היה

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

הָיָה • (hayá) (pa'al construction)

1. to be: to exist
   • 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
   • Leviticus 26:12, with translation of the Jewish Publication Society:

     ‏וְהִתְהַלַּכְתִּי בְּתוֹכְכֶם וְהָיִיתִי לָכֶם לֵאלֹהִים וְאַתֶּם תִּהְיוּ־לִי לְעָם׃‎‎

     v'hithalakhtí 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.

   ‏הבית היה אדום‎

   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

   ‏אם יהיה לי‎

   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.

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

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