'Strongholds' in the Bible

and whether the land in which they live is good or bad, and whether the cities in which they live are [open] camps or fortifications,

“Your strongholds will be iron and bronze,And as your days are, so will your strength, your rest and security be.

The [powerful] hand of Midian prevailed against Israel. Because of Midian the sons of Israel made for themselves the dens (hideouts) which were in the mountains, and the caves and the [mountain] strongholds.

David stayed in the wilderness in strongholds, in the hill country of the Wilderness of Ziph. Saul searched for him every day, but God did not hand David over to him.

Then the Ziphites came to Saul at Gibeah, saying, “Is David not hiding with us in strongholds of Horesh, on the hill of Hachilah, which is south of Jeshimon?

David went up from there and stayed in the strongholds of Engedi.

“Foreigners lose heart;They come trembling out of their strongholds.

Hazael said, “Why are you weeping, my lord?” He answered, “Because I know the evil that you will do to the sons (descendants) of Israel. You will set their strongholds on fire, kill their young men with the sword, smash their children to pieces, and rip up their pregnant women.”

He strengthened the fortresses and put officers in them, with supplies of food, [olive] oil, and wine.

“Thus says Sennacherib king of Assyria, ‘In what do you trust that you are remaining in Jerusalem under siege?

Foreigners lose heart,And come trembling out of their strongholds.

You have broken down all his [city] walls;You have brought his strongholds to ruin.

He has stretched out His hand over the sea,He has shaken the kingdoms;The Lord has given a command concerning Canaan to destroy her strongholds and her fortresses [like Tyre and Sidon].

Thorns will come up in its fortified palaces,Nettles and brambles in its fortified cities;It will be a haunt for jackals,An abode for ostriches.

“Come down from your glory,O Daughter living in Dibon,And sit on the parched ground [among the thirsty]!For the destroyer of Moab has advanced against you;He has destroyed your strongholds.

“Kerioth [and the cities] has been takenAnd the strongholds seized;And the hearts of the warriors of Moab in that dayShall be like the heart of a woman in childbirth.

The Lord has swallowed up; He has not sparedAll the country places of Jacob.In His wrath He has thrown downThe strongholds of the Daughter of Judah (Jerusalem).He has brought them down to the ground [in disgrace];He has debased the kingdom and its princes.

The Lord has become like an enemy;He has swallowed up Israel.He has swallowed up all its palaces;He has destroyed its strongholdsAnd multiplied in the Daughter of JudahMourning and lamentation (expressions of grief).

Therefore, I will bring the worst of the [Gentile] nations, and they will take possession of their houses [those of the people of Judah]; I will also silence their pride, and their holy places will be profaned.

‘He destroyed their palacesAnd he flattened their cities;And the land and all who were in it were appalledBy the sound of his roaring.

‘They put him in a cage with hooks and chainsAnd brought him to the king of Babylon;They brought him in hunting netsSo that his voice would be heard no moreOn the mountains of Israel.

You shall say this to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God, “As I live, those who are in the ruins certainly will fall by the sword, and I will give whoever is in the open field to the [predatory] animals to be devoured, and those who are in strongholds and in caves will die of virulent diseases.

In a time of tranquility, [without warning] he will enter the most productive and richest parts of the kingdom [of Egypt], and he will accomplish that which his fathers never did, nor his fathers’ fathers; he will distribute plunder, spoil and goods among them. He will devise plans against strongholds, but only for a time [decreed by God].

Hear this and pay close attention, O priests!Give heed, O house of Israel!Listen, O house of the king!For the [pronounced] judgment pertains to you and is meant for you to hear,Because you have been a snare at MizpahAnd a net spread out over Tabor (military strongholds on either side of the Jordan River).

“So I will send a fire [of war, conquest, and destruction] upon the house of Hazael,And it shall devour the palaces and strongholds of Ben-hadad (Hazael’s son).

“So I will send a fire [of war, conquest, and destruction] on the wall of GazaAnd it shall consume her citadels.

“So I will send a fire [of war, conquest, and destruction] on the wall of Tyre,And it shall consume her citadels.”

“So I will send a fire [of war, conquest, and destruction] upon Teman,And it shall consume the citadels of Bozrah [in Edom].”

“So I will kindle a fire [of war, conquest, and destruction] on the wall of Rabbah [in Ammon]And it shall devour its strongholdsAmid war cries and shouts of alarm on the day of battle,And a tempest on the day of the whirlwind [when the enemy captures the city].

“So I will send a fire [of war, conquest, and destruction] upon MoabAnd it shall devour the strongholds of Kerioth;And Moab shall die amid tumult and uproar,With war cries and shouts of alarm and the sound of the trumpet.

“So I will send a fire [of war, conquest, and destruction by the Babylonians] upon JudahAnd it will devour the strongholds of Jerusalem.”

Proclaim on the fortresses in Ashdod (Philistia) and on the citadels in the land of Egypt, and say, “Assemble yourselves on the mountains of Samaria, and see the great confusion within her and the oppressions and abuse of authority in her midst.

For they do not know how to do right,” says the Lord, “these who store up violence and devastation [like treasures] in their strongholds.”

Therefore, thus says the Lord God,“An adversary (Assyria), even one surrounding the land,Shall pull down your strength from youAnd your fortresses will be looted.”

The Lord God has sworn [an oath] by Himself—the Lord God of hosts, says:“I loathe and reject the [self-centered] arrogance of Jacob (Israel),And I hate his palaces and citadels;Therefore, I shall hand over the [idolatrous] city [of Samaria] with all that it contains [to the Assyrian invaders].”

“I will cut off the cities of your landAnd tear down all your fortifications.

They shall lick the dust like a serpent;Like crawling things of the earthThey shall come trembling out of their fortresses and hiding places.They shall turn and come with fear and dread to the Lord our GodAnd they shall be afraid and stand in awe before You [O Lord].