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The Jussive form looks very similar to the Imperfect but functions in the sentence more like an Imperative. Jussive verbs usually appear in third person forms. (Similarly, Imperative verbs appear only in second person forms, and Cohortative verbs appear only in the first person, forms.) A Jussive verb does not carry the full force of a command ("He must do this!"), but it conveys a stronger meaning than a simple suggestion or statement of possibilty ("He could do this."). The meaning is somewhere in the middle. In English, a Jussive is often translated with the helping verb "may" or "let," depending on the context ("May he do this!" or "Let him do this!"). Thus, the Jussive verb functions as an indirect command; the reader must examine the context to determine the strength of desirability being expressed in each specific instance.
Biblical Hebrew does not use the Imperative form to express negative commands. Rather, negative commands are always expressed using either the Imperfect conjugation form or the Jussive form. In cases where the Jussive form is being used to express a negative command, the verb will appear in a 2nd person form rather than a 3rd person form. When used in this way, the Jussive form takes the negative particle particle negative-al in nearly all instances.
