אֶשְׁלַ֖ח (’eš·laḥ) in Isaiah 6:8: Verb - Qal - Imperfect - first person common singular
אֶשְׁלַ֖ח (’eš·laḥ) in Isaiah 6:8
Source Word
The BSB+ row for Isaiah 6:8 links the English rendering "shall I send" with אֶשְׁלַ֖ח, Strong's H7971, and the parsing label V-Qal-Imperf-1cs.
How The Form Affects Interpretation
The form helps readers track the speaker and the commission logic: the Lord raises the sending question before Isaiah offers himself. That keeps Isaiah's response under divine initiative.
How To Communicate It
Use the form to ask who is considering the sending. The clause presents the Lord's question, which frames Isaiah's "Here am I. Send me."
What Not To Say
- Grammar should serve context, not override it.
- Do not make the imperfect label prove more than the sentence supports.
- 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?
Hebrew-verb
Verb
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - first person common singular
Qal
Imperfect
First person
Common
Singular
The imperfect form presents the action as unfolding, expected, desired, or modal in context; Isaiah 6:8 determines how that force is heard.
This form carries the BSB rendering "shall I send" within Isaiah 6:8. Isaiah 6 shows the prophet before the holy Lord, receiving cleansing and a commission in the presence of divine glory.
What The Form Does In This Verse
The question rendered "shall I send" in Isaiah 6:8
The form appears in the Lord's question, "Whom shall I send?" before Isaiah's response.
It identifies the divine sending question that frames Isaiah's volunteered response.
The form does not by itself settle every doctrine of mission, prove uncertainty in God, or reduce the commission to grammar alone.
How Much The Form Matters Here
High: The form carries the Lord's commission question that frames Isaiah's response.
First-person imperfect in divine question. frames Isaiah's volunteered response under divine initiative. Attached to the Lord's question about whom he will send. Governed by the commission scene in Isaiah 6:8. The question context gives the imperfect its deliberative force.
Who asks the sending question? The Lord asks whom he shall send, and that question frames Isaiah's response.
Direct: The first-person imperfect in question context directly supports the English rendering "shall I send."
Question force comes from the clause context, not from the imperfect label alone. The question should not be used to imply divine ignorance; the passage presents a commission scene.
Imperfect always means future prediction: In Isaiah 6:8 the imperfect appears in a question: "Whom shall I send?" question means God lacks knowledge: The form belongs to a commission scene and should not be overread beyond the passage.
How The Interpretation Is Derived
The BSB+ row for Isaiah 6:8 links the English rendering "shall I send" with אֶשְׁלַ֖ח, Strong's H7971, and the parsing label V-Qal-Imperf-1cs.
H7971 is represented here by the lemma שָׁלַח. In this occurrence, the public guide is limited to the BSB rendering "shall I send" rather than every possible gloss of the entry.
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - first person common singular functions in the Lord's question in Isaiah 6:8. The interrogative context gives the imperfect a deliberative question force: "Whom shall I send?"
Isaiah 6 shows the prophet before the holy Lord, receiving cleansing and a commission in the presence of divine glory.
The form fits Scripture's witness to holiness, cleansing, and commissioned speech before the Lord.
When teaching Isaiah 6:8, use this form to distinguish the Lord's sending question from Isaiah's later appeal, "Send me." The grammar helps track speaker and action in the commission scene.
Do not use the imperfect question to claim divine uncertainty, and do not make Qal mean the sending is simple. The form serves the commission question in this verse.