וַעֲבָד֖וּם (wa·‘ă·ḇā·ḏūm) in Genesis 15:13: Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Conjunctive perfect - third person common plural | third person masculine plural

Hebrew-verb

Verb

Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Conjunctive perfect - third person common plural | third person masculine plural

Conjunctive waw

Third person masculine plural

Qal

Conjunctive perfect

Third person

Common

Plural

The conjunctive perfect joins this action to the clause movement in Genesis 15:13, so readers should hear it as part of the larger clause rather than as an isolated tense idea.

This form carries the BSB rendering "and they will be enslaved" within Genesis 15:13. Genesis 15 anchors God's covenant promise to Abram, moving from promise and faith to assurance and covenant sign.

The phrase rendered "and they will be enslaved" in Genesis 15:13

The form belongs to the Lord's prediction about Abram's offspring being strangers, serving others, and being afflicted for four hundred years.

It joins the service or enslavement clause to the larger future hardship sequence, with the suffix pointing to the others involved in that service.

The form does not by itself settle every use of H5647, every translation of service language, or the whole theology of Israel's bondage.

High: The form joins the predicted service or enslavement to the hardship sequence in Genesis 15:13.

Waw-linked predicate with object suffix. connects the service or enslavement clause with the surrounding prediction. Attached to the future hardship sequence about Abram's offspring. Governed by the Lord's predictive speech in Genesis 15:13. The conjunction and suffix help track the clause relation, while the verse supplies the historical and covenant frame.

How does this action fit the prediction? It is one linked part of the foretold hardship: Abram's offspring will serve or be enslaved under others.

Direct: The waw, verb, and suffix directly support the connected rendering and they will be enslaved or they will serve them.

The service or enslavement sense should be read from the clause and not from the verb form alone. The suffix points to the object relation in the clause, while the larger passage identifies the historical setting.

Conjunctive perfect proves exact chronology: The form joins the prediction sequence, but the verse and passage control the timeline. suffix alone identifies the oppressor: The suffix marks an object relation; the passage supplies the historical identification.

The BSB+ row for Genesis 15:13 links the English rendering "and they will be enslaved" with וַעֲבָד֖וּם, Strong's H5647, and the morphology tag Conj-w | V-Qal-ConjPerf-3cp | 3mp.

H5647 is represented here by the lemma עָבַד. In this occurrence, the public guide is limited to the BSB rendering "and they will be enslaved" rather than every possible gloss of the entry.

The conjunctive waw links this verb into the prediction sequence, and the attached suffix marks the object relation within the service or enslavement clause.

The form helps the reader see that the promised line will pass through a period of serving others and affliction before deliverance.

The form fits Scripture's covenant pattern in which God speaks, promises, judges, gives, and keeps his word.

When teaching Genesis 15:13, use the form to show the hardship sequence joined together: Abram's offspring will be strangers, will serve others, and will be afflicted.

Do not derive the whole theology of slavery, service, or exodus from the verb form alone. The form serves the predictive clause in Genesis 15:13.