Hebrew Form Guide

עָשָׂ֔ה (‘ā·śāh) in Genesis 1:31: Verb - Qal - Perfect - third person masculine singular

עָשָׂ֔ה (‘ā·śāh) in Genesis 1:31

Source Word

עָשָׂ֔ה ‘ā·śāh Verb - Qal - Perfect - third person masculine singular

The BSB+ row for Genesis 1:31 links the English rendering "He had made" with עָשָׂ֔ה, Strong's H6213, and the parsing label V-Qal-Perf-3ms.

How The Form Affects Interpretation

The form directs attention to God's completed creative work as the object of the final assessment.

How To Communicate It

Use this form to show how Genesis 1:31 looks back over the completed making before declaring it very good.

What Not To Say

  • Grammar should serve context, not override it.
  • Do not make Hebrew perfect equal simple English past tense in every passage.
  • Do not use the stem label by itself to settle a theological claim.
  • Do not treat this occurrence as a complete word study for the whole Hebrew lemma.

What Does The Label Mean?

Profile

Hebrew-verb

Part of Speech

Verb

Form Label

Verb - Qal - Perfect - third person masculine singular

Stem

Qal

Aspect

Perfect

Person

Third person

Gender

Masculine

Number

Singular

Aspect Note

The perfect form presents the action as viewed whole or complete in this sentence, not as a universal English tense rule.

Verse Role

This form carries the BSB rendering "He had made" within Genesis 1:31. Genesis 1 presents God as Creator who orders, names, blesses, and declares his creation good.

What The Form Does In This Verse

Attached To

The summary phrase rendered "He had made"

Governed By

God's evaluation of everything he had made as very good

Role In The Phrase

It gathers the completed creative work into the verse's final assessment.

What It Is Not Doing

The perfect form does not by itself define the whole doctrine of creation or every use of H6213.

How Much The Form Matters Here

Interpretive Weight

High: The form gathers God's completed creative work into the final very-good assessment.

Syntax Profile

Qal perfect in a completed-work summary. presents the creative work as complete before the evaluation. Attached to the He had made phrase. Governed by the final assessment of everything God made. The perfect supports completed action here, but Genesis 1 supplies the theological meaning.

Reader Question

What is being evaluated as very good? Everything God had made.

Translation Effect

Direct: The perfect directly supports had made in this summary context.

Where Caution Is Needed

The perfect form is viewed as complete here but should not be turned into a universal English tense rule. Qal identifies the stem and does not carry creation theology by itself. The final assessment comes from the whole verse, not the verb form alone.

Fallacies To Avoid

Hebrew perfect always maps mechanically to English past: Genesis 1:31 uses the form in a summary of completed creative work.

How The Interpretation Is Derived

Textual Witness

The BSB+ row for Genesis 1:31 links the English rendering "He had made" with עָשָׂ֔ה, Strong's H6213, and the parsing label V-Qal-Perf-3ms.

Lexical Identity

H6213 is represented here by the lemma עָשָׂה. In this occurrence, the public guide is limited to the BSB rendering "He had made" rather than every possible gloss of the entry.

Grammar In Context

The perfect form presents the making as viewed complete in the verse's summary. Genesis 1:31 then evaluates the completed work as very good.

Passage Meaning

Genesis 1 presents God as Creator who orders, names, blesses, and declares his creation good.

Canonical Fit

The form fits Scripture's creation witness, where God's word and action establish the world as dependent on him.

Communication Use

Use this form to show how Genesis 1:31 looks back over the completed making before declaring it very good.

Do Not Derive

Do not derive a full word study, grammar doctrine, or creation theology from V-Qal-Perf-3ms alone. Genesis 1 supplies the creation sequence and final assessment.