Hebrew Form Guide

וַיִּשְׂאוּ֙ (way·yiś·’ū) in Jonah 1:15: Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine plural

וַיִּשְׂאוּ֙ (way·yiś·’ū) in Jonah 1:15

Source Word

וַיִּשְׂאוּ֙way·yiś·’ūConjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine plural

At Jonah 1:15, the source token וַיִּשְׂאוּ֙ is H5375, Conj-w | V-Qal-ConsecImperf-3mp. The BSB+ word table row therefore anchors this guide.

How The Form Affects Interpretation

Then they picked up captures the waw-linked sequence, plural subject, and literal lifting required by the following action. Only after trying to reach land and appealing to the Lord do the sailors lift Jonah and cast him into the sea, whereupon the storm stops.

How To Communicate It

Explain picked up as literal lifting by the plural crew and keep their prior compassion and prayer in view.

What Not To Say

  • Grammatical form should serve context, not override it.
  • Do not import the Servant song's burden-bearing sense into this H5375 occurrence or present throwing a person overboard as a general moral remedy.
  • The verb has broad lifting and carrying senses, but Jonah as object and cast into the sea establish physical lifting here.
  • Read Then they picked up within Jonah 1:15 as this H5375 occurrence; broader theology requires the passage.

What Does The Label Mean?

Profile

Hebrew-verb

Part of Speech

Verb

Form Label

Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine plural

Stem

Qal

Aspect

ConsecImperf

Person

Third

Gender

Masculine

Number

Plural

State

Not applicable

Attached Prefixes

Conjunction w

Suffix

None

Aspect Note

The consecutive-imperfect presents the lifting as a completed narrative step after their prayer for mercy.

Verse Role

The third masculine plural Qal form makes the sailors the actors and Jonah the person they lift, with waw advancing to the casting action.

What The Form Does In This Verse

Attached To

The sailors as they lift Jonah before casting him overboard

Governed By

Their final response after prayer, reluctance, and failed rowing

Role In The Phrase

The plural waw-consecutive verb reports the crew lifting Jonah as the first step in the action that immediately calms the sea.

What It Is Not Doing

This occurrence does not carry the sin-bearing sense found in other contexts or portray the sailors as eager executioners.

How Much The Form Matters Here

Interpretive Weight

High: Only after trying to reach land and appealing to the Lord do the sailors lift Jonah and cast him into the sea, whereupon the storm stops.

Syntax Profile

The third masculine plural Qal form makes the sailors the actors and Jonah the person they lift, with waw advancing to the casting action.. The plural waw-consecutive verb reports the crew lifting Jonah as the first step in the action that immediately calms the sea.. Attached to the sailors as they lift Jonah before casting him overboard. Governed by their final response after prayer, reluctance, and failed rowing. This occurrence does not carry the sin-bearing sense found in other contexts or portray the sailors as eager executioners.

Reader Question

What does Then they picked up emphasize about the sailors' action? The plural form shows the crew jointly carrying out the step they had resisted, immediately before casting Jonah into the sea.

Translation Effect

Direct: Then they picked up captures the waw-linked sequence, plural subject, and literal lifting required by the following action.

Where Caution Is Needed

The verb has broad lifting and carrying senses, but Jonah as object and cast into the sea establish physical lifting here. The narrative reports the act within an extraordinary divine storm; it does not create a repeatable procedure for communal crises.

Fallacies To Avoid

Same lexeme means same theology everywhere: H5375 can bear sin in Isaiah and lift a person here; objects and clauses determine the occurrence sense. narrative resolution authorizes imitation: The storm's miraculous context and the sailors' prayer make this a unique event, not a general ethical rule.

How The Interpretation Is Derived

Textual Witness

At Jonah 1:15, the source token וַיִּשְׂאוּ֙ is H5375, Conj-w | V-Qal-ConsecImperf-3mp. The BSB+ word table row therefore anchors this guide.

Lexical Identity

נָשָׂא is the lemma behind Then they picked up here. Within Jonah 1:15, H5375 retains this exact lexical identity.

Grammar In Context

The third masculine plural Qal form makes the sailors the actors and Jonah the person they lift, with waw advancing to the casting action.

Passage Meaning

Only after trying to reach land and appealing to the Lord do the sailors lift Jonah and cast him into the sea, whereupon the storm stops.

Canonical Fit

The scene displays both human reluctance and divine sovereignty, while later typological readings must respect this occurrence's ordinary physical action.

Communication Use

Explain picked up as literal lifting by the plural crew and keep their prior compassion and prayer in view.

Do Not Derive

Do not import the Servant song's burden-bearing sense into this H5375 occurrence or present throwing a person overboard as a general moral remedy.