Jussive יְהִי yehi
The jussive is the verb form that says “let him …” or “may it ….” The first command in the Bible, “Let there be light” (יְהִי אוֹר, Gen 1:3), is a jussive. Where the imperative tells “you” who are present “do …,” the jussive says of “him” or “it”: “let … do.” Its form is usually the same as the imperfect; only in certain verbs is it shorter than the imperfect. This page colors those shortened parts and shows them one by one in words from Genesis.
Hebrew grammar calls it the “shortened imperfect” (עתיד מקוצר) after its form. The name box shows the best-known jussive, יְהִי (yehi, “let there be,” Gen 1:3).
Colour key blue = added at the front · orange = added at the end · purple = a mark inside (dot · doubled letter · changed vowel) · underline = the word this page is about
1What the jussive is
Hebrew has three forms for wishes and commands: the cohortative for “I · we” (“let us”), the imperative for “you” (“do!”), and the jussive for “he · they” (“let him”). The jussive is mostly third person; in the second person it is used with אַל (do not).
Words analyzed by OSHB as jussives number 1,162 in the Old Testament, 77 in Genesis. Because the jussive of a strong verb looks like the imperfect, there are more places that are jussive by context alone (see “Pitfalls”).
The English name comes from Latin iubeo, “command.”
2At a glance — how to recognize the jussive
- (1) Same form as the imperfect (strong verbs)יִשְׁפֹּט (16:5, “may he judge”) is letter for letter the imperfect “he will judge.” Meaning (wish, command) and context tell it.
- (2) Final-ה verbs drop ֶהיִהְיֶה (will be) → יְהִי (let there be, 1:3). יִרְבֶּה (will multiply) → יִרֶב (let multiply, 1:22).
- (3) The Hiphil shortens “i” to “e”תּוֹצִיא (will bring forth) → תּוֹצֵא (let bring forth, 1:24).
- (4) Hollow verbs shorten “u” to “o”יָקוּם (will arise) → יָקֻם (let arise, 27:31).
- (5) אַל + jussive = “do not”אַל־תִּירָא (fear not, 15:1). “Do not” here is אַל, not לֹא.
3Side by side — imperfect and jussive
Left: the standard imperfect from the grammars. Right: the jussive actually used in the Bible. Purple marks what shortened or changed.
| Root · stem | Imperfect (will) | Jussive (let) | Place · reading |
|---|---|---|---|
| ה-י-ה be (Qal) | יִהְיֶה yihyeh | יְהִי | Gen 1:3 · yehi |
| ר-ב-ה multiply (Qal) | יִרְבֶּה yirbeh | יִרֶב | Gen 1:22 · yirev |
| ח-ר-ה be angry (Qal) | יֶחֱרֶה yeḥereh | יִחַר | Gen 18:30 · yiḥar |
| ע-שׂ-ה do (Qal, you) | תַּעֲשֶׂה ta‘aseh | תַעַשׂ | Gen 22:12 · ta‘as |
| י-צ-א bring out (Hiphil, she) | תּוֹצִיא totsi | תּוֹצֵא | Gen 1:24 · totse |
| י-ס-ף add (Hiphil, she) | תּוֹסִיף tosif | תֹסֵף | Gen 4:12 · tosef |
| ק-ו-ם arise (Qal) | יָקוּם yaqum | יָקֻם | Gen 27:31 · yaqom |
| שׁ-פ-ט judge (Qal) | יִשְׁפֹּט yishpot | יִשְׁפֹּט (same) | Gen 16:5 · yishpot |
As the last row shows, a strong verb has the same imperfect and jussive. 4:12 תֹסֵף is spelled short, without ו. 27:31 יָקֻם is written with ֻ (qibbuts), a short vowel of the “o/u” class.
4Real examples from the Bible — third-person “let …”
All are words in Genesis that OSHB analyzes as jussives.
yirev — let (the birds) multiply
The root ר-ב-ה (multiply). Dropping the final ֶה from יִרְבֶּה leaves “yirb,” two consonants at the end; a helping “e” goes between them: יִרֶב (yirev). The earlier “be fruitful and multiply” is an imperative addressed directly; “let the birds multiply” is a third-person jussive.
YLVAnd God blessed them, saying, "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let the birds multiply in the earth."
totse — let (the earth) bring forth
The Hiphil (“bring out”) of י-צ-א (go out). The Hiphil imperfect is תּוֹצִיא (totsi, long “i”); the jussive shortens it to צֵ (“e”). ת is “she” — the subject הָאָרֶץ (the earth) is feminine. It pairs with וַתּוֹצֵא (and the earth brought forth, wayyiqtol) in 1:12.
YLVAnd God said, "Let the earth bring forth a living soul (nephesh) after its kind, beast and creeping thing and living thing (chai) of the earth after its kind"; and it was so.
yishpot — (may YHWH) judge
The strong root שׁ-פ-ט (judge), identical in letters to the imperfect. Sarai wishes, “May YHWH judge between me and you,” so it is a jussive.
YLVAnd Sarai said to Abram, "My wrong is upon you! I gave my handmaid into your bosom, and she saw that she had conceived, and I was diminished in her eyes. YHWH judge between me and you."
yaqom — let (my father) arise
The hollow root ק-ו-ם (arise). The imperfect is יָקוּם (yaqum, long “u”); the jussive has the short vowel קֻ. Esau asks his father politely, “Let my father arise and eat” — a third-person jussive instead of “you” to a superior.
YLVAnd he also made savory food, and brought it to his father; and he said to his father, "Let my father arise, and eat of the game of his son, in order that your soul (nephesh) may bless me."
yaft — may (God) enlarge
The Hiphil of פ-ת-ה (be wide). The Hiphil imperfect would be יַפְתֶּה (yafteh); the jussive drops the final ֶה and becomes very short: יַפְתְּ (yaft). Noah’s blessing, “May God enlarge Japheth.”
YLVMay God enlarge Japheth, and may he dwell in the tents of Shem; and let Canaan be a servant to them."
5אַל + jussive — “do not”
To tell “you” “do not …,” Hebrew does not use the imperative but אַל + the second-person jussive. It is used with the third person too.
tira — fear not
אַל־תִּירָא — אַל (do not) + תִּ (you) + the root י-ר-א (fear). The form is the same as the imperfect; אַל before it makes it a jussive.
YLVAfter these things the word of YHWH came to Abram in a vision, saying, "Fear not, Abram; I am a shield to you, your reward is exceedingly great."
ta‘as — do not do
וְאַל־תַּעַשׂ לוֹ מְאוּמָה (do not do anything to him). The short form תַּעַשׂ, with the final ה of the imperfect תַּעֲשֶׂה dropped. אַל־תִּשְׁלַח (do not stretch out) in the same verse is also אַל + jussive.
YLVAnd he said, "Do not stretch out your hand against the lad, and do not do anything to him; for now I know that you are a fearer of God, since you have not withheld your son, your only one, from me."
yiḥar — let (my Lord) not be angry
אַל־נָא יִחַר. The short form of ח-ר-ה (be angry), from the imperfect יֶחֱרֶה with the ending dropped. Abraham asks God politely in the third person — אַל + third-person jussive.
YLVAnd he said, "Let not my Lord (Adonai) be angry, and I will speak. Perhaps thirty will be found there." And he said, "I will not do it if I find there thirty."
tehi — let there not be
אַל־נָא תְהִי מְרִיבָה (let there be no strife). תְהִי is the “she” form of יְהִי — the subject מְרִיבָה (strife) is feminine, hence ת.
YLVAnd Abram said to Lot, "Let there be no strife, I pray, between me and you, and between my herdsmen and your herdsmen, for we are men (ish), brothers.
6Why the jussive is shorter
- 1. A separate short formMany grammars explain that Hebrew had, besides the imperfect (long ending), a separate “short” prefix form. The jussive and the wayyiqtol use that short form, which is why יְהִי (let there be) and וַיְהִי (and there was) look alike.
- 2. Invisible in strong verbsWhen every letter is strong, as in יִקְטֹל, long and short endings are written the same, so no difference shows.
- 3. Final-ה verbsThe imperfect ending ֶה drops. If two consonants are left at the end, a helping vowel such as “e” is added — יִרֶב (1:22).
- 4. Hiphil and hollow verbsThe long vowel of the last syllable shortens — “i” → “e” (תּוֹצֵא 1:24), “u” → “o” (יָקֹם; 27:31 יָקֻם).
7What the jussive does — command · wish · polite request · prohibition
(1) A command to a third person — God’s creation commands above all: יְהִי אוֹר (let there be light, 1:3) · תּוֹצֵא הָאָרֶץ (let the earth bring forth, 1:24) · יִרֶב (let the birds multiply, 1:22).
(2) A wish or blessing “may …” — יִשְׁפֹּט יְהוָה (YHWH judge, 16:5) · יַפְתְּ אֱלֹהִים (may God enlarge, 9:27).
(3) A polite request to a superior — speaking in the third person instead of “you”: יָקֻם אָבִי (let my father arise, 27:31) · אַל־נָא יִחַר לַאדֹנָי (let not my Lord be angry, 18:30).
(4) אַל + jussive = “do not” — often to stop something here and now: אַל־תִּירָא (fear not, 15:1) · אַל־תִּשְׁלַח (do not stretch out, 22:12). Many grammars explain that לֹא + imperfect (2:17 לֹא תֹאכַל “you shall not eat”) is used mostly for lasting prohibitions (commandments), and אַל + jussive for the immediate situation.
(5) וְ + jussive = “and let … · so that …” — 1:26 וְיִרְדּוּ (“and let them rule”). It has וְ (we) and no dot, unlike the wayyiqtol.
8Easy to confuse
The jussive and the imperfect usually look the same. OSHB analyzes 1:20 יִשְׁרְצוּ as an imperfect, but as a command after “And God said,” YLV renders it “Let … swarm.” When the forms are identical, look at the context, word order (verb first), אַל and נָא.
A short form is not always a wish. 4:12 לֹא־תֹסֵף is a short form (OSHB jussive), but with לֹא it is a statement: “it shall not continue to give.” Short forms are sometimes used as plain futures, especially in poetry and solemn speech.
Telling it from the wayyiqtol — יְהִי (let there be) and וַיְהִי (and there was) are the same short form. With וַ in front it is a wayyiqtol (past); without it, or with וְ, it is a jussive (wish).
Telling it from the imperative — the imperative is only for “you” and has no prefix (רְבוּ multiply, 1:22). The jussive has a prefix (י ת). “Do not” cannot be said with an imperative, so it is always אַל + jussive.
9Where this appears in Genesis 1–2
All 8 places, found from the OSHB morphology. Tap one to go to that word’s notes.