Um, the 9th word of The torah is היתה, from the root היה. It is not often used in copula in the present tense, either in biblical or modern Hebrew, where the "verbless sentence" is preferred. There are those that even argue that the tetragrammaton itself is derived from this root. See also the response God gives Moshe when asked for a name: "אהיה אשר אהיה."