WG: Heard — The Hearing-Obedience Concept Cluster¶
Overview¶
The hearing-obedience concept in Hebrew Scripture involves a core verb (shama) surrounded by synonymous hearing verbs, the content of what is heard (voice, commandments, Torah), and a willingness verb. Together they form the covenant-response vocabulary: God speaks through voice, commandments, and Torah; Israel is to hear/attend/be willing, and responsive hearing constitutes obedience.
Word Group Members¶
| Strong's | Word | Transliteration | POS | Occurrences | Role in Concept | Library Entry |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| H8085 | שָׁמַע | shâmaʻ | verb | 1072v | Core verb — hear, obey, hearken | H8085-shama.md |
| H6963 | קוֹל | qôwl | noun | 436v | What is heard — voice, sound | H6963-qowl.md |
| H238 | אָזַן | ʼâzan | verb | 41v | Synonym — give ear, listen attentively | TODO(need H238 study) |
| H7181 | קָשַׁב | qâshab | verb | 45v | Synonym — attend closely, prick up ears | TODO(need H7181 study) |
| H14 | אָבָה | ʼâbâh | verb | 52v | Willingness — consent, be willing | TODO(need H14 study) |
| H4687 | מִצְוָה | mitsvâh | noun | 177v | Content — commandment | H4687-mitsvah.md |
| H8451 | תּוֹרָה | tôwrâh | noun | 213v | Content — law, instruction | H8451-towrah.md |
Relationships¶
Co-occurrence (appear in same verses)¶
| Word A | Word B | Shared Verses | Typical Context |
|---|---|---|---|
| shama (H8085) | qowl (H6963) | 235 (22% of A, 54% of B) | "hearken to the voice of the LORD" — covenant formula |
| shama (H8085) | qashab (H7181) | 26 (2% of A, 58% of B) | "obey... hearken" — intensified hearing pair |
| shama (H8085) | mitsvah (H4687) | 26 (2% of A, 15% of B) | "obey his voice and keep his commandments" |
| shama (H8085) | ʼazan (H238) | 24 (2% of A, 59% of B) | "hear my voice; give ear unto my speech" — parallelism |
| shama (H8085) | towrah (H8451) | 24 (2% of A, 11% of B) | "hear the law" / refusal to hear the law |
| mitsvah (H4687) | towrah (H8451) | 22 (12% of A, 10% of B) | "keep his commandments and his law" |
| shama (H8085) | ʼabah (H14) | 18 (2% of A, 35% of B) | "would not hearken" — refusal to obey |
| qowl (H6963) | mitsvah (H4687) | 12 | "obey his voice and keep his commandments" |
| qowl (H6963) | ʼazan (H238) | 11 | poetic parallelism: "hear my voice; give ear" |
| ʼazan (H238) | qashab (H7181) | 7 | intensified attention pair in Psalms |
Note: qashab (58% co-occurrence with shama) and ʼazan (59% co-occurrence with shama) almost never appear without shama nearby — they function as intensifiers of the core hearing verb.
LXX Overlaps¶
| Hebrew Words | Shared Greek | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| shama + qowl + ʼazan + qashab | ἀκούω (akouō) G191 | All four hearing verbs map to akouō — Greek collapses the distinction |
| shama + qowl + ʼazan + qashab | εἰσακούω (eisakouō) G1522 | Prayer-hearing compound; maps multiple Hebrew verbs |
| ʼazan + qashab | ἐνωτίζομαι (enōtizomai) G1801 | "Take into ears" — captures intensive listening |
| qashab | προσέχω (prosechō) G4337 | "Hold toward" — focused attention |
| mitsvah + towrah | ἐντολή (entolē) G1785 + νόμος (nomos) G3551 | Content words retain distinct Greek equivalents |
| shama | ὑπακούω (hupakouō) G5219 | Obedience compound: "hear under" — isolates the obedience sense |
Roles in the Concept¶
- Core Action: shama (שָׁמַע) — the comprehensive hearing-obeying act
- Intensifiers: ʼazan (אָזַן) "give ear" + qashab (קָשַׁב) "attend" — sharpen the hearing demand in poetic/prophetic parallelism
- Willingness: ʼabah (אָבָה) — the volitional component; negated (loʼ ʼabah) = "would not" = refusal
- What is Heard: qowl (קוֹל) "voice" — the medium of divine communication
- What is Obeyed: mitsvah (מִצְוָה) "commandment" + towrah (תּוֹרָה) "law/instruction" — the content of what God speaks
Key Passages Where Multiple Group Words Appear Together¶
- Gen 26:5 — [shama + qowl + mitsvah + towrah] "Because that Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws" — 4 members in one verse, the Abrahamic obedience prototype
- Exo 15:26 — [shama + qowl + ʼazan + mitsvah] "If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the LORD thy God, and wilt do that which is right... and give ear to his commandments" — covenant health formula
- Deut 28:1 — [shama + qowl + mitsvah] "if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe and to do all his commandments" — blessings conditional
- Deut 28:15 — [shama + qowl + mitsvah] "if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe to do all his commandments" — curses conditional
- Deut 30:10 — [shama + qowl + mitsvah + towrah] "If thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to keep his commandments and his statutes which are written in this book of the law"
- 1 Sam 15:22 — [shama + qowl + qashab] "Hath the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams"
- Psa 81:11 — [shama + qowl + ʼabah] "But my people would not hearken to my voice; and Israel would none of me" — divine lament over refusal
Generated from: gather_word_group_data.py, co-occurrence queries Last updated: 2026-05-03