קִיץ (quts)
quts
to awake
H:VQuick Reference
- Language
- Biblical Hebrew
- Testament
- Old Testament
- Occurrences
- 17 verses
- Root
- —
- Part of speech
- H:V
Word Overview
The verb quts describes the act of waking up or arousing someone from sleep. In the Hebrew Bible it appears most frequently in poetic books like Psalms and prophetic writings such as Isaiah and Jeremiah. The word captures the physical transition from rest to alertness, often used when God rouses a nation or an individual to action.
Its primary usage is in the Hiphil stem, which indicates causative action: to awaken another. This form appears when divine agency is involved, such as when God awakens His people to heed a warning or fulfill a promise. The imagery suggests more than just opening eyes; it implies a stirring of the will and spirit toward a new reality.
Translators typically render quts as "awake" or "arouse." In contexts like Isaiah 51:17, the term describes God rousing His people from their stupor. The word carries weight in prophetic literature, where spiritual slumber is contrasted with the urgent need for divine attention and response.
Based on public-domain lexicons (Strong's, Thayer, Gesenius, Brown-Driver-Briggs and others).
What This Word Means for Your Faith
The Hebrew word quts describes more than just opening your eyes in the morning. It captures a deep stirring of the spirit, often used when God rouses someone from a heavy sleep to face a new reality. In the Bible, this awakening is not merely physical but involves a shift in will and attention toward what God is doing.
For your faith, this reminds us that spiritual alertness is a gift. When we feel stuck or unaware of God’s presence, He can stir our hearts to see clearly again. Like the psalmist who finds satisfaction in seeing God’s face when he wakes up, we can trust that God meets us in our moments of clarity and rest alike.
This word invites us to stay open to God’s voice. Whether in times of peace or trouble, He is the one who awakens us to truth. We can rest in the hope that He will always rouse us to walk with Him, guiding our steps as we move from darkness into light.
How it's translated
How this word is rendered word-by-word in the 17 verses where it appears, by frequency.
- they will awake4×
- awake2×
- and/ he awakes2×
- I awoke2×
- will I awake1×
- when/ awake1×
- wake up/ !1×
- he has awakened1×
- from/ when awakes1×
- and/ you will awake1×
- and/ awake/ !1×
- [was one who] awoke1×
Forms in the text
The inflected forms of this word as they appear in Scripture, by frequency.
- יָקִ֑יצוּ4×
- מֵקִ֗יץ1×
- מֵ/הָקִ֑יץ1×
- וַ֝/הֲקִיצ֗וֹתָ1×
- וְ֭/הָקִיצָ/ה1×
- וְ/הֵקִיץ֮1×
- וְ/הֵקִיץ֙1×
- הָקִ֨יצוּ1×
- הָקִ֤יצוּ1×
- הָקִ֔יצָ/ה1×
- הֵקִ֖יץ1×
- הֱקִיצֹ֣תִי1×
Key Verses
-
Psalms 17:15
As for me, I shall see your face in righteousness. I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with seeing your form.
This verse highlights the personal satisfaction and closeness to God that comes when a believer awakens, framing waking as a moment of spiritual fulfillment.
-
Isaiah 26:19
Your dead shall live. Their dead bodies shall arise. Awake and sing, you who dwell in the dust; for your dew is like the dew of herbs, and the earth will cast out the departed spirits.
Here the word is used prophetically to call the dead to rise, linking physical awakening with the hope of resurrection and divine restoration.
-
Daniel 12:2
Many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.
This occurrence connects the act of waking up with eternal destiny, showing that awakening leads to either everlasting life or shame.
-
Psalms 35:23
Wake up! Rise up to defend me, my God! My Lord, contend for me!
The psalmist uses this imperative to urge God to awaken and intervene, demonstrating how the word expresses a plea for divine action in defense.