hava · be, become

What it means

hava (הָוָא) is an Aramaic word of the Bible that means “be, become”.

To be, to become, to happen (Aramaic). Related to the Hebrew "haya".

How to say it

Approximate pronunciation. Vowels sound as in Spanish (a as in father, e as in bed, i as in machine, o as in note, u as in rule); the syllable in bold is stressed. The voice is your device's.

Its senses in the Bible

1. To exist, be or happen; with another verb, shows something ongoing (Aramaic).

From Brown-Driver-Briggs (1906)

Word study

To be, become, happen; it is the Aramaic verb that corresponds to the Hebrew הָיָה (H1961), with its own note. It appears only in the Aramaic parts of Ezra and Daniel. With a participle it forms an ongoing action: was looking, was doing.

• “I was looking”: the ongoing action in the visions Daniel 7:2Daniel 7:9Daniel 4:10
• What will be Daniel 2:28Daniel 2:45
• “Will be”: the announcement of a kingdom Daniel 2:40Daniel 7:23
• “Let it be known” to the king Ezra 4:12Ezra 4:13
• “May the name of Elah be blessed” Daniel 2:20

How we translate it

It varies with its function: “will be” 11 times, “be” 10, “was” 9, “let it be” 5. When it goes with another verb it merges with it: “I was looking” (11 times, the visions of Daniel), “he wished” (Daniel 5:19). It is not given a word of its own, so that the English does not sound forced.

How it is translated

The words this translation uses for it, most frequent first.

• I was looking ×11
• will be ×11
• be ×10
• was ×9
• let it be ×5
• he wished ×4
• became ×2
• may ×2
• were looking ×2
• carry out ×1
• others ×14

Where it appears

• Ezra×16
• Daniel×55

• Ezra 4:12

  let it be known to the king that the Jews who came up from you have come to us, to Jerusalem; they are building the rebellious and wicked city, and they are finishing the walls and repairing the foundations.

• Ezra 4:13

  Now let it be known to the king that if that city is built and the walls are finished, they will not pay tribute, tax, or toll, and it will cause harm to the treasury of kings.

• Ezra 4:20

  And there were mighty kings over Jerusalem and ruling over all the other side of the river, and tribute, tax, and toll were paid to them.

• Ezra 4:22

  And be careful of negligence in acting on this. Why should the damage grow to the harm of kings?”

• Ezra 4:24

  Then the work of the house of Elah which is in Jerusalem ceased, and it remained stopped until the second year of the reign of Darius king of Persia.

• Ezra 5:5

  But the eye of their Elah was upon the elders of the Jews, and they did not make them cease until the report should go to Darius and then they should return a letter about this.

• Ezra 5:8

  Let it be known to the king that we went to the province of Judah, to the house of the great Elah; and it is being built with great stones, and timber is being laid in the walls; and that work is being done with diligence and prospers in their hands.

• Ezra 5:11

  And thus they returned an answer to us, saying: ‘We are the servants of the Elah of the heavens and the earth, and we are building the house that was built many years before this; and a great king of Israel built it and finished it.

• Ezra 6:6

  “Now, Tattenai, governor of the other side of the river, Shethar-bozenai, and their companions, the Apharsachites who are in the other side of the river: keep away from there.

• Ezra 6:8

  And by me an order is given concerning what you shall do with these elders of the Jews for the building of that house of Elah: from the goods of the king, which are from the tribute of the other side of the river, with diligence let the cost be paid to these men, so that there be no stoppage.

• Ezra 6:9

  And whatever is needed, young bulls, rams, and lambs for burnt offerings to the Elah of the heavens, wheat, salt, wine, and oil, according to the word of the priests who are in Jerusalem, let it be given to them day by day without negligence,

• Ezra 6:10

  so that they may be offering offerings of pleasing aroma to the Elah of the heavens and praying for the life of the king and his sons.

• Ezra 7:23

  All that is by the order of the Elah of the heavens, let it be done exactly for the house of the Elah of the heavens; for why should there be anger upon the kingdom of the king and his sons?

• Ezra 7:25

  And you, Ezra, according to the wisdom of your Elah which is in your hand, appoint magistrates and judges who may judge all the people who are in the other side of the river, all who know the laws of your Elah; and whoever does not know them, you shall make them known.

• Ezra 7:26

  And whoever does not carry out the law of your Elah and the law of the king, with diligence let judgment be executed on him, whether for death, or for uprooting, or for a fine of goods, or for imprisonment.”

• Daniel 2:20

  Daniel answered and said, “May the name of Elah be blessed from everlasting and to everlasting, for wisdom and power are his.

• Daniel 2:28

  But there is an Elah in the heavens who reveals mysteries, and he has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will be in the last days. Your dream and the visions of your head on your bed are these:

• Daniel 2:29

  You, O king, your thoughts on your bed came up about what will be after this; and the one who reveals mysteries has made known to you what will be.

• Daniel 2:31

  You, O king, were looking, and look, a great image was there, that image was large and its brightness extraordinary; it stood before you, and its appearance was terrifying.

• Daniel 2:34

  You were looking until a stone was cut out, not by hands, and it struck the image on its feet of iron and clay, and crushed them.

• Daniel 2:35

  Then were crushed all together the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold, and they became like the chaff of the threshing floors of summer; and the wind carried them away, and no place was found for them. And the stone that struck the image became a great mountain and filled all the earth.

• Daniel 2:40

  And a fourth kingdom will be strong as iron, inasmuch as iron crushes and shatters everything; and like iron that smashes, it will crush and smash all these.

• Daniel 2:41

  And as you saw the feet and the toes, partly potter’s clay and partly iron, the kingdom will be divided; and some of the firmness of iron will be in it, inasmuch as you saw the iron mixed with muddy clay.

• Daniel 2:42

  And the toes of the feet partly iron and partly clay, part of the kingdom will be strong and part of it will be brittle.

• Daniel 2:43

  And as you saw the iron mixed with muddy clay, they will mix themselves with the offspring of men, but they will not hold together, this one with that one, just as iron does not mix with clay.

• Daniel 2:45

  Inasmuch as you saw that from the mountain a stone was cut out, not by hands, and it crushed the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold, a great Elah has made known to the king what will be after this. And the dream is certain, and its interpretation trustworthy.”

• Daniel 3:18

  But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that your gods we do not serve, and to the image of gold that you set up we will not bow down.”

• Daniel 4:4

  I, Nebuchadnezzar, was at ease in my house and flourishing in my palace.

• Daniel 4:10

  And these were the visions of my head on my bed: I was looking, and look, a tree in the midst of the earth, and its height was great.

• Daniel 4:13

  I was looking in the visions of my head on my bed, and look, a watcher, and a holy one, was coming down from the heavens.

• Daniel 4:25

  that you will be driven away from men, and with the animals of the field your dwelling will be, and grass like oxen you will be made to eat, and with the dew of the heavens you will be drenched, and seven times will pass over you, until you know that Illaya rules over the kingdom of men, and to whomever he wishes he gives it.

• Daniel 4:27

  Therefore, O king, may my counsel be pleasing to you: break off your sins by righteousness and your iniquities by showing mercy to the poor; perhaps there may be a lengthening of your prosperity.”

• Daniel 4:29

  At the end of twelve months he was walking on the palace of the kingdom of Babylon.

• Daniel 5:17

  Then Daniel answered and said before the king, “Let your gifts be for yourself, and give your rewards to another; nevertheless I will read the writing to the king and make known to him the interpretation.

• Daniel 5:19

  and because of the greatness that he gave him, all the peoples, nations, and languages were trembling and fearing before him; whom he wished he killed, and whom he wished he kept alive, and whom he wished he raised up, and whom he wished he brought low.

• Daniel 5:29

  Then Belshazzar gave the word, and they clothed Daniel with purple, and put a necklace of gold on his neck, and they proclaimed concerning him that he would be ruler as third in the kingdom.

• Daniel 6:1

  It seemed good to Darius to set over the kingdom a hundred and twenty satraps, who would be throughout the kingdom,

• Daniel 6:2

  and over them three supervisors, of whom Daniel was one, so that these satraps might give them account, and the king might not suffer loss.

• Daniel 6:3

  Then this Daniel was distinguishing himself above the supervisors and the satraps, because an extraordinary spirit was in him, and the king was planning to set him over all the kingdom.

• Daniel 6:4

  Then the supervisors and the satraps were seeking to find a pretext against Daniel in regard to the kingdom; but they could find no pretext or fault, because he was faithful, and no negligence or fault was found in him.

And 31 more times.