וַ/יְהִ֣י
𐤅/𐤉𐤄𐤉
hâyâh
And it came to pass
To be, to exist, to happen, to take place; expresses existence, state of being, occurrence, or coming into a particular state. Used for describing the state or process of being, becoming, or coming to pass; also to indicate the occurrence of events or conditions, and, in certain syntactic contexts, serves as a linking or existential verb.
2 Samuel 17:21 · Word #1
Lexicon H1961
| Lemma | הָיָה |
| Lemma (Paleo) | 𐤄𐤉𐤄 |
| Transliteration | hâyâh |
| Strong's | H1961 |
| Definition | To be, to exist, to happen, to take place; expresses existence, state of being, occurrence, or coming into a particular state. Used for describing the state or process of being, becoming, or coming to pass; also to indicate the occurrence of events or conditions, and, in certain syntactic contexts, serves as a linking or existential verb. |
Morphology HC/Vqw3ms
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 | s — Singular — Singular |
Common Translation
| Phrase | And it came to pass |
SIBI-P1 Translation H1961-75
and he became
| Morphological Notes | Verb, Qal stem, sequential imperfect (wayyiqtol), 3rd person masculine singular with prefixed conjunction ו. |
| Rendering Rationale | The root היה denotes being or becoming. In Qal sequential imperfect 3ms with prefixed ו, the form conveys a past narrative progression of becoming or coming into a state, hence "and he became," preserving both the sequential force and masculine singular morphology. |
View full lexicon entry for H1961 →
SILEX v2
SIBI-P2 (Context-Aware)
and it came to pass
| Same as P1 | No — adjusted for context |
| Rationale | P2 adjusts for natural narrative flow and context. The phrase 'and it came to pass' is the standard contextual rendering for וַיְהִי in narrative Hebrew, matching both the common translation and the SILEX definition of a state or occurrence. |