מִקְוָה
𐤌𐤒𐤅𐤄
miqvâh
H4724 noun
SILEX Entry
Definition
A gathering or collection, primarily of water; a pool, reservoir, body of gathered water, or place where water accumulates; by extension, in later Hebrew, a gathering or collection of people or things and metaphorically, a source of hope or expectation. In the Hebrew Bible, chiefly refers to a reservoir, pool, or amassed body of water, natural or constructed.
Semantic Range
gathering, collection, collected mass (esp. of water), pool, reservoir, reservoir channel, thing hoped for, hope (metaphorical)
Root / Etymology
Root קוה, meaning 'to collect, gather, hope for.' Miqvâh derives from the root noun pattern, signifying the thing gathered or the act/result of gathering. In this form (feminine noun), it primarily denotes what is gathered, especially with respect to water.
Historical & Contextual Notes
In the most frequent biblical use, מִקְוָה designates any accumulated body of water, such as pools (Gen 1:10, 'gathering of the waters') or reservoirs (2 Kgs 20:20; 2 Chr 32:30). In cultic and daily life contexts outside the Bible (postbiblical Hebrew), מִקְוָה refers to a ritual bath for purification (the later 'mikveh' or 'miqveh'). This later meaning does not occur in the Hebrew Bible but derives from the notion of gathered water suitable for ritual purposes. In Jeremiah 14:8 and 17:13, the term is used metaphorically for 'hope' or 'source of hope,' rooted in the alternative sense of 'thing hoped for' from the same root. While standard translations often render מִקְוָה as 'pool' or 'reservoir' when water is in view, and 'hope' when metaphorical, these do not always capture the full scope of its use as 'gathering/collected.' The shift in meaning after the biblical period to the technical ritual sense 'mikveh' reflects postbiblical developments in ritual law and practice. The term is distinguishable from classical terms for cistern (בור, בְּאֵר), which often specify constructed or dug water sources, while מִקְוָה may refer to natural or constructed gatherings of water. No direct ethnonyms or group identities are attached to its biblical usage.
Original Strong's Gloss (1890)
feminine of מִקְוֶה; a collection, i.e. (of water) a reservoir; ditch.
Bantu Hebrew
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+ Add Bantu Hebrew WordRoot Family
קוה (q-w-h) — to collect, to gather, to hope for
| Strong's | Lemma | SIBI-P1 |
|---|---|---|
| H4723 | מִקְוֶה | Gathering-Place |
| H6957 | קַו | with the measuring-cord |
| H6960 | קָוָה | I will eagerly wait |
| H6961 | קָוֶה | measuring cord of |
| H8615 | תִּקְוָה | the expectation |
Word Forms
1 distinct form
| SIDANCE | Surface | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 | Occurrences |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
H4724-01 |
וּ/מִקְוָ֣ה | umiqevah | HC/Ncfsa |
and-reservoir | and water-gathering pool | 1 |
Occurrences in Scripture
1 total occurrence
| SIDANCE | Reference | Word | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
H4724-01 |
Isaiah 22:11 | וּ/מִקְוָ֣ה | umiqevah | HC/Ncfsa |
and-reservoir | and water-gathering pool |