H4268 H4268
Refuge or shelter, especially of God as the protective haven of his people in the Psalms and Prophets.
Derived from the root meaning 'to take refuge,' this noun denotes a place of protection or shelter. While it can refer to physical shelter from rain and storm (Isa 4:6; 25:4; Job 24:8), its overwhelming use in Scripture is theological: God himself as the refuge of his people. The Psalms are saturated with this word — 'my refuge' appears repeatedly as a personal confession of trust (Ps 62:7–8; 71:7; 73:28; 91:2, 9). Isaiah warns against a 'refuge of lies' (Isa 28:15, 17), contrasting false security with the true shelter found only in the Lord.
Senses
1. refuge, shelter — A place of protection, shelter, or safe harbor — used concretely of physical cover from storm and rain (Job 24:8; Isa 4:6; 25:4), of rocky crags that shelter coneys (Ps 104:18), and metaphorically of falsehood as a deceptive refuge (Isa 28:15, 17). The dominant biblical usage, however, is theological: God as the personal refuge of the faithful, attested across nearly every Psalm occurrence with possessive suffixes ('my refuge,' 'our refuge'). Multilingual renderings — English 'refuge,' Spanish 'refugio,' German 'Zuflucht' — converge uniformly on this protective sense. 20×
AR["مَلجأ", "مَلجَأي", "مَلجَأً", "مَلجَأٌ", "مَلْجَأً", "مَلْجَأٌ", "مَلْجَأٍ", "مَلْجَأَ", "مَلْجَأَنَا", "مَلْجَأُ-", "مَلْجَأُهُ", "مَلْجَأِي", "مَلْجَأِي-", "مَلْجَئي", "مَلْجَئِي", "وَ-لِلمَلجَأِ"]·ben["আমাদের-আশ্রয়", "আমার-আশ্রয়", "আমার-আশ্রয়-", "আমার-আশ্রয়ের", "আশ্রয়", "আশ্রয়-আমার,", "ও-আশ্রয়ের-জন্য", "তার-আশ্রয়"]·DE["Zuflucht-", "[ולמחסה]", "[מחסה]", "[מחסי]", "[מחסנו]", "ein-Zuflucht", "mein-Zuflucht", "mein-Zuflucht-", "sein-Zuflucht"]·EN["a-refuge", "and-for-refuge", "are-my-refuge-", "from-storm", "is-a-refuge-", "is-his-refuge", "my-refuge", "refuge", "refuge-my-", "shelter", "the-refuge", "we-have-hidden-ourselves"]·FR["[ולמחסה]", "[מחסה]", "[מחסי]", "[מחסנו]", "abri", "de-refuge", "mon-refuge", "refuge", "מחסה"]·heb["ו-ל-מחסה", "מחסה", "מחסה-", "מחסהו", "מחסי", "מחסי-", "מחסנו"]·HI["आसरा", "उसका-शरण-है", "और-शरण-के-लिए", "मेरा-आश्रय", "मेरा-भरोसा", "मेरी-शरण", "मेरी-शरण-है", "शरण", "शरण-", "शरण-मेरी-", "शरण-हमारी", "शरणस्थान"]·ID["dan-untuk-perlindungan", "perlindungan", "perlindungan-kami", "perlindungan-ku", "tempat-naungan", "tempat-perlindungan", "tempat-perlindungan-", "tempat-perlindungan-ku-", "tempat-perlindunganku", "tempat-perlindunganku-", "tempat-perlindungannya"]·IT["[מחסה]", "e-rifugio", "il-mio-rifugio", "rifugio", "shelter", "un-refuge"]·jav["lan-kangge-pangayoman", "pangayoman", "pangayoman-", "pangayoman-kawula", "pangayoman-kawula-", "pangayoman-kula", "pangeyupan-kula", "pangungsen", "pangungsian", "pangungsian-ipun", "pangungsèn-kawula", "papan-perlindungan"]·KO["나-의-피난-처-가", "나-의-피난처", "나-의-피난처-의", "내-피난처이시니", "우리의-피난처로", "피난-처-가", "피난처-가", "피난처-가-되시고", "피난처-로", "피난처-이시니라", "피난처-이요", "피난처가", "피난처로다", "피난처를", "피난처요"]·PT["e-para-refúgio", "meu-refúgio", "nosso-refúgio", "refúgio", "refúgio-de", "é-o-seu-refúgio", "és-meu-refúgio"]·RU["и-для-убежища", "прибежища-моего", "прибежище-его", "прибежище-моё", "прибежище-моё-", "убежища", "убежище", "убежище-", "убежище-моё", "убежищем", "убежищем-нашим"]·ES["como-nuestro-refugio", "el-refugio-de", "mi-refugio", "mi-refugio-de", "refugio", "refugio-", "refugio-mío", "su-refugio", "y-para-refugio"]·SW["Kimbilio-langu-", "kimbilio", "kimbilio-langu", "kimbilio-letu", "na-kimbilio", "na-kwa-kimbilio", "ni-kimbilio-lake"]·TR["siginak", "siginiagimiz", "siginiagini", "sığınak", "sığınak-", "sığınağı", "sığınağım", "sığınağım-", "sığınağımı", "ve-siginak-icin"]·urd["اور-پناہ-کے-لیے", "اُس-کی-پناہ", "میری-پناہ", "میری-پناہ-کی", "میری-پناہ-گاہ", "پناہ", "پناہ-", "پناہ-میری", "پناہ-کے", "پناہ-گاہ-", "پناہ-ہے", "ہماری-پناہ"]
Related Senses
H2896a 1. good (quality or moral) (305×)H7563 1. wicked person (259×)H7451c 1. moral evil or wickedness (234×)H5771 1. iniquity, sin, wrongdoing (222×)H6662 1. righteous person (substantive) (195×)G0266 1. sin, failure, transgression (173×)H2403b 1. sin, transgression (170×)H2617a 1. Covenant faithfulness, steadfast love (167×)H2398 1. Qal: to sin, commit sin (165×)H6666 1. righteousness, moral uprightness (145×)G5485 1. grace, divine favor (141×)H7451a 1. morally evil, wicked (129×)H2403b 2. sin-offering, sacrifice for sin (120×)G2570 1. good, right, excellent (98×)H6588 1. transgression, offense against God (88×)G0018 1. good (moral quality) (85×)H2896b 1. good, what is good (85×)H7451b 1. evil, wickedness (moral) (83×)H7451a 2. evil, harm, calamity (80×)G1342 1. righteous, upright (of persons) (70×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
† מַחְסֶה n.m. Pr 14:26 refuge, shelter;—abs. מַ׳ Jb 24:8 + 5 times; מַחֲסֶה ψ 46:2 + 2 times; cstr. מַחְסֵּה Is 28:17; sf. מַחְסִּי ψ 62:8 + 5 times; מַחֲסִי ψ 71:7 Je 17:17, מַחְסֵּהוּ ψ 14:6, מַחְסֵּנוּ Is 28:15;—shelter: a. from rain and storm Is 4:6; 25:4; Jb 24:8. b. from danger סְלָעִים מַחְסֶּה לַשְׁפַנִּים rocks a refuge for conies ψ 104:18; מחסה כזב refuge of falsehood Is 28:17; כזב…