Hebrew word · H7686

שָׁגָה

shogeh

to wander

To wander or go astray (sheep, Ezek 34:6). To stagger or reel, as a drunk does (Prov 20:1; Isa 28:7). To be 'intoxicated' or carried away by love (Prov 5:19–20). To err or do wrong without meaning to (Lev 4:13; Num 15:22; related to the noun šəgāgâ, 'unintentional sin').

Appears 21 times in 19 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

1) to go astray, stray, err

1a)(Qal)

1a1) to err, stray

1a2) to swerve, meander, reel, roll, be intoxicated, err (in drunkenness)

1a3) to go astray (morally)

1a4) to commit sin of ignorance or inadvertence, err (ignorantly)

1b) (Hiphil)

1b1) to lead astray

1b2) to lead astray, mislead (mentally)

1b3) to lead astray (morally)

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 19:27

Range of meaning

To wander or go astray (sheep, Ezek 34:6). To stagger or reel, as a drunk does (Prov 20:1; Isa 28:7). To be 'intoxicated' or carried away by love (Prov 5:19–20). To err or do wrong without meaning to (Lev 4:13; Num 15:22; related to the noun šəgāgâ, 'unintentional sin').

Against the English

'Stray' (BSB, WEB, ESV, NASB) fits well. KJV/YLT 'err' sounds more like a mistake in thinking. The Hebrew picture is physical: drifting or lurching off the path, often without noticing.

Used elsewhere in the period

The closest parallel is Prov 5:23: the one who lacks mûsār 'will die for lack of discipline, and in the greatness of his folly he will go astray (yišgeh).' The same pair, mûsār and šāgâ, appears there with the same logic: no correction, so wandering. Prov 5:19–20 uses the same verb for being 'intoxicated' by a wife's love or led astray by another woman.

From the study of Proverbs 28:10

Range of meaning

Basic sense: to go astray, wander, stagger, err. It is used of sheep straying (Ezekiel 34:6), of reeling with drink or being 'intoxicated' with love (Proverbs 5:19–20), and of losing one's way through folly (Proverbs 5:23; 19:27). The related noun shegagah means a sin done in error or without intent (Leviticus 4; Numbers 15). The causative form used here means to make someone stray, to mislead or lead off the road.

Against the English

'Leads … along' (BSB) sounds almost neutral. 'Causeth to go astray' (KJV, WEB) and 'misleads' are closer. The Hebrew picture is of steering someone off the true road, the way a person might misdirect a traveller.

Used elsewhere in the period

Deuteronomy 27:18: 'Cursed is the one who misleads (mashgeh) a blind man on the road (baderekh).' It uses the same participle and the same road word, so the parallel is close. Job 12:16: 'the one who strays and the one who misleads (shogeg umashgeh) are his', meaning God's. BDB and HALOT s.v. שׁגה.

From the study of Isaiah 28:7

Range of meaning

To wander or stray. It is used physically of reeling or swaying, especially under drink (Prov 20:1, "whoever is led astray by it"), and of being captivated or lost in something (Prov 5:19–20, being "intoxicated" with a wife's love). Morally it means going wrong without fully intending it. The related noun shegagah is the technical word in Leviticus 4–5 and Numbers 15 for unintentional sin.

Against the English

KJV's "erred" keeps the idea of going wrong but loses the physical picture of a body swaying. Modern versions ("reel", "stagger") keep the picture but can hide the fact that the same word means making mistakes in teaching. The Hebrew holds both at once.

How it drifted

English "err" has weakened to a minor, forgivable mistake. Most English readers today never meet the older sense of wandering off the road (Latin errare, "to wander").

Used elsewhere in the period

Proverbs 20:1 and 5:19–20 link the verb with intoxication. In Leviticus and Numbers, shegagah is sin committed in ignorance, which sacrifice can atone for. At Qumran the Community Rule (1QS) uses shegagah for inadvertent breaches of community law.

Where it appears

Leviticus · 1

  1. Leviticus 4:13 יִשְׁגּ֔וּ they will go astray

    Now if the whole congregation of Israel strays unintentionally and the matter escapes the notice of the assembly so that they violate any of the LORD’s commandments and incur guilt by doing what is forbidden,

Numbers · 1

  1. Numbers 15:22 תִשְׁגּ֔וּ you will err

    Now if you stray unintentionally and do not obey all these commandments that the LORD has spoken to Moses—

Deuteronomy · 1

  1. Deuteronomy 27:18 מַשְׁגֶּ֥ה [one who] leads astray

    ‘Cursed is he who lets a blind man wander in the road.’ And let all the people say, ‘Amen!’

1 Samuel · 1

  1. 1 Samuel 26:21 וָאֶשְׁגֶּ֖ה and I have gone astray

    Then Saul replied, “I have sinned. Come back, David my son. I will never harm you again, because today you considered my life precious. I have played the fool and have committed a grave error!”

    Here: To wander off course, like a sheep that strays or a drunk who staggers. In the law it is the word for going wrong without full intent (Lev 4:13; Num 15:22). Saul files his long manhunt under 'error.'

Job · 3

  1. Job 6:24 שָּׁ֝גִ֗יתִי have I erred

    Teach me, and I will be silent. Help me understand how I have erred.

  2. Job 12:16 וּמַשְׁגֶּֽה׃ and [one who] leads astray

    True wisdom and power belong to Him. The deceived and the deceiver are His.

    Here: A causative participle, 'the one who makes others stray', like someone who sends a blind man the wrong way (Deut 27:18). It sounds almost the same as the word before it. Together the pair covers everyone caught up in error, both the misled and the misleaders, and verse 16 says they all belong to God.

  3. Job 19:4 שָׁגִ֑יתִי I have erred

    Even if I have truly gone astray, my error concerns me alone.

Psalms · 3

  1. Psalm 119:10 תַּ֝שְׁגֵּ֗נִי you allow to stray me

    With all my heart I have sought You; do not let me stray from Your commandments.

    Here: A causative form of the verb "to stray, go astray, err," with "me" as object: "do not cause me to stray." Most English versions render it "let me not." The verb pictures a sheep drifting off or a drunk man reeling, and it belongs to the same family as the word for unintentional sin in Leviticus. The fear is drifting off without noticing, more than open revolt.

  2. Psalm 119:21 הַ֝שֹּׁגִים who go astray

    You rebuke the arrogant—the cursed who stray from Your commandments.

    Here: "Those who stray". The picture is of a sheep or a traveller wandering off the path. The form describes an ongoing habit of life. This also defines who the arrogant are: people who leave the way God's commands mark out.

  3. Psalm 119:118 שׁוֹגִ֣ים [those who] go astray

    You reject all who stray from Your statutes, for their deceitfulness is in vain.

    Here: People who are wandering off, pictured like sheep leaving the path or the flock. The present-tense form describes an ongoing way of life, not a single slip.

Proverbs · 6

  1. Proverbs 5:19 תִּשְׁגֶּ֥ה may you be intoxicated

    A loving doe, a graceful fawn—may her breasts satisfy you always; may you be captivated by her love forever.

    Here: The basic meaning is to wander off course, to stray. It is used for drunks staggering (Isa 28:7). It is a deliberate paradox: the young man is told to 'go astray', but only in his wife's love. The same verb comes back in verse 20 ('why stray with a stranger?') and verse 23 (the fool 'goes astray' to his death).

  2. Proverbs 5:20 תִשְׁגֶּ֣ה will you go astray

    Why be captivated, my son, by an adulteress, or embrace the bosom of a stranger?

    Here: Means to reel like a drunk man, to stagger off course. It is the very verb used in verse 19 ('be intoxicated by her love always'), and again in verse 23 ('in the greatness of his folly he goes astray'). The father uses the same word for the good intoxication of marriage and the ruinous kind. The form is an imperfect ('will you / should you'), aimed at a possible future choice.

  3. Proverbs 5:23 יִשְׁגֶּֽה׃ פ he will go astray

    He dies for lack of discipline, led astray by his own great folly.

  4. Proverbs 19:27 לִ֝שְׁג֗וֹת to stray

    If you cease to hear instruction, my son, you will stray from the words of knowledge.

    Here: To drift off the path, like a sheep wandering or a drunk man reeling. The form ('to stray') states the outcome, or the pointless aim, of giving up on correction. You end up wandering away from the very words that would keep you on track.

  5. Proverbs 20:1 שֹׁ֥גֶה [one who] staggers

    Wine is a mocker, strong drink is a brawler, and whoever is led astray by them is not wise.

    Here: Means both to stagger or reel physically and to stray or go wrong morally. Isaiah 28:7 uses this very verb for priests and prophets reeling with wine and beer. Proverbs also uses it for being "intoxicated" with love (5:19–20) and for straying in folly (5:23).

  6. Proverbs 28:10 מַשְׁגֶּ֤ה [one who] leads astray

    He who leads the upright along the path of evil will fall into his own pit, but the blameless will inherit what is good.

    Here: A participle, so it describes a type of person: 'the misleader', someone who makes others wander off course. The verb is used of sheep wandering and of a staggering drunk. It is the same word as the curse in Deuteronomy 27:18 on anyone who 'misleads a blind man on the road.'

Isaiah · 3

  1. Isaiah 28:7 שָׁג֔וּ שָׁג֨וּ שָׁגוּ֙ they reeled

    These also stagger from wine and stumble from strong drink: Priests and prophets reel from strong drink and are befuddled by wine. They stumble because of strong drink, muddled in their visions and stumbling in their judgments.

    Here: "They reeled." The word covers both a drunk's swaying walk and going wrong through confusion. Both meanings are active here, and the word comes back three times in the verse.

Ezekiel · 2

  1. Ezekiel 34:6 יִשְׁגּ֤וּ they wander

    My flock went astray on all the mountains and every high hill. They were scattered over the face of all the earth, with no one to search for them or seek them out.’

    Here: Imperfect verb: an ongoing or repeated wandering, 'they kept straying'. A sheep losing its way, with no one to steer it. The same verb describes accidental error in the law (Lev 4:13), so it points to drifting more than open revolt.

  2. Ezekiel 45:20 שֹׁגֶ֖ה [who] errs

    You must do the same thing on the seventh day of the month for anyone who strays unintentionally or in ignorance. In this way you will make atonement for the temple.

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