BibleWiki

בְּהֵעָצֵ֥ר שָׁמַ֛יִםplugin-autotooltip__default plugin-autotooltip_bigשָׁמַיִם

hebrew

Meanings:

* Heaven or heavens * Sky * Compass

Masculine noun. The word is dual in form (ending in -ַיִם) which normally indicates two things (like eyes and hands), however, however it functions as a plural. Deuteronomy 10:14 states that Genesis 1:20Psalm 115:3 וְלֹא יִהְיֶ֥הplugin-autotooltip__default plugin-autotooltip_bigהָיָה

hebrew

The word הָיָה means “to exist” or “to be” or “to become” or “to come into being” and occurs 3561 times in the Old Testament.

This is the foundational verb of existence, identity, becoming and occurrence.

* It is used in the creation narrative of Genesis 1, represented by the English words Genesis 1:3Exodus 3:12Ruth 1:1Isaiah 2:2 מָטָ֖ר כִּ֣י יֶחֶטְאוּ לָ֑ךְ וְהִֽתְפַּֽלְל֞וּ אֶל הַמָּק֤וֹם הַזֶּה֙ וְהוֹד֣וּ אֶתplugin-autotooltip__default plugin-autotooltip_bigאֵת

hebrew

The Hebrew אֵת word does not have a corresponding word in English. In Hebrew, it is a marker of the accusative, i.e. the word following it is the object of the sentence.

For example, in Genesis 1:1 the word is preceded by בָּרָ֣א אֱלֹהִ֑ים ( שְׁמֶ֔ךָ וּמֵחַטָּאתָ֥ם יְשׁוּב֖וּן כִּ֥י תַעֲנֵֽם