6681. tsavach
Lexical Summary
tsavach: To cry out, to shout, to call

Original Word: צָוַח
Part of Speech: Verb
Transliteration: tsavach
Pronunciation: tsaw-vakh'
Phonetic Spelling: (tsaw-vakh')
KJV: shout
NASB: shout for joy
Word Origin: [a primitive root]

1. to screech (exultingly)

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
shout

A primitive root; to screech (exultingly) -- shout.

NAS Exhaustive Concordance
Word Origin
a prim. root
Definition
to cry aloud
NASB Translation
shout for joy (1).

Brown-Driver-Briggs
[צָוַח] verb cry aloud (Late Hebrew id.; so Assyrian ƒâ—u (?), Arabic (), , Aramaic צְוַח, ; Ethiopic call); —

Qal Imperfect3masculine plural יִצְוָ֑חוּ Isaiah 42:11 (in joy, "" יָרֹ֫נוּ).

Topical Lexicon
Overview and Semantic Range

צָוַח depicts an urgent, piercing cry that summons attention. Unlike quieter words for speaking, it conveys public proclamation, jubilant exultation, or an alarm sounded in the open air. The tone may be celebratory, petitionary, or heraldic, but it is always vigorous and collective.

Old Testament Occurrence

Isaiah 42:11 supplies the single canonical instance: “Let the wilderness and its cities raise their voices, along with the villages where Kedar dwells. Let the inhabitants of Sela sing for joy; let them shout from the mountaintops”. The prophecy envisions global, exuberant praise erupting from desert tribes and rocky strongholds as the Servant of the Lord advances His righteous reign.

Context in Isaiah 42

The larger passage (Isaiah 42:10-12) is a new song celebrating the Lord’s redemptive intervention. Following the Servant’s mission to bring justice to the nations (Isaiah 42:1-9), the command to “shout” enlists every geographic zone—sea, coastlands, desert, mountains—to broadcast God’s glory. צָוַח functions rhetorically as a catalytic verb: it calls marginal peoples into the liturgy of salvation history, prefiguring the ingathering of Gentiles (compare Isaiah 49:6).

Theological Themes

1. Universal Praise: The cry is not confined to Israel; it invites Kedar (Arabian nomads) and Sela (Edomite stronghold) to join the chorus, foreshadowing the gospel’s world-wide reach (Acts 13:47).
2. Divine Kingship Proclaimed: A shout in ancient Near Eastern culture often greeted a royal accession (1 Samuel 10:24). Here it heralds the enthronement of the Servant-King who “will not falter or be discouraged” (Isaiah 42:4).
3. Eschatological Expectation: The imperative mood anticipates the day when “the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord” (Habakkuk 2:14). The prophetic command becomes a future reality that all creation will obey.

Historical and Cultural Background

In arid regions, watchmen stationed atop cliffs relayed news with loud cries. Caravan routes crossing the Negev amplified such calls across great distances. Isaiah exploits this imagery: remote peoples, once isolated, now relay a celebratory shout about Yahweh’s acts. Archaeological findings from Tel-el Kheleifeh (ancient Ezion-geber) confirm the presence of mixed desert populations who would have resonated with Isaiah’s summons.

Related Hebrew Expressions

• רוּעַ (ruaʽ) – to shout, raise a battle cry (Psalm 47:1)
• גִּיל (gil) – to rejoice exuberantly (Isaiah 61:10)

צָוַח stands midway between these, emphasizing the audible, communal projection of praise more than martial triumph or inner joy.

Applications in Worship and Ministry

• Corporate Praise: Congregations may emulate the prophet’s directive by calling diverse voices to “shout” God’s glory, integrating multicultural expressions in song and testimony (Ephesians 2:14).
• Missional Proclamation: Evangelism is not a whispered private affair but a public cry that the Servant has come; street preaching, open-air worship, and global broadcasting embody the spirit of צָוַח.
• Advocacy for the Marginalized: Just as wilderness dwellers were summoned to participate, modern ministry invites those in spiritual or social deserts to lift their voices, affirming their place in God’s kingdom choir (Isaiah 35:1-2).

Typological and Prophetic Significance

The cry of Isaiah 42 echoes at the triumphal entry when crowds “began to rejoice and praise God in loud voices” (Luke 19:37). It reverberates in the heavenly vision where “a loud voice” announces, “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ” (Revelation 11:15). Thus צָוַח traces a trajectory from prophetic promise to messianic fulfillment and ultimate consummation.

Summary

צָוַח encapsulates the jubilant, resonant announcement that God’s redemptive work has dawned. Though sparse in occurrences, its lone appearance in Isaiah 42 anchors a theology of expansive, vocal praise that transcends ethnic, geographic, and cultural barriers, urging every believer and community to amplify the majesty of the Servant-King until the whole earth resounds with His glory.

Forms and Transliterations
יִצְוָֽחוּ׃ יצוחו׃ yiṣ·wā·ḥū yiṣwāḥū yitzVachu
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Interlinear GreekInterlinear HebrewStrong's NumbersEnglishman's Greek ConcordanceEnglishman's Hebrew ConcordanceParallel Texts
Englishman's Concordance
Isaiah 42:11
HEB: מֵרֹ֥אשׁ הָרִ֖ים יִצְוָֽחוּ׃
NAS: sing aloud, Let them shout for joy from the tops
KJV: sing, let them shout from the top
INT: the tops of the mountains shout

1 Occurrence

Strong's Hebrew 6681
1 Occurrence


yiṣ·wā·ḥū — 1 Occ.

6680
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