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Grammar Analysis: Genesis 2:1–2

Text

Hebrew (v.1): וַיְכֻלּוּ הַשָּׁמַיִם וְהָאָרֶץ וְכָל־צְבָאָם׃
Hebrew (v.2): וַיְכַל אֱלֹהִים בַּיּוֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִי מְלַאכְתּוֹ אֲשֶׁר עָשָׂה וַיִּשְׁבֹּת בַּיּוֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִי מִכָּל־מְלַאכְתּוֹ אֲשֶׁר עָשָֽׂה׃

KJV (v.1): Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them.
KJV (v.2): And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made.

Word-by-Word Parsing

Genesis 2:1

# Word Lemma Parsing Gloss
1 וַ ו Conj.+NAN and
2 יְכֻלּוּ כלה Verb.Pual.Wayq.3mp be complete
3 הַ ה Art.+NAN the
4 שָּׁמַיִם שׁמים Noun.mp.Abs heavens
5 וְ ו Conj.+NAN and
6 הָ ה Art.+NAN the
7 אָרֶץ ארץ Noun.s.Abs earth
8 וְ ו Conj.+NAN and
9 כָל כל Noun.ms.Cst whole
10 צְבָאָם צבא Noun.ms.Abs.+3mp service

Genesis 2:2

# Word Lemma Parsing Gloss
1 וַ ו Conj.+NAN and
2 יְכַל כלה Verb.Piel.Wayq.3ms be complete
3 אֱלֹהִים אלהים Noun.mp.Abs god(s)
4 בַּ ב Prep in
ה Art.+NAN the
5 יּוֹם יום Noun.ms.Abs day
6 הַ ה Art.+NAN the
7 שְּׁבִיעִי שׁביעי Adj.ms.Abs seventh
8 מְלַאכְתּוֹ מלאכת Noun.fs.Abs.+3ms work
9 אֲשֶׁר אשׁר Conj.+NAN \<relative>
10 עָשָׂה עשׂה Verb.Qal.Perf.3ms make
11 וַ ו Conj.+NAN and
12 יִּשְׁבֹּת שׁבת Verb.Qal.Wayq.3ms cease
13 בַּ ב Prep in
ה Art.+NAN the
14 יּוֹם יום Noun.ms.Abs day
15 הַ ה Art.+NAN the
16 שְּׁבִיעִי שׁביעי Adj.ms.Abs seventh
17 מִ מן Prep from
18 כָּל כל Noun.ms.Cst whole
19 מְלַאכְתּוֹ מלאכת Noun.fs.Abs.+3ms work
20 אֲשֶׁר אשׁר Conj.+NAN \<relative>
21 עָשָׂה עשׂה Verb.Qal.Perf.3ms make

Clause Structure

Genesis 2:1 — Single Clause

Field Content
Type WayX (narrative wayyiqtol with fronted element)
Domain N (Narrative)
Text וַיְכֻלּוּ הַשָּׁמַיִם וְהָאָרֶץ וְכָל־צְבָאָם
[Conj] וַ
[Pred] יְכֻלּוּ (3mp Pual wayyiqtol)
[Subj] הַשָּׁמַיִם וְהָאָרֶץ וְכָל־צְבָאָם (compound subject)

Genesis 2:2 — Four Clauses

# Type Domain Function Key Elements
1 WayX N God completes his work [Conj] וַ / [Pred] יְכַל / [Subj] אֱלֹהִים / [Time] בַּיּוֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִי / [Objc] מְלַאכְתּוֹ
2 xQt0 N Relative: "which he had made" [Rela] אֲשֶׁר / [Pred] עָשָׂה
3 Way0 N God rests [Conj] וַ / [Pred] יִּשְׁבֹּת / [Time] בַּיּוֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִי / [Cmpl] מִכָּל מְלַאכְתּוֹ
4 xQt0 N Relative: "which he had made" [Rela] אֲשֶׁר / [Pred] עָשָׂה

Construct Chains

Verse Chain Structure Meaning
2:1 כָל־צְבָאָם כָל (ms.Cst) + צְבָאָם (ms.Abs.+3mp) "all their host" — totality of heavenly/earthly array
2:2 כָּל־מְלַאכְתּוֹ כָּל (ms.Cst) + מְלַאכְתּוֹ (fs.Abs.+3ms) "all his work" — totality of God's creative labor

Key Grammatical Features

1. יְכֻלּוּ (wayekhulu) — Pual Stem, the Only Pual Occurrence of כלה

  • Form: Verb.Pual.Wayq.3mp of כלה (H3615). Pual stem = passive of Piel. Wayyiqtol (waw-consecutive imperfect) marks narrative sequence.
  • Root: כלה (k-l-h) — "to complete, finish, bring to an end, consume."
  • Significance: This is the only Pual occurrence of כלה in the entire Hebrew Bible (199 verses, 258 tokens — Pual count: 1). The Pual is the passive-intensive stem: the subject receives the action as a completed state with enduring result. The heavens and earth are not self-completed; they stand as having been brought to completion by an unexpressed agent. The passive voice grammatically occludes the agent in v.1, setting up the agent-reveal in v.2.
  • 3mp agreement: The verb is 3rd masculine plural, agreeing with the compound subject "the heavens and the earth and all their host" — a plural entity construed as a unified whole.
  • Grammar reference: No canonical Pual stem entry exists yet. Pual (= pu''al) is the passive counterpart of the Piel, formed with u-class vowels (quttal pattern). It is the least common of the seven major stems. Diagnostic: u-vowel after first root consonant (e.g., יְכֻלּוּ ← yequṭṭəlû).
  • Word study: H3615-kalah.md

2. יְכַל (wayekhal) — Piel Stem, Active Completion by God

  • Form: Verb.Piel.Wayq.3ms of כלה (H3615). Piel stem = factitive/resultative active. Wayyiqtol narrative sequential.
  • Root: Same lemma כלה (k-l-h), but the stem-switch from Pual (v.1) to Piel (v.2) is the grammatical hinge of the passage.
  • Significance: The Piel stem expresses active, agent-driven completion. In v.1 the heavens and earth passively stand completed (Pual); in v.2 God actively completes/brings to an end (Piel) his work. The Piel is the dominant stem for כלה (141 of 199 occurrences), typically expressing transitive action: bringing something to its end, finishing a task, consuming in judgment. Here the object is מְלַאכְתּוֹ ("his work"), and the explicit subject is אֱלֹהִים — naming the agent that v.1's Pual left unexpressed.
  • Grammar reference: No canonical Piel stem entry exists yet. Piel (= pi''el) is the factitive/intensive stem, formed with i-vowel after first root consonant and doubled middle radical (qittel pattern). Core function: bringing about a state in the object that corresponds to the Qal's basic meaning. With stative roots like כלה, the Piel is resultative: "to cause X to be complete/ended."
  • Word study: H3615-kalah.md, TR-kalah-synteleo.md

3. Pual → Piel Stem-Shift Architecture (vv.1–2)

  • Form: The same lemma (כלה) appears in two different stems in adjacent verses, in the same narrative tense (wayyiqtol), under the same conjunction (waw-consecutive). The shift is grammatically deliberate.
  • Significance: The Pual of v.1 states creation's completedness as a passive fact — the cosmos simply is finished. The Piel of v.2 identifies the agent and the work that was completed. Together they form a grammatical chiasm:
  • v.1: [passive-result] heavens-and-earth were-completed (Pual)
  • v.2: [active-agent] God completed (Piel) his work
  • v.2b: [active-agent] God ceased (Qal) from his work
  • Theological relevance: This stem architecture grounds the NT "it is finished" language (John 19:30 τετέλεσται, perfect passive of τελέω G5055). The perfect passive in Greek echoes the Hebrew Pual: a completed action whose result endures. The LXX renders v.1 with συνετελέσθησαν (aorist passive of συντελέω G4931, the dominant LXX equivalent of כלה), and v.2 with συνετέλεσεν (aorist active of συντελέω) — preserving the passive→active stem shift. The cross-testament bridge is: H3615 כלה (Pual) → G4931 συντελέω (passive) → G5055 τελέω (passive) at the cross.
  • Cross-references: H3615-kalah.md, TR-kalah-synteleo.md, G5055-teleo.md, G4931-synteleo.md

4. Wayyiqtol Tense — Narrative Sequential

  • Form: Both key verbs (יְכֻלּוּ and יְכַל) are in the wayyiqtol (waw-consecutive imperfect) form. Also וַיִּשְׁבֹּת (v.2b).
  • Significance: Wayyiqtol is the main narrative tense of Biblical Hebrew, carrying the storyline forward in sequence. Both verbs are prefixed with וַ + short imperfect. The Pual wayyiqtol in v.1 is morphologically notable: the u-class theme vowel of the Pual stem combines with the wayyiqtol prefix to produce wayekhullû (וַיְכֻלּוּ), carrying the doubled middle radical (dagesh in ל) characteristic of the Pual/Piel.
  • Grammar reference: No canonical wayyiqtol entry exists. Wayyiqtol is the primary narrative tense form: prefix-conjugation with waw-consecutive (וַ + shortened imperfect). It marks sequential past action ("and X happened... and then Y happened").

5. Compound Subject and Construct Chain in v.1

  • Form: הַשָּׁמַיִם וְהָאָרֶץ וְכָל־צְבָאָם — a three-member compound subject (two articular nouns + one construct chain), all governed by the single predicate יְכֻלּוּ. The construct chain כָל־צְבָאָם (ms.Cst + ms.Abs.+3mp) with the 3mp pronominal suffix referring back to both heavens and earth.
  • Significance: The compound-subject syntax unites heavens, earth, and their host as a single grammatical entity receiving the predicate "were completed." The 3mp suffix on צְבָאָם ("their host") binds the host to both heavens and earth, not to one alone. The construct chain כָל ("all/whole of") distributes totality over the host noun.
  • Grammar reference: syntax-compound-object-waw — compound subject with waw; construct-chain-suffix — suffix on absolute scoping whole chain; construct-state

Cross-References