Hebrew word · H838

אֲשׁוּר

'ashurai

step

Step, footstep, going. In poetry it stands for conduct, the course of a life. It is related to the verb ʾāshar, 'to go straight, advance', which Proverbs uses for walking in the way of understanding (4:14; 9:6; 23:19).

Appears 9 times in 9 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

step, going

Also means: a.shur (אַשֻּׁר "step" H0838B)

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 14:15

Range of meaning

Step, footstep, going. In poetry it stands for conduct, the course of a life. It is related to the verb ʾāshar, 'to go straight, advance', which Proverbs uses for walking in the way of understanding (4:14; 9:6; 23:19).

Against the English

'Steps' (BSB, ESV, NIV, NASB), 'going' (KJV), 'ways' (WEB), 'step' (YLT). 'Ways' makes it abstract, while 'step' keeps the concrete picture of placing one's foot.

Used elsewhere in the period

Psalm 17:5: 'my steps have held fast to your paths'. Psalm 37:31: 'his steps do not slip'. Psalm 73:2: 'my steps had nearly slipped'. Job 23:11 and 31:7.

From the study of Psalm 17:5

Range of meaning

A step or footstep, and by extension the course of one's walk. The root ʾšr means to go straight or advance.

Against the English

'Steps' (most versions) and 'goings' (KJV) are both fine.

Used elsewhere in the period

Job 23:11, 'My foot has held fast to his steps; his way I have kept and not turned aside', a very close parallel with the same pairing of 'holding fast' and 'keeping'. Psalm 37:31, 'his steps do not slip'. Psalm 73:2, 'my steps had nearly slipped'. Prov 14:15.

From the study of Job 23:11

Range of meaning

A step or footstep, and by extension the track or line of steps someone leaves or follows. It is almost always used figuratively, for the course of a person's conduct.

Against the English

KJV and WEB say "steps," YLT "step," BSB "tracks," and NASB has "path." "Tracks" and "steps" keep the picture of footprints. "Path" lets the picture fade into a general road.

Used elsewhere in the period

Its closest uses are in the Psalms and Job, always in contexts of not slipping or swerving: Ps 17:5 ("my steps have held to your paths, my feet have not slipped"); Ps 37:31 ("the law of his God is in his heart; his steps do not slip"); Ps 44:18 ("nor have our steps turned aside [natah] from your path"). Job 31:7 is the nearest: "if my step has turned aside [natah] from the way [derek]", where the same three words appear in Job's own oath of innocence. Prov 14:15 has "the prudent watches his step."

Where it appears

Job · 2

  1. Job 23:11 בַּ֭אֲשֻׁרוֹ on step his

    My feet have followed in His tracks; I have kept His way without turning aside.

    Here: "On/in his step": the footprint or track of the one going ahead, here God. It comes first in the sentence for emphasis: *his* track, and nobody else's, is the one Job's foot has stayed in.

  2. Job 31:7 אַשֻּׁרִי֮ step my

    If my steps have turned from the path, if my heart has followed my eyes, or if impurity has stuck to my hands,

Psalms · 6

  1. Psalm 17:5 אֲ֭שֻׁרַי steps my

    My steps have held to Your paths; my feet have not slipped.

    Here: 'My steps'. The word comes from a root meaning to go straight ahead. It stands for the course of a person's life and conduct, pictured as walking.

  2. Psalm 17:11 אַ֭שֻּׁרֵינוּ steps our

    They have tracked us down, and now surround us; their eyes are set to cast us to the ground,

  3. Psalm 37:31 אֲשֻׁרָיו׃ steps his

    The law of his God is in his heart; his steps do not falter.

    Here: 'His steps': the man's walk, meaning the actual footing of his life, how he moves through it. Its root has to do with going straight ahead, so the word suggests forward movement on a path.

  4. Psalm 40:2 אֲשֻׁרָֽי׃ steps my

    He lifted me up from the pit of despair, out of the miry clay; He set my feet upon a rock, and made my footsteps firm.

    Here: "My steps." The word means actual footsteps, and in the psalms also the course a person walks in life (Ps 17:5; 37:31; 73:2). He can walk again, and walk without slipping.

  5. Psalm 44:18 אֲשֻׁרֵ֗ינוּ steps our

    Our hearts have not turned back; our steps have not strayed from Your path.

    Here: 'Our steps'. This is a poetic word for the actual footfalls of a walker. The root is linked with going straight ahead. It pictures daily conduct as walking, one step at a time.

  6. Psalm 73:2 אֲשֻׁרָֽי׃ steps my

    But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled; my steps had nearly slipped.

Proverbs · 1

  1. Proverbs 14:15 לַאֲשֻׁרֽוֹ׃ <to> step his

    The simple man believes every word, but the prudent man watches his steps.

    Here: 'To his step': where he actually puts his feet, meaning his conduct and the direction of his life. The shrewd man looks at his own next step. The gullible man looks at other people's words.

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