Lexical Summary
tsav: Command, precept, order
Original Word:צַו
Part of Speech:Noun Masculine
Transliteration:tsav
Pronunciation:tsav
Phonetic Spelling:(tsav)
KJV: commandment, precept
NASB:order, command
Word Origin:[fromH6680 (צָּוָה - commanded)]
1. an injunction
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
commandment, precept
Or tsav {tsawv}; fromtsavah; an injunction -- commandment, precept.
see HEBREWtsavah
NAS Exhaustive Concordance
Word Originfrom
tsavahDefinitionperhaps command
NASB Translationcommand (1), order (8).
Brown-Driver-Briggs
apparently , dubious word; — in
Hosea 5:11 usually
command, ordinance; < Che Now GASm ; elsewhere only ("" ),
Isaiah 28:10 in mocking mimicry of Isaiah's words, and,
Isaiah 28:13, of the unintelligible speech of 's foreign agents of judgement; Ges Che
Comm. and others (compare AV RV) render
command upon command; Ew Di (carpenter's)
rule (+ =
line and rule), from √ (whence ); Du Che
Hpt explain as mocking sounds without sense.
Topical Lexicon
Meaning and Nuanceצַו 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 28:13 (fourfold repetition)
•Hosea 5:11
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 balancesIsaiah 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.
2. Responsibility of Hearers: Repetition is mercy, not monotony; rejection invites harder speech and eventual judgment.
3. Human Legalism versus Divine Authority: Hosea exposes the danger of elevating civic or cultic decrees over Scripture, a warning echoed by Jesus concerning “tradition of men” (Mark 7:8–9).
4. Pedagogy of Scripture: True teaching builds precept upon precept, mapping a steady trajectory toward Christ, who fulfills every command (Matthew 5:17).
Intercanonical Connections
•Nehemiah 8:8 models the “precept upon precept” method as Ezra reads “distinctly and gives the sense.”
• Paul echoes Hosea’s indictment when he warns against “self-made religion” (Colossians 2:23).
•Hebrews 5:12–14 contrasts incremental learning with arrested development, urging maturity in the Word.
Implications for Ministry and Discipleship
• Embrace incremental instruction: whether catechizing children or planting churches, lay foundations carefully—tsav latsav.
• Guard against derision of simple truth: intellectual pride can mask unbelief.
• Expose and resist man-devised commandments that rival biblical authority, whether cultural, political, or ecclesiastical.
• Receive correction promptly; delay hardens the heart and invites “foreign lips”—discipline more severe than the gentle voice of Scripture.
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 tzav
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