יְנַֽחֲמֻֽנִי׃ (yə·na·ḥă·mu·nî) in Psalms 23:4: Verb - Piel - Imperfect - third person masculine plural | first person common singular
יְנַֽחֲמֻֽנִי׃ (yə·na·ḥă·mu·nî) in Psalms 23:4
Source Word
The BSB+ row for Psalms 23:4 links the English rendering "comfort me" with יְנַֽחֲמֻֽנִי׃, Strong's H5162, and the morphology tag V-Piel-Imperf-3mp | 1cs.
How The Form Affects Interpretation
The form clarifies the clause's agency and object: the rod and staff comfort the speaker in the valley.
How To Communicate It
Use the form to ask, "Who comforts whom?" The grammar points to the rod and staff comforting the speaker, while the psalm's shepherding context supplies the theological weight.
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.
- Do not treat the attached suffix as a full theology of the participant; let the verse identify the relationship.
- Do not use the grammar profile as a shortcut around the wording and logic of the verse.
What Does The Label Mean?
Hebrew-verb
Verb
Verb - Piel - Imperfect - third person masculine plural | first person common singular
First person common singular
Piel
Imperfect
Third person
Masculine
Plural
The imperfect form presents the action as unfolding, expected, or desired in context; Psalms 23:4 determines how that force is heard.
This form carries the BSB rendering "comfort me" within Psalms 23:4. Psalm 23 portrays the Lord's shepherding care, guidance, presence, and comfort for his people.
What The Form Does In This Verse
The action rendered "comfort me" in Psalms 23:4
The clause names the rod and staff as the local plural subject and the speaker as the object of the comfort.
It shows that the shepherd's rod and staff are not decorative images in the clause; they carry the action of comforting the speaker in the valley.
The form does not by itself explain every image in Psalm 23, prove that Piel always means intensity, or detach comfort from the shepherding context.
How Much The Form Matters Here
High: The form identifies who comforts whom in the valley scene.
Piel imperfect with plural subject and first-person object suffix. presents the rod and staff as local subject and the speaker as object. Attached to the clause rendered "comfort me". Governed by the rod and staff statement in Psalm 23:4. The suffix clarifies the recipient; the shepherding context gives the comfort its theological weight.
Who comforts whom in this clause? The rod and staff comfort the speaker.
Direct: The first-person suffix directly supports the object rendering "me" in "comfort me."
Piel should not be reduced to automatic intensity. The plural subject is supplied by rod and staff in the clause. The suffix identifies the speaker as recipient without carrying the whole theology of comfort.
Piel always means intensity: The stem is part of the form, but Psalm 23:4 supplies the comfort image and its meaning. suffix alone defines relationship: The suffix identifies the speaker as object; the psalm supplies the shepherding relationship.
How The Interpretation Is Derived
The BSB+ row for Psalms 23:4 links the English rendering "comfort me" with יְנַֽחֲמֻֽנִי׃, Strong's H5162, and the morphology tag V-Piel-Imperf-3mp | 1cs.
H5162 is represented here by the lemma נָחַם. In this occurrence, the public guide is limited to the BSB rendering "comfort me" rather than every possible gloss of the entry.
Verb - Piel - Imperfect - third person masculine plural | first person common singular functions with the rod and staff as the local plural subject and the speaker as the object. The imperfect presents the comfort as active in the valley scene.
Psalm 23 portrays the Lord's shepherding care, guidance, presence, and comfort for his people.
The form fits Scripture's broader witness that God shepherds, sustains, restores, and leads his people.
When teaching Psalms 23:4, use this form to show who comforts whom: the shepherd's rod and staff comfort the speaker under the Lord's care.
Do not make the Piel label prove intensity by itself, and do not build a full doctrine of shepherding from the morphology tag alone. The form clarifies subject, object, and action in this clause.