These are the Words...

Machaseh
מחסה

But Adonai is my defensible place, and my God is the rock of my place with protection. -Psalm 94:22

Definition

The Hebrew word machaseh is the most common Hebrew word for a "shelter" and refers specifically to a place someone flees to for protection. This word almost always refers to a place which is safe from enemies because an ally is there to actively defend you. Only once, in the older language of Job (24:8), does sense of protection come from a passive feature of the place (a rocky outcropping that allows someone to get out of the rain).

The word machaseh is built of the ver root chasah, which means "to flee to protection". It is closely related to a similar pair for words, batach and mibtach, that describe putting your confidence in a source of help. In fact, verses such as Psalm 62:8, 73:28, and 92:1 show that the concepts of placing confidence and relying on a protector are very closely related in Hebrew thought.

Meaning in Ancient Israel

The meaning of machaseh is simple, and in isolation provides no spiritual insights or applications. However, it is worthwhile to compare it with three other Hebrew words refering to other types of shelter.

The first is misgab, which appears almost as frequently, and refers to a place which is safe because it is nearly inaccessible and thus easily defensible. Its root word sagav means "lofty" or "inaccesibly high". This emphasis of a passive feature of the location providing safety is in contrast with machaseh, which emphasizes the place providing safety because an ally is there to actively offer protection. The word misgab is often translated "high tower" in English translations of scripture even though it has no inherent meaning of a man-made construction.

The second is manoos, which appears more rarely comes from the root word noos, "to vanish". The word manoos literally means "a place to vanish to", but most often refers to a place troops can flee to after losing a battle.

The third is meklat, which is the word always used in the English phrase "cities of refuge". The word meklat comes from the root word kalat, which means "lacking in parts" and is used to refer to a deformed animal. So the phrase "cities of refuge" is more accurately "cities for those lacking a part". What is lacking? In Hebrew thought shalom, peace, is about being whole and complete: especially about having wholeness in our relationships with God and our neighbors. Someone who accidentally killed another would not have relational wholeness when the other person's family wanted revenge. Thus these cities were a place where someone who had accidentally killed another could live in peace even though their relational shalom was lacking a part.

Searching most English translations of scripture for the English words "refuge" and "shelter" will find instances in which all four of these Hebrew words are used. However, these English translations often fail to fully bring out the meaning of the text because the English words "refuge" and "shelter" can be ready simply as a safe place, without the distinctions implied by these four Hebrew words.

Meaning in the First Century

Unfortunately, the Apostolic Writings do not speak of places of refuge of shelter. Perhaps the mixing of Greek and Hebrew vocabulary added richness to the thoughts of Yeshua and his early followers, but we have no record of what this might have been like.

Meaning for Yeshua's Followers in Modern Times

As followers of Yeshua we are attacked by evil spiritual forces and also more physical threats. It is helpful, as we rely on God and pray that he protect others, to remain aware of these different scriptural types of "shelter" or "refuge".

Most commonly, God is our shelter or refuge because he will defend us when we are with him. This means we must be with him! We cannot ask for his protection over our activities or lives when we are not obediently doing the work he has called us to do. Often Yeshua's followers are confused because they work or live with an effort to please God but without actually listening to God to find where he wants to lead them. If we "marching for God" instead of "walking with God" he will not protect us in a machaseh manner.