# BBH Chapter 18 — Qal Imperative

## Files

### Reference Files

File | Description
--- | ---
imperative-paradigms.md | Full paradigm tables: strong A-class, B-class, III-ה, Biconsonantal, I-י, I-נ, I-aleph, Geminate; summary table

### Exercises

Exercise | Description
--- | ---
exercises/ch18-parsing-drill/ | 35-item drill: strong and weak Qal Imperative parsing, plus Imperative/Imperfect/Jussive disambiguation
exercises/ch18-passage-exercise/ | 16-item passage exercise: Gen 12, Gen 22, Deu 6, Gen 1/Exo 3, Num 13 — imperatives in narrative and law
exercises/ch18-qal-imperative-paradigm-drill/ | Paradigm drill — write all 4 Qal Imperative forms of שמר from memory

### Flashcards

File | Format | Description
--- | --- | ---
ch18-morphology-deck.md | Markdown | 32-card morphology deck — Qal Imperative forms with root class groupings
ch18-morphology-deck.txt | Anki import | Morphology deck — tab-separated, ready for Anki File → Import (32 cards)
ch18-morphology-deck-fd.txt | Flashcards Deluxe | Morphology deck — tab-separated, ready for Flashcards Deluxe import (32 cards)
ch18-vocab-deck.md | Markdown | Vocabulary deck — 14 words (8 verbs, 3 nouns, 3 other) with POS tags and frequency
ch18-vocab-deck.txt | Anki import | Vocabulary deck — tab-separated, ready for Anki File → Import (14 cards)
ch18-vocab-deck-fd.txt | Flashcards Deluxe | Vocabulary deck — tab-separated, ready for Flashcards Deluxe import (14 cards)

### Notebooks

Notebook | What it shows
--- | ---
Qal Stem | Qal stem: imperative distribution by book and root
OT Speaker Attribution | OT speaker attribution: find who issues imperatives in each book

Basics of Biblical Hebrew, Pratico & Van Pelt
Data: MACULA Hebrew WLC (~2,531 Qal Imperative tokens OT-wide)

## 1. Function (BBH §18.2)

The Qal Imperative is used exclusively for direct commands addressed to a second person (you singular or plural). It cannot express commands to first or third persons — those use the cohortative and jussive respectively.

Function | Description | Example
--- | --- | ---
Direct command | Simple positive command to 2nd person | שְׁמַע — "Hear!" (Deu 6:4)
Urgent request | A plea or entreaty (context determines force) | קוּם — "Arise!" (Gen 13:17)
Invitation | A welcome or permission to act | בֹּא — "Come!" (Gen 7:1)
Series / command chain | Multiple imperatives in sequence | פְּרוּ וּרְבוּ — "Be fruitful and multiply" (Gen 1:28)

> Key diagnostic: The Qal Imperative has no prefix. It begins directly with the root consonants (or a vowel pattern from them). Positive commands only — for negative commands, use אַל + Jussive or לֹא + Imperfect.

## 2. Form — Diagnostic Markers (BBH §18.3–18.5)

The Qal Imperative is derived directly from the Qal Imperfect by removing the 2nd-person prefix (תּ–). What remains is the imperative stem.

- 2ms: Remove תּ from the 2ms imperfect → qal stem + holem (A-class) or patach (B-class) — e.g. תִּשְׁמֹר → שְׁמֹר
- 2fs: 2ms form + ִי (hireq-yod) suffix → שִׁמְרִי
- 2mp: 2ms form + וּ (shureq) suffix → שִׁמְרוּ
- 2fp: 2ms form + נָה suffix → שְׁמֹרְנָה

Negative commands never use the Imperative:
- Prohibitions: לֹא + Imperfect (permanent prohibition)
- Warnings/urgent prohibitions: אַל + Jussive (immediate prohibition)

## 3. Paradigm

Full paradigm tables are in the paradigm reference file.

Conjugation | 2ms Form | BBH § | Notes
--- | --- | --- | ---
Qal Imperative — Strong | שְׁמֹר | §18.3 | A-class holem vowel
Qal Imperative — B-class | שְׁמַע | §18.3 | Patach with gutturals
Qal Imperative — III-ה | עֲשֵׂה | §18.5 | ה retained in 2ms; drops before suffixes
Qal Imperative — Biconsonantal | קוּם / שׁוּב | §18.6 | Full vowel preserved
Qal Imperative — I-י | לֵךְ / שֵׁב | §18.7 | Tsere; ה of הלך drops
Qal Imperative — I-נ | תֵּן / סַע | §18.7 | Nun assimilates; short forms
Qal Imperative — I-aleph | אֱמֹר / אֱכֹל | §18.7 | Hateph-segol under aleph
Qal Imperative — Geminate | סֹב / תֵּם | §18.7 | Dagesh forte in R2/R3

## 4. Real Forms — שָׁמַר (to keep, guard)

Conjugation | Form | Gloss
--- | --- | ---
Perfect 3ms | שָׁמַר | "he kept"
Imperfect 3ms | יִשְׁמֹר | "he will keep"
Wayyiqtol 3ms | וַיִּשְׁמֹר | "and he kept"
Imperative 2ms | שְׁמֹר | "Keep!"
Imperative 2fs | שִׁמְרִי | "Keep! (f)"
Imperative 2mp | שִׁמְרוּ | "Keep! (pl. m)"
Imperative 2fp | שְׁמֹרְנָה | "Keep! (pl. f)"
Participle ms | שֹׁמֵר | "keeping / keeper"

> Note: The 2ms imperative (שְׁמֹר) looks like the 2ms imperfect with the prefix removed. The shewa under the first root consonant is a characteristic feature of strong-root imperatives.

## 5. Most Common Lemmas — Qal Imperative in the Torah

Corpus: Genesis–Deuteronomy · 467 Qal Imperative tokens

Root | 2ms Form | Torah (×) | Meaning | Notes
--- | --- | --- | --- | ---
לקח | קַח | 39 | take | I-י short form; from יִקַּח
הלך | לֵךְ | 34 | go, walk | I-י/I-gutt.; extremely short form
ראה | רְאֵה | 20 | see | III-ה; ה retained in 2ms
קום | קוּם | 17 | arise, stand | Biconsonantal; full vowel
שמע | שְׁמַע | 16 | hear, obey | B-class; patach in 2ms
אמר | אֱמֹר | 16 | say, speak | I-aleph; hateph-segol
עשה | עֲשֵׂה | 14 | do, make | III-ה + I-gutt.
עלה | עֲלֵה | 13 | go up | III-ה + I-gutt.
בוא | בֹּא | 12 | come, enter | Biconsonantal; aleph quiesces
שוב | שׁוּב | 11 | return, turn | Biconsonantal; full vowel
נשא | שָׂא | 11 | lift, carry | I-נ; nun and initial ה drop
שים | שִׂים | 7 | put, set | Biconsonantal
ישב | שֵׁב | 7 | sit, dwell | I-י short form
יצא | צֵא | 6 | go out | I-י; tsere
נטה | נְטֵה | 6 | stretch out | III-ה; I-נ: nun assimilates
נתן | תֵּן | 6 | give | I-נ; both nuns drop
שלח | שְׁלַח | 5 | send | B-class; gutt. patach
ירד | רְדוּ | 5 | go down | I-י; tsere
פרה | פְּרוּ | 5 | be fruitful | III-ה; Gen 1:28 creation mandate
שמר | שְׁמֹר | — | keep, guard | Key paradigm root

## 6. Example Passages

### Direct Command

Imperative 2ms — Gen 12:1 — לֶךְ\־לְךָ֛ מֵאַרְצְךָ֥
"Go from your land…"
→ הלך Qal Imperative 2ms; I-י short form (לֵךְ/לֶךְ); God's call to Abraham — the paradigmatic divine imperative in Genesis.

Imperative 2ms — Gen 22:2 — קַח\־נָ֠א אֶת\־בִּנְךָ֨
"Take now your son…"
→ לקח Qal Imperative 2ms; I-י short form (קַח); the binding of Isaac command; נָא adds urgency/entreaty.

Imperative 2ms — Gen 6:14 — עֲשֵׂ֤ה לְךָ֙ תֵּבַ֣ת עֲצֵי\־גֹ֔פֶר
"Make for yourself an ark of gopher wood."
→ עשה Qal Imperative 2ms; III-ה + I-gutt.; ה retained in 2ms; the ark-building command to Noah.

### Urgent Request / Plea

Imperative 2ms — Gen 19:7 — אַל\־נָ֥א אַחַ֖י תָּרֵֽעוּ
"Please, my brothers, do not act wickedly."
→ Context: Lot pleads with the crowd; the positive imperative elsewhere in the speech contrasts with אַל + Jussive for the prohibition.

Imperative 2ms — Psa 86:1 — הַטֵּ֘ה\־יְהוָ֤ה אָזְנְךָ֨ עֲנֵ֗נִי
"Incline your ear, O LORD; answer me."
→ נטה Qal Imperative 2ms; III-ה: ה drops before nothing (2ms = base form); followed immediately by a second imperative — the imperative chain in prayer.

### Invitation / Permission

Imperative 2ms — Gen 7:1 — בֹּֽא\־אַתָּ֤ה וְכָל\־בֵּיתְךָ֙ אֶל\־הַתֵּבָ֔ה
"Come, you and all your household, into the ark."
→ בוא Qal Imperative 2ms; Biconsonantal; aleph quiesces; waw + second imperative continues the divine invitation.

### Command Chain (Imperative + Weqatal)

Imperative + Weqatal — Deu 6:4–5 —

שְׁמַ֖ע יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל … וְאָ֣הַבְתָּ֔
"Hear, O Israel… and you shall love."
→ שמע Qal Imperative 2ms (B-class; patach); followed by וְאָהַבְתָּ (Weqatal) — the imperative launches the command chain; Weqatal continues it. Classic Ch17–18 intersection.

Imperative 2mp — Gen 1:28 — פְּר֥וּ וּרְב֖וּ
"Be fruitful and multiply."
→ פרה Qal Imperative 2mp (III-ה; ה drops before -וּ) + רבה Qal Imperative 2mp; the creation mandate in paired imperative form.

### Imperative 2fs

Imperative 2fs — Gen 12:13 — אִמְרִי\־נָ֥א אֲחֹתִ֖י אָ֑תְּ
"Say, please, that you are my sister."
→ אמר Qal Imperative 2fs (אִמְרִי); I-aleph with hireq-yod suffix; Abraham's request to Sarai.

### Negative Commands (Contrast)

Prohibition — Gen 22:12 — אַל\־תִּשְׁלַ֤ח יָֽדְךָ֙ אֶל\־הַנַּ֔עַר
"Do not lay your hand on the boy."
→ שלח Qal Jussive 2ms; note: negative command uses אַל + Jussive, never the Imperative; the angel's immediate prohibition to Abraham.

## 7. Conjugation Distribution — Qal (OT-wide)

Conjugation | Count | % of Qal
--- | --- | ---
Consecutive Perfect (Weqatal) | 10,979 | 23.7%
Perfect (Qatal) | 9,245 | 19.9%
Imperfect (Yiqtol) | 7,914 | 17.0%
Participle | 5,078 | 10.9%
Infinitive Construct | 4,029 | 8.7%
Consecutive Imperfect (Wayyiqtol) | 3,987 | 8.6%
Imperative | 2,531 | 5.5%
Participle Passive | 914 | 2.0%
Jussive | 740 | 1.6%
Infinitive Absolute | 489 | 1.1%

> Teaching note: The Imperative (2,531 tokens, 5.5% of Qal) is relatively rare compared to the Wayyiqtol and Perfect, but it clusters heavily in specific discourse contexts: divine commands (Genesis, Exodus), legal instructions (Deuteronomy), and prayers/psalms. When you see a verbless prefix form addressed to a second person, suspect the Imperative. The 2ms form is by far the most common (967 tokens), reflecting the prevalence of singular direct address in biblical narrative and law.

## 8. Parsing Quick Reference

Form | Root | PGN | Notes
--- | --- | --- | ---
שְׁמֹר | שמר | 2ms | Strong A-class; holem
שִׁמְרִי | שמר | 2fs | + ִי suffix
שִׁמְרוּ | שמר | 2mp | + וּ suffix
שְׁמֹרְנָה | שמר | 2fp | + נָה suffix
לֵךְ / לֶךְ | הלך | 2ms | I-י; very short
לְכִי | הלך | 2fs |
לְכוּ | הלך | 2mp |
קַח | לקח | 2ms | I-י; from יִקַּח
קְחוּ | לקח | 2mp |
עֲשֵׂה | עשה | 2ms | III-ה + I-gutt.
עֲשִׂי | עשה | 2fs | ה drops + ִי
עֲשׂוּ | עשה | 2mp | ה drops + וּ
בֹּא | בוא | 2ms | Biconsonantal
בֹּאִי | בוא | 2fs |
בֹּאוּ | בוא | 2mp |
קוּם | קום | 2ms | Biconsonantal
קוּמִי | קום | 2fs |
קוּמוּ | קום | 2mp |
שֵׁב | ישב | 2ms | I-י short form
צֵא | יצא | 2ms | I-י + III-א
תֵּן | נתן | 2ms | I-נ; both nuns drop
אֱמֹר | אמר | 2ms | I-aleph; hateph
שָׂא | נשא | 2ms | I-נ + I-aleph; very short