Bible Encyclopedias
Expect; Expectation

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

eks -pekt ´, eks -pek -tā´shun : Of the three Greek words, translated in the New Testament by "expect," prosdokáō , meaning to look forward toward what will probably occur, whether in hope or dread (Acts 3:5; Luke 3:15 ), is not as intense as ekdéchomai (Hebrews 10:13 ), meaning to wait for that of the realization of which one is assured ("as the husbandman waits for the processes of Nature (James 5:7 ), and the patriarchs for the Divine promise," Westcott), or as vivid as the noun apokaradokı́a (Romans 8:19; Philippians 1:20 , "earnest expectation"), which describes the stretching forth of the head toward an object that is anticipated (see Ellicott on Philippians 1:20 ). In the Old Testament "expectation" always means that which is expected, as Proverbs 10:28 , "The expectation of the wicked shall perish."