הבה

הבה

Hebrew

Etymology

The root of this word is י־ה־ב. Compare Aramaic יְהַב‎ (“to give”).

Verb

הָבָה • (háva) m sg (pa'al construction, feminine singular הָבִי‎, masculine plural הָבוּ‎)

1. Let's: used before first-person plural future-tense verbs to invite someone to join in an action
   • Genesis 11:4, with translation of the King James Version:

     הבה נבנה לנו עיר

     Go to, let us build us a city

   • Exodus 1:10, with translation of the King James Version:

     הָבָה נִּתְחַכְּמָה לוֹ

     Come on, let us deal wisely with them

   • c. 1918, "Hava nagila":

   הבה נגילה ונשמחה

2. Used before first-person singular future-tense verbs to indicate an intent to perform an action soon
3. give
   • Genesis 30:1:

     הָבָה לִּי בָנִים

   • Genesis 29:21, with translation of the New International Version:

     ‏וַיֹּאמֶר יַעֲקֹב אֶל־לָבָן הָבָה אֶת־אִשְׁתִּי כִּי מָלְאוּ יָמָי וְאָבֹואָה אֵלֶֽיהָ׃‎‎

     Then Jacob said to Laban, “Give me my wife. My time is completed, and I want to make love to her.”

   • Judges 1:15:

     הָבָה לִּי בְרָכָה

Usage notes

• This is a defective irregular verb found only in the imperative (and for the masculine singular, especially the long imperative). The rare masculine singular short imperative form is הַב‎.
• In the Bible, the stress in the bisyllabic forms varies between ultimate and penultimate. In modern usage, it is nearly always penultimate.