Lexical Summary tsav: Command, precept, order Original Word: צַו Strong's Exhaustive Concordance commandment, precept Or tsav {tsawv}; from tsavah; an injunction -- commandment, precept. see HEBREW tsavah NAS Exhaustive Concordance Word Originfrom tsavah Definition perhaps command NASB Translation command (1), order (8). Brown-Driver-Briggs צַו apparently noun [masculine], dubious word; — in הָלַךְ אַחֲרֵיצָָֿ֑ו Hosea 5:11 usually command, ordinance; < ᵐ5 ᵑ6 Che Now GASm שָׁוְא; elsewhere only צַו לָצָ֨ו צַו לָצָ֔ו ("" קַו לָקָו קָו קַו לָקָו), Isaiah 28:10 in mocking mimicry of Isaiah's words, and, Isaiah 28:13, of the unintelligible speech of ׳י's foreign agents of judgement; Ges CheComm. and others (compare AV RV) render command upon command; Ew Di (carpenter's) rule (+ קַו = line and rule), from √צָוָה (whence צִיּוּן); Du CheHpt explain as mocking sounds without sense. Topical Lexicon Meaning and Nuance צַו points to an authoritative “charge” or “directive.” In Isaiah it is heard on the lips of scoffers who reduce the prophetic message to tedious rules; in Hosea it denotes a human decree embraced in defiance of the Lord. The word therefore stands at the intersection of divine instruction and the human tendency either to belittle or to replace it. Scriptural Distribution • Isaiah 28:10 (fourfold repetition) Isaiah 28: The Mockery and the Method Judah’s priests and prophets, numbed by drink, deride Isaiah’s warnings: “For He says, ‘Order on order, order on order, line on line, line on line; a little here, a little there.’” (Isaiah 28:10) The taunt caricatures the prophet’s patient instruction—“tsav latsav”—as childish babble. Yet the Lord turns the sneer back on them: because they will not heed measured teaching, He will speak through “foreign lips” (Isaiah 28:11), culminating in exile. What they mock as dull repetition becomes the very pattern by which God educates and, if resisted, judges. The passage thus illustrates both the gracious clarity of revelation—truth given in small, accessible steps—and the peril of contempt for that grace. Hosea 5: Human Commands and Divine Judgment “Ephraim is oppressed, crushed in judgment, because he was determined to follow a command.” (Hosea 5:11) Here צַו refers not to Yahweh’s statutes but to a self-chosen ordinance, likely linked to idolatrous state policy. The northern kingdom substitutes human legislation for covenant obedience, bringing social oppression and the foretold Assyrian crushing. The single Hosea occurrence balances Isaiah 28: when divine commands are mocked, people end up embracing destructive man-made commands. Theological Themes 1. Progressive Revelation: God willingly imparts truth “line on line,” accommodating human limitation. Intercanonical Connections • Nehemiah 8:8 models the “precept upon precept” method as Ezra reads “distinctly and gives the sense.” Implications for Ministry and Discipleship • Embrace incremental instruction: whether catechizing children or planting churches, lay foundations carefully—tsav latsav. Conclusion צַו is a small word that reveals a large principle: God gives commands for life, but when His people belittle them, they drift into oppressive commands of their own making. The wise disciple therefore welcomes every line of God’s Word, counting no portion trivial, trusting that precept upon precept leads ultimately to the Cornerstone laid in Zion (Isaiah 28:16). Forms and Transliterations לָצָ֔ו לָצָ֞ו לָצָו֙ לצו צַ֣ו צַ֤ו צָֽו׃ צו צו׃ lā·ṣāw lāṣāw laTzav ṣaw ṣāw tzavLinks Interlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel TextsEnglishman's Concordance Isaiah 28:10 HEB: כִּ֣י צַ֤ו לָצָו֙ צַ֣ו NAS: For [He says], 'Order on order, order KJV: For precept [must be] upon precept, INT: For Order order order Isaiah 28:10 Isaiah 28:10 Isaiah 28:10 Isaiah 28:13 Isaiah 28:13 Isaiah 28:13 Isaiah 28:13 Hosea 5:11 9 Occurrences |
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