole on Psalms 60 →
John Trapp1601–1669Trapp's Complete Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

Psalms 60:9 Who will bring me [into] the strong city? who will lead me into Edom?Ver. 9. Who will bring me into the strong city?] Into Rabbah of the Ammonites, which at length he got, 2 Samuel 12:29-31, and now wisheth for. Kimchi readeth it in the perfect tense, Who has led me into the strong cities? who has brought me into Edom? Hast not thou, O God? &c.

Read John Trapp on Psalms 60 →
Charles John Ellicott1819–1905Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(9) Who will . . .—i.e., how can this ancient Divine oracle be fulfilled now in present circumstances? This is the poet’s question. He may be a king himself eager for triumph, or more probably Israel personified. (See the plural in Psalms 60:10-12.) Edom is the particular foe in view, and as the difficulties of the undertaking present themselves, misgivings arise and the assurance gained from the triumphs of olden time turns into prayer, half plaintive, half confident, that the Divine favour and power may be once more on the side of the chosen people. The strong city.—As in the Hebrew the article is wanting, any strongly fortified city might be intended, were it not for the parallelism.…

Read Charles John Ellicott on Psalms 60 →
AdamClarkeAdam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible

Verse 9. Who will bring me into the strong city?] If this part of the Psalm, from the sixth to the twelfth verse, refer to the return of the captives from Babylon, as I think probable; then the strong city may mean either Petra, the capital of Idumea; Bozra, in Arabia, near the mountains of Gilead; Rabba, the capital of the Ammonites; or Tyre, according to the Chaldee, the capital of Phoenicia; or Jerusalem itself, which, although dismantled, had long been one of the strongest cities of the east. Or it may imply, Who shall give me the dominion over the countries already mentioned? who will lead me into Edom? who will give me the dominion over that people?

Read AdamClarke on Psalms 60 →
CambridgeThe Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

9–12. None but God can give help, and though for the moment He has abandoned His people, He will surely once more lead them to victory.

Read Cambridge on Psalms 60 →
Albert Barnes1798–1870Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Who will bring me into the strong city? - The strong city - the fenced, the fortified city - referred to here is doubtless the capital of Idumea.

Read Albert Barnes on Psalms 60 →

The verse in English, compared — 17 translations, and where they part company

Every translation on this page is a decision someone had to make and commit to. Read down a column and you see one translator's judgement; read across a row and you see the range the Greek actually allows. The BSB is the wording the rest of this page is measured against, so it is listed first.

Modern formal

BSBBerean Standard Bible2020

Who will bring me to the fortified city? Who will lead me to Edom?

WEBWorld English Bible2000

Who will bring me into the strong city? Who has led me to Edom?

MSBMajority Standard Bible2022

Who will bring me to the fortified city? Who will lead me to Edom?

NETBNew English Translation2006

Who will lead me into the fortified city? Who will bring me to Edom?

Tyndale line

KJVKing James Version1611

Who will bring me into the strong city? who will lead me into Edom?

ASVAmerican Standard Version1901

Who will bring me into the strong city? Who hath led me unto Edom?

RVARevised Version, American1894

Who will bring me into the strong city? who hath led me unto Edom?

NWBWebster's Bible1833

Who will bring me into the strong city? who will lead me into Edom?

GNVGeneva Bible1599

Who will leade me into the strong citie? who will bring me vnto Edom?

Strictly literal

DBYDarby Translation1890

Who will bring me into the strong city? who will lead me unto Edom?

YLTYoung's Literal Translation1862

Who doth bring me [to] a city of bulwarks? Who hath led me unto Edom?

LSVLiteral Standard Version2020

Who brings me [to] a city of bulwarks? Who has led me to Edom?

ILTInterlinear Literal Translation2000

(60:11) Who will bring me into the fortified city? who will lead me as far as Edom?

ULBUnlocked Literal Bible2017

Who will bring me into the strong city? Who will lead me to Edom?

From the Latin

DRADouay-Rheims (Challoner)1899

So will I sing a psalm to thy name for ever and ever: that I may pay my vows from day to day.

Simplified

FBVFree Bible Version2020

Who will bring me into the fortified city? Who will lead me into Edom?

BBEBible in Basic English1949

Who will take me into the strong town? who will be my guide into Edom?

Counted from the translations carried on this site, not from a survey of every English Bible. A rendering shared by many versions is usually inherited rather than independently arrived at — the Tyndale line in particular runs through most of them.


The sentence as the grammar sees it — from the MACULA Hebrew treebank

This is not our own analysis: it is the scholarly syntax tree for the verse, showing how the clause actually holds together.

clausesubjectמִ֣יwho?verbיֹ֭בִלֵwillobjectנִיhe.bring.menoun phrase · adverbialעִ֣ירa.cityמָצ֑וֹרof.fortificationclausesubjectמִ֖יwho?verbנָחַ֣hasobjectנִיhe.led.meprepositional phrase · prepositionalעַדtoאֱדֽוֹםEdom

Boxes are the grammarian's groupings — clause, noun phrase, prepositional phrase.


The four witnesses to this verse — Masoretic, Septuagint, Samaritan, Qumran

The Masoretic Text and the Septuagint agree on the wording of this verse, with all eight words matched in the Hebrew and Greek texts.

Masoretic TextLeningrad Codex, c. AD 1008 — the text this page is built on

מִ֣י יֹ֭בִלֵנִי עִ֣יר מָצ֑וֹר מִ֖י נָחַ֣נִי עַד־ אֱדֽוֹם׃

Septuagintthe Greek the translators chose, word by word
מִ֣יἐμόςיֹ֭בִלֵנִיγαλααδעִ֣ירκαὶמָצ֑וֹרἐμόςמִ֖יἐστινנָחַ֣נִיκαὶעַד־εφραιμאֱדֽוֹם׃κραταίωσις

8 of the 8 words are matched. This is the word-by-word correspondence, not the Septuagint's own sentence — its word order and its articles are its own.

Four traditions, not one. “On the leather” means the letters physically survive on the scroll, as against letters an editor has supplied to fill a hole in it — a restoration is a scholar’s reading, not a reading of the manuscript. Words in [square brackets] are supplied; the notes count them apart from what survives.


The map of this verse — what each word keeps company with

This is a map of two things, both counted rather than judged. Company kept: which words stand within three words of each of these, anywhere in the Hebrew Bible — the thicker the line, the more often the pair meet compared with chance. Built from: the words a word is made out of, taken from its own Strong’s entry. It is not a map of meaning: nothing here claims two words mean the same thing. Click any circle to see the numbers behind it.

Psalms 60:9מִיwho?who?מִייָבַלwill he briwill he bring mיָבַלעִירa city ofa city ofעִירמָצוֹרfortificatifortificationמָצוֹרמִיwho?who?מִינָחָהhas he led has he led meנָחָהעַדtotoעַדאֱדוֹםEdomEdomאֱדוֹםמָהwhat?what?מָהעוּרto rouseto rouseעוּרצוּרto confineto confineצוּראָדֹםredredאָדֹםעַדperpetuityperpetuityעַדיָעַדto appointto appointיָעַדכְּמוֹlikelikeכְּמוֹשַׁיgiftgiftשַׁיקֶ֫בֶרgravegraveקֶ֫בֶרמִגְרָשׁpasturepastureמִגְרָשׁלָכַדto captureto captureלָכַדמָצוֹקdistressdistressמָצוֹקצוּקto pressto pressצוּקמִישׁוֹרplainplainמִישׁוֹריוֹמָםby dayby dayיוֹמָםמָתַיhowhowמָתַיעֶ֫רֶבeveningeveningעֶ֫רֶבנְצִיבgarrisongarrisonנְצִיב
meets it a little oftener than chancemeets it far oftener than chancebuilt from the same roottwo words of the verse share ita word of this versea related word

Lexicons — every word in Psalms 60:9

One dossier per word, with every reference work grouped by kind — Hebrew lexicons, morphology, Bible dictionaries, topical chains and the English of the translators themselves. The verse sits at the head of each block with the word under study lit, so you never lose your place. The panel above gives the short answer; this is the long one, and it is the part of the page worth indexing.

Every entry below is the lexicographer's own text. On the Hebrew: Brown-Driver-Briggs entire and its gloss set, Strong's Hebrew Dictionary, and Tyndale House's Translators Brief lexicon. Where a cell says a work has no entry, that work genuinely has none for this word.

who? will he bring me a city of fortification who? has he led me to Edom
מִ֣יmi who? H4310 Pronoun
423× in the OT scale is logarithmic — the commonest word, אֵת, appears about 11,000×
In plain English
Meaning
This word is used to ask questions like who, whose, or whom. It can also be used to express a wish, like would that or whoever. It appears in many forms throughout the Bible, often in phrases like O that or what.
Tyndale gloss
who?
Hebrew lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

מִי (mi) is an interrogative pronoun primarily used to ask about persons, meaning 'who?' or 'whose?'. It can also appear in rhetorical questions and has some idiomatic uses, such as 'who among...?' or 'whosoever'. The word is rarely applied to things, and its forms can vary in emphasis.

Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew Lexicon (full)

מִי 423 pron.interrog. who? of persons

מִי is rarely used of things, and usually where persons are understood or implied

in the gen. whose

in an indirect qu.

מִי ב׳ who among … ?

strengthened and emph. forms of interrog.

various rhetorical uses whose

מִי may sometimes be rendered whosoever, though, as the examples will shew, it does not really mean it

once, following a verb, any one

base

Brown-Driver-Briggs glosses

H4310 מִי who? of persons . מִי is rarely used of things, and usually where persons are understood or implied

. in the gen. whose

. in an indirect qu.

. מִי ב׳ who among … ?

. strengthened and emph. forms of interrog.

. various rhetorical uses whose

. מִי may sometimes be rendered whosoever, though, as the examples will shew, it does not really mean it

. once, following a verb, any one

Strong's Hebrew Dictionary

4310 miy me

an interrogative pronoun of persons, as 4100 is of things,

who? (occasionally, by a peculiar idiom, of things); also

(indefinitely) whoever; often used in oblique construction

with prefix or suffix:--any (man), X he, X him, + O that!

what, which, who(-m, -se, -soever), + would to God.

see HEBREW for 04100

Translators Brief Hebrew Lexicon

מִי (mi) — who?.

who?, whose?, whom?, would that, whoever, whosoever

Morphologythe parsing behind the code
Berean parsing
HPi — Pronoun
HPi
who? will he bring me a city of fortification who? has he led me to Edom
יֹ֭בִלֵנִיYoi.le.ni will he bring me H2986 Verb hiphil imperfect third person masculine singular · suffix
18× in the OT scale is logarithmic — the commonest word, אֵת, appears about 11,000×
In plain English
Meaning
In the Bible, this Hebrew word means to lead or conduct someone or something, often with grandeur. It's first used in Genesis to describe God's power. The word can also mean to carry or bring something along.
Tyndale gloss
to conduct
Hebrew lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

יָבַל (yabal) is a Hebrew verb meaning to conduct or carry along. It encompasses various actions such as leading, bearing offerings, and being led to the grave. The word has both Hiphil and Hophal forms, indicating active and passive meanings, respectively. There is an Aramaic equivalent, יְבַל (ye.val), also meaning 'to bring'.

Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew Lexicon (full)

[יָבַל] vb. Hiph. conduct, bear along

Hiph.

bear along offerings

carry away

Hoph.

be borne along

be borne to the grave

be led, conducted

base

Brown-Driver-Briggs glosses

H2986 יָבַל Hiph. conduct, bear along . . bear along offerings

. carry away

. . be borne along

. be borne to the grave

. be led, conducted

Strong's Hebrew Dictionary

2986 yabal yaw-bal'

a primitive root; properly, to flow; causatively, to bring

(especially with pomp):--bring (forth), carry, lead (forth).

Translators Brief Hebrew Lexicon

יָבַל (ya.val) — to conduct.

1) to bring, lead, carry, conduct, bear along

1a) (Hiphil)

1a1) to bear along, bring

1a2) to carry away, lead away

1a3) to lead, conduct

1b) (Hophal)

1b1) to be borne along

1b2) to be borne (to the grave)

1b3) to be brought, be led, be conducted

Aramaic equivalent: ye.val (יְבַל "to bring" H2987)

Morphologythe parsing behind the code
Berean parsing
HVhi3ms/Sp1bs — Verb hiphil imperfect third person masculine singular · suffix
HVhi3ms/Sp1bs
who? will he bring me a city of fortification who? has he led me to Edom
עִ֣יר'ir a city of H5892 Noun common · feminine singular construct
1,090× in the OT scale is logarithmic — the commonest word, אֵת, appears about 11,000×
In plain English
Meaning
In the Bible, this word refers to a city or town, often a place with a wall or a watchman. It is used to describe a settlement or encampment, like the city of Ai, which is mentioned in the book of Joshua. The word is used to identify specific locations in the Bible.
Tyndale gloss
excitement
Hebrew lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

The Hebrew word עִיר (*'iyr*) has meanings related to both excitement and city. It can denote excitement, particularly of terror or rage, as well as refer to a city or town, indicating a place that is guarded or inhabited. The entries suggest a broad application, from fortified cities to simple encampments. There is a specific mention of a man named Ir in 1 Chronicles 4:12.

Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew Lexicon (full)

עִיר n.[m.] excitement;—of terror; of rage

base

עִיר 1092 n.f. city, town

city, town, abode of men

of fortress in a city

appar. fortified place, of any size

base

Brown-Driver-Briggs glosses

H5892a עִיר excitement;—of terror; of rage H5892b עִיר city, town . city, town, abode of men

. of fortress in a city

. appar. fortified place, of any size

Strong's Hebrew Dictionary

5892 `iyr eer

or (in the plural) par {awr}; or ayar (Judges 10:4)

{aw-yar'}; from 5782 a city (a place guarded by waking or a

watch) in the widest sense (even of a mere encampment or

post):--Ai (from margin), city, court (from margin), town.

see HEBREW for 05782

Translators Brief Hebrew Lexicon

עִיר (ir) — excitement.

1) excitement, anguish

1a) of terror

עִיר (ir) — city.

1) city, town (a place of waking, guarded)

1a) city, town (a place of waking, guarded)

1a) city, town

עִיר (ir) — City (of On).

Combined with on (אֹן "On" H0204)

This name means city, town

Another name of on (אֹן "On" H0204)

עִיר (ir) — Ir-.

#A man of the tribe of Judah living at the time of Divided Monarchy, only mentioned at 1Ch.4.12;

son of: Tehinnah (H8468)

Morphologythe parsing behind the code
Berean parsing
HNcfsc — Noun common · feminine singular construct
HNcfsc
Bible dictionarieson the English sense
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

ov:

(1) In Anglo-Saxon, had the meaning "from," "away from" (as the strengthened form "off" has still), and was not used for genitive or possessive relations, these being expressed by special case-forms. In the Norman period, however, "of" was taken to represent the French de (a use well developed by the time of Chaucer), and in the Elizabethan period both senses of "of" were in common use. But after about 1600 the later force of the word became predominant, and in the earlier sense (which is now practically obsolete) it was replaced by other prepositions. In consequence the King James Version (and in some cases the Revised Version (British and American)) contains many uses of "of" that are no longer familiar--most of them, to be sure, causing no difficulty, but there still being a few responsible for real obscurities.

English usagewhat the translators’ English meant
Webster's Dictionary (1828), Webster's Unabridged (1913), Webster's Dictionary (1806)

OF, preposition ov. [Gr.]

1. From or out of; proceeding from, as the cause, source, means, author or agent bestowing.

I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered to you. 1 Corinthians 11:1.

For it was of the Lord to harden their hearts. Joshua 11:1.

It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed.

Lamentations 3:1.

The whole disposing thereof is of the Lord. Proverbs 16:1.

Go, inquire of the Lord for me. 2 Chronicles 34:2.

That holy thing that shall be born of thee. Luke 1:1.

Hence of is the sign of the genitive case, the case that denotes production; as the son of man, the son proceeding from man, produced from man. This is the primary sense, although we now say, produced by man. 'Part of these were slain; ' that is, a number separate, for part denotes a division; the sense then is, a number from or out of the whole were slain. So also, 'some of these were slain; ' that is…

who? will he bring me a city of fortification who? has he led me to Edom
מָצ֑וֹרma.Tzor fortification H4692 Noun common · masculine singular absolute
25× in the OT scale is logarithmic — the commonest word, אֵת, appears about 11,000×
In plain English
Meaning
This word refers to a siege or a place of entrenchment, like a fortress or stronghold. It's used in the Bible to describe a city under attack, such as in 2 Kings 17:5. It can also mean a defense or bulwark.
Tyndale gloss
siege
Hebrew lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

מָצוֹר (matsowr) refers to a siege or an enclosure used during a siege, such as a rampart or fortification. It can denote both the physical structures associated with besieging and the abstract concept of distress. The word is built from a root meaning to hem in, indicating confinement or defense.

Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew Lexicon (full)

מָצוֹר n.[m.] siege-enclosure, siege, entrenchment

base

Brown-Driver-Briggs glosses

H4692 מָצוֹר siege-enclosure, siege, entrenchment

Strong's Hebrew Dictionary

4692 matsowr maw-tsore'

or matsuwr {maw-tsoor'}; from 6696; something hemming in,

i.e. (objectively) a mound (of besiegers), (abstractly) a

siege, (figuratively) distress; or (subjectively) a

fastness:--besieged, bulwark, defence, fenced, fortress,

siege, strong (hold), tower.

see HEBREW for 06696

Translators Brief Hebrew Lexicon

מָצוֹר (ma.tsor) — siege.

1) siege-enclosure, siege, entrenchment, siege works

1a) siege

1b) enclosure, siege-works, rampart

Morphologythe parsing behind the code
Berean parsing
HNcmsa — Noun common · masculine singular absolute
HNcmsa
who? will he bring me a city of fortification who? has he led me to Edom
מִ֖יmi who? H4310 Pronoun
423× in the OT scale is logarithmic — the commonest word, אֵת, appears about 11,000×
In plain English
Meaning
This word is used to ask questions like who, whose, or whom. It can also be used to express a wish, like would that or whoever. It appears in many forms throughout the Bible, often in phrases like O that or what.
Tyndale gloss
who?
Hebrew lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

מִי (mi) is an interrogative pronoun primarily used to ask about persons, meaning 'who?' or 'whose?'. It can also appear in rhetorical questions and has some idiomatic uses, such as 'who among...?' or 'whosoever'. The word is rarely applied to things, and its forms can vary in emphasis.

Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew Lexicon (full)

מִי 423 pron.interrog. who? of persons

מִי is rarely used of things, and usually where persons are understood or implied

in the gen. whose

in an indirect qu.

מִי ב׳ who among … ?

strengthened and emph. forms of interrog.

various rhetorical uses whose

מִי may sometimes be rendered whosoever, though, as the examples will shew, it does not really mean it

once, following a verb, any one

base

Brown-Driver-Briggs glosses

H4310 מִי who? of persons . מִי is rarely used of things, and usually where persons are understood or implied

. in the gen. whose

. in an indirect qu.

. מִי ב׳ who among … ?

. strengthened and emph. forms of interrog.

. various rhetorical uses whose

. מִי may sometimes be rendered whosoever, though, as the examples will shew, it does not really mean it

. once, following a verb, any one

Strong's Hebrew Dictionary

4310 miy me

an interrogative pronoun of persons, as 4100 is of things,

who? (occasionally, by a peculiar idiom, of things); also

(indefinitely) whoever; often used in oblique construction

with prefix or suffix:--any (man), X he, X him, + O that!

what, which, who(-m, -se, -soever), + would to God.

see HEBREW for 04100

Translators Brief Hebrew Lexicon

מִי (mi) — who?.

who?, whose?, whom?, would that, whoever, whosoever

Morphologythe parsing behind the code
Berean parsing
HPi — Pronoun
HPi
who? will he bring me a city of fortification who? has he led me to Edom
נָחַ֣נִיna.Cha.ni has he led me H5148 Verb qal perfect third person masculine singular · suffix
39× in the OT scale is logarithmic — the commonest word, אֵת, appears about 11,000×
In plain English
Meaning
To lead or guide is the meaning of this Hebrew word, which can also imply transporting people into exile or as colonists. It appears in various forms throughout the Bible, including in Exodus and 1 Kings, to describe leadership and migration.
Tyndale gloss
to lead
Hebrew lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

נָחָה (nachah) is a Hebrew verb meaning to lead or guide. It can imply bringing someone or something to a destination, governing, or even transporting into exile. The entries indicate its use in both the Qal and Hiphil forms, suggesting a range of meanings related to leadership and guidance.

Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew Lexicon (full)

[נָחָה] vb. lead, guide

Qal lead, bring

Hiph. lead, guide

base

Brown-Driver-Briggs glosses

H5148 נָחָה lead, guide

Strong's Hebrew Dictionary

5148 nachah naw-khaw'

a primitive root; to guide; by implication, to transport

(into exile, or as colonists):--bestow, bring, govern, guide,

lead (forth), put, straiten.

Translators Brief Hebrew Lexicon

נָחָה (na.chah) — to lead.

1) to lead, guide

1a) (Qal) to lead, bring

1b) (Hiphil) to lead, guide

Morphologythe parsing behind the code
Berean parsing
HVqp3ms/Sp1bs — Verb qal perfect third person masculine singular · suffix
HVqp3ms/Sp1bs
who? will he bring me a city of fortification who? has he led me to Edom
עַד־'ad- to H5704 Preposition
1,261× in the OT scale is logarithmic — the commonest word, אֵת, appears about 11,000×
In plain English
Meaning
This Hebrew word means until or as far as, describing a point in time or space. It's used in the Bible to set boundaries or limits, like in Exodus when describing the Israelites' journey.
Tyndale gloss
till
Hebrew lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

עַד (ad) primarily functions as a preposition, adverb, or conjunction meaning 'until,' 'up to,' or 'as far as.' It can denote spatial, temporal, or degree-related contexts, such as 'even to' or 'while.' The entries indicate its use in poetry and in various combinations, but there is no significant disagreement among the lexicons regarding its meanings.

Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew Lexicon (full)

עַד, in poetry עֲדֵי prep. as far as, even to, up to, until, while

prep.

of space

Of time

Of degree

conj.

until

While

Of degree, to the point that, so that even (rare)

עַד לְ, a strengthened form for עַד. Thus

of space

Of time

Of degree

base

Brown-Driver-Briggs glosses

H5704 עַד, in poetry עֲדֵי as far as, even to, up to, until, while . prep. . of space

. Of time

. Of degree

. conj. . until

. While

. Of degree, to the point that, so that even (rare)

. עַד לְ, a strengthened form for עַד. Thus . of space

. Of time

. Of degree

Strong's Hebrew Dictionary

5704 `ad ad

properly, the same as 5703 (used as a preposition, adverb or

conjunction; especially with a preposition); as far (or long,

or much) as, whether of space (even unto) or time (during,

while, until) or degree (equally with):--against, and, as,

at, before, by (that), even (to), for(-asmuch as),

(hither-)to, + how long, into, as long (much) as, (so) that,

till, toward, until, when, while, (+ as) yet.

see HEBREW for 05703

Translators Brief Hebrew Lexicon

עַד (ad) — till.

prep

1) as far as, even to, until, up to, while, as far as

1a) of space

1a1) as far as, up to, even to

1b) in combination

1b1) from...as far as, both...and (with 'min' -from)

1c) of time

1c1) even to, until, unto, till, during, end

1d) of degree

1d1) even to, to the degree of, even like

conj

2) until, while, to the point that, so that even

Aramaic equivalent: ad (עַד "till" H5705)

Morphologythe parsing behind the code
Berean parsing
HR — Preposition
HR
who? will he bring me a city of fortification who? has he led me to Edom
אֱדֽוֹם׃'e.Dom Edom H123 Noun proper masculine
100× in the OT scale is logarithmic — the commonest word, אֵת, appears about 11,000×
In plain English
Meaning
Edom was the twin brother of Jacob and the region where he lived. He was the son of Isaac and Rebekah, and his story is told in Genesis 25. Edom is also another name for Esau.
Tyndale gloss
Edom
Hebrew lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

אֱדוֹם (Edom) refers to both a person and a region. It is derived from the Hebrew word for 'red' and is associated with Esau, Jacob's brother. The term encompasses the Edomites, descendants of Esau, and the land of Edom, located southeast of Palestine. It is first mentioned in Genesis 25:25.

Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew Lexicon (full)

אֱדוֹם († אֱדֹם Ez 25:11) n.pr.m.

Edom

coll. Edomites, Idumeans as descend. of Esau

land of Edom, Idumaea

base

Brown-Driver-Briggs glosses

H123 אֱדוֹם . Edom

. coll. Edomites, Idumeans as descend. of Esau

. land of Edom, Idumaea

Strong's Hebrew Dictionary

123 'Edom ed-ome'

or (fully) oEdowm {ed-ome'}; from 122; red (see Gen. 25:25);

Edom, the elder twin-brother of Jacob; hence the region

(Idumaea) occupied by him:--Edom, Edomites, Idumea.

see HEBREW for 0122

Translators Brief Hebrew Lexicon

אֱדוֹם (e.dom) — Edom.

Edom = "red"

land of Edom, Idumea-land south and south east of Palestine

אֱדוֹם (e.dom) — Edom.

A man living at the time of the Patriarchs, first mentioned at Gen.25.25;

son of: Isaac (H3327) and Rebekah (H7259);

brother of: Israel (H3478); married to Oholibamah (H0173), Judith (H3067), Adah (H5711H) and Mahalath (H4258);

father of: Eliphaz (H0464), Reuel (H7467), Jeush (H3266), Jalam (H3281) and Korah (H7141); also called Edom at Gen.25.30; 36.1,8,19,21; 1x,54;

Another name of e.sav (עֵשָׂו "Esau" H6215G)

§ Edom = "red"

1) Edom

2) Edomite, Idumean-descendants of Esau

3) land of Edom, Idumea-land south and south east of Palestine

Morphologythe parsing behind the code
Berean parsing
HNpm — Noun proper masculine
HNpm
Bible dictionarieson the English sense
Easton's Bible Dictionary

Edom

(1.) The name of Esau (q.v.), Gen. 25:30, “Feed me, I pray thee, with that same red pottage [Heb. haadom, haadom, i.e., ‘the red pottage, the red pottage’] ...Therefore was his name called Edom”, i.e., Red.

(2.) Idumea (Isa. 34:5, 6; Ezek. 35:15). “The field of Edom” (Gen. 32:3), “the land of Edom” (Gen. 36:16), was mountainous (Obad. 1:8, 9, 19, 21). It was called the land, or “the mountain of Seir,” the rough hills on the east side of the Arabah. It extended from the head of the Gulf of Akabah, the Elanitic gulf, to the foot of the Dead Sea (

American Tract Society Bible Dictionary

Red, a name of Esau, Isaac’s eldest son, appropriate on account of his natural complexion, but given, it would seem, from the current name of food for which he sold his birthright-"that same red," Ge 25:25,30. See ESAU and IDUMEA.

Hitchcock's Bible Names Dictionary

red, earthy; of blood

Nave's Topical Bible

→ (Signifies red)

1. A name of Esau, possibly on account of his being covered with red hair Ge 25:25,30; 36:1,8,19

2. A name of the land occupied by the descendants of Esau

It extended from the Elanitic Gulf to the Red Sea, and was also called IDUMEA Ge 32:3; 36:16,17,21; Jer 40:11

Noted for its wise men Ob 1:8

Sins of Ob 1:10-14

Prophecies concerning Jer 25:21-23; 27:1-11; Da 11:41

See EDOMITES

FIGURATIVE of the foes of Zion Isa 63:1

Sources on this page. Lexicons and dictionaries imported from the CrossWire SWORD modules — Abbott-Smith, Strong's, Dodson, the Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones, Robinson and Packard, Webster and Cawdrey. Thayer’s Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament (Harper, 1889 — Grimm’s Wilke’s Clavis Novi Testamenti, translated, revised and enlarged by Joseph Henry Thayer) is public domain and is set here from the Internet Archive page scan greekenglishlex00grim; it is uncorrected OCR, marked as such on the entry itself, and the Strong’s numbers — which Thayer’s own edition does not carry — were matched by lemma against the other modules on this page. Trench’s Synonyms of the New Testament (Macmillan, 1880) and Moulton and Milligan’s Vocabulary of the Greek Testament (Hodder & Stoughton, 1930, which entered the United States public domain on 1 January 2026) are set from Internet Archive page scans synonymsofnewtes00treniala and vocabularyofgree00mouluoft, and are likewise uncorrected OCR matched to Strong’s numbers by lemma. Trench treats a group of words at once, so the same essay stands on the page of each word it compares. The Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary is © 1993 and is used here by permission for non-commercial use, www.teknia.com/greek-dictionary. The full Liddell-Scott-Jones and the Hebrew word data (TAHOT) come from STEPBible.org, CC BY 4.0. Brown-Driver-Briggs is the OpenScriptures digitisation, public domain. Syntax analysis is the Nestle 1904 Lowfat treebank (biblicalhumanities.org); the concordance and morphology are built from the tagged Nestle 1904 text. Septuagint occurrences use the Open Scriptures Septuagint lemma index, derived from CCAT (University of Pennsylvania) and the Rahlfs 1935 dataset by Eliran Wong, CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 — used here on a non-commercial ministry site. Greek of Josephus and Barnabas from the Perseus Digital Library, CC BY-SA 4.0. Commentaries and the Ante-Nicene Fathers are public-domain texts hosted on this site. Everyday Greek from the Duke Databank of Documentary Papyri, CC BY 3.0, with dates and provenance from the Heidelberger Gesamtverzeichnis. Philo and the Apostolic Fathers from Open Greek and Latin (First1KGreek), CC BY-SA 4.0. The apparatus and the fifth Greek column are the SBL Greek New Testament, © 2010 SBL and Logos Bible Software, CC BY 4.0. The Latin is the Clementine Vulgate (public domain); the Syriac New Testament is the ETCBC edition (MIT licence). The Hebrew behind the Greek is computed here from the Septuagint index and TAHOT, not taken from any aligned edition. The translation spread and the per-word edition marks come from the Translators Amalgamated Greek NT (STEPBible, CC BY 4.0); clause roles from the Nestle 1904 Lowfat treebank (CC BY-SA 4.0); place identifications and their confidence from OpenBible.info Bible Geocoding (CC BY 4.0), with map tiles © OpenStreetMap contributors. Gospel parallels are computed here from shared uncommon vocabulary, not taken from any printed harmony. Cross references are the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge and the subject headings are Nave’s Topical Bible, both public domain. Works under Creative Commons licences are used unchanged apart from markup removal.

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