Hebrew word · H2050
הוּת
tehotu
to plot
This form appears only here in the Hebrew Bible, so its meaning has to be reconstructed.
Appears once in the Hebrew Old Testament. ·
What it means
(Poel) to shout at, be frantic at, assail, break in, overwhelm, imagine mischief
Abridged from Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).
In depth
- Range of meaning
This form appears only here in the Hebrew Bible, so its meaning has to be reconstructed. The proposals are: (1) 'shout at, assail with noise' (BDB, comparing an Arabic verb hawwata, 'shout at'); (2) 'set upon, rush at, storm' (HALOT, 'overwhelm, attack'); (3) older Jewish and Christian interpreters linked it to hawwah, 'ruin, destruction, mischief', giving 'devise mischief'.
- Against the English
KJV 'imagine mischief' and YLT 'devise mischief' follow option 3 and make it a scheme in the mind. BSB 'threaten', WEB 'assault', ESV and NASB 'attack' follow options 1–2 and make it an open attack.
- How it drifted
KJV's 'imagine' meant 'plot, devise' in 1611. Today it sounds like private fantasy, which weakens a verb that most likely describes open aggression.
- Used elsewhere in the period
The Septuagint has ἐπιτίθεσθε, 'you set upon, attack'. The Vulgate has inruitis, 'you rush in upon'. Both ancient translators took it as a physical assault, not as plotting. Verse 4 then adds the plotting ('they take counsel… they delight in lies').
Where it appears
Psalms · 1
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Psalm 62:3 תְּהֽוֹתְת֣וּ will you attack
How long will you threaten a man? Will all of you throw him down like a leaning wall or a tottering fence?
Here: A verb found only here in the Bible, in an intensive form addressed to 'you' (plural). Its sense is uncertain: most likely 'storm against / set upon' or 'shout someone down'. Either way it is open hostility by a group against one person.
Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.