וְיִקְרְא֥וּ (wə·yiq·rə·’ū) in Jonah 3:8: Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Conjunctive imperfect - third person masculine plural
וְיִקְרְא֥וּ (wə·yiq·rə·’ū) in Jonah 3:8
Source Word
The BSB+ row for Jonah 3:8 links the English rendering "and have everyone call out" with וְיִקְרְא֥וּ, Strong's H7121, and the morphology tag Conj-w | V-Qal-ConjImperf-3mp.
How The Form Affects Interpretation
The form clarifies the call to prayer inside the royal decree, while the context supplies the directive force.
How To Communicate It
Use the form to ask who is calling or proclaiming, and what the surrounding verse says is being called for or proclaimed.
What Not To Say
- Grammar should serve context, not override it.
- Do not make every imperfect form function as a command without a directive context.
- 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.
- Do not use the grammar profile as a shortcut around the wording and logic of the verse.
What Does The Label Mean?
Hebrew-verb
Verb
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Conjunctive imperfect - third person masculine plural
Conjunctive waw
Qal
Conjunctive imperfect
Third person
Masculine
Plural
The conjunctive imperfect joins the decree and can carry directive force because Jonah 3:8 is issuing instructions.
This form carries the BSB rendering "and have everyone call out" within Jonah 3:8, where the decree that everyone should call out earnestly to God.
What The Form Does In This Verse
The decree that everyone should call out earnestly to God
The narrative and decree context of Jonah 3
The form clarifies the call to prayer inside the royal decree, while the context supplies the directive force.
It does not by itself settle every use of H7121, the full nature of repentance, or the whole theology of mercy in Jonah.
How Much The Form Matters Here
High: The form carries a key calling or proclamation action in Jonah 3.
Conjunctive imperfect with directive force in a decree. states the calling or proclamation action within the verse. Attached to the decree that everyone should call out earnestly to God. Governed by the narrative and decree context of Jonah 3. The imperfect form is heard with directive force because the verse is giving a decree.
What does the decree call people to do toward God? The decree calls everyone to cry out earnestly to God.
Direct: The form directly supports the English rendering "and have everyone call out" in this occurrence.
H7121 can mean call, name, read, or proclaim; Jonah 3 supplies the proclamation or calling context. The imperfect can carry directive force in this decree, but morphology alone does not make every imperfect a command.
Root meaning decides every occurrence: The verse context decides whether H7121 is naming, proclaiming, reading, or calling out. imperfect always means command: Do not treat every Hebrew imperfect as a command; Jonah 3:8 supplies the decree context.
How The Interpretation Is Derived
The BSB+ row for Jonah 3:8 links the English rendering "and have everyone call out" with וְיִקְרְא֥וּ, Strong's H7121, and the morphology tag Conj-w | V-Qal-ConjImperf-3mp.
H7121 is represented here by the lemma קָרָא. In this occurrence, the public guide is limited to the BSB rendering "and have everyone call out" rather than every possible gloss of the entry.
The Qal conjunctive imperfect joins the decree and is heard with directive force because the verse is instructing people to call out earnestly to God.
Jonah 3 shows the renewed command, the preaching in Nineveh, repentance, and mercy.
The form fits Scripture's witness to mercy, repentance, prophetic obedience, and God's compassion for the nations.
When teaching Jonah 3:8, use this form to show the calling or proclamation action in the verse. Let Jonah 3 supply the repentance, warning, and mercy context.
Do not use H7121, the Qal stem, or the imperfect label alone to settle the whole doctrine of repentance, prophetic preaching, prayer, or mercy.