mat.ta.rah designates a guarded court or gate, and in three verses an object set up for arrows.

Most occurrences identify a guarded court or related gate, especially the place where Jeremiah was confined or remained; a smaller group uses the noun for an object set up as the mark for arrows.

1. Guarded court or gate · dominant

   The singular absolute noun occurs in clauses locating Jeremiah in a court of the guard: in Jeremiah 32:2 the APB renders him as confined there, and in Jeremiah 37:21 it renders his placement and continued residence there. The same location is named where Jeremiah is taken out in Jeremiah 39:14, while Nehemiah 12:39 renders a Guard Gate.

   Jeremiah 32:2Jeremiah 32:8Jeremiah 37:21Jeremiah 38:28Jeremiah 39:14Nehemiah 12:39
2. Object aimed at by arrows · occasional

   In 1 Samuel 20:20 the noun stands in an arrow-shooting scene, where the APB renders shooting toward a target. Job 16:12 and Lamentations 3:12 likewise place the speaker as the object set for attack, with the latter explicitly mentioning an arrow.

   1 Samuel 20:20Job 16:12Lamentations 3:12

In the Anselm Project Bible: The APB commonly presents the location use as “court of the guard,” with “Guard Gate” in Nehemiah 12:39; in the arrow scenes it uses “target.” These renderings confirm the verse contexts rather than assign a separate English equivalent to every token.