ma.tsor denotes a city's besieging and its pressures, and can also occur in descriptions of fortified places or defensive works.

The predominant usage concerns a city under attack: the noun occurs with the duration, hardship, and military measures of an encirclement. In building and defensive contexts, it also occurs where cities, fortifications, or preparations are being constructed or strengthened.

1. A city's encirclement and its hardships · dominant

   The common masculine singular noun marks the military pressure directed against a city. In 2 Kings 24:10 the APB renders Jerusalem as having “came under siege”; Deuteronomy 28:53 and Jeremiah 19:9 place extreme deprivation “in the siege and in the distress.” In Ezekiel 4:2, the surrounding actions include a mound, camps, and battering rams against the city, while Ezekiel 4:7 and Ezekiel 4:8 use construct forms in phrases concerning Jerusalem's siege and its days.

   2 Kings 24:10Deuteronomy 28:53Jeremiah 19:9Ezekiel 4:2Ezekiel 4:7Ezekiel 4:8
2. Fortified places or defensive preparations · common

   The noun also occurs in construction and defense settings rather than solely in statements that a city is under attack. In 2 Chronicles 8:5 the APB renders built “cities of siege” and describes walls, doors, and a bar; 2 Chronicles 11:5 likewise concerns cities built for siege. Nahum 3:14 joins preparation for siege with strengthening fortifications, and Zechariah 9:3 describes Tyre building a siege and accumulating silver and gold.

   2 Chronicles 8:52 Chronicles 11:5Nahum 3:14Zechariah 9:3

In the Anselm Project Bible: The APB commonly presents the surrounding clauses with “siege,” including “under siege” and “in the siege,” and uses “siegeworks” in a construction setting. These renderings show the clauses' military setting rather than a fixed English equivalent in every occurrence.