Commands and wishes

Commands and wishes

The Bible is full of commands and wishes. Deuteronomy 6:4 begins with one.

Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is One.

Deuteronomy 6:4

שְׁמַע ("shema", "hear") is an imperative. It speaks straight to the listener, "you, do this", and the panel labels it "qal, imperative, second, masculine, singular". The verb "hear" (שָׁמַע) occurs about 965 times in the Old Testament. Hebrew also has special forms for a wish about a third person ("let it…") and for a wish about oneself ("let me…"). Together we will call these commands and wishes.

The imperative: to "you"

The imperative speaks to "you". Its shape is usually a short stem with no prefix, and the plural ends in ־וּ. Here is God calling Abram.

Then the LORD said to Abram, “Leave your country, your kindred, and your father’s household, and go to the land I will show you.

Genesis 12:1

לֶךְ־ ("lekh", "go") is addressed to one man, Abram, so it is singular. A command to several people uses the plural ־וּ. Look at what God says to humanity in Genesis 1:28.

God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and every creature that crawls upon the earth.”

Genesis 1:28

פְּרוּ ("peru", "be fruitful"), וּרְבוּ ("urevu", "and multiply") and וּמִלְאוּ ("umil'u", "and fill") are plural imperatives, and the second and third have "and" attached in front. Two of today's words are here: "multiply" (רָבָה) and "fill" (מָלֵא). Another is "rise" (קוּם), found about 376 times; in Genesis 13:17 God says to Abram קוּם ("kum", "arise"). As the last lesson showed, a command is often followed by consecutive perfects that carry it on.

The jussive: "let it…" for a third person

Remember the first words God speaks.

And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.

Genesis 1:3

יְהִי ("yehi") is "let there be", literally "let it be". Because it is about a third person it is not an imperative: it is a jussive. The panel labels it "imperfect … jussive". Its shape resembles the imperfect but is often a little shorter, so do not try to sort them by shape alone. Read the panel's label. The same chapter contains another.

Then God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters of the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.”

Genesis 1:22

"Let birds multiply" is יִרֶב ("yirev"), a jussive. God speaks to the sea creatures with direct commands (פְּרוּ and the rest) and to the birds with "let them multiply".

The cohortative: "let me…" for the first person

For a wish by the speaker ("let me…", "let us…", often "I will…") Hebrew uses the cohortative. It often ends in ־ָה. You can see it in the promise to Abram.

I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.

Genesis 12:2

וַאֲגַדְּלָה ("va'agadelah", "I will make great") ends in ־ָה, and the panel labels it "cohortative". So does וַאֲבָרֲכָה in Genesis 12:3, which the panel glosses "so let me bless" and the BSB renders "I will bless". The cohortative carries will and purpose. English translations often turn it into "I will". Also note וֶהְיֵה ("vehyeh") a few words on: in form it is an imperative, "and be a blessing", but the BSB renders it as the result of the promise, "so that you will be a blessing". An imperative is not always translated "do!".

Saying "do not"

A negative command is not made with the imperative. There are two usual ways: אַל + jussive, which tends to say "do not (do this now)", and לֹא + imperfect, which often says "you shall not", as a lasting prohibition. Take those as a rule of thumb, not an absolute. Both use forms you already know.

“Do not lay a hand on the boy or do anything to him,” said the angel.

Genesis 22:12

תִּשְׁלַח ("tishlach") is a jussive after אַל, so the angel says "do not stretch out" Abraham's hand. The jussive is mostly third person, but with אַל it also makes second-person prohibitions like this one. In Genesis 2:17, "you must not eat" is תֹאכַל, an imperfect after לֹא.

Summary

A command to "you" is an imperative (שְׁמַע, לֶךְ־, פְּרוּ). "Let it…" for a third person is a jussive (יְהִי). "Let me…" for the first person is a cohortative (וַאֲגַדְּלָה). A negative command uses אַל + jussive or לֹא + imperfect, never the imperative. Today's words are שָׁמַע, קוּם, רָבָה and מָלֵא. In the next lesson we meet infinitives.

Words in this lesson

• שָׁמַעshamato hear: hear965 times in the OT
• קוּםqumto arise: rise376 times in the OT
• רָבָהravahto multiply226 times in the OT
• מָלֵאmaleto fill249 times in the OT

Practice