Bible HebrewAnd You Shall: וְאָהַבְתָּ
“And you shall love”: וְ on the past form looks ahead, to laws, promises and habits.
וְאָהַבְתָּ “and you shall love”: the past form looking ahead
You know the story verb וַיֹּאמֶר “and he said”: וַ on the future form (the imperfect) tells what happened. Hebrew has a mirror image of it. A plain וְ, with a quick ə and no doubling, on the past form (the perfect) looks ahead: “and you will …”, “and you shall …”. Grammar books call it the weqatal.
The Shema starts with a command, שְׁמַע “Hear!” (Deuteronomy 6:4), and every next step is a weqatal: וְאָהַבְתָּ “and you shall love” (6:5), וְדִבַּרְתָּ “and you shall talk” (6:7), וּקְשַׁרְתָּם “and you shall bind them” (6:8), וּכְתַבְתָּם “and you shall write them” (6:9). Before a sheva, וְ is said וּ, as you learned.
It carries on whatever comes first. A law: שֵׁשֶׁת יָמִים תַּעֲבֹד וְעָשִׂיתָ כָּל־מְלַאכְתֶּךָ “Six days you shall work and do all your work” (Exodus 20:9). A promise: וְהָיָה בְּאַחֲרִית הַיָּמִים “And it shall come to pass in the last days” (Isaiah 2:2), and וְשָׁפַט בֵּין הַגּוֹיִם “and he shall judge between the nations” (Isaiah 2:4). A habit, even in the past: וְעָלָה הָאִישׁ הַהוּא מֵעִירוֹ מִיָּמִים יָמִימָה “That man used to go up from his town year after year” (1 Samuel 1:3).
Listen for the stress. In the “you” (said to a man) and “I” forms it often moves to the end. In אָהַבְתָּ “you loved” (Genesis 22:2) the stress is in the middle, on הַ. In וְאָהַבְתָּ it moves to the last syllable, תָּ.
Tell them apart at a glance:
| What you see | What it is | Example |
|---|---|---|
| וַ, a doubled letter, then a verb with a letter in front (י ת א נ) | the story verb: “and he did” | וַיֹּאמְרוּ and they said (Genesis 11:3) |
| וְ or וּ on a verb with no letter in front; the person is at the end | weqatal: “and he will”, “and you shall” | וְאָמְרוּ and they shall say (Deuteronomy 21:20) |
| וְ on a verb with a letter in front, and no doubling | וְ + the future form: “and he will”, “and may he” | וְיִשְׁמְרֶךָ and keep you (Numbers 6:24) |
So וַיְהִי “and it came to pass” (Genesis 1:3) looks back, and וְהָיָה “and it shall come to pass” (Isaiah 2:2) looks ahead.
Check yourself
What does וְאָהַבְתָּ mean (Deuteronomy 6:5)?
✓ and you shall love · and you loved · love! · and he loved
אָהַבְתָּ alone is “you loved”. With a plain וְ in front, the past form turns to the future: וְאָהַבְתָּ “and you shall love”.
Which means “and it shall come to pass”?
✓ וְהָיָה · וַיְהִי · הָיָה · יְהִי
וְהָיָה בְּאַחֲרִית הַיָּמִים (Isaiah 2:2). וַיְהִי is the story verb, “and it came to pass”.
What sets the time of a weqatal?
✓ the command or verb that comes before it · its ending alone · the word אֵת · nothing: it is always past
שֵׁשֶׁת יָמִים תַּעֲבֹד וְעָשִׂיתָ: the future form תַּעֲבֹד comes first, and וְעָשִׂיתָ carries it on (Exodus 20:9).
In which forms does the stress often move to the end?
✓ “you” (said to a man) and “I” · “he” and “she” · only “they” · none: it never moves
אָהַבְתָּ “you loved” is stressed in the middle; וְאָהַבְתָּ “and you shall love” on the end.
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