וַיֹּ֣אמֶר (way·yō·mer) in Genesis 15:9: Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular
וַיֹּ֣אמֶר (way·yō·mer) in Genesis 15:9
Source Word
The BSB+ row for Genesis 15:9 links the English rendering "And [the Lord] said" with וַיֹּ֣אמֶר, Strong's H559, and the parsing label Conj-w | V-Qal-ConsecImperf-3ms.
How The Form Affects Interpretation
The form marks a decisive turn from Abram's question to the Lord's directed preparation for covenant confirmation.
How To Communicate It
Use this form to show how the narrative sequence moves from Abram's request to the Lord's concrete instruction without making the wayyiqtol form carry the whole theology of covenant.
What Not To Say
- Grammar should serve context, not override it.
- Do not make the consecutive imperfect label prove more than the sentence supports.
- Do not use Qal by itself to settle a theological claim.
- Let Genesis 15 identify the speaker and covenant setting; the form alone does not do that work.
What Does The Label Mean?
Hebrew-verb
Verb
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular
Conjunctive waw
Qal
Consecutive imperfect
Third person
Masculine
Singular
The consecutive imperfect carries the narrative or sequence forward in Genesis 15:9, linking this action to the movement around it.
This form carries the BSB rendering "And [the Lord] said" within Genesis 15:9. Genesis 15 anchors God's covenant promise to Abram, moving from promise and faith to assurance and covenant sign.
What The Form Does In This Verse
The Lord's instruction to Abram in Genesis 15:9
The covenant scene where Abram asks for assurance and the Lord answers with concrete covenant preparation
It advances the scene from Abram's request for assurance to the Lord's command to bring the animals for the covenant sign.
The form does not by itself explain every covenant detail in Genesis 15 or turn every use of H559 into divine speech.
How Much The Form Matters Here
High: The form introduces the Lord's covenant-sign instruction after Abram asks for assurance.
Waw-consecutive Qal imperfect introducing divine speech. moves the narrative into the Lord's command to bring the animals. Attached to the covenant instruction that follows Abram's question. Governed by the Genesis 15 covenant scene. The sequence marker supports narrative movement; the passage supplies the speaker and covenant force.
Who speaks, and what does this speech do in the scene? The Lord speaks, moving Abram from question to covenant preparation.
Direct: The form directly supports the rendering And [the Lord] said.
The subject is supplied by context, not by the form alone. The consecutive imperfect carries narrative sequence here, but it should not be treated as a universal simple-past rule. The speech formula introduces covenant instruction; the form alone does not explain the entire covenant rite.
Wayyiqtol always proves simple chronology: The form supports sequence here, while Genesis 15 supplies the covenant meaning and theological weight.
How The Interpretation Is Derived
The BSB+ row for Genesis 15:9 links the English rendering "And [the Lord] said" with וַיֹּ֣אמֶר, Strong's H559, and the parsing label Conj-w | V-Qal-ConsecImperf-3ms.
H559 is represented here by the lemma אָמַר. In this occurrence, the public guide is limited to the BSB rendering "And [the Lord] said" rather than every possible gloss of the entry.
The conjunctive waw and consecutive imperfect place the Lord's speech as the next movement in the covenant scene. The subject is supplied by the passage, and the speech functions as covenant instruction rather than a detached saying formula.
Genesis 15 anchors God's covenant promise to Abram, moving from promise and faith to assurance and covenant sign.
The form fits Scripture's covenant pattern in which God speaks, promises, judges, gives, and keeps his word.
Use this form to show how the narrative sequence moves from Abram's request to the Lord's concrete instruction without making the wayyiqtol form carry the whole theology of covenant.
Do not derive a full word study, grammar doctrine, or passage theology from Conj-w | V-Qal-ConsecImperf-3ms alone. Genesis 15 supplies the covenant scene and divine speech context.