וְנָתַתִּ֨י רוּחִ֤י בָכֶם֙ וִחְיִיתֶ֔ם וְהִנַּחְתִּ֥י אֶתְכֶ֖ם עַל־אַדְמַתְכֶ֑ם וִידַעְתֶּ֞ם כִּי־אֲנִ֧י יְהוָ֛ה דִּבַּ֥רְתִּי וְעָשִׂ֖יתִי נְאֻם־יְהוָֽה׃
And I will put my Spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you on your land; and you shall know that I am YHWH—I have spoken, and I have done it, declares YHWH.
Explanation of Feature
This verse from Ezekiel 37:14 highlights the use of perfect verbs in prophetic speech to express future certainty and fulfilled promise—a common prophetic technique in Biblical Hebrew. Verbs like דִּבַּרְתִּי (“I have spoken”) and עָשִׂיתִי (“I have done”) appear in the perfect tense, but contextually refer to future actions that are so certain they are spoken of as if already completed.
This use of the prophetic perfect lends rhetorical force and divine assurance to the prophecy.
Examples from Ezekiel 37:14
| Verb | Parsing | Translation | Function |
|---|---|---|---|
| וְנָתַתִּי | Conjunctive Qal perfect, 1cs | And I will put | Future action expressed with perfect for assurance |
| וְחִיִיתֶם | Conjunctive Qal perfect, 2mp | And you shall live | Result clause following divine action |
| וִידַעְתֶּם | Conjunctive Qal perfect, 2mp | And you shall know | Certainty of recognition as a result of fulfillment |
| דִּבַּרְתִּי | Qal perfect, 1cs | I have spoken | Prophetic perfect—past form with future intent |
| וְעָשִׂיתִי | Conjunctive Qal perfect, 1cs | And I have done it | Future certainty cast as completed action |
Related Grammatical Insight
– The Prophetic Perfect: Hebrew prophets often use perfect tense verbs for future events to emphasize certainty. Though grammatically “past,” these forms indicate future events viewed as already accomplished from YHWH’s perspective.
– Common in prophetic declarations:
– אָמַר יְהוָה – “YHWH has said” (introducing or sealing a prophecy)
– וְעָשִׂיתִי – “and I have done it” (even if the action is still future)
This stylistic device reassures listeners that what God promises is as good as done.
