What does תִּקְוָה (tiqwāṯ) mean in the Bible?
A cord or hope must be understood through the thing named in the passage. Joshua describes the scarlet cord Rahab ties in her window under the conditions of the spies' oath.
Hebrew · H8615
תִּקְוָה
A cord or hope must be understood through the thing named in the passage. Joshua describes the scarlet cord Rahab ties in her window under the conditions of the spies' oath.
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תִּקְוָהH8615
Pronunciationtiqwāṯ
What does תִּקְוָה (tiqwāṯ) mean in the Bible?
Reader summary
Full entry for תִּקְוָה (H8615) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render H8615?
The BSB source-word alignment has 34 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include hope (8), my hope (3), and your hope (2), cord (2), of hope (2).
Where does תִּקְוָה (tiqwāṯ) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Joshua 2:18. Its strongest book concentrations include Job (13), Proverbs (8), Psalms (3), Ezekiel (2).
What This Word Actually Means
A cord or hope must be understood through the thing named in the passage. Joshua describes the scarlet cord Rahab ties in her window under the conditions of the spies' oath. Psalm 62 instead directs the speaker's soul to rest in God because hope comes from Him. Jeremiah promises a future and hope to the exiles within a message that names Babylon's seventy years and restoration.
The shared Hebrew noun does not make the cord a hidden definition of every act of hoping, or turn Jeremiah's particular promise into immediate success for any personal plan. Other accounts preserve distressed speech about hope, including Naomi's questions and Job's contrast between a tree's renewed shoots and mortal life. Name the physical object or hoped-for future and the speaker's actual grounds.
Hope can be taught without pretending that grief is absent or assigning a guaranteed outcome the passage does not give.
How the Bible Uses It
Rahab's cord, hope in God, the exiles' future and lamenting questions supply distinct settings. Object, speaker, promised time and uncertainty determine whether the text describes a material marker or expectation.
- Josh.2.18
Unless, when we enter the land, you have tied this scarlet cord in the window through which you let us down, and unless you have brought your father and mother and brothers and all your family into your house.
The scarlet cord in the window and the gathered household are stated conditions of the spies' oath; verse 21 reports Rahab tying the cord as she agrees.
- Ps.62.5
Rest in God alone, O my soul, for my hope comes from Him.
The speaker calls the soul to rest in God because hope comes from Him, surrounded by threats and repeated descriptions of God as refuge.
- Jer.29.11
For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, to give you a future and a hope.
The promised future and hope belong to the message to exiles, with verse 10 explicitly naming Babylon's seventy years and restoration rather than immediate personal prosperity.
Source Word Evidence
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders Ithope8×Ruth 1:12, Job 5:16, Job 7:6, Job 11:18
my hope3×Job 6:8, Job 19:10, Psalms 62:5
and your hope2×Proverbs 23:18, Proverbs 24:14
cord2×Joshua 2:18, Joshua 2:21
of hope2×Hosea 2:15, Zechariah 9:12
There is more hope2×Proverbs 26:12, Proverbs 29:20
and a hope1×Jeremiah 29:11
and our hope1×Ezekiel 37:11
any hope for me1×Job 17:15
are my hope1×Psalms 71:5
but the expectations1×Proverbs 10:28
but the hope1×Proverbs 11:23
his hope1×Proverbs 11:7
is my hope1×Job 17:15
nor the hope1×Psalms 9:18
so the hope1×Job 8:13
still hope1×Lamentations 3:29
that her hope1×Ezekiel 19:5
the hope1×Job 27:8
they will hope1×Job 11:20
your hope1×Job 4:6
Show sample aligned rows
Joshua 2:18תִּקְוַ֡תtocordNoun - feminine singular constructJoshua 2:21תִּקְוַ֥תtocordNoun - feminine singular constructRuth 1:12תִקְוָ֔הtohopeNoun - feminine singularJob 4:6תִּ֝קְוָתְךָ֗toyour hopeNoun - feminine singular construct | second person masculine singularJob 5:16תִּקְוָ֑הtohopeNoun - feminine singularJob 6:8וְ֝תִקְוָתִ֗יtomy hopeConjunctive waw | Noun - feminine singular construct | first person common singularJob 7:6תִּקְוָֽה׃tohopeNoun - feminine singularJob 8:13וְתִקְוַ֖תtoso the hopeConjunctive waw | Noun - feminine singular constructJob 11:18תִּקְוָ֑הtohopeNoun - feminine singularJob 11:20וְ֝תִקְוָתָ֗םtothey will hopeConjunctive waw | Noun - feminine singular construct | third person masculine plural
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned rowJoshua 2:18
Aligned rows34
Books represented10
Joshua2Ruth1Job13Psalms3Proverbs8Jeremiah2Lamentations1Ezekiel2Hosea1Zechariah1
Source forms
תִּקְוָ֑ה5xtiq·wāhJob 5:16, Job 11:18, Proverbs 11:7, Proverbs 19:18
וְתִקְוַ֖ת3xwə·ṯiq·waṯJob 8:13, Job 14:19, Proverbs 10:28
וְ֝תִקְוָתִ֗י2xwə·ṯiq·wā·ṯîJob 6:8, Job 17:15
וְ֝תִקְוָתְךָ֗2xwə·ṯiq·wā·ṯə·ḵāProverbs 23:18, Proverbs 24:14
תִּקְוָ֖ה2xtiq·wāhProverbs 26:12, Proverbs 29:20
תִּקְוָֽה׃2xtiq·wāhJob 7:6, Lamentations 3:29
תִּקְוַ֥ת2xtiq·waṯJoshua 2:21, Psalms 9:18
תִקְוָתִ֑י2xṯiq·wā·ṯîJob 17:15, Psalms 71:5
Parsing patterns
Noun - feminine singular12xRuth 1:12, Job 5:16, Job 7:6, Job 11:18
Noun - feminine singular construct5xJoshua 2:18, Joshua 2:21, Job 27:8, Psalms 9:18
Noun - feminine singular construct | first person common singular4xJob 17:15, Job 19:10, Psalms 62:5, Psalms 71:5
Conjunctive waw | Noun - feminine singular construct3xJob 8:13, Job 14:19, Proverbs 10:28
Conjunctive waw | Noun - feminine singular construct | first person common singular2xJob 6:8, Job 17:15
Conjunctive waw | Noun - feminine singular construct | second person masculine singular2xProverbs 23:18, Proverbs 24:14
Article | Noun - feminine singular1xZechariah 9:12
Conjunctive waw | Noun - feminine singular1xJeremiah 29:11
Using This Word Well
Be careful not to...
- Allow grief and questions while speaking of hope without diagnosing the distressed person's faith.
- Encourage practical care and safety rather than treating a hope statement as permission to disregard danger.
Avoid claiming...
- Every use of hope secretly means a cord that guarantees physical rescue.
- Jeremiah 29 guarantees immediate success for any personal or organizational plan.
Evidence Summary
FaithRevelation
Hebrew word. Hope as an anchor-cord of the soul; expectation grounded in faithful waiting rather than wishful thinking.
Source Gloss
literally a cord (as an attachment ); figuratively, expectancy
Extended definitionSource: Open Scriptures Hebrew Lexicon + Brown-Driver-Briggs
Hope as an anchor-cord of the soul; expectation grounded in faithful waiting rather than wishful thinking.
literally a cord (as an attachment); figuratively, expectancy BDB: hope Usage: expectation(-ted), hope, live, thing that I long for.
Grammatical Forms
How this word appears across different grammatical cases and numbers.
Selected Scripture Witnesses
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Old Testament Witnesses
hope, expectation, or confident waiting
expectation or confident anticipation
Hope, expectation, or a cord (symbolizing a lifeline); that which is waited for with certainty
Showing 3 selected witnesses from 34 lexical occurrence verses.
Word Origins
תִּקְוָה is built from these roots:
Why This Word Matters
Biblical hope reflects confident trust in God's faithfulness.Proverbs 10:28
The word highlights the future expectations that collapse for the wicked.Proverbs 11:7
Canonical Themes
FaithRevelation
Part of These Phrases
Compound and idiomatic phrases that include this word. Follow a link to study the phrase and how its parts work together.
For the Preacher and Teacher
Hope requires attention to its object and setting, while a cord remains a cord where the account names one. Joshua gives Rahab specific conditions for the oath, including the scarlet marker and the household's location. Psalm 62 places the speaker's hope in God amid real threats. Jeremiah addresses exiles with a future promise that includes an expressly named period in Babylon.
Naomi and Job meanwhile ask painful questions about what remains possible; those voices cannot be replaced with a cheerful slogan. A teacher should follow the promise or question actually spoken rather than using the lexical range to manufacture an outcome. Avoid an etymological code that makes every hope a rescue rope, retain the stated audience and timing of restoration, and make room for grief without declaring that a distressed person has no faith or no future.
Anchor passage
Ps.62.5
Doctrinal connections
- Joshua 2:17-21 names the scarlet cord, gathered household and oath conditions, then reports Rahab tying the cord rather than interpreting it as a universal symbolic guarantee.
- Psalm 62:3-8 joins threats and deceptive speech to hope in God as rock and refuge, directing trust without denying danger.
- Jeremiah 29:8-13 warns against false claims before promising restoration after Babylon's seventy years and naming a future and hope for the exiles.
- Ruth 1:11-14 presents Naomi's hypothetical questions about husbands and sons within grief, preserving her speech without making it the final account of every widow's future.
- Job 14:5-12 speaks of hope for a cut tree and then contrasts human death, requiring the whole lament rather than a plant-based guarantee for every loss.
- Lamentations 3:27-35 voices perhaps there is still hope amid grief, then names compassion and refuses to describe the Lord as willingly afflicting people.
The licensed Hebrew record includes a literal cord and expectation or hope. The selected Joshua verses name a physical cord, while other passages name an expected future or trust; their shared noun does not prove an etymological teaching or make every cord a theological symbol.
From Old to New Testament
Hebrews 11:31 and James 2:25 explicitly recall Rahab's welcome of the spies and their departure by another route. Those Greek accounts do not mention the scarlet cord as a symbolic system. They provide a traceable connection to her actions while leaving Joshua's cord and oath conditions in their own narrative, without equating every hopeful person with a predicted rescue outcome.