Wait
Hebrew #6960 – qava
Definition: to stay in place with readiness or expectation; to delay; to pause for another.
Other translations of the Hebrew word: to look for, or hope; to expect or look eagerly for;
“I have waited for your deliverance, O [Yahuah]!”
Berĕshith (Genesis) 49:18
“Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men stumble and fall, but those who wait on [Yahuah] renew their strength, they raise up the wing like eagles, they run and are not weary, they walk and do not faint.”
Yeshayah (Isaiah) 40:30-31
“Are there among the worthless idols of the nations any causing rain? And do the heavens give showers? Are You not He, O [Yahuah] our Elohim? And we wait for You, for You are the One who does all this.”
Yirmeyahu (Jeremiah) 14:22
“Wait on [Yahuah], be strong, And let Him strengthen your heart! Wait, I say, on [Yahuah]!”
Tehillim (Psalms) 27:14
“I looked to [Yahuah], My being has looked, And for His word I have waited. My being looks to [Yahuah] More than those watching for morning, watching for morning.”
Tehillim (Psalms) 130:5-6
“When I looked for good, then evil came to me. And when I waited for light, darkness came.”
Iyoḇ (Job) 30:26
“For in this expectation we were saved, but expectation that is seen is not expectation, for when anyone sees, does he expect it? And if we expect what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with endurance.”
Romiyim (Romans) 8:24-25
The Hebrew word “qava” often translated as wait, can also be translated as “to look for with eagerness”. As you read the scripture, you might read the word “wait” but it is sometimes the Hebrew word “yachal” instead of “qava” which is more related to the word “hope”, or expect in The Scriptures version.
As in this verse below:
“I looked to [Yahuah], My being has looked, And for His word I have waited. My being looks to [Yahuah] More than those watching for morning, watching for morning.”
Tehillim (Psalms) 130:5-6
The word “waited” that’s underlined is the Hebrew word “yachal”, whereas the words in bold are the Hebrew word “qava” translated to English as “looked.”
As you read the scripture, it is crucial to understand the Hebrew word used, as it may have a different meaning than the one conveyed in our English translation.
Let’s look at the letters of the Hebrew word “qava” and see what in-depth meaning we can learn.
The Hebrew letters and their meanings are:
Qoph – ק – the back of a head
vav – ו – a nail, or hook
heh – ה – revelation, or behold
It’s interesting how this word that means “to look for with eagerness,” begins with the Hebrew letter that signifies a head, and then that it ends with the Hebrew letter for revelation. I imagine a person standing out in a field, waiting, and they look up when the thing or person they are waiting for has come.
As we walk in Yahuah’s ways and seek Him, oftentimes we are waiting for, or looking with eagerness to Yahuah. This could also relate to seeking Him with everything in our being, desiring to know Him, or putting our hope or expectation in Him. I suppose that is why there are two Hebrew words, often both translated as “wait”, as the two concepts go hand in hand. Waiting with eagerness and expecting Him to come. Perhaps next week we’ll study the word 'hope' or 'expectation.'
I hope that this has blessed you.
Shalom,
JS