Joshua 16:5:1Josh.16.5.W1TAB

וַיְהִ֛י

vayehi

and it was

Transliteration
va-ye-HI
Extended
vah-yeh-HEE
IPA
/vajəˈhiː/

Meaning by language

English
and it was

Hebrew · tap a syllable to hear it

Result
וַ + יְ + הִ֛י
va + ye + hi
vayehi

Alphabet Analysis

Vavv as in vine; marks long ō / ū
Patachshort 'ah' as in father
Yody as in yes; marks long ī
Shevavocal sheva — a short 'e' (ə), begins a syllable
Heh as in house; silent at word end
Hireq'ee' as in machine
Yody as in yes; marks long ī

Tap any letter to hear its name and sound

Vowels (Niqqud)

Now you try — trace the word:

The word

Word in context

  1. word

    va-ye-HI

  2. clause

    va-ye-HI ge-VUL be-NEI-ef-RA-yim le-mish-pe-KHO-tam

  3. sentence

    va-ye-HI ge-VUL be-NEI-ef-RA-yim le-mish-pe-KHO-tam va-ye-HI ge-VUL na-ha-la-TAM miz-RA-kha at-ROT a-DAR ad-BEIT kho-RON el-YON

Exegesis

The narrative employs the formulaic vayhi {וַיְהִי | way·hî} ‘and it was’ to introduce each enumeration, establishing a patterned outline.

In contextJoshua 16:5

And the border of the sons of Ephraim, according to their clans , was as follows: The border of their inheritance was eastward from Ataroth Addar to Upper Beth Horon.

About this coordinate

Joshua 16:5:1 is a BCV:P reference — Book · Chapter · Verse · Word Position. It addresses word 1 of Joshua 16:5, so the Hebrew word וַיְהִ֛י (vayehi) can be cited, linked and studied at exactly this position rather than somewhere in the verse. In the Biblical Knowledge Coordinate System the same position is written Josh.16.5.W1, which extends further down to each syllable (Josh.16.5.W1.S1) and character.