Definition

to exist; used in a great variety of applications (especially in connection with other words)

Etymology

(Aramaic) or הָוָה; (Aramaic), corresponding to H1933 (הָוָא);

Where the KJV renders it

• be
• become
• behold
• came (to pass)
• cease
• cleave
• consider
• do
• give
• have
• judge
• keep
• labour
• mingle (self)
• put
• see
• seek
• set
• slay
• take heed
• tremble
• walk
• would

Every distinct English word the King James Version uses to translate this Hebrew term. The variety shows what readers in English receive across many different surface words — the same underlying word, scattered across the English Bible under different names.

What the first audience heard

A deep-dive treatment of this word is in the works. The featured chapter above carries the long form of what this word meant to its first audience.