International Standard Bible Encyclopedia: Haste

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International Standard Bible Encyclopedia: Haste


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hāst (חפז, ḥāphaz, חוּשׁ, ḥūsh, מהר, māhar; σπεύδω, speúdō): “Haste” (from a root meaning “to pursue”) implies “celerity of motion.”

(1) The noun occurs as translation of māhar, “to hasten,” etc. (; , “in haste”); of ḥāphaz, “to make haste” (; ; , “I said in my haste (the Revised Version margin “alarm”), All men are liars”); of ḥippāzōn, a “hasty flight” (; ; ); of nāḥac, “to be urgent” (, “The king's business required haste”).

(2) “Haste” as a verb is transitive and intrans; instances of the transitive use are, 'ūc, “to hasten,” “press” (, “And the taskmasters hasted them,” the Revised Version (British and American) “were urgent”); ḥūsh, “to make haste” (); māhar ( twice); shāḳadh, “to watch,” “to fix one's attention” on anything ( the King James Version, “I will hasten my word”); māhı̄r, “hasting” (, “hasting righteousness,” the Revised Version (British and American) “swift to do”). The intransitive use is more frequent and represents many different words.

Hasty also occurs in several instances (; , 'ūc, etc.); in , bikkūr, “first-fruit,” is translated “hasty fruit,” the Revised Version (British and American) “first-ripe fig.”

The Revised Version (British and American) has “Haste ye” for “assemble yourselves” ( margin, as the King James Version); “make haste” for “speedily” (); “and hasted to catch whether it were his mind” (for the King James Version); “and it hasteth toward the end,” margin (Hebrew) “panteth,” for “but at the end it shall speak” (); “hastily” for “suddenly” (); for “and for this I make haste” (), “even by reason of my haste that is in me,” margin “and by reason of this my haste is within me”; for “hasten after another god” (), the American Standard Revised Version has “that give gifts for another god,” the English Revised Version “exchange the Lord for”; for “hasten hereunto” (), “have enjoyment”; for “hasten hither” (), “fetch quickly”; for “and gather” (), “hasten in”; for “hasteneth that he may” (), “shall speedily”; for “hasteth to” (), “swoopeth on”; for “and hasteth” (), “he trembleth”; for “hasty” (), “urgent.”