Hope: Waiting, Stretching, and Trusting
Over the next four weeks, we’ll be exploring the four key words associated with the Advent season: hope, peace, joy, and love, starting with hope. The Hebrew words often translated as “hope,” yakhal and qavah, are rooted in images of waiting and being stretched, like a cord pulled tight. From Noah waiting for the flood waters to recede, to Israel longing for God’s loyal love, to Jesus followers ultimate hope in the new creation, the Bible presents hope as an active trust in God’s character. In this episode, Jon and Tim explore how the biblical story reframes hope as active waiting, a practice that keeps us moving toward God’s promises.
Episode Chapters
Show Notes
Reflection Questions
What do the Hebrew words yakhal and qavah reveal about how the Bible portrays hope?
How do hope and waiting overlap?
How does the biblical vision of hope differ from optimism or wishful thinking?
How does Gregory of Nyssa’s idea of epektasis reflect and build on the biblical vision of hope?
Why might God design hope to feel like tension rather than resolution?
What false hopes are we tempted to rely on?
Chapter 1: Yakhal, A Waiting Hope
Advent begins with hope, introducing it as a season of waiting for the arrival of Jesus the King. From Noah’s waiting on the floodwaters (Genesis 8:6-12) to Saul’s failure to wait for Samuel (1 Samuel 13:8-14), the Hebrew word yakhal shows how biblical hope is not passive but an active posture of expectation. This includes both the longing of deferred hope (Proverbs 13:12) and the trust that God will fulfill his promises (Psalm 33:16-22).
Chapter 2: Qavah, A Stretching Hope
The Hebrew word qavah, derived from qav for cord (Isaiah 44:13; Ezekiel 47:3), portrays hope as a cord pulled tight, a picture of biblical hope as stretched anticipation sustained by trust in God (Isaiah 5:1-7; Psalm 25:3-5).
Chapter 3: Biblical Hope Vs. Optimism
Biblical hope isn’t about optimism or betting on good odds but rather trusting God’s faithful love, even when circumstances are terrible.
Chapter 4: Reflections On Hope With Dylan
Our podcast editor Tyler talks with Dylan, one of the designers on our team, about what gives him hope.
Scripture References
Referenced Resources
- The Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament by Ludwig Koehler and Walter Baumgartner. Tim draws from this standard Hebrew lexicon to explain that qavah (“to hope”) comes from the noun qav (“cord”), showing that biblical hope carries the image of being stretched tight like a cord.
- The Life of Moses and Homilies on the Song of Songs by Gregory of Nyssa. Gregory develops the idea of epektasis, describing eternal life as an infinity stretching into God’s beauty, where each fulfillment opens into a new horizon. This idea echoes the biblical vision of hope as tension and longing that never ends.
- The Last Battle by C.S. Lewis. The Narnia series ends with a vision of new creation is continuously going “further up and further in,” a picture of endless discovery that fits with the biblical vision of hope.
- Yakhal / Hope: Though Tim and Jon don’t reference in the episode, this 2017 video that reflects* on *the same Hebrew words (yakhal and qavah).
Interested in learning more? Check out Tim's extensive collection of recommended books here.
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Show Music
- “Home For Christmas” by Lofi Sunday & Cassidy Godwin
- “That Gospel ft. Bobcat” by Lofi Sunday
- “Snowflakes” by Aves
- BibleProject theme song by TENTS
Show Credits
Production of today’s episode is by Lindsey Ponder, producer, and Cooper Peltz, managing producer. Tyler Bailey is our supervising engineer, who also edited today’s episode and provided the sound design and mix. JB Witty writes the show notes. Our host and creative director is Jon Collins, and our lead scholar is Tim Mackie. Special thanks to our guest Dylan Menges.
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