תִּקַּ֥ח (tiq·qaḥ) in Psalms 51:11: Verb - Qal - Imperfect - second person masculine singular
תִּקַּ֥ח (tiq·qaḥ) in Psalms 51:11
Source Word
The BSB+ row for Psalms 51:11 links the English rendering "take" with תִּקַּ֥ח, Strong's H3947, and the parsing label V-Qal-Imperf-2ms.
How The Form Affects Interpretation
The form is important because it names the action feared in the plea: "take." The verse's negative particle and prayer context turn the action into a petition that God would not remove his Holy Spirit.
How To Communicate It
Explain this as an imperfect inside a negative prayer request. That lets readers see the force of "do not take" without reducing the line to tense mechanics or building doctrine from the verb alone.
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
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - second person masculine singular
Qal
Imperfect
Second person
Masculine
Singular
The imperfect form presents the action as unfolding, expected, desired, or modal in context; Psalms 51:11 determines how that force is heard.
This form carries the BSB rendering "take" within Psalms 51:11. Psalm 51 gives language for confession, cleansing, restoration, renewed joy, and renewed praise before God.
What The Form Does In This Verse
The negative petition rendered "take" in Psalms 51:11
The form belongs to the plea, "do not take Your Holy Spirit from me."
It names the action the speaker pleads for God not to do: take away his Holy Spirit.
It does not make the imperfect label a simple future tense, and it does not settle every pneumatological question from this form alone.
How Much The Form Matters Here
High: The form belongs to Psalm 51's sensitive plea about God's Holy Spirit.
Imperfect in a negative petition. names the action the speaker pleads for God not to do. Attached to the plea not to take the Holy Spirit away. Governed by the negative prayer request in Psalms 51:11. The verb supplies "take," while the negative particle and prayer context supply the plea force.
What action does the speaker plead against? The speaker pleads that God would not take his Holy Spirit from him.
Supporting: The verb supports "take," while the surrounding negative particle supplies "do not."
The imperfect appears in a negative prayer request, so it should not be treated as a bare future tense. The form names the action, but doctrine of the Holy Spirit must be handled from the whole verse and canon.
Imperfect always means future tense: The imperfect here is governed by a negative petition, not a simple future statement. grammar alone proves pneumatology: The verb names the action; the doctrine must be read from the passage and broader Scripture.
How The Interpretation Is Derived
The BSB+ row for Psalms 51:11 links the English rendering "take" with תִּקַּ֥ח, Strong's H3947, and the parsing label V-Qal-Imperf-2ms.
H3947 is represented here by the lemma לָקַח. In this occurrence, the public guide is limited to the BSB rendering "take" rather than every possible gloss of the entry.
The Qal imperfect second masculine singular appears inside a negative plea: "do not take." The verb supplies the action, while the negative particle and prayer context give the line its pleading force.
Psalm 51 gives language for confession, cleansing, restoration, renewed joy, and renewed praise before God.
The form fits Scripture's language of confession, mercy, cleansing, restored joy, and renewed obedience.
When teaching Psalms 51:11, connect the form to the full negative petition about God's Holy Spirit, and do not make the verb alone carry the whole theology of the Spirit.
Do not derive a full word study, grammar doctrine, or doctrine of the Holy Spirit from V-Qal-Imperf-2ms alone. The form identifies the occurrence-level action inside a negative petition.