וְאָ֣הַבְתָּ֔ (wə·’ā·haḇ·tā) in Deuteronomy 6:5: Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Conjunctive perfect - second person masculine singular
וְאָ֣הַבְתָּ֔ (wə·’ā·haḇ·tā) in Deuteronomy 6:5
Source Word
The BSB+ row for Deuteronomy 6:5 links the English rendering "And you shall love" with וְאָ֣הַבְתָּ֔, Strong's H157, and the morphology tag Conj-w | V-Qal-ConjPerf-2ms.
How The Form Affects Interpretation
The form helps readers hear Deuteronomy 6:5 as a direct covenant command. Love is not left vague; it is addressed to the hearer and aimed toward the Lord.
How To Communicate It
When teaching Deuteronomy 6:5, use this form to show how the command lands personally on the hearer before the verse describes heart, soul, and strength.
What Not To Say
- Grammar should serve context, not override it.
- Do not reduce love to emotion when the verse frames it as covenant response.
- Do not make the second-person form erase the corporate setting of Israel being addressed.
What Does The Label Mean?
Hebrew-verb
Verb
Qal
Conjunctive perfect
Second
Masculine
Singular
Conjunctive waw
Conjunctive waw with Qal perfect, second masculine singular
The form gives the command its direct second-person address: you shall love.
This form states the covenant response required of Israel after the confession of Deuteronomy 6:4.
What The Form Does In This Verse
Israel addressed as you
The verb begins the command after the confession and governs the response toward the Lord your God.
It expresses covenant love as commanded response, not only inward feeling. The second-person form lets the reader see the directness of the address.
The form does not reduce love to emotion or make obedience automatic. Context should guide interpretation and not be overridden by a grammar label.
How Much The Form Matters Here
High: The form carries the direct command to love the Lord in one of Scripture's central covenant summaries.
Conjunctive waw with Qal conjunctive perfect second masculine singular. commands the hearer to love the Lord with whole-person devotion. Attached to the addressed covenant hearer. Governed by the command sequence following the confession of Deuteronomy 6:4. The second-person masculine singular form addresses Israel in covenant setting and should not erase the corporate audience.
What covenant response is commanded? The hearer is commanded to love the Lord with heart, soul, and strength.
Direct: The form directly supports command wording such as "you shall love."
The second-person masculine singular form gives direct address and should not be limited to males only. Qal identifies the stem; covenant love is defined by the verse and passage. The waw connects the command to the confession and covenant instruction around it.
Masculine singular means only men are addressed: The form uses Hebrew covenant-address grammar and should be read within Israel's corporate hearing. Qal means simple love: The stem label does not reduce covenant love to a simple emotion or grammar category.
How The Interpretation Is Derived
The BSB+ row for Deuteronomy 6:5 links the English rendering "And you shall love" with וְאָ֣הַבְתָּ֔, Strong's H157, and the morphology tag Conj-w | V-Qal-ConjPerf-2ms.
H157 can describe love, affection, and covenant attachment depending on the relationship and context.
The second masculine singular form addresses Israel as a covenant hearer and gives the command personal force.
After confessing the Lord, Israel is commanded to love him with the whole heart, soul, and strength.
Deuteronomy 6:5 becomes a central summary of covenant love and is later cited by Jesus as part of the great commandment.
Teachers can show that the Hebrew form makes the command personal: not love in the abstract, but you shall love the Lord.
Do not use the grammar label alone to define biblical love. The whole verse and covenant setting supply the meaning.