The Hebrew term aḥor is a homonym. It is a noun, signifying “back.”
Comp. “Behind (aḥare) the tabernacle” (Exod. xxvi. 12); “The spear came
out behind him (aḥarav)” (2 Sam. ii. 23).
It is next used in reference to time, signifying “after”; “neither
after him (aḥarav) arose there any like him” (2 Kings xxiii. 25);
“After (aḥar) these things” (Gen. xv. 1). In this sense the word occurs
frequently.
The term includes also the idea of following a thing and of conforming
with the moral principles of some other being. Comp. “Ye shall walk
after (aḥare) the Lord, your God” (Deut. xiii. 5); “They shall walk
after (aḥare) the Lord” (Hos. xi. 10), i.e., follow His will, walk in
the way of His actions, and imitate His virtues; “He walked after
(aḥare) the commandment” (ib. v. 11). In this sense the word occurs in
Exodus xxxiii. 20, “And thou shalt see my back” (aḥorai); thou shalt
perceive that which follows me, is similar to me, and is the result of
my will, i.e., all things created by me, as will be explained in the
course of this treatise.