וָֽ/אֱהִ֥י

𐤅/𐤀𐤄𐤉

vaehi

and I 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

Nehemiah 1:4 · Word #10

Lexicon H1961

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

Morphology HC/Vqw1cs 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 1 — 1st person — First person ("I" / "we")
Gender c — Common — Common (both genders)
Number s — Singular — Singular

SIBI-P1 H1961-67

and I came-to-be

Rootהיה (h-y-h)
Core Meaningsexistence, being, becoming, occurrence, happening
Semantic Rangeto exist, be or become, come to pass, happen, occur, fall out, come about; often emphatic, denoting significant events or states rather than mere copula
Conceptual SignificanceAs the most frequent verb in Biblical Hebrew, הָיָה underscores God's sovereignty over existence and history ('I AM' in Exodus 3:14); in narrative like Genesis 47:28 (וַיְחִי vs. וָאֱהִי forms), it highlights life's transitions, divine fulfillment of promises, and the ontological reality of covenant events.
Morphological NotesHC/Vqw1cs: Waw-consecutive + Qal imperfective, 1st person common singular (prefix הִי with 1cs assimilation); prefixed וָ- indicates sequential narrative tense.
Rendering RationaleThis rendering preserves the root's core sense of dynamic 'becoming' or 'coming into existence' rather than static 'was,' emphasizing הָיָה's emphatic connotation of transformation or event occurrence; it reflects the morphology as a 1st person singular consecutive imperfect (waw-consecutive Qal imperfect 1cs), where 'I came-to-be' matches the first-person singular subject and the prefix conjugation's future/ongoing aspect shifted to narrative past by the waw.

AI-generated (perplexity/sonar-pro)

Words from Root היה (existence, being, becoming, occurrence, happening)

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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