Hebrew word · H6808

צָעָה

tzo'eh

to wander

The root ṣāʿâ means "bend, stoop, tilt, tip over". Isaiah 51:14: the prisoner "bowed down" in fetters. Jeremiah 2:20: sprawling, bending down (of Israel as a prostitute). Jeremiah 48:12: "tilters", men who tip wine jars to pour them out.

Appears 5 times in 4 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

1) to stoop, bend, incline

1a) (Qal)

1a1) to stoop, bend

1a2) to incline, tip

1b) (Piel) to tip over

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 Isaiah 63:1

Range of meaning

The root ṣāʿâ means "bend, stoop, tilt, tip over". Isaiah 51:14: the prisoner "bowed down" in fetters. Jeremiah 2:20: sprawling, bending down (of Israel as a prostitute). Jeremiah 48:12: "tilters", men who tip wine jars to pour them out. HALOT marks this verse as uncertain and notes the proposed correction to ṣōʿēd, "striding, marching".

Against the English

BSB/WEB/ESV/NASB "marching"; NIV "striding forward"; KJV "travelling"; YLT "travelling"; the source data here "stooping". The English versions are confident where the Hebrew is not.

How it drifted

"Marching" comes from emending the text to ṣōʿēd (ד for ה, letters easily confused) or from guessing by context. KJV "travelling" follows the Vulgate's gradiens, "walking, stepping".

Used elsewhere in the period

The Vulgate has gradiens ("stepping"). The Septuagint has biai meta ischyos ("with force, with strength") and does not render a motion verb clearly. The Strong's gloss "wander" has little support.

From the study of Jeremiah 2:20

Range of meaning

A rare verb, roughly 'to bend, stoop, tip over, lie down'. Isaiah 51:14 has 'the one who is bowed down' (a prisoner). Jeremiah 48:12 has those who 'tip' or decant wine jars. Isaiah 63:1 is disputed.

Against the English

KJV and YLT say 'wanderest'. BSB and NASB say 'lay/lain down'. ESV and WEB say 'bowed (down/yourself)'. Lexicons now favour 'bend, lie down' over 'wander'.

How it drifted

The KJV's 'wander' goes back to early guesses based on a similar-sounding root. Comparative evidence, and the use in Jeremiah 48:12, point to a bending or tilting posture.

Used elsewhere in the period

HALOT and BDB both list 'stoop, bend' for this root. The posture is that of someone stretched out or bent over for sex. The same verse cluster in Jeremiah 3:2 asks, 'Where have you not been lain with?'

From the study of Isaiah 51:14

Range of meaning

A rare verb. Its basic sense is to bend, stoop, tilt or lean over. It is used of a body bent or sprawled (Jer 2:20, of Israel "bowing/sprawling" like a prostitute under every green tree), of jars being tilted to pour them out (Jer 48:12, "tilters who will tilt him"), and possibly of a figure bending forward as he strides (Isa 63:1). As a participle used for a person, it means "one who is bent down".

Against the English

KJV "captive exile", WEB "captive exile", BSB "captive", YLT "wanderer". Modern lexicons (BDB, HALOT) and the ESV's "he who is bowed down" keep the image of bodily posture. The NIV's "cowering" catches the bent, fearful posture well. "Exile" and "wanderer" bring in an idea of travelling or banishment that the word itself does not carry, though the context is in fact the exile.

How it drifted

Older Jewish and early modern interpreters, unsure of this rare word, guessed from the context of exile, or from Isa 63:1 where it was taken as "marching/travelling", that it meant someone on the move. That guess gave the "wanderer" gloss and the KJV's "exile". Comparing the other uses has since shown that the core idea is bending or tilting.

Used elsewhere in the period

Jer 2:20; 48:12; Isa 63:1. Jerome's Latin (Vulgate) took it as "gradiens" ("one walking/marching"), applied it to the deliverer, and so shows the same old uncertainty. The Greek Septuagint seems not to have understood it at all.

Where it appears

Isaiah · 2

  1. Isaiah 51:14 צֹעֶ֖ה [one who] stoops

    The captive will soon be freed; he will not die in the dungeon, and his bread will not be lacking.

    Here: A participle used as a noun: "the one bent down". It pictures a prisoner doubled over, whether by fetters, a stocks-frame, a cramped pit or plain misery. It is a portrait of crushed posture, not a technical word for "exile".

  2. Isaiah 63:1 צֹעֶ֖ה [is] stooping

    Who is this coming from Edom, from Bozrah with crimson-stained garments? Who is this robed in splendor, marching in the greatness of His strength? “It is I, proclaiming vindication, mighty to save.”

    Here: Elsewhere the root means "bend, tilt, tip over" (Isa 51:14; Jer 2:20; 48:12). Here it may picture a warrior leaning into his stride, or swaying or tossing his head in triumph. Most versions translate "marching", following a proposed one-letter correction to ṣōʿēd. The Strong's gloss "wander" does not fit.

Jeremiah · 3

  1. Jeremiah 2:20 צֹעָ֥ה [have been] lying down

    “For long ago you broke your yoke and tore off your chains, saying, ‘I will not serve!’ Indeed, on every high hill and under every green tree you lay down as a prostitute.

    Here: A participle, which here means ongoing action: 'sprawling', 'bending down'. It is a crude picture of a sexual posture, and it may also suggest bowing in worship. The KJV's 'wanderest' comes from an older guess at this rare word.

  2. Jeremiah 48:12 צֹעִ֖ים וְצֵעֻ֑הוּ [those who] tip, and they will tip it

    Therefore behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will send to him wanderers, who will pour him out. They will empty his vessels and shatter his jars.

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