📖 Biblical Definition
Tikvah (תִּקְוָה) is the Hebrew word for hope. From the verb qavah ("to wait, to look expectantly for"), tikvah is sustained expectation rooted in God’s character — not wishful optimism. Jeremiah voices it from the ash heap: "For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end [tikvah]" (Jeremiah 29:11); "Hope deferred maketh the heart sick: but when the desire cometh, it is a tree of life" (Proverbs 13:12). Strikingly, tikvah also means "cord" — Rahab’s scarlet line in the window (Joshua 2:18). Hope is the cord stretched from present darkness to promised deliverance — anchored on the far side in God.
📜 Webster 1828 Definition
Hebrew "hope" — sustained expectation rooted in God.
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The Hebrew word for hope, derived from qavah (to wait, expect). Tikvah is the sustained, oriented expectation of those who trust God's promises. Curiously the same word can mean "cord" or "line" (Rahab's scarlet thread, Josh 2:18) — hope is the cord that connects present darkness to promised deliverance. The Israeli national anthem is named Hatikvah, "the hope."
📖 Key Scripture
Jeremiah 29:11 — "For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end (tikvah)."
Psalm 62:5 — "My soul, wait thou only upon God; for my expectation (tikvah) is from him."
Lamentations 3:21-23 — "This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope. It is of the LORD's mercies that we are not consumed... they are new every morning."
⚠️ Modern Corruption
Reduced to optimism or wishful thinking; the sustained, God-rooted expectation that survives Lamentations gets lost.
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Modern "hope" is often optimistic feeling. Hebrew tikvah survived Lamentations — the destruction of Jerusalem, the exile, the temple's burning. "This I recall... therefore have I hope" (Lam 3:21). Hope is what stands when optimism has nothing to cling to.
Recover the cord-image: hope is the line that connects ruin to restoration. Rahab's scarlet thread saved her household; tikvah is the saint's scarlet thread through every dark season.
🔗 Greek & Hebrew Roots
Hebrew tikvah, qavah.
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['Hebrew', 'H8615', 'tikvah', 'hope, cord, expectation']
['Hebrew', 'H6960', 'qavah', 'to wait, hope']
Usage
"Tikvah is sustained expectation, not wishful feeling."
"Hope is the cord through Lamentations."
"Israel's anthem: HaTikvah, the hope."