תִּקְוָה

`תִּקְוָה`

TiꞋqᵊwâh (Biblical pronunciation, Israelis pronounce this TiꞋqᵊvâh), from קוה – to twist, stretch or strain; by extension, to await tensely or expectantly, to hope under stress or strain; i.e., to hope under stress or strain. Such hope always implies having done all that the individual can. Thus, this is hope based on, and deriving from, action; yet, which surpasses one's own ability or control.

Whomever desires the "hope" promised by Scripture cannot rely on a foreign translation – such as English. There's not the first word of English (or Greek) in the Bible. To relate to Biblical concepts, one must know what the authors conveyed in their original language. He or she must first know what Scriptural "hope" is, in the original Hebrew, in order to pursue that Scriptural "hope".

6 Hebrew Types of "Hope"

There are six different Hebrew terms in the Bible variously rendered as "hope" in misleading English translations that fail to accurately convey their meaning:

בֶּטַח and cognates בִּטָּחוֹן and מִבְטָח
כֶּסֶל
חָסָה and cognate מַחֲסֶה
שָׂבַר – Yësha•yâh′u 38.18; Tëhil•im′ 104.27; 119.166; 145.15; Rut 1.13; Ës•teir′ 9.1; Nëkhëm•yâh′ 2.13 & 15;
יִחֵל – bë-Reish•it′ 8.12; Shëm•u•eil′ Âl′ëph 10.8; 13.8; Shᵊmu•eilꞋ Beit 18.14; Mëlakh•im′ Beit 6.33; Yësha•yâh′u 42.4; 51.5; Yi•rëmëyâh′u 4.19; Yëkhëz•qeil′ 13.6; 19.5; Mikh•âh′ 5.6; 7.7; Tëhil•im′ 31.25; 33.18; 33.22; 38.16; 42.6, 12; 43.5; 69.4; 71.14; 119.43; 119.49; 119.74; 119.81, 114; 119.147 ; 130.5; 130.7, 131.3; 147.11; I•yov′ 6.11 ; 13.15; 14.14; 29.21 & 23; 30.26; 32.11; 32.16; Eikh•âh′ 3.21 & 24; cognate תּוֹחֶלֶת – Tëhil•im′ 39.8; Mi•shël•ei′ Shëlom•oh′ 10.28; 11.7; 13.12; I•yov′ 41.1; Eikh•âh′ 3.18, and cognate חיל; viz., חֵיל, ‭ ‬ חַיִל, ‭ ‬ חַיָּל

Of 61 instances of חיל in the Bible, all of the other 60 mean "writhe in travail." So does Eikh•âh′ 3.26. Describing how trials refine our nëph′ësh (character), Scripture declares, "It is good to writhe-in-travail in anticipation לִתְּשׁוּעַת י--ה.

תִּקְוָה and cognate מִקְוֶה (hope based on, and deriving from, action) – Yëho•shu′a 2.18; 2.21; Yi•rëmëyâh′u 29.11; 31.17; Yëkhëz•qeil′ 19.5; 37.11; Ho•shei′a 2.17; Zᵊkhar•yâhꞋ 9.12; Tëhil•im′ 9.19; 62.6; 71.5; Mi•shël•ei′ Shëlom•oh′ 10.28; 11.7; 11.23; 19.18; 23.18 &24.14 ; 26.12 & 29.20; I•yov′ 4.6; 5.16; 6.8; 7.6; 8.13; 11.18; 11.20; 14.7; 14.19; 17.15; 19.10; 27.8; Rut 1.12; Eikh•âh′ 3.29

Since 1-3 relate to security and safety issues, this entry will focus on the more personal aspects conveyed by the last three terms.

The central Biblical term that conveys hope is תִּקְוָה and cognate מִקְוֶה, from the verb root קוה. Interestingly, with no basis other than contextual convenience and intellectual laziness, scholars attribute מִקְוֶה to two different roots, both spelled identically: קוה. Then they assign some declensions to one root, meaning twisting, twining, stretching or straining, while assigning the remaining declensions to the other root, meaning collect or hope. Voila, they dangle a castle from a thread to avoid having to explain the conundrum.

There is no sound reason, however, to conclude that different instances of this term derive from different verbal roots. קוה is thought to be derived from an original meaning of twisting, twining, stretching or straining; as of a cord (Klein's and see the early usage in Yëho•shu′a [Bën-Nun] 2.18 & 21). The notion of intensely anticipating whether a cord would hold during use (bringing up–collecting–a bucket of water from a well in the parched desert or holding belongings and cargo on the back of a camel during a caravan) evolved into the notion of hope—which is then seen to be unlike the English term "hope." The popular religious theme of the English term, hope, is blind "faith" that requires no contribution or basis on the part of the hoper. By contrast, the Hebrew concept of tiꞋqᵊwëh is a combination of expectation and anxiety arising from some action.

In the middle east, nothing is more precious than water. Hoping for water to collect when digging a pool, for drinking or a bath, was the epitome of the combination of action and hope in anticipation. In this light, we may see how מִקְוֶה came to mean both an immersion pool (bë-Reish•it′ 1.10; Shëm•ot′ 7.19 and wa-Yi•qër•â′ 11.36) and hope (Di•vër•ei′ ha-Yâm•im Â′lëph 29.15; Ë′zër•â 10.2 and Yi•rëmëyâh′u 14.8; 17.13 & 50.7).

The most urgent point is that neither the cord nor the pool were imaginary (assumed) or pretend. Assuming a pretend cord or pool provides no real—rational—connection to the hope promised in the Bible. To claim the hope of the ancient Bible, your first step is to ensure that your hope is rational—fixed on a cord or pool in the real, rational, world, not in any imaginary irrational world—and then, most importantly, that you're following authentic and correct Scripture, not corrupted over the ages. Scriptural "hope" isn't authentic unless it reconciles with historical fact and documentation of the real world, not the fabricated imaginary world of post-135 C.E. Roman Hellenist syncretism – or the Jewish mystics imaginary Medieval European magic world of Qa•bâl•âhꞋ.