A cohortative verb is in one of the volitional moods often marked by a final ה; see here. Gesenius (p133):
“The cohortative expresses the direction of the will to an action and thus denotes especially self-encouragement (in the 1st plural, an exhortation to others at the same time), a resolution or a wish, as an optative.”
- They are always in the first person (just as imperatives are only second person and jussives are third person).
- A cohortative verb does not carry the full force of a command (We must do this…), but it conveys a stronger meaning than a simple suggestion or statement of possibility (We could do this…). The meaning is somewhere in the middle.
- In English, a cohortative is often translated with a helping verb such as “let” or “want” or “will,” depending on the context (“Let us do this!”). Thus, the cohortative verb functions as an indirect command; the reader must examine the context to determine the strength of desirability being expressed in each specific instance. For more on the specific uses, see Gesenius §108 and Driver.
|
Parsing |
Hebrew |
Gloss |
|
Qal singular |
אֶקְטֹלָה |
let me kill |
|
Qal plural |
נִקְטֹהלָה |
let us kill |
|
Niphal singular |
אֶקָּטֵלָה |
let me be killed |
|
Niphal plural |
נִקָּטֵלָה |
let us be killed |
|
Hiphil singular |
אַקְטִילָה |
let me cause to kill |
|
Hiphil plural |
נַקְטִילָה |
let us cause to kill |
|
Piel singular |
אֲקַטֵּלָה |
let me slaughter |
|
Piel plural |
נְקַטֵּלָה |
let us slaughter |
|
Hithpael singular |
אֶתְקַטֵּלָה |
let me kill myself |
|
Hithpael plural |
נִתְקַטֵּלָה |
let us kill ourselves |