nest
qen denotes a bird’s nesting place and, in figurative settings, a settled or elevated place of security.
The term most often denotes the place associated with a bird and its young, eggs, or flight. It also appears figuratively for a high or settled dwelling presented as secure, while a few contexts use it for an enclosed or inhabited place whose precise contribution is less explicit in the translation.
Senses in use
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Birds’ nesting place · dominant
In Deuteronomy 22:6, the singular construct form occurs where a bird is encountered with young or eggs and the mother sits over them; the APB renders the clause “a bird's nest.” Deuteronomy 32:11 and Job 39:27 likewise place the singular construct form with an eagle and its young, and Proverbs 27:8 compares a bird leaving this place with a man leaving his home.
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Elevated place of security · common
In Habakkuk 2:9, the singular construct form is set “on high” in a warning against seeking deliverance from evil. Jeremiah 49:16, Numbers 24:21, and Obadiah 1:4 similarly place it in high rock settings or among the stars; the APB presents these as a lofty dwelling from which one may nevertheless be brought down.
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Settled or enclosed dwelling place · occasional
Genesis 6:14 uses the plural absolute form in instructions for the ark, where the APB renders “make rooms in the ark.” In Job 29:18, the singular construct form stands in the speaker’s expectation to “die in my nest”; Psalm 84:4 contains the singular absolute form in a verse about those dwelling in God's house, though the APB does not make this term’s specific contribution clear.
In the Anselm Project Bible: The APB commonly presents the term with “nest,” especially in bird scenes and descriptions of a high place. It also renders Genesis 6:14 with “rooms” and leaves the term unexpressed in Psalm 84:4; These renderings do not by themselves fix every nuance.