היה

From Proto-Semitic *hwy (“to fall, happen, be, become”).^[1]

• (Modern Israeli Hebrew) IPA^(key): /(h)aˈja/

• Audio:

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הָיָה • (hayá) (pa'al construction)

1. to be: to exist
   • Tanach, Genesis 1:3, with translation of the Jewish Publication Society:

     וַיֹּאמֶר אֱלֹהִים יְהִי אוֹר וַיְהִי־אוֹר׃

     vayómer 'elohím y'hí 'ór vay'hí-'ór.

     And God said: 'Let there be light.' And there was light.

2. to be: connects a noun to a prepositional phrase or adjective describing it
   • Tanach, Leviticus 26:12, with translation of the Jewish Publication Society:

     וְהִתְהַלַּכְתִּי בְּתוֹכְכֶם וְהָיִיתִי לָכֶם לֵאלֹהִים וְאַתֶּם תִּהְיוּ־לִי לְעָם׃

     v'hit'halakhtí b'tokh'khém v'hayíti lakhém lelohím v'atém tihyú-lí l'ám.

     And I will walk among you, and will be your God, and ye shall be My people.

   הַבַּיִת הָיָה אָדוֹם

   habáyit hayá adóm

   the house was red

3. to happen, take place, occur

   נֵס גָּדוֹל הָיָה שָׁם.

   nés gadól hayá shám.

   A great miracle happened there.

4. to be: connects a term to its definition
   • 2011, The 52nd International Mathematical Olympiad, problem 5:

     תהא ${\displaystyle f}$ פונקציה מקבוצת השלמים לקבוצת השלמים החיוביים.

     Let ${\displaystyle f}$ be a function from the set of integers to the set of positive integers.

   • 2016, The 57th International Mathematical Olympiad, problem 3:

     יהא ${\displaystyle P=A_{1}A_{2}...A_{k}}$ מצולע מישורי קמור.

     Let ${\displaystyle P=A_{1}A_{2}...A_{k}}$ be a convex polygon in the plane.

5. to be: connects a subject to a role the subject plays
6. to be: indicates ownership, possession, or the like

   אִם יִהְיֶה לִי

   im yihyé li

   if I'll have

• The present tense is usually omitted; in some cases a pronoun (such as הוא,‎ יש, or הינו) is used rather than any form of the verb.

• אֶהְיֶה אֲשֶׁר אֶהְיֶה
• הָיֹה הָיָה (hayó hayá, “once upon a time”)

• H1961 in Strong, James (1979) Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance to the Bible