וַ/יִּהְי֣וּ

𐤅/𐤉𐤄𐤉𐤅

vayiheyu

And these were

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

Numbers 26:21 · Word #1

Lexicon H1961

Lemmaהָיָה
Lemma (Paleo)𐤄𐤉𐤄
Transliterationhâyâh
Strong'sH1961
In-contextAnd these were

Morphology HC/Vqw3mp 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 m — Masculine — Masculine
Number p — Plural — Plural

SIBI-P1 H1961-76

and they came-to-be

Rootהיה (h-y-h)
Core Meaningsexistence, becoming, occurrence, happening, being
Semantic Rangeto exist, be or become, come to pass, happen, fall out, occur; narrative marker ('and it/they came to pass'), copula, auxiliary; ranges from creation ('let there be') to divine self-revelation ('I AM')[3].
Conceptual SignificanceAs the most frequent verb in the Hebrew Bible (~3,561 occurrences), הָיָה undergirds reality's dependence on God's word, from Genesis creation to prophetic fulfillment; links to YHWH's name ('I AM,' Exodus 3:14), affirming divine eternal existence and presence with Israel; narrative form וַיְהִי structures biblical history as divine sequence[3].
Morphological NotesHC/Vqw3mp: Vav-conjunctive + yiqtol (prefix conjugation) 3mp with waw-conversive, functioning as perfective past tense; Qal stem (simple active); occurs 105 times in this form[lexeme data].
Rendering RationaleThis rendering preserves the root's core sense of dynamic 'becoming' or 'coming into existence' rather than static 'were,' reflecting הָיָה's emphatic nature as a verb of occurrence and transformation[3]. The morphology HC/Vqw3mp is captured with 'they' for 3mp and 'came-to-be' for the waw-consecutive Qal perfect, indicating sequential past action in narrative[1][3]. It maintains the conjunctive 'and' from the vav.

AI-generated (perplexity/sonar-pro)

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

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
+ Add Bantu Hebrew Word
← Back to Numbers 26:21