הָיָה
to be
also: become, come to pass, exist, happen fuller range ↓
H1961
Strong's Hebrew
hâyâh
Transliteration
/haw-yaw/
Pronunciation
Usage in the Hebrew Bible
3,575
appearances
Full lexicon entry — Brown-Driver-Briggs (BDB)
From Brown-Driver-Briggs (BDB)
BDB Definition
to be, become, come to pass, exist, happen, fall out
- (Qal)
- -----
- to happen, fall out, occur, take place, come about, come to pass
- to come about, come to pass
- to come into being, become
- to arise, appear, come
- to become
- to become
- to become like
- to be instituted, be established
- to be
- to exist, be in existence
- to abide, remain, continue (with word of place or time)
- to stand, lie, be in, be at, be situated (with word of locality)
- to accompany, be with
- (Niphal)
- to occur, come to pass, be done, be brought about
- to be done, be finished, be gone
Where this word appears
See every Qal verb in the Hebrew Bible →
Grammar key — what these labels mean
Part of speech
- Verb
- An action or state-of-being word.
- Adverb
- A word that modifies a verb, adjective, or other adverb.
Stem
- Qal
- The basic, simple active stem — the plain form of the verb (“he wrote”). Here: ‘occur’
- Niphal
- Usually the simple passive or reflexive of the Qal (“he was written”). Here: ‘became c.’
Form
- Sequential Imperfect
- An imperfect with prefixed waw — the standard past-narrative form (waw-consecutive imperfect).
- Imperfect
- An incomplete, ongoing, or future action (“he will / would write”).
- Sequential Perfect
- A perfect with prefixed waw continuing a preceding imperfect or command (waw-consecutive perfect).
- Perfect
- A completed action or state — Hebrew marks aspect (completeness) more than strict tense (“he wrote”).
- Infinitive Construct
- A bound verbal noun, frequently with prepositions (“to write / in writing”).
- Jussive
- A third- or second-person volitional form expressing wish or command (“let him write”).
- Imperative
- A direct command (“write!”).
- Infinitive Absolute
- An unbound verbal noun, often intensifying or standing in for a finite verb.
- Participle Active
- A verbal adjective expressing ongoing or characteristic action (“writing / one who writes”).
State
- Absolute
- The independent form of a noun, not bound to a following word.
Person
- 3rd Person
- The one spoken about (“he / she / it / they”).
- 1st Person
- The speaker (“I / we”).
- 2nd Person
- The one addressed (“you”).
Gender
- Masculine
- Grammatically masculine.
- Common
- Either gender — not distinguished for this form.
- Feminine
- Grammatically feminine.
Number
- Singular
- One.
- Plural
- More than one (in Hebrew, generally three or more).
Grammatical forms 55 distinct
- Verb, Qal, Sequential Imperfect, 3rd Person, Masculine, Singular 784 times (22%)
- Verb, Qal, Imperfect, 3rd Person, Masculine, Singular 441 times (12%)
- Verb, Qal, Perfect, 3rd Person, Masculine, Singular 388 times (11%)
- Verb, Qal, Sequential Perfect, 3rd Person, Masculine, Singular 357 times (10%)
- Verb, Qal, Perfect, 3rd Person, Common, Plural 184 times (5%)
- Verb, Qal, Infinitive Construct 148 times (4%)
- Verb, Qal, Imperfect, 3rd Person, Feminine, Singular 140 times (4%)
- Verb, Qal, Perfect, 3rd Person, Feminine, Singular 124 times (3%)
+47 more forms (1,009 occurrences)
Parsed forms decoded from the imported morphology (morphhb / Westminster Leningrad Codex — WLC text public domain, morphhb tagging CC BY 4.0), counted across 3,575 parsed occurrences — not distinct verses.
Page 16 of 16 — showing verses 3,001–3,130 of 3,130 distinct verses where H1961 appears, across 39 books. Click any verse to open its interlinear word-by-word view. Verse text shown in the World English Bible for context — . Each verse’s Hebrew form is shown with its reference; the English is not keyword-highlighted, since the data carries no word-level English alignment. Use “Compare translations” on any verse to read it across multiple English versions. This concordance covers the Hebrew Bible; Septuagint (Greek Old Testament) occurrences are not indexed here.
Joel 9 verses
- Joel 2:32 וְ/הָיָ֗ה תִּֽהְיֶ֣ה conj + Qal wpf 3ms Qal impf 3fs It will happen that whoever will call on the name of Yahweh shall be saved; For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there will be those who escape, As Yahweh has said, And among the remnant, those whom Yahweh calls.
- Joel 3:17 וְ/הָיְתָ֤ה conj + Qal wpf 3fs "So you will know that I am Yahweh, your God, Dwelling in Zion, my holy mountain. Then Jerusalem will be holy, And no strangers will pass through her any more.
- Joel 3:18 וְ/הָיָה֩ conj + Qal wpf 3ms It will happen in that day, That the mountains will drop down sweet wine, The hills will flow with milk, All the brooks of Judah will flow with waters; And a fountain will come forth from the house of Yahweh, And will water the valley of Shittim.
- Joel 3:19 תִֽהְיֶ֔ה תִּֽהְיֶ֑ה Qal impf 3fs Qal impf 3fs Egypt will be a desolation, And Edom will be a desolate wilderness, For the violence done to the children of Judah, Because they have shed innocent blood in their land.
Amos 10 verses
- Amos 1:1 הָיָ֥ה Qal pf 3ms The words of Amos, who was among the herdsmen of Tekoa, which he saw concerning Israel in the days of Uzziah king of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash king of Israel, two years before the earthquake.
- Amos 3:6 תִּהְיֶ֤ה Qal impf 3fs Does the trumpet alarm sound in a city, Without the people being afraid? Does evil happen to a city, And Yahweh hasn't done it?
- Amos 4:11 וַ/תִּהְי֕וּ conj + Qal wimpf 2mp "I have overthrown some of you, As when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah, And you were like a burning stick plucked out of the fire; Yet you haven't returned to me," says Yahweh.
- Amos 5:5 יִהְיֶ֥ה Qal impf 3ms But don't seek Bethel, Nor enter into Gilgal, And don't pass to Beersheba: For Gilgal shall surely go into captivity, And Bethel shall come to nothing.
- Amos 5:14 וִ/יהִי conj + Qal juss 3ms Seek good, and not evil, That you may live; And so Yahweh, the God of hosts, will be with you, As you say.
- Amos 6:9 וְ/הָיָ֗ה conj + Qal wpf 3ms It will happen, if there remain ten men in one house, That they shall die.
- Amos 7:2 וְ/הָיָ֗ה conj + Qal wpf 3ms It happened that, when they made an end of eating the grass of the land, then I said, "Lord Yahweh, forgive, I beg you! How could Jacob stand? For he is small."
- Amos 7:3 תִהְיֶ֖ה Qal impf 3fs Yahweh relented concerning this. "It shall not be," says Yahweh.
- Amos 7:6 תִֽהְיֶ֔ה Qal impf 3fs Yahweh relented concerning this. "This also shall not be," says the Lord Yahweh.
- Amos 8:9 וְ/הָיָ֣ה conj + Qal wpf 3ms "It will happen in that day," says the Lord Yahweh, "That I will cause the sun to go down at noon, And I will darken the earth in the clear day.
Obadiah 4 verses
- Obadiah 1:16 וְ/הָי֖וּ הָיֽוּ conj + Qal wpf 3cp Qal pf 3cp For as you have drunk on my holy mountain, so will all the nations drink continually. Yes, they will drink, swallow down, and will be as though they had not been.
- Obadiah 1:17 תִּהְיֶ֥ה וְ/הָ֣יָה Qal impf 3fs conj + Qal wpf 3ms But in Mount Zion, there will be those who escape, and it will be holy. The house of Jacob will possess their possessions.
- Obadiah 1:18 וְ/הָיָה֩ יִֽהְיֶ֤ה conj + Qal wpf 3ms Qal impf 3ms The house of Jacob will be a fire, the house of Joseph a flame, and the house of Esau for stubble. They will burn among them, and devour them. There will not be any remaining to the house of Esau." Indeed, Yahweh has spoken.
- Obadiah 1:21 וְ/הָיְתָ֥ה conj + Qal wpf 3fs Saviors will go up on Mount Zion to judge the mountains of Esau, and the kingdom will be Yahweh's.
Jonah 10 verses
- Jonah 1:1 וַֽ/יְהִי֙ conj + Qal wimpf 3ms Now the word of Yahweh came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying,
- Jonah 1:4 וַ/יְהִ֥י conj + Qal wimpf 3ms But Yahweh sent out a great wind on the sea, and there was a mighty tempest on the sea, so that the ship was likely to break up.
- Jonah 1:17 וַ/יְהִ֤י conj + Qal wimpf 3ms Yahweh prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah, and Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.
- Jonah 3:1 וַ/יְהִ֧י conj + Qal wimpf 3ms The word of Yahweh came to Jonah the second time, saying,
- Jonah 3:3 הָיְתָ֤ה Qal pf 3fs So Jonah arose, and went to Nineveh, according to the word of Yahweh. Now Nineveh was an exceedingly great city, three days' journey across.
- Jonah 4:2 הֱיוֹתִ/י֙ Qal inf.cs + sfx pers 1cs He prayed to Yahweh, and said, "Please, Yahweh, wasn't this what I said when I was still in my own country? Therefore I hurried to flee to Tarshish, for I knew that you are a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and abundant in loving kindness, and you repent of the evil.
- Jonah 4:5 יִּהְיֶ֖ה Qal impf 3ms Then Jonah went out of the city, and sat on the east side of the city, and there made himself a booth, and sat under it in the shade, until he might see what would become of the city.
- Jonah 4:6 לִֽ/הְי֥וֹת prep + Qal inf.cs Yahweh God prepared a vine, and made it to come up over Jonah, that it might be a shade over his head, to deliver him from his discomfort. So Jonah was exceedingly glad because of the vine.
- Jonah 4:8 וַ/יְהִ֣י conj + Qal wimpf 3ms It happened, when the sun arose, that God prepared a sultry east wind; and the sun beat on Jonah's head, so that he fainted, and requested for himself that he might die, and said, "It is better for me to die than to live."
- Jonah 4:10 הָיָ֖ה Qal pf 3ms Yahweh said, "You have been concerned for the vine, for which you have not labored, neither made it grow; which came up in a night, and perished in a night.
Micah 16 verses
- Micah 1:1 הָיָ֗ה Qal pf 3ms The word of Yahweh that came to Micah the Morashtite in the days of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, which he saw concerning Samaria and Jerusalem.
- Micah 1:2 וִ/יהִי֩ conj + Qal juss 3ms Hear, you peoples, all of you. Listen, O earth, and all that is therein: And let the Lord Yahweh be witness against you, The Lord from his holy temple.
- Micah 2:5 יִֽהְיֶ֣ה Qal impf 3ms Therefore you will have no one who divides the land by lot in the assembly of Yahweh.
- Micah 2:11 וְ/הָיָ֥ה conj + Qal wpf 3ms If a man walking in a spirit of falsehood lies: 'I will prophesy to you of wine and of strong drink;' He would be the prophet of this people.
- Micah 3:12 תִּֽהְיֶ֔ה Qal impf 3fs Therefore Zion for your sake will be plowed like a field, And Jerusalem will become heaps of rubble, And the mountain of the temple like the high places of a forest.
- Micah 4:1 וְ/הָיָ֣ה יִ֠הְיֶה conj + Qal wpf 3ms Qal impf 3ms But in the latter days, It will happen that the mountain of Yahweh's temple will be established on the top of the mountains, And it will be exalted above the hills; And peoples will stream to it.
- Micah 5:2 לִֽ/הְיוֹת֙ לִֽ/הְי֥וֹת prep + Qal inf.cs prep + Qal inf.cs But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Being small among the clans of Judah, Out of you one will come forth to me that is to be ruler in Israel; Whose goings forth are from of old, from everlasting.
- Micah 5:5 וְ/הָיָ֥ה conj + Qal wpf 3ms He will be our peace when Assyria invades our land, And when he marches through our fortresses, Then we will raise against him seven shepherds, And eight leaders of men.
- Micah 5:7 וְ/הָיָ֣ה conj + Qal wpf 3ms The remnant of Jacob will be in the midst of many peoples, Like dew from Yahweh, Like showers on the grass, That don't wait for man, Nor wait for the sons of men.
- Micah 5:8 וְ/הָיָה֩ conj + Qal wpf 3ms The remnant of Jacob will be among the nations, In the midst of many peoples, Like a lion among the animals of the forest, Like a young lion among the flocks of sheep; Who, if he goes through, treads down and tears in pieces, And there is no one to deliver.
- Micah 5:10 וְ/הָיָ֤ה conj + Qal wpf 3ms "It will happen in that day," says Yahweh, "That I will cut off your horses out of the midst of you, And will destroy your chariots.
- Micah 5:12 יִֽהְיוּ Qal impf 3mp I will destroy witchcraft from your hand; And you shall have no soothsayers.
- Micah 7:1 הָיִ֨יתִי֙ Qal pf 1cs Misery is mine! Indeed, I am like one who gathers the summer fruits, as gleanings of the vinyard: There is no cluster of grapes to eat. My soul desires to eat the early fig.
- Micah 7:4 תִהְיֶ֖ה Qal impf 3fs The best of them is like a brier. The most upright is worse than a thorn hedge. The day of your watchmen, Even your visitation, has come; Now is the time of their confusion.
- Micah 7:10 תִּֽהְיֶ֥ה Qal impf 3fs Then my enemy will see it, And shame will cover her who said to me, Where is Yahweh your God? Then my enemy will see me and will cover her shame. Now she will be trodden down like the mire of the streets.
- Micah 7:13 וְ/הָיְתָ֥ה conj + Qal wpf 3fs Yet the land will be desolate because of those who dwell therein, For the fruit of their doings.
Nahum 3 verses
- Nahum 3:7 וְ/הָיָ֤ה conj + Qal pf 3ms It will happen that all those who look at you will flee from you, and say, 'Nineveh is laid waste Who will mourn for her?' Where will I seek comforters for you?"
- Nahum 3:9 הָי֖וּ Qal pf 3cp Cush and Egypt were her boundless strength. Put and Libya were her helpers.
- Nahum 3:11 תְּהִ֖י Qal impf 3fs You also will be drunken. You will be hidden. You also will seek a stronghold because of the enemy.
Habakkuk 3 verses
- Habakkuk 1:3 וַ/יְהִ֧י conj + Qal wimpf 3ms Why do you show me iniquity, and look at perversity? For destruction and violence are before me. There is strife, and contention rises up.
- Habakkuk 2:7 וְ/הָיִ֥יתָ conj + Qal wpf 2ms Won't your debtors rise up suddenly, and wake up those who make you tremble, and you will be their victim?
- Habakkuk 3:4 תִּֽהְיֶ֔ה Qal impf 3fs His splendor is like the sunrise. Rays shine from his hand, where his power is hidden.
Zephaniah 11 verses
- Zephaniah 1:1 הָיָ֗ה Qal pf 3ms The word of Yahweh which came to Zephaniah, the son of Cushi, the son of Gedaliah, the son of Amariah, the son of Hezekiah, in the days of Josiah, the son of Amon, king of Judah.
- Zephaniah 1:8 וְ/הָיָ֗ה conj + Qal wpf 3ms It will happen in the day of Yahweh's sacrifice, that I will punish the princes, the king's sons, and all those who as are clothed with foreign clothing.
- Zephaniah 1:10 וְ/הָיָה֩ conj + Qal wpf 3ms In that day, says Yahweh, there will be the noise of a cry from the fish gate, a wailing from the second quarter, and a great crashing from the hills.
- Zephaniah 1:12 וְ/הָיָה֙ conj + Qal wpf 3ms It will happen at that time, that I will search Jerusalem with lamps, and I will punish the men who are settled on their dregs, who say in their heart, "Yahweh will not do good, neither will he do evil."
- Zephaniah 1:13 וְ/הָיָ֤ה conj + Qal wpf 3ms Their wealth will become a spoil, and their houses a desolation. Yes, they will build houses, but won't inhabit them. They will plant vineyards, but won't drink their wine.
- Zephaniah 2:4 תִֽהְיֶ֔ה Qal impf 3fs For Gaza will be forsaken, and Ashkelon a desolation. They will drive out Ashdod at noonday, and Ekron will be rooted up.
- Zephaniah 2:6 וְֽ/הָיְתָ֞ה conj + Qal wpf 3fs The sea coast will be pastures, with cottages for shepherds and folds for flocks.
- Zephaniah 2:7 וְ/הָ֣יָה conj + Qal wpf 3ms The coast will be for the remnant of the house of Judah. They will find pasture. In the houses of Ashkelon, they will lie down in the evening, for Yahweh, their God, will visit them, and restore them.
- Zephaniah 2:9 תִּֽהְיֶה֙ Qal impf 3fs Therefore as I live, says Yahweh of Hosts, the God of Israel, surely Moab will be as Sodom, and the children of Ammon as Gomorrah, a possession of nettles, and salt pits, and a perpetual desolation. The remnant of my people will plunder them, and the survivors of my nation will inherit them.
- Zephaniah 2:15 הָיְתָ֣ה Qal pf 3fs This is the joyous city that lived carelessly, that said in her heart, "I am, and there is none besides me." How she has become a desolation, a place for animals to lie down in! Everyone who passes by her will hiss, and shake their fists.
- Zephaniah 3:18 הָי֑וּ Qal pf 3cp Those who are sad for the appointed feasts, I will remove from you. They are a burden and a reproach to you.
Haggai 7 verses
- Haggai 1:1 הָיָ֨ה Qal pf 3ms In the second year of Darius the king, in the sixth month, in the first day of the month, the Word of Yahweh came by Haggai, the prophet, to Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua, the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, saying,
- Haggai 1:3 וַֽ/יְהִי֙ conj + Qal wimpf 3ms Then the Word of Yahweh came by Haggai, the prophet, saying,
- Haggai 2:1 הָיָה֙ Qal pf 3ms In the seventh month, in the twenty-first day of the month, the Word of Yahweh came by Haggai the prophet, saying,
- Haggai 2:9 יִֽהְיֶ֡ה Qal impf 3ms 'The latter glory of this house will be greater than the former,' says Yahweh of Hosts; 'and in this place will I give peace,' says Yahweh of Hosts."
- Haggai 2:10 הָיָה֙ Qal pf 3ms In the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, in the second year of Darius, the Word of Yahweh came by Haggai the prophet, saying,
- Haggai 2:16 מִֽ/הְיוֹתָ֥/ם וְ/הָיְתָ֖ה וְ/הָיְתָ֖ה prep + Qal inf.cs + sfx pers 3mp conj + Qal pf 3fs conj + Qal pf 3fs Through all that time, when one came to a heap of twenty measures, there were only ten. When one came to the wine vat to draw out fifty, there were only twenty.
- Haggai 2:20 וַ/יְהִ֨י conj + Qal wimpf 3ms The Word of Yahweh came the second time to Haggai in the twenty-fourth day of the month, saying,
Zechariah 51 verses
- Zechariah 1:1 הָיָ֣ה Qal pf 3ms In the eighth month, in the second year of Darius, the word of Yahweh came to Zechariah the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo, the prophet, saying,
- Zechariah 1:4 תִּהְי֣וּ Qal juss 2mp Don't you be like your fathers, to whom the former prophets proclaimed, saying: Thus says Yahweh of hosts, 'Return now from your evil ways, and from your evil doings;' but they did not hear, nor listen to me, says Yahweh.
- Zechariah 1:7 הָיָ֣ה Qal pf 3ms On the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month, which is the month Shebat, in the second year of Darius, the word of Yahweh came to Zechariah the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo, the prophet, saying,
- Zechariah 2:5 אֶֽהְיֶה אֶֽהְיֶ֥ה Qal impf 1cs Qal impf 1cs For I,' says Yahweh, 'will be to her a wall of fire around it, and I will be the glory in the midst of her.
- Zechariah 2:9 וְ/הָי֥וּ conj + Qal wpf 3cp For, behold, I will shake my hand over them, and they will be a spoil to those who served them; and you will know that Yahweh of Hosts has sent me.
- Zechariah 2:11 וְ/הָ֥יוּ conj + Qal wpf 3cp Many nations shall join themselves to Yahweh in that day, and shall be my people; and I will dwell in the midst of you, and you shall know that Yahweh of Hosts has sent me to you.
- Zechariah 3:3 הָיָ֥ה Qal pf 3ms Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and was standing before the angel.
- Zechariah 4:8 וַ/יְהִ֥י conj + Qal wimpf 3ms Moreover the word of Yahweh came to me, saying,
- Zechariah 6:9 וַ/יְהִ֥י conj + Qal wimpf 3ms The word of Yahweh came to me, saying,
- Zechariah 6:13 וְ/הָיָ֤ה תִּהְיֶ֖ה conj + Qal wpf 3ms Qal impf 3fs even he shall build the temple of Yahweh; and he shall bear the glory, and shall sit and rule on his throne; and he shall be a priest on his throne; and the counsel of peace shall be between them both.
- Zechariah 6:14 תִּֽהְיֶה֙ Qal impf 3fs The crowns shall be to Helem, and to Tobijah, and to Jedaiah, and to Hen the son of Zephaniah, for a memorial in the temple of Yahweh.
- Zechariah 6:15 וְ/הָיָה֙ conj + Qal wpf 3ms Those who are far off shall come and build in the temple of Yahweh; and you shall know that Yahweh of hosts has sent me to you. This will happen, if you will diligently obey the voice of Yahweh your God."'"
- Zechariah 7:1 וַֽ/יְהִי֙ הָיָ֨ה conj + Qal wimpf 3ms Qal pf 3ms It happened in the fourth year of king Darius that the word of Yahweh came to Zechariah in the fourth day of the ninth month, the month of Chislev.
- Zechariah 7:4 וַ/יְהִ֛י conj + Qal wimpf 3ms Then the word of Yahweh of Hosts came to me, saying,
- Zechariah 7:7 בִּ/הְי֤וֹת prep + Qal inf.cs Aren't these the words which Yahweh proclaimed by the former prophets, when Jerusalem was inhabited and in prosperity, and its cities around her, and the South and the lowland were inhabited?'"
- Zechariah 7:8 וַֽ/יְהִי֙ conj + Qal wimpf 3ms The word of Yahweh came to Zechariah, saying,
- Zechariah 7:12 וַֽ/יְהִי֙ conj + Qal wimpf 3ms Yes, they made their hearts as hard as flint, lest they might hear the law, and the words which Yahweh of Hosts had sent by his Spirit by the former prophets. Therefore great wrath came from Yahweh of Hosts.
- Zechariah 7:13 וַ/יְהִ֥י conj + Qal wimpf 3ms It has come to pass that, as he called, and they refused to listen, so they will call, and I will not listen," said Yahweh of Hosts;
- Zechariah 8:1 וַ/יְהִ֛י conj + Qal wimpf 3ms The word of Yahweh of Hosts came to me.
- Zechariah 8:8 וְ/הָיוּ אֶהְיֶ֤ה conj + Qal pf 3cp Qal impf 1cs and I will bring them, and they will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem; and they will be my people, and I will be their God, in truth and in righteousness."
- Zechariah 8:10 נִֽהְיָ֔ה Niphal pf 3ms For before those days there was no wages for man, nor any wages for an animal; neither was there any peace to him who went out or came in, because of the adversary. For I set all men everyone against his neighbor.
- Zechariah 8:13 וְ/הָיָ֡ה הֱיִיתֶ֨ם וִ/הְיִיתֶ֖ם conj + Qal pf 3ms Qal pf 2mp conj + Qal pf 2mp It shall come to pass that, as you were a curse among the nations, house of Judah and house of Israel, so will I save you, and you shall be a blessing. Don't be afraid. Let your hands be strong."
- Zechariah 8:18 וַ/יְהִ֛י conj + Qal wimpf 3ms The word of Yahweh of Hosts came to me.
- Zechariah 8:19 יִהְיֶ֤ה Qal impf 3ms Thus says Yahweh of Hosts: "The fasts of the fourth fifth, seventh, and tenth months shall be for the house of Judah joy and gladness, and cheerful feasts. Therefore love truth and peace."
- Zechariah 9:7 וְ/הָיָה֙ conj + Qal pf 3ms I will take away his blood out of his mouth, And his abominations from between his teeth; And he also will be a remnant for our God; And he will be as a chieftain in Judah, And Ekron as a Jebusite.
- Zechariah 10:5 וְ/הָי֨וּ conj + Qal pf 3cp They shall be as mighty men, Treading down muddy streets in the battle; And they shall fight, because Yahweh is with them; And the riders on horses will be confounded.
- Zechariah 10:6 וְ/הָי֖וּ conj + Qal pf 3cp "I will strengthen the house of Judah, And I will save the house of Joseph, And I will bring them back; For I have mercy on them; And they will be as though I had not cast them off: For I am Yahweh their God, and I will hear them.
- Zechariah 10:7 וְ/הָי֤וּ conj + Qal pf 3cp Ephraim will be like a mighty man, And their heart will rejoice as through wine; Yes, their children will see it, and rejoice. Their heart will be glad in Yahweh.
- Zechariah 12:2 יִֽהְיֶ֥ה Qal impf 3ms "Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of reeling to all the surrounding peoples, and on Judah also will it be in the siege against Jerusalem.
- Zechariah 12:3 וְ/הָיָ֣ה conj + Qal wpf 3ms It will happen in that day, that I will make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all the peoples. All who burden themselves with it will be severely wounded, and all the nations of the earth will be gathered together against it.
- Zechariah 12:8 וְ/הָיָ֞ה conj + Qal wpf 3ms In that day Yahweh will defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem. He who is feeble among them at that day will be like David, and the house of David will be like God, like the angel of Yahweh before them.
- Zechariah 12:9 וְ/הָיָ֖ה conj + Qal wpf 3ms It will happen in that day, that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.
- Zechariah 13:1 יִֽהְיֶה֙ Qal impf 3ms "In that day there will be a spring opened to the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, for sin and for uncleanness.
- Zechariah 13:2 וְ/הָיָה֩ conj + Qal wpf 3ms It will come to pass in that day, says Yahweh of Hosts, that I will cut off the names of the idols out of the land, and they will no more be remembered; and also I will cause the prophets and the spirit of impurity to pass out of the land.
- Zechariah 13:3 וְ/הָיָ֗ה conj + Qal wpf 3ms It will happen that, when anyone still prophesies, then his father and his mother who bore him will tell him, 'You must die, because you speak lies in the name of Yahweh;' and his father and his mother who bore him will stab him when he prophesies.
- Zechariah 13:4 וְ/הָיָ֣ה conj + Qal wpf 3ms It will happen in that day, that the prophets will each be ashamed of his vision, when he prophesies; neither will they wear a hairy mantle to deceive:
- Zechariah 13:8 וְ/הָיָ֤ה conj + Qal wpf 3ms It shall happen that in all the land," says Yahweh, Two parts in it will be cut off and die; But the third will be left in it.
- Zechariah 14:6 וְ/הָיָ֖ה יִהְיֶ֣ה conj + Qal wpf 3ms Qal impf 3ms It will happen in that day, that there will not be light, cold, or frost.
- Zechariah 14:7 וְ/הָיָ֣ה וְ/הָיָ֥ה יִֽהְיֶה conj + Qal wpf 3ms conj + Qal wpf 3ms Qal impf 3ms It will be a unique day which is known to Yahweh; not day, and not night; but it will come to pass, that at evening time there will be light.
- Zechariah 14:8 וְ/הָיָ֣ה יִֽהְיֶֽה conj + Qal wpf 3ms Qal impf 3ms It will happen in that day, that living waters will go out from Jerusalem; half of them toward the eastern sea, and half of them toward the western sea; in summer and in winter will it be.
- Zechariah 14:9 וְ/הָיָ֧ה יִהְיֶ֧ה conj + Qal wpf 3ms Qal impf 3ms Yahweh will be King over all the earth. In that day Yahweh will be one, and his name one.
- Zechariah 14:11 יִֽהְיֶה Qal impf 3ms Men will dwell therein, and there will be no more curse; but Jerusalem will dwell safely.
- Zechariah 14:12 תִּֽהְיֶ֣ה Qal impf 3fs This will be the plague with which Yahweh will strike all the peoples who have warred against Jerusalem: their flesh will consume away while they stand on their feet, and their eyes will consume away in their sockets, and their tongue will consume away in their mouth.
- Zechariah 14:13 וְ/הָיָה֙ תִּֽהְיֶ֧ה conj + Qal wpf 3ms Qal impf 3fs It will happen in that day, that a great panic from Yahweh will be among them; and they will lay hold everyone on the hand of his neighbor, and his hand will rise up against the hand of his neighbor.
- Zechariah 14:15 תִּֽהְיֶ֜ה יִהְיֶ֖ה Qal impf 3fs Qal impf 3ms So will be the plague of the horse, of the mule, of the camel, and of the donkey, and of all the animals that will be in those camps, as that plague.
- Zechariah 14:16 וְ/הָיָ֗ה conj + Qal wpf 3ms It will happen that everyone who is left of all the nations that came against Jerusalem will go up from year to year to worship the King, Yahweh of Hosts, and to keep the feast of tents.
- Zechariah 14:17 וְ֠/הָיָה יִהְיֶ֥ה conj + Qal wpf 3ms Qal impf 3ms It will be, that whoever of all the families of the earth doesn't go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, Yahweh of Hosts, on them there will be no rain.
- Zechariah 14:18 תִּֽהְיֶ֣ה Qal impf 3fs If the family of Egypt doesn't go up, and doesn't come, neither will it rain on them. This will be the plague with which Yahweh will strike the nations that don't go up to keep the feast of tents.
- Zechariah 14:19 תִּהְיֶ֖ה Qal impf 3fs This will be the punishment of Egypt, and the punishment of all the nations that don't go up to keep the feast of tents.
- Zechariah 14:20 יִֽהְיֶה֙ וְ/הָיָ֤ה Qal impf 3ms conj + Qal wpf 3ms In that day there will be on the bells of the horses, "HOLY TO YAHWEH;" and the pots in Yahweh's house will be like the bowls before the altar.
- Zechariah 14:21 וְ֠/הָיָה יִהְיֶ֨ה conj + Qal wpf 3ms Qal impf 3ms Yes, every pot in Jerusalem and in Judah will be holy to Yahweh of Hosts; and all those who sacrifice will come and take of them, and cook in them. In that day there will no longer be a Canaanite in the house of Yahweh of Hosts.
Malachi 11 verses
- Malachi 1:9 הָ֣יְתָה Qal pf 3fs "Now, please entreat the favor of God, that he may be gracious to us. With this, will he accept any of you?" says Yahweh of Hosts.
- Malachi 2:4 לִֽ/הְי֤וֹת prep + Qal inf.cs You will know that I have sent this commandment to you, that my covenant may be with Levi," says Yahweh of Hosts.
- Malachi 2:5 הָיְתָ֣ה Qal pf 3fs "My covenant was with him of life and peace; and I gave them to him who he might be reverent toward me; and he was reverent toward me, and stood in awe of my name.
- Malachi 2:6 הָיְתָ֣ה Qal pf 3fs The law of truth was in his mouth, and unrighteousness was not found in his lips. He walked with me in peace and uprightness, and turned many away from iniquity.
- Malachi 3:3 וְ/הָיוּ֙ conj + Qal wpf 3cp and he will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the sons of Levi, and refine them as gold and silver; and they shall offer to Yahweh offerings in righteousness.
- Malachi 3:5 וְ/הָיִ֣יתִי conj + Qal wpf 1cs I will come near to you to judgment; and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, and against the adulterers, and against the perjurers, and against those who oppress the hireling in his wages, the widow, and the fatherless, and who deprive the foreigner of justice, and don't fear me," says Yahweh of Hosts.
- Malachi 3:10 וִ/יהִ֥י conj + Qal juss 3ms Bring the whole tithe into the store-house, that there may be food in my house, and test me now in this," says Yahweh of hosts, "if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough for.
- Malachi 3:12 תִהְי֤וּ Qal impf 2mp "All nations shall call you blessed, for you will be a delightful land," says Yahweh of Hosts.
- Malachi 3:17 וְ/הָ֣יוּ conj + Qal wpf 3cp They shall be mine," says Yahweh of Hosts, "my own possession in the day that I make, and I will spare them, as a man spares his own son who serves him.
- Malachi 4:1 וְ/הָי֨וּ conj + Qal wpf 3cp "For, behold, the day comes, it burns as a furnace; and all the proud, and all who work wickedness, will be stubble; and the day that comes will burn them up," says Yahweh of Hosts, "that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.
- Malachi 4:3 יִהְי֣וּ Qal impf 3mp You shall tread down the wicked; for they will be ashes under the soles of your feet in the day that I make," says Yahweh of Hosts.
About this entry
At a glance — auto-summarized from this page’s data, not written by a person. Every figure links to its source below. This summary describes the numbers; it doesn’t interpret them.
היה (hâyâh) is a Hebrew verb most often rendered “to be.” Older and newer Bibles part ways — “shall be” in the King James Version, “will be” (Berean Standard Bible) and “was” (unfoldingWord Literal Text) in modern versions. See the renderings breakdown. It turns up in 3,130 verses across 39 books, one of the most common footprint. Scripture first uses it in Genesis 1:2. Read the stem: it spans 2 stems, including Qal and Niphal. The sections below give every sense, occurrence, and version rendering.
Gloss history
Strong's 1890 vs modern scholarship
Strong's · 1890
beacon
Modern gloss
to be
Strong's 1890 sometimes compressed multiple senses — or homonymous roots — under one number, and used 19th-century English phrasing that no longer carries the same connotation. The modern gloss reflects current BDB scholarship; open the Lexicon Entry tab for the full sense breakdown.
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About this word
Strong's H1961 catalogs a Hebrew word from the Hebrew Old Testament.
These counts are not copied from any lexicon or concordance. They are computed here, from the morphology-tagged Hebrew Old Testament. What Lemma adds →
- 3,130
- distinct verses
- The word appears in 3,130 distinct verses.
- 39 / 39
- OT books
- The word appears in 39 of 39 Old Testament books.
- #11
- by frequency
- Top 25 most frequent Hebrew words (rank 11 of 8,640 Hebrew words by occurrence).
View all 3,130 occurrences in the concordance →
By section of the Old Testament
By traditional corpus
Conventional, traditional groupings — biblical authorship is debated, so this is a traditional corpus grouping, not an authorship claim. Each share is this word’s portion of its verses in that division of the Hebrew canon. Each figure is a share of the word’s 3,130 distinct verses.
- Prophets (Nevi'im) 1,662 verses · 53%
- Torah (Pentateuch) 919 verses · 29%
- Writings (Ketuvim) 549 verses · 18%
How translations render this word
Counts come from each version’s own published word-to-Strong’s tagging or interlinear alignment — an approximate guide to how each version renders this word, not a word-level alignment the data otherwise carries. Because each total is that version’s own tagged count, the per-version totals vary from one another and need not match the appearance or distinct-verse counts above. These counts may also differ from a printed concordance because Lemma counts each distinctly tagged rendering and does not collapse phrase taggings into a single head-word total. This is a fixed set of word-tagged versions (KJV, ASV, BSB, ULT) and does not change with the reading translation you choose elsewhere. Each version’s license is shown beside its name below (and on Sources).
- King James Version: Shall be 8×, Be 5×, Was 4×
- American Standard Version: Be 7×, Shall be 4×, Was 4×
- Berean Standard Bible: Will be 265×, Was 236×, Came 159×
- unfoldingWord Literal Text: Was 497×, Will be 433×, And 354×
King James Version Public Domain
Renders H1961 across 76 tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus 44 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings.
American Standard Version Public Domain
Renders H1961 across 76 tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus 45 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings.
Berean Standard Bible Public Domain
Renders H1961 across 2,843 tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus other, less common renderings. Plus 474 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings. Not rendered by a distinct English word in 693 further occurrences.
unfoldingWord Literal Text CC BY-SA 4.0
Renders H1961 across 4,104 tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus other, less common renderings. Plus 160 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings.
34 senses and sub-senses in the full BDB
Hebrew verbs can shift meaning by stem (binyan): Qal is the basic action, Niphal is often passive or reflexive, Piel often intensifies or makes it factitive, and Hiphil is typically causative. The senses below are grouped under the stem BDB assigns to each.
What do BDB’s symbols mean?
BDB uses these scholarly abbreviations:
| Symbol | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 𝔊 | the Septuagint (the ancient Greek translation, LXX) |
| 𝔙 | the Vulgate (the Latin translation) |
| 𝔖 | the Syriac version (the Peshitta) |
| 𝔗 | the Targum (the Aramaic translation) |
| ψ | the Psalms |
| √ | root (the underlying root or stem) |
| ‖ | parallel passage (a synonymous or contrasted parallel) |
| † | the dagger: every passage where the word occurs is cited |
The 34 senses and sub-senses the full Brown-Driver-Briggs lexicon distinguishes for this word, in lexicon order (not ranked by frequency), with BDB’s own verbatim wording and sub-sense lettering. Shown in Hebrew script with BDB’s own scholarly abbreviations. The condensed entry is in the Lexicon Entry tab. See also the Forms in the corpus table below.
Qal
- Pf. 3 ms. הָיָה Gn 3:1 +; וְהָיָה consec. Gn 4:14 +; 3 fs. הָֽיְתָה Gn 1:2 +; הָיָתָ֑ה Is 14:24 + 3 times; וְהָֽיְתָה consec. Gn 9:13 +; והית 2 K 9:37 Kt (Qr וְהָיְתָה); 2 ms. הָיִיתָ Dt 5:15 +; 1 s. הָיִיתִי Gn 31:40; 3 pl. הָיוּ Gn 6:4 +; 2 mpl. הֱיִיתֶם Ex 22:20 +; וִהְיִיתֶם consec. Gn 3:5 +; 1 pl. הָיִינוּ Is 1:9 +; etc.; Impf. 3 ms. יִהְיֶה Gn 1:29 +; juss. יְהִי Gn 1:3 +; יֶהִ֑י Ez 16:15; וִיהִי Gn 1:6 +; וַיְהִי Gn 1:3 +; וַיֶּהִ֑י ψ 33:9 Ez 16:19; 3 fs. תִּהְיֶה Gn 21:30 +; 1 s. אֶהְיֶה Ex 3:12 +; וָאֶהְיֶה 2 S 7:6 + 9 times; וָאֱהִי Ju 18:4 + 12 times; 3 mpl. יִהְיוּ Gn 6:19 +; 3 fpl. תִּהְיֶינָה Is 16:2 + 19 times; תִּהְיֶיןָ Gn 41:36 + 11 times; וְתִהְיֶנָה Je 18:21; 48:6; וַתִּהְיֶינָה 2 S 20:3 + 6 times; וַתִּהְיֶיןָ Gn 26:35; 1 S 25:43; וַתִּהְיֶנָה 1 Ch 7:15; 2 mpl. תִּהְיוּ Gn 34:15 +; תִּהְיוּן Ex 22:20; 1 pl. נִהְיֶה Gn 38:23 +; וַנִּהְיֶה 2 S 11:23; Je 44:17; וַנְּהִי Nu 13:33; Is 64:5, etc.; Imv. ms. הֱיֵה Ex 18:19 +; fs. הֲיִי Gn 24:60; mpl. הֱיוּ Ex 19:15; Nu 16:16, וִהְיוּ 1 S 4:9 + 6 times; Inf. abs. הָיוֹ Gn 18:18 + 3 times; הָיֹה 1 K 13:32 Ez 1:3; cstr. הֱיוֹת Gn 2:18 +, so read prob. also for הֱיֵה Ez 21:15 cf. Sm Köi p. 600 f. (Co em. היה־לה to הָהֵל shine, glitter); with pref. בִּהְיוֹת Ex 5:13 +, בִּהְיֹת Ex 19:16 +; לִהְיוֹת Gn 10:8 +, לִהְיֹת Ex 23:1 +; sf. הֱיוֹתִי Jon 4:2; הֱיוֹתְךָ Ju 18:19(×2); לִהְיֹתְךָ Dt 26:19, etc.; Pt. f. הוֹיָה Ex 9:3. e.g. Genesis 3:1
- I.
- 1.
- a. Fall out, happen מֶה־הָיָה הַדָּבָר 1 S 4:16 how has the matter fallen out, (gone, turned out)? so 2 S 1:4; מֶה־הָיָה לוֹ Ex 32:1, 23 (both JE) what has happened to him? cf. 1 S 10:12; מִקְרֶה הוּא הָיָה לָנוּ 1 S 6:9 a chance it is that has befallen us; also וַיְהִי־לוֹ כֵּן 2 K 7:20 and so it happened to him, cf. וַיְהִי־כֵן infr. e.g. 1 Samuel 4:16
- b. occur, take place, come about, come to pass:—מַגֵּפָה גְדוֹלָה הָֽיְתָה בָּעָם 1 S 4:17 a great slaughter has taken place among the people, cf. 2 S 17:9; הַמִּלְחָמָה בְּיַעַר אֶפְרַיִם וַתְּהִי 2 S 18:6 and the battle took place in the wood of Ephraim (on אפרים cf. Klo Dr); Jos 22:17 (P; of plague); תְּהִי נָא אָלָה Gn 26:28 (J) let an oath take place (be taken) so Ju 21:5; cf. 2 K 17:7 (si vera l.), Ez 16:34; especially late, 2 Ch 29:36; 32:31; Ec 1:9, 10; 3:22; 8:7; 10:14 etc.; often of fulfilment of prediction, command, expectation, etc.:—כֵּן הָיָה Gn 41:3 (E) so it came to pass, 2 S 13:25, וַיְהִי־כֵן Ju 6:38 2 K 15:12 Is 29:5, & especially וַיְהִי־כֵן Gn 1:7, 9, 11, 15, 24, 30 (all P) +; יְהִי כִדְבָרֶ֑ךָ Gn 30:34 let it be as thou sayest, Zc 6:15, v. also לֹא תָקוּם וְלֹא יִהְיֶה Is 7:7 it shall not arise (be realized) & shall not come about, 14:24; (so often בּוֹא q.v. 2 c, p. 98 supr.) e.g. 1 Samuel 4:17
- 2. especially & very often, come about, come to pass sq. substantive (subj.) cl. almost always + modifying (usually temporal) cl. or phr.:
- a. (1) וַיְהִי and it came to pass that, most often (c. 292 times) foll. by (a) Impf. consec.: α. with Inf. c. כְּ temp. Gn 12:14; 19:17 (both J) + 75 times + Est 3:4 Qr (Hex chiefly J,—so always Gn,—& JE; P only Ex 16:10, D only Dt 5:20; 31:24 Jos 5:1; 9:1; 27 times in K),—somewhat diff. is 2 K 7:18; β. with Inf. c. בְּ Gn 4:8; 11:2 (both J) + 29 times + Est 3:4 Kt (in Hex 10 times JE; 3 times P, Gn 19:29; Ex 34:29; Nu 17:7; not in D); γ. with בְּ sq. nom. temp. (יוֹם, בֹּקֶר, etc.) Gn 21:22 (E) 26:32 (J) + 45 times (Hex 14 times JE; 3 times P, Ex 6:28; 16:13 Nu 7:1; not D); δ. לְ temp. 1 S 1:20; 2 S 13:23; 1 K 20:26; 1 Ch 20:1; ε. כְּ temp. Gn 39:11 1 S 25:38; ζ. מִן temp. viz.: מֵאָז Gn 39:5, מִיּוֹם 1 S 7:2 cf. 30:25, מִיָּמִים Ju 11:4; 15:1, מִקֵּץ Gn 4:3; 8:6 + 6 times, מִקְצֵה Jos 3:2 2 K 8:3 Ez 3:16, especially מִמָּחֳרָת Gn 19:34 Ex 18:13 + 11 times; η. כַּאֲשֶׁר temp. Gn 12:11 (J) 20:13 (E) + 31 times (Hex 13 times JE, Dt 2:16, not P), characteristic of Neh.’s memoirs, †Ne 3:33; 4:1, 6, 9; 6:1, 16; 7:1; 13:19; θ. with כִּי temp. Gn 6:1 (J) Ex 3:21 (E) + 14 times + Ju 16:25 Kt; ι. אַחֲרֵי temp. Gn 22:20 (J) + 13 times, אַחַר Gn 39:7 Jb 42:7, אַחֲרֵי־כֵן Ju 16:4 + 6 times; κ. sq. עַד temp. 1 S 14:19 (on which cf. Dr); comp. עַד־כֹּה וְעַד־כֹּה 1 K 18:45; λ. with combinations; as בְּ c. nom. temp. + בְּ Inf. Gn 34:25 Ex 19:16 1 S 25:37; בְּ Inf. + כְּ Inf. Jos 3:14; double prep. כְּמִשְּׁלשׁ חֳדָשִׁים Gn 38:24; מִקְצֵה + אַחֲרֵי אֲשֶׁר Jos 9:16; מִיָּמִים + id. 23:1; μ. other unusual constructions under this head are: those where temporal idea is expr. by a circumst. cl. Is 22:7 1 K 13:20 2 K 8:21 (Dr§ 165, & Obs.) = 2 Ch 21:9; those with indef. כֹּל 1 S 10:11; 2 S 2:23; 15:2, or with pt. = rel. cl. 1 S 11:1 (on all v. Dr§ 78 n. & Sm); quite unique is 1 K 16:31, with הֲנָקֵל לֶכְתּוֹ וגו׳ in place of temp. cl. (b) וַיְהִי sometimes sq. simple Pf., with a negative Gn 39:10 (c. כְּ Inf.), Ex 13:17 (c. בְּ Inf.) 2 K 12:7; 17:25 (both c. בְּ temp.); & without neg., Gn 8:13 (P) 14:1 +, usually c. בְּ temp. (38 times), Hex chiefly P; rarely c. other prep. & adv. as above; note especially מִדֵּי sq. Inf. 1 S 18:20 2 Ch 12:11; sometimes the subj. of foll. Pf. precedes it c. וְ, as Gn 22:1; 41:1; 1 S 18:19; 30:1; 2 K 2:9; 4:40 +; note especially 2 S 17:27 where several subj. & also several objects precede the Pf. (cf. Dr); in these cases the temporal modifier is occasionally a circumst. cl. 2 S 13:30; 1 K 8:10; 2 K 19:37 = Is 37:38; rarely subj. precedes Pf. without וְ 1 K 11:4; 21:1, comp. subj. preceding Pt. without וְ Ne 4:10; in 2 Ch 8:1 the obj. (with וְ) precedes what is appar. the principal vb. (c) וַיְהִי sq. וְהִנֵּה Gn 24:15 (J; טֶרֶם in temp. cl.), 29:25 (E), 38:27 (J, both בְּ temp.) v 29 (כְּ Pt.), 1 S 13:10 (כְּ Inf.); also 2 S 1:2; 13:36; 15:32 (circumst. cl.) 2 K 2:11 (id.), 3:20, 13:21 (circumst. cl.). (d) rarely וַיְהִי (in this sense) sq. other constructions: אָז יִתֵּן 1 K 9:10 (c. מִקְצֵה); Impf. frequentat. 14:28 (c. מִדֵּי־בֹּא, 2 K 4:8 (c. מִדֵּי עָבְרוֹ) Je 36:23 (c. כְּ Inf.); Pf. consec. frequentat. 2 Ch 24:11 (c. בְּ temp.). (2) really also Pf. c. וְ conj. וְהָיָה (cf. Dr§ 133) sq. Impf. consec. as subj. cl.: 1 S 1:12 (c. several circumst. cl.), 10:9 (c. כְּ Inf.) 2 K 3:15 (id.), 1 S 17:48 (c. כִּי), Je 37:11 (c. בְּ Inf.), Am 7:2 (c. אִם temp.); also Je 3:9 (appar. c. מִן causat., but obscure); 1 S 13:22 (c. בְּ temp.) is foll. by וְלֹא & Pf. as well as Impf. consec. e.g. Genesis 12:14
- b. less often וְהָיָה Pf. consec. and it shall come to pass, or frequentat., came to pass (repeatedly, etc.) usually (a) sq. simple Impf. (c. 100 times): α. c. בְּ temp. Dt 21:16; 25:19 + 37 times, (especially בַּיּוֹם הַהוּא Ho 2:18, 23 Is 7:18, 21, 23 + 21 times); β. c. בְּ loc. Ez 47:23 Zc 13:8 cf. also Ho 2:1 (בִּמְקוֹם אֲשֶׁר, but perhaps = instead of, cf. VB); γ. c. indef. rel. cl., or its equiv. (כֹּל indef., etc.), cf. Dr§ 121, Obs. 1: Gn 4:14; Nu 17:20; Dt 12:11; 18:19; Jos 7:14, 15; Ju 7:4; 1 S 2:36; 17:25; 2 S 15:35; 1 K 19:17; 20:6; Is 4:3; 24:18; Na 3:7; Je 27:8; 42:4; Ez 47:9; Zc 14:17; Jo 3:5; δ. c. כַּאֲשֶׁר Nu 33:56; Dt 28:63; Jos 23:15; Ju 7:17; Is 29:8; Je 31:28; Zc 8:13; ε. less often with other modif. phr.: כְּ Inf. Ex 33:8, 9 (both frequentat.), Jos 3:13; 8:8; Je 25:12; 51:63; בְּ Inf. Gn 9:14 (P) 2 K 4:10; Ez 44:17; אִם condit. Dt 20:11 (+ v 11 Dr§ 118 n.), also Jos 22:18, where the arrangement is peculiar, & the condit. is expressed without אִם (cf. Dr§ 155); לְ temp. Dt 23:12; מִקֵּץ Is 23:17; טֶרֶם Is 65:24; מִדֵּי חֹדֶשׁ בְּחָדְשׁוֹ Is 66:23, etc. (b) וְהָיָה sq. Pf. consec. (c. 85 times): α. most often + cl. c. כִּי temp. Gn 12:12; 46:33 (both J) Ex 1:10 (E) Dt 11:29; Is 8:21 + 25 times; β. c. אִם Ex 4:8, 9 Nu 15:24; Dt 11:13 + 14 times; also Gn 38:9; Nu 21:9 (both frequentat.); γ. c. בְּ temp. Gn 30:41 (frequentat.) 47:24 (but cf. Ol Di) Ex 16:5 + 11 times; δ. c. indef. rel. cl. or equivalent (Dr§ 121 Obs. 1): Gn 24:14; Nu 10:32 (Dr§ 118 n.) 21:18; Dt 21:3 Ju 11:31; 19:30; Zc 14:16; ε. occas. with other modif. phr.: כַּאֲשֶׁר Gn 27:40 +; כְּ Inf. Gn 44:31 +; בְּ Inf. Ex 33:22 +; מִקֵּץ 2 S 14:26; עֵקֶב causat. Dt 7:12; also (c) sq. וְלֹא + simple Impf. Ex 3:21 (c. כִּי temp.). (d) וְהָיָה sq. Imv. (very rare) Dt 6:10 (c. כִּי temp.), 1 S 10:7 (c. כִּי), cf. 29:10, cf. Pf. consec. in command 1 S 3:9 (c. אִם). (e) וְהָיָה sq. simple Pf. (also very rare) Dt 8:19 (c. אִם). (f) וְהָיָה sq. cl. without vb.: Gn 24:43 Jos 2:19 1 K 18:24 (all c. indef. rel. modifier, or equiv., v. (a) γ, (b) δ, supr.). (g) וְהָיָה (ו conj.) sq. Impf. consec. v. a. (e) supr. e.g. Deuteronomy 21:16
- 1.
- II. Come into being, become:—
- 1.
- a. abs., in lively narrative, arise, appear, come וַתְּהִי צְעָקָה גְדֹלָה Ex 12:30 (J) and there arose a great cry in Egypt; וַיְהִי־קוֹל Ez 1:25 (del. Co cf. Da), 37:7 (del. קוֹל 𝔊 Co); כִּי הָֽיְתָה הָֽרְוָחָה Ex 8:11 (J) Pharaoh saw that respite had come; Mi 7:4 now shall come their confusion (‖ בוא); also of concrete objects וְהָֽיְתָה הַקֶּשֶׁת בֶּעָנָן Gn 9:16 (P) and the bow shall appear in the clouds (‖ וְנִרְאֲתָה); וְרִמָּה לֹא הָֽיְתָה בּוֹ Ex 16:24 (P) and worms did not appear in it; of condition or action begun & continuing, as: famine Gn 12:10; 26:1, 1 (all J), 41:54 (E), Ru 1:1; 2 S 21:1; 2 K 6:25; strife Gn 13:7, 8 (J), Hb 1:3 (‖ מָדוֹן יִשָּׂא); often of action of the elements, as the coming of hail Ex 9:18, 24, 26 (all J), thunder & lightning, etc., Ex 19:16 (E), rain 1 K 18:45, storm Jon 1:4; especially of creative fiats יְהִי אוֹר וַיְהִי אוֹר Gn 1:3 let light appear, and light appeared, cf. v 5, 8, 13, 19, 23, 31 (all P); also arise, come on the stage or scene, וְאַחֲרָיו הָיָה שַׁמְגַּר Ju 3:31 and after him arose Shamgar (= וַיָּקָם 10:1); further וַעֲלָטָה הָיָה Gn 15:17 (JE) and darkness came on; הַבֹּקֶר הָיָה Ex 10:13 (J) the morning came, 19:16 (E); וַיְהִי הַיּוֹם †1 S 1:4 and the day came, when (v. Dr), 14:1 2 K 4:8, 11, 18 Jb 1:6, 13; 2:1. e.g. Exodus 12:30
- b. sq. prep.: בְּ, וְיָדֵנוּ אַל־תְּהִי־בוֹ (Gn 37:27 (J) but out hand, let it not come upon him, of hand of י׳ 1 S 5:9; 7:13; 12:15 + (all in hostile sense); וַיְהִי בִּרְכַּת י׳ בְּכָל־אֲשֶׁר יֶשׁ־לוֹ Gn 39:5 (J) and the blessing of י׳ came into (on) all that he had; but also of plague Ex 12:13 (P); sq. עַל, וּמֵי הַמַּבּוּל הָיוּ עַל־הָאָרֶץ Gn 7:10 (J) that the waters of the flood came upon the earth; עָלַי הָיוּ כֻלָּ֑נָה Gn 42:36 (E) Gn 9:2 (P) fear shall come upon, cf. 35:5 (P) 2 Ch 14:13; 17:10; 20:29 +; of wrath Jos 22:20 1 K 3:27; so of Saul’s evil spirit from God 1 S 16:16, 23; 19:9 (אֶל); but sq. עַל also in good sense וַתְּהִי עָלָיו רוּחַ י׳ conferring strength & efficiency Ju 3:10; 11:29 (היה = צלח Ju 14:6 + often), cf. Nu 24:2 (JE) of prophetic power; (on וַתְּהִי עָלָיו יַד י׳ 2 K 3:15 Ez 3:22 and the like, vid. יָד); יַד אֱלֹהֵינוּ הָֽיְתָה עָלֵינוּ Ezr 8:31, so ψ 80:18; even וַתְּהִי עַל־רֹאשׁ דָּוִד 2 S 12:30 and it (the crown, עֲטֶרֶת) came (i.e. was put, set) on David’s head; with a diff. meaning וַנִּהְיֶה עֲלֵיהֶם עַד־פֶּתַח הַשָּׁ֑עַר 2 S 11:23 and we were close upon them even to the gateway (cf. We Dr); come, go, follow (sq. אַחֲרֵי) i.e. take the side of, adhere to, Ex 23:2 (JE) 1 S 12:14 2 S 2:10 1 K 12:20; 16:21; sq. לְ, of blessings Gn 49:26 (poem); of judgment, punishment Je 40:3; especially ויהי דבר … אֶל and the word of … came unto: word of Samuel 1 S 4:1; usually word of God (or י׳) Gn 15:1 1 S 15:10 +; constantly in prophets: Ho 1:1 Mi 1:1 etc.; especially Je & Ez: Je 1:4, 11, 13; 2:1; 13:8 +; Ez 3:16; 6:1; 7:1; 11:14, 17, 21, 26, 12:1, 8;+; so also abs. הָיָה הַמַּשָּׂא הַזֶּה Is 14:28 in the death-year of king Ahaz came this utterance; also sq. מִן; מַלְכֵי עַמִּים מִמֶּנָּה יִהְיוּ Gn 17:16 (P), וּקְהַל גּוֹיִם יִהְיֶה מִמֶּ֑ךָּ 35:11 (P), וְהָיָה אַדִּירוֹ מִמֶּנּוּ Je 30:21 (‖ מִקִּרְבּוֹ יֵצֵא); הַכֹּל הָיָה מִן־הֶעָפָר וְהַכֹּל שָׁב אֶל הֶעָפָר Ec 3:20 all came from the dust, & all return unto the dust; וַיְהִי קֶצֶף גָּדוֹל מֵאֵת י׳ צְבָאוֹת Zc 7:12. e.g. Genesis 37:27
- 2. become:
- a. sq. pred. noun (to be viewed as implicit accus. Dr§ 161, 3 n. according to the Arabic usage WAG ii, § 41.44.74): הִוא הָֽיְתָה אֵם כָּל־חָ֑י Gn 3:20 (J) it was she that became the mother of all living; וַיְהִי הֶבֶל רֹעֵה צֹאן וְקַיִן הָיָה עֹבֵד אֲדָמָה 4:2 (J) and Abel became a shepherd of flocks, while Cain became a tiller of ground; 2 S 8:14 Mi 2:11 + often e.g. Genesis 3:20
- b. sq. pred. adj. Gn 38:7; Ex 36:13 +; cf. Gn 37:20 let us see what his dream will become (turn out to be, signify); e.g. Genesis 38:7
- c. become like (כְּ), וִהְיִיתֶם כֵּאלֹהִים Gn 3:5 and ye shall become like gods cf. v 22, Nu 11:1 (JE), Ho 2:1; 7:11; Is 9:18; 1 K 7:8; Zc 9:7 +; cf. Gn 15:5 so (כֹּה) shall thy seed become; specif. of likeness in punishment Is 1:9 1 S 17:36 +; also with כְּ repeated וְהָיָה כָעָם כַּכֹּהֵן Ho 4:9 and the people shall become like the priest (lit., and the like of the people shall become the like of the priest), so especially Is 24:2 (6 pairs of words as above); וְהָיָה כַצַּדִּיק כָּרָשָׁע Gn 18:25 (J), v. כְּ. b + c Gn 27:23 his hands had become like the hands of Esau his brother, hairy. e.g. Genesis 3:5
- d. sq. pred. + לְ pers. וּתְהִי אִשָּׁה לְבֶן־אֲדֹנֶיךָ Gn 24:51 (J) and let her become wife to the son of thy lord, 1 S 16:21; 1 K 11:25 ψ 89:42; 1 Ch 18:6 +; = be instituted, established, וְהָיָה לָהֶם חָק־עוֹלָם Ex 30:21 (P) and it shall be established for them as a perpetual ordinance (cf. f infr.). e.g. Genesis 24:51
- e. sq. לְ pred.: וַיְהִי הָאָדָם לְנֶפֶשׁ חַיָּה Gn 2:7 (J) and the man became a living soul; וְהָיָה לְאַרְבָּעָה רָאשִׁים Gn 2:10 (J) and it became four heads; גַּם־הוּא יִהְיֶה־לְעָם Gn 48:19 (J) he too shall become a people; וִהְיוּ לַאֲנָשִׁים 1 S 4:9 and become (shew yourselves to be) men (‖ הִתְחַזְּקוּ; cf. with double לְ, f infr.); Zp 1:13; Ez 17:6; 47:12; Jb 16:8; וְהָיָה י׳ לְמֶלֶךְ עַל־כָּל־הָאָרֶץ Zc 14:9; וַיְהִי לְמַס עֹבֵד †Gn 49:15; Jos 16:10; so often; also in sense of turn into, be changed so as to become, וַיְהִי לְנָחָשׁ Ex 4:3 and it became a serpent, v 4; 7:10; Is 1:22; Dt 26:5 +; fig. וַיְהִי לְמָ֑יִם Jos 7:5 and it (their heart) turned to water, so וְהוּא הָיָה לְאֶבֶן 1 S 25:37; or, serve as וְהָיוּ לִמְאוֹרֹת Gn 1:15 (P) and they shall become (fulfil the function of, serve as) luminaries, cf. v 14; וְהָיָה לְאוֹת בְּרִית Gn 9:13; 17:11 (both P). e.g. Genesis 2:7
- f. often c. לְ pred. + לְ pers.: וַתְּהִי לָהֶם הַלְּבֵנָה לְאָ֑בֶן Gn 11:3 (J) and the bricks became (served as) stone for them; וַתְּהִי לִי לְאִשָּׁה Gn 20:12 (E) cf. 24:67 (J) +, וַתִּהְיֶינָה מַחְלָה וְחָגְלָה … לַבְנֵי דֹדֵיהֶן לְנָשִׁים Nu 36:11; וְהָיָה לְךָ וְלָהֶם לְאָכְלָה 6:21 (P), Ex 2:10; 15:2 Ju 8:27; וְהָיָה י׳ לִי לֵאלֹהִים Gn 28:21 (E); אֲנִי אֶהְיֶה לוֹ לְאָב וְהוּא יִהְיֶה־לִי לְבֵן 1 Ch 17:3 +; = shew or prove oneself as הֱיֵה־לִי לְבֶן־חַיִל 1 S 18:17 shew thyself for me a valiant man (cf. 1 S 4:9 e supr.); = be instituted, established (cf. e supr.) וְהָיָה לְאַהֲרֹן וּלְבָנָיו לְחָק־עוֹלָם Ex 29:28 and it shall be instituted for Aaron and his sons as a perpetual ordinance; cf. v 9 Lv 10:15; וְהָֽיְתָה לִהְיֹת לָהֶם מָשְׁחָתָם לִכְהֻנַּת עוֹלָם לְדֹרֹתָם Ex 40:15 (all P). e.g. Genesis 11:3
- g. with עַל and לְ 1 S 22:2 וַיְהִי עֲלֵיהֶם לְשָׂר and he became over them prince. e.g. 1 Samuel 22:2
- h. sometimes c. לְ pers. only = become the property of, come into the possession of וַיְהִי־לוֹ צֹאן־וּבָקָר וְגו׳ Gn 12:16 (J), and he came to have flocks and herds etc., 26:14; 30:43; לֹא לוֹ יִהְיֶה הַזָּ֑רַע Gn 38:9 not his should the seed become; וְהָיָה לי׳ Ju 11:31 it shall become Yahweh’s; Dt 10:9; Jos 13:29; 1 K 10:26; 11:3 + often; so of a woman, as wife תְּהִי־נָא לְךָ Ju 15:2 pray let her become thine, cf. also וַתְּהִי אֵשֶׁת שִׁמְשׁוֹן לְמֵרֵעֵהוּ 14:20, Ho 3:3 Ru 1:13 Lv 21:3; Dt 24:2; Je 3:1; Ez 16:8 (and also + לְאִשָּׁה, לְנָשִׁים v. f supr.) e.g. Genesis 12:16
- 1.
- III. Be (often with subordinate idea of becoming);—
- 1. exist, be in existence (i.e. orig. have come into existence), כָּל־הַיָּמִים אֲשֶׁר הָיָה 1 S 1:28 all the days which he shall have been (lived, = חַי Gn 5:5 etc., cf. DrSm), Jb 3:16, Is 23:13; often c. בְּ loc. וְכֹל שִׂיחַ הַשָּׂדֶה טֶרֶם יִהְיֶה בָאָרֶץ Gn 2:5 (J) and there was not yet in the earth any shrub of the field; וּבְאֵלֶּה לֹא הָיָה אִישׁ וגו׳ Nu 26:64 (P) and among them there was not a man to be found, etc.; also וְלֹא הָיָה כַּיּוֹם הַהוּא לְפָנָיו וְאַחֲרָיו Jos 10:14 (JE) & there hath not been a day like that before it nor since, cf. 2 S 14:25; 1 K 18:5; 21:25; 2 K 23:25; Ne 13:26 +; somewhat weaker, in the freq. introductory clause וַיְהִי אִישׁ now there was a man Ju 13:2; 1 S 1:1; 9:1; Nu 9:6 (P), Jb 1:1 +; on אֶהְיֶה אֲשֶׁר אֶהְיֶה Ex 3:14 v. יהוֹה. e.g. 1 Samuel 1:28
- 2. abide, remain, continue (with word of place or time) וַיְהִי מֹשֶׁה בָּהָר Ex 24:18 and Moses remained in the mount forty days, etc., so 34:28 (both JE), Ju 17:4, 12 1 S 6:1 1 K 11:20 2 K 11:3 = 2 Ch 22:12 +; also Lv 22:27; 25:28 (both H), etc.; sq. עַד temp. remain until Dt 22:2 1 K 11:40; 2 K 15:5; 2 Ch 5:9; 26:21; Dn 1:21 etc.; cf. הוּא יִהְיֶה לְעוֹלָם Ec 3:14; so also of space sq. עַד extend unto, as far as, Jos 19:10: of net beneath altar, Ex 27:5 shall reach as far as (עַד) the middle of the altar. e.g. Exodus 24:18
- 3. with word of locality, be in or at a place, be situated, stand, lie; בִּהְיוֹתָם בַּשָּׂדֶה Gn 4:8 (J) when they were in the field, הַמָּקוֹם אֲשֶׁר־הָיָה שָׁם אָהֳלֹה בַּתְּחִלָּה 13:3 (J) the place where his tent had stood at first; וְהָאָרֶץ תִּהְיֶה לִפְנֵיכֶם 34:10 and the land, it lieth before you; cf. Jos 19:1; Ju 7:1, 8; Mi 5:6, 7; sq. עַל be, be found or situated upon Is 30:25 and there shall be upon every high mountain etc., streams, water-courses; Ez 37:27 and my dwelling-place shall be over them; fig. of guilt וְהָיָה עָלָיךָ דָּמִים Dt 19:10 and blood (-guilt) be upon thee. e.g. Genesis 4:8
- 4. as copula, joining subj. & pred.:—
- a. sq. pred. adj. וַיִּהְיוּ שְׁנֵיהֶם עֲרוּמִּים Gn 2:25, וְהַנָּחָשׁ הָיָה עָרוּם 3:1, בִּהְיוֹתָם כֹּאֲבִים 34:25, וַיְהִי יוֹסֵף יְפֵה־תֹאַר 39:6; Dt 23:15; Jos 19:9; Ju 11:1; Jb 1:1, 3b 2 Ch 7:21. e.g. Genesis 2:25
- b. sq. pred. noun Gn 1:2; 9:18; 25:3; 36:14; 40:13; 1 S 17:34, 42 2 S 8:10; 20:26; 1 K 10:6; 2 K 3:4; 5:1(×2) 1 Ch 9:20; 11:20; 18:10; 26:10; 2 Ch 13:7; כִּי לֹא־הָיָה מֶלֶךְ יִשְׂרָאֵל 2 Ch 18:32 (‖ 1 K 22:33 כִּי־לֹא־מֶלֶךְ ישׂראל הוּא) +; often of age: וַיְהִי אַבְרָם בֶּן־תִּשְׁעִים שָׁנָה וְתֵשַׁע שָׁנִים Gn 17:1 (P) 2 K 8:17; 14:2; 15:2, 33; 18:2; 2 Ch 21:20; 27:8 +; sq. pred. Inf. abs. (very anomal.) וְהַמַּיִם הָיוּ הָלוֹךְ וְחָסוֹר Gn 8:5; = amount to, come to, in enum. of days of life, number of people, amounts of money, etc.: Gn 5:4, 5, 8, 11, 14; 9:29; 11:32; 23:1 +; Ex 38:24 Nu 1:46, etc. e.g. Genesis 1:2
- c. sq. adv. & adverbial phr.: לֹא־טוֹב הֱיוֹת הָאָדָם לְבַדּוֹ Gn 2:18 (J) it is not good that the man be alone; חָדַל לִהְיוֹת לְשָׂרָה אֹרַח כַּנָּשִׁים 18:11 (J). e.g. Genesis 2:18
- d. sq. prep.: (a) be with, accompany c. עִם, subj. most often י׳ or אלהים with added idea of protection, aid Gn 26:3; 31:3; 39:10; 48:21 Jos 1:3; 6:27; Ju 1:19; 2:18; 1 S 3:19; 18:12; 20:13; 1 K 1:37; 1 Ch 11:13; 2 Ch 17:3; sq. עִמָּדִי Gn 28:20; 31:5; 35:3; sq. עִם, human subj., of accompaniment וְהָיָה הַכֹּהֵן בֶּן־אַהֲרֹן עִם־הַלְוִיִּם Ne 10:39; 1 Ch 11:12, read also in ‖ 2 S 23:9 (Th We Dr); = be on the side of 1 K 1:8; c. עִם also = be near וּמַלְאַךְ י׳ הָיָה עִם־גֹּרֶן האורנה 2 S 24:16 (cf. Dr); also 2 S 13:20 implying sexual intercourse, so Gn 39:10 (perhaps gloss, cf. Di); peculiar uses with עִם are: וּדְבַר־אַבְנֵר הָיָה עִם־זִקְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל 2 S 3:17 and the speech of A. had been with the elders of Isr., cf. 1 K 1:7; וַיְהִי עִם־לְבַב דָּוִד אָבִי לִבְנוֹת 1 K 8:17 and it was with (i.e. in) the heart of David my father to build, = 2 Ch 6:7 cf. 1 K 8:18(×2) 1 Ch 22:7; 2 Ch 6:8(×2); 24:4; also 1 K 10:2 = 2 Ch 9:1; (b) be with, sq. אֶת, subj. י׳, אלהים, Gn 21:20; 39:2, 21 but also c. human subj. וּבָנָיו הָיוּ אֶת־מִקְנֵהוּ Gn 34:5, cf. 1 S 29:3 +; (c) sq. לְ of possessor כֶּרֶם הָיָה לִידִדִי Is 5:1 a vineyard had my beloved, Gn 30:30 cf. Ex 20:3 = Dt 5:7, Ju 18:27; 1 S 9:2; 1 K 5:6 + often (cf. I. 2 d, f, h); (d) sq. לְ + other prep.: of boundary וַיְהִי לָהֶם הַגְּבוּל מֵעֲרוֹעֵר Jos 13:16, cf. וַיְהִי גְבוּלָם מִמַּחֲנַיִם v 30; וַיְהִי לָהֶם הַגְּבוּל לִפְאַת צָפוֹנָה מִיַּרְדֵּן 18:12, etc.; (e) sq. בְּ be among, or of, Am 1:1 who was one of the herdsmen, 1 K 2:7 let them be among those eating, Pr 22:26; 23:20. e.g. Genesis 26:3
- 5. periphrastic conjug.:
- a. היה + pt., of continuous state, or condition, sometimes, especially late (cf. NH), of habit, c. וַיְהִי also of beginning and continuance (cf. Dr§ 135, (5)): pt. act. Gn 39:22 (J), Ex 3:1 (E), 1 S 2:11; 7:10; 18:9 (cf. Dr) v 14, 29 2 S 8:15 = 1 Ch 18:14, Dt 28:29; Is 30:20; 1 K 5:1, 15, 24 2 K 6:5; 9:14; 2 Ch 9:26; Ezr 4:4; Ne 1:4, 2:13; Dn 1:16 +; Gn 1:6 (P); הָיָה יָרֵא אֶת־י׳ 1 K 18:3; 2 K 4:1; 2 Ch 26:1; pt. pass. Jos 10:26; 1 K 13:24; 22:35 וְהַמֶּלֶךְ הָיָה מָעֳמָד בַּמֶּרְכָּבָה (‖ 2 Ch 18:34 הָיָה מַעֲמִיד), Is 2:2 = Mi 4:1, וְהָיָה סָגוּר Ez 44:2, ה׳ נַעֲשֶׂה Ne 5:18, וְאָהוּב לֵאלֹהָיו ה׳ 13:26;—on 2 S 13:32 cf. Dr e.g. Genesis 39:22
- b. sq. Inf. c. לְ (Dr§ 203, 204): וְהָיָה לְבָעֵר Is 5:5 and it shall be to burn (is to be, is destined to be burned) etc.; וַיְהִי הַשֶּׁמֶשׁ לָבוֹא Gn 15:12 and the sun was about to set; וַיְהִי הַשַּׁעַר לִסְגּוֹר Jos 2:5 and the gate was about to be shut; but also וַיְהִי לִדְרשׁ אֱלֹהִים 2 Ch 26:5 (nearly = וַיְהִי + Pt.) e.g. Isaiah 5:5
Niphal
- Pf. נִהְיָה 1 K 1:27 + 6 times + Mi 2:4 (cf. infr. ad fin.); 3 fs. נִהְיְתָה Ju 19:30 + 5 times, נִהְיָ֑תָה Ex 11:6 Je 48:19, וְנִהְיָ֑תָה consec. Ez 39:8 + 21:12 (del. B Codd 𝔊 Co); 2 ms. נִהְיֵיתָ Dt 27:9; 1 s. נִהְיֵיתִי Dn 8:27; Pt. fs. נִהְיָה Pr 13:19;— e.g. 1 Kings 1:27
- 1. became c. ל Dt 27:9. e.g. Deuteronomy 27:9
- 2. either, be done, or, come to pass: in the strong expressions אֲשֶׁר כָּמֹהוּ לֹא נ׳ וְכָמֹהוּ לֹא תֹסִף Ex 11:6 (J) a cry such as hath not occurred (been raised), and will not be again, cf. Dt 4:32 (be done; ‖ נִשְׁמַע), & Ju 19:30 (‖ נִרְאֲתָה);—but simply intrans. Jo 2:2; Dn 12:1 & appar. Ez 21:12 (‖ בָּאָ֫ה; on text, however, v. supr.) 39:8 (‖ id.);—also אֵיכָה נִהְיְתָה הָרָעָה הַזֹּאת Ju 20:3 how hath this wickedness been done? cf. v 12 Je 5:30; 48:19 also Ne 6:8; c. לֹא, existence denied לֹא נ׳ Zc 8:10 (‖ אֵינֶ֑נָּה); in all the above (except Jo 2:2; Dn 12:1 & Ez 21:12; 39:8) personal agency is clearly implied; it is expressed מֵאֵת אֲדֹנִי הַמֶּלֶךְ נ׳ הַדָּבָר הַזֶּה 1 K 1:27, so of divine agency (מֵאִתִּי) 1 K 12:24 = 2 Ch 11:4; further be attained, secured, of wages Zc 8:10 (c. לֹא, ‖ אֵינֶ֑נָּה); תַּאֲוָה נִהְיָה Pr 13:19 a desire come to pass, realized. e.g. Exodus 11:6
- 3. be done, finished, gone, only Dn וּשְׁנָתוֹ נִהְיְתָה עָלָיו Dn 2:1 and his sleep was finished upon him, i.e. left him (cf. Aramaic Dn 6:19); נִהְיֵיתִי 8:27 I came to an end, was exhausted (si vera l., del. 𝔊; ‖ נֶחֱלֵיתִי); נִהְיָה, in וְנָהָה נְהִי נִהְיָה Mi 2:4, is dub.; it is done, over, the ruin is come RobGes Ew Hi Ca Che RVm;? ZAW 1866, 122 f. cf. JBL1890, 74.77. e.g. Daniel 2:1
Senses from the full Brown-Driver-Briggs lexicon (Brown, Driver, Briggs; Oxford 1906 — public domain), digitized via Sefaria, supplemented by the OpenScriptures HebrewLexicon (CC BY 4.0). Full attribution on Sources.
Word origin
vb. fall out, come to pass, become, be (SI 1.6 היה, ib.3 הית; parallel form of הוה, Arabic هَوَى, Aramaic הֲוָא, ܗܘܳܐ; v. הָוָה supr.)—
— Brown-Driver-Briggs (Oxford 1906, public domain), digitized via Sefaria, supplemented by the OpenScriptures HebrewLexicon (CC BY 4.0). See Sources.
Derived from הוא (hâvâʼ) (H1933) — to be.
Jastrow Dictionary
A second Hebrew/Aramaic lexicon for comparison, covering Aramaic and post-biblical (Talmudic, Targumic, Midrashic) usage that the biblical-Hebrew BDB does not. Matched by lemma rather than by Strong’s number, so a lemma may carry more than one Jastrow headword (shown separately below), and the entries cover usage well beyond the Bible.
הוי
- (b. h.) to exist; to be, become; to occur, come to pass.—With part. ה׳ מביט he looked; ה׳ אומר he said, freq. used to say. Gen. R. s. 1, beg. אני הָיִיתִי וכ׳ I was the implement &c. Ib. ה׳ הקב"ה מביט וכ׳ the Lord looked into the Law (as often as a thing was to be created). Ab. I, 13 הוא ה׳ אומר the same used to say. Gen. R. s. 2 ה׳ ללמה ולא כלום became a nothing; a. v. fr.—Apocopate forms: אֱהִי, אֱהֵא, תְּהִי, תְּהֵא, יְהִי, יְהֵא; תְּהוּ (= תִּהְיוּ), יְהוּ (= יִהְיוּ). Yoma 66ᵇ אהא בשלום אני נכ׳ (Tosef. ib. IV (III), 14 נִהְיֶה) may I and you be as well; Y. ib. VI, 43ᶜ bot. כן תהו וכ׳ so may ye be well. B. Mets. 35ᵃ תהא במאמינו let this be (speak of a case) when he accepts his opponent’s statement; a. v. fr.—Part. הוֶֹה, הוֶֹוה
- 1. frequent, usual. Sabb. VI, 6 דברו חכמים בה׳ the scholars (in using the words ‘Arabian women’) speak of the ordinary custom (not to the exclusion of other people); a. fr.
- 2. existing, enduring. Pesik. R. s. 11, end הם הווִֹים ודומים [להקב"ה] they shall be existing for themselves (not merely as an attachment) and resembling [the Lord]; ib. אף הם הווים אש וכ׳ they, too, shall endure as a consuming fire.—Cant. R. to II, 13 עניות ירבה ויוקר הווה (read תרבה) poverty shall increase, and prices remain high (different in Snh. 97ᵃ a. Sot. 49ᵇ, v. אָמַר II). Imper. הֱוֵי, הֱוֵא; pl. הֱווּ. Ab. I, 4. Ib. II, 3; a. fr.—הֱוֵי אוֹמֵר, also elliptically הֱוֵי say, i.e. you must admit, this proves, that is meant by saying. Taan. 2ᵃ which is the service of the heart? ה׳ אומר זו תפלה you must admit, it is prayer. Tosef. Nidd. I, 6 ה׳ לא אמרום וכ׳ that is to say, the scholars have spoken &c. Cant. R. to I, 6 ה׳ כרמי שלי וכ׳ this is meant by ‘my vineyard &c.’—Y. Shebu. VII, 38ᶜ top הווי לא צורכה וכ׳ it is evident that it would not have been necessary &c.; a. fr.
- (v. הְוָיָה
- 1. to change one’s legal status, to dispose of. Keth. 40ᵇ (ref. to תהיה Deut. XXII, 19) במְהַוָּה עצמה וכ׳ the text speaks of a woman who can dispose of herself. e.g. Deuteronomy 22:19
- 2. to produce, make. Kidd. 58ᵃ (ref. to והיית, Deut. VII, 26) כל שאתה מְהַיֶּיה הימנה whatever thou makest out of it; Tem. 30ᵇ מְהַיֶּה ממנה; a. e. e.g. Deuteronomy 7:26
A Dictionary of the Targumim, the Talmud Babli and Yerushalmi, and the Midrashic Literature (Marcus Jastrow; London, Luzac, 1903) — Public Domain. Digitized via Sefaria. Digitized via Sefaria. Full attribution on Sources.
Forms in the corpus
The 681 distinct written forms H1961 takes in the Hebrew Bible, most frequent first — each parse links to that stem’s occurrences in the concordance. Hebrew forms include their vowel points and cantillation, so a single lemma takes many written forms.
The 60 most common forms are shown; 621 rarer forms follow in the full concordance.
Same root — word family
Other BDB entries built from the same root as H1961, grouped by Strong’s listed origin. These share a root / origin per the lexicon — not necessarily a shared meaning. Each links to that word’s own entry.
Derives from
Shares the same root
Proper names from this root
People and places named from this root — a name, not an additional meaning of the word.
Compare all same-root words → Showing 4 of 5 — not the complete family. 1 of the same-root words is a proper name (a person or place). They share a root, not necessarily a meaning.
Septuagint verse parallels
Most of the 3,130 Hebrew verses this word occurs in also exist in the Greek Old Testament (Septuagint), so the same passages can be read in Greek by switching the Old Testament edition to the Septuagint.
Read these verses in the Septuagint
- Genesis 1:2
- Exodus 1:5
- Leviticus 2:1
- Numbers 1:4
- Deuteronomy 1:3
- Joshua 1:1
- Judges 1:1
- Ruth 1:1
- 1 Samuel 1:1
- 2 Samuel 1:1
- 1 Kings 1:2
- 2 Kings 1:17
This is a verse-level parallel only — the same verses exist in both the Hebrew and Greek Old Testaments. No word-level Hebrew↔Greek correspondence is claimed: the data carries no such alignment, so no Greek word is shown as this Hebrew word’s translation. Coverage is not total — the Septuagint omits the deuterocanon and renumbers the Psalms, so some Hebrew verses have no direct Greek parallel.
