אָזַן
to hear
‘to hear’ is one of 4 main senses fuller range ↓
Full lexicon entry — Brown-Driver-Briggs (BDB)
From Brown-Driver-Briggs (BDB)
Where this word appears
Grammar key — what these labels mean
Part of speech
- Verb
- An action or state-of-being word.
Stem
- Hiphil
- The causative active stem (“he caused / brought about”).
Form
- Imperative
- A direct command (“write!”).
- Perfect
- A completed action or state — Hebrew marks aspect (completeness) more than strict tense (“he wrote”).
- Imperfect
- An incomplete, ongoing, or future action (“he will / would write”).
- Sequential Perfect
- A perfect with prefixed waw continuing a preceding imperfect or command (waw-consecutive perfect).
- Participle Active
- A verbal adjective expressing ongoing or characteristic action (“writing / one who writes”).
State
- Absolute
- The independent form of a noun, not bound to a following word.
Person
- 2nd Person
- The one addressed (“you”).
- 3rd Person
- The one spoken about (“he / she / it / they”).
- 1st Person
- The speaker (“I / we”).
Gender
- Masculine
- Grammatically masculine.
- Common
- Either gender — not distinguished for this form.
- Feminine
- Grammatically feminine.
Number
- Singular
- One.
- Plural
- More than one (in Hebrew, generally three or more).
Every verse where H238 appears in the Book of Deuteronomy — 2 distinct verses. Click any verse to open its interlinear word-by-word view. Verse text shown in the World English Bible for context — . Each verse’s Hebrew form is shown with its reference; the English is not keyword-highlighted, since the data carries no word-level English alignment. Use “Compare translations” on any verse to read it across multiple English versions. This concordance covers the Hebrew Bible; Septuagint (Greek Old Testament) occurrences are not indexed here.
Deuteronomy
About this entry
At a glance — auto-summarized from this page’s data, not written by a person. Every figure links to its source below. This summary describes the numbers; it doesn’t interpret them.
“to hear” is the headline sense of the Hebrew verb אזן (ʼâzan). Its English rendering has broadened — “give ear” classically, “listen” (unfoldingWord Literal Text) in modern versions; see the renderings breakdown. The Hebrew Bible uses it across 41 verses — moderately common. More than a third of its appearances fall in Psalms. Its meaning spans more than one sense — see its full sense range. The sections below give every sense, occurrence, and version rendering.
Gloss history
Strong's 1890 vs modern scholarship
About this word
Strong's H238 catalogs a Hebrew word from the Hebrew Old Testament.
These counts are not copied from any lexicon or concordance. They are computed here, from the morphology-tagged Hebrew Old Testament. What Lemma adds →
- 41
- distinct verses
- The word appears in 41 distinct verses.
- 14 / 39
- OT books
- The word appears in 14 of 39 Old Testament books.
- #891
- by frequency
- Top 1000 most frequent Hebrew words (rank 891 of 8,640 Hebrew words by occurrence).
View all 41 occurrences in the concordance →
By section of the Old Testament
By traditional corpus
Conventional, traditional groupings — biblical authorship is debated, so this is a traditional corpus grouping, not an authorship claim. Each share is this word’s portion of its verses in that division of the Hebrew canon. Each figure is a share of the word’s 41 distinct verses.
- Writings (Ketuvim) 24 verses · 59%
- Prophets (Nevi'im) 12 verses · 29%
- Torah (Pentateuch) 5 verses · 12%
How translations render this word
Counts come from each version’s own published word-to-Strong’s tagging or interlinear alignment — an approximate guide to how each version renders this word, not a word-level alignment the data otherwise carries. Because each total is that version’s own tagged count, the per-version totals vary from one another and need not match the appearance or distinct-verse counts above. These counts may also differ from a printed concordance because Lemma counts each distinctly tagged rendering and does not collapse phrase taggings into a single head-word total. This is a fixed set of word-tagged versions (KJV, ASV, BSB, ULT) and does not change with the reading translation you choose elsewhere. Each version’s license is shown beside its name below (and on Sources).
- King James Version: Give ear 21×, Hearken 5×, Give ye ear 2×
- American Standard Version: Give ear 17×, Hearken 4×
- Berean Standard Bible: Give ear 14×, Listen 11×, Hear 5×
- unfoldingWord Literal Text: Listen 18×, Give ear 9×, Give ear to 2×
King James Version Public Domain
Renders H238 across 41 tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus 13 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings.
American Standard Version Public Domain
Renders H238 across 41 tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus 20 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings.
Berean Standard Bible Public Domain
Renders H238 across 41 tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus 9 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings.
unfoldingWord Literal Text CC BY-SA 4.0
Renders H238 across 46 tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus 13 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings.
Senses in the full BDB
What do BDB’s symbols mean?
BDB uses these scholarly abbreviations:
| Symbol | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 𝔊 | the Septuagint (the ancient Greek translation, LXX) |
| 𝔙 | the Vulgate (the Latin translation) |
| 𝔖 | the Syriac version (the Peshitta) |
| 𝔗 | the Targum (the Aramaic translation) |
| ψ | the Psalms |
| √ | root (the underlying root or stem) |
| ‖ | parallel passage (a synonymous or contrasted parallel) |
| † | the dagger: every passage where the word occurs is cited |
The 2 senses and sub-senses the full Brown-Driver-Briggs lexicon distinguishes for this word, in lexicon order (not ranked by frequency), with BDB’s own verbatim wording and sub-sense lettering. Shown in Hebrew script with BDB’s own scholarly abbreviations. The condensed entry is in the Lexicon Entry tab. See also the Forms in the corpus table below.
- 1. hear, perceive by the ear
- 2. of God, listening (with favour) to prayer
Senses from the full Brown-Driver-Briggs lexicon (Brown, Driver, Briggs; Oxford 1906 — public domain), digitized via Sefaria, supplemented by the OpenScriptures HebrewLexicon (CC BY 4.0). Full attribution on Sources.
Word origin
[ אָזַן ] 42 vb. denom. Hiph. give ear, listen, hear
— Brown-Driver-Briggs (Oxford 1906, public domain), digitized via Sefaria, supplemented by the OpenScriptures HebrewLexicon (CC BY 4.0). See Sources.
Origin: a primitive root
Jastrow Dictionary
A second Hebrew/Aramaic lexicon for comparison, covering Aramaic and post-biblical (Talmudic, Targumic, Midrashic) usage that the biblical-Hebrew BDB does not. Matched by lemma rather than by Strong’s number, so a lemma may carry more than one Jastrow headword (shown separately below), and the entries cover usage well beyond the Bible.
אֲזַן
- Targ. Is. XXXIII, 4, third pers. pl. of אֲזָא, v. אֲזִי
אֹזֶן
- to be pointed, cut, cmp. חז, גז. v. אוּדְנָא)
- 1. ear. B. Kam. 79ᵇ א׳ של מַטָּה human ear, opp. Divine perception. Y. Sabb. I, 3ᵇ top; a. fr.
- 2. handle. Cant. R. beg. ולא הי׳ לה א׳ וכ׳ but had no handle and could not be carried; a. fr.—Du. אָזְנַיִם 1) ears. Lev. R. s. 32, beg. א׳ לדרך the road has ears (be on your guard in speaking); a. fr.—2) handles. Kel. IV, 3, v. גיסטרא; a. fr.
- 3. אָזְנַיִם or בנות א׳ swollen glands of the throat (Rashi). Ab. Zar. 28ᵇ א׳; Y. ib. II, 40ᵈ top; Y. Sabb. XIV, 14ᵈ top בנות א׳.
A Dictionary of the Targumim, the Talmud Babli and Yerushalmi, and the Midrashic Literature (Marcus Jastrow; London, Luzac, 1903) — Public Domain. Digitized via Sefaria. Digitized via Sefaria. Full attribution on Sources.
Forms in the corpus
The 27 distinct written forms H238 takes in the Hebrew Bible, most frequent first — each parse links to that stem’s occurrences in the concordance. Hebrew forms include their vowel points and cantillation, so a single lemma takes many written forms.
| Form | Parsing | Example | Uses |
|---|---|---|---|
| הַאֲזִ֥ינָ/ה | Verb, Hiphil, Imperative, 2nd Person, Masculine, Singular | Numbers 23:18 | 6 |
| הַאֲזִ֣ינָ/ה | Verb, Hiphil, Imperative, 2nd Person, Masculine, Singular | Job 37:14 | 4 |
| הַאֲזִ֥ינוּ | Verb, Hiphil, Imperative, 2nd Person, Masculine, Plural | Deuteronomy 32:1 | 3 |
| הֶאֱזִ֑ינוּ | Verb, Hiphil, Perfect, 3rd Person, Common, Plural | Isaiah 64:4 | 2 |
| הַ֝אֲזִ֗ינָ/ה | Verb, Hiphil, Imperative, 2nd Person, Masculine, Singular | Job 34:16 | 2 |
| הַאְזֵ֖נָּה | Verb, Hiphil, Imperative, 2nd Person, Feminine, Plural | Genesis 4:23 | 2 |
| וְ/הַֽאֲזִ֔ינוּ | Verb, Hiphil, Imperative, 2nd Person, Masculine, Plural | Isaiah 8:9 | 2 |
| אָ֭זִין | Verb, Hiphil, Imperfect, 1st Person, Common, Singular | Job 32:11 | 1 |
| הֶאֱזִ֖ין | Verb, Hiphil, Perfect, 3rd Person, Masculine, Singular | Deuteronomy 1:45 | 1 |
| הֶאֱזִֽינוּ | Verb, Hiphil, Perfect, 3rd Person, Common, Plural | 2 Chronicles 24:19 | 1 |
| הַ֝אֲזִ֗ינוּ | Verb, Hiphil, Imperative, 2nd Person, Masculine, Plural | Psalms 49:1 | 1 |
| הַאֲזִ֑ינוּ | Verb, Hiphil, Imperative, 2nd Person, Masculine, Plural | Isaiah 51:4 | 1 |
| הַאֲזִ֔ינוּ | Verb, Hiphil, Imperative, 2nd Person, Masculine, Plural | Hosea 5:1 | 1 |
| הַאֲזִ֖ינוּ | Verb, Hiphil, Imperative, 2nd Person, Masculine, Plural | Judges 5:3 | 1 |
| הַאֲזִ֗ינָ/ה | Verb, Hiphil, Imperative, 2nd Person, Masculine, Singular | Psalms 80:1 | 1 |
| הַאֲזִ֛ינוּ | Verb, Hiphil, Imperative, 2nd Person, Masculine, Plural | Isaiah 1:10 | 1 |
| הַאֲזִ֨ינָ/ה | Verb, Hiphil, Imperative, 2nd Person, Masculine, Singular | Psalms 84:8 | 1 |
| הַאֲזִֽינָ/ה | Verb, Hiphil, Imperative, 2nd Person, Masculine, Singular | Job 33:1 | 1 |
| הַאֲזִינָ/ה֮ | Verb, Hiphil, Imperative, 2nd Person, Masculine, Singular | Psalms 39:12 | 1 |
| וְ/הַאֲזִ֖ינוּ | Verb, Hiphil, Imperative, 2nd Person, Masculine, Plural | Jeremiah 13:15 | 1 |
| וְ/הַאֲזִ֣ינִי | Verb, Hiphil, Imperative, 2nd Person, Feminine, Singular | Isaiah 1:2 | 1 |
| וְ/הַאֲזִ֥ין | Verb, Hiphil, Sequential Perfect, 3rd Person, Masculine, Singular | Psalms 77:1 | 1 |
| וְ/הַֽאֲזַנְתָּ֙ | Verb, Hiphil, Sequential Perfect, 2nd Person, Masculine, Singular | Exodus 15:26 | 1 |
| יַאֲזִ֑ינוּ | Verb, Hiphil, Imperfect, 3rd Person, Masculine, Plural | Psalms 135:17 | 1 |
| יַאֲזִ֣ין | Verb, Hiphil, Imperfect, 3rd Person, Masculine, Singular | Isaiah 42:23 | 1 |
| יַאֲזִ֥ין | Verb, Hiphil, Imperfect, 3rd Person, Masculine, Singular | Job 9:16 | 1 |
| מֵ֝זִין | Verb, Hiphil, Participle Active, Masculine, Singular, Absolute | Proverbs 17:4 | 1 |
Same root — word family
Other BDB entries built from the same root as H238, grouped by Strong’s listed origin. These share a root / origin per the lexicon — not necessarily a shared meaning. Each links to that word’s own entry.
Derived from this word
Proper names from this root
People and places named from this root — a name, not an additional meaning of the word.
- אזן שארה ʼUzzên Sheʼĕrâh H242 Uzzen Sherah
- אזנות תבור ʼAznôwth Tâbôwr H243 Aznoth Tabor
- אזניה ʼĂzanyâh H245 Azaniah
- יאזניה Yaʼăzanyâh H2970 Jaazaniah
Compare all same-root words → Showing 4 of 8 — not the complete family. 4 of the same-root words are proper names (people or places). They share a root, not necessarily a meaning.
Septuagint verse parallels
This word appears in 40 verses that also exist in the Greek Old Testament (Septuagint), out of the 41 Hebrew verses it occurs in. You can read those verses in Greek by switching the Old Testament edition to the Septuagint.
Read these verses in the Septuagint
- Genesis 4:23
- Exodus 15:26
- Numbers 23:18
- Deuteronomy 1:45
- Judges 5:3
- 2 Chronicles 24:19
- Job 9:16
- Psalms 5:1
- Proverbs 17:4
- Isaiah 1:2
- Jeremiah 13:15
- Hosea 5:1
This is a verse-level parallel only — the same verses exist in both the Hebrew and Greek Old Testaments. No word-level Hebrew↔Greek correspondence is claimed: the data carries no such alignment, so no Greek word is shown as this Hebrew word’s translation. Coverage is not total — the Septuagint omits the deuterocanon and renumbers the Psalms, so some Hebrew verses have no direct Greek parallel.
