וַתָּב֤וֹא (wat·tā·ḇō·w) in Jonah 2:7: Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person feminine singular
וַתָּב֤וֹא (wat·tā·ḇō·w) in Jonah 2:7
Source Word
The BSB+ row for Jonah 2:7 links the English rendering "went up" with וַתָּב֤וֹא, Strong's H935, and the parsing label Conj-w | V-Qal-ConsecImperf-3fs.
How The Form Affects Interpretation
The form makes Jonah's prayer movement explicit, showing distress turning into prayer that reaches the Lord.
How To Communicate It
Use this form to show how the grammar tracks the prayer's movement without making the motion verb carry the whole theology of prayer.
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 Jonah 2 identify the subject of the verb and the prayer setting.
What Does The Label Mean?
Hebrew-verb
Verb
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person feminine singular
Conjunctive waw
Qal
Consecutive imperfect
Third person
Feminine
Singular
The consecutive imperfect form participates in the verse's movement; Jonah 2:7 determines whether the reader should hear sequence, result, or narrative progress.
This form carries the BSB rendering "went up" within Jonah 2:7. Jonah 2 records prayer from distress, thanksgiving for deliverance, and rescue by the Lord.
What The Form Does In This Verse
The movement of Jonah's prayer in Jonah 2:7
Jonah's testimony that his life was fainting away and he remembered the Lord
It presents Jonah's prayer as reaching upward to the Lord's holy temple.
The form does not by itself settle the doctrine of prayer, temple, or divine presence.
How Much The Form Matters Here
High: The form marks Jonah's prayer reaching the Lord in the distress-rescue testimony.
Waw-consecutive Qal imperfect with feminine singular subject. presents the prayer as moving upward to the Lord's holy temple. Attached to the went up clause. Governed by Jonah's prayer testimony. The feminine singular subject is supplied by the prayer context.
What goes up in this line? Jonah's prayer goes up to the Lord's holy temple.
Direct: The form directly supports the finite rendering went up.
The feminine singular form should be read with the prayer as subject in context. The motion language is theological in the verse, but the grammar label alone does not explain prayer. The consecutive imperfect participates in testimony sequence, not a universal tense rule.
Motion verbs alone define prayer theology: The verb presents prayer going up; Jonah 2 supplies the setting and theological meaning.
How The Interpretation Is Derived
The BSB+ row for Jonah 2:7 links the English rendering "went up" with וַתָּב֤וֹא, Strong's H935, and the parsing label Conj-w | V-Qal-ConsecImperf-3fs.
H935 is represented here by the lemma בּוֹא. In this occurrence, the public guide is limited to the BSB rendering "went up" rather than every possible gloss of the entry.
The third person feminine singular form fits the prayer as the subject in context. The consecutive imperfect carries the testimony forward from remembering the Lord to the prayer going up to him.
Jonah 2 records prayer from distress, thanksgiving for deliverance, and rescue by the Lord.
The form fits Scripture's witness to mercy, repentance, prophetic obedience, and God's compassion for the nations.
Use this form to show how the grammar tracks the prayer's movement without making the motion verb carry the whole theology of prayer.
Do not derive a full word study, grammar doctrine, or temple theology from Conj-w | V-Qal-ConsecImperf-3fs alone. Jonah 2 supplies the prayer and rescue setting.