Words of Hope

A Word Study on the Biblical Word "Hope"

Study #29 - A Watchful Hope

At this point in our study it might serve us well to summarize our findings thus far.  As in all word studies we are finding that the various synonyms for "hope" are all used in similar ways and with similar meanings and yet there are also various shades of meaning indicated in their different roots and in the contexts in which they are found.  And so we may propose a slight distinction in the various synonyms we have studied to this point as follows:  1) tiqwa (root idea: "a cord") = "a strong or confident hope; 2) miqweh (root idea: "a collection") = "a collective hope"; 3)yahal (root idea: "to wait") = "a patient hope"; and 4) tohelet (a derivative of yahal) = "a future hope" (in most contexts). We should also point out that all of the Hebrew words for hope we have studied thus far have a connotation of expectation and that the differences should not be pressed beyond what the context and usage indicates. The next synonym for "hope" we wish to study is the Hebrew word "sabar" and its derivative "seber" (Strong's #7663, 7664; Theological Word Book #2232).  These words also carry the basic idea of "waiting" and of "expectation" but with the added idea in some contexts of "watching" or "looking".  Strong states that "sabar" means "to scrutinize" and by implication the idea "of watching".  Gesenius in his Lexicon states that it means "to look at, to view" and adds that "the primary idea appears to be that of digging out and exploring...".  Under the word "seber" he gives the definition "to expect, to wait for (properly to look for)".  The Theological Word Book defines "sabar" as "examine" (in the Qal stem) and as "wait, hope" (in the Piel stem), and in its article on "seber" comments that "It looks abroad to that life and deliverance which alone has power to make a person safe... and happy...".  The root idea of "examining" or "scrutinizing" may be found in the use of sabar in Nehemiah 2:13,15-  "And I went out by night by the gate of the valley ... and viewed the walls of Jerusalem which were broken down ... Then I went up in the night by the brook, and viewed the wall ...".  This is the word used in its most basic meaning without any connotation of "expectation" or of "hoping".  So what does "looking" have to do with "hoping"?  I have fond memories of when I was a young boy of waiting for my father to come home from work.  My expectation grew stronger as the day went by and the usual time of my father's arrival would draw near.  I remember well going to sit in front of a certain window that had a clear view of the street and of the direction from which he would be driving up to our home.  I can remember on more than one occasion my sisters joining me in this vigil of watching for daddy to come home. My hoping for his arrival led to my looking for his coming!  And so we may say that "looking" and "watching" is a strong way of expressing "hope" and "expectation".  I believe this is why we are told so many times by the Lord Jesus Christ in the Gospels to WATCH for His Return.  We are to be LOOKING for Him to come as an evidence of our HOPE of His Second Coming!  There are four times when these two words for "hope" are found in the Psalms.  We will simply list them here and will reserve our comments upon these passages in our next post, but see if you can sense the concept of a watchful hope in these verses:

Psalm 119:116 - "Uphold me according unto thy word, that I may live: and let me not be ashamed of  my hope."   

Psalm 119:166 - "LORD, I have hoped for thy salvation, and done thy commandments."

Psalm 145:15 - "The eyes of all wait upon thee: and thou givest them their meat in due season."

Psalm 146:5 - "Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the LORD his God."