Hold

A hold in the biblical sense was a stronghold, fortress, or refuge—a defensible position used as a hiding place or military base. The Hebrew terms meṣûdâ (stronghold, fastness) and meṣad (fort) are translated as hold or stronghold in many passages. David used a network of such positions during his years as a fugitive from Saul, seeking refuge in the limestone caves and rocky terrain of the Judean wilderness and the hill country of Moab.

First Samuel 22:4–5 records David leaving his family in the hold of Mizpeh of Moab while the prophet Gad directed him back to Judah, and 1 Samuel 24:22 notes his return to the stronghold after his encounter with Saul at En-gedi. The Philistine holdfast at Gibeah of God (1 Samuel 10:5) and the stronghold of Zion (2 Samuel 5:7) that David captured to make his royal city both illustrate the strategic importance of defensible high ground in Iron Age Palestine. The concept extends metaphorically: God himself is called the stronghold (meṣûdâ) and refuge of his people throughout the Psalms.