### Core Meaning & Semantic Range
The Hebrew word **mêtsar**, represented by `{{H4712}}`, conveys a state of being in a tight place. It is defined as distress, pain, or a strait, and appears **3 times** across **3 unique verses**. The term figuratively and literally describes a condition of severe constriction, trouble, and anguish from which escape seems impossible.
### Biblical Occurrences & Contextual Analysis
In its biblical usage, `{{H4712}}` illustrates moments of extreme crisis. The psalmist uses it to describe the feeling of being cornered before calling out to God, testifying, "I called upon the LORD in **distress**" [[Psalms 118:5]]. In Lamentations, it depicts the inescapable plight of Judah during its fall, where "all her persecutors overtook her between the **straits**" [[Lamentations 1:3]]. The term is also linked to the finality of mortality, where the "pains of hell gat hold upon me" [[Psalms 116:3]], associating it with the sorrows of death and the grave.
### Related Words & Concepts
Several related words help clarify the scope of `{{H4712}}`:
* `{{H6869}}` **tsârâh** (trouble): This word, from a related root, also means tightness or adversity and appears alongside `{{H4712}}` to describe a state of being beset by "trouble and sorrow" [[Psalms 116:3]].
* `{{H4800}}` **merchâb** (large place): This term for enlargement or an open space is used as a direct contrast to the confinement of `{{H4712}}`. Deliverance is described as being set in a **large place** [[Psalms 118:5]].
* `{{H2256}}` **chebel** (sorrow): Often translated as a cord, pang, or sorrow, this word is paired with `{{H4712}}` to describe the "**sorrows** of death" that have compassed the psalmist [[Psalms 116:3]].
* `{{H7585}}` **shᵉʼôwl** (hell): This term for the grave or world of the dead is the location of the "pains" described by `{{H4712}}`, highlighting a state of ultimate constriction [[Psalms 116:3]].
### Theological Significance
The theological significance of `{{H4712}}` is focused on the human condition of distress and the nature of divine rescue.
* **The Catalyst for Prayer:** Distress, as described by `{{H4712}}`, is consistently shown to be a state that provokes a cry to God. It is from this "tight place" that the psalmist calls upon the Lord [[Psalms 118:5]].
* **The Reality of Anguish:** The word powerfully illustrates the reality of suffering, whether it is the desolation of a nation in exile [[Lamentations 1:3]] or the personal agony of facing death [[Psalms 116:3]].
* **Deliverance into Liberty:** The use of `{{H4712}}` in [[Psalms 118:5]] is immediately followed by God's response: He answered and set the psalmist in a "large place" `{{H4800}}`. This establishes a clear theological pattern of deliverance from constriction to freedom.
### Summary
In summary, `{{H4712}}` is a concise and potent term for severe distress. Though used sparingly, it effectively paints a picture of being trapped, whether by enemies, circumstances, or the finality of the grave. Its primary function in scripture is to establish the dire situation from which God's deliverance provides a path to a "large place" of freedom and rest, demonstrating a foundational theme of rescue from trouble.
TRV