וְהָיוּ לְאֹתֹת וּלְמוֹעֲדִים וּלְיָמִים וְשָׁנִים

[Ali Smith]

שלום

וַיֹּאמֶר אֱלֹהִים יְהִי מְאֹרֹת בִּרְקִיעַ הַשָּׁמַיִם לְהַבְדִּיל בֵּין הַיּוֹם וּבֵין הַלָּיְלָה וְהָיוּ לְאֹתֹת וּלְמוֹעֲדִים וּלְיָמִים וְשָׁנִים.

Then God said, “Let lights appear in the sky to separate the day from the night. Let them be signs to mark the seasons, days, and years.

Could somebody please tell me what the meaning of the preposition ל after the verb הָיוּ is?

אני מודה לכם מאוד

 

[Drink]

להיות ל essentially gives the sense of "to become".

 

[Ali Smith]

Thanks! So, the translation should be "Let them become", not "Let them be", right?

 

[Drink]

More like "and they shall become". But note that the distinction in English between "be" and "become" in this context is virtually nonexistent. It's perfectly correct to translate as "be" rather than "become".

 

[JAN SHAR]

So, להיות means to be and להיות ל means to become. So, must you translate the following lines differently?

תהיה נגיד על עמי ישראל
תהיה לנגיד על ישראל

I found it in

גם־תמול גם־שלשום גם בהיות שאול מלך אתה המוציא והמביא את־ישראל ויאמר יהוה אלהיך לך אתה תרעה את־עמי את־ישראל ואתה תהיה נגיד על עמי ישראל׃

גם אתמול גם שלשום בהיות שאול מלך עלינו אתה הייתה מוציא והמבי [היית המוציא והמביא] את ישראל ויאמר יהוה לך אתה תרעה את עמי את ישראל ואתה תהיה לנגיד על ישראל

Should we translate the first one "You will be a leader" and the second "You will become a leader"?

 

[Drink]

Not necessarily. The difference is very subtle, and does not necessarily reflect the same nuance as English.

 

[JAN SHAR]

Where did you get "to mark" from, Ali Smith? What Hebrew word does it represent?

 

[GeriReshef]

Where did you get "to mark" from, Ali Smith? What Hebrew word does it represent?

והיו ל = "to become" or "to mark" or better - "to become a mark"..
Literally it is written that the sun and the moon will become years and months and holidays etc; but it doesn't make sense. The meaning is that they will become the marks or the signs for years (=sun), new months (=when the moon disappears) and to holidays (=when the moon is full).

 

[Ali Smith]

GeriReshef is right. I should have translated it as follows:

וַיֹּ֣אמֶר אֱלֹהִ֗ים יְהִ֤י מְאֹרֹת֙ בִּרְקִ֣יעַ הַשָּׁמַ֔יִם לְהַבְדִּ֕יל בֵּ֥ין הַיּ֖וֹם וּבֵ֣ין הַלָּ֑יְלָה וְהָי֤וּ לְאֹתֹת֙ וּלְמ֣וֹעֲדִ֔ים וּלְיָמִ֖ים וְשָׁנִֽים׃
(בראשית א יד)

And God said, "Let there be lights in the firmament of the sky to separate the day from the night, and (then) let them become signs and appointed times and days and years."

As discussed here, qal היה followed by the preposition ל means 'to become', not 'to be for'.