Tikvah means hope, expectation, or cord. It appears about 35 times. It expresses confident expectation of future good, especially God's deliverance. The word also means 'cord' (Rahab's scarlet cord), linking hope to what binds and secures.
Hope in the Old Testament is not wishful thinking but confident trust in God's promises. 'Those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength' (Isaiah 40:31). Hope sustains through exile and suffering. The scarlet cord (tikvah) that saved Rahab became a Christian symbol of hope in Christ's blood.