Lexical Summary
qavah: To wait, to look for, to hope, to expect
Original Word:קָוָה
Part of Speech:Verb
Transliteration:qavah
Pronunciation:kah-VAH
Phonetic Spelling:(kaw-vaw')
KJV: gather (together), look, patiently, tarry, wait (for, on, upon)
Word Origin:[a primitive root]
1. to bind together (perhaps by twisting), i.e. collect
2. (figuratively) to expect
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
gather together, look, patiently, tarry, wait for, on, upon
A primitive root; to bind together (perhaps by twisting), i.e. Collect; (figuratively) to expect -- gather (together), look, patiently, tarry, wait (for, on, upon).
Brown-Driver-Briggs
I. [] (probably originally
twist, stretch, then of
tension of enduring, waiting: Assyrian
‡ûû II, I.
wait,
‡û,
cord; Arabic
be strong,
strength, also
strand of rope; Syriac
endure, remain, await,
threads, so spider's
threads, web); —
Participle pluralthose waiting for (): constructPsalm 37:9; soIsaiah 40:31 van d. H., and Kt Baer Gi (Qr ); suffixIsaiah 49:23,Psalm 25:3;Psalm 69:7;Lamentations 3:35 Qr (Kt , i.e. ).
Perfect3feminine singularPsalm 130:5; 1singularGenesis 49:18 5t.,Isaiah 5:4, consecutiveIsaiah 8:17; suffixPsalm 25:21; 3pluralPsalm 56:7 +, etc.;ImperfectMicah 5:6;Job 7:2, jussiveJob 3:9,Isaiah 5:2,7, etc.;Imperative masculine singularHosea 12:7 +;Infinitive absolutePsalm 40:2,Jeremiah 8:15;Jeremiah 14:19; —
wait, orlook eagerly, for, with of thingIsaiah 5:7;Isaiah 59:9,11;Jeremiah 8:15;Jeremiah 13:16;Jeremiah 14:19;Job 3:9;Job 6:19;Genesis 49:18; with accusative of thingLamentations 2:16 (suffix),Job 7:2;Job 30:26;Psalm 39:8; object of thing omittedIsaiah 64:2; followed by infinitiveIsaiah 5:2,4;Psalm 69:21; absoluteJob 17:13; with accusativeIsaiah 26:8 (suffix),Psalm 25:5;Psalm 25:21 (suffix),Psalm 40:2 (+ infinitive absolute),Psalm 130:5, accusative omittedPsalm 130:5, accusativePsalm 52:11 (but read probably , Hi Che Bae and others, see ); with ofIsaiah 8:17;Isaiah 25:9 (twice in verse);Isaiah 33:2;Isaiah 60:9 (but read probablyships shall gather (II. ), so Du CheHpt Di-Kit Marti, compare Skinner (also Luzz Gei Oort),Jeremiah 14:22;Proverbs 20:22; withHosea 12:7,Isaiah 51:5;Psalm 27:14 (twice in verse);Psalm 37:34.
lie in wait for, followed byPsalm 56:7; followed by personPsalm 119:95 (+ infinitive purpose).
wait (linger)for with of manMicah 5:6 ("" ).
II. [] (Late Hebrew Hiph`ilcollect); —
be collected, Perfect3plural consecutiveJeremiah 3:17 (of nations);Imperfect3masculine pluralGenesis 1:9 (P; of waters; both with location); so probably of ships (with person)Isaiah 60:9 (for ), see I.
Topical Lexicon
קָוָה
Core Themes
The verb qavah portrays deliberate, tension-filled waiting that binds the heart to the expected intervention of Yahweh. It may describe (1) the gathering of physical elements under God’s ordering hand (Genesis 1:9), and far more often (2) the spiritual posture of expectancy—translated wait, hope, look, or expect—found in prayers, laments, royal psalms, prophetic promises, and wisdom reflections. Across its roughly forty-nine appearances, qavah unites creation, covenant, and consummation.
Expectant Waiting upon Yahweh
Waiting in Scripture is never passive resignation; it is faith stretched toward the sure character of God.Psalm 25:3 declares, “Surely none who wait for You will be put to shame.” David returns to the theme repeatedly: “I waited patiently for the LORD; He inclined to me and heard my cry” (Psalm 40:1). Such verses root patience in personal relationship, not circumstance.
Covenantal Hope in Times of Distress
In the prophets, qavah often surfaces where judgment looms and confidence must pierce the darkness.Isaiah 8:17: “I will wait for the LORD, who is hiding His face from the house of Jacob, and I will put my trust in Him.” The remnant’s survival rests on hope in God’s covenant fidelity. Jeremiah echoes the same tension when the nation admits, “We looked for peace, but no good came” (Jeremiah 8:15), exposing false hopes that rival true waiting.
Integration with Prayer and Piety
Psalms intertwine qavah with daily devotion. “For You I wait all day long” (Psalm 25:5) and “My soul, wait in silence for God alone” (Psalm 62:5) reveal that waiting shapes interior life—silence, meditation, and integrity (Psalm 25:21) become companions of hope. InLamentations 3:25 Jeremiah affirms, “The LORD is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul who seeks Him,” marrying patient expectancy with active seeking.
Communal Dimensions in Israel’s Worship
Corporate liturgy calls the congregation to a shared stance: “Wait patiently for the LORD; be strong and courageous” (Psalm 27:14). Responsibility is mutual; courage feeds on the community’s unanimous anticipation of redemption. Festivals and temple songs thus rehearse the nation’s historical wait—from exodus through exile—fostering collective identity anchored in future grace.
Strength Renewed in Expectation
Isaiah 40:31 offers the classic promise: “Those who wait upon the LORD will renew their strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles.” Far from draining energy, biblical waiting exchanges human weakness for divine vitality. The metaphor addresses weary exiles yet applies universally to saints who lean on God’s sufficiency for daily perseverance and ministry.
Gathering Waters: The Image of Ordered Creation
The first use of qavah frames waiting within creation theology: “Let the waters under the heavens be gathered into one place” (Genesis 1:9). The verb affirms that even elemental forces submit to God’s command. Hope, therefore, rests on the One who at the beginning gathered chaos into order; He can gather scattered exiles (Isaiah 49:23) and fragmented hearts (Psalm 147:2).
Messianic and Eschatological Overtones
Prophetic waiting glides into messianic expectation.Isaiah 25:9 announces, “Surely this is our God; we have waited for Him, and He has saved us.” The salvation awaited culminates in the Servant-King whose suffering and victory vindicate hope (Isaiah 53).Isaiah 64:4 magnifies the promise to cosmic scale, describing a God “who acts on behalf of those who wait for Him.”
New Testament Resonances
Though qavah is Hebrew, its theology echoes in Greek ἐλπίζω and προσδέχομαι. Paul captures the same tension: “For we through the Spirit, by faith, eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness” (Galatians 5:5). Peter citesIsaiah 28:16, underscoring that believers who trust in Christ “will never be put to shame” (1 Peter 2:6), the very assurance attached to qavah inIsaiah 49:23.
Pastoral and Devotional Implications
1. Waiting is active obedience—prayer, purity, and perseverance.
2. Hope expects concrete deliverance rooted in historical acts of God.
3. Ministry to the suffering should cultivate vision beyond immediate relief toward God’s appointed time.
4. Corporate worship must honor seasons of delay as integral to spiritual formation.
5. Leaders model hope by resting visibly in God’s promises amid uncertainty.
Representative Occurrences
Genesis 1:9;Job 7:2;Psalm 25:3, 25:5, 27:14, 31:24, 33:20, 37:34, 40:1, 62:5, 69:3, 130:5;Isaiah 8:17, 25:9, 26:8, 33:2, 40:31, 49:23, 60:9, 64:4;Jeremiah 8:15, 14:19;Lamentations 3:25;Micah 5:7.
In every context qavah calls the people of God to place confident expectation in the Lord who has proven Himself faithful from creation’s dawn to the unfolding of eternity.
Forms and Transliterations
אֲ֭קַוֶּה אקוה וְ֝קַוֵּ֗ה וְנִקְוּ֨וּ וְקִוִּיתֶ֤ם וְקִוֵּ֖יתִֽי־ וְקַוֵּ֥ה וְקֹוֵ֥י וְקוֹיֵ֤ וַאֲקַוֶּ֖ה וַיְקַ֛ו וַיְקַ֤ו וָאֲקַוֶּ֣ה וּ֨נְקַוֶּה־ ואקוה ויקו ונקוה־ ונקוו וקוה וקוי וקויתי־ וקויתם יְקַוֶּ֥ה יְקַוֶּה֙ יְקַוּ֔וּ יְקַוּ֗וּ יְקַו־ יִקָּו֨וּ יקו־ יקוה יקוו לְקֹוָ֔ו לקוו נְקַוֶּ֑ה נְקַוֶּ֤ה נקוה קִ֝וִּ֗יתִי קִ֭וִּיתִי קִּוִּ֣יתִי קִוְּתָ֣ה קִוִּ֑ינוּ קִוִּ֣ינוּ קִוִּ֣יתִי קִוִּ֥ינוּ קִוִּ֥יתִי קִוִּינ֑וּךָ קִוִּיתִֽיךָ׃ קִוֵּ֛יתִי קִוּ֣וּ קִוּ֥וּ קִוּוּ־ קַוֵּ֗ה קַוֵּ֤ה קַוֵּ֥ה קַוֹּ֣ה קֹ֭וֶיךָ קֹוֶיךָ֮ קוָֹֽי׃ קוה קוו קוו־ קוי׃ קויך קוינו קוינוך קויתי קויתיך׃ קותה שֶׁקִּוִּינֻ֖הוּ שקוינהו ’ă·qaw·weh ’ăqawweh Akavveh kavVeh kavVoh kivVeiti kivveTah kivVinu kivviNucha kivViti kivviTicha kivvu Koeicha koVai lə·qō·wāw lekoVav ləqōwāw nə·qaw·weh nekavVeh nəqawweh qaw·wêh qaw·wōh qawwêh qawwōh qiw·wə·ṯāh qiw·wê·ṯî qiw·wî·nū qiw·wî·nū·ḵā qiw·wî·ṯî qiw·wî·ṯî·ḵā qiw·wū qiw·wū- qiwwəṯāh qiwwêṯî qiwwînū qiwwînūḵā qiwwîṯî qiwwîṯîḵā qiwwū qiwwū- qō·wāy qō·we·ḵā qōwāy qōweḵā šeq·qiw·wî·nu·hū šeqqiwwînuhū shekkivviNuhu ū·nə·qaw·weh- Unekavveh ūnəqawweh- vaakavVeh vayKav vekavVeh vekivVeiti vekivviTem vekoVei vekoYe venikvVu wa’ăqawweh wā’ăqawweh wa·’ă·qaw·weh wā·’ă·qaw·weh way·qaw wayqaw wə·niqw·wū wə·qaw·wêh wə·qiw·wê·ṯî- wə·qiw·wî·ṯem wə·qō·w·yê wə·qō·wê wəniqwwū wəqawwêh wəqiwwêṯî- wəqiwwîṯem wəqōwê wəqōwyê yə·qaw- yə·qaw·weh yə·qaw·wū yekav yekavVeh yekavVu yəqaw- yəqawweh yəqawwū yikkaVu yiq·qā·wū yiqqāwū
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