B-Y-ʾ is the root of comfort. To comfort is to come alongside a mourner and help them keep standing, without fixing the loss or explaining it away. In the Peshitta it carries the Beatitude's promise, they will be comforted, and in Luke it names the comfort the rich have already had.
| Form | Pattern | Transliteration | Script | Standard | Qala rendering |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| bayya | doubled-stem verb | bayya | ביא ܒܝܐ | to comfort | to comfort |
| netbayyaun | passive, imperfect | netbayyaun | נתביאון ܢܬܒܝܐܘܢ | they shall be comforted | they will be comforted (Mt 5:4) |
| buyyaa | noun | buyyaa | בויאא ܒܘܝܐܐ | consolation | comfort (Lk 6:24, "your comfort") |
In the Gospels the root appears in the Paʿʿel, bayya, to comfort or console, and in its passive, the Ethpaʿʿal netbayyaun, they will be comforted, the Beatitude's promise (Matthew 5:4).
Think of one grief you cannot fix, yours or someone else's. Say over it, "You will be comforted," without naming who will do it, then say bayya, comfort, aloud.