וַ/תְּהִי

𐤅/𐤕𐤄𐤉

vatehi

and there was

a primitive root (compare הָוָא); to exist, i.e. be or become, come to pass (always emphatic, and not a mere copula or auxiliary); beacon, [idiom] altogether, be(-come), accomplished, committed, like), break, cause, come (to pass), do, faint, fall, [phrase] follow, happen, [idiom] have, last, pertain, quit (one-) self, require, [idiom] use.

H1961

2 Samuel 21:20 · Word #1

Lexicon H1961

Lemmaהָיָה
Lemma (Paleo)𐤄𐤉𐤄
Transliterationhâyâh
Strong'sH1961
In-contextand there was

Morphology HC/Vqw3fs All morphology codes

Part of Speech V — Verb — An action or state
Binyan q — Qal — Simple active
Conjugation w — Sequential Imperfect — Imperfect with waw-consecutive, narrating past events
Person 3 — 3rd person — Third person ("he/she/they")
Gender f — Feminine — Feminine
Number s — Singular — Singular

SIBI-P1 H1961-69

and she became

Rootהיה (h-y-h)
Core Meaningsto exist, to become, to come to pass, to happen
Semantic Rangeto exist, be, become, come to pass, happen, occur, arise, continue, happen (in emphatic sense); often used as auxiliary but inherently dynamic.
Conceptual SignificanceAs the most frequent verb in the Hebrew Bible, הָיָה underscores God's dynamic acts of creation, covenant fulfillment, and historical intervention (e.g., 'I am/will be' in YHWH's name Exod 3:14), emphasizing becoming and presence over static being in biblical theology.
Morphological NotesHC/Vqw3fs: conjunction waw (וַ) + conversive wawyiqtol Qal 3fs from root היה; sequential imperfect converted to past narrative tense.
Rendering RationaleThe rendering 'and she became' preserves the core root meaning of הָיָה as dynamic existence or becoming, rather than a static copula, emphasizing the emphatic sense of coming into being or occurring. It reflects the morphology HC/Vqw3fs: the waw-conversive (וַ) with Qal wayyiqtol 3rd feminine singular (תְּהִי), indicating sequential past action for a feminine subject, using 'she' and feminine verb agreement. This maintains grammatical gender (feminine), number (singular), and person (3fs).

AI-generated (perplexity/sonar-pro)

Words from Root היה (to exist, to become, to come to pass, to happen)

SILEX Code Transliteration SIBI-P1
H3068-01 bayhovah in-the-Self-Existent-One
H3068-02 bayhvah in the Self-Existent One
H3050-01 beyah in Yah

Word Usage (3575 occurrences of H1961)

Location Form Transliteration Meaning
Genesis 1:2 הָיְתָ֥ה hayetah was
Genesis 1:3 יְהִ֣י yehi let there be
Genesis 1:3 וַֽ/יְהִי vayehi and there was
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