a.vah expresses wanting or longing for a person, possession, food, place, or hoped-for outcome.

The verb marks a person's or soul's directed wanting across varied objects: food and drink, possessions, a place of dwelling, another person, or an anticipated day. The same wanting can be presented as a normal appetite or preference, a stated aspiration, or a prohibited and harmful craving, according to the clause in which it occurs.

1. Directed wanting or longing · dominant

   The forms occur with a wide range of desired targets: David asks for water from Bethlehem in 2 Samuel 23:15, a soul wants meat in Deuteronomy 12:20, and the LORD's desire is directed toward Zion as a seat in Psalm 132:13. The clause can also direct the wanting toward a person or outcome: in Isaiah 26:9 the APB renders, "My soul has desired you in the night," while Deuteronomy 5:21 places the verb in a prohibition concerning a neighbor's wife, house, field, servants, animals, and belongings. In contexts of excess or warning, the APB renders the surrounding clauses with "craved" or "covet," as in Numbers 11:4 and Proverbs 23:3.

   2 Samuel 23:15Deuteronomy 12:20Deuteronomy 5:21Numbers 11:4Isaiah 26:9Psalm 132:13

In the Anselm Project Bible: Across the verses, the APB presents the surrounding clauses with terms such as "longed," "desires," "craved," and "covet." These variations reflect the different clauses and settings; the translation does not identify a one-to-one English rendering for the Hebrew form.