יִנָּבְאוּ

Summary

יִנָּבְאוּ (yinnābe'û) is the niphal imperfect 3rd masculine plural of נָבָא (nābā', "to prophesy"). In Joel 2:28 it governs a compound subject of both masculine and feminine nouns — "your sons AND your daughters" — making the daughters' prophetic activity grammatically identical to the sons'. The niphal stem denotes the ecstatic/inspired act of speaking Yahweh's word, the same verb used of Eldad and Medad (Num 11:26-27), Saul among the prophets (1 Sam 10:10), and the classical prophets.

Morphology

• Root: נָבָא (nābā') — "to prophesy"
• Stem: Niphal (passive/reflexive/middle voice) — denotes being seized or being in an inspired state of prophetic speech
• Form: Imperfect 3mp — "they will prophesy"
• Concord: Standard Hebrew practice uses the masculine plural verb form when the subject is mixed (sons and daughters together); this is grammatical default, not a demotion of the feminine member

Usage and Semantic Range

The niphal of נָבָא (and the hithpael) covers the full range of prophetic activity in the Hebrew Bible — from the ecstatic utterance of Saul and the company of prophets (1 Sam 10:5-6, 10-12) to the covenantal oracle of Jeremiah and Ezekiel, to Miriam's song (Exod 15:20-21) and Deborah's leadership oracles. The verb does not distinguish "lesser" inspired speech from "greater" — it is the word for prophesying, full stop.

WIM Debate Relevance

1. Single verb, mixed subject. Joel uses one verb to govern both sons and daughters. There is no way to construct a reading where sons and daughters "prophesy" in materially different senses; the grammar forbids it.

2. Same verb used of classical male prophets. If the prophesying of Isaiah, Jeremiah, or Ezekiel is denoted by this verb, then the prophesying of Joel's daughters is the same category of activity.

3. Already applied to women in the OT. Miriam, Deborah, Huldah, and Noadiah are denoted by the cognate noun נְבִיאָה (nĕbî'āh). Joel's promise is not inventing a new category; it is expanding an existing one to "all flesh."

4. Peter translates with προφητεύσουσιν (future active indicative) — declarative, not permissive. Women will prophesy. This is the same verb Paul uses for the regulated corporate prophetic gift in 1 Corinthians 11 and 14.

References

• Joel 2:28 (MT 3:1) — the daughters prophesy
• Numbers 11:25-29 — the seventy elders prophesy; Moses wishes all the Lord's people were prophets
• 1 Samuel 10:5-13 — Saul prophesies with the band of prophets
• Exodus 15:20-21 — Miriam prophesies in song at the Red Sea
• Acts 2:17-18 — Greek parallel προφητεύσουσιν