Five-minute study · Day 299 · Psalms 37
Psalm 37:23
A word worth stopping on: steps צַעַד tsaad
'The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD: and he delighteth in his way.' The word translated 'steps' is tsaad. A pace. A stride. A single footfall placed deliberately on the ground. The word carries military resonance: tsaad is the kind of step a soldier takes on a march, measured, rhythmic, directed by someone else's command. David, who was both king and field commander, chose a marching word. Your life, according to this verse, is a directed march. Each tsaad is placed by the LORD. And the verse adds something that changes the entire picture: he delights in it. God is not grudgingly arranging your footfalls. He takes pleasure in the walk.
Word study: steps
- Hebrew
- צַעַד
- Pronounced
- tsaad
- Strong's
- H6806
- Definition
- A step, a pace, a stride, a march. From the root tsaad (to step, to march, to advance). Used for deliberate, measured footsteps, often with the connotation of purposeful movement or military marching.
Tsaad appears 14 times in the Hebrew Bible. BDB defines it as 'a step, pace' and connects it to the root tsaad (to march, to step). The word appears in contexts of deliberate, purposeful walking. 2 Samuel 6:13 records David's procession with the Ark: 'when they that bare the ark of the LORD had gone six paces (tsaad)' The tsaad there is measured, counted, liturgical. Job 14:16 says God 'numberest my steps (tsaad),' counting each pace of Job's life. Job 31:4 asks, 'Doth not he see my ways, and count all my steps (tsaad)?' The image is consistent: God tracks the individual footfalls.
Goldingay's commentary on Psalms 1-41 identifies Psalm 37 as a wisdom psalm, an alphabetic acrostic (each section begins with a successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet). The psalm addresses the problem of the prospering wicked and the suffering righteous, a theme shared with Job, Psalm 73, and Ecclesiastes. Verse 23 sits in the mem section of the acrostic and makes a positive declaration about the righteous person's life: the tsaad are established (kunnu, from kun, to establish, to prepare, to make firm) by the LORD.
Goldingay notes that kun (to establish, to make firm) is the same root used for the establishment of David's throne (2 Samuel 7:16, 'thy throne shall be established (kun) for ever') and for the creation of the earth (Psalm 93:1, 'the world also is stablished (kun), that it cannot be moved'). The tsaad of the righteous person are established with the same verb God uses for thrones and planets. Goldingay observes that this is a statement about stability and intentionality: the steps are not random, not improvised, not left to chance. They are kun, set in place with the firmness of a foundation.
The second half of verse 23 says 'he delighteth in his way.' The subject of 'delighteth' is debated: does the LORD delight in the man's way, or does the man delight in the LORD's way? Goldingay argues that the LORD is the subject: God takes delight (chaphets, to desire, to take pleasure in, to be willing) in the walk of the righteous person. Chaphets carries the sense of eager willingness, positive desire. Psalm 147:10-11 uses the same word: 'He delighteth (chaphets) not in the strength of the horse... The LORD taketh pleasure (chaphets) in them that fear him.' The tsaad are established, and God enjoys the process. The march is directed with pleasure.
Historical context · The composition of Psalm 37, attributed to David; the Hebrew alphabetic acrostic tradition in Israelite wisdom literature; the broader Ancient Near Eastern wisdom tradition addressing the problem of theodicy (why the wicked prosper)
The Alphabetic Acrostic and the Measured Steps of the Righteous
Psalm 37 is one of several acrostic psalms in the Psalter (others include Psalms 9-10, 25, 34, 111, 112, 119, and 145). Each section of the psalm begins with the next letter of the Hebrew alphabet, creating a mnemonic structure that aided memorization and signaled completeness (aleph to tav, the full alphabet, covers everything). Goldingay notes that the acrostic form is particularly suited to wisdom instruction: the alphabetic frame gives order to proverbial content and signals comprehensiveness. The psalm covers the full range of experience from aleph to tav.
The wisdom tradition addressed the problem of theodicy across the Ancient Near East. The Babylonian 'Ludlul bel nemeqi' ('I Will Praise the Lord of Wisdom,' approximately 1700 BCE) describes a righteous man's suffering and eventual vindication. The Egyptian 'Dispute Between a Man and His Ba' explores despair and the meaning of suffering. Ecclesiastes and Job engage the same questions within the Israelite tradition. Psalm 37's answer is patience and trust: 'Fret not thyself because of evildoers' (verse 1), 'Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for him' (verse 7), 'I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread' (verse 25).
Goldingay places verse 23 in the psalm's positive portrait of the righteous person. The tsaad are established. The man falls and is not utterly cast down because the LORD upholds him with his hand (verse 24). The righteous is generous and lends (verse 26). His seed is blessed. His mouth speaks wisdom (verse 30). The law of God is in his heart; his tsaad do not slip (verse 31). The word tsaad bookends this section: the steps are established in verse 23 and do not slip in verse 31. Goldingay reads the repetition as structural emphasis: the tsaad are secure at both ends of the portrait.
Military marching in the ancient world was disciplined, rhythmic, and commanded. A Roman soldier on the march covered approximately 20 miles per day in formation, each step regulated by pace-setters and standards. The Israelite army, while less formalized than the Roman military machine, also marched in organized formation (Numbers 10:14-28 describes the marching order of the tribes). David, as both poet and military commander, would have understood tsaad in both its personal and military registers: a step taken under orders, in formation, directed by a commander. The verse says God is the commanding officer, and the march brings him pleasure.
For reflection
Tsaad. A pace. A stride. A soldier's footfall on the march, placed where the commander says to place it. Goldingay notes that the verb 'ordered' (kun) is the same word used for establishing thrones and founding the earth. Your individual tsaad, the next step you take out the door this morning, is established with the same verb God uses for planets. And the verse says he delights in it. Chaphets. Eager pleasure. The God who set the earth on its foundations takes the same kind of pleasure in your next stride. You do not have to see the whole route. You do not have to understand the formation. The tsaad is established. The next one is already prepared. Goldingay points out that verse 31 returns to tsaad: 'none of his steps shall slide.' The word appears twice in this section, framing the portrait of the righteous person at both ends. The march starts firm and finishes firm. Your job is the next step. God's job is the road.
Tsaad: step, pace, stride. BDB: from the root meaning to march. Goldingay identifies Psalm 37 as an alphabetic acrostic wisdom psalm and notes that kun (to establish) is used for thrones and creation. Chaphets (to delight) indicates God's eager pleasure in the directed walk.
Sources: BDB; Goldingay, 'Psalms 1-41'