4498. manos

Lexical Summary

manos: flight, refuge, escape

Original Word: מָנוֹס
Part of Speech: Noun Masculine
Transliteration: manowc
Pronunciation: mah-NOHS
Phonetic Spelling: (maw-noce')
KJV: X apace, escape, way to flee, flight, refuge
NASB: flight, refuge, escape
Word Origin: [from H5127 (נוּס - fled)]

1. a retreat (literally or figuratively)
2. abstractly, a fleeing

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance

escape, way to flee, flight, refuge

From nuwc; a retreat (literally or figuratively); abstractly, a fleeing -- X apace, escape, way to flee, flight, refuge.

see HEBREW nuwc

NAS Exhaustive Concordance

Word Origin
from nus
Definition
flight, place of escape or refuge
NASB Translation
escape (2), flight (3), refuge (3).

Brown-Driver-Briggs

מָנוֺס noun masculine Amos 2:14

1 flight.

2 place of escape, refuge; — absolute ׳מ Amos 2:14 5t.; suffix מְנוּסִי 2 Samuel 22:3; Jeremiah 16:19; —

1 flight, accusative of congnate meaning with verb with נוּס Jeremiah 46:5.

2 (place of) escape; מִן ׳אָבַד מ escape perished from, = there was no escape for, Amos 2:14; Jeremiah 25:35; Job 11:20; Psalm 142:5; of ׳י as a refuge 2 Samuel 22:3 ("" משׂגב; ׳מנום וגו not "" Psalm 18:3; text disputed, Kit Bu retain in Sm, Klo Bae Löhr Du insert in Psalms; < strike out in Sm De Hup-Now HPS compare Che), Psalm 59:17 ("" id.); Jeremiah 16:19 ("" עז, מעוז).

Topical Lexicon

Overview

The noun מָנוֹס occurs eight times in the Old Testament, appearing in historical narrative, poetry, wisdom literature, and prophetic oracles. It pictures either a secure refuge provided by the Lord or the act of fleeing—often a desperate, futile flight when God’s judgment falls. The contrasting uses create a sharp theological line: true safety is found only in the Lord, while all other attempts at escape collapse.

Range of Meaning

1. Refuge, place of safety or shelter (2 Samuel 22:3; Psalm 59:16; Psalm 142:4; Jeremiah 16:19).
2. Flight, escape, or the act of fleeing (Job 11:20; Jeremiah 25:35; Jeremiah 46:5; Amos 2:14).

Literary Usage Across the Canon

• Davidic Praise (2 Samuel 22:3; Psalm 59:16) – David extols the Lord: “My God is my rock, in whom I take refuge … my stronghold and my refuge” (2 Samuel 22:3). Here מָנוֹס is personal and covenantal, reinforcing God’s covenant faithfulness.

• Personal Lament (Psalm 142:4) – “There is no refuge for me; no one cares for my soul.” The psalmist feels utterly abandoned, highlighting the absence of מָנוֹס among human helpers and thus driving the sufferer back to God.

• Wisdom Contrast (Job 11:20) – “Escape will elude them.” Human scheming offers no מָנוֹס when the wicked face divine reckoning.

• Prophetic Oracles (Jeremiah 16:19; 25:35; 46:5; Amos 2:14) – In Jeremiah the term anchors both promise and doom. “O LORD, my strength and my fortress, my refuge in the day of distress” (Jeremiah 16:19) sets hope for the nations, while “the shepherds will have no place to flee, and the leaders of the flock will have no escape” (Jeremiah 25:35) underscores the shepherds’ helplessness. Amos intensifies it: “Flight will perish from the swift” (Amos 2:14).

Historical and Cultural Insights

• Ancient cities often featured a fortified elevated acropolis offering hiding places during invasion. By calling the Lord מָנוֹס, writers transpose the physical reality into spiritual security.
• Jeremiah’s agricultural imagery (“shepherds”) evokes leaders of Judah and surrounding nations. Their lack of מָנוֹס underlines that political alliances and military strength cannot avert the Babylonian onslaught.
• Amos speaks to northern Israel’s complacent elite. Even the “swift”—elite chariot warriors—will find no flight path when judgment arrives.

Theological Significance

1. Divine Exclusivity: Scripture reserves ultimate refuge for the Lord alone. All other shelters prove illusory.
2. Judgment and Mercy: The same term that describes the believer’s safety condemns the unbeliever’s futile flight, stressing both aspects of God’s character.
3. Covenant Assurance: In David’s song and the Psalms, God as מָנוֹס provides experiential proof of His steadfast love.
4. Missional Hope: Jeremiah 16:19 anticipates Gentile pilgrimage—nations will acknowledge Israel’s God as their refuge, a foreshadowing of the gospel’s universal reach (compare Acts 15:17).

Contextual Nuances in Key Passages

• 2 Samuel 22:3 couples מָנוֹס with images of shield, horn of salvation, stronghold, and Savior, portraying comprehensive protection.
• Psalm 59:16 balances divine might and loving devotion (ḥesed), teaching that refuge is both powerful and relational.
• Amos 2:14 personifies “flight” itself perishing, a poetic way of saying that the possibility of escape is annihilated—a severe warning against presumption.

Ministry and Devotional Application

• Pastoral Counseling – Point sufferers to the Lord as the only sure מָנוֹס amid betrayal, illness, or persecution.
• Evangelism – Use Jeremiah and Amos to illustrate humanity’s inability to outrun sin’s consequences, then present Christ as the ultimate refuge (Hebrews 6:18).
• Worship – Incorporate the language of 2 Samuel 22 and the Psalms to cultivate trust in God’s unshakable security.
• Leadership – Jeremiah 25:35 convicts shepherds and leaders: if they rely on human strategies, they will find no escape. Faithful oversight means directing people to God as refuge.

See Also

• “Rock,” “Fortress,” “Stronghold” (2 Samuel 22; Psalm 18)
• Cities of Refuge (Numbers 35) as typological pointers to Christ
• Greek καταφυγή / καταφεύγω (“to flee for refuge”) in Hebrews 6:18, echoing מָנוֹס and sealing its fulfillment in the New Covenant

Forms and Transliterations

וּ֝מָנ֗וֹס וּ֭מָנוֹס וּמְנוּסִ֔י וּמְנוּסִ֖י וּמָנ֥וֹס ומנוס ומנוסי מָנ֖וֹס מָנ֣וֹס מָנוֹס֙ מנוס mā·nō·ws maNos mānōws ū·mā·nō·ws ū·mə·nū·sî Umanos ūmānōws umenuSi ūmənūsî

Englishman's Concordance

2 Samuel 22:3
HEB: יִשְׁעִ֗י מִשְׂגַּבִּי֙ וּמְנוּסִ֔י מֹשִׁעִ֕י מֵחָמָ֖ס
NAS: my stronghold and my refuge; My savior,
KJV: my high tower, and my refuge, my saviour;
INT: of my salvation my stronghold and my refuge my savior violence

Job 11:20
HEB: רְשָׁעִ֗ים תִּ֫כְלֶ֥ינָה וּ֭מָנוֹס אָבַ֣ד מִנְהֶ֑ם
NAS: And there will be no escape for them; And their hope
INT: of the wicked will fail escape will be no them

Psalm 59:16
HEB: מִשְׂגָּ֣ב לִ֑י וּ֝מָנ֗וֹס בְּי֣וֹם צַר־
NAS: my stronghold And a refuge in the day
KJV: for thou hast been my defence and refuge in the day
INT: have been my stronghold refuge the day of my distress

Psalm 142:4
HEB: מַ֫כִּ֥יר אָבַ֣ד מָנ֣וֹס מִמֶּ֑נִּי אֵ֖ין
NAS: me; There is no escape for me; No one
KJV: but [there was] no man that would know me: refuge failed
INT: regards is no escape at is no

Jeremiah 16:19
HEB: עֻזִּ֧י וּמָעֻזִּ֛י וּמְנוּסִ֖י בְּי֣וֹם צָרָ֑ה
NAS: and my stronghold, And my refuge in the day
KJV: and my fortress, and my refuge in the day
INT: my strength and my stronghold and my refuge the day of distress

Jeremiah 25:35
HEB: וְאָבַ֥ד מָנ֖וֹס מִן־ הָֽרֹעִ֑ים
NAS: Flight will perish
KJV: And the shepherds shall have no way to flee,
INT: will perish Flight from the shepherds

Jeremiah 46:5
HEB: וְגִבּוֹרֵיהֶ֣ם יֻכַּ֔תּוּ וּמָנ֥וֹס נָ֖סוּ וְלֹ֣א
NAS: And have taken refuge in flight, Without
KJV: and are fled apace, and look not back:
INT: and their mighty are defeated flight taken Without

Amos 2:14
HEB: וְאָבַ֤ד מָנוֹס֙ מִקָּ֔ל וְחָזָ֖ק
NAS: Flight will perish from the swift,
KJV: Therefore the flight shall perish
INT: will perish Flight the swift and the stalwart

8 Occurrences

Strong's Hebrew 4498
8 Occurrences

mā·nō·ws — 3 Occ.
ū·mā·nō·ws — 3 Occ.
ū·mə·nū·sî — 2 Occ.