וַיֹּ֣אמֶר (way·yō·mer) in Genesis 15:5: Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular
וַיֹּ֣אמֶר (way·yō·mer) in Genesis 15:5
Source Word
At Genesis 15:5, the Genesis 15:5 source token וַיֹּ֣אמֶר is H559, Conj-w | V-Qal-ConsecImperf-3ms. The H559 Genesis 15:5 BSB+ word table row therefore anchors this guide.
How The Form Affects Interpretation
Then He told marks a renewed divine speech turn in English and distinguishes it from the verse's earlier command sequence. God explains the stars as an analogy for Abram's promised offspring, turning the visual encounter into a specific covenant word.
How To Communicate It
Keep the speech verb modest and give the quotation its proper weight: the Lord interprets the sign and names the promised outcome.
What Not To Say
- Grammatical form should serve context, not override it.
- Do not derive promise theology from the verb say alone, and do not confuse this token with the earlier speech introduction in the same verse.
- The verb itself simply introduces speech; the quoted sentence determines whether told, said, or another English speech label fits best.
- Read Then He told within Genesis 15:5 as the H559 occurrence; broader theology requires the passage.
What Does The Label Mean?
Hebrew-verb
Verb
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular
Qal
ConsecImperf
Third
Masculine
Singular
Not applicable
Waw conjunction
None
The consecutive imperfect moves from the command and attempted counting to God's interpretive statement about offspring.
The third masculine singular form agrees with the Lord in context, while the quotation that follows carries the decisive assertion.
What The Form Does In This Verse
The promise So shall your offspring be after Abram is told to count the stars
The Lord's explanation of what the star sign means for Abram's descendants
The conjunctive waw and Qal consecutive imperfect introduce a second divine speech act and keep the Lord as the masculine singular speaker.
This speech verb does not itself supply the promise's content, and its sequence form does not measure the number of Abram's descendants.
How Much The Form Matters Here
Moderate: God explains the stars as an analogy for Abram's promised offspring, turning the visual encounter into a specific covenant word.
The third masculine singular form agrees with the Lord in context, while the quotation that follows carries the decisive assertion.. The conjunctive waw and Qal consecutive imperfect introduce a second divine speech act and keep the Lord as the masculine singular speaker.. Attached to the promise So shall your offspring be after Abram is told to count the stars. Governed by the Lord's explanation of what the star sign means for Abram's descendants. This speech verb does not itself supply the promise's content, and its sequence form does not measure the number of Abram's descendants.
What new speech does this second saying form introduce in Genesis 15:5? It introduces the Lord's interpretation of the star sign: Abram's offspring will likewise be beyond his counting.
Direct: Then He told marks a renewed divine speech turn in English and distinguishes it from the verse's earlier command sequence.
The verb itself simply introduces speech; the quoted sentence determines whether told, said, or another English speech label fits best. The masculine subject is recovered from discourse, since the verbal ending does not name the Lord by itself.
Every saying token carries identical force: This occurrence interprets the star sign, while the earlier speech in the verse gives the commands to look and count. verb ending names God: Agreement supplies person, gender, and number; discourse identifies the speaker as the Lord. morphology replaces literary context: The H559 form clarifies the Then He told relation in Genesis 15:5; the surrounding passage establishes its scope.
How The Interpretation Is Derived
At Genesis 15:5, the Genesis 15:5 source token וַיֹּ֣אמֶר is H559, Conj-w | V-Qal-ConsecImperf-3ms. The H559 Genesis 15:5 BSB+ word table row therefore anchors this guide.
אָמַר is the lemma behind Then He told here. Within Genesis 15:5, H559 retains this exact lexical identity.
The third masculine singular form agrees with the Lord in context, while the quotation that follows carries the decisive assertion.
God explains the stars as an analogy for Abram's promised offspring, turning the visual encounter into a specific covenant word.
The utterance immediately precedes Abram's faith and the reckoning of righteousness, a sequence later central to biblical reflection on faith.
Keep the speech verb modest and give the quotation its proper weight: the Lord interprets the sign and names the promised outcome.
Do not derive promise theology from the verb say alone, and do not confuse this token with the earlier speech introduction in the same verse.