What does Hayah mean?

Hayah (הָיָה, Strong's H1961) is a Hebrew word. Strong's defines it as to exist, i.e. be or become, come to pass (always emphatic, and not a mere copula or auxiliary). The King James Bible translates it as beacon, × altogether, be(-come), accomplished, committed, like), break, cause, come (to pass), do, faint, fall, follow, happen, × have, last, pertain, quit (one-) self, require, × use.

What is the Strong's number for Hayah?

The Strong's number for Hayah (הָיָה) is H1961. It is a Hebrew word from Strong's public-domain dictionary keyed to the King James Bible.

Bible word study

Hayah (Strong’s H1961): Meaning in the Bible

Hayah (הָיָה) is the Hebrew word numbered H1961 in Strong’s concordance of the Bible. Strong’s defines it as to exist, i.e. be or become, come to pass (always emphatic, and not a mere copula or auxiliary). In the King James Bible it is translated beacon, be(-come), accomplished, committed, like).

הָיָה

hâyâh · Hebrew

Strong’s H1961 · haw-yaw

Original wordהָיָה
Transliterationhâyâh
Pronunciationhaw-yaw
Part of speechverb (v)
Strong’s numberH1961
LanguageHebrew

The full Strong’s definition

to exist, i.e. be or become, come to pass (always emphatic, and not a mere copula or auxiliary)

Derivation. a primitive root (compare H1933);

How the King James Bible translates it

beacon, × altogether, be(-come), accomplished, committed, like), break, cause, come (to pass), do, faint, fall, follow, happen, × have, last, pertain, quit (one-) self, require, × use. (The × marks places where the word shapes the phrasing rather than being rendered by a single English word.)

Where Hayah appears in the Bible

In the King James Bible’s text tagged with Strong’s numbers, Hayah (H1961) stands behind 76 English renderings in 72 verses across 21 of the 66 books. It is most frequent in Genesis (17), Exodus (11), Judges (6).

How the King James Bible renders Hayah, by count

be23 of 76 (30 percent)
done6 of 76 (8 percent)
was5 of 76 (7 percent)
been4 of 76 (5 percent)
pass3 of 76 (4 percent)
am2 of 76 (3 percent)

Three places to read Hayah

Genesis 1:2 And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.
Exodus 18:19 Hearken now unto my voice, I will give thee counsel, and God shall be with thee: Be thou for the people to God-ward, that thou mayest bring the causes unto God:
2 Samuel 9:9 Then the king called to Ziba, Saul’s servant, and said unto him, I have given unto thy master’s son all that pertained to Saul and to all his house.

Counts are made at build time from the King James text tagged with Strong’s numbers (eBible.org, public domain). Verses are read from the stored King James text, never typed.

Why the word matters

Every word the biblical writers chose carries weight. Studying Hayah in the original Hebrew lets you read the passages where it appears more carefully, closer to what the first hearers understood, so the meaning is drawn from the text itself rather than from the English alone.

The lexical data on this page comes from the public-domain Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890), a Hebrew and Greek dictionary keyed to the King James Bible. It is a reference tool, not a settled verdict: no single word decides a doctrine, and meaning is finally shaped by how a word is used in its sentences. Read the passages themselves, prayerfully, and in full.

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