[←138]
The verb(from Strong’s H1961, hâyâh, meaning “to be”) is presented in an imperfect form, referring to an ongoing state of existence, and not alluding to a beginning, as implied by the interlinear “becoming” text; neither should the verb be rendered as a “shall” permissive mandate or a “will” predictive permissive statement, as presented in popular English translations (see Table 2a).