וַיַּֽאֲכִֽלְךָ֤ (way·ya·’ă·ḵil·ḵā) in Deuteronomy 8:3: Conjunctive waw | Verb - Hifil - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular | second person masculine singular
וַיַּֽאֲכִֽלְךָ֤ (way·ya·’ă·ḵil·ḵā) in Deuteronomy 8:3
Source Word
The BSB+ row for Deuteronomy 8:3 links the English rendering "to eat" with וַיַּֽאֲכִֽלְךָ֤, Strong's H398, and the parsing label Conj-w | V-Hifil-ConsecImperf-3ms | 2ms.
How The Form Affects Interpretation
The form presents eating manna as the Lord's directed provision, preparing the verse's lesson that life depends on every word from his mouth.
How To Communicate It
Use this form to show how Hebrew attaches the recipient to a causative provision verb in the wilderness lesson.
What Not To Say
- Grammar should serve context, not override it.
- Do not make an attached prefix carry more interpretive weight than the sentence gives it.
- Do not treat the attached suffix as a full theology of the participant; let the verse identify the relationship.
- Do not treat the Hebrew imperfect as a simple English future in every passage.
What Does The Label Mean?
Hebrew-verb
Verb
Hifil
Consecutive imperfect
Third
Masculine
Singular
Conj-w
Second person masculine singular
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Hifil - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular | second person masculine singular
The consecutive imperfect carries the action forward in the flow of the sentence; it should not be isolated from the narrative or instruction around it.
This form carries the BSB rendering "to eat" within Deuteronomy 8:3. Deuteronomy 8 calls Israel to remember the wilderness, receive the land as gift, and resist the pride that forgets the Lord's provision.
What The Form Does In This Verse
The action rendered "to eat" in Deuteronomy 8:3
The form is governed by Moses' explanation of the wilderness humbling, hunger, and manna provision.
It presents the Lord as causing Israel to eat manna, with the attached suffix marking the addressed people as recipients.
The form does not by itself settle every use of H398, every possible translation, or the whole doctrine connected to this passage.
How Much The Form Matters Here
High: The form links the Lord's provision of manna to the theological lesson of Deuteronomy 8:3.
Waw-consecutive Hifil imperfect with attached recipient. presents the Lord as provider and Israel as recipient. Attached to the he caused you to eat manna clause. Governed by the wilderness humbling and provision explanation. The Hifil supports causative provision; the verse defines the lesson about dependence on the Lord.
Who provides food, and who receives it? The Lord provides, and Israel receives the manna.
Direct: The form directly supports he caused you to eat or fed you.
Hifil supports causative nuance here, but the wilderness context defines the provision. The attached suffix identifies the recipient and should not be treated as a separate theological claim.
Hifil always means a mechanical causative: Hifil supports causative force here, but the verse explains the purpose and limits of the action.
How The Interpretation Is Derived
The BSB+ row for Deuteronomy 8:3 links the English rendering "to eat" with וַיַּֽאֲכִֽלְךָ֤, Strong's H398, and the parsing label Conj-w | V-Hifil-ConsecImperf-3ms | 2ms.
H398 is represented here by the lemma אָכַל. In this occurrence, the public guide is limited to the BSB rendering "to eat" rather than every possible gloss of the entry.
The Hifil stem supports caused provision, the third masculine singular subject fits the Lord in context, and the attached suffix marks Israel as recipient.
Deuteronomy 8 calls Israel to remember the wilderness, receive the land as gift, and resist the pride that forgets the Lord's provision.
The form fits Deuteronomy's covenant pattern: redemption is remembered, the command is heard, and obedience is taught as life before the Lord.
When teaching Deuteronomy 8:3, show how the form ties hunger, manna, and divine instruction together in the wilderness memory.
Do not make Hifil alone prove a theology of provision. The wilderness context and the word-from-the-Lord statement control the claim.