Strong’s H1158 · Hebrew

בָּעָה
bâʻâh
baw-aw'

Definition

to gush over, i.e. to swell; (figuratively) to desire earnestly; by implication to ask

Etymology

a primitive root;

Where the KJV renders it

  • cause
  • inquire
  • seek up
  • swell out

Every distinct English word the King James Version uses to translate this Hebrew term. The variety shows what readers in English receive across many different surface words — the same underlying word, scattered across the English Bible under different names.

What the first audience heard

A deep-dive treatment of this word is in the works. The featured chapter above carries the long form of what this word meant to its first audience.