H2442 — חָכָה (chakah)¶

Core Data¶

Strong's: H2442
Original: חָכָה
Transliteration: chakah
Pronunciation: khaw-kaw'
Part of Speech: Verb (primitive root)
Root: Primitive root, akin to H2475 through the idea of piercing; properly "to adhere to"
Occurrences: 13 unique verses (16 tokens) across 8 books
First Occurrence: 2 Kings 7:9 — "if we tarry till the morning light, some mischief will come upon us"
Hapax Legomenon: No

Lexicon Definition¶

A primitive root (apparently akin to H2475 through the idea of piercing); properly, to adhere to; hence, to await: — long, tarry, wait.

Verb Stem Distribution¶

Stem	Count	Typical Meaning
Piel Perfect	5	waited, had waited (completed waiting)
Piel Imperfect	2	will wait, will tarry (ongoing/future waiting)
Piel Participle	4	he that waiteth, those who wait (characteristic waiting)
Piel Imperative	2	wait! (commanded waiting)
Qal Participle	1	those who wait (Isa 30:18b)

Notes: Overwhelmingly Piel (13 of 14 verb tokens = 93%). The Piel intensifies the root sense of "adhering to" — a deliberate, sustained waiting. The single Qal participle in Isa 30:18b (chokhey) occurs alongside the Piel imperfect of the same word in 30:18a, creating a wordplay between God's waiting (Piel) and human waiting (Qal). The lemma also produces 3 noun tokens (H2443 chakkah "fish-hook" — Isa 19:8, Hab 1:15, Job 40:25) which are separate from the verb usage.

Translation Distribution (KJV)¶

Translation	Verses	%
wait / wait for / wait upon / wait ye	7	54%
waiteth / waited	3	23%
tarry	2	15%
long (for)	1	8%

Note: The KJV translations are fragmented across inflected forms. Consolidated: "wait" family = 10 (77%), "tarry" = 2 (15%), "long" = 1 (8%).

Distribution by Book¶

Book	Count	Per 100 Verses
Zephaniah	1	1.9
Habakkuk	1	1.8
Hosea	1	0.5
2 Kings	2	0.3
Daniel	1	0.3
Job	2	0.2
Isaiah	3	0.2
Psalms	2	0.1

Patterns: Prophetic concentration — 7 of 13 verses (54%) appear in prophetic books (Isaiah, Hosea, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Daniel). Isaiah has the highest raw count (3). Absent from the Torah, Former Prophets (except 2 Kings narrative), and all NT-era literature.

Semantic Categories¶

1. Waiting on God / Trusting Expectation¶

Isa 8:17 — "And I will wait upon the LORD, that hideth his face from the house of Jacob, and I will look for him."
Psa 33:20 — "Our soul waiteth for the LORD: he is our help and our shield."
Isa 30:18 — "blessed are all they that wait for him"
Dan 12:12 — "Blessed is he that waiteth, and cometh to the thousand three hundred and five and thirty days."

2. Waiting for Divine Action / Fulfillment¶

Hab 2:3 — "For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry."
Zep 3:8 — "Therefore wait ye upon me, saith the LORD, until the day that I rise up to the prey"
Isa 64:4 — "neither hath the eye seen, O God, beside thee, what he hath prepared for him that waiteth for him."

3. God Waiting to Act¶

Isa 30:18a — "And therefore will the LORD wait, that he may be gracious unto you, and therefore will he be exalted, that he may have mercy upon you"

4. Human/Secular Waiting¶

2 Kings 7:9 — "if we tarry till the morning light, some mischief will come upon us"
2 Kings 9:3 — "Then open the door, and flee, and tarry not."
Job 32:4 — "Now Elihu had waited till Job had spoken, because they were elder than he."

5. Longing / Intense Desire¶

Job 3:21 — "Which long for death, but it cometh not; and dig for it more than for hid treasures"

6. Lying in Wait (Negative)¶

Hos 6:9 — "And as troops of robbers wait for a man, so the company of priests murder in the way by consent"
Psa 106:13 — "They soon forgat his works; they waited not for his counsel"

Common Collocations¶

Word	Strong's	Co-occurrences	Typical Pattern
יְהֹוָה (YHWH)	H3068	5x (38%)	"wait upon/for the LORD" — theological waiting directed toward God
לֹא (lo)	H3808	5x (38%)	Negated: "tarry not," "waited not," "will not tarry"
יוֹם (yom)	H3117	3x (23%)	Temporal frame: "this day," "the day," "days"
עָשָׂה (asah)	H6213	3x (23%)	What God does / has prepared for the one who waits
אֶשֶׁר (esher)	H835	2x (15%)	"Blessed is he that waiteth" (beatitude formula)
מִשְׁפָּט (mishpat)	H4941	2x (15%)	"God of judgment" — waiting tied to divine justice

Key observation: The YHWH collocation (38%) confirms that chakah is predominantly theological — waiting on God rather than mere temporal delay.

Synonyms¶

H6960 קָוָה (qavah) — to wait, hope, expect (49v). The most common Hebrew "wait" verb. Emphasizes expectant tension — literally "to bind together / be taut." More frequent and broader than chakah; dominant in Psalms.
H7663 שָׂבַר (sabar) — to hope, wait, expect (8v). Emphasizes scrutinizing observation while waiting — "to watch expectantly."
H3176 יָחַל (yachal) — to wait, hope (46v). Emphasizes hope as a disposition — patient endurance with confidence. Common in Job and Psalms.
H1826 דָּמַם (damam) — to be still, cease, wait (27v). Waiting expressed as silence or stillness before God (Psa 37:7 "rest in the LORD, and wait patiently").

Easily Confused Words¶

Word	Strong's	Shared Translation	Key Difference
קָוָה (qavah)	H6960	"wait"	qavah = expectant tension/hope (taut binding); chakah = adherence/persistent clinging
שָׂבַר (sabar)	H7663	"wait," "tarry"	sabar = watching/scrutinizing while waiting; chakah = steadfast adherence
אָרַב (arab)	H693	"wait" (KJV)	arab = ambush/lurk with hostile intent; chakah = patient expectation

Semantic Domain¶

Non-Engage [002003003012]: Words expressing cessation or restraint from action — batl A989, batl H988, domi H1824, damam H1826, hanachah H2010, haphugah H2014

LXX Mapping¶

Greek Equivalent	Co-occurrences	PMI Score	Notes
ὑπομένω (hupomeno) G5278	7	16.49	Primary — "to remain under, endure, persevere"
μένω (meno) G3306	4	11.42	Secondary — "to remain, abide, stay"

Notes: The dominant LXX rendering G5278 hupomeno emphasizes endurance under pressure — "remaining under" a burden. This captures the Piel intensive sense of chakah: not passive delay but active, sustained adherence. The G3306 meno rendering emphasizes remaining in place / abiding. Together they show the LXX translators understood chakah as persistent remaining rather than idle delay.