צַ֫עַד
step
also: pace, stride fuller range ↓
Full lexicon entry — Brown-Driver-Briggs (BDB)
From Brown-Driver-Briggs (BDB)
Where this word appears
See every Construct-state word in the Hebrew Bible →
Grammar key — what these labels mean
Part of speech
- Noun
- A naming word — a person, place, thing, or idea.
Noun type
- Common
- A common noun — a general class of person, place, or thing (“king,” “city,” “water”), not a specific name.
State
- Construct
- A noun bound to a following noun in a possessive / “of” relationship (the construct chain).
- Absolute
- The independent form of a noun, not bound to a following word.
Gender
- Masculine
- Grammatically masculine.
Number
- Plural
- More than one (in Hebrew, generally three or more).
- Singular
- One.
Grammatical forms
- Noun, Common, Masculine, Plural, Construct 7 times (50%)
- Noun, Common, Masculine, Singular, Construct 5 times (36%)
- Noun, Common, Masculine, Plural, Absolute 1 time (7%)
- Noun, Common, Masculine, Singular, Absolute 1 time (7%)
Parsed forms decoded from the imported morphology (morphhb / Westminster Leningrad Codex — WLC text public domain, morphhb tagging CC BY 4.0), counted across 14 parsed occurrences — not distinct verses.
Every verse where H6806 appears — 14 distinct verses across 6 books. Click any verse to open its interlinear word-by-word view. Verse text shown in the World English Bible for context — . Each verse’s Hebrew form is shown with its reference; the English is not keyword-highlighted, since the data carries no word-level English alignment. Use “Compare translations” on any verse to read it across multiple English versions. This concordance covers the Hebrew Bible; Septuagint (Greek Old Testament) occurrences are not indexed here.
2 Samuel 2 verses
Job 5 verses
- Job 14:16 צְעָדַ֣/י n c mp cs + sfx pers 1cs But now you number my steps. Don't you watch over my sin?
- Job 18:7 צַעֲדֵ֣י n c mp cs The steps of his strength shall be shortened, His own counsel shall cast him down.
- Job 31:4 צְעָדַ֥/י n c mp cs + sfx pers 1cs Doesn't he see my ways, And number all my steps?
- Job 31:37 צְ֭עָדַ/י n c mp cs + sfx pers 1cs I would declare to him the number of my steps. As a prince would I go near to him.
- Job 34:21 צְעָדָ֥י/ו n c mp cs + sfx pers 3ms "For his eyes are on the ways of a man, He sees all his goings.
Psalms 1 verse
Proverbs 4 verses
- Proverbs 4:12 צַעֲדֶ֑/ךָ n c ms cs + sfx pers 2ms When you go, your steps will not be hampered. When you run, you will not stumble.
- Proverbs 5:5 צְעָדֶ֥י/הָ n c mp cs + sfx pers 3fs Her feet go down to death. Her steps lead straight to Sheol.
- Proverbs 16:9 צַעֲדֽ/וֹ n c ms cs + sfx pers 3ms A man's heart plans his course, But Yahweh directs his steps.
- Proverbs 30:29 צָ֑עַד n c ms "There are three things which are stately in their march, Four which are stately in going:
Jeremiah 1 verse
Lamentations 1 verse
About this entry
At a glance — auto-summarized from this page’s data, not written by a person. Every figure links to its source below. This summary describes the numbers; it doesn’t interpret them.
“step” is the headline sense of the Hebrew noun צעד (tsaʻad). Scripture first uses it in 2 Samuel 6:13. It appears 14 verses across 6 books of the Hebrew Bible, among its uncommon vocabulary. More than a third of its appearances fall in Job. Not a single-sense word: its full sense range also takes in “pace” and “stride”. The sections below give every sense, occurrence, and version rendering.
Gloss history
Strong's 1890 vs modern scholarship
About this word
Strong's H6806 catalogs a Hebrew word from the Hebrew Old Testament.
These counts are not copied from any lexicon or concordance. They are computed here, from the morphology-tagged Hebrew Old Testament. What Lemma adds →
- 14
- distinct verses
- The word appears in 14 distinct verses.
- 6 / 39
- OT books
- The word appears in 6 of 39 Old Testament books.
- #1,910
- by frequency
- Top 2500 most frequent Hebrew words (rank 1,910 of 8,640 Hebrew words by occurrence).
View all 14 occurrences in the concordance →
By section of the Old Testament
By traditional corpus
Conventional, traditional groupings — biblical authorship is debated, so this is a traditional corpus grouping, not an authorship claim. Each share is this word’s portion of its verses in that division of the Hebrew canon. Each figure is a share of the word’s 14 distinct verses.
- Writings (Ketuvim) 11 verses · 79%
- Prophets (Nevi'im) 3 verses · 21%
How translations render this word
Counts come from each version’s own published word-to-Strong’s tagging or interlinear alignment — an approximate guide to how each version renders this word, not a word-level alignment the data otherwise carries. Because each total is that version’s own tagged count, the per-version totals vary from one another and need not match the appearance or distinct-verse counts above. These counts may also differ from a printed concordance because Lemma counts each distinctly tagged rendering and does not collapse phrase taggings into a single head-word total. This is a fixed set of word-tagged versions (KJV, ASV, BSB, ULT) and does not change with the reading translation you choose elsewhere. Each version’s license is shown beside its name below (and on Sources).
BDB lists this Strong’s number as 2 distinct words (homographs). Each count above pools all of them and is not split by sense — see the Senses section below. A low-frequency rendering may belong to a different one of those words, not the primary meaning.
- King James Version†: Steps 10×
- American Standard Version†: Steps 10×
- Berean Standard Bible†: Steps 4×, Every step 2×, Path 2×
- unfoldingWord Literal Text†: Steps 8×, Step 5×
King James Version Public Domain
Renders H6806 across 14† tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus 4 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings.
American Standard Version Public Domain
Renders H6806 across 14† tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus 4 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings.
Berean Standard Bible Public Domain
Renders H6806 across 14† tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus 4 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings.
unfoldingWord Literal Text CC BY-SA 4.0
Renders H6806 across 14† tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus 1 rendering that appears only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings.
Senses in the full BDB
Hebrew verbs can shift meaning by stem (binyan): Qal is the basic action, Niphal is often passive or reflexive, Piel often intensifies or makes it factitive, and Hiphil is typically causative. The senses below are grouped under the stem BDB assigns to each.
What do BDB’s symbols mean?
BDB uses these scholarly abbreviations:
| Symbol | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 𝔊 | the Septuagint (the ancient Greek translation, LXX) |
| 𝔙 | the Vulgate (the Latin translation) |
| 𝔖 | the Syriac version (the Peshitta) |
| 𝔗 | the Targum (the Aramaic translation) |
| ψ | the Psalms |
| √ | root (the underlying root or stem) |
| ‖ | parallel passage (a synonymous or contrasted parallel) |
| † | the dagger: every passage where the word occurs is cited |
The 4 senses and sub-senses the full Brown-Driver-Briggs lexicon distinguishes for this word, in lexicon order (not ranked by frequency), with BDB’s own verbatim wording and sub-sense lettering. Shown in Hebrew script with BDB’s own scholarly abbreviations. The condensed entry is in the Lexicon Entry tab. See also the Forms in the corpus table below.
צעד I step, march (NH id. (rare)
Qal
- Pf. 3 fs. צָֽעֲדָה Gn 49:22 (but on text v. infr.); 3 pl. צָֽעֲדוּ 2 S 6:13; Impf. 3 ms. יִצְעָ֑ד Pr 7:8, etc.; Inf. cstr. sf. בְּצַעַדְךָ Ju 5:4, בְּצַעְדְּךָ ψ 68:8;—step, march, of י׳ Ju 5:4 ψ 68:8 (c. ב loc.), Hb 3:12 (c. acc. אֶרֶץ); read prob. also צֹעֵד Is 63:1 (for MT צֹעֶה, v. צעה); of men, c. acc. cogn. צְעָדִים 2 S 6:13 they had gone six steps; c. acc. דֶּרֶךְ step a certain way Pr 7:8; of idols, לֹא יִצְעָ֑דוּ Je 10:5.—בָּנוֹת צָֽעֲדָה עֲלֵי־שׁוּר Gn 49:22 is dubious: usually (its) daughters (twigs of bough) have climbed over the wall (on sg. vb. v. Ges§ 145 k; others think ה—ָ old fpl. ending, e.g. NöZMG xxxviii (1884), 411 JPPetersHbr iii (1887), 111; v (1888), 199; conject. emend. of text v. in BallHpt Holz). e.g. Genesis 49:22
Hiphil
- Impf. 3 fs. sf. וְתַצְעִדֵהוּ Jb 18:14 and it (an unseen power Di; disease Du, reading וְיַצ׳) makes him march, c. ל pers. e.g. Job 18:14
צעד II
- 1. lit. step, pace, 2 S 6:13, תַּרְחִיב צַעֲדִי תַּחְתֵּנִי 2 S 22:37 = ψ 18:37, i.e. givest me firm footing, מֵיטִיבֵי צ׳ Pr 30:29 = making a good step, stately in march; La 4:18 (‖ לָ֑כֶת). e.g. 2 Samuel 6:13
- 2. step, steps, in fig. of course of life, fortune: sg. לֹא יֵצַר צ׳ Pr 4:12; ‖ דֶּרֶךְ Je 10:23; Pr 16:9; pl. Jb 14:16; 31:4; 34:21, צַעֲדֵי אוֹנוֹ 18:7 (cf. Pr 4:12 supr.); מִסְפַּר־צְעָדַי אַגִּידֶנּוּ 31:37; of harlot Pr 5:5 fig., שְׁאוֹל צְעָדֶיהָ יִתְמֹ֑כוּ. e.g. Proverbs 4:12
Senses from the full Brown-Driver-Briggs lexicon (Brown, Driver, Briggs; Oxford 1906 — public domain), digitized via Sefaria, supplemented by the OpenScriptures HebrewLexicon (CC BY 4.0). Full attribution on Sources.
Word origin
I. vb. step, march (NH id. (rare); Arabic صَعِدَ ascend);—
I. n.m.2 S 6:13 step, pace;—abs. צָ֑עַד Pr 30:29; sf. צַעֲדוֹ Je 10:3; Pr 16:9, etc.; pl. cstr. צַעֲדֵי Jb 18:7; sf. צְעָדַי Jb 31:4, etc.;—
— Brown-Driver-Briggs (Oxford 1906, public domain), digitized via Sefaria, supplemented by the OpenScriptures HebrewLexicon (CC BY 4.0). See Sources.
Derived from צנתרה (tsantârâh) (H6804) — pipe.
Jastrow Dictionary
A second Hebrew/Aramaic lexicon for comparison, covering Aramaic and post-biblical (Talmudic, Targumic, Midrashic) usage that the biblical-Hebrew BDB does not. Matched by lemma rather than by Strong’s number, so a lemma may carry more than one Jastrow headword (shown separately below), and the entries cover usage well beyond the Bible.
צָעַד
- (b. h.) to step, walk. Taan. 20ᵇ ולא צָעַדְתִּי בפני מי וכ׳ I never walked in front of one my superior; Meg. 28ᵃ.—[Yalk. Ex. 346 הצועד, v. צוֹעֵר.]
- to cause to walk, direct. Ber. 29ᵇ שתוליכני לשלום ותַצְעִידֵנִי וכ׳ that thou mayest lead me in safety and direct me in safety.
- to climb. Pirké d’R. El. ch. XXXIX והיו … מְצַעֲדוֹת על וכ׳ and the Egyptian girls used to climb up the walls and throw to him (Joseph) rings &c.
צַעַד
- preced.) step. — Pl. צְעָדִים, צְעָדוֹת. Pirké d’R. El. ch. XVII עשר צ׳; Yalk. Kings 232 עשרה צ׳. Pirké d’R. El. ch. XXXVI (ref. to Prov. IV, 12) לא צרו צְעָדָיו וכ׳ Jacob’s steps were not straitened; Midr. Till. to Ps. XCI. e.g. Proverbs 4:12
A Dictionary of the Targumim, the Talmud Babli and Yerushalmi, and the Midrashic Literature (Marcus Jastrow; London, Luzac, 1903) — Public Domain. Digitized via Sefaria. Digitized via Sefaria. Full attribution on Sources.
Forms in the corpus
The 13 distinct written forms H6806 takes in the Hebrew Bible, most frequent first — each parse links to that state’s occurrences in the concordance. Hebrew forms include their vowel points and cantillation, so a single lemma takes many written forms.
| Form | Parsing | Example | Uses |
|---|---|---|---|
| צַעֲדֽ/וֹ | Noun, Common, Masculine, Singular, Construct | Jeremiah 10:23 | 2 |
| צְ֭עָדַ/י | Noun, Common, Masculine, Plural, Construct | Job 31:37 | 1 |
| צְעָדִ֑ים | Noun, Common, Masculine, Plural, Absolute | 2 Samuel 6:13 | 1 |
| צְעָדֵ֔י/נוּ | Noun, Common, Masculine, Plural, Construct | Lamentations 4:18 | 1 |
| צְעָדֶ֥י/הָ | Noun, Common, Masculine, Plural, Construct | Proverbs 5:5 | 1 |
| צְעָדַ֣/י | Noun, Common, Masculine, Plural, Construct | Job 14:16 | 1 |
| צְעָדַ֥/י | Noun, Common, Masculine, Plural, Construct | Job 31:4 | 1 |
| צְעָדָ֥י/ו | Noun, Common, Masculine, Plural, Construct | Job 34:21 | 1 |
| צַעֲדִ֖/י | Noun, Common, Masculine, Singular, Construct | 2 Samuel 22:37 | 1 |
| צַעֲדִ֣/י | Noun, Common, Masculine, Singular, Construct | Psalms 18:36 | 1 |
| צַעֲדֵ֣י | Noun, Common, Masculine, Plural, Construct | Job 18:7 | 1 |
| צַעֲדֶ֑/ךָ | Noun, Common, Masculine, Singular, Construct | Proverbs 4:12 | 1 |
| צָ֑עַד | Noun, Common, Masculine, Singular, Absolute | Proverbs 30:29 | 1 |
Same root — word family
Other BDB entries built from the same root as H6806, grouped by Strong’s listed origin. These share a root / origin per the lexicon — not necessarily a shared meaning. Each links to that word’s own entry.
Derives from
Derived from this word
Compare all same-root words → They share a root, not necessarily a meaning.
Septuagint verse parallels
This word appears in 13 verses that also exist in the Greek Old Testament (Septuagint), out of the 14 Hebrew verses it occurs in. You can read those verses in Greek by switching the Old Testament edition to the Septuagint.
Read these verses in the Septuagint
This is a verse-level parallel only — the same verses exist in both the Hebrew and Greek Old Testaments. No word-level Hebrew↔Greek correspondence is claimed: the data carries no such alignment, so no Greek word is shown as this Hebrew word’s translation. Coverage is not total — the Septuagint omits the deuterocanon and renumbers the Psalms, so some Hebrew verses have no direct Greek parallel.
