Hebrew word · H1718

דָּדָה

'eddadem

to go slowly

To walk slowly, deliberately, at a measured pace. Attested elsewhere only in Isa 38:15 (Hezekiah: 'I will walk slowly all my years').

Appears 2 times in 2 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

1) to move slowly

1a) (Hithpael) to walk deliberately

Abridged from Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of Psalm 42:4

Range of meaning

To walk slowly, deliberately, at a measured pace. Attested elsewhere only in Isa 38:15 (Hezekiah: 'I will walk slowly all my years').

Against the English

BSB/ESV/NASB 'lead (them) in procession' and WEB 'led them' make the speaker a leader. KJV 'went with them' makes him a participant. The Hebrew allows both and is not certain.

Used elsewhere in the period

The form ʾeddaddēm is unusual: a reflexive verb with an object ending attached. Some scholars repoint it as a causative 'I led them slowly'. The Septuagint read a different word (ʾaddîr, 'mighty/wonderful').

Where it appears

Psalms · 1

  1. Psalm 42:4 אֶדַּדֵּ֗ם I led them

    These things come to mind as I pour out my soul: how I walked with the multitude, leading the festive procession to the house of God with shouts of joy and praise.

    Here: Elsewhere only in Isa 38:15 ('I walk slowly'). It describes the measured, solemn pace of a procession. The '-them' ending is grammatically odd. It is read as 'I led them in procession' (BSB, ESV, WEB) or 'I went with them' (KJV). It is unclear whether the speaker led the procession or simply walked in it.

Isaiah · 1

  1. Isaiah 38:15 אֶדַּדֶּ֥ה I will walk deliberately

    What can I say? He has spoken to me, and He Himself has done this. I will walk slowly all my years because of the anguish of my soul.

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.