The consecutive perfect

The flow of Deuteronomy 6

In the last lesson the consecutive imperfect carried a past story. Now we meet its mirror image, the form that carries on a command, a future or a habit. The best-known passage is Deuteronomy 6.

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

Deuteronomy 6:4

The first word, שְׁמַע ("shema", "hear"), is a command. We will study commands in the next lesson. Look at what follows straight after it.

And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.

Deuteronomy 6:5

The first word, וְאָהַבְתָּ ("ve'ahavta"), means "and you will love", which the BSB renders "And you shall love". It has the perfect ending ־תָּ ("ta", "you"), with וְ ("ve", "and") in front. The panel labels it "conjunction, consecutive … consecutive perfect".

Shape and meaning

A consecutive perfect is וְ + a perfect. The endings are the ones you learned for the perfect (־תָּ "you", ־תִּי "I", ־וּ "they"), and the וְ stands in front. Compare the consecutive imperfect of the last lesson, which began with וַ + a prefix (י, ת, א or נ). So you can tell them apart from the front and the back of the word: a start of וַ + prefix is a consecutive imperfect, and a start of וְ with perfect endings at the back is a consecutive perfect.

A consecutive perfect continues a command, a future or a habit that has already been set up. It is usually translated "and you shall…" or "and it will…". We say "usually" because context decides. Why a perfect should carry a future sense is explained in different ways by scholars, exactly as with the consecutive imperfect; a beginner can follow the shape and the panel's label first.

Deuteronomy 6:6-7 and Psalm 23:6

These words I am commanding you today are to be upon your hearts.

Deuteronomy 6:6

וְהָיוּ ("vehayu") means "and they will be". The verb "be" (הָיָה) occurs more than 3,500 times in the Old Testament. You met its consecutive imperfect וַיְהִי in the last lesson: in a story it is past, in a command or promise the same verb appears as וְהָיוּ.

And you shall teach them diligently to your children and speak of them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.

Deuteronomy 6:7

"Teach them" is וְשִׁנַּנְתָּם and "speak" is וְדִבַּרְתָּ. Both are consecutive perfects, and the parents' duties follow one after another. The stem is Piel, which comes later, so for now notice only the ending ־תָּ (the final ם of וְשִׁנַּנְתָּם is a suffix, "them").

Psalm 23 closes with one as well.

Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.

Psalm 23:6

וְשַׁבְתִּי ("veshavti") reads literally "and I will return". The verb "return" (שׁוּב) is found over 600 times. The word before it, יִרְדְּפוּנִי, is an imperfect pointing to the future, and וְשַׁבְתִּי carries that future on. The BSB, like most English Bibles, has "I will dwell". The ancient Greek translation (the Septuagint) also has "dwell" here, and some scholars take "return" as "return to stay". Either way, the form is a consecutive perfect continuing the future.

Telling it from plain וְ + imperfect

You will also meet וְ in front of an imperfect. That is not a consecutive perfect: it is simply a conjunction plus an imperfect, and the panel labels it "conjunction+imperfect". God's promise to Abram is a good example.

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

וְאֶעֶשְׂךָ ("ve'e'eskha") is "so I will make you". The word begins with an imperfect prefix (א "I") after the וְ, not with a perfect, so it is not a consecutive perfect. The practical advice is simple: trust the panel's label. "Consecutive perfect" means a perfect that carries on from what came before. "Conjunction+imperfect" means an ordinary imperfect with a "and" in front. In Genesis 12:3 the word וְנִבְרְכוּ ("and they will be blessed") is a consecutive perfect.

Two more words for your list: "go out" (יָצָא) and "go up" (עָלָה) each occur over 600 times. In stories you will usually meet them as consecutive imperfects, such as וַיֵּצֵא ("and he went out", Noah leaving the ark) and וַיַּעַל ("and he went up", Abram leaving Egypt).

Summary

A consecutive perfect is וְ + a perfect, labelled "consecutive perfect" in the panel. It continues a command, a future or a habit, and is usually "and you shall…" or "and it will…". Unlike the consecutive imperfect (וַ + prefix), it has the perfect's endings. וְ + imperfect is a separate label, "conjunction+imperfect". Today's words are הָיָה, שׁוּב, יָצָא and עָלָה.

Words in this lesson

• הָיָהhayahto be3,559 times in the OT
• שׁוּבshuvto return: return627 times in the OT
• יָצָאyatsato come out: come623 times in the OT
• עָלָהalahto ascend: rise617 times in the OT

Practice