Definition

to be (in the sense of existence)

Etymology

or הָוָה; a primitive root (compare H183 (אָוָה), H1961 (הָיָה)) supposed to mean properly, to breathe;

Where the KJV renders it

• be
• have

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.