Hebrew word · H6654
צַד
tzad
side
צַד means 'side' (of a body, an object or a place). In the plural with לְ ('for') it is grammatically incomplete here: 'they will be for you for sides.'
Appears 33 times in 27 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·
What it means
side
Aramaic equivalent: tsad (צַד "side" H6655)
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
- Range of meaning
צַד means 'side' (of a body, an object or a place). In the plural with לְ ('for') it is grammatically incomplete here: 'they will be for you for sides.'
- Against the English
KJV and NASB put 'as thorns' in italics or brackets to mark it as supplied. BSB, ESV and NIV print 'thorns in your sides' with no marking. WEB gives the bare 'in your sides.' YLT translates 'adversaries,' following the ancient versions.
- How it drifted
The phrase 'thorns in your sides' is borrowed from the parallel texts. Through this verse, Num 33:55 and Paul's 'thorn in the flesh' it became the English idiom 'a thorn in my side,' which now means a persistent annoyance.
- Used elsewhere in the period
Num 33:55: the nations left behind will be 'barbs in your eyes and thorns in your sides' (lətsəninim bətsiddêkem). Josh 23:13: 'a whip on your sides and thorns in your eyes.' The Septuagint has εἰς συνοχάς ('for distresses or constraints'). The Vulgate reads ut habeatis hostes ('so that you have enemies'). The Targum has 'oppressors.'
- Range of meaning
Side, of a body, a building, or a direction. Used of the body, it can mean the hip or flank where a child sits.
- Against the English
KJV 'at [thy] side' adds 'thy' and makes it the mother's side. BSB 'on the arm' and WEB 'in arms' move the image to the arms. 'On the hip' is the most literal.
- Used elsewhere in the period
Isa 66:12, in a closely related passage: 'you shall nurse, you shall be carried on the hip ('al-tsad), and bounced on the knees.' In the ancient Near East, as in the region today, small children were carried astride the hip.
From the study of Isaiah 66:12
- Range of meaning
Side, flank or hip of a body. It also means the side of an object or place, and 'beside.'
- Against the English
KJV and WEB say '[her] sides / her side'. ESV and NASB say 'hip'. BSB and NIV say 'arm'. 'Hip' is the most precise. 'Arm' replaces the culturally specific picture of a child riding astride its carer's hip.
- Used elsewhere in the period
Isa 60:4: 'your daughters are carried (nursed) on the hip (ʿal-tsad).' Isa 49:22 is a related image: the nations carry Zion's sons 'in their bosom' and her daughters 'on their shoulders.'
Where it appears
Genesis · 1
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Genesis 6:16 בְּצִדָּ֣הּ in side its
You are to make a roof for the ark, finish its walls a cubit from the top, place a door in the side of the ark, and build lower, middle, and upper decks.
Exodus · 9
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Exodus 25:32 מִצִּדֶּ֑יהָ מִצִּדָּהּ֙ מִצִּדָּ֖הּ from sides its, [will be] from side its
Six branches are to extend from the sides of the lampstand—three on one side and three on the other.
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Exodus 26:13 צִדֵּ֧י [the] sides of
And the tent curtains will be a cubit longer on either side, and the excess will hang over the sides of the tabernacle to cover it.
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Exodus 30:4 צִדָּ֑יו sides its
And make two gold rings below the molding on opposite sides to hold the poles used to carry it.
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Exodus 37:18 מִצִּדֶּ֑יהָ מִצִּדָּהּ֙ מִצִּדָּ֖הּ from sides its, [were] from side its
Six branches extended from the sides, three on one side and three on the other.
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Exodus 37:27 צִדָּ֑יו sides its
He made two gold rings below the molding on opposite sides to hold the poles used to carry it.
Numbers · 1
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Numbers 33:55 בְּצִדֵּיכֶ֑ם in sides your
But if you do not drive out the inhabitants of the land before you, those you allow to remain will become barbs in your eyes and thorns in your sides; they will harass you in the land where you settle.
Here: The flanks or ribs: a body that is pierced and cannot rest comfortably. Eyes and sides together picture constant pain from head to torso.
Deuteronomy · 1
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Deuteronomy 31:26 מִצַּ֛ד from [the] side of
“Take this Book of the Law and place it beside the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God, so that it may remain there as a witness against you.
Joshua · 3
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Joshua 3:16 מִצַּ֣ד [is] from [the] side of
the flowing water stood still. It backed up as far upstream as Adam, a city in the area of Zarethan, while the water flowing toward the Sea of the Arabah (the Salt Sea) was completely cut off. So the people crossed over opposite Jericho.
Here: 'Beside' or 'in the vicinity of'. Adam is pinned down by a better-known nearby landmark.
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Joshua 12:9 מִצַּ֥ד [is] from [the] side of
the king of Jericho, one; the king of Ai, which is near Bethel, one;
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Joshua 23:13 בְּצִדֵּיכֶם֙ in sides your
know for sure that the LORD your God will no longer drive out these nations before you. Instead, they will become for you a snare and a trap, a scourge in your sides and thorns in your eyes, until you perish from this good land that the LORD your God has given you.
Here: The flanks of the body, where a lash would land.
Judges · 1
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Judges 2:3 לְצִדִּ֔ים <into> sides
So now I tell you that I will not drive out these people before you; they will be thorns in your sides, and their gods will be a snare to you.”
Here: Literally 'for sides,' which is very compressed Hebrew. It is usually taken as shorthand for 'thorns in your sides,' picking up Num 33:55 and Josh 23:13. Ancient translations read 'adversaries' here.
Ruth · 1
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Ruth 2:14 מִצַּ֣ד from [the] side of
At mealtime Boaz said to her, “Come over here; have some bread and dip it into the vinegar sauce.” So she sat down beside the harvesters, and he offered her roasted grain, and she ate and was satisfied and had some left over.
1 Samuel · 5
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1 Samuel 6:8 מִצִּדּ֑וֹ from side its
Take the ark of the LORD, set it on the cart, and in a chest beside it put the gold objects you are sending back to Him as a guilt offering. Then send the ark on its way,
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1 Samuel 20:20 צִדָּ֣ה [its] side <towards>
I will shoot three arrows to the side of it, as if I were aiming at a target.
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1 Samuel 20:25 מִצַּ֣ד from [the] side of
He sat in his usual place by the wall, opposite Jonathan and beside Abner, but David’s place was empty.
Here: 'From the side of,' meaning beside. This was the place closest to the king.
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1 Samuel 23:26 מִצַּ֤ד מִצַּ֥ד from [the] side of, [were] from [the] side of
Saul was proceeding along one side of the mountain, and David and his men along the other side. Even though David was hurrying to get away, Saul and his men were closing in on David and his men to capture them.
Here: Hebrew often says 'from the side' where English says 'on the side.' It describes position as seen from a point of view: one flank of the hill.
2 Samuel · 2
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2 Samuel 2:16 בְּצַ֣ד [was] in [the] side of
Then each man grabbed his opponent by the head and thrust his sword into his opponent’s side, and they all fell together. So this place, which is in Gibeon, is called Helkath-hazzurim.
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2 Samuel 13:34 מִצַּ֥ד from [the] side of
Meanwhile, Absalom had fled. When the young man standing watch looked up, he saw many people coming down the road west of him, along the side of the hill. And the watchman went and reported to the king, “I see men coming from the direction of Horonaim, along the side of the hill.”
Psalms · 1
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Psalm 91:7 מִצִּדְּךָ֨׀ from side your
Though a thousand may fall at your side, and ten thousand at your right hand, no harm will come near you.
Here: "At your side" (literally "from your side"; Hebrew often uses "from" to mark which side something is on). Set against "your right" in the next line, it most likely means the left side: people are dropping on both flanks.
Isaiah · 2
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Isaiah 60:4 צַ֥ד a hip
Lift up your eyes and look around: They all gather and come to you; your sons will come from afar, and your daughters will be carried on the arm.
Here: 'A side', meaning the hip, where small children are carried astride. There is no possessive in the Hebrew, so it is not said whose hip. The KJV's '[thy] side' is a word the translators added.
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Isaiah 66:12 צַד֙ a hip
For this is what the LORD says: “I will extend peace to her like a river, and the wealth of nations like a flowing stream; you will nurse and be carried on her arm, and bounced upon her knees.
Here: 'A side/hip.' This is the usual way to carry a small child, astride the hip (compare 60:4). The Hebrew does not say 'her'; whose hip it is is left implicit.
Ezekiel · 6
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Ezekiel 4:4 צִדְּךָ֣ side your
Then lie down on your left side and place the iniquity of the house of Israel upon yourself. You are to bear their iniquity for the number of days you lie on your side.
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Ezekiel 4:6 צִדְּךָ֤ side your
When you have completed these days, lie down again, but on your right side, and bear the iniquity of the house of Judah. I have assigned to you 40 days, a day for each year.
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Ezekiel 4:8 מִֽצִּדְּךָ֙ צִדֶּ֔ךָ from side your, side your
Now behold, I will tie you up with ropes so you cannot turn from side to side until you have finished the days of your siege.
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Ezekiel 4:9 צִדְּךָ֗ side your
But take wheat, barley, beans, lentils, millet, and spelt; put them in a single container and make them into bread for yourself. This is what you are to eat during the 390 days you lie on your side.
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Ezekiel 34:21 בְּצַ֤ד with side
Since you shove with flank and shoulder, butting all the weak ones with your horns until you have scattered them abroad,
Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.