Hebrew word · H2442

חָכָה

chakeh-

to wait

To wait, wait for, wait in expectation. It is a fairly rare verb, used about 14 times. The intensive form (yəḥakkeh) means waiting with intent and looking toward something. Lexicons (BDB, HALOT) give 'wait, tarry, wait for'.

Appears 14 times in 13 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

1) to wait, wait for, await

1a) (Qal) to wait for

1b) (Piel)

1b1) to wait, tarry

1b2) to wait (in ambush)

1b3) to wait for, long for

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

From the study of Isaiah 30:18

Range of meaning

To wait, wait for, wait in expectation. It is a fairly rare verb, used about 14 times. The intensive form (yəḥakkeh) means waiting with intent and looking toward something. The word covers holding back from acting until the right moment (2 Kgs 7:9; Job 32:4) and fixing one's hope on God (Ps 33:20; Isa 8:17; 64:4 [Heb 64:3]). Lexicons (BDB, HALOT) give 'wait, tarry, wait for'.

Against the English

KJV, WEB, YLT and ESV say 'wait' for God's action. BSB and NIV say 'longs to be gracious', which brings out the eagerness but breaks the verbal link with 'all who wait for him'. In ordinary modern English, 'wait' can suggest passing time idly.

How it drifted

In modern English 'wait' mostly means time passing while nothing happens. The Hebrew word is purposeful: you hold back, or you hold on, with your eyes on someone.

Used elsewhere in the period

Isaiah uses the same verb of himself in 8:17: 'I will wait for Yahweh, who is hiding his face from the house of Jacob.' Isaiah 64:4 [Heb 64:3]: no eye has seen a God 'who acts for the one who waits for him'. Habakkuk 2:3: 'if it delays, wait for it'. Daniel 12:12 pairs it with the same exclamation found here: 'Oh the happiness of the one who waits (ʾašrê ha-məḥakkeh)'. The Septuagint renders the first verb with μένω, 'remain', and the last with ἐμμένω, 'abide in'.

From the study of Isaiah 64:4

Range of meaning

To wait for or wait on, in the sense of eager, expectant waiting. It is used of watchmen waiting, of waiting for a promised vision to come (Hab 2:3), and of a person or community holding out for God's help (Ps 33:20; Isa 8:17; 30:18). It carries both endurance and longing.

Against the English

English 'wait' often suggests passive, empty time, like standing in a queue. 'Wait for him' in Hebrew means staking one's hope on God, continuing to look toward him when he has not yet acted.

How it drifted

Modern English 'wait' has narrowed to the gap of time before something happens. The biblical word centres on the person's orientation: whom they are looking to.

Used elsewhere in the period

Isa 30:18 uses the same root and the same phrasing: 'blessed are all who wait for him' (kol-chokhei lo). Hab 2:3: 'though it linger, wait for it.' Ps 33:20: 'our soul waits for the LORD.' The Septuagint renders the idea with words for remaining and enduring (hypomenō).

From the study of Isaiah 8:17

Range of meaning

In its intensive form (the form used here): to wait, tarry, linger, hold out through a delay. It can be neutral, as in staying until morning (2 Kgs 7:9) or waiting before speaking (Job 32:4). It can be hostile, as in bandits 'lying in wait' (Hos 6:9). Most often it is hopeful: waiting for a promised action of God (Ps 33:20; Isa 30:18; Hab 2:3; Dan 12:12; Zeph 3:8). What the uses share is staying put while time passes, without giving up.

Against the English

English 'wait' can sound idle, like killing time in a queue. KJV 'wait upon' may sound to modern ears like serving someone, as a waiter does. The Hebrew means neither. It is holding out on purpose, facing toward the one you expect.

How it drifted

'Wait upon' in older English meant to attend or watch for someone. Today it mostly means to serve, so the KJV phrasing can mislead.

Used elsewhere in the period

Isaiah himself uses the root for both sides of the relationship in 30:18: 'Yahweh waits (yeḥakkeh) to be gracious to you … blessed are all who wait (ḥôkê) for him.' Habakkuk 2:2–3 is the closest parallel. There a vision is written down and the prophet is told, 'if it delays, wait (ḥakkēh) for it; it will surely come.' The Septuagint translates our verse with menō, 'remain, stay, wait for'.

Where it appears

2 Kings · 2

  1. 2 Kings 7:9 וְחִכִּ֛ינוּ and we will delay

    Finally, they said to one another, “We are not doing what is right. Today is a day of good news. If we are silent and wait until morning light, our sin will overtake us. Now, therefore, let us go and tell the king’s household.”

  2. 2 Kings 9:3 תְחַכֶּֽה׃ you must delay

    Then take the flask of oil, pour it on his head, and declare, ‘This is what the LORD says: I anoint you king over Israel.’ Then open the door and run. Do not delay!”

    Here: "Wait around, hang about." He is not to stay for questions, thanks, food, or the aftermath. The last words of the verse make the whole commission a matter of speed.

Job · 2

  1. Job 3:21 הַֽמְחַכִּ֣ים those [who] long

    who long for death that does not come, and search for it like hidden treasure,

  2. Job 32:4 חִכָּ֣ה he had waited

    Now Elihu had waited to speak to Job because the others were older than he.

Psalms · 2

  1. Psalm 33:20 חִכְּתָ֣ה it waits

    Our soul waits for the LORD; He is our help and our shield.

    Here: Waiting with expectation, eyes on the one who is to come. The verb form describes a settled condition: 'we have waited and we are waiting'. It is feminine to agree with nephesh, which is grammatically feminine.

  2. Psalm 106:13 חִ֝כּ֗וּ they waited

    Yet they soon forgot His works and failed to wait for His counsel.

    Here: "They waited for." This is a rare verb for waiting with expectation, holding on until God acts. Elsewhere it describes the trusting posture of the faithful ('our soul waits for the LORD', Ps 33:20). The people refused to do this.

Isaiah · 4

  1. Isaiah 8:17 וְחִכִּ֙יתִי֙ and I will wait

    I will wait for the LORD, who is hiding His face from the house of Jacob. I will put my trust in Him.

    Here: A rare verb for waiting that holds on through a delay: lingering, holding out, staying put until something arrives. The verb form looks ahead, 'and I will wait', and states the prophet's settled resolve after the command to seal up his teaching (v. 16).

  2. Isaiah 30:18 יְחַכֶּ֤ה ח֥וֹכֵי he is waiting, [those who] wait

    Therefore the LORD longs to be gracious to you; therefore He rises to show you compassion, for the LORD is a just God. Blessed are all who wait for Him.

    Here: An intensive verb form in the incomplete (ongoing or future) tense: Yahweh keeps waiting, holding himself ready. It is the same verb used at the end of the verse for people who 'wait for him', so God and the faithful are doing the same thing.

  3. Isaiah 64:4 לִמְחַכֵּה־ for [one who] waits

    From ancient times no one has heard, no ear has perceived, no eye has seen any God besides You, who acts on behalf of those who wait for Him.

    Here: 'For the one who waits'. The word describes a person who keeps waiting, eagerly and in expectation, holding out for God to act. It is not idle passing of time.

Daniel · 1

  1. Daniel 12:12 הַֽמְחַכֶּ֖ה [is] the [one who] waits

    Blessed is he who waits and reaches the end of the 1,335 days.

    Here: 'The' plus a participle (a verb form describing ongoing action) of the intensive stem: the person who keeps waiting, who holds out in eager expectation. In context this means holding on through persecution until the promised end, not sitting idle.

Hosea · 1

  1. Hosea 6:9 וּכְחַכֵּ֨י and as wait for

    Like raiders who lie in ambush, so does a band of priests; they murder on the way to Shechem; surely they have committed atrocities.

Habakkuk · 1

  1. Habakkuk 2:3 חַכֵּה־ wait

    For the vision awaits an appointed time; it testifies of the end and does not lie. Though it lingers, wait for it, since it will surely come and will not delay.

    Here: A command addressed to one person: 'wait!' It is expectant waiting with your eyes on what is coming, not passive resignation.

Zephaniah · 1

  1. Zephaniah 3:8 חַכּוּ־ wait

    Therefore wait for Me,” declares the LORD, “until the day I rise to testify. For My decision is to gather nations, to assemble kingdoms, to pour out upon them My indignation—all My burning anger. For all the earth will be consumed by the fire of My jealousy.

    Here: A plural command: 'wait, all of you.' The word means waiting in tense expectation for something sure to come (Isaiah 8:17; 30:18; Habakkuk 2:3). The address changes here. Verses 1–7 spoke to Jerusalem as 'her/you' (feminine singular), and now a group is told to wait.

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.