Hâyâh — H1961

H1961 · Hebrew — היה

Pronunciation: haw-yaw

Definition

verb

to exist, i.e. be or become, come to pass (always emphatic, and not a mere copula or auxiliary)

  1. to be, become, come to pass, exist, happen, fall out
    1. (Qal)
      1. ——-
        1. to happen, fall out, occur, take place, come about, come to pass
        2. to come about, come to pass
      2. to come into being, become
        1. to arise, appear, come
        2. to become
          1. to become
          2. to become like
          3. to be instituted, be established
      3. to be
        1. to exist, be in existence
        2. to abide, remain, continue (with word of place or time)
        3. to stand, lie, be in, be at, be situated (with word of locality)
        4. to accompany, be with
    2. (Niphal)
      1. to occur, come to pass, be done, be brought about
      2. to be done, be finished, be gone

Hebrew narrative often opens a clause with “and it was” (wayehi), which the KJV renders “and it came to pass” (Gen 4:8) and many versions leave untranslated.

“The word of the LORD was to” someone is rendered “the word of the LORD came unto” him (Jer 1:4).

Usually translated as

be, have, become, come, follow, altogether, committed, quit, accomplished, use, beacon, break, cause, do, faint, fall, happen, last, pertain, self, require

Origin

a primitive root (compare H1933)

Greek equivalents

Occurrences

Hâyâh occurs 3,498 times in 3,091 verses of the King James.

Distribution of the word across the Bible: Genesis (277), Exodus (200), Leviticus (126), Numbers (157), Deuteronomy (154), Joshua (122), Judges (105), Ruth (19), 1 Samuel (142), 2 Samuel (131), 1 Kings (163), 2 Kings (102), 1 Chronicles (94), 2 Chronicles (119), Ezra (4), Nehemiah (40), Esther (16), Job (45), Psalms (99), Proverbs (27), Ecclesiastes (35), Song of Songs (4), Isaiah (186), Jeremiah (242), Lamentations (22), Ezekiel (282), Daniel (17), Hosea (26), Joel (9), Amos (10), Obadiah (4), Jonah (10), Micah (17), Nahum (3), Habakkuk (3), Zephaniah (11), Haggai (7), Zechariah (50), Malachi (11)

Strong's Lexicon — H