וְהֶאֱמִ֖ן (wə·he·’ĕ·min) in Genesis 15:6: Conjunctive waw | Verb - Hifil - Conjunctive perfect - third person masculine singular
וְהֶאֱמִ֖ן (wə·he·’ĕ·min) in Genesis 15:6
Source Word
The BSB+ row for Genesis 15:6 links the English rendering "Abram believed" with וְהֶאֱמִ֖ן, Strong's H539, and the morphology tag Conj-w | V-Hifil-ConjPerf-3ms.
How The Form Affects Interpretation
The form keeps the verse order clear: Abram believes the Lord, and the Lord credits righteousness. The grammar clarifies the clause without replacing the theological argument.
How To Communicate It
When teaching Genesis 15:6, use the form to show that faith is the explicit action named before the verse moves to credited righteousness.
What Not To Say
- Grammar should serve context, not override it.
- Do not make Hifil by itself prove the whole doctrine of justification.
- Do not reduce faith to bare mental agreement when the verse presents trust in the Lord.
What Does The Label Mean?
Hebrew-verb
Verb
Hifil
Conjunctive perfect
Third
Masculine
Singular
Conjunctive waw
Conjunctive waw with Hifil perfect, third masculine singular
The form presents Abram's believing as the response named in the verse, joined to the preceding promise context.
This form states Abram's trust in the Lord and sets up the reckoning of righteousness that follows.
What The Form Does In This Verse
Abram
The verb is the main action of Abram's response to the Lord's promise.
It names Abram's trust in the Lord before the verse speaks of righteousness being credited.
The Hifil label does not by itself define the whole doctrine of justification. Context should guide interpretation and not be overridden by a grammar label.
How Much The Form Matters Here
High: The form carries Abram believing the Lord before the verse speaks of righteousness being credited, so it is central to the faith-and-righteousness claim.
Conjunctive waw with Hifil perfect third masculine singular. names Abram's trusting response before the following reckoning clause. Attached to Abram as the believing subject. Governed by the clause reporting Abram's response to the Lord's promise. The Hifil stem contributes to the verbal form, but the doctrine of faith and righteousness comes from the whole verse and its canonical use.
What does Abram do before righteousness is credited? Abram believes the Lord.
Direct: The form directly supports the rendering "Abram believed" as the first major action of Genesis 15:6.
The Hifil stem should not be used by itself to define faith or justification. The conjunctive waw ties the action to the promise context, but the sentence gives the theological order. Later canonical use builds on Genesis 15:6; it should not be reduced to a stem label.
Hifil always means causative: The Hifil form must be interpreted through the lexeme and verse; it does not mechanically turn believing into a causative idea here. grammar alone proves justification: The grammar names Abram believing, but the doctrine is drawn from the full clause and later canonical interpretation.
How The Interpretation Is Derived
The BSB+ row for Genesis 15:6 links the English rendering "Abram believed" with וְהֶאֱמִ֖ן, Strong's H539, and the morphology tag Conj-w | V-Hifil-ConjPerf-3ms.
H539 carries the sense of firmness, trust, or believing, and the Genesis 15:6 occurrence is a central faith text.
The Hifil perfect form presents Abram's believing as the named response in the verse, joined by waw to the promise context before it.
The verse links Abram's trust in the Lord with the Lord crediting righteousness to him.
Genesis 15:6 becomes a major canonical witness for faith and righteousness, later taken up in passages such as Romans 4 and Galatians 3.
Teachers can show that the Hebrew form does not merely describe a feeling. It names Abram's trusting response to the Lord.
Do not make the stem label carry Paul's whole argument by itself. The later canonical use builds on the verse, not on a grammar label alone.