H4583 — מָעוֹן (maʻown)¶

Core Data¶

Strong's: H4583
Original: מָעוֹן
Transliteration: maʻown
Pronunciation: maw-ohn
Part of Speech: Masculine noun
Root: עוֹן (ʻown) — same base as H4584 (Maon, a place name) and H4585 (meʻonah, "den/habitation")
Occurrences: 17 unique verses (23 tokens)
Books: 7
First Occurrence: Deu 26:15 — "Look down from thy holy habitation, from heaven, and bless thy people Israel"
Hapax Legomenon: No

Lexicon Definition¶

From the same root as H4585; an abode, of God (the Tabernacle or the Temple), men (their home) or animals (their lair); hence, a retreat (asylum): — den, dwelling((-) place), habitation.

Alternate form: מָעִין (maʻiyn) in 1 Chronicles 4:41.

Translation Distribution (KJV)¶

Translation	Verses	%
habitation	7	41.2%
den	2	11.8%
dwelling place	2	11.8%
dwelling / dwellingplace	2	11.8%
Other (in prepositional constructions)	4	23.5%

Distribution by Book¶

Book	Count	Per 100 Verses
Nahum	1	2.1
Zechariah	1	0.5
Jeremiah	5	0.4
1 Samuel	2	0.2
Psalms	5	0.2
2 Chronicles	2	0.2
Deuteronomy	1	0.1

Concentrated in poetic and prophetic literature (Psalms + Prophets = 14 of 17 verses). The Psalms usage is exclusively positive (God's dwelling/refuge); the prophetic usage splits between God's heavenly dwelling (Jer 25:30; Zec 2:13) and animal lairs as desolation imagery (Jer 9:11; 10:22; 49:33; 51:37; Nah 2:11).

Semantic Categories¶

1. God's Heavenly Dwelling¶

Deu 26:15 — "Look down from thy holy habitation (maʻown), from heaven, and bless thy people Israel"
2Ch 30:27 — "their prayer came up to his holy dwelling place (maʻown), even unto heaven"
Jer 25:30 — "The LORD shall roar from on high, and utter his voice from his holy habitation (maʻown)"
Zec 2:13 — "he is raised up out of his holy habitation (maʻown)"
Psa 68:5 — "A father of the fatherless, and a judge of the widows, is God in his holy habitation (maʻown)"

The dominant usage. The phrase "holy habitation" (maʻown qodesh) appears 5 times, always referring to heaven as YHWH's dwelling. Often paired with divine action directed earthward — blessing, hearing prayer, roaring in judgment.

2. God as Personal Refuge¶

Psa 90:1 — "Lord, thou hast been our dwelling place (maʻown) in all generations"
Psa 91:9 — "thou hast made the LORD, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation (maʻown)"
Psa 71:3 — "Be thou my strong habitation (maʻown), whereunto I may continually resort"

A shift from location to relationship: God himself becomes the maʻown rather than occupying one. The refuge/asylum sense of the lexicon definition is clearest here.

3. God's Earthly Dwelling (Tabernacle/Temple)¶

Psa 26:8 — "LORD, I have loved the habitation (maʻown) of thy house, and the place where thine honour dwelleth"
1Sa 2:29 — "which I have commanded in my habitation (maʻown)"
1Sa 2:32 — "thou shalt see an enemy in my habitation (maʻown)"
2Ch 36:15 — "he had compassion on his people, and on his dwelling place (maʻown)"

Applied to the Tabernacle at Shiloh (1 Samuel) and the Temple (2 Chronicles). In 1 Samuel, the sanctuary as maʻown is threatened by priestly corruption.

4. Den/Lair of Wild Animals (Desolation)¶

Jer 9:11 — "I will make Jerusalem heaps, and a den (maʻown) of dragons"
Jer 10:22 — "to make the cities of Judah desolate, and a den (maʻown) of dragons"
Jer 49:33 — "Hazor shall be a dwelling (maʻown) for dragons, and a desolation for ever"
Jer 51:37 — "Babylon shall become heaps, a dwellingplace (maʻown) for dragons"
Nah 2:11 — "Where is the dwelling (maʻown) of the lions?"

Judgment imagery: cities reduced to animal lairs. The word tanniyn (H8577, "dragon/jackal") collocates 4 times in these verses (24% of all occurrences). This usage inverts the nobility of categories 1-3: what was once a human or divine dwelling becomes an animal lair.

Common Collocations¶

Word	Strong's	Co-occurrences	Typical Pattern
קֹדֶשׁ (qodesh)	H6944	5x (29%)	"holy habitation" (maʻown qodesh) — fixed phrase
יְהֹוָה (Yehovah)	H3068	5x (29%)	YHWH as possessor or occupant of the dwelling
תַּנִּין (tanniyn)	H8577	4x (24%)	"den/dwelling of dragons" — desolation formula
יָשַׁב (yashab)	H3427	4x (24%)	"dwell" — verbal complement to the noun
עַם (ʻam)	H5971	4x (24%)	"his people" — recipients of divine action from maʻown
אֱלֹהִים (ʼelohiym)	H430	3x (18%)	God as subject associated with the dwelling
שְׁמָמָה (shemamah)	H8077	3x (18%)	"desolation" — parallel to animal-lair usage

Word Family / Cognates¶

H4585 מְעוֹנָה (meʻonah) — feminine form: den, habitation (9 occurrences). Used more for animal dens (Psa 104:22; Job 37:8; 38:40; Amo 3:4; Nah 2:12) and occasionally for divine/cosmic dwelling (Deu 33:27).
H4584 מָעוֹן (Maʻown) — proper noun: a town in Judah (1Sa 23:24-25; 25:2; Jos 15:55; 1Ch 2:45).

Easily Confused Words¶

Word	Strong's	Shared Translation	Key Difference
נָוֶה (naveh)	H5116	"habitation" (4x)	naveh = pastoral dwelling, pleasant abode (shepherd imagery); maʻown = refuge, shelter, lair
מָכוֹן (makon)	H4349	"dwelling place" (1x)	makon = established place, fixed foundation (emphasizes permanence/stability); maʻown = shelter/retreat (emphasizes protection)
מָקוֹם (maqom)	H4725	"place" (general)	maqom = generic location (379 occurrences); maʻown = specific dwelling with connotations of shelter or habitation
מִשְׁכָּן (mishkan)	H4907	"habitation" (1x, Aramaic)	mishkan = technical term for the Tabernacle; maʻown = poetic/general dwelling

Semantic Domain¶

Dwell (SDBH 002002001005) — H4583 groups with H168 (ʼohel, "tent"), H1481 (gur, "sojourn"), and other dwelling-related words.
Confident (SDBH 002001002003) — reflects the refuge/asylum sense, grouping with words for security and strength.

LXX Mapping¶

Greek Equivalent	Co-occurrences	PMI Score	Notes
κατοικητήριον (katoiketerion) G2732	3	10.92	"dwelling-place" — strongest statistical association
ἀφανισμός (aphanismos) G854	3	8.81	"disappearance/destruction" — renders the desolation context
ἅγιος (hagios) G40	5	6.59	"holy" — translates the adjective in "holy habitation"
τόπος (topos) G5117	4	5.94	"place" — generic rendering
κατοικέω (katoikeo) G2730	3	4.05	"to dwell" — verbal rendering of the noun concept

Primary LXX rendering is κατοικητήριον (G2732), a dwelling-place. This same Greek word also translates H4349 makon and H5116 naveh, collapsing Hebrew distinctions.