Hebrew · Strong's H1961 · Verb
הָיָה
ha·yah
to be
3562times used
3133verses
39books
How it's translated
- and it was582
- and it will be303
- it will be206
- it was129
- and it came91
- and they were81
- it will belong80
- and he was75
Definition
1) to be, become, come to pass, exist, happen, fall out
1a) (Qal)
1a1) ---
1a1a) to happen, fall out, occur, take place, come about, come to pass
1a1b) to come about, come to pass
1a2) to come into being, become
1a2a) to arise, appear, come
1a2b) to become
The forms it takes
Form
- Wayyiqtol (“and he did”) 28% and then …: the storyteller’s past
- Imperfect (yiqtol) 26% incomplete: ongoing, future or possible
- Perfect (qatal) 21% a complete action, usually past
- Weqatal (“and he will”) 19% and then …: future or instructions
- Infinitive 4% “to …”, or for emphasis
- Imperative 1% a command
Tap a form to see what it means in Grammar, simply.
Between Hebrew and Greek
The Greek Old Testament (the Septuagint), the Bible the first Christians often quoted, translates this word as:
Where it appears
Genesisacross the Old TestamentMalachi
- Ezekiel283
- Genesis279
- Jeremiah242
- Exodus200
- Isaiah188
- 1 Kings170
- Numbers159
- Deuteronomy155
- 1 Samuel148
- 2 Samuel133
…and 29 more books.
Every verse
Page 10 of 79English previews: World English Bible. Hebrew and Greek data from STEPBible.org (Tyndale House, Cambridge), CC BY 4.0.