Hebrew word · H6806
צַ֫עַד
tza'ad
step
A step or pace. Used for an actual stride (2 Sam 6:13, "six paces") and, figuratively, for the course of a person's life and conduct (Job 31:4, "does he not count all my steps?"; Prov 16:9, "the LORD directs his steps"; Jer 10:23).
Appears 14 times in 14 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·
What it means
1) step, pace, stride
1a) step, pace
1b) step, steps (of course of life) (fig)
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 Proverbs 4:12
- Range of meaning
A step or pace. Used for an actual stride (2 Sam 6:13, "six paces") and, figuratively, for the course of a person's life and conduct (Job 31:4, "does he not count all my steps?"; Prov 16:9, "the LORD directs his steps"; Jer 10:23).
- Against the English
Most English versions use the plural "steps". Hebrew has the singular "your step", meaning your stride or gait as a whole. The difference is small; YLT keeps the singular.
- Used elsewhere in the period
Paired with yatsar in Job 18:7 and with "enlarge" in Ps 18:36. In Prov 16:9 one's steps are directed by the LORD, which shows the word's range from the physical step to the course of a life.
From the study of Proverbs 16:9
- Range of meaning
A step or pace: a single stride (2 Sam 6:13, 'six paces'), and by extension a person's movements or conduct (Job 31:4 'does he not count all my steps?'; Ps 18:36 'you widened my steps beneath me').
- Against the English
Hebrew has the singular 'his step', meaning each step. Modern versions use the plural 'steps'. YLT's 'his step' keeps the singular and with it the picture of one footfall at a time.
- Used elsewhere in the period
Prov 4:12 ('when you walk, your step will not be hampered'); Jer 10:23 (see above); Lam 4:18 ('they hunted our steps').
From the study of Jeremiah 10:23
- Range of meaning
A step or pace. The related verb ṣāʿad means 'to step, march'. It is used of individual footsteps and, in poetry, of a person's conduct or the course of their life.
- Against the English
English 'steps' is accurate. What English cannot show is the link in the Hebrew to the verb used earlier in the chapter.
- Used elsewhere in the period
Jeremiah 10:5 mocks idols: they 'must be carried, because they cannot step (lōʾ yiṣʿādû)'. Psalm 37:23 and Proverbs 16:9 and 20:24 use the related noun miṣʿād for the steps that God secures.
Where it appears
2 Samuel · 2
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2 Samuel 6:13 צְעָדִ֑ים steps
When those carrying the ark of the LORD had advanced six paces, he sacrificed an ox and a fattened calf.
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2 Samuel 22:37 צַעֲדִ֖י step[s] my
You broaden the path beneath me so that my ankles do not give way.
Job · 5
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Job 14:16 צְעָדַ֣י steps my
For then You would count my steps, but would not keep track of my sin.
Here: 'My steps': each movement of Job's life, his whole course of conduct. In Job, God seeing or counting a person's steps is a picture of God's close attention to how someone lives (Job 31:4; 34:21).
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Job 18:7 צַעֲדֵ֣י [the] steps of
His vigorous stride is shortened, and his own schemes trip him up.
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Job 31:4 צְעָדַ֥י steps my
Does He not see my ways and count my every step?
Here: A single stride. In 2 Samuel 6:13 it is a measured pace of six steps. It narrows the broad 'ways' down to each individual move along the road.
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Job 31:37 צְ֭עָדַי steps my
I would give account of all my steps; I would approach Him like a prince.)—
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Job 34:21 צְעָדָ֥יו steps his
For His eyes are on the ways of a man, and He sees his every step.
Here: A single footstep. It narrows the picture from the whole road (the first line) to each footfall (the second): God sees both the overall direction and every single move.
Psalms · 1
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Psalm 18:36 צַעֲדִ֣י step[s] my
You broaden the path beneath me so that my ankles do not give way.
Here: 'My step' is singular in Hebrew but means the whole stride or the walking as a whole, as YLT's 'my step' keeps. What gets widened is the space the stride moves through, so it can go out freely without being cramped.
Proverbs · 4
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Proverbs 4:12 צַעֲדֶ֑ךָ step[s] your
When you walk, your steps will not be impeded; when you run, you will not stumble.
Here: "Your step" (singular, used for a person's walking as a whole). It is the grammatical subject: your stride itself will not be squeezed short.
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Proverbs 5:5 צְעָדֶ֥יהָ steps her
Her feet go down to death; her steps lead straight to Sheol.
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Proverbs 16:9 צַעֲדֽוֹ׃ step[s] his
A man’s heart plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps.
Here: 'His step', singular in Hebrew but meaning each step (English versions rightly say 'steps'). It is the actual footfall, the real movement on the ground, as opposed to the planned route.
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Proverbs 30:29 צָ֑עַד step
There are three things that are stately in their stride, and four that are impressive in their walk:
Here: A single measured step or pace. It is related to the verb for marching, used of armies and of processions, so it suggests a deliberate, rhythmic tread rather than casual walking.
Jeremiah · 1
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Jeremiah 10:23 צַעֲדֽוֹ׃ step[s] his
I know, O LORD, that a man’s way is not his own; no one who walks directs his own steps.
Here: 'His step': a single footfall, used here for every step. The image moves from the whole road ('way') down to each footstep. The same root appears in 10:5, where idols 'cannot step'.
Lamentations · 1
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Lamentations 4:18 צְעָדֵ֔ינוּ steps our
They stalked our every step, so that we could not walk in our streets. Our end drew near, our time ran out, for our end had come!
Here: A single pace or stride. The hunters did not just chase the people; they tracked every step. The opening words tsadu tseʿadeinu sound alike, and this verse begins the tsade (צ) line of the alphabet poem.
Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.