Hebrew word · H6805

צָעַד

tza'adah

to march

'Step, stride, march'. It can mean an ordinary walking pace (2 Samuel 6:13, the bearers of the ark taking six steps). It is also the stately or warlike march of the LORD going out before his people (Judges 5:4; Psalm 68:7; Habakkuk 3:12).

Appears 8 times in 8 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

1) to step, march, stride

1a) (Qal) to step, march

1b) (Hiphil) to cause to march

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 Jeremiah 10:5

Range of meaning

'Step, stride, march'. It can mean an ordinary walking pace (2 Samuel 6:13, the bearers of the ark taking six steps). It is also the stately or warlike march of the LORD going out before his people (Judges 5:4; Psalm 68:7; Habakkuk 3:12).

Against the English

BSB 'walk', KJV 'go', WEB 'move', YLT 'step'. All are accurate. YLT's 'step' is closest to the physical picture.

Used elsewhere in the period

Psalm 115:7 and 135:16–17 belong to the same tradition of mocking idols: 'feet, but they do not walk'.

From the study of Proverbs 7:8

Range of meaning

To step, to pace, to march. It refers to the physical act of putting one foot in front of the other, often with a sense of measured or deliberate movement. The related noun ṣaʿad means 'a step, a pace.'

Against the English

KJV/WEB 'he went' flattens it to plain motion. BSB 'strolling' suggests easy, aimless leisure. YLT 'he doth step' keeps the footstep picture. None of these is wrong, but 'went' loses the image and 'strolling' adds a casual tone the verb does not require.

Used elsewhere in the period

Used of God marching out in a theophany, an appearance of God (Judg 5:4; Ps 68:7 [Heb 68:8]; Hab 3:12). Used of the ark-bearers who had 'gone six paces' (2 Sam 6:13). Used of idols that 'cannot step' and must be carried (Jer 10:5). Proverbs uses the noun for the steps God directs (16:9) and for creatures 'stately in stride' (30:29). In 4:12 the father promises the son that if he walks in wisdom, 'your step will not be hampered.'

From the study of Psalm 68:7

Range of meaning

To step, pace, march. It is a fairly rare verb, often used of measured, deliberate steps. Its related noun ṣaʿad means 'step, pace'. The word is used of the solemn procession of the ark: 'when those carrying the ark had gone six steps' (2 Sam 6:13). It is used of God's march to war in Judg 5:4, and of a slow, stately movement (Prov 7:8; Jer 10:5 of idols that cannot walk).

Against the English

'Marched' (BSB, KJV, WEB) catches the military sense. YLT's 'stepping' keeps the literal image of measured steps. Neither is wrong; 'march' is the best single English word.

Used elsewhere in the period

Judg 5:4 'when you marched (bəṣaʿdəkā) from the field of Edom'. This is again the same form as in Ps 68:7. In Hab 3:12 God 'strode (tiṣʿad) through the earth in fury'. Ps 68:24–25 later describes 'the processions (hălîkôt) of my God' into the sanctuary.

Where it appears

Genesis · 1

  1. Genesis 49:22 צָעֲדָ֖ה she will climb

    Joseph is a fruitful vine—a fruitful vine by a spring, whose branches scale the wall.

    Here: 'She strides' or 'she steps'. It is a singular verb with a plural subject, which Hebrew allows for a group seen as one, or for 'each one'. The verb is used for marching and processions (Judges 5:4; 2 Samuel 6:13), so the branches are pictured as purposefully striding over a barrier.

Judges · 1

  1. Judges 5:4 בְּצַעְדְּךָ֙ when marching you

    O LORD, when You went out from Seir, when You marched from the land of Edom, the earth trembled, the heavens poured out rain, and the clouds poured down water.

    Here: 'When you marched.' It means stepping out deliberately, the march of a procession or an army. It matches 'went out' in the line before and turns the departure into a march.

2 Samuel · 1

  1. 2 Samuel 6:13 צָעֲד֛וּ they had stepped

    When those carrying the ark of the LORD had advanced six paces, he sacrificed an ox and a fattened calf.

Job · 1

  1. Job 18:14 וְ֝תַצְעִדֵ֗הוּ and it makes march him

    He is torn from the shelter of his tent and is marched off to the king of terrors.

Psalms · 1

  1. Psalm 68:7 בְּצַעְדְּךָ֖ when marching you

    O God, when You went out before Your people, when You marched through the wasteland, Selah

    Here: 'When you marched' (literally 'in your stepping'). A word for measured, deliberate stepping, used of solemn processions and of God's march in Judges 5:4. It pictures a stately advance, not a hurried trek.

Proverbs · 1

  1. Proverbs 7:8 יִצְעָֽד׃ he strode

    crossing the street near her corner, strolling down the road to her house,

    Here: 'He steps / he paces.' A verb of measured footsteps, sometimes a stately march, not drifting. The verb form presents the action as unfolding step by step before the watcher's eyes. It comes last for emphasis: the way to her house is what he is treading.

Jeremiah · 1

  1. Jeremiah 10:5 יִצְעָ֑דוּ they walk

    Like scarecrows in a cucumber patch, their idols cannot speak. They must be carried because they cannot walk. Do not fear them, for they can do no harm, and neither can they do any good.”

    Here: 'They do not step'. The verb means taking strides, marching. Elsewhere it describes the LORD marching out to help his people (Judges 5:4; Psalm 68:7).

Habakkuk · 1

  1. Habakkuk 3:12 תִּצְעַד־ you march

    You marched across the earth with fury; You threshed the nations in wrath.

    Here: 'You stride/march.' This is the measured pace of a procession or an army. It is the same verb Israel's oldest songs use for God marching out from Edom and Sinai (Judges 5:4; Psalm 68:7). The form is the imperfect, which in this poem can describe past, present or future (see debates).

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