וַיִּֽירְא֧וּ (way·yî·rə·’ū) in Jonah 1:16: Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine plural
וַיִּֽירְא֧וּ (way·yî·rə·’ū) in Jonah 1:16
Source Word
The BSB+ row for Jonah 1:16 links the English rendering "feared" with וַיִּֽירְא֧וּ, Strong's H3372, and the parsing label Conj-w | V-Qal-ConsecImperf-3mp.
How The Form Affects Interpretation
The form marks a decisive response after deliverance: the sailors fear the Lord, and the verse moves into sacrifice and vows.
How To Communicate It
Use this form to show how Hebrew narrative sequence connects the calmed sea with the sailors' reverent response to the Lord.
What Not To Say
- Grammar should serve context, not override it.
- Do not make the imperfect label prove more than the sentence supports.
- Do not use the stem label by itself to settle a theological claim.
- Do not treat this occurrence as a complete word study for the whole Hebrew lemma.
What Does The Label Mean?
Hebrew-verb
Verb
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine plural
Conjunctive waw
Qal
Consecutive imperfect
Third person
Masculine
Plural
The consecutive imperfect form participates in the verse's movement; Jonah 1:16 determines whether the reader should hear sequence, result, or narrative progress.
This form carries the BSB rendering "feared" within Jonah 1:16. Jonah 1 follows the prophet's flight, the storm at sea, and the sailors' growing fear as disobedience is exposed.
What The Form Does In This Verse
The action or phrase rendered "feared" in Jonah 1:16
The form is governed by the sailors' response after the sea calms and the Lord's power is made clear.
It marks the sailors' fear of the Lord after the sea quiets, moving the narrative from crisis to reverent response.
The form does not by itself settle every use of H3372, every possible translation, or the whole doctrine connected to this passage.
How Much The Form Matters Here
High: The form marks the sailors' fear of the Lord after deliverance, a major response moment in Jonah 1.
Waw-consecutive Qal imperfect marking reverent response. shows the sailors responding to the Lord with fear. Attached to the men feared the Lord greatly clause. Governed by the narrative response after the sea becomes calm. The verb advances the response; the object and following actions shape its reverent force.
How do the sailors respond after the sea is quiet? They fear the Lord greatly and respond with sacrifice and vows.
Direct: The form directly supports feared the Lord.
Fear here is directed to the Lord and differs from the earlier storm panic by context. Do not use the verb form alone to settle every question about the sailors' spiritual state.
Same Hebrew stem means identical fear in every Jonah 1 occurrence: The stem is shared, but the object and narrative stage shape the force of each occurrence.
How The Interpretation Is Derived
The BSB+ row for Jonah 1:16 links the English rendering "feared" with וַיִּֽירְא֧וּ, Strong's H3372, and the parsing label Conj-w | V-Qal-ConsecImperf-3mp.
H3372 is represented here by the lemma יָרֵא. In this occurrence, the public guide is limited to the BSB rendering "feared" rather than every possible gloss of the entry.
The consecutive imperfect carries the sailors' response forward, while the direct object naming the Lord clarifies the fear as reverent and directed.
Jonah 1 follows the prophet's flight, the storm at sea, and the sailors' growing fear as disobedience is exposed.
The form fits Scripture's witness to mercy, repentance, prophetic obedience, and God's compassion for the nations.
When teaching Jonah 1:16, show how the form joins the quieted sea to the sailors' reverent fear and worshipful response.
Do not treat Qal or consecutive imperfect as proving conversion by itself. The full verse, vows, sacrifice, and narrative context must govern that question.