אָבָה
ava · be willing, consent
Hebrew word · Strong’s number H14 · appears 54 times in the Bible
What is the Strong number?
Strong’s number identifies this word: use it to find the same word in other study tools.What it means
ava (אָבָה) is a Hebrew word of the Bible that means “be willing, consent”.
Agree to something; with "not", refuse.
How to say it
a·va
Approximate pronunciation. Vowels sound as in Spanish (a as in father, e as in bed, i as in machine, o as in note, u as in rule); the syllable in bold is stressed. The voice is your device's.
Its senses in the Bible
- To agree; usually with "not": to refuse.
From Brown-Driver-Briggs (1906)
Word study
To be willing, to want, to consent. It almost always goes with a negative: ‘was not willing’, someone’s refusal to do what is asked of him.
- “Was not willing”: refusing to do something Genesis 24:52 Samuel 13:141 Samuel 31:4
- YHWH “was not willing” to destroy Deuteronomy 10:102 Kings 8:19
- The people who were not willing to listen Isaiah 30:15Ezekiel 20:8
- “If you are willing and listen” Isaiah 1:19
- “Do not consent”: not giving in to another Proverbs 1:10Deuteronomy 13:81 Kings 22:49
How we translate it
Almost always “willing” (47 times), usually in “was not willing”, “were not willing”. When it is giving in to another’s proposal it is “consent” (“do not consent”, Proverbs 1:10; “you shall not consent to him”, Deuteronomy 13:8); “want” 2 and “would not” 2.
How it is translated
The words this translation uses for it, most frequent first.
- willing ×47
- consent ×3
- want ×2
- would not ×2
Related words
Words that come from it
Words of the same family, by Strong’s numbering.
Where it appears
- Genesis×2
- Exodus×1
- Leviticus×1
- Deuteronomy×7
- Joshua×1
- Judges×4
- 1 Samuel×4
- 2 Samuel×10
- 1 Kings×2
- 2 Kings×3
- 1 Chronicles×4
- 2 Chronicles×1
- Job×1
- Psalms×1
- Proverbs×4
- Isaiah×5
- Ezekiel×3
- Genesis 24:5
The servant said to him, “Perhaps the woman will not be willing to come after me to this land. Must I then take back your son to the land from which you came?”
- Genesis 24:8
But if the woman is not willing to come after you, you will be free from this oath of mine; only do not take back my son there.”
- Exodus 10:27
But YHWH made the heart of Pharaoh obstinate, and he was not willing to let them go.
- Leviticus 26:21
And if you walk with me in opposition and are not willing to listen to me, I will go on to bring on you blows seven times more according to your sins.
- Deuteronomy 1:26
But you were not willing to go up, and you rebelled against the command of YHWH your Elohim.
- Deuteronomy 2:30
But Sihon king of Heshbon was not willing to let us pass by him, for YHWH your Elohim had hardened his spirit and made firm his heart, in order to give him into your hand, as it is this day.
- Deuteronomy 10:10
I stood on the mountain, as in the first days, forty days and forty nights; and YHWH listened to me that time also; YHWH was not willing to destroy you.
- Deuteronomy 13:8
you shall not consent to him or listen to him, and your eye shall not pity him, and you shall not spare him or shield him.
- Deuteronomy 23:5
But YHWH your Elohim was not willing to listen to Balaam, and YHWH your Elohim turned for you the curse into a blessing, because YHWH your Elohim loves you.
- Deuteronomy 25:7
But if the man does not want to take his sister-in-law, then his sister-in-law shall go up to the gate, to the elders, and say, “My brother-in-law refuses to raise up a name for his brother in Israel; he is not willing to perform the duty of a brother-in-law to me.”
- Deuteronomy 29:20
YHWH will not be willing to forgive him, for then the anger of YHWH and his jealousy will smoke against that man, and every oath of imprecation written in this book will settle on him, and YHWH will blot out his name from under the heavens.
- Joshua 24:10
But I was not willing to listen to Balaam; and he blessed you again and again, and I delivered you from his hand.
- Judges 11:17
Israel sent messengers to the king of Edom, saying, ‘Let me pass, please, through your land,’ but the king of Edom did not listen. He sent also to the king of Moab, but he was not willing. So Israel stayed at Kadesh.
- Judges 19:10
But the man was not willing to spend the night; he arose and went and came as far as opposite Jebus, that is Jerusalem; and with him were a pair of saddled donkeys, and his concubine was with him.
- Judges 19:25
But the men were not willing to listen to him. So the man took hold of his concubine and brought her out to them outside; and they knew her and abused her all night until the morning, and they let her go as the dawn came up.
- Judges 20:13
Now hand over the perverse men who are in Gibeah, so that we may put them to death and purge the evil from Israel.” But the sons of Benjamin were not willing to listen to the voice of their brothers, the sons of Israel.
- 1 Samuel 15:9
But Saul and the people spared Agag and the best of the flock and the herd, the second-born and the lambs, and all that was good, and they were not willing to devote them to destruction; but all the property that was despised and worthless, that they devoted to destruction.
- 1 Samuel 22:17
The king said to the runners who stood by him, “Turn and put to death the priests of YHWH, because their hand too is with David, and because they knew that he was fleeing, and they did not inform me.” But the servants of the king were not willing to stretch out their hand to fall upon the priests of YHWH.
- 1 Samuel 26:23
YHWH will repay each man his righteousness and his faithfulness; for YHWH gave you into my hand today, but I was not willing to stretch out my hand against the anointed of YHWH.
- 1 Samuel 31:4
Saul said to the one who carried his weapons, “Draw your sword and run me through with it, lest these uncircumcised come and run me through and abuse me.” But the one who carried his weapons was not willing, for he was very afraid. So Saul took the sword and fell on it.
- 2 Samuel 2:21
Abner said to him, “Turn aside to your right or to your left, and seize for yourself one of the young men and take for yourself what he is wearing.” But Asahel would not turn away from following him.
- 2 Samuel 6:10
So David was not willing to move the ark of YHWH to himself into the city of David; and David turned it aside to the house of Obed-edom the Gittite.
- 2 Samuel 12:17
The elders of his house stood over him to raise him from the ground; but he was not willing, and he did not eat bread with them.
- 2 Samuel 13:14
But he was not willing to listen to her voice; he was stronger than she and humiliated her and lay with her.
- 2 Samuel 13:16
She said to him, “No reason! This evil of sending me away is greater than the other that you have done to me.” But he was not willing to listen to her.
- 2 Samuel 13:25
The king said to Absalom, “No, my son, let us not all go, so that we will not be a burden to you.” He insisted with him, but he was not willing to go, and he blessed him.
- 2 Samuel 14:29
Absalom sent for Joab, to send him to the king, but he was not willing to come to him. He sent again, a second time, but he was not willing to come.
- 2 Samuel 23:16
The three mighty men broke through the camp of the Philistines and drew water from the well of Bethlehem that is by the gate, and they carried it and brought it to David; but he was not willing to drink it, and he poured it out as a libation to YHWH.
- 2 Samuel 23:17
He said, “Far be it from me, YHWH, to do this! Shall I drink the blood of the men who went at the risk of their lives?” And he was not willing to drink it. These things the three mighty men did.
- 1 Kings 20:8
All the elders and all the people said to him, “Do not listen, and do not consent.”
- 1 Kings 22:49
Then Ahaziah son of Ahab said to Jehoshaphat, “Let my servants go with your servants in the ships.” But Jehoshaphat was not willing.
- 2 Kings 8:19
But YHWH was not willing to destroy Judah, for the sake of David his servant, as he had said to him that he would give him a lamp for his sons all the days.
- 2 Kings 13:23
But YHWH showed favor to them and had mercy on them and turned toward them because of his covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and he was not willing to destroy them, and he did not cast them from before his face until now.
- 2 Kings 24:4
and also for the innocent blood that he had shed; for he filled Jerusalem with innocent blood, and YHWH was not willing to forgive.
- 1 Chronicles 10:4
And Saul said to the one who carried his weapons, “Draw your sword and run me through with it, lest these uncircumcised come and abuse me.” But the one who carried his weapons was not willing, for he was very afraid. So Saul took the sword and fell on it.
- 1 Chronicles 11:18
The three broke through the camp of the Philistines and drew water from the well of Bethlehem that is by the gate, and they carried it and brought it to David; but David was not willing to drink it, and he poured it out as a libation to YHWH.
- 1 Chronicles 11:19
And he said, “Far be it from me, by my Elohim, to do this! Shall I drink the blood of these men at the risk of their lives? For at the risk of their lives they brought it.” And he was not willing to drink it. These things the three mighty men did.
- 1 Chronicles 19:19
When the servants of Hadadezer saw that they had been struck down before Israel, they made peace with David and served him. And Aram was not willing to save the sons of Ammon anymore.
- 2 Chronicles 21:7
But YHWH was not willing to destroy the house of David, because of the covenant that he had made with David, and as he had said that he would give him a lamp, and to his sons, all the days.
- Job 39:9
Will the wild ox be willing to serve you, or spend the night by your manger?
And 14 more times.