Hebrew Form Guide

וַיּֽוֹצִיאֵ֗ם (way·yō·ṣī·ʾēm) in Ezra 1:8: Conjunctive waw | Verb - Hifil - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular | third person masculine plural

וַיּֽוֹצִיאֵ֗ם (way·yō·ṣī·ʾēm) in Ezra 1:8

Source Word

וַיּֽוֹצִיאֵ֗םway·yō·ṣī·ʾēmConjunctive waw | Verb - Hifil - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular | third person masculine plural

Ezra 1:8 token 4 is וַיּֽוֹצִיאֵ֗ם, H3318, parsed Conj-w | V-Hifil-ConsecImperf-3ms | 3mp and aligned with had them brought out.

How The Form Affects Interpretation

The causative form portrays restoration as a documented transfer: a king orders sacred property released, a treasurer counts it, and a Judean leader receives it.

How To Communicate It

Use the suffix's antecedent and the intermediary phrase to keep people, property, authority, and stewardship distinct in the account.

What Not To Say

  • Grammatical form should serve context, not override it.
  • The masculine plural suffix refers to the temple articles named in Ezra 1:7, not to the returning Judeans.
  • Cyrus authorizes the release, while Mithredath is the named official through whose hand the vessels are brought and counted.
  • A restorative act toward displaced sacred property does not erase the violence of removal or authorize uncritical praise of empire.

What Does The Label Mean?

Profile

Hebrew-verb

Part of Speech

Verb

Form Label

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

Stem

Hifil

Aspect

Consecutive imperfect

Person

Third

Gender

Masculine

Number

Singular

Attached Prefixes

Conj-w

Suffix

Third person masculine plural

Aspect Note

The consecutive Hifil presents Cyrus as causing the temple articles to be brought out, while the masculine plural suffix retrieves those articles from the preceding verse. The phrase by the hand of Mithredath names the treasurer through whom the royal order is carried out.

Verse Role

The form advances the restoration inventory by moving the Jerusalem temple vessels from royal custody toward their return under Sheshbazzar.

What The Form Does In This Verse

Attached To

The plural suffix points back to the articles from the house of the Lord that had been taken from Jerusalem.

Governed By

Cyrus's decree, the return of the temple vessels, and their counted transfer through royal and Judean officials.

Role In The Phrase

It presents Cyrus causing the vessels to leave royal custody so Mithredath can count them to Sheshbazzar.

What It Is Not Doing

It does not refer to people as the plural object, say Cyrus carried each vessel himself, erase the earlier plunder, or endorse every feature of Persian rule.

How Much The Form Matters Here

Interpretive Weight

High: The causative stem and plural suffix clarify the concrete object and layered agency in the return of Jerusalem's temple vessels.

Syntax Profile

Consecutive Hifil with third-person plural object suffix. causes the vessels to be brought out through Mithredath for transfer to Sheshbazzar. Attached to Cyrus king of Persia. Governed by the release and inventory of the temple articles. The suffix supplies the objects, while the intermediary phrase names the administrative hand.

Reader Question

Are the returning Judeans the them whom Cyrus brings out? No. The suffix points to the temple articles from the preceding verse, and Mithredath counts those objects to Sheshbazzar.

Translation Effect

Direct: Had them brought out conveys causative authorization and represents the plural vessel suffix without implying personal transport by Cyrus.

Where Caution Is Needed

The plural antecedent is the sacred articles, not the exiles who also return in the chapter. Royal causation and administrative handling are related but distinct roles. The providential use of Cyrus does not require a claim that every imperial policy was righteous.

Fallacies To Avoid

Them means the returning people: Follow the explicit antecedent in verse 7 and the inventory that begins in verse 9. Cyrus carried the vessels himself: The Hifil supports caused release, and by the hand of Mithredath names the administrative intermediary. restoration means empire is wholly good: Describe the concrete restorative act without converting it into unlimited endorsement of political power.

How The Interpretation Is Derived

Textual Witness

Ezra 1:8 token 4 is וַיּֽוֹצִיאֵ֗ם, H3318, parsed Conj-w | V-Hifil-ConsecImperf-3ms | 3mp and aligned with had them brought out.

Lexical Identity

יָצָא describes going out; the Hifil permits the causative sense of bringing something out or having it brought out.

Grammar In Context

Cyrus is the singular subject, the suffix retrieves the plural temple vessels, and by the hand of Mithredath explains the administrative means of their release and transfer.

Passage Meaning

Sacred articles removed from Jerusalem are released, inventoried, and entrusted for return as the Judean community prepares to rebuild the house of the Lord.

Canonical Fit

Ezra presents restoration through providentially opened political and administrative channels, yet the return of objects does not erase displacement or make an empire morally absolute.

Communication Use

Name the vessels as the object and distinguish Cyrus's authorization, Mithredath's handling, and Sheshbazzar's reception when explaining the restoration sequence.

Do Not Derive

Do not turn them into the returning people, credit Cyrus with personally transporting every object, minimize the earlier seizure, or use the form to baptize imperial power.