Hebrew Word of the Day

Hebrew Word of the Day (tiqvah)In ancienter Hebrew (e.g. Biblical), the pronunciation would have been tiqwah, but all dialects of Modern Hebrew (and Liturgical/worship Hebrew too) treat the letter waw like a German w (v sound).

The shoresh (root) of this word is קוה, which means “wait, look for, hope.”  TWOT says,

“This root means to wait or to look for with eager expectation…. Waiting with steadfast endurance is a great expression of faith.  It means enduring patiently in confident hope that G-d will decisively act for the salvation of His people (Gen. 49:18).  Waiting involves the very essence of a person’s being, his soul (nephesh; Ps 130:5).  Those who wait in true faith are renewed in strength so that they can continue to serve the L-rd while looking for His saving work (Isa. 40:31).  There will come a time when all that G-d has promised will be realized and fulfilled (Isa. 49:23; Ps 37:9).  In the meantime the Believer survives by means of his integrity and uprightness as he trusts in G-d’s grace and power (ps. 25:21).”

The National Anthem of Israel is titled HaTikvah (The Hope) and was written over 60 years before Israel was restored as a political “state” (a nation/people with a defined land possession).  The author of the song was Naftali Hertz Imber.

There is an identical shoresh (also spelled קוה) which means “collect, gather” and is the root of the word miqweh/mikveh (immersion pool).  Be careful not to confuse the two shoreshim (roots) or try to make them into a single shoresh.

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