cohortative

A cohortative verb is in one of the volitional moods often marked by a final ה; see here.

  • 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.  See also Gesenius 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

pdf or video or KHW chp. 41.1.

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