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Be

Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible

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BE . To be is to exist, as in ‘To be, or not to be, that is the question.’ This primary meaning is found in Genesis 5:24 ‘Enoch walked with God; and he was not’; Hebrews 11:6 ‘he that cometh to God must believe that he is.’ The auxiliary use is later. In 1611 ‘be’ and ‘are’ were interchangeable auxiliary forms in the pres. indic, plu., as Psalms 107:30 ‘Then are they glad because they be quiet.’