Original Word: הָוָא
Part of Speech: Verb
Transliteration: hava'
Pronunciation: hah-vah
Phonetic Spelling: (hav-aw')
KJV: 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
NASB: kept, take place, became, beware, continued, had, have
Word Origin: [corresponding to H193 (אוּל - Mighty)3]

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

become, behold, came to pass, cease, cleave, consider, do,

(Aramaic) orhavah (Aramaic) {hav-aw'}; corresponding to hava'; to exist; used in a great variety of applications (especially in connection with other words) -- 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.

see HEBREW hava'

Word Origin
(Aramaic) corresponding to havah
Definition
to become, come to pass, be
NASB Translation
became (2), beware (1), continued (1), had (1), have (1), judge* (1), kept (8), ruled (1), take place (4).

הֲוָא, הֲוָּה₇₁

verb come to pass, become, be (Biblical Hebrew הָיָה); —

Pe`al Perfect3masculine singular הֲוָה Daniel 4:26 +, הֲוָא Daniel 5:19 +; 2 masculine singular הֲוַיְתָ Daniel 2:31,34, 1singular הֲוֵית Daniel 4:1 +; 3 masculine plural הֲווֺ Daniel 2:35 +; Imperfect3masculine singular לֶהֱוֵא (K^{§ 47, l}) b) Dr^{§ 204 Obs.} Nö^{M 215 ff.}; in Jewish-Aramaic as jussive D^{§ 61, lc}) Daniel 2:20 +; 3 feminine singular תֶּהֱוֵה Daniel 4:24 +, אֵ֯ Ezra 6:8 +, 3 masculine plural לֶהֱוֺן Ezra 6:10 6t., 3 feminine plural לֶהֶוְיָן Daniel 5:17; Imperative masculine plural הֱווֺ Ezra 4:22, הֲזוֺ Ezra 6:6; —

1 come to pass Daniel 2:28,29 (twice in verse); Daniel 2:45.

2 come into being, arise Ezra 7:23; become, come to be, with predicate noun Daniel 4:24; Daniel 5:29 and ( = represent) Daniel 7:23; with כְּ like Daniel 2:35 a, with ל predicate Daniel 2:35 b, with adjective predicate Ezra 6:6, with adverb phrase Ezra 5:5; Daniel 4:22; often periphrastic, with participle: ׳יְדִיעַ לה let become known Daniel 3:18; Ezra 4:12,13; Ezra 5:8; let it be given Ezra 6:8,9, also Ezra 7:26; Daniel 2:20.

3 be, as copula, with adjective predication Daniel 2:40,42; Daniel 7:19; so very often in periphrastic conjugation with participle, צָבֵא ׳ה wish Daniel 5:19 (4 t. in verse), ׳חָזֵה ה behold Daniel 2:31,34; Daniel 7:2,4,6 +, etc.

Linguistic and literary scope

הָוָא (hāwā) is the primary Aramaic verb of existence in Scripture, functioning as both the simple copula (“was,” “were,” “is”) and an auxiliary that shapes tense and aspect (“will be,” “became,” “came to pass”). It appears chiefly in the exilic and post-exilic books that contain extended Aramaic sections—Daniel (chapters 2 through 7) and Ezra (chapters 4 through 7)—as well as the lone Aramaic verse in Jeremiah (Jeremiah 10:11). Its distribution testifies to the rise of Imperial Aramaic as the diplomatic lingua franca of the Persian court and to the linguistic accuracy of the biblical record.

Canonical contexts

1. Daniel (45 occurrences). Hāwā punctuates the narrative, prophecy, and royal decrees:
• Daniel 3:19 “Then Nebuchadnezzar was filled with rage…”
• Daniel 4:24 “This is the interpretation, O king, and this is the decree that will befall my lord the king.”
• Daniel 6:26 “For He is the living God, and He endures forever; His kingdom will never be destroyed…”
• Daniel 7:13 “Behold, One like a Son of Man was coming with the clouds of heaven.”
2. Ezra (24 occurrences). The verb underscores official communications preserved in Aramaic:
• Ezra 4:23 “As soon as the copy of King Artaxerxes’ letter was read before Rehum…”
• Ezra 6:11 “May a beam be pulled from his house and he be lifted up impaled on it, and his house be made a dunghill…”
3. Jeremiah 10:11. A polemical proclamation against idols: “These gods, who did not make the heavens and the earth, will perish from the earth and from under these heavens.”

Theological themes of being and becoming

1. The verb regularly affirms that events unfold under divine sovereignty. When Daniel interprets dreams or visions, he states what “will be” (2:28-29, 2:45), grounding eschatology in the God who controls history.
2. In Daniel 6:26 the king’s confession—“He is the living God”—binds hāwā to God’s eternal self-existence, echoing the Hebrew “I AM” (Exodus 3:14).
3. The repeated “it came to pass” formula in royal edicts of Ezra shifts attention from human authority to the unseen hand of the LORD directing Persian policy for the restoration of His temple and people.

Sovereignty and providence in Daniel

Nebuchadnezzar “was astonished” (2:1), the furnace “was heated seven times hotter” (3:19), the kingdom “will be divided” (5:28): every state, emotion, and outcome is linguistically tethered to hāwā, reinforcing that what currently “is” or “will be” rests with the Most High who “removes kings and establishes them” (2:21). The verb thus becomes a literary thread stitching together dream, decree, and fulfillment.

Covenant and restoration in Ezra

Hāwā appears in legal documents that record resistance to rebuilding, royal investigation, and ultimate authorization. The recurrence of the verb in Ezra 5–6 shows a pattern: the opposition “was lodged” (5:6), the search “was made” (5:17), and the temple project “was finished” (6:15). The construction progress, narrated through hāwā, bears witness to covenant fidelity—what God promised through the prophets indeed “came to pass.”

Apologetic and prophetic implications

The concentration of hāwā in precise historical settings argues for the authenticity of the biblical text: its Aramaic matches known Persian-period chancery style. Prophetic authenticity is likewise supported; what Daniel said would “be” finds partial fulfillment within the book itself and foreshadows the Messiah’s kingdom that “will never be destroyed” (2:44; 7:14).

Practical ministry applications

• Assurance of God’s unchanging nature: Because the Lord “is” (Daniel 6:26), believers anchor their faith in His perpetual presence.
• Confidence in providence: The past-tense and future-tense uses of hāwā remind the church that human events are neither random nor outside divine oversight.
• Evangelistic clarity: Jeremiah 10:11 leverages the same verb to declare the destined end of false gods, encouraging clear proclamation that only the Creator truly “is.”
• Discipleship and perseverance: Just as the furnace “was heated” yet deliverance followed (Daniel 3), trials in the present age are under the governance of the One who determines what shall be.

Summary

Wherever הָוָא appears, it quietly but powerfully asserts that existence, change, and outcome reside in the hands of the living God. From court chronicles to prophetic visions, the verb of simple being becomes a witness to the grand narrative of Scripture: what God has purposed will surely be.

הֱו֛וֹ הֲו֖וֹ הֲו֛וֹ הֲו֨וֹ הֲוֵ֔ית הֲוֵ֗ית הֲוֵ֛ית הֲוֵ֜ית הֲוֵ֡ית הֲוֵית֙ הֲוַ֗יְתָ הֲוַ֙יְתָ֙ הֲוָ֑ה הֲוָ֛ת הֲוָ֣א הֲוָ֣ה הֲוָ֤ה הֲוָ֥א הֲוָ֥ה הֲוָ֥ת הֲוָ֨א הֲוָ֨ה הֲוָֽה׃ הֲוָת֙ הֲווֹ֙ הוא הוה הוה׃ הוו הוית הות וַהֲוָת֙ וַהֲווֹ֙ והוו והות לֶֽהֱוֵא֙ לֶֽהֱוֵא־ לֶֽהֶוְיָ֔ן לֶהֱוֵ֖א לֶהֱוֵ֣א לֶהֱוֵ֥א לֶהֱוֵ֨א לֶהֱוֵ֨ה לֶהֱוֵֽא׃ לֶהֱוֵא־ לֶהֱוֹ֖ן לֶהֱוֹ֞ן לֶהֱוֹ֤ן לֶהֱוֹ֥ן לֶהֱוֹ֧ן לֶהֱוֹן֙ להוא להוא־ להוא׃ להוה להוין להון תֶּהֱוֵ֔ה תֶּהֱוֵ֣א תֶּהֱוֵ֣ה תֶּהֱוֵ֥א תֶּהֱוֵ֥ה תֶּהֱוֵ֧א תהוא תהוה hă·wā hă·wāh hă·wāṯ hă·way·ṯā hă·wêṯ hă·wōw haVa haVah haVat haVayta haVeit haVo hăwā hăwāh hăwāṯ hăwayṯā hăwêṯ hăwōw hĕ·wōw heVo hĕwōw le·hĕ·wê le·hĕ·wê- le·hĕ·wêh le·hĕ·wōn le·hew·yān leheVe leheVeh leheVon lehevYan lehĕwê lehĕwê- lehĕwêh lehĕwōn lehewyān te·hĕ·wê te·hĕ·wêh teheVe teheVeh tehĕwê tehĕwêh vahaVat vahaVo wa·hă·wāṯ wa·hă·wōw wahăwāṯ wahăwōwInterlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel Texts