Hebrew Form Guide

וַֽיְדַבְּרֵ֖ם (way·ḏab·bə·rêm) in 1 Samuel 8:21: Conjunctive waw | Verb - Piel - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular | third person masculine plural

וַֽיְדַבְּרֵ֖ם (way·ḏab·bə·rêm) in 1 Samuel 8:21

Source Word

וַֽיְדַבְּרֵ֖םway·ḏab·bə·rêmConjunctive waw | Verb - Piel - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular | third person masculine plural

First Samuel 8:21 row 7 aligns the H1696 form with and repeated them after Samuel listens to all the people's words.

How The Form Affects Interpretation

And repeated them shows Samuel faithfully bringing the people's words before the Lord without confusing reporting with approval. And reflects the narrative waw, repeated conveys Samuel's act of speaking the content again, and them renders the plural suffix referring to the people's words.

How To Communicate It

Identify Samuel as agent and the people's words as suffix-marked content, then follow the narrative from listening through report to the Lord's answer.

What Not To Say

  • Grammatical form should serve context, not override it.
  • Do not infer divine ignorance from Samuel's report or confuse transmitting a request with endorsing it.
  • The plural suffix points to the words just mentioned, not to the people as direct objects.
  • The form does not imply that the Lord lacked knowledge, that Samuel endorsed the demand, or that repeated guarantees a word-for-word transcript.

What Does The Label Mean?

Profile

Hebrew-verb

Part of Speech

Verb

Form Label

Conjunctive waw | Verb - Piel - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular | third person masculine plural

Stem

Piel

Aspect

ConsecImperf

Person

Third

Gender

Masculine

Number

Singular

State

Not applicable

Attached Prefixes

Waw conjunction

Suffix

Third person masculine plural

Aspect Note

The waw-linked Piel consecutive imperfect advances the narrative with Samuel as the masculine singular speaker, and the attached third-person masculine plural suffix refers to all the people's words that he repeated before the Lord.

Verse Role

The form presents Samuel carrying the people's words into the Lord's presence and preserves the plural content represented by them.

What The Form Does In This Verse

Attached To

Samuel's listening to the people's full demand for a king

Governed By

The sequence in which Samuel hears their words, reports them in the Lord's hearing, and then receives the Lord's response

Role In The Phrase

The form presents Samuel carrying the people's words into the Lord's presence and preserves the plural content represented by them.

What It Is Not Doing

The form does not imply that the Lord lacked knowledge, that Samuel endorsed the demand, or that repeated guarantees a word-for-word transcript.

How Much The Form Matters Here

Interpretive Weight

High: The form marks Samuel's mediating act between the people's demand and the Lord's response.

Syntax Profile

The waw-linked Piel consecutive imperfect advances the narrative with Samuel as the masculine singular speaker, and the attached third-person masculine plural suffix refers to all the people's words that he repeated before the Lord.. The form presents Samuel carrying the people's words into the Lord's presence and preserves the plural content represented by them.. Attached to Samuel's listening to the people's full demand for a king. Governed by the sequence in which Samuel hears their words, reports them in the Lord's hearing, and then receives the Lord's response. The form does not imply that the Lord lacked knowledge, that Samuel endorsed the demand, or that repeated guarantees a word-for-word transcript.

Reader Question

What does Samuel repeat in the hearing of the Lord? He reports all the people's words and their demand for a king, without the grammar indicating his approval.

Translation Effect

Direct: And reflects the narrative waw, repeated conveys Samuel's act of speaking the content again, and them renders the plural suffix referring to the people's words.

Where Caution Is Needed

The plural suffix points to the words just mentioned, not to the people as direct objects. Repeated describes faithful reporting in context without requiring a claim of exact verbal duplication.

Fallacies To Avoid

Conj-w | V-Piel-ConsecImperf-3ms | 3mp at 1 Samuel 8:21 treated as the whole interpretation: Do not infer divine ignorance from Samuel's report or confuse transmitting a request with endorsing it. Samuel's repetition treated as endorsement of the people's demand or as information the Lord did not already know: Keep "and repeated them" connected to וַֽיְדַבְּרֵ֖ם, row 7, and the full 1 Samuel 8:21 clause.

How The Interpretation Is Derived

Textual Witness

First Samuel 8:21 row 7 aligns the H1696 form with and repeated them after Samuel listens to all the people's words.

Lexical Identity

This row 7 H1696 witness is Samuel's report of plural words before the Lord, distinct from David's overheard conversation in First Samuel 17:28.

Grammar In Context

The waw-linked Piel consecutive imperfect advances the narrative with Samuel as the masculine singular speaker, and the attached third-person masculine plural suffix refers to all the people's words that he repeated before the Lord.

Passage Meaning

First Samuel 8:21 places the people's demand before the Lord through Samuel before the Lord instructs him to heed them and warn them about kingship.

Canonical Fit

The reporting belongs to Israel's contested request for a king and Samuel's prophetic mediation; it should be read with the Lord's prior warning and ensuing command.

Communication Use

Identify Samuel as agent and the people's words as suffix-marked content, then follow the narrative from listening through report to the Lord's answer.

Do Not Derive

Do not infer divine ignorance from Samuel's report or confuse transmitting a request with endorsing it.