1942. havvah
Lexical Summary
havvah: Mischief, calamity, desire, ruin

Original Word: הַוָּה
Part of Speech: Noun Feminine
Transliteration: havvah
Pronunciation: hav-vaw'
Phonetic Spelling: (hav-vaw')
KJV: calamity, iniquity, mischief, mischievous (thing), naughtiness, naughty, noisome, perverse thing, substance, very wickedness
NASB: destruction, desire, calamities, calamity, craving, deadly, destructive
Word Origin: [from H193 (אוּל - Mighty)3 (in the sense of eagerly coveting and rushing upon, by implication of falling)]

1. desire
2. (also) ruin

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
calamity, iniquity, mischief, mischievous thing, naughtiness, naughty, perverse thing,

From hava' (in the sense of eagerly coveting and rushing upon; by implication, of falling); desire; also ruin -- calamity, iniquity, mischief, mischievous (thing), naughtiness, naughty, noisome, perverse thing, substance, very wickedness.

see HEBREW hava'

NAS Exhaustive Concordance
Word Origin
from havah
Definition
desire, chasm, destruction
NASB Translation
calamities (1), calamity (1), craving (1), deadly (1), desire (2), destruction (8), destructive (1), greed (1).

Brown-Driver-Briggs
הַוָּה noun feminine 1. desire;

2 chasm, figurative destruction (compare desire, atmosphere, emptiness, a deep pit, hell (compare below הָוָה); Aramaic gulf, chasm (Luke 16:26 ᵑ6)) construct הַוַּת Micah 7:3 +, suffix הַוָּתִי Job 6:2 +, plural הַוּוֺת Psalm 5:10 +; — 1 desire (in bad sense) Micah 7:3 דֹּבֵר הַוַּת נַפְשׁוֺ speaketh the desire of his soul, Proverbs 10:3 הַוַּת רְשָׁעִים, Proverbs 11:6 בֹּגְדִים ׳ה, Psalm 52:9 יָעֹז בְּהַוָּתוֺ became strong through his (evil) desire (but read rather with ᵑ6 ᵑ7 Lag Gr Bi Che Now ׃ בְּהוֺנוֺ "" בְּעָשְׁרוֺ). 2 engulfing ruin, destruction Job 6:2; Qr Job 30:13 (compare Baer's note) הַוָּתִי of Job's great calamity; plural (intensive) הַוּוֺת, especially as wrought, or meditated, by one against another, Psalm 5:10 קִרְבָּם הַוּוֺת their inward part is engulfing ruin (Che), Psalm 38:13 דִּבְּרוּ הַוּוֺת, Psalm 52:4 תַּחֲשֹׁב ׳ה לְשׁוֺנְךָ (compare Proverbs 17:4 לְשׁוֺן הַוּוֺת), Prov 55:12 בְּקִרְבָּהּ ׳ה, Prov 57:2׳עַד יַעֲבֹר ה till the storm of ruin (Che) pass by, Prov 91:3׳דֶּבֶר ה destructive pestilence, Prov 94:20 ׳כִּסֵּא ה the seat (tribunal) of destruction (i.e. which ruins the innocent by injustice), Proverbs 19:13 a foolish son is הַוּוֺת לְאָבָיו, Job 6:30 (compare Job 6:2 above)

Topical Lexicon
Overview

The Hebrew noun הַוָּה (havvah) appears fifteen times across the Old Testament canon as an ominous thread binding together ideas of destructive craving, moral mischief, and tangible calamity. Whether rendered “destruction,” “ruin,” “deadly pestilence,” “craving,” or “mischief,” the word depicts a force that begins in the inner life of the ungodly and invariably flowers into outward devastation. The contexts range from personal lament in Job to national indictment in Micah, underscoring the comprehensive reach of this cancerous principle.

Root Imagery and Fundamental Idea

At its core havvah conveys a collapse—either of moral integrity or of physical wellbeing. The imagery is twofold:

1. A hidden appetite that consumes from within (Proverbs 10:3; Proverbs 11:6).
2. A public outbreak of violence, treachery, or calamity flowing from that appetite (Psalm 52:2; Psalm 55:11).

The inward craving and the outward ruin are not separate meanings but two faces of the same reality. Scripture therefore treats havvah as both the motive and the outcome of evil.

Usage in Wisdom Literature

Job and Proverbs provide the densest cluster of occurrences, portraying havvah as a diagnostic tool for discerning wickedness.

Job 6:30 declares, “Is there iniquity on my tongue? Cannot my taste discern malice?” Job insists his conscience can identify the flavor of havvah, even as he suffers from it in Job 30:13, “They profit from my destruction.” The righteous may recognize havvah, yet the wicked exploit it.

• Proverbs drives the lesson home: “The LORD does not let the righteous go hungry, but He denies the craving of the wicked” (Proverbs 10:3). Again, “The righteousness of the upright delivers them, but the faithless are trapped by their own desires” (Proverbs 11:6). Divine justice starves the appetite that breeds ruin while rescuing those who walk uprightly.

Association with Speech

Several psalms link havvah to the tongue:

– “Your tongue devises destruction like a sharpened razor” (Psalm 52:2).

– “Their heart is destruction; their throat is an open grave; they flatter with their tongue” (Psalm 5:9).

– “A liar gives ear to a destructive tongue” (Proverbs 17:4).

Words become the delivery system for internal havoc. The consistent picture is that unchecked speech weaponizes havvah, spreading corruption through deceit, slander, and political intrigue (Psalm 94:20).

Threat versus Refuge

The same psalter that exposes havvah also proclaims God’s shelter from it. “Surely He will deliver you from the snare of the fowler, and from the deadly pestilence” (Psalm 91:3). The believer’s only guaranteed immunity is found “in the shadow of Your wings” (Psalm 57:1). Thus the term becomes a foil to highlight divine protection: havvah is real, but it is not sovereign.

Societal Implications

Micah 7:3 situates havvah in a corrupt judicial system: “Both hands are skilled at evil… the powerful dictate their desires—together they conspire.” When havvah governs leadership, the covenant community languishes. The prophetic warning implies that spiritual renewal must begin with confronting the covert cravings of the heart, or public structures will inevitably collapse.

Intertestamental Echoes and New Testament Fulfillment

While the noun itself does not carry over into Greek, its substance resurfaces in terms such as epithymia (lust) and apoleia (destruction). James 1:14-15 captures the same moral trajectory: “Each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then desire, having conceived, gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.” The cross stands as God’s definitive answer, absorbing the havoc of human sin and granting life in its place (Romans 6:23).

Ministry Significance

1. Heart Diagnosis: Pastoral counseling must move beyond visible crises to address the underlying havvah—destructive cravings and motives.
2. Guarded Speech: Teaching ministries should stress that words either foment or frustrate havvah; disciplining the tongue is spiritual warfare.
3. Intercession for Protection: Psalm 91 encourages believers to pray for deliverance not only from external calamity but from the internal seeds of ruin.
4. Ethical Leadership: Micah 7:3 warns church and civic leaders alike that institutional corruption begins with private appetite. Accountability structures are therefore a gospel necessity.

Practical Questions for Reflection

• Where might subtle cravings be preparing the ground for future ruin in my life or ministry?
• How do my words—spoken or typed—either devise destruction or promote edification?
• In what ways am I modeling refuge in God so that those I lead learn to find shelter from havvah?

Havvah pulls back the curtain on sin’s life cycle: desire becomes disaster unless redeemed by grace. The biblical witness exposes its workings, declares its judgment, and points to the One who saves “to the uttermost” from both the craving and the collapse.

Forms and Transliterations
בְּהַוָּתֽוֹ׃ בהותו׃ הַ֫וּ֥וֹת הַ֭וּוֹת הַוַּ֥ת הַוֹּ֣ת הַוֹּֽת׃ הַוּ֑וֹת הַוּ֥וֹת הַוּֽוֹת׃ הוות הוות׃ הות הות׃ וְהַוַּ֖ת וּ֝בְהַוַּ֗ת ובהות והות לְהַוָּתִֽי להותי bə·haw·wā·ṯōw behavvaTo bəhawwāṯōw havVat havVot haw·waṯ haw·wō·wṯ haw·wōṯ hawwaṯ hawwōṯ hawwōwṯ lə·haw·wā·ṯî lehavvaTi ləhawwāṯî ū·ḇə·haw·waṯ ūḇəhawwaṯ uvehavVat vehavVat wə·haw·waṯ wəhawwaṯ
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Interlinear GreekInterlinear HebrewStrong's NumbersEnglishman's Greek ConcordanceEnglishman's Hebrew ConcordanceParallel Texts
Englishman's Concordance
Job 6:30
HEB: לֹא־ יָבִ֥ין הַוּֽוֹת׃
NAS: my palate discern calamities?
KJV: discern perverse things?
INT: not discern calamity

Job 30:13
HEB: נָתְס֗וּ נְֽתִיבָ֫תִ֥י לְהַוָּתִֽי יֹעִ֑ילוּ לֹ֖א
NAS: They profit from my destruction; No
KJV: they set forward my calamity, they have no helper.
INT: break my path my destruction profit No

Psalm 5:9
HEB: נְכוֹנָה֮ קִרְבָּ֪ם הַ֫וּ֥וֹת קֶֽבֶר־ פָּת֥וּחַ
NAS: Their inward part is destruction [itself]. Their throat
KJV: their inward part [is] very wickedness; their throat
INT: reliable their inward is destruction grave is an open

Psalm 38:12
HEB: רָ֭עָתִי דִּבְּר֣וּ הַוּ֑וֹת וּ֝מִרְמ֗וֹת כָּל־
NAS: me have threatened destruction, And they devise
KJV: speak mischievous things, and imagine
INT: my hurt have threatened destruction treachery all

Psalm 52:2
HEB: הַ֭וּוֹת תַּחְשֹׁ֣ב לְשׁוֹנֶ֑ךָ
NAS: devises destruction, Like a sharp
KJV: deviseth mischiefs; like a sharp
INT: destruction devises your tongue

Psalm 52:7
HEB: עָשְׁר֑וֹ יָ֝עֹ֗ז בְּהַוָּתֽוֹ׃
NAS: [And] was strong in his [evil] desire.
KJV: [and] strengthened himself in his wickedness.
INT: of his riches was strong his desire

Psalm 55:11
HEB: הַוּ֥וֹת בְּקִרְבָּ֑הּ וְֽלֹא־
NAS: Destruction is in her midst;
KJV: Wickedness [is] in the midst
INT: Destruction her midst not

Psalm 57:1
HEB: עַ֝֗ד יַעֲבֹ֥ר הַוּֽוֹת׃
NAS: Until destruction passes
KJV: will I make my refuge, until [these] calamities be overpast.
INT: Until passes destruction

Psalm 91:3
HEB: יָק֗וּשׁ מִדֶּ֥בֶר הַוּֽוֹת׃
NAS: of the trapper And from the deadly pestilence.
KJV: of the fowler, [and] from the noisome pestilence.
INT: of the trapper pestilence the deadly

Psalm 94:20
HEB: הַֽ֭יְחָבְרְךָ כִּסֵּ֣א הַוּ֑וֹת יֹצֵ֖ר עָמָ֣ל
NAS: Can a throne of destruction be allied
KJV: Shall the throne of iniquity have fellowship
INT: be allied A throne of destruction devises mischief

Proverbs 10:3
HEB: נֶ֣פֶשׁ צַדִּ֑יק וְהַוַּ֖ת רְשָׁעִ֣ים יֶהְדֹּֽף׃
NAS: But He will reject the craving of the wicked.
KJV: but he casteth away the substance of the wicked.
INT: the soul the righteous the craving of the wicked will reject

Proverbs 11:6
HEB: יְ֭שָׁרִים תַּצִּילֵ֑ם וּ֝בְהַוַּ֗ת בֹּגְדִ֥ים יִלָּכֵֽדוּ׃
NAS: will be caught by [their own] greed.
KJV: shall be taken in [their own] naughtiness.
INT: of the upright will deliver by greed the treacherous will be caught

Proverbs 17:4
HEB: עַל־ לְשׁ֥וֹן הַוֹּֽת׃
NAS: pays attention to a destructive tongue.
KJV: giveth ear to a naughty tongue.
INT: and tongue to a destructive

Proverbs 19:13
HEB: הַוֹּ֣ת לְ֭אָבִיו בֵּ֣ן
NAS: son is destruction to his father,
KJV: son [is] the calamity of his father:
INT: is destruction to his father son

Micah 7:3
HEB: וְהַגָּד֗וֹל דֹּבֵ֨ר הַוַּ֥ת נַפְשׁ֛וֹ ה֖וּא
NAS: speaks the desire of his soul;
KJV: [man], he uttereth his mischievous desire:
INT: great speaks the desire of his soul they

15 Occurrences

Strong's Hebrew 1942
15 Occurrences


bə·haw·wā·ṯōw — 1 Occ.
haw·waṯ — 1 Occ.
haw·wō·wṯ — 10 Occ.
lə·haw·wā·ṯî — 1 Occ.
ū·ḇə·haw·waṯ — 1 Occ.
wə·haw·waṯ — 1 Occ.

1941
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